American in Le Havre

sistabella · #1 (**permalink**) 30th November 2010, 08:02 AM

Where to start... I am an American married and living in Le Havre. After six years here I still feel very isolated. I am partially to blame, as my French is not great and we speak English at home.

A year ago I got my first Titre de Sejour, and I just renewed it last month. This means my time to drive with my California license is up, and I need a French permit. Has anyone gone through this process? I have the French Idiots guide for taking the test, but it is daunting.

My next question is about employment. I currently have a job, but it is very part time. I earned my BA in Liberal Studies at CSUB before leaving California, but I don't have the diploma translated to French. It seems difficult to find work here, I sent my CV to several organizations that offer English classes for adults, but none were interested. I have also been registered with pole emploi for a year, but nothing happens on their site either.

Any advice on how to make life here feel more "normal" would be greatly appreciated.

MaidenScotland · #2 (**permalink**) 30th November 2010, 08:14 AM

Hi

Yes I know what you mean about feeling isolated, I used to live in France and my French was pretty basic.
Jobs... you live in Le Havre have you ever thought about contacting the ferry services to see if there is something you could do there?

Maiden

sistabella · #3 (**permalink**) 30th November 2010, 08:19 AM

The Ferry services is a good idea. I was just looking over a page that offers tours to visitors arriving on the many passenger ships as well, tours with English speaking hosts. I'll keep on it.

Bevdeforges · #4 (**permalink**) 30th November 2010, 08:46 AM

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I already responded to your other post on the thread about Le Havre and you'll see we have loads in common. (Yeah, DH and I speak English at home - and there are folks here who get their noses out of joint over that. Just ignore them.) Don't waste any time or money having your diploma translated or "validated." Except for a few technical or health related professions, it's a huge waste of effort.

Dare I ask how you managed to just get your first titre de séjour a year ago if you've been here 6 years? (I had serious immigration problems when I first got here, so can sympathize even without any details.)

As far as getting your driving license, though it's not a popular option, you may want to look into taking some lessons at a local driving school. It certainly can't hurt and I found it really helped in terms of having someone explain to me some of the more bizarre (to our American minds) regulations. (I had to get my license in Germany when I lived there and had a wonderful driving instructor who showed me all the "tricks" the examiners try to play on the candidates. I think even Wolfgang was amazed that I aced the written test and passed the driving test on the first try.) Though driving school here is expensive, they do prep you very well for the tests - and obviously, they have a vested interest in maintaining a good "pass rate" amongst their candidates.

Employment is always an issue for us foreigners. The French can be rather clannish when it comes to hiring, and they tend to discount any degrees or diplomas they don't quite understand. As I suggested in the other thread, do look into your local AVF group. Sometimes just getting to know a few real French people can make a big difference, and I know in our AVF, some of the foreigners have gotten help in finding jobs - ok, so it's working at Carrefour, but it's a start.

To make life feel more normal, you really have to push yourself into situations where you have to use your French, and you have to be pretty fearless about asking people to repeat themselves, speak more slowly or speak more clearly. The French aren't great about warming to newcomers (obviously there are exceptions) but in the AVF you find people who have been on both sides of the moving experience and it's normally possible to find a few sympathetic souls to help you along. (Plus, the other foreigner members can share their insights into some of the quirks of the French social scene.)
Cheers,
Bev

sistabella · #5 (**permalink**) 30th November 2010, 09:31 AM

Bev,

Thanks for your response. As to your question about immigration, I arrived in France on Halloween 2004 with just a passport. I was not sure how long I would stay, I was just following my heart to a man who lives here. In 2008 we were PACSd, but still I had nothing more than a passport. In order to apply for my visa I had to return to LA, and apply from there. This was finally done in 2009. And I just got the renewal. Each step that involves French administration is so incredibly painful!

Apparently I can take the written part of the driving test as a candidate libre, so no school is required. But for the driving part, they require a dual controlled car, so I have that to look into still. I'm worried for the written test, the questions seem tricky!

I speak French enough to do the shopping, make appointments, and make it through daily life. And I have made some friendly connections with women I meet at the pool, though they are generally much older than me, nice grannies =)

I will read your other post, and look into the AVF. For sure.

I hear you about Auchan on Wednesdays! I used to go on Mondays, bright and early, because you find the reduced price stuff, and there is no kids. But now, working at a college, Wednesday is my day off too... so I go and brave the kiddies, and grannies all chatting and blocking everything.

Oh how I wish you were in Le Havre, lol. wtb friends!

Bevdeforges · #6 (**permalink**) 30th November 2010, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sistabella

Thanks for your response. As to your question about immigration, I arrived in France on Halloween 2004 with just a passport. I was not sure how long I would stay, I was just following my heart to a man who lives here. In 2008 we were PACSd, but still I had nothing more than a passport. In order to apply for my visa I had to return to LA, and apply from there. This was finally done in 2009. And I just got the renewal. Each step that involves French administration is so incredibly painful!

Hey, don't feel like the Lone Ranger. I arrived in France, following the instructions I got from the French consulate in Stuttgart, and proceeded to have my application for a carte de séjour rejected (3 months AFTER our wedding here) and then got a letter telling me I had 30 days to leave the country. It took nearly two years to sort out that little mess - but back then, the rules were considerably more vague and I had a real temper, which got me into lots of trouble along the way!

Quote:

Apparently I can take the written part of the driving test as a candidate libre, so no school is required. But for the driving part, they require a dual controlled car, so I have that to look into still. I'm worried for the written test, the questions seem tricky!

I'm told it's actually easier to get admitted to the written test if you go through a driving school. (Since I did my thing in Germany, obviously I'm speaking from what I've heard from others.) The dual controlled car thing is "one of those things" you get used to - basically a way to force you to go through a driving school. Despite the expense, it could be worth it to see if they could prep you.

Besides, there was something on the TV not long ago about the "written test" which is apparently now an online computerized test. Might be worthwhile just to be able to practice a bit on the driving school's version of the computer test.

Quote:

I speak French enough to do the shopping, make appointments, and make it through daily life. And I have made some friendly connections with women I meet at the pool, though they are generally much older than me, nice grannies =)

I will read your other post, and look into the AVF. For sure.

Well, the AVFs tend to be organized and run by the retirees in town. (Gives them something to do.) But there should be a number of younger members amongst the newcomers, and the Le Havre AVF apparently has an "international circle" where you should be able to meet up with the other foreigners in town.

Quote:

I hear you about Auchan on Wednesdays! I used to go on Mondays, bright and early, because you find the reduced price stuff, and there is no kids. But now, working at a college, Wednesday is my day off too... so I go and brave the kiddies, and grannies all chatting and blocking everything.

Monday mornings can be a problem because all the delivery people are blocking the aisles with their pallets of stuff, restocking shelves. Every day, it seems, has its various inconveniences once you learn the store patterns here.

Hey, I'm always available here on the forum. No reason to be strangers!
Cheers,
Bev

sistabella · #7 (**permalink**) 30th November 2010, 02:06 PM

Such great information, thank you! I looked up the AVF and showed it to the hubby when he popped in for lunch. He had never heard of them either.

For my visa I did have a French language evaluation and was too skilled for the free lessons offered through the OFFI. And I hoped to meet other expats in the classes on citizenship, life, ect. I did met a few people all from Africa, so I was still the odd girl out ^^

I can't tell you how excited I am to find this site. I have been a member of another expat site for years, but it is pretty much sleeping.