Anyone who has known me for at least more than an hour knows for sure that it has been my lifelong dream to live in France for reasons that reason itself cannot fathom and every day the desire grows and grows and I get shut down more and more but I still keep going and going because good things happen to those who hustle.
Here are the steps I've taken so far:
Look for a job in France:
- googles how to get a job in France
- finds out it's hard as fudge.
Find a job in UAE that has a main office in France:
- request for transfer after some time
- can't even find a job that has a main office in the backstreets of Abu Dhabi (at the time)
I've been working on this for moooonths, and I almost have everything ready except for the show-money that the embassy is asking for:
Become a Master's student in France:
- found a student loan provider
- found a school that uses English as Teaching Medium, though I speak French it's not enough to keep up with a classroom pace
- student loan provider does not cover living expenses
- called all banks in UAE and the Philippines for weeeeks- came up zilch
- called banks in France - can't do that without a guarantor in France
- thought of trying find a job in France while studying - you have to bring the full amount you will be needing in your stay there.
- looked for scholarships and grants - not much are available to Filipino students, none are available to Filipino students living in the UAE
- save up! salary will never suffice for the fees needed to be paid
- don't want to ask family and relatives for help, we are just trying to survive
Latest development as of today:
Become an Au Pair in France
- look for a host family
- take a medical exam
- buy tickets
- get a visa
- go to France
- enroll for french language classes and converse with host family (immersion is the best way to learn a language)
- stay one year
- enroll for a Master's degree in a cheaper university because can already speak French
- extend stay and get residence permit
- work while studying, graduate, get a real job in France
- take family to a country that supports its elderly after years of providing service and slaving away in a company where when close to retiring after 27 years strips its people off of the merits it once promised. Leaving their people with no choice but to just accept their fate that they have been cheated and will continue to be cheated.
I know that France will not be my road to Utopia, and these steps do not even include all the tears I've cried and all the hardships I've had to go through to try and make all of the above work because I did, and got burnt and denied left and right, but for now I am at peace with the idea that I will not only be helping myself but my family too, and God-willing I'd be able to help my future children too to be set for life and be able to travel, study and do whatever their little hearts please - I apply sustainable development in every area of my life haha - it doesn't hurt that in this very moment their would-be father is a French boy too <3
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Toodles for now and wish me luck!
Love and Light,
Sarah, the _____ ;)
Wishing you best of luck my dear sara. Saan ka po ng nag aral ng french language mam?
Nung college po, sa lyceum pero mostly through movies, apps and music po. Download duolingo, it's my best friend <3 hehe thank you so much!
Ay thank you din po sa info. Yes mam, nka punta na rin po ako sa france through aupair/nanny. Dinala ako ng alaga ko noon mam. Sana mag grant ung wish mo po. X
thank you so much po! may agency po ba kayo na dinaanan?
Wala po direct hired mam.
Go you @sarahwanderlust. From an outsider's perspective, I would say that you're DEFINITELY on your way to getting there. Clearly you're putting in the time and effort that is required. And although it is tough and not easy, I'm sure you're learning a ton and making small movements forward.
I know you'll break through - keep doing it. One day a year or two from now you'll be sipping a cafe right beside the champs elysees with your french amoureux, feeling much gratitude for your past self who did all this epic work to get here.
Awesome post!
And on a similar topic, I wrote about the concept of why its really helpful to not succeed right away. You might find it interesting considering your situation! I'd love to hear your thoughts about it: This Is Why NOT Succeeding Early On Is The Best Thing For You
This comment actually made my tears form a pool in my eyes, this was heart-warming and soul-igniting as your description says. thank you so much for believing, if you, a stranger can believe in me it makes me want to believe in more in myself. I'm following you now, and am on my way reading your post.
You're awesome :)
It's good to have dreams, but you should also look beyond the romantic hype aimed at tourists. To avoid disappointment, try to look behind the scenes: find out how ordinary French people think, and how they feel about the changes in their country.
France is super expensive, and ordinary, hardworking people can see their country changing beyond recognition.
Learning Chinese is not such a bad option: #learnchinese