12 months and counting...

I was chatting with my sister on Skype and she mentioned that she thinks I seem to have found everything my heart desired since I moved to France because I sound so contented in my blog.

Have I found it then? Here in the South of France? A lot of my friends tell me the same - that I seem so much happier now. Well, I guess I am - even though I gripe about being "stuck" in Hicksville a.k.a Tarbes and I tell my friends back home that I live in a "kampung"  (malay for village) Tarbes is actually not a bad place to be as I've come to realize.

When Fred first told me that he would NEVER live in a city again after Kuala Lumpur, I was devastated. I was a through and through city girl, I even loved being stuck in traffic in KL, listening to music and taking a slow drive home after work.

Moving to "rural" France was a big change for me - I was never going to get stuck in massive traffic jams on a daily basis, there was no need to spend hours waiting for administrative work in goverment offices, I no longer need to allocate extra time to get from point A to point B, no need to rush anywhere or drive like a maniac (though I sometimes still do fall back into that nasty KL driving habit...). On top of that there is that pesky language barrier.

12 months on, I have to say that I love the fact that Tarbes is so close to the Pyrenees mountains and the pretty villages in between and Tarbes is also close to the sea which I love! There are so many places to explore, all within an hour's drive from here.

When we were exploring the idea of moving to Auch or Agen (Fred was going to go into partnership with a friend to open his own hairdressing salon in either of these 2 towns) I was happy at the thought of leaving Tarbes as both Auch & Agen are closer to Toulouse. But as the moving date came closer and we were told that Agen was likely going to be our new home, we began to look at Agen more closely and found that we didn't like Agen at all. Smaller than Tarbes and hours away from the sea and mountains - though it is only an hour from Toulouse; but how often would I be visiting Toulouse, unless I get a job there?

After much prayers it seems that we are destined to stay in Tarbes. Fred's project with Eric may take a longer time as they explore places nearby Tarbes. Furthermore, in and around Tarbes & Pau, Fred will be able to keep busy with his coifure domicile business as there are many people here looking for english speaking hairdressers.

So, come July, we will enrol Lucas into a maternelle here in Tarbes and we are currently searching for a new home. On my part I am checking the pole emploi website periodically, looking for a part time job ( I won't start working full time until Lucas goes to school full time; probably in a couple of years) to keep me in style and to get me out of the home without Lucas.

12 months on, I realize that I have truly given up my life and career back in Malaysia for a better life here in France. My son is going to grow up French, although he will not forget his chinese roots as we will be keeping with my chinese traditions. Lucas will be bi-lingual for now, and I will start him on the chinese language next year.

12 months on, I have built another life for myself in my newly adopted country, made new friends and have learnt how to get by watching American TV series dubbed in French (with french subtitles to boot!).

Foodwise the jury is still out on pate, haricot Tarbais, rillette and saucisson but I love ratatouille and the occassional magret de canard (funny how I hardly eat any duck except for peking duck in KL and I am eating duck here now...). I still miss a lot of Malaysian food but thank God for my parents and friends who send me Malaysian food!

12 months on, being in France in the midst of an economy crisis (Malaysia is too sheltered that its people are wearing blinders) I have learnt to be thankful and not take things like food, work, transportation and shelter for granted. Being exposed to refugees who have fled their countries and the others who have come to France to look for a better life made me realize how much we had when we were in Malaysia and how much I took for granted what we have here in France.

These 12 months I spent with Lucas as a SAHM is priceless. Sure there were some sacrifices to be made but I was here for every milestone, for every tear, for every new word, for every hug, for every new taste, for every tantrum and for every laugh.

Everyday spent with Lucas fills me with undescribable joy, even when he's being naughty. None of this would have been possible had we stayed back in Malaysia