Getting settled. Finally.

When moving to France 20 months ago I used to think I'd like it. It turned out to be a total mess. Everything was different and I hadn't spoken French since I left high school a ridiculous long time ago. In comparison, moving to Switzerland was a piece of cake. The university I worked for dealt with all the permits I needed, all I had to do was to go to the local city administration and register and than everything was fine. In France I don't need a residence permit, but everything is incredibly more complicated. As I wrote in an earlier post it took a year to get a social security number. I also had a bad experience with my first landlady (no female solidarity there).

I never thought I'd say this but I kind of like Normandie. I had hoped I'd find it tolerable after a while, but I actually like it quite a lot. The first weeks I was here I mostly found excuses to leave and the following months there were workshops, meetings and conferences to go to every month. No time to get to know people and get a social network that is so important for well-being.

I still don't have much of a real social life here, but my French is much better (mainly due to osmosis but also due to my flatmate who forces me to speak French). People in shops and restaurants I go to regularly recognise me. My colleagues are happy to see me when I return after a month of absence. I miss the Goose terribly and at this moment it's still gonna be another five weeks till I see her again, but I at least feel semi-at-home in my town and not just like a tourist (although everyone treats me as a tourist; it's D-day country, I have fair skin and blond hair and an accent).