Today was Lilian’s first day of classes! Wednesdays are a short day for French students, so they got to ease their way in with just three classes.
I messed up the paperwork somehow (this is going to be the story of my French life), so they weren’t allowed to leave after their last class. Luckily, it was just one free period.
The verdict? School was “ok.” Everything is in French, which means a lot of asking other students to translate. I think this will help jumpstart their language skills, but is super tough right now. It’s a lot for a 13-year-old! New country, new language, new housing, new school, new friends… I love it here, but it’s definitely an adjustment. And I’m an adult who speaks the language! I’ve tried my best to make things fun for Lilian, to find those little tastes from home, to show them the cool things about living here. I hope they’ll appreciate this experience once things are a little more settled.
We met with a realtor to look at an apartment today. It’s the apartment of my French dreams, so everyone please cross all of your fingers and toes that we get an account at our bank appointment tomorrow. If we are able to send a RIB (French banking paperwork) to the realtor, the apartment is ours! It’s just a few blocks from where we’re staying now, so the move should be easy and the transition for Lilian will be a lot smoother. It’s also super nice. And big! So, if you find yourself awake at 3am EDT tomorrow, please think good thoughts for us.
Finding a place to live here is hard. Most of the other parents told us that they ended up paying a service to find them a place, or paying for a bank to guarantee their rent payments (or both!). We lucked out by having a local connection. He called the realtor for us, told us exactly what to bring for our “dossier,” (the paperwork you bring to prove that you’ll be good tenants who will pay on time) and did most of the talking for us. We’ve also had another local friend offer us advice and support.
I miss you all back home so much! We have such an amazing community in Malden, it was incredibly hard to leave. We are slowly meeting some folks here. I know it’s going to take time, but we’ll get there.
Fingers crossed on that apartment!
It’s not 3am, but I’m sending positive vibes. Glad day 1 was ok for L. I hope the adjustment phase is t too pronounced/prolonged and you all get settled and acclimated quickly.
Way to go, Lilian! I know it must take a lot of energy to navigate a new school in another language. You can feel your brain stretching in new ways 🙂 I hope you make some fun new friends. Sending HUUUUUGS!