USA v. France

While back in the US (more on that in a later post), I often got asked these two questions:

~Did you have culture shock coming back to the US?
~What are the biggest differences between life in France and life in the US?

And so, here is my attempt to answer.

One Year!

Happy New Year, everyone!  It's hard to believe a year ago today we were stepping onto a plane flying us to our new home. It's been a whirlwind of a year, to say the least!

Orginally I planned this post to be full of funny anecdotes saved in my phone. You know, expat problems like how to greet a fellow North American expats: do you do the normal hug or the French cheek kiss?  Usually it just ends in an awkward hug, head bump greeting. 

But, I decided to make this a bit of a more serious and reflective post.

This year has been a mix of emotions. I know everyone thinks that living in Paris is romantic and amazing (and don't get me wrong, it is!) but it can also be lonely and hard!

Our expat ride was a bit different than other expats, I think. I had read that around the 6 month mark is when your "honeymoon" period of living abroad ends and real life sets in. Our transition to life in Paris went so smoothly that we were off and running and felt at home within the first month. We kept waiting for that 6 month stage transition but it never happened!

Around October/November is when we started to feel the lonliness and homesickness.  But, it was hard to find anyone who could relate.  The blogs that I follow about life in Paris continued to show beautiful pictures around the city with no hint that homesickness or lonliness are normal for expats. 

But, we have found that these feelings are perfectly normal. Being an expat means that your sense of home is different from other people's, and as soon as you accept that, the easier it is.  Traveling back to your home country creates a whole new feeling of home. It's nice to be back and have the comforts and familiarities of home, but a part of you feels like home is back where you've been living the past year.

I wouldn't trade the last year for anything, and I feel so lucky that we have this opportunity.  If I could give advice to any new expats it would be to remember that not everyone's journey in the expat world is the same, and it's perfectly normal and okay not to love the city you are every single day. Join as many groups and events as you can to meet as many different people as you can. Friends are like your family when abroad, so it's important to meet some good ones!  We feel so blessed to have met so many great friends in Paris, and we are continuing to meet more all the time. 

Just for fun for anyone who read our 6 month post. 

One Year Counts

Countries: 12

Cities: 53

A Paris Noel

It seems that every new season that arrives in Paris becomes my favorite, but I have to say Christmas season may be my ultimate favorite!  The lights, decorations, and festivities are everywhere and start early to put you in the Christmas spirit.  {Also the fact that there's no Thanksgiving probably has something to do with it too.}

Here's a little glimpse of what Paris is like in this festive season.

Salon du Chocolat

Way back in late October, I visited the Salon du Chocolat, and it's exactly what it sounds like: an exhibition of chocolate.  An afternoon filled with yummy sights, smells, and tastes.  And believe it or not, I actually don't think it would have been possible for me to eat one bite more by the time we left (this is quite a feat, if you know me and my sweet tooth!)

Les Bleus

I've gotten a little behind on updating this...we haven't gone on any more trips, but I forget to update all the fun things we've been doing here in Paris!  I'm probably going to overwhelm you with a new post every day to try and get caught up before we leave for the States (yay!!)

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to go to a Paris rugby game, and it was a blast!