So, I met and married the most wonderful man, possibly in the whole universe. He is perfect for me and I thank what powers there are up above every day that he walked into my life. I love him dearly. But I have known, from Day One, that he was a French Guy. Not only that he was a French Guy, but that he planned to relocate back to his home country as soon as possible.
At first, it seemed not to matter. Then, as we got closer and closer to each other, it mattered a little more. He asked me to visit. Then, to use my visit as a "test" to decide if I, maybe, someday, could live in France. Then, we decided to get married, and suddenly I had made the choice, almost without noticing. I am going to move to, and live in, ... A Foreign Land. France, to be precise.
I have no idea how this transition has worked for anyone else, because I don't really have any friends who have suddenly met the love of their lives, and he/she happens to be French, and they move overseas, ooh la la, and live happily ever after. I looked through the travel writing section of the bookstore lately, trying to find some sort of guide to what the move from the U.S. to France would be like, and I found a few books about Americans living in France (pretty much only in Paris or Provence - neither of which I will be moving to) ... but not really what I wanted. I wanted a book that talked about the transition, about how they got everything done before leaving the U.S., about how the move felt, about how long it took them to adjust and to be accepted in their new home. Instead, pretty much everything I found just talks about the differences between the French and Americans, and one woman even talks about how her own children poke fun at her for her "American" pronunciations and how she feels that strangers still immediately identify her as a "foreigner" in her small town in Provence ... and she has been living there for more than ten years! Maybe I missed the right books? It's possible. Borders and Barnes & Noble are certainly not always definitive.
So, where to learn about this monumental move to a small, rural village in the Auvergnes region of France? Apparently, I'm looking at it. I can't believe that there aren't more people who have made a similar move, to a similar area ... but maybe there aren't! Perhaps I am the first, and this will be like a walk on the moon. Cold, alien, uneven terrain ... but I doubt it. It's probably like moving anywhere new.
And so, since my husband is already there (he returned to native soil about a week after we got married and is busy getting our house ready for my arrival), I have been talking to him every day, via telephone or Skype or email, asking him questions about things, and learning myself just by going through it. It occurred to me that someone else might benefit from what I've done so far, and what I find out as things progress, so here I am. Writing. We'll see where it takes you - me - well, it'll take me to France, I guess. And you'll hear about every little thing on the way.
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