Sashama

HI everyone;

We just moved to Normandy and are desperately looking to make friends.
Is there an english speaking community around here?

Thanks for your help

Ka Ora!

Welcome to the Forum....

Novocastrian

Where in Normandy? We have a house in 14230 which we use an increasing fraction of the year, to become a 100% fraction in a couple of years. If you're anywhere close-ish give us a shout.

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!
You could go to your Mairie to get a list of all the Clubs and Associations in your Commune and join a few that cover your interests/hobbies. Even if there aren't any English members, you'll make friends with French people with the same interests.

Sashama

Hi Everyone,

First of all thanks for your feedback, I was not sure it would work!!
We are in Evreux (27) and so far the few english speaking people I spoke to on blogs and forums were mainly in the Calvados (14).

Looking for local associations is the first thing we did by joining "La halle aux associations" an exhibition featuring all the local associations or groups of interest which took place in Evreux beginning of sept. However and not wanting to sound rude after struggling the whole day at work with French we would like to be able to relax meeting english speakers once in a while - i can aleady hear all the sarcastic comments that we should not have moved to France....- but now we are here and facts remain:We want to speak english once in a while....

take care

dmu

Being so close to Paris, and if you've got time at weekends, there are countless possibilities of meeting English-speaking people in Paris. There used to be a list of Clubs and Associations at the British Consulate that you could consult, and the US and other Anglophone Consulates must have similar ones.
Hope this helps!

Novocastrian

Ah. That's about as far away from us as you can be and still be in Normandy.

I hope you can find people more in your backyard as it were.

DEJW

Well, I moved to Normandie in 2001 for a new permament life. I worked hard at integratiing into village life.
A few tips, I'm sorry if they might not be what you want to hear:

Learn French, watch French TV, don't watch UK TV, read French newspapers etc

Avoid English clubs etc. Why come to France to be in a little island of English.

Do something to aid the community. I worked for Resto du Coeur a volunteer - I made friends and learnt about the horrors of being poor / sdf in France. At a minimum offer to help local school children with their English homework.

Invite neighbours etc for apéros. Don't expect return invitations immediately, it might take a year for that! Just keep on inviting people and tell them how much you enjoy living in France.

DejW

dmu

I did this when my two were at school and their friends' parents paid me for this coaching. On the other hand, no one took advantage of free help offered via a local Association!
Be aware that, for Collégiens and Lycéens who are there in order to improve their marks, you need to know all the French Grammatical terms to be able to explain what their teacher didn't get through to them in class.

DEJW

Yes, I agree. The "English" taught in French schools uses some very. technical words for tenses etc.

I am shocked that French children are not taught the difference between "can" and "may" perhaps I am old fashioned?

DejW

dmu

Ummmm. Do English people always use the correct term? From what I gather (I've been away too long from the UK to know), it's doubtful, unless they learn German or another language where there's definitely a difference between "able to" and "allowed to". There's also the difference between "may" and "might" which is a nightmare to explain.

Ka Ora!

Rarely but when have text books ever moved as quickly as culture, If the public had a referendum on Grammar most of it would get toss'd out. Plus the Internet has produced a generation that likes the upset folk on top of those that are plain stupid

dennerlymum

LOL I agree with you but as a team coordinator of 30 English trainers, I am in the minority..none of the young ones use this today!

AliMar

Hello Sashma, (and Teatree too) I also live not too far from Evreux, more towards Rouen, and would also love a cup of tea!! I have a few friends in Evreux I can introduce you to, there are quite a few of us actually :-)

Tea tree

Hello AliMar (and Sashma also).
It seems that Evreux is the place to be then ! Where has everyone been hiding. LOL. Tea, cake and a natter seem to be a great idea.
Have you been enjoying your time in Eure? We find the area interesting and always enjoy our time there when we 'come over'. Due another visit this month.