I Moved To France During The COVID-19 Pandemic. Here's Why.
I never felt more at home when I first visited France in 2019. It was instantly my answer to the question “Which country is your dream country?”.
With that said; on October 6, 2020 - I left Saint Lucia. Up, up, and away! I flew from Saint Lucia to Martinique, then to France.
I arrived a few weeks later than I would’ve liked to, but sometimes, there are some things that we just can’t control, right? Things were slow and out-of-order with the whole covid-19 situation, but nonetheless, I settled in smoothly. This smooth transition was all thanks to my family and (thankfully) the amazing support from my wonderful team at the college here in France. I am lucky.
When I arrived, I wanted nothing more than to take a shower. A nice, long, warm shower. So I did. It’s easy to forget how tiring travel can be if you don’t do it regularly. After my shower, I also wanted nothing more than to drop onto the hotel bed. So I did. At that point, it wasn’t long before my stomach reminded me that I last ate over 6 hours ago, so I needed to get something to eat- pronto. So I did.
I spent the rest of my arrival evening in bed, watching TV and thinking about my new stage of life in France.
The next morning, before being picked up by one of my colleagues, I had breakfast in the city of Lille with two other assistants, one from Italy 🇮🇹 and one from Guatemala 🇬🇹 , those who shaped the initial goal of wanting to meet more assistants. So I did.
On the drive to the next place that I’d call home, my colleague and I spoke a bit about my trip, then we continued getting to know each other as she pointed out places of interest to me. Snap-snap went my slightly photographic memory. During the hour-long drive, I was mainly paying deep attention to the various signs with the names of the neighboring towns that we could’ve driven off to. I was trying to connect the dots in my mind, linking them to what I’d studied on the map prior to arriving. I always do this when I travel or go somewhere new.
So, what made it irresistible for me to leave home and move to France alone?
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I reached a point in life where something within me demanded change.
I was definitely lucky to have had all that I did at the time- family, support, guidance, and more. However, there was also an eagerness to accept this type of opportunity. For me, it was like “unlocking another stage of life”. I had also never lived alone for more than 2 weeks, so this was definitely something to look forward to.
Being 20 years old at the time of applying for the position in 2019, I was quite thrilled at the possibility of being able to return to France, but of course, naturally, I thought about me having to leave my family. However, the decision to apply and to accept the offer was not a difficult one. I did have to weigh all possibilities, particularly during these COVID times. This was something I discussed in depth with my parents.
The decision was left to me... along with accepting the subsequent consequences.
