Introductory Blog
Updated: May 3, 2021
Why I started "Expats In & Around Manosque" and what happens next.
As you may have understood a little bit from the 'About' page, and for those who know my story, moving to Manosque and its surrounding areas as an expat with no grasp of the language was a challenging and isolating experience for me.
As a young mum, I moved to France with my French husband and 2 year old toddler. I was lucky that I had occasions to hear French around me as my in-laws didn't speak English. The beginning though, was difficult. I was figuring out how to be a mum, the language, transportation, medical system and daycare, not to mention the cultural shocks I experienced being in a foreign country and in a mixed marriage.
I missed my family, the Bangkok heat (where I grew up), comfort food, convenience of daily life and especially working and being independent as I used to be.
I tried finding online meet-ups to meet other young mums around the area, but with no such luck. Everything, and I mean everything, seemed to be happening in Aix, Marseille or Nice. I had looked for language exchanges, play-dates, work, shopping, restaurants, groups, etc. Additionally, I had this fear of driving (on the wrong side of the road, between life-threatening cliffs!) when I first moved here which poised another set of challenges for me.
But this post isn't about my personal challenges. It's a backdrop of where these challenges led me: from randomly getting frustrated one evening of not having a local support system, a vexed baby throwing tantrums, pile high of dirty dishes, incomprehensible french paperwork, and probably a blur of other things. I finally threw in the towel and set up my own facebook group in a desperate attempt to find other English speaking people who wouldn't mind being my friend and keeping my head sane.
I propped up the group on FB, posted its existence on the lovely Network Provence Facebook group (back when we were still allowed to do so as non-paying members), and desperately prayed for people to join. Obviously I forced the 3 eligible people I knew to join in and waited for the rest of the process to magically unfold.
Cut to 20-30 members in, I had renewed confidence that perhaps, just maybe, there were English-speaking expats around here! I had only just found out about ITER but didn't know how to reach the community. I began to post about meet-ups and voila, it slowly went up from there.
Now I'm super happy that people are able to find the group by themselves on FB and that it brings together expats as well as English-speaking French expats who've moved here. I also really enjoy the online meet-ups myself. Even though it's online, a small group is regularly able to show up and connect.
What Happens Next:
I'd love to know exactly what happens next, but the crystal ball I looked up on amazon didn't seem super credible.
However, I have a simple wish. That people can find each other, connect and use this platform as a way to not just "get by", but thrive. That translates to:
Meet-Ups (waiting for the day it changes from online to offline!)
Resource Blog
The Resource Blog idea is recent. Mainly due to the same type of questions that cropped up on the facebook group and during the online meet-ups. So I thought, instead of answering the same questions again and again on the facebook group, why not have everything on one space where people can find the information?
Of course being relatively new to Manosque myself, I don't have all the answers. So I would really like contributors to share their experiences and resources on the site so it could help others in the same boat.
Ideally, I'd like to have regular contributors, ones who would like to blog and post on a regular basis (either every month, or few months) in the categories that exist. This is all on a voluntary basis of course, since this group is not for profit and more about creating a grassroots, close-knit community. Nevertheless, this initiative is not just a "hobby," but a manifestation of real emotions, needs and potential for substantial opportunity.
If you have actually and incredibly read this entire thing and believe in being part of a community too, do reach out to me! Whether you'd like to start writing, have creative ideas or just to say hi.
With lots of love,
Kruti
xx
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