It's March 1, and officially the first day of Spring in France! Traditionally, Spring is a season of new beginnings; I'd say that held true for us :-)
Yesterday marked the first anniversary of our first night in our Sète apartment.
So, we kicked off this Spring with a look back - what was our first year like here?
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Hobbies
I have painted all of two (2!) pictures this year! I have discovered that the nearest art supply store is in Montpellier, although the supermarket sometimes has paints and paper. I kept missing the registration times for workshops (sculpture and painting), and I kind of put that on hold. There are writing workshops, but in French! Nope, not ready for that yet.
We have found several hiking groups, so that gets us out into the countryside. But it's a little weird to 1) hike in a group, and 2) hike in Winter, but not Summer!
We joined a sailing club! Our dues go towards dock fees, and when we want to go out, it's extra. It's a nice way to see the sea :-)
We found a couple of Anglophone groups; it's nice to speak English (in all its forms) every once in a while.
We joined the Welcome-to-Sète group, and get out now and then on tours around the area. They also host parties for key cultural events (like Beaujolais Nouveau).
We really enjoy watching the kite surfers on the Étang - they are out every day that it's not snowing! Yeah, dedication. And, of course, we watch the sunsets - they never get old.
And of course, I'm trying out all sorts of new ingredients and techniques in the kitchen as well as restaurants.
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The weather!
Our year started with fairly typical weather; late Winter was mild, the sun shined, flowers bloomed, and the wind was not very strong. Spring followed on quickly, and was just as pleasant.
We had two unusual heat waves in Summer, and used all our tricks to keep cool. Even then, it wasn't as hot as the heat waves we had survived in California. But it was certainly more humid!
Weather reports in Fall told us that the Summer and early Fall had been unusually dry - our town had less than half it's normal precipitation.
Winter was predicted to be short and warm. Hah! We got a cold snap in November, and it just got worse. In mid-January, the sunshine report came out - Europe is "suffering one of its darkest winters since records began." Moscow provided the example: for the *entire month* of December, it got 6 *minutes* of sun.
As I write this, here in the South of France, we are on Orange alert for snow (it was Red level for a short time yesterday), the main freeway is entirely shut down, and we're avoiding grocery shopping again. City officials have told us this is an exceptional phenomenon, not seen in 30 or 40 years!
It's been a tough winter.
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French administration
Per the expert at Paris Unraveled:
"There were 3.85 million visa requests in 2016, and 190k visa applications granted."
That should tell you a lot! I was certainly surprised, but then, I had one of the "easy" requests. Which doesn't mean it was easy to get through!
Still, we accomplished a lot in this past year, administratively speaking
- I registered with immigration, signed my integration contract, and took my civics classes
- Rick got his French passport
- we both got registered in the healthcare system, got our Cartes Vitales, and started using them!
- we both applied to exchange our driver's licenses
- I passed my French language test (DELF B1)
- I applied for a visa renewal and 10-year residence card (including many interviews)
What we still have to do (it's a waiting game now)
- have our driver's license *cards* finally approved and sent
- receive my 10 year residence card (not that it's a shoo-in, but all my interviewers have said "no problem")
- figure out all the intricacies of taxes, and pay them: income, habitation, social charges
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Life, and getting settled
More accomplishments (yay!)
- opened a French bank account
- rented a furnished apartment, and filled in with a bit of furniture that suited us better
- set up internet and phones!
- discovered we needed a gas/water/heating contract, and got one with a plumber
- bought annual bus passes for Sète, train discount cards, and multi-use tram tickets for Montpellier (not to mention signing up for aaaall the supermarket fidelity cards)
- got used to using euros, and the metric system
- met some new neighbors
- found some good doctors, and started treatments
- got used to apéros, and eating dinner later
- had a visitor!
What we put off, and are slowly working towards
- buying a car, registering it, and getting car insurance
- finding a chiropractor and a sleep specialist
- finally go to a dentist
- cooking classes!
- exploring more of our French backyard and Europe
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Next Year
Clearly, our first year was busy! While there are still a few loose ends to tie up, we're pretty much settled in here. Our next year will definitely have fewer administrative chores; it will still have its stressful moments, but we will have more breathing room.
Mainly, our next year here will have many more moments of La Vie en France!
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