"Oh America!"
“Oh, America!”
A story of two lovely French women adjusting to life in America by Tara Giddings
After immigrating from France over 20 years ago Christine Berry and Béatrice Hallier still feel the cultural difference between their home country and the US. Close friends, the two women chat intermittently in French as they share their lives since leaving their home country. Both agree to share many wonderful details, but not their age, as they put it “while we’re old, past 40, we won’t be more precise.”
Berry moved from Lyon, a city in the Auvergne-Rhône Alps of France, 25 years ago. Hallier left her hometown near the Loire Valley in western France, Angers, nearly 30 years ago. The two now teach in the French department at the University of San Francisco, a job which Hallier considers to be her greatest accomplishment. Despite living in the US for many years, they say “because you are not from America, you will always be a foreigner”.
When they first moved to America they were surprised at the jobs they found. Hillier knocked on the door of the Belgium consulate and was hired due to her ability to speak french. Berry worked at a world wide french non profit organization and then found her love for teaching. Yet, their success was due to the Francophones who welcome them, not the Americans. Berry says that in the US the french “connection wasn't lost, I didn’t knock at the American embassy.”
Thier jobs lead them to create personal as well as professional lives here in the US. Hallier met her American Italian husband working at the Belgium consulate. Now both she and Berry are married to American men. After settling down in the Bay Area, they feel successful for having made lives for themselves, with both work and “living with an American.” The cultural differences still influence their marriages but as Berry says “that’s the work, that’s the challenge, that’s wonderful, that’s passion, that’s fascinating, we never get bored.
Upon first moving to the US they both Hallier and Berry faced similar cultural barriers, sometimes it was as simple as a smile. Hallier jokes “The french have nothing to smile about.” Their European way of life differs as they explain “we are not that open right away and we are more deep in our commitment to relationship”. Their tendency to be private is often misinterpreted here in America as being rude or upset, revealing the impact of small traits in different countries.
While the two grew up learning English in school they still found it to be a challenge in America. For Hallier it was speaking with an accent as she describes how “my parents sent me to England in the summer to improve my accent, it never improved.” For Berry after studying English she says “I could not speak it, I could write it.” She found a way to speak English by watching CNN and “the recurrence of the same commercial, same info every hour” until she could keep up with the television news, which at the time was the Iraq war.
Despite difficulties Hallier says “We came from Europe but we love to live here.” While Berry explains America differed from her expectations as it took “years and years and years and years to figure out many things” such as the basic cultural mannerisms. After those years the two women are pleased with the lives they have made by adapting to a new way of life.
The two still see that ways in which America cannot compete with France. Their biggest disappointment is the capitalist system. As Hallier describes “in France we take care of our people.” The importance of free healthcare and free education, even at a university level, creates an equality that America is seriously lacking. Berry says in France “the social safety net is huge, amazing, one of the best in the world.” While America is just the opposite. They are still shocked by the difference from a European to an American, a “capitalist who would do anything to make money, sell your soul just for money.”
Recently America holds more disappointments for Hallier and Berry due to the current political state. They say the feeling is shared by many Europeans as on “the French news they cannot believe it, they say it’s not possible.” Hallier describes Trump as a dictator, something which Berry says “we already had in Europe, we had Mussolini, we had Hitler.” They once felt amazement for America having an African American Democratic president, Barack Obama. A feeling they say was shared by many Europeans pridefully saying “we were crying, Oh America!” But now Berry says that America “is going backwards and America usually goes forwards.” The two feel a particular horror from the stories told through generations of the wars in Europe. As Berry says in Europe, "white supremacy did leave a very deep scar.” Both women share the knowledge that the issue is relevant for the whole world since America is such a large and powerful country.
The issues of American society and politics do not affect their opinion of Americans as people. Both believe “the American spirit is to help.” Hillier says she loves Americans, or at least the ones she knows on the West Coast. She describes how living here has “very open people” and she enjoys the spirit of “freedom of San Francisco, the freedom of California.” Berry appreciates the diversity here in America, noting the differences in Americans from California to the Midwest to Texas. Of course, as they joke, “we are not in Orange County”.
Berry and Hallier share the belief that while it was not easy to come to America “it gives you the opportunity” to pursue many personal and professional goals. Despite the challenge Berry says “yes, absolutely” it was worth it to immigrate to America.
A story of two lovely French women adjusting to life in America by Tara Giddings
After immigrating from France over 20 years ago Christine Berry and Béatrice Hallier still feel the cultural difference between their home country and the US. Close friends, the two women chat intermittently in French as they share their lives since leaving their home country. Both agree to share many wonderful details, but not their age, as they put it “while we’re old, past 40, we won’t be more precise.”
Berry moved from Lyon, a city in the Auvergne-Rhône Alps of France, 25 years ago. Hallier left her hometown near the Loire Valley in western France, Angers, nearly 30 years ago. The two now teach in the French department at the University of San Francisco, a job which Hallier considers to be her greatest accomplishment. Despite living in the US for many years, they say “because you are not from America, you will always be a foreigner”.
When they first moved to America they were surprised at the jobs they found. Hillier knocked on the door of the Belgium consulate and was hired due to her ability to speak french. Berry worked at a world wide french non profit organization and then found her love for teaching. Yet, their success was due to the Francophones who welcome them, not the Americans. Berry says that in the US the french “connection wasn't lost, I didn’t knock at the American embassy.”
Thier jobs lead them to create personal as well as professional lives here in the US. Hallier met her American Italian husband working at the Belgium consulate. Now both she and Berry are married to American men. After settling down in the Bay Area, they feel successful for having made lives for themselves, with both work and “living with an American.” The cultural differences still influence their marriages but as Berry says “that’s the work, that’s the challenge, that’s wonderful, that’s passion, that’s fascinating, we never get bored.
Upon first moving to the US they both Hallier and Berry faced similar cultural barriers, sometimes it was as simple as a smile. Hallier jokes “The french have nothing to smile about.” Their European way of life differs as they explain “we are not that open right away and we are more deep in our commitment to relationship”. Their tendency to be private is often misinterpreted here in America as being rude or upset, revealing the impact of small traits in different countries.
While the two grew up learning English in school they still found it to be a challenge in America. For Hallier it was speaking with an accent as she describes how “my parents sent me to England in the summer to improve my accent, it never improved.” For Berry after studying English she says “I could not speak it, I could write it.” She found a way to speak English by watching CNN and “the recurrence of the same commercial, same info every hour” until she could keep up with the television news, which at the time was the Iraq war.
Despite difficulties Hallier says “We came from Europe but we love to live here.” While Berry explains America differed from her expectations as it took “years and years and years and years to figure out many things” such as the basic cultural mannerisms. After those years the two women are pleased with the lives they have made by adapting to a new way of life.
The two still see that ways in which America cannot compete with France. Their biggest disappointment is the capitalist system. As Hallier describes “in France we take care of our people.” The importance of free healthcare and free education, even at a university level, creates an equality that America is seriously lacking. Berry says in France “the social safety net is huge, amazing, one of the best in the world.” While America is just the opposite. They are still shocked by the difference from a European to an American, a “capitalist who would do anything to make money, sell your soul just for money.”
Recently America holds more disappointments for Hallier and Berry due to the current political state. They say the feeling is shared by many Europeans as on “the French news they cannot believe it, they say it’s not possible.” Hallier describes Trump as a dictator, something which Berry says “we already had in Europe, we had Mussolini, we had Hitler.” They once felt amazement for America having an African American Democratic president, Barack Obama. A feeling they say was shared by many Europeans pridefully saying “we were crying, Oh America!” But now Berry says that America “is going backwards and America usually goes forwards.” The two feel a particular horror from the stories told through generations of the wars in Europe. As Berry says in Europe, "white supremacy did leave a very deep scar.” Both women share the knowledge that the issue is relevant for the whole world since America is such a large and powerful country.
The issues of American society and politics do not affect their opinion of Americans as people. Both believe “the American spirit is to help.” Hillier says she loves Americans, or at least the ones she knows on the West Coast. She describes how living here has “very open people” and she enjoys the spirit of “freedom of San Francisco, the freedom of California.” Berry appreciates the diversity here in America, noting the differences in Americans from California to the Midwest to Texas. Of course, as they joke, “we are not in Orange County”.
Berry and Hallier share the belief that while it was not easy to come to America “it gives you the opportunity” to pursue many personal and professional goals. Despite the challenge Berry says “yes, absolutely” it was worth it to immigrate to America.
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