Moving to a foreign country creates adventures by the hour - everything is new, everything is unfamiliar, the systems you are familiar with are altered/reversed/nonexistent, and the rules of conduct are different. On this page I will collect the stories of various things that have happened to us. Before I type another word, let me stress that these tales were written from a first-person viewpoint and I hope they are infused with the feelings and frustration and terror that we felt at the time. Some of this may be taken as France-bashing. It is not meant that way. I like it here very much, but I am no more a rosy-spectacled "francophile" than I am a close-minded "angry expat". France is a nation like any other, with some points of excellence and other points of not-so-excellence. I do not want this site to be a mooning love sonnet to the wonders of a perfect France, but rather a somewhat two-fisted account of our travails through the beauty and hell that awaits the immigrant to virtually any country in the world. I will give France this compliment - this nation never inspires tedium. It inspires passion, love, hate, and horror, but the reaction is always strong, never mediocre. That intensity is why I like it here so much (when I'm not furious or horrified, that is!)

• Five Years On June 2007 -
  We just survived five years in France?  Where did the time go?
  
  
• Utopiales November 2006 -
  Our first French Sci-Fi convention.  No Klingons are present.
  
  
• Four Years On November 2006 -
  The parents come to visit, but we manage to survive anyway.
  
  
• Three Years On July 2005 -
  They say it takes three years, and they are right.
  
  
• Hedgehog Visits June 2005 -
  A bit of local fauna turns up in the yard by surprise.
  
  
• Movie Reviews November 2004 -
  We just watched "Lost in Translation" and I thought I would comment on "expat" movies in general.
  
  
• The Circus comes to Herbignac November 2004 -
  Every year we get an August visit from a traveling circus
  
  
• Two Years On April 2004 -
  Some thoughts on the second anniversary of our arrival in France
  
  
• Marché de Potiers April 2004 -
  Our second year at the Herbignac pottery show.
  
  
• The Visitors April 2004 -
  We have our first friends from the US fly over and visit for a week. Oh boy, does the cultural juxtaposition make my brain hurt..
  
  
• Halloween in Herbignac October 2003 -
  Last year was a disappointing Halloween since nothing seemed to be happening, but this year we learned that all the action was in the village center, where tiny witches and goblins were scampering from shop to shop seeking goodies.
  
  
• Driven to Distraction July 2003 -
  US driver's licenses are only valid for a limited time in France, so we have to go through the whole process of obtaining a license all over again - normally not a problem, BUT...
  
  
• July 14th in Herbignac July 2003 -
  July 14th is France's "Independance Day" and it's celebrated identically to the American July 4th holiday, with fireworks and fairs.
  
  
• Marché de Potiers June 2003 -
  Herbignac's annual pottery market attracts master artisans from all over France and beyond, and we are able to see it for the first time.
  
  
• One Year On June 2003 -
  We have managed to survive our first year in a foreign land, against the odds of war, terrorism, global economic depression, and unprecedented bickering between the US and France.
  
  
• English Class February 2003 -
  We are invited to the local English-learning class.
  
  
• Let's get Physical September 2002 -
  Our French health care requires a basic physical, which requires us to drive to Nantes.
  
  
• The Cats have Landed August 2002 -
  Our cats are finally shipped to us from the US by Air France cargo. All we have to do is TGV into Paris and pick them up at the airport. Simple, right?
  
  
• French Culture? August 2002 -
  France is the land of art, music, food and wine... and also monster trucks.