It's mothers' day or mother's day if you want to be more personal. I was thinking how different life is today to that of my own late mother. There have been more changes in the last 50 year period than any other. I think back to worktime faxes, Apple Macs, then PCs and email. For those then in their 40's like me, we were too young to retire so we just had to learn how to use it all. One older secretary back then tried to use Tippex on the PC screen. Fortunately, she was able to retire before any more damage was done.
Now retired in France, I am so glad that I was forced to learn the new technology. Living miles from anywhere, it's a real boon to be able to do my banking, buy online and contact family on the other side of the world. The French papers say that more and more younger expats are arriving here: not to work in traditional ways (due to lack of language skills), but to work online. One said: 'Thanks to my broadband link I am happily straddling the sedate French rural life and the high-tech fast lane'. I do hope though that these younger expats still learn French. Even if you don't need it to work, it's essential to integrate with the locals. What must not happen is lots of English cliques. Let technology be the route for more understanding, not yet another difference to cause riots.
And Him indoors? When in the shop, he would look at the computer and ask 'Which button do I press to find out who's pinching the stock?' Some things never change.
Showing posts with label working in France. Show all posts
Showing posts with label working in France. Show all posts
7th November 2008
Oh wad some power the gifte gie us
To see oursels as others see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion.
- Robert Burns, 1786
There are many French who see every setback as part of an international conspiracy (naturally concocted by les Anglo-Saxons) to rob France of its jobs. So how do intending English expats who are below pensionable age and therefore need to work, deal with this situation?
One such was Clive Cummings who, with his wife Tanith and four children, decided to spend 5million euros setting up a restaurant and hotel in Burgundy. With his English accent and poor grasp of French, he knew it would be a challenge. You can say that again! But worse - what he didn't realise was that his property would be covered in graffiti, protesters would gather at his gates, his children would have to endure snide remarks at school, and planners vowed to pull his property down. Despite trying to ingratiate themselves into the community by enrolling the children in local schools and employing a young French chef, Olivier Elzer, the hostility continued. The problem was never his closest neighbours, who were charming and supportive. It was those who lived "further afield" who were against their living and working there, so he had to fight. What would Winston Churchill have said: We will fight them on the beaches......
But, all that was in 2005. Today, after buying and converting the 900-year-old Abbaye de la Bussiere, near Dijon, the restaurant now boasts a Michelin star and the hotel is listed in the prestigious Relais & Chateau guide.
So, what's the moral of this story? In this global world, we must stop living 'in the box' of our own countries and mindsets and try to help and understand those who bravely come amongst us.
Just as Robbie Burns said all those years ago: Oh to see ourselves as others see us.
To see oursels as others see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion.
- Robert Burns, 1786
There are many French who see every setback as part of an international conspiracy (naturally concocted by les Anglo-Saxons) to rob France of its jobs. So how do intending English expats who are below pensionable age and therefore need to work, deal with this situation?
One such was Clive Cummings who, with his wife Tanith and four children, decided to spend 5million euros setting up a restaurant and hotel in Burgundy. With his English accent and poor grasp of French, he knew it would be a challenge. You can say that again! But worse - what he didn't realise was that his property would be covered in graffiti, protesters would gather at his gates, his children would have to endure snide remarks at school, and planners vowed to pull his property down. Despite trying to ingratiate themselves into the community by enrolling the children in local schools and employing a young French chef, Olivier Elzer, the hostility continued. The problem was never his closest neighbours, who were charming and supportive. It was those who lived "further afield" who were against their living and working there, so he had to fight. What would Winston Churchill have said: We will fight them on the beaches......
But, all that was in 2005. Today, after buying and converting the 900-year-old Abbaye de la Bussiere, near Dijon, the restaurant now boasts a Michelin star and the hotel is listed in the prestigious Relais & Chateau guide.
So, what's the moral of this story? In this global world, we must stop living 'in the box' of our own countries and mindsets and try to help and understand those who bravely come amongst us.
Just as Robbie Burns said all those years ago: Oh to see ourselves as others see us.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
