Forums » France » South Africans in France

• renskeinparis

  
   

  May 17, 2009 8:34:40 PM CEST

  Hello,
  my name is Renske and i am originally from south africa, currently living in london, and will be moving to paris by the end of july 2009. probably permanently.
  I am currently going for french lessons but am only at a beginners level and i am very aware of the fact that once i am in paris it will be very difficult to find work not being able to speak fluent french.
  
  any advice would be much appreciated! and although 1 out of 10 londoners are south african, i doubt this will be the case in Paris. are there any worth while organizations for south africans in paris?
  
  i also realise for the first 2 years in Paris i will not be furthering my career, but rather focussing on learning and mastering french. however if there is anybody there who knows of an architect firm looking for an architect in paris who can speak english, afrikaans, a reasonable amount of dutch and very little french (lol!!) please let me know.
  
  looking forard to any response
  renske
• craigmorganfra

  
   

  May 25, 2009 11:34:10 AM CEST

  Hi Renske
  
  You should visit the website of the Fusac magazine (www.fusac.fr) which is the most well established job seeking/offering tool for "anglophones" who speak little, if any, french.
  
  It is imperative that you learn french, and quick! "L'institut Parisien" is a good choice for intensive french lessons.
  
  Cheers
  gogga
  
  
  

  renskeinparis (May 17 2009, 06:34 PM) said: > original post
  Hello,
  my name is Renske and i am originally from south africa, currently living in london, and will be moving to paris by the end of july 2009. probably permanently.
  I am currently going for french lessons but am only at a beginners level and i am very aware of the fact that once i am in paris it will be very difficult to find work not being able to speak fluent french.
  
  any advice would be much appreciated! and although 1 out of 10 londoners are south african, i doubt this will be the case in Paris. are there any worth while organizations for south africans in paris?
  
  i also realise for the first 2 years in Paris i will not be furthering my career, but rather focussing on learning and mastering french. however if there is anybody there who knows of an architect firm looking for an architect in paris who can speak english, afrikaans, a reasonable amount of dutch and very little french (lol!!) please let me know.
  
  looking forard to any response
  renske

  
  
  
• mishmoo

  
   

  September 4, 2009 12:25:29 AM CEST

  Hi....
  
  Yay another new Safa in Paris... Whoohoo! So excited!
  I just got here with my terrible french mid August and I'm slowly settling in.
  
  Unfortunately I can't help you in the careers part- but I have found a few interesting groups which will definitely help you with the social side of life.
  Try www.polyglot-learn-language.com and www.meetup.com. The first was a great way to meet new people who are eager to learn english or afrikaans in exchange for helping you with french.... Its also a great way to practice any other language that you are learning. The second site is from a friend. I plan to try one of the meetings this weekend or perhaps next week- its expat brits, ozzies, americans and canadians- so you can relax with some english for a while.
  
  Hope this helped.
  
  M