First Impressions of Canada

My name is Marie. I am 33 years old and I come from Bordeaux, located in the southwest of France. I was born and raised in France. French is my native language; however, I know a little bit of English from watching American movies and television with subtitles. I am coming to Canada with my husband and two children, ages 5 and 7. My husband was transferred to Vancouver for his job. We plan to be in Vancouver for 3-5 years, but there is a chance that this move may be permanent.

In Bordeaux, I worked full-time as a real estate agent, but will not be able to work in this field while in Vancouver. To be licensed as a real estate agent in British Columbia, I would need to meet the English-language proficiency requirements, and I do not meet these requirements. My university degree is from the Université Montesquieu - Bordeaux IV, taught entirely in French, and I have never completed any coursework in English.

I am excited and nervous to live in a different country, as I have only ever lived in France. I will try to learn more English while I am here; however, it is comforting to know that French is also an official language for Canada. I’ve even found so far that all products that I can buy from the store are labelled in French and English, which is very helpful. I am doing my best to read only the English descriptions on the products and only looking at the French when I am stuck. I have learned a lot of new words this way and it also helps that a lot of words are the same in English and French!

My children are starting school right away, so I do worry that I will lonely and bored during the day, as this is the time that I would normally be working; however, my husband’s company is paying for my English-language training while I am here, so I will have my daily classes to keep me busy for at least half of the day. His company has recommended a program that they send all of their employees to who are transferring to their Vancouver office from offices in non-English speaking countries. I look forward to meeting the other students in the class and hopefully meeting some new people.