Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph of the current book you are reading.
Catherine Berry is a lover of France like me and her family actually moved to France for a year. That's what her book But You Are in France, Madame is about. I have to admit that the title confuses me a little bit because I'm not sure where to put the emphasis, like were they lost and someone said, "But you are in France, Madame." Or did she want to do something the way the Australians do it and someone said, "But you are in France, Madame." There are just so many places to put the emphasis. Here's the intro from Chapter 1.
Thanks for visiting and I look forward to seeing what everyone else is reading."Congratulations, you are Italian!"
"That's all I have to do to get my Italian passport? It's that easy?" my husband replied.
"No, now we do the paperwork!" Grinning widely, the embassy official rose from behind the counter to hug and kiss my husband, resulting in a spectacular near miss of cultural proportions.
And so began the paperwork, lots of it...and the spiral of confusion (ours), smiling affability at our confusion (theirs) and hours waiting in the embassy queue, just to be told why the documents we had been instructed to find at the previous visit were no longer the right ones.
Time was running out for us. We had been talking about our year in France for years, family and friends were worn down with cheering us along from the sidelines of our hurdle-strewn marathon to the airport tarmac. My husband and I, both Australian-born, but of European descent, knew that if our family's French adventure were to be anything more than a three-month touristy jaunt, we would need extra documents. Either my husband had to get his Italian passport, or I had to have a British one approved. Both seemed an even better option; hence his misleadingly optimistic exchange above.
11 comments:
Just the idea of all that paperwork is so off-putting, but when the dream is there, I'm sure that you must push ahead, taking it a step at a time.
Thanks for sharing...and here's mine: “SEND IN THE CLOWNS”
I really enjoy Catherine Berry's blog. Haven't started the book yet.
My son and his family have talked about living abroad for a year or so, but they've never pursued it. This would be a great book for them. I think I'd enjoy it too.
My Tuesday post features A MAN CALLED OVE.
Ha! Had to laugh when he wondered if it were just that easy.
Paperwork and bureaucracy can be daunting, but it sounds like this might turn out to be a great adventure!
I think I'd read a bit more before deciding (not sure yet). Hope u r enjoying this one.
I like the cover but France doesn't interest me, sorry ;( so I would probably pass.
Anything involving paperwork has the potential to be frustrating! Hope this is a great read for you.
Now I am confused, are they in france or another country trying to sort their passage to france? I guess I must read the book 😊 I am not reading a book but you can read my blog on our life here http://france-ourlifeinfrance.blogspot.fr
Like the cover. I would read.
This chapter takes place before our departure from Australia and, yes, the process of extricating our family of five from one life and inserting ourselves into another was daunting. But, as we had hoped, it was an unforgettable family adventure. Sandra, I honestly feel that these years (our one year turned into 3 1/2) were our gift to our children. I'd be more than happy to chat over the miles with your son. Thanks Paulita for featuring 'But you are in France, Madame' on your blog.
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