Well I'm here
 

Ok well I'm here after a long flight i am slowly recovering from the jet lag. I have left my computer charger at home on the dining table so it has taken me until now to sort out internet.
OH has gone off to Paris for a meeting ...so I have time now to take a few deep breaths and write my thoughts.
I arrived in Montpellier last thursday and was immediately taken by the place it is a lovely city with fantastic variety of shops etc and was pleased to discover that general things like eating out ...clothes and shoes etc are on a par for cost with Australia .....having browsed thru the fruit ad veg market ..I would have to say that the fruit and veg was better quality than home and much cheaper ...I am yet to check out other forms of food ...all in all my first impressions were good and I was really looking forward to checking out the bilingual school in Baillargue ............Our interview lasted 7 minutes .....I think it was within the first 3 mins that it was suggested that we leave our 15 year old daughter home in australia at boarding school and from that point on things went downhill fast ......suffice to say the children won't be going there.With the school in Baillargue off the agenda ...I am now in Perpignan about to start my research here as OH's office is only 20 mins from here ...it makes sense to consider this as our base and see what it has to offer.
The one thing I am certain of is that I will have to learn the language. My enthusiasm for the task is a little depleted at the moment as I am currently suffering from vertigo....if anyone knows what i can take to help this please let me know ....its driving me bonkers. Anyway enough for now will post more later.

Cheers
Kate

Re: Well I'm here
 

In line with what is good form I think it only appropriate to welcome you to France Kate. Sounds like a very odd interview with the school! Now if they had suggested an English boarding school at least one might have taken them seriously! No suggestions for vertigo other than a good few days and nights rest. :)
T

Re: Well I'm here
 

treskillard ..thank you and it was the most bizarre interview I have ever been to!!!!

Re: Well I'm here
 

Bienvenue a France!

Welcome and good luck with everything :thumbsup: hope the weather stays lovely for you and you find your feet on terrafirma really soon, sorry about the vertigo, I sometimes suffer from it too.
xx

Re: Well I'm here
 

:) Hi Kate, sounds like you have hit the ground running ..... I agree what a strange interview! Why would they think you would want to be separated from your children it would be my idea of a nightmare:huh: Interesting post about Montpelier it sounds nice and hope you find a school u like soon.

Re: Well I'm here
 

Hi Kate
good to hear your news, have been wondering how things were going.
I know what you mean about schools. When we first arrived, we travelled across to Lille to check one out. After a 7 hour drive, it took us just minutes to know there was no way we'd send the children there.
Have you checked out sous contrat schools - there are quite a few in Montpellier.
can't wait to hear the next installment - good luck and hope the vertigo passes and you enjoy the rest of your trip. Does red wine help!
Val

Re: Well I'm here
 

Thanks everyone .........I will test out the red wine theory tonight .....the vertigo will no doubt clear up just as I am about to leave......Ihave enjoyed a day shoppng today in Perpignan checking out all the different clothing shops for Molly my 15 year old fashion addict...she will love it here as there is just so much variety ........I managed to buy myself lunch and coffee without to much diffculty and picked up some brouchures on sport in perpignan for someone to translate for me tomorrow. It will be back to the serious business of house and school hunting tomorrow .

Cheers

Re: Well I'm here
 

I'm looking at Montpellier for one probably destination - keep me updated on how it is there!

Re: Well I'm here
 

Welcome Kate and it can only get better! Seriously, we have a 12 year old daughter who would love a pen pal if your fille is not too old to have a younger pal?

We are presently in North of France but are intending to move to the SW region in January, not too far from Perpignan possibly.

Hope the jet lag gets better soon, it is bound to after a while.:sneaky:

Chin up and good luck

Re: Well I'm here
 

Hi need2no I will PM you with our home email address for the children to correspond....I am really liking Perpignan and the villages around it ....the rentals seem quite high but have seen some nice ones and some very bad ones but all in all an OK experience......I am still having some serious reservations about my children intergrating successfully but I am sure this is just a normal feeling.
Anyway now that I have my computer working and fully charged I will post some more on my experiences soon.....I need to do some work now before it gets too late at home in Oz for them to answer my emails.

Cheers Kate

Re: Well I'm here
 

Hi Kate
good to hear your trip is going well. Don't underestimate the children. I am sure they will be fine.
I'm flying back on Friday - can't wait, although the last few weeks have gone so quickly and the weather has been fantastic. It's going to be 28 degs today and lovely sunshine:D
good luck with the rest of the trip
Val

Re: Well I'm here
 

Hi everyone
Well I found out today what they mean when they say Perpignan can be windy.
It is blowing a gale and it is icy, by the time I had walked into the city centre from our hotel my hands were really cold ......and the wind was blowing so hard I couldn't read my map but I still found what I was looking for.
My quest to find a school is still a work in progress .....and we have more or less decided that the best thing to do would be to enrol the two older children in French language school for a couple of months of intensive french and then let them begin in the French school system .....the stumbling block for most places seems to be our arriving in the middle of a school year. Which I will admit is not ideal......why the australian system can't be the same as the rest of the world is now a question I find myself taking more notice of!!!! I have an appointment on Monday to look at a private catholic college so hopefully this will be fruitful.
I have suffered a couple of nasty bouts of missing the children which took me by surprise but with a few small successes with organising our french life I am recovering well......the vertigo is improving too.....
Like everyone says I am finding that if I make an effort to use some french most places I've been take pity on me and try to speak english.....I can now order the coffee I like and can pick out on the menu something to eat without getting snails or frogs legs:D
Well enough of my waffle ....we are going to Grenoble on the weekend to visit friends ...it will be interesting to see the country side north of here.

Kate

Re: Well I'm here
 

Just to add (having read the thread on gun licenses)I too am surprised by the lack of birdlife ....but the village we are hoping to live in has the most beautiful park with a lake full of ducks .....which no doubt Georgia will love to feed.
The other thing that has surprised me is the size of the dogs that people keep here in Perpignan in apartments ........it means i shall lose the argument with the children about not being able to have a dog as we have no yard.:blink:

Re: Well I'm here
 

Hi Kate,
I was wondering how you were getting on. Found your thread and it seems you have done a lot since you arrived. Are you still in Perpignan, or did you return to Aussie to pack everything up?
Did you find a good school after all? I'm sure everything will fall into place once you get here and settle in.
I went down to the region in October to look around, and loved the areas around Narbonne and Beziers. I hope to find somewhere to settle down there next spring. I will be looking for a long term rental after May 2008.

Hope you keep in touch with this forum, and here's a link to another local Languedoc forum you might find helpful.
http://languedoc.angloinfo.com/forum/

I sympathise about the virtigo, I had this on my first trip to Australia to visit my brother over there. I think it was in part due to dehydration, so suggest that on future trips you drink lots of water and no alcohol on the flight. There are also some special earplugs for flying which reduce the effect of changes in pressure in take-off and landing. They are made by Quies.

Best wishes, and good luck.
Airgemi - aka Adrienne

Re: Well I'm here
 

Hi Kate-I still live in the Uk but my OH and I hope to move over next year-best of luck to you and your family and I hope you settle in,on the Vertigo note I have suffered twice from this and can sympathise with you,I was prescibed tablets will no effect at all,both times it has just dissappeared on it's own so it may well be just a case of waiting and hopeing it goes.
Denise