Name: Alyssa
Pronoun(s): she/her
Nationality: American
Hometown: Wichita, Kansas, USA
Current location: Orléans, France
Occupation: Chargée de communication
Meet Alyssa
I’m Alyssa, a 27-year-old American who has lived in France since 2017.
I first visited France during a four-week study abroad program in the summer of 2014, and looking back, that was clearly a pivotal moment in my life. At 20 years old, it was the first time I’d left my country – I had to get a passport for the trip!
I’d never even thought about going abroad before, being from a (very) small town in Kansas. I guess I kind of always knew there was this mystical “something else” out there, but I never imagined I could actually live it. Then suddenly, there I was, boarding my first international flight, smack dab between my sophomore and junior year of college, and it was all very real. Once I went, I knew that I’d always want to go back again once I was home.
And I was right.
Once I got back to the States and things went back to “normal,” I knew I’d never be fully happy again now that I knew there was more to see and do than go to school and work everyday in Kansas. And well, I guess that’s how the seed was planted, and it was the beginning of the path that eventually led me back to France and to living abroad full-time! I wouldn’t want it any other way.
On Education
Did you participate in study abroad while at school? For how long, and with what program?
Yes, I participated in a four-week long language program between my school (Wichita State University) and its sister city school partner (l’Université d’Orléans) in France.
I would’ve loved to have gone for a semester or an entire year, but at that point in my life I just wasn’t in a good enough place to do it yet.
I absolutely loved the four weeks I had, though, and it was more than enough to give me a taste of living abroad and make me realize that I wanted more! I stayed with a host family with two little girls and it was the best possible first exposure I could’ve had.
I was immediately relieved to have chosen a host family over living in a dorm room alone.
If you studied abroad, would you recommend the experience? (The country, the program, the amount of time, etc)
I’d absolutely recommend studying abroad. I ended up in France because I was taking French classes in college (which I only took because I needed to fill an elective slot and I’d started taking French in high school so I thought, Why not?).
One day my French teacher came up to me and asked if I’d ever thought about going abroad. Obviously, I hadn’t. She informed me that I was well-placed to finish up the current semester’s class then head abroad for the following summer. It was all her. And now, sitting on my couch in my apartment in France, seven years later, I’m sure glad she thought to ask me!
So yes, I’d recommend France, and I’d honestly recommend any amount of time that you can get. Four weeks was too short for me, but I’d certainly take it over nothing at all!
What advice would you give someone who isn’t interested in attending a traditional college or university, but knows they want to travel?
Follow your heart. Listen to your gut. Your conscience, that little voice in your head, your instinct, your intuition, whatever it is you want to call it… Listen to what it’s telling you. Our society has brainwashed us into thinking we all need to go to college and study and work hard to climb the professional ladder, blah, blah, blah. But that’s not true. If you know for sure you don’t want to do that, then don’t.
And if you feel your interests pulling you towards a certain place, or a language, or a culture… Even if you can’t really explain why, it doesn’t matter. Go towards what attracts you. Lean into it.
If the idea of sitting in a stuffy lecture hall for four years bores you to tears, but the idea of backpacking across Africa excites you… Then make a plan, write it down, and make it happen! Life is too short. Your parents, college counselors, and career recruiters will get over it. But when you’re 90 years old on your deathbed, do you really want to be wondering what could’ve been different had you gone? Go!
Professional Background
What has working outside your native country taught you about yourself and the culture you come from?
I don’t know if this is necessarily limited to a professional context, but as with many aspects of living abroad as an American, I’ve come to learn that American culture is very egocentric, very focused on itself. America = the center of the universe. Living abroad, literally anywhere else on the planet, will quickly show you how far from the truth that actually is (and you’ll just as quickly be really embarrassed about it).
How might your career path have differed if you’d stayed in your home country?
This is a question I don’t like to spend too much time thinking about, because I *know* that it would’ve been very, very different. And not in a positive way.
I worked at I-don’t-know-how-many soul-crushing, dead-end jobs in the States before moving abroad. AFTER receiving my Bachelor’s degree in International Business and accruing a pretty penny’s worth of student loan debt.
Moving abroad has opened up so many more doors to me than ever would’ve happened, had I stayed in my home country. And I can’t begin to put into words how grateful that makes me.
What sorts of challenges do you face in the workplace? How has travel prepared you to deal with these challenges?
In just under a month from now, I’ll be celebrating living in France for four whole years. And to this day, I loathe speaking to strangers on the phone. It’s a problem I never had in the States, in English.
Public speaking and talking to strangers were never issues for me in my own language. I killed it. But it’s different when you’re suddenly the one with the accent.
It was a real blow to my confidence for the first year or two that I lived in France, speaking to strangers on the phone. I would intentionally screen all my calls out of fear of picking up the phone. It’s a lot better now. It’s mostly just taken time to get over it. Any time the phone rings at work, I pick it up. And now I know it’s okay if I have to ask someone to repeat their phone number to me three times in a row. Because I’d rather make sure that the information flows smoothly – in both directions – than save face pretending to understand something I clearly didn’t. Besides, it’s not like I have anything to be ashamed of or sorry for, anyway!
On Lifestyle
Would you ever relocate to live outside of the US indefinitely? Where?
Oh, yes. I don’t currently plan on moving back to the US. At least not until after the political revolution takes place and several different aspects of American life get a massive upheaval. I’m more than happy to stay here in France, and I think I’d like anywhere in Europe, really. But maybe not Spain. I’ve been told they eat dinner too late, and I’m always hungry. Otherwise, I’m game to give anything a try!
Which has been your favorite country/city to live in?
During the last four years I’ve lived in France, I’ve been an au pair in Bordeaux, a grad student in Montpellier, and now a salaried employee in Orléans. I’ve traveled around within France during that time, as well.
And I’ve got to say, I prefer the South the best. Montpellier was my favorite place to live, but I also like Bayonne and Sète quite a bit, too.
Any charming, small-ish town near the water is almost guaranteed to win my heart.
Do you think young people in your home country would benefit from traveling more? Living abroad more? Why?
Abso-friggin-lutely. Why? Because they’re Americans.
Unless we’re lucky enough to have a mentor or a role model who teaches us to think critically, to question things, to seek answers and adventure… Then, as young people in the US, we’re taught to accept our own nationalistic vision of the world.
Which, once you leave, you immediately realize is soooo far from reality. So yes, absolutely. I will always encourage young people in my home country to travel more! Even if it’s just within the States themselves, since the country is pretty big… Traveling from Georgia to Seattle or from Albuquerque to Boston or from Houston to Minneapolis… It’s guaranteed to change your perspective, even just a little bit. And it can only be beneficial to you.
Have you ever started a travel blog? Why?
Yes. I started one way back in 2014 when I first came to France for four weeks, just to keep in touch with friends and family and recount all my adventures while I was away. And I loved it. So when I moved to France full-time in 2017, a few people asked me why I didn’t want to do that again. At first, I was hesitant, because a blog of any kind is A LOT of time and energy.
I wanted to just live my life in the present moment and not think about documenting it all.
But eventually, I had cultural commentary I wanted to make, observations that I needed to share. And I made a new blog. That lasted for a few months, and eventually, I decided to transform it into a YouTube channel instead. That way, I could make a different, more interactive form of content AND do it in both languages instead of just English. That was two and a half years ago, and here we are today.
It all started out as me wanting to keep loved ones in the loop and eventually it morphed into me giving my opinion as an American on all kinds of things in French life, from breakfast habits to the metric system. And it turns out, a whole bunch of strangers on the internet enjoy hearing what I have to say!
Which is to this day, and always will be, an extremely humbling experience for me, to say the least.
One last question
What advice would you give to someone who knows they want to travel but aren’t sure where that fits in with the rest of their lives?
Any time I’ve ever had to make that kind of a big decision in my life, I’ve always started out by making a list. Write it all down. The who, what, when, where, why. What interests you. Where you’re imagining your future. The pros and cons. Make a timeline.
List your possible plans of action and don’t rule anything out. Nanny? Language teacher? Backpacker? Taco maker? It doesn’t matter. Write down everything that you have floating around in your head, then take a step back and soak it all in. Then sleep on it.
Some idea will come out of it all after you do that. It sounds stupid and crazy, but I swear, that’s how I’ve hatched all my brilliant ideas. Your heart already knows the answer to all this yearning you feel. You just have to give your brain the time and space to have the “aha” moment it needs so that you can then make it a reality.
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Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited.
If you connected with Alyssa’s feature and are interested in seeing life in France through her eyes as an American, curious about cultural differences between the U.S. and France, or are simply keen to add a down-to-earth traveler into your repertoire, she invites you to connect with her on the following platforms.
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/transatlanticliving
Email: transatlanticlivingblog@gmail.comOld blog: https://transatlanticliving.home.blog/
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