Name: Van
Country: Vietnam 🇻🇳
How Moved to France 🇫🇷: For studies
University:
Aix-Marseille University (Master in Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services)
IAE Paris-Est (Master in Marketing)
Being an expat is not that easy. Let me present you Van - my close friend for many years. Today she works as a Product Manager at Here Technologies and enjoys Parisian life. But several years ago it was not that easy... Why did she decide to move to France, what does she think about the French lifestyle and how does it feel to be an expat? This is a real story with all the beautiful and hard moments... I hope it will inspire you.
Timecodes:
00:00 Why we decided to share our experience in France
02:40 "I am ready for this and I am strong enough to deal with it"
03:17 There are no problems, only exciting adventures
05:40 Let's get started
06:15 Who is Van?
06:28 Which scholarship did she get?
07:19 Where did she study?
07:28 How long was she looking for a job in France?
08:33 Where did she start working?
9:18 Communications in an international environment
10:59 Speaking three languages every day - confusing moments
15:25 Why did Van choose France for her studies?
17:04 The Importance of Diploma in France
19:11 Is it necessary to speak French?
21:14 Cultural differences: French art de vivre
25:05 When your internet is broken in Vietnam vs France
26:06 Paris is a slow or fast city?
30:14 "We are living in slow motion"
31:04 35-hour work week in France - is it a myth?
34:43 Family Relationships in Asia vs Europe
38:56 A piece of advice to those who want to come to France
Van shares her Experience of Studying in France
Elina: Please tell us a bit about yourself and your life in France
Van: Hi, my name is Van; I came here, eight years ago in September, and first I arrived in France because I want to study for my master's and I got a scholarship to get here and my plan was to spend one or two years here primarily for traveling and to having fun and enjoying life in France not much about studying but then that two years turns out to be eight years in the end and I don't see the end of it no maybe there will be a period you know where I might move to another country, but for now it's been adorable, sweet sometimes bittersweet eight years, and so I came here to study I studied marketing I did two masters in marketing since then, and then I started working after I graduate so eight months in between for looking for jobs eight months. It's tough when you're looking for jobs in communications; marketing is part of that as well, so it's more complex. It wants to be, you know, to sound like it was a difficult journey. Still, it's different than an entire eight months, so during those eight months, sometimes I'm looking for jobs for three months, and then I run out of money. Then, I started to work to earn enough money to keep me alive for another month, and then I went back to job searching. Hence, it's not a continuous eight months looking for jobs, and then after that, I got a job offer from a design agency, which is pretty good. It's a small firm, a French company. I worked there for nearly two months, and then I got another job offer to work for a multinational company, and for me, that is always, you know, what I've been wanting. I'm feeling more familiar with that kind of environment. I'm not sure if you know, I'm tough enough to be in an all-French company anyway, so it was awkward, but it was the right choice, and I've been working there for five years now.
Elina: So now you're working in an international company, and your team is also global, or do you still have many French colleagues?
Van: The people I work with are not French, but I have really nice colleagues. The people I work with most regularly are German, American Indian, and from Singapore, so it's multinational. My team has around 10 or 11 nationalities. I mean, you have 24 hours a day if you speak English, then you cannot speak French, so yeah, I miss speaking French when I'm in France. I think many people like me work in multinational companies and, like you, articulate your thoughts in English, but then articulating my emotions has to be in my native language or in French. Hence, it's like simultaneously dealing with multiple spaces, nationalities, and personalities.
Elina: how do you deal with it? Is it like you feel like your brain is switching every time, or are you combining your culture French culture, like English-speaking culture
Van: Yeah, I think I mess it up sometimes, and I'm afraid that people don't like it, but I can't do otherwise. For example, the other day, I was talking to my colleagues in English, and I wanted to say that I was so busy I was "sous l'eau," but I didn't say sous l'eau; I said, I'm underwater, and I wonder whether it exists, then I look for it and in English, and it doesn't mean the same thing, so I unconsciously choose words. There is a lot of miscommunication. It always happens, and I don't know how to deal with it.
Elina: actually, it's exciting because neither French nor English is your native language, so it means as your brain translates from one foreign language to another foreign language
Van: I knew at the beginning that I was making a mistake, but at this stage, I don't know if I was saying the right or wrong thing because this was automatic. People need to be very generous with people speaking multiple languages, especially regarding meaning and stuff, because it's not perfect, it's terrible, and sometimes, it can be insulting and irritating. And I hope people will be generous with us and ask questions to clarify. Yeah, when you feel that is weird, so really ask questions.
Studying in France: The Importance of a Diploma
Elina: I have a question about your studies. You told me you came here and got your scholarship, but why did you choose France? Were you thinking just about studying abroad and, like, you chose a program that you wanted, or just really you wanted to go to France, and then you started to look for master's programs?
Van: So I was 23 years old at that time, and that is when I had a choice whether I go work directly or I spend a few years abroad to travel and to have more experience, so I chose the latter one, and for me, it doesn't matter where I will be I want to have experiences and with the least cost as possible you know so I applied for several scholarships, and I got one with the France government they're very generous to that, and you know they give scholarships and they give living fees as well so to support. I got one that was 1100 per month for the first year, and then the second year it was like that, but yeah, it's just generous, and so my parents didn't have to give me anything for me to go to France. It's like, so yeah, that is the reason.
Elina: Do you think that the fact that you started in France and you did your master's degree in a French university helped you find a job in France?
Van: Yes, having a French degree in French is essential. Please graduate from a good school you know from the top schools. I was graduating from an okay school, so I struggled a bit, but people must look into that. I didn't have much expectations for me to be able to find a job here because my master's school was not like a top school. I found a career in marketing communications, so it's hard even, but you know, after all, I find that there are always exceptions. There are always recruiters looking only partially at your education, but they also talk to you. They are looking for qualities, so I was lucky to find one like that. It's rare, but I think they exist. It's essential to make the process easier to have a good start in terms of schools and rankings, but there's always a possibility of finding a job without graduating from one of the top schools.
Learning French in France
Elina: is it essential to speak French? From your experience, although your studies were in English, like during interviews, even for English-speaking positions, you're saying you are working in an international team. You speak English every day. Did they ask about your French? Did you talk to French during your interview?
Van: Yes, it is. I do. I need to speak French, as I need to take an entrance test. They want you to talk to French so that they can understand you better. Now that I'm working on my job, I realized that, okay, I don't use French at all, so the times have changed a little bit now we work from home. Companies hire people from everywhere, so companies with offices in France can look for talent elsewhere. The opportunities are more significant now because they are broader for English-speaking students. They want to communicate with you because they want you to feel integrated. I never speak English to my colleagues in the Paris office. It's essential. I think it's nice to understand that; I see no reason why if they can find someone who can work in English and can speak French, they will not choose that person, and there are people like that, so if you want to improve your how to say competitiveness better learn French.
Cultural Differences - French art de vivre
Elina: I'm very interested in your feelings about cultural differences at the beginning, probably during your studies and during your work experience
Van: I don't have much to say about work, but I do have this remark about the cultural differences regarding the lifestyle. So, I come from Vietnam, the capital of Hanoi. It's a hectic country, you know, a developing country, and so everything goes very fast and at incredible speed, and so I came to France, then you know that is the culture shock I have experienced in recent years is how slow life is here, I see it everywhere in France not in Paris people are slow in the in the countryside they are even slower and the more that I stay here the more I appreciate it and I think that is the part of the reason why I really love this country because they really take time to do things so last Christmas for example I was in the friend's place and they lived in the countryside in the south and there's her the grandparents and the grandkids come visit them during Christmas and we were coming back from the church Sunday morning and then I see this scene like the grandma is cooking in these old little kettle thing that looks really ancient and beside her so there's two kids one is seven one is nine they are looking they are they were sitting on this table is tiny small tables they are looking at the book with drawings actually it's the songs drawings of a song so a song book and the radio there is music and I entered the room and I see that scene and like the kids just like that reading and the singing to the book and they didn't have to say anything and to me that scene is like coming straight out of the 18th century you know like in my country I’ll see things like kids will look at their phones all the time and you know you have to yell at them like there's no peace like this and I know that this is not like in every house of course you visit parents like my friends or parents like they're all over the place but sometimes you just catch those moments that you really like this is happening it's really it's really slow so I think that you know they the kids they kind of be in that atmosphere unconsciously with their grandparents who are obviously very slow they take time to do everything so they kind of like have this sense that was nurtured within them to do things really slow and they have this book they taught kids like how to sit how to how to eat how what to do things like it's really traditional to me and I think that is beautiful.
Elina: Is it about French de vivre the art of living?
Van: Yeah, I think so. It is, and it is a contradiction from where I live. I mean, again, that scene that I've just told you is it's just probably doesn't happen a lot, but it is an excellent example of, you see, the contradiction that I bring here, so like in Vietnam, everything is very fast, and in France, they take a lot of time to like to have things fixed. Hence, it was like what people say that the best of the country is also always the worst, so I think France is best at this thing when you know, yeah, they enjoy, they take the time, they leave it slow, but it's really that slowness yeah that is really frustrating. There's always both sides of it. When I go to the U.S. and see how early people wake up and, for example, start working with Starbucks, people come and go just taking orders. It was a shock, and you know, when I have a date with my friend and say, like we get some coffee in the morning and of course, I go into the French right like oh what I'm going to order and then okay when it starts, and she was looking at me like you want to sit on its take away; we drink it on the way it's like in France they don't really do this. There is a vast difference between U.S. culture and American culture. It's swift there; you must leave this country to see that we live in slow motion. But I mean, this is great. I like it, I don't know if everybody likes it, but I think it's a great way to spend your time as I saw in the book another day, you know, they kind of rank how much time one person spends in their lives number one is sleeping, and number two is vacation and holidays, and that book was written in French. I don't believe it is the same case it was in, you know, in other countries but in France, like after sleeping it immediately holiday vacation, it's relaxing. We have to live here longer to see how society works when people spend so much time playing and, you know, enjoying and living life slowly.
Elina: You mentioned that the family is also essential in Asia but differs from France. What exactly is the difference?
Van: I think I'm still finding out. In Asia like the relationship between the children the kids and the parents kind of like last for life it doesn't end when you're 18 years old and you become independent most parts of the first 18 years of your life you're spending a lot with their parents similar to here and then after 18 the kids has kind of like this obligation to be nice to the parents to stay close to them to take care of them to even give kids for grandparents to take care of and that is the life of the parents when the kids are already they take care of the grandchildren; I think here you know after 18 you kind of the parents kind of move on with your life and then you start enjoying your life and the family bond I don't know it will be replaced by something else for Asian countries like the family bond is ongoing, I think that is a clear difference but you know inside of it the way that people care for each other I think is somehow similar Asian countries tend to be more intrusive I believe to participate a lot in your decisions and because they care because they feel that if they don't give you their opinions they don't care they feel bad about it I think here people really respect other people's lives you don't provide feedbacks you don't give comments when you're not asked to only if you're you know if you're asking like what are your thoughts on that then maybe you give opinions then but you don't feel bad if you don't provide the views on your kid's life or your cousin's life on your you know your life decision you live as you want to. Like in France, it's like a new life begins when you start your retirement, and in Asia country, the ideal image of grandparents is that you sit here. Then you drink tea and have many grandkids around, and they're playing around. Then you cook because we greatly respect older people in the family, so they have to be there in that picture, and they are not traveling. They have to stay there so people can show them respect, and you know you can take care of them, and they can take care of the children.
Advice to those who want to come to France
Elina: If there would be one piece of advice you could give to those who dream of coming to France and studying here and working here, what would it be like one tip?
Van: Wherever you are, and you want to find a job, you learn the language we use to communicate. You connect with people and try to explore things you know. Staying a learner and showing that you are sincerely interested in some companies is essential. It's not mainly in France; it's everywhere. To enjoy life in France is frustrating at the beginning, too, because you need more money, and you're not sure you will keep your visa to enjoy it next year. We need to be mentally prepared for the procedure and follow it. Like, I don't believe it; that's just too long. I tried some shortcuts, and in the end, it hurt me, so yeah, follow the procedure; things will arrive slowly, you know, like don't get impatient. Yeah, and for French people, they are fascinating people. They are sometimes not friendly people at the beginning. I don't know why; maybe they want to test personalities or something like that. Still, they're kind, funny, and creative from the inside. They know how to, you know, leave life, but yeah, so it takes time to get to see life until the people do as well. It's pretty easy.
🎥 Note: this video was filmed in March 2021
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