Merci beaucoup to everyone who tuned in for my first live video today! This project is extremely close to my heart and something I’ve truly wanted to share in some format for the last four years.
Over the last five years I've spent in Paris getting to know a community of fellow expats here, I have found each person so inspiring and interesting - always for different reasons. What you quickly learn is that there is no "one reason" that brought us to Paris, no "one way," to make the move abroad, and no "one way" to make it work once you're here, and that's why I want to share with you the real stories of the people of have done it, and stayed long enough to tell the tale.
But I have noticed among our many conversations it's always the same questions that come up among us expats when we first meet each other.
1 - How long have you been here? (Un)
2 - What made you come? (Deux)
3- What made you stay? (Trois)
These three questions (un, deux, trois,) are what I'll be asking a series of guests throughout the year, as we dig into their personal Paris stories, and how their path crossed with mine, so you can learn more about the reality of life abroad in France.
My first guest was very special, not only because she is my best friend in Paris, but because this was actually more of an exit interview, of sorts. Adrienne Ryser, originally from San Diego and current owner of Paris’ most beautiful flower shop, L’Arrosoir is leaving Paris at the end of this week after ten years here. She is moving to Norway with her beautiful family and continue to expand her business there, opening L’Arrosoir Oslo.
If you have any questions about this conversation with Adrienne, you can ask me in the chat!
I am so excited for her and the incredible adventures ahead, but of course, I also cannot imagine Paris without her. I have an essay in my drafts in which I am grasping to articulate just how much I am going to miss her daily physical presence here. I have always shared the best parts of life abroad, and not held back from sharing the hard parts either. We briefly talk about it in this live video, but losing friends (who are really our “family” abroad ) is absolutely one of the most difficult things expats deal with. This is the first time that I’m really going through it, and honestly - I’ve cried about this more than I ever did over any breakup! There’s no way to explain just how hard it is if you haven’t lived it. I’ll continue to (tearfully) edit that essay and will hopefully be ready to share that with you soon.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy our conversation.
x
Anna
