BRUNO

Dear Helen, I will be in Paris Tomorow afternoon for 1 night staying at the Hotel de L'occean, web = http://www.hotel-occean-paris.com i'll post a quick message on my return to let you know how it was. we are paying EURO117.00 for a single, which i guess is very good. I never stayed there before, location is good in the 9th arr. between republique, montmartre and opera, and not too far from Gare du nord - according to the web site. I think your choice would be suited to your arrival train station unless you enjoy a few metros with your luggage. And just to show off a bit....i'm moving onto the Normandy Barriere hotel in Deauville from Wednesday afternoon until Sunday ah bliss!!!!am looking forward to great norman food!!!!!!

Hello irishfamily, >Is there anyone who was in >the same position as we >find ourselves in ? any >help and advice would be >greatfully appreciated. My circumstances where a little different in the fact that our family moved from France to the UK (early 80's) when i was 8 and my brother 10. However you are getting the perspective from the "Kid" rather than an adult, so to speak! >1) How quickly did the younger >children get a confident grasp >of the language ? It was difficult for a short time, i would say 6 months, we went straight to an english speaking school and thus had no other solution than to pick up the language, we had a lot of fun learning English at that age! We also had extra tutoring which took place whilst classmates where doing sport -NOT a good idea - i am no good at team sports at all!! >2) Were they confused between learning >English before and now learning >French ? A bit yes, but quite honestly at that age i think the language is not your biggest concern, but rather monitoring their development in other subjects, our teachers when we fist arrived in the UK, reported that we had advanced levels of mathematics, history, geography, grammar etc. than our classmates. It may or may not be the case that you will be able to help in these matters depending on your French skills, so your children do not get a bit lost/confused and stay on track. BTW - both my brother and i spoke fluent English within three years that includes smart remarks, slang, and lost any trace of a French accent. By continuing both English and French at higher levels i now speak Both like a native. >3) Did they feel alienated at >school being 'foreign'? No never, we where quite the center of attention, particularly from the girls! >4) Being so young they will >learn through the French education >system, but do they then >not know how to read >and write in English or >do they study English privately I guess that is up to you, in our case i did my French GCSE at 13, and my A Level at 15. I would imagine that you will probably speak a good deal of English at home, it is worth continuing with English, one reason i can thnk of is that they may want to go back to their roots later on in life (like i am doing by going back to France 20 odd years after leaving, and i'm glad my French is very good) >5) Anyone recommend a good school >in the La Roche sur >Yon (85 - Vendee) area I'm sorry i Cannot. >Any advice please ! Whatever you decide to do good luck, and although i strongly believe that intergration is very important, you should never let your kids forget where their real roots lie, because you just never know what can happen in the future, not only will they be better equipped but they will have more choices in life as to what country they want to live etc. I can rest assured that i always have the choice of calling both the UK and France home, since my parents made sure we where forever in touch with our native France. I wonder what other posters have or are doing with their kids regarding this? i think i'll post a new thread later. regards,

>Being an artist, the place I >dream of most(to quote Tony >Hancock) is Paris. I've >recently been told I should >go for it , and >not regret what I don't >do, and as I've wanted >to live in paris since >I was 5, I think >maybe, I should stop the >excuses and go for it. > The thing is, with >not much money, I was >more for buying a small(very) >apartment/bedsit to use at weekends, >but other people tell me >i should rent. I've >heard that every rented apartment >that comes up has at >least 30 potential 'rentees' and >it was easier to buy, >and just wondered what other >people thought. If I >was to get a place, >it would be in the >Montpernasse/Montmarte/St Germain areas as i >did a bit of looking >last time I went, and >you can get a bedsit(suitable >for weekend visits) for 20,000. >(Which I haven't exactly got, >but if anyone wants to >loan me the money??????only joking!!!) > All comments would be >very welcome. hi i sent you an email.

Yes i also found the site last week, i think the link was posted on here. I found a few articles to be of interest, in the Family + education and housing pages to name a couple. It has a slight Americanism feel to it, and all in all makes an interesting read. bruno (49)