Driving!

The good thing is that France drives on the same side as US. As for everything else, it takes some getting used to. In all my travels, I have avoided driving in foreign countries because there are nuances that I may not pick up and end up in a predicament. But now I am forced to drive, and it hasn’t been all that bad. The key is to pay attention…the intersections can be tricky. There are traffic lights 100 feet from each other and some apply to you some apply to a turn lane that magically appears and some have nothing to do with you. Two roads intersect right before another two roads or 5 roads from different directions intersect all at once and to determine which stoplight pertains to you. And of course there are the round-abouts; what I have determined is to just go and if there is anyone coming they will have to adjust their speed for you. Can’t quite get the hang of that yet.

Most of the cars take diesel, in the US green is the color of the pump for diesel; in France green is for gas. We learned this the hard way. I have a rental car for the first month, we went to fill up the car with the green pump and within ½ mile realized our mistake. Gas does not work in a diesel car (just in case you were wondering). It moved, but sputtered. Fortunately, we had insurance on the car. Hertz towed it away the same day. Getting another car was another problem. It was a holiday weekend, and finding another car big enough for 5 people was not easy. After a day of trying, they found one in Lyon. So I took a bus to Lyon airport and picked it up. The Hertz people at the counter told me it was a diesel car and not to fill it up with gas. I thanked them and went on my way.

The interesting thing about the cars is that when you’re stopped for more than 2 seconds, the car turns off. When you let off the brake the car starts by itself. I think you can turn the option off, but I think the purpose is to help the environment and conserve fuel.

I can’t imagine what it was like before GPS! I turn when the car tells me to and have faith that the navigation system is 100% correct. There are so many one-ways and I can’t hardly tell what street I’m on because the signs are very difficult to see. Most street signs are just posted on the side of a building and they are not very big and some blend in with the color of the building. So, I just turn when my car tells me. After 2 weeks of driving, I can get to work from the apartment and from the apartment to our house without the GPS! I think that deserves a celebration! Although I did drive in a bus only lane because the other lanes were one-way going the other directions…fortunately nobody was on the road.

Another interesting thing about driving is that people are courteous. They stop when the light turns yellow (instead of speeding through the intersection); they stop at crosswalks when someone wants to cross. Neither of these are practiced in the US (at least where I’ve lived). It’s nice.

The fun part will be a year from now. We can use our Utah licenses for one year. After that we have to take the French driving test (in French), this consists of a written test, a driving test, and new this year they will require a car test where I have to know parts of the car and what to do in emergency situation. I will be allowed an interpreter but the tests are timed and I won’t be given extra time. Yet another reason to learn French as soon as possible.

We decided to take a road trip to Italy, what we didn’t realize is the number and amount of tolls between Grenoble and Torino. Holy mackerel! I think all told, there and back, we paid almost 150 Euro. One toll was 44 Euro for a tunnel that went under the Alps for 12km…TWELVE KILOMETERS! Once I realized how long the tunnel was, I didn’t mind paying 44 Euro.  And that’s what all the other tolls paid for as well…tunnels. The kids were excited to go in the first few tunnels but after about a dozen, it got old.

Weeks 1-3

Well, it's been an interesting couple of weeks!
I'll start with groceries...it wasn't difficult to get groceries. I learned a couple phrases: Je ne parle pas Francais (I don't speak French) and Parlez vous Anglais? (Do you speak English?). Groceries consisted of cereal, milk, juice, sandwich meat, buns, hamburger, fruits, and veggies. Not too bad for a few meals. If feels like we shop twice a day...our children's appetites seem to have doubled!
My wonderful husband has been trying to keep 3 children entertained all day while I am at work. It is not an easy task since we are still in limbo with living in temporary housing, our French is not good, and the kids are not in school so they only have each other for friendship. There is an international club called "Open House" that we will eventually attend; because it is August, many people are on vacation.
Our "destination services" person, Isabelle, introduced us to a couple who are moving back to the US and were selling their washer, dryer, and fridge. We bought them...one less thing to worry about. Keith and the husband, Scott, had to do the heavy lifting to deliver them from their apartment on the 3 floor to our house. Fortunately Scott had a French license so they could rent a delivery truck, unfortunately when they got the washer & dryer to the house the doorway was 1/8" too small. Yes, 1/8"...0.125".  Our landlady was very nice and agreed to have her handy man shave the door way to accommodate the appliances. Whew! She has been very helpful; Isabelle said that this is very unusual.
We have had some difficulty accessing our bank account. In order to do online banking, we need our debit cards, an online ID, and a secret code. We finally got our debit cards - they would not send them to the US so we had to wait until we got here; we got our online IDs, but we have yet to get our secret code. In the second week we finally got the check cleared for the camper we sold, so now we need to wire the money back to the account in Utah to get that taken care of. The bank is not like the US - there is no line of tellers - there is a receptionist who determines who you need to talk to. Basic account access is her, change of address is somoene upstairs...haven't quite figured out who we talk with for our different questions. The interesting part, I think, is that the receptionist lets you in the bank. I realized this when the kids and I were standing outside and the doors did not open and when we were ready to leave the doors did not open again until the receptionist pushed a button...very secure.
To help pass time we have been going to the house quite a bit...the boys like to chase the lizards and it is nice to have a fenced in yard where they can play and we don't have to worry about them. There is a very large spider who moves from web to web in the house, the enclosed patio and bathroom are her favorites. I couldn't bring myself to step on her - the sound, aftermath, and size of the squash, overpower so we chose to cohabitate.
The landlady provided us with a lawn mower...this is my pasttime...after going back and forth between the lawn mower and the online manual for 20 minutes I was finally able to get it started. My daughter was very unhappy with me because after a month of not being mowed, the lawn had several flowers/weeds, which brought bees and she liked how it looked. I still wanted to mow the lawn so it was easier to play and walk through. So as I mowed she went to the car. Our lawn has 2 levels so as a compromise, I showed her that I only mowed the bottom; this seemed to lift her spirits. As I mowed, I hoped the lizards and grasshoppers got out of the way - that would not be pleasant to empty the clippings if they didn't get out the way.
Week 3 consisted of me taking a business trip to New Jersey while my husband had to take care of the kids all day and all night. Our air shipment came while I was gone so he had to manage that too. Unfortunately, they did not unpack like they were supposed to and they spoke very little English. So they dropped off the 10-15 boxes and left. Keith and the kids unpacked and started arranging things. We were only able to take are essentials (kitchen items, towels, blankets, etc.) we still have to wait another 2-3 weeks for everything else.
I spoke with a co-worker who had lived in France for a few years, as an ex-pat, he said it was a great experience but that we should not underestimate the stress of the first year...we are 3 weeks in and that statement rings true already!

Flight

5am. Friday, August 5, 2016. Everyone up and ready to go. Hauled all the luggage and carry-ons to the front desk for the shuttle. I double and triple checked passports. Here we go!

Airport at 5:30am. Fight is at 8:22am. Plenty of time! We got all our tickets and found 2 bags were over 50 pounds. It was ok to have one but they weren't happy with two, so we shuffled 2 pair of pants from one heavy suitcase to a lighter one and it was good.

We dropped off the checked bags at the scanner and went through security with no issues.  We had a lot in our carry-ons, all our valuables (jewelry, watches, documents) and laptops...they were so heavy. With securiy behind us, the second challenge awaited - how to keep 3 kids entertained for the two hours before the flight left. Breakfast, watching the planes, and the infamous iPads did the trick.

Salt Lake to Chicago: We got on the plane and had to be somewhat split up. Jack and I sat together, Clara was nearby, then Keith and Ian sat next to each other. Jack was a little terror when we first got on the plane, he didn't want to sit in our assigned seat - great, I could feel the glares - he quieted down quickly then fell asleep before we took off. I was able to doze too but was awakened by Ian asking Minecraft questions to Clara, who was one row ahead and on the other side of the aisle. These were my kids, and it was annoying. Jack woke up one hour before we landed - it was a tough time keeping him entertained for that one hour!

Chicago: We got off the plane around 1pm and our next flight started boarding at 3:20. So two hours to find our next gate and eat lunch. The terminal was one loooonnnnggg hallway, we arrived at one end and our next flight was at the opposite end. The walk was good, we found a currency exchange booth - yeah, I know, the exchange rate isn't the greatest at airport kiosks but we needed to get some Euros just in case. We grabbed some lunch and went back to the gate. Jack decided to be a bugger so Keith took him for a walk to quiet him and to make him tired. 4pm flight meant it was 11pm in France.  We boarded the plane. It was a Lufthansa flight and we were booked business class on the upper floor. I have flown business class before, but I've never been on an airplane with two floors! So something new for me.

Chicago to Frankfort:  This was it...no turning back now...in eight hours we would be in Germany and in 11 hours we would be in France. Kids loved the seats, who wouldn't! They asked if they were going to fly like this from now on...I told them they better enjoy it because they probably won't fly like this for a long time. They quickly figured out the TVs and reclining chairs, Jack started pushing buttons too. As we got airborne Jack fell asleep again before dinner was served.

We arrived in Frankfort, found our gate and I went to order some breakfast for the kids since the slept through breakfast on the plane. I asked the cashier if he spoke Englist and he said some words in English but then spoke German - I'm pretty sure he said that I should learn to speak German and next time I'm there I should order in German.

We got on the plane to Lyon and an hour later we landed. We had no problems getting off the plane, getting our luggage and going through customs. Keith kept the luggage while I took the shuttle to get the rental car with Clara and Jack, luckily we remembered Jack's car seat! France has similar laws with car seats so we knew we needed one before we came.

After circling the airport a few times I made it back to Keith and we crammed all the luggage into the back. And got into the care for an hour and a half drive to Grenoble. The car had GPS and we were able to select English. We made it to Grenoble, and our destination services person, Isabelle was waiting for us at our temporary home. We took everything to our 2 bedroom apartment - 3 kids in one room, Keith and I in the other. It's an ok size, we don't feel too crammed. The kids an I crashed for 3 hours - which is not advisable, I know. Since we got to Grenoble around 1 we really should have stayed up until bedtime so we could get into a rhythm. It felt good to sleep...we would figure out the sleep pattern eventually.

Eleventh Hour

I sit on the plan from Chicago to Frankfurt and think about what just happened this week. We still had a mountain of things to do before our flight on the morning of Friday, August 5, 2016. This is where we channeled our college cramming abilities!

The movers came on Monday, they were supposed to take 4 days. They packed everything up in 2 days and it only took ½ day to load. Managing the movers and three kids and making sure everything got done was challenging, to say the least. And all the paperwork! We were putting it together as quickly as possible.

Since the movers finished early we had to find a place to stay Wednesday and Thursday nights. Unfortunately, we were told by several hotels there was an Outdoor Retailers convention going on and all the hotels from Salt Lake to Provo were booked.  I made one more attempt at a room and found one two-bedroom suite available! Perfect! With 3 young kids, a suite is the only way to go! Then we found out the only reason why it was available was because the hotel was under construction and rooms became available as the construction finished, so we got it just in time! Whew!

We had to get Keith’s prescriptions filled but had to switch pharmacies in order to get a 3-month supply. As we were waiting in the parking lot for them to be filled, I took a walk by myself. I walked behind a dumpster and started crying. Had I made the right decision? Yes, I was sure of it. But there was so much left to do before our flight. Then I realize I was crying behind a dumpster…ok, this was ridiculous. We got the prescription and went back to the house to finish putting all the trash and stuff to give away in one area.

Next big hurdle was the house. It still hadn't sold! Not one offer. We canceled our contract with the first realtor on Tuesday and met with another on Wednesday night. He pointed out several touch-ups we should do to the home - everyone's looking for an HGTV home (thanks to Property Brothers). He said he would get it quoted and fixed for us before listing it. Then he called on Thursday and said the market is not the greatest - of course not, school is starting soon and then we're heading into winter. He suggested renting the house until spring. Not my first choice, but we called a property management company who came out Thursday afternoon to look at it and see how much we could rent it for. Turns out we could easily get our mortgage and the management fee easily with rent. So next step is to get all that paperwork going.

Keith was out running errands on Thursday and called to help relieve some of the tension. Reminding me what an awesome adventure this was going to be.  And all this stuff we're going through was not defining the experience - it was just stuff that would eventually go away. There was no point in freaking out or getting upset. I loved him for it. Just that little talk really made me relax a bit. He was right, this would all be over. He and I made a concentrated effort to not get mad with each other, at the kids, or at the situation - there was no point. We just had to get through it. We slipped up a few times but for the most part we did pretty well.

The kids had to visit their school and friends one last time. In retrospect, we probably should have enrolled them in school for the first two weeks. The school system is year-round so their first day of school was July 26. It would have kept the kids busy instead of dealing with the stresses of getting everything done. Next time...ha ha. So we were able to visit the school on Thursday afternoon, the day before we were to fly. It was so awesome seeing their classmates wish them luck, giving hugs, and saying how much they will be missed. I teared up a bit, it hit me (again) what a big move this is.

We needed the minivan up until the last minute, so the dealership that is selling the truck on consignment took the minivan too. We also had to sell the pop-up camper. The dealership we bought it from was going to buy it back at a very low offer so that was our last resort. I had it listed on ksl (local TV station’s website that has free classifieds) but realized it was expired so, I attempted on last try to get it sold and re-listed it. As luck would have it, we were able to sell it! The buyer picked it up at 9:30pm the night before we left. I was so relieved!

Keith and I stayed up almost all night before the flight to wind down and went back through the suitcases. Luckily we remembered to reserve a shuttle for 5am!

Sunday...in 5 days we will be airborne and oh the things we still have to do: 1) sell our house 2) sell our vehicles 3) figure out how an international change of address works with the post office 4) figure out how an international change of address works with bills 5) set aside what will be air-shipped for the movers tomorrow 6) still need to get rid of some things we don't need. Also, because we are moving to another country - and this is not an expatriate assignment - my US job is essentially terminated in the system and then I start new in France, even though it is with the same company. This means my insurance ends and my retirement is released so we will have to roll over to an IRA.
Had this been an ex-pat, we could have continued being paid out of the US and not had to figure this out. Some people think that we're crazy for leaving everything behind without a return date...with an ex-pat, we're guaranteed a return date of which is included but with a relocation, like we're doing, there is no end date, well, unless I find a job that wants to relocate me again.
It would be a huge understatement if I said we were stressed - what gets me through is knowing in a month the dust will be settled and we will be in a good place. Just have to get through the next month.
It is interesting to hear the different opinions of people, though. For the most part we hear "what an adventure" and "what a great experience", but there are a few who don't understand why. They can't imagine why anyone would want to uproot and move to another country. I can't explain the pull, but this is something we really are excited about.

I'm not going to lie...the recent events in Europe (Nice and Munich) have us a little apprehensive - but if the tides were turned, where we were European moving to USA I would probably have more cause for concern. The world has had a sad turn of events over the last several months, our hearts hurt at the state of everything...we can only hope this is temporary. All we can do is move forward.
So, where are we today? We are still in Utah but we've made our flight plans. The movers will be here next week. The house still hasn't sold and our vehicles haven't sold either. We are getting a little nervous, freaked, stressed, overwhelmed, excited...insert emotion here. At least the kids have accepted this move and have stopped protesting...first anger, then denial, now acceptance.

Visas!

We got our passports back from the French Consulate today! That means we are legal to live in France starting August 1. This is a big relief because the timeline to get a visa is unpredictable.
First, we had to get passports for the kids...given that visas take 6-8 weeks we expedited the passports (over $300 per kid...through a travel office). We got those back sometime in May or June, I then had to file for a permit, which included providing an attorney's office with copies of passports, marriage license, birth certificates, and my resume. The attorney's office filed for the permit and I received that in mid-June. I was instructed to try to find an appointment time on the French Consulate's website. Note that the location that manages Utah is in San Francisco...yep, I had to make an appointment to go to San Fran with my husband. The crazy thing is that I was instructed to look on the website for new available times on Monday mornings from 9:45am-10:00am. Every time I looked there was no availability. I thought there was no way I was going to get a spot! Then, amazingly, I was contacted by the consulate directly. She said we needed to set up an emergency meeting since I was relocating for work. In an email exchange on a Monday morning, the best time to go there was Thursday the same week! I quickly made flight arrangements for my husband and me and he made arrangements for a sitter. We flew out Thursday with our entire family's passports, extra photos, and a bunch of documents translated in French: everyone's birth certificates, our marriage certificate, my resume, and my MBA degree. Fortunately, the attorney's office my company provided had all these documents translated well in advance for us.
We arrived in San Fran around 9:30am. We remembered that we had to also provide a self-addressed pre-payed envelope for them to ship our passports back to us...or else we would have had to fly back to San Francisco to get them in person...so we stopped at a post office first.  It was my first time in San Francisco - and it was really awful driving downtown. It took probably 30 minutes to drive 5 blocks and then we had to find parking somewhere in the vicinity of the consulate (we found one about 2 blocks away). I won't say anything else about San Francisco traffic for fear I will go off on a tangent...
We made it to the consulate around 11:45 (good thing, too, because they close at 12:30). The consulate's office was very friendly! The security guard and the women we met were very helpful. I was not expecting this...I really expected the customer service to be unpleasant. We gave the woman at the first window all of our documents and payment ($111 per person), then we went to another window and another person scanned our fingerprints. And we were done! All in about 30 minutes! We had time to go to the Golden Gate Bridge before heading back to the airport...once we got out of downtown, we saw some very beautiful areas...then back to the airport to catch the 6:00pm flight.
Ten days later we got our passports back with the visas intact.  Whew! One obstacle out of the way!!