85- Rachel, expat américaine en Bretagne, une belle histoire d'intégration

Rachel, an American expat in Brittany, a beautiful story of integration

Rachel est une Américaine installée en Bretagne depuis 7 ans.

On ne se connait pas personnellement, et pourtant, Rachel s'est livrée en toute authenticité et vulnérabilité.

Et si tu veux en savoir plus sur ses retraites et ses ateliers :

• https://rachelcoudronevents.com/

• https://www.facebook.com/rachel.jennings1/

🔵⚪🔴 

✔️ Ma newsletter gratuite https://cours.avlingua.com/newsletter 

TRANSCRIPTION

Transcrit automatiquement avec Podsqueeze

Virginie 00:00:00 Aujourd'hui, j'accueille sur le podcast Rachel Caudron, fondatrice de RC Events. Rachel va nous parler de son parcours, de ce qui l'a amené à s'installer en France et de son expérience personnelle d'expat. Nous évoquerons les challenges qu'elle a rencontrés en arrivant ici en France, et notamment en Bretagne, et les stratégies qu'elle a mises en place pour s'intégrer. Rachel habite ici depuis sept ans et elle nous présentera également son travail en tant que créatrice d'événements, et plus particulièrement son super projet qui s'appelle Flourish et qui sont des retraites holistiques immersives. Rachel Bonjour tout. Béguin Could you please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about what about you too France?

Speaker 2 00:00:51 I've got.

Rachel Caudron 00:00:53 All. Thank you so much Virginie for having me here so are so lovely sad. My name is Rachel Caudron. I am the wife of my husband that I have married dry times over and I'm the mother of my beautiful wonderful daughter name Eleonore I am the CEO of Cauldron Curiosity where I Specialized rings and her club blood. Boucles d'oreilles et panse de cheveux. And also I am the CEO of Rachel Cadran event where I specialized in retreat in person and online Reiki workshops and I have two main products right now, which is my t advanced calendar and my herbal Remedy qualité for me.

Rachel Caudron 00:01:42 My perfect is to bring joy wellness connection and empowerment to all of my client life and what brought me to France was actually my husband, he is French and after six years of living in the us, we decided with moved to France and give it a go.

Virginie 00:02:03 Ok? So that you think about for me because I didn't have into me, but if you nice as student of mind. Il is listening to this podcast. Chi chi chi will release and on this it happen to hurt this exactly the same story. She was with the frenchman and then moved to front and to Brittany. Okay, that's that's cool. That's cool. So can you tell is more about your personal experience of moving abroad. Moving here in France in Brittany and starting a new life.

Speaker 2 00:02:42 Here I have calls to be.

Rachel Caudron 00:02:46 Honest with he guy.

Speaker 2 00:02:47 It was really.

Rachel Caudron 00:02:48 Really really difficult. And I'm very happy that I didn't know all of the struggle where the obstacles that I would come Comme face à face with before I'm moved because my husband and I.

Rachel Caudron 00:03:02 WE decided en August of twenty things that we were gonna move to France and we moved in December twenty teen say literally just three for months later. Oui, oui, Sold our house in the us. WE packed of everything we and I moved here. Neither of us had job. Here we did have a house. WE had no idea what we're gonna do or how we're gonna do it? And in september so after announce in August the next month, we found at that we were expected. So now not only we're going to move. WE are going to bring a child into the world and restart our lives in France at the same time and that there so many stories, I could tell make it so so hard and one of the biggest ones for me was when I arrived in France, my haptonomie was completely lost and everything that the find me and told me who I was the institution that verified, how who I am and how I do things or no longer there I was rasd and a us I was used to American standard the American culture the way that we got about things the way we communicate and because I didn't know French when I arrived then all the sudden I couldn't do anything.

Rachel Caudron 00:04:23 I was completely reliant on my husband who is French and I had never experience such a drastique emotional change my life because it wasn't people. Think it's like all the structural part of finding a job all finding a house or getting a bank account, but really for me the most impact awful difficult part are the emotional mental health side of things because you leave everyone you've ever known everything you've ever nine when you are born in racing, the country and you move somewhere else that doesn't speak the language doesn't have the same culture and all the way the same way of communicate in and so for me. It felt really like my heart was wrapped into it. It's felt like I didn't know how to function in France, and I was also pregnant. So then when we go here because we had found a house. WE didn't know what my husband or I we're going to do we were staying with his family and then of course, I had to go to meeting sick. Rendez-vous at the hospital.

Speaker 2 00:05:38 For.

Rachel Caudron 00:05:39 Your tracking the baby and my husband had to come with me to every single meeting because I couldn't communicate with them and for me still now Seven years on the last of Autonomy was the most difficult part and then the second post that was most difficult was feeling like a third person and my pregnancy because Doctor nurse sage-femme or medical personnel.

Rachel Caudron 00:06:11 Never speak to me directly. They only speak two and true my husband and say it was like I couldn't even describe what was going on in my body to them and then my husband, even know he was French and had.

Speaker 2 00:06:27 Pour.

Rachel Caudron 00:06:27 Influencer they setting body par. And I thought anatomy that he is not familiar with that women are and when you're trying to express that he he doesn't know the right words and so a lot of it was a phrase called lost in translation, where it was a I would after meetings at the hospital, I would get in the care and cry because it was a devastator to me that I felt so attached. From my own pregnancy because of the because of the language barriere.

Virginie 00:07:03 Wow. That's a tough. That's really really frustrant. No. The last of yeah. Autonomie that you that you say. Hum. I understand you perfectly. Because I get beers in France. But it then have lift in Spain with also with my kids and I remember that going to well, I could managing in Spanish.

Virginie 00:07:29 But still still when it's natural language. It's exactly. I had your feeling to like you. You're not able to say exactly what you want to say. And I mean it's so important to be able to say what to what you really feel in your. In your body and to be understood and in it's a mine pregnancy and then having a baby is already like a big big thing. So if you have the barrier of the language. It's really really tough. I understand you so much.

Rachel Caudron 00:08:07 You I mean you're absolutely right. And she was born in Juno. Twenty night teen. And then of course Britney shutdown in. In the January, twenty twenty for Covid. And then that also limited my ability to interact with people to go outside to interact with anybody else. Outside of my husband and my daughter. So that also impact the pace that I can learn French because I'm not in interact with anybody. And then the makes you really hard to learn and here the language and understand what needs to be said.

Rachel Caudron 00:08:46 And all day things and then on top of that I also have a hearing a disability. I impartial deaf. So I actually can't hear all the syllables that exist in French which make it right baby difficult to learn French.

Virginie 00:09:01 Oh yeah. So how about today? CAN you manage in French to can you interact with a your friend with the doctor with? How do you feel today?

Rachel Caudron 00:09:14 Yeah! So let's go spring forward, Seven years and today. Yes, I can I can interact with doctor Now, I could probably say most things if I was pregnant again that I need to say it would be more one on one my husband might need to come sometime, but I could manage most of them at this point. I take my daughter to the doctor on my own or go to the doctor on my own huge wings and yeah, I have french friends now and I'm able to have conversations in French and all of days saying and It's been a huge huge learning curve. I think for me honestly moving here. Even that was really really hard.

Rachel Caudron 00:10:02 It also opened up more opportunity for me learned more about myself and that like my internal strength that I have and my ability to be resilience and to be resources awful because when you in my opinion when you go up on a society. And you always know the expectations, then you so what I become really natural and mechanics and robotics to just act and that way. Ouais, when you're put into a new culture and society. I have to be intentionnel. You have to be. You have to really fight for being part of the society and part of the group. And it's given me space to learn and other languages. French as I didn't speak it when I moved here and it's given me space to follow my heart and my desire and to raise my child by Lynne Julie. And what a bit much more difficult in the us tout rase her but speaking both english and French and so even the spit all the hard ships I've experienced. I'm think full. I'm moved France.

Virginie 00:11:14 Oh wow. So yeah. How is it like at home? You speak to eleonor in english.

Virginie 00:11:22 And your husband speaks in French.

Rachel Caudron 00:11:25 Yeah yeah. Y at the beginning. It was quite funny actually and till she started. Petite section. She only states him with me. C'est she never went to crush anything like that. And so you only spoke english. And my husband would only speak English too. Here I was like how I she gotta learned French. If you're not speaking French. It was really funny because his extended family, his brothers and his moment dad. He also was raising the bilingual family. His mother, his English and his that is French and so but they would all speak english to her eyes like guys. WE did you do speak French and so even they're she understood, she would always reply in English for about the first, I would. C'est full years of the life. Three half years of life like even if you speak turning French, she would reply in English and but now there is now that she started. Petite section. l'Acheteur moyenne Section Section en grande section This year chez un CP.

Rachel Caudron 00:12:32 Now it's more french in house chez Like she initiatives the conversation French chaud recite her day in French. If it's just her and my husband Thomas dill speak in French and I still speak English with her almost exclusive lies and then it depends sometimes as a trio, we speak English and sometimes we speak in French. But I mean, I think it's incredible that she is bilingual and that he can switch so easily between the language without even keeping a bit chicken respond to me in English and tone around and speak to that and French just normally it's so I think it's incredible.

Virginie 00:13:18 Yeah, that's incredible. WE are all jealous of these kids. Who cares who I bilingual? That's yeah. Amazing that pick it up. Oh. It's a. It's amazing. It's really cool. Actually I love that so you leave in a village you in Brittany and with a like French environment. And you sometimes go back to the us with your kids or and going to your family.

Rachel Caudron 00:13:50 So yeah, I'm I live in a little Betty, Tiny village of that can be called a village called catalyst.

Rachel Caudron 00:13:58 It has no bakery has a little Mary Mary and the has about four streets and that's the total village. I and it is very very small and sometimes we do encounter difficulties with people that will rasd in the area. And it's like this is how we do things. This is how things around and we kind of coming and why I could be this way or we're not a totally French family. We're also american and we're bilingual and our household and then to try want top of that we are also vegan vegetalien and so that is all kind of. a discourse, we'll call it and so living in a small village can be complicated a not way lots for me. My my all is in the country side. I love the country side. I love Britney. I love the flowers. I love the animals. I love the dirt. I love the trees. The all the truth. All the natural things. I really light up my life and so I. There would be nowhere else and France that I would love.

Virginie 00:15:18 Wow.

Speaker 4 00:15:19 That's so cool.

Virginie 00:15:20 Do you come from a big city in the us?

Rachel Caudron 00:15:23 No actually, I don't. And so I love. I came from a state called Oklahoma, which is in the center of the us. If you know Texas, it's just above it and we lived in the suburbs of a bigger city. Growing up it was well. En comparaison, the front kind of a medium size city, but in comparution to the us a smaller city and we could drive we could drive about twenty minutes into the vigueur city, but I loved more half city half countries side is the way you would describe it in a laissé dans les Popular Todd State pour the US open. It is so you already libre kind of small, but I know from the beginning that country life was for me and then in regard to you are the question, then I go back to the us and I take my daughter with me. Yes, we have it for good reasons and not so fun reasons and the beginning before she was too out.

Rachel Caudron 00:16:31 WE were able to go one case the light so much cheaper for children of the two and to see my parents and to see my family because they all the living the us. They don't all leaving in Oklahoma. But they all live in the us. And then. From twenty twenty three. And twenty twenty for half of twenty twenty for me my daughter. Flash back. Multiple multiple times. C'est probably around eight times in the eighteen months because my mom was sec and a very very very sick and ultimate lie she with she past away last july and I think I mean Eleonore was able to visit her multiple multiple times and she was actually there with me when she past away and say even out and sadness it we were very fortunate and lucky to be able to fly back so often and so that we could see where I grow up and she could hear English spoken by Americans and see my parents and I have three siblings and see all of them and my extended family. So very grateful for that.

Virginie 00:17:49 Yeah, in this kind of a situation of life.

Virginie 00:17:53 No, it's kind of really tough to leave very far away from from home. So I guess for you. You are telling me just before you were we started to record that it took for two five years to really feel at home or tout feel well in in France. So that's really really interesting, because it can seem very long to the people listening to have to to the podcast who just arrived but at the same time. It's like it will happen things are going to be better. You will get more autonomie. You will be able to speak finally the language to have friends because usually most of my my students they always tell me well, it's really hard to to have some friends without speaking the language. So what did you do as the two integra as en expat? How did you do it? How did you make it after fight for five years? What? What happened?

Rachel Caudron 00:19:13 Yeah. You all absolutely right. It did it did take me full to vive years to really adjust living here and not just adjust.

Rachel Caudron 00:19:23 But to feel happy and content and like I was driving here because my my friend when I'm moved here shit already left here for probably going on about eight years and she told me you go through tricycle face to arrive in your very excited. Everything is new everything exciting, You are just grilled to try everything now and then you go to the stage of that you hate everything. All the things that are different everything. That's hard and it and that where is on you? Because now you're not happy new year, we can be comes depressive or upset or anxio or sad and then eventually you go to the phase a third phase as accepted and so I feel like I did the same thing at first when I moved here, I had already lived in France full class to six months prior and twenty twelve side twenty twelve, I came and study with my boyfriend at the time, which is now my husband and leave six months in La Rochelle. And then I thought I would know what life is like in France, X for I didn't because I always knew I was gonna go home always knew I was gonna go back to the us and so when you move it's final.

Rachel Caudron 00:20:52 It's like this is my life now and at first, I was excited to see his family to see loved one to see people I had seen experience new things to get about the community and see what was on offer and that last God. I mean unfortunately lost in about a year because just over a year after I moved here. Covid it and then came the I hate everything phase I feel like I was always in a negative mind space where I could find a single good think I liked about France and I just I couldn't wait to go back to the us. And I just at this place as obviously not for me. And that continued. I will tell you will probably all of twenty twenty and the least half of twenty one. Because because covid and restriction and just the abilities to interact with that he one and then even when classes opened back up and are in person in French class, then I had to wear a mask and physically for me, I am hearing and pair and so having mask of the people mouse is just not possible for me.

Rachel Caudron 00:22:15 I can't functions in that setting and so I could Athan, there is close the slowly even sometimes even in the really doc space that the really hard times is your slowly adapt in your getting to know basique things like the grocery store. Where is that Where are things located? What are the names of the things in the stool and in the post office? Where is it at How do interact? What do you say the in at the very basique things at first the bank? How was the bank? How do you? I remember setting up the bank account for the best time and it was just so talking to me. The on. The regulation around the banking in France and comparison to the us. And so slowly you like you just adapt a little out of time. You take a one little steps in front of the other. Sometimes your forest than you don't want to be you continue and it begins to kind of bike. Okay, I finally feel little at ease here and then. Oh yeah. Okay, I know what to expect here.

Rachel Caudron 00:23:27 Oh. Now this feels like home and which is where I am now and so the things that worked for me that help me overcome was first the acceptance of me and when I mean by that is accepted myself where I am and who I am and the cultural normes and that made me who I am. Today, there's gonna be something. I can adapt adjust to learn French, but I'm never not going to be american and I had to except that cause I think when you're in a position where you want to be accepted. You want to feel like to be part of the groups and your mental health as also rolling on feeling like part of the groupe. You want to change you want to be whatever they need you to be to feel like part of the groupe, but what I realize that is in trying to be part of the groupe. I totally lost myself. So the first part was accepted me for where I am and who I am the second part was I and roald and language course. I knew that was never gonna feel like I belong in this country or in this community without being able to speak French say despite my own personal girls and obstacles that I have with my hearing, I have to learn French and so as soon as I was able to find a teacher and course that I liked I've been and them ever sense.

Rachel Caudron 00:25:03 The second ting ting is I joint local groupe say something that just personally interested me. I love art, I love painting and so I just join a painting class even do it was in French, even do I was gonna be mostly lost. Most of the time, it was about painting and drawing at wasn't so much about understanding every single word that they said and so that made me feel a little bit more like at the long in the society and in my community here and now I'm involved in multiple multiple grab, but it's so it with just one that was a personal interest of mind. And the next thing for me is about being brave. So it my experience learning French is even if you know all the word, sometimes when people as you questions, you just freeze or you know what to ask what you like? I don't know what you gonna understand me and so you just don't say anything so actually being brave and going up to somebody and starting a conversation of French or does asking that one simple question Help build up your confidence like okay, I did that you.

Rachel Caudron 00:26:19 Maybe I can do this baby. I could do this. One funny stories related to bravery is I used to tell myself that I didn't speak French. Not in France. I don't speak French in France and that I would go to different events and England and I wouldn't meet French people. They're like all you leave in France. CAN you understand French or like yeah? My husband was like what you tell people in French. You don't speak French, but French people and England you tel that you can speak French. I was like yeah, it's seems okay and what I realize. I was Terry feed of doing French wrong side in France, felt like I was surround by French expert. Everybody speak French friendly day now exactly what to say how to say it when to say it with what accent and I was terrific to speak, but in English where they just wanted to find like a connection other French people wanted to talk or somebody at my understand them in French will be able to communicate something with them in French.

Rachel Caudron 00:27:22 It felt like the pressure was off. I was like how okay, I can speak French now when it's not demandé of me, but it's a choice and so when I come back to France, I didn't change my mindset and can't started though myself, I speak French and then everything changed. It was like all I said. I had more confidence to speak tout French people and to join French organization and the last one is just finding my own three brother that be French people English people American man women anyone in between is just people that understood me for me and accepted me for who I was and how I am and the things that interests me in my life and from there been able to grow and now thrive.

Virginie 00:28:13 Wow!

Speaker 4 00:28:14 That's so cool. I love that I.

Virginie 00:28:16 Love your euh experience. And yeah. French is French learning is always like a rollercoaster and also like being an expat. You say that it's a rollercoaster with you when you arrive. You you feel as you said excited, then you're really really down and then it gets better so to all the listeners.

Virginie 00:28:42 It will get better if you're in the best situation. It should get better believe. Rachel. I'm not the one saying it. It's Rachel. Non, c'est super. Euh. Rachel. I remember before when you introduce yourself that you say you built all your actual job on joy and wellness and I remember those words you say and now after everything you said. I understand a bit more. Why now you? You arrived to to this spoil kids. CAN you tells more about your work as an even creator and about flourish your holistic retreat Treats. And tell us everything where we can have a look and everything.

Rachel Caudron 00:29:41 Out, of course. Yes! So for foolish. If you are feeling this connected. If you're feeling like you're looking motivation. You are not recognize in yourself in the mirror and your earning for community. Than. Alors just for you, so I and my co creator. Kerry Dennis, Who's best out of Ireland. WE focus on all aspect of health. C'est Mental health, emotional health, physical spiritual and energetique.

Rachel Caudron 00:30:13 So she specialized in zumba, essential oil and massage I focus on mindset visualisation personal development meditation, reiki and herbal remedy. So I create that environment that feels like a warm hug. It's warm and loving supporter. And empowering. I believe in building community. Where women feel her seen believed. And empowered and my retreat. Are all about that vibes. And if that is what you're one thing in your life. Then you need to come. It's going to be made the eleven to the fifteen of twenty twenty six. It's idea going to be in cleric, which is nearby town here and central Britney or it's going to be in not so at the beautiful place that we had at this year in. Mais so if you want more information, you can go to WW dot. Rachel Caudron have to come and have everything there for you and it will be in English LED retreat. Just hold the listener now and then if you want it, just keep your toes in, but you're not quite ready for retreat. And then you're welcome to eat and a in person workshop or you can try out my adult calendar where you can get some of the humble Remedy and the humble tease.

Virginie 00:31:48 I know that I love that that's really cool by the way, I will put this website in the description of this podcast, so if you're listening and you don't remember the the website, You will find it here in the description of the podcast. That's really good and can I ask how, comme disent ideas came up and when do it all that came up in your mind.

Rachel Caudron 00:32:18 I yeah yeah. It was back in twenty twenty three. So I've been doing a variety of business since twenty seventeen and I started in hearing design and than painting hearing and selling journal and then I did copywriting for a while and in twenty twenty three, I had tainted unleash your power within by Tony Robbins and we are going to a meditation, which was connecting us with our heart and our soul. And it was this idea that are hard and so was going to tell us what was our next fic Step or where we were supposed to be in our life and I soul a vision of myself leading et women only retreat and that first, I wasn't a person that just jumping into the ideal I actually foot it as like now, that's not for me, I do hearing I do copywriting and it just like it was an idea that wouldn't go away.

Rachel Caudron 00:33:19 I wish you like eating at me like counseling. They like Rachel. This is for you and. A little bit after that I had, but it what you would call on epiphany or a moment of clarity where we haven't speak about it today? But my own personal health a journey and husband very add to modula. That's been very up and down and very difficult. When I was so eleven years ago when I was twenty four, I was taking twenty for medication a day to help with pain and I would cry myself to sleep and because of little ten pain. I couldn't walk up star. I never thought I have a child am I was in was the worst state of my life. And so now as you guys have listening and you heard at the beginning. I have a child, I have completely changed my life around. And now I want to do the same for others. I believe in one you've yield, then you go back and you heal you help others till, and that was the basis of me creating my retreat and then my workshops in my products have grown off of that idea.

Virginie 00:34:28 Wow, that's a nice story. I would like to thank you, Rachel, for all this vulnérabilité that you that you share today. I know it's not easy to talk about like your life and some events like that. So thank you very very very much. I'm so very treats. He's into Sweden and tranny sick. So that's that's good. I will we will present all the info in the description of the podcast as I said and I would like to ask you a last question. I would like to know if you think I should invite somebody special on this podcast time when you know how.

Rachel Caudron 00:35:15 Are perfect and yes, the retreat is in met and actually when this air as you guys are listening. I would have announce a second retreat which will be going on and november of twenty twenty six. So you guys will have to keep in touch with me to know about that. And the person that I would recommande to I think would be in excellent fit for this podcast is Jennifer Chamberlain. She's bass out of Paris.

Rachel Caudron 00:35:40 She is native English women and cheese been in France for take two and a half decades now speaks plus French. She is also a business owner et VP and she helps a lot of business like expats and like he work as well that want to do business. But I want to bridge the French crowd say she's able to do the marketing and the translation for all of the things. I think you will be great. Yeah!

Virginie 00:36:08 That's great. Thank you very much, Rachel and I will contact. Jennifer. Uh uh Thank you so much for this great interview with you don't know each other before and I'm really really happy to you for all this information you gave and I Night. I also love the way. Yeah! You you explain to us that you struggle. But that you could make it. It is make it. A really really really really cool for all the expats who are listening to us. And you know again that it can be that life in France can be really fun and yeah, I'm sure.

Virginie 00:36:52 It will have many many people so. Merci beaucoup Rachel. Merci.

Rachel Caudron 00:36:57 Thank you so much. Virginie. Merci beaucoup. Merci. To all days I listening. I would c'est to not give up. You don't Eileen and just continue down the path. You will get there and one day. You'll be in my same position looking back on everything that you've a completion and how for you come exactly.

Virginie 00:37:16 That's why you always tell my students to thank you, Rachel, for this positive attitude and I hope to welcome you again and this podcast.