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Thursday, 21 June 2007 |
has lived in France for four
years. She is married with two
children and works as a
hairdresser in the Frédéric
Moréno salon in Périgueux.
“My French is pretty good
now. I picked up most of it
working, which is the best way
I think. Life is a bit harder
because you can’t really
express yourself as well, you
feel like you’ve got a lower IQ
than everyone else, and you
have to force yourself.
But my kids have helped
me integrate as well as my job,
through life at school. I’ve
always been treated very nicely
and I think people make
allowances for foreigners.
“I hope I’ve changed
because back in England I used
to work an awful lot and didn’t
see the kids much. I hope the
kids benefit. It’s a different life,
I’m definitely not as stressed.
I’m less of a shopper too. The
real shock was how difficuilt it
was to make money and work.
Diplomas in England aren’t
necessarily recognised here.
But at work, as a foreigner I
get away with being a lot
cheekier than my colleagues
dare to. There is a lot more
respect for bosses here.
“People are much stricter
bringing up their children, and
their kids are better behaved.
But I think kids can be pretty
wild here when they’re not
with their parents, so I suppose
there is more formality
in relationships. There’s
definitely a much stronger
sense of family.
“My kids live in a great
environment. I love England,
but I love the life I’ve got. I’d
be happy if the kids wanted to
go back to England for
university as I’d like them to
see how it works elsewhere.”
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