Hi, my name is Gemma and I lived in the same house for pretty much the first 14 years of my life. Since then I have been a nomad, moving every couple of years or at times, every few months! Right now I live in Noumea, New Caledonia, which is rather amusing considering that I thought that I would never live in the Pacific. I have mostly lived in Australia, the country of my birth, but have also lived in Asia and had two of my children in China. I still consider the Australian bushland setting that I grew up in to be my "home" and even though I always wanted to give my children the opportunity to grow up overseas and learn foreign languages, I do miss the Aussie bush.
When and how did you decide to move to New Caledonia? Is it complicated to settle down there?
We moved to New Caledonia due to an employment opportunity for my husband. We thought that it would be a great place for our young children (our kids are currently 1.5, 3.5 and 5.5 years old) and a fantastic opportunity for us all to learn French. I like to think that we were right, that it is a great place for kids and that we love it here. However, we found it difficult to settle. The cultural and linguistic differences are greater than we anticipated and moving countries with children who we plonked into a local school without a word of French brought many challenges. The cost of living in New Caledonia is high and linguistically and culturally it really is very French. Finding suitable and affordable accommodation is also very challenging.
Have you ever lived abroad before? How many countries have you visited?
I first traveled overseas when I was four years old and have been lucky enough to do so regularly since. In my 20s I traveled through Asia and spent some time living in Indonesia when I was at University as part of my studies. Some of my favourite memories are from my time in Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, The Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Egypt. I would estimate that I've traveled to around 25 countries and I hope to keep travelling for many, many years to come. I will say that travelling with three children is somewhat different to travelling alone!
What do you like the most about New Caledonia/Noumea?
C'est impossible! I cannot list one thing that I like the most about living here :). Some of the things that I love are the lagoon; it really is beautiful and I feel so privileged to see it every day. Of course I must mention the wonderful French bread and baked treats! Living in the Pacific and learning about the local Indigenous cultures is truly enriching and something that I will cherish long into the future. But of course we also live in France and I love the daily insight into French culture. So many of those stereotypes are true, but to go beyond them and to appreciate and begin to understand French culture is fantastique!
How is/was the cultural shock? What are the main differences with Australia, your home country?
The culture shock was not that great, in that it is surmountable. It was the language barrier that was the greatest challenge. Having said that, however, I am continually surprised at how different my Anglo culture is to the French culture. I've managed to find a happy middle ground, as have my younger two children. My eldest son has become French in a desire to fit it. It isn't a problem, it was just his reaction to the culture shock, if you didn't hear him speak English with an Anglo you wouldn't know that he was a foreigner. My main frustration for our first year here (and it does still pop up occasionally) is that people treat you differently when they realize that you're not French. It was very frustrating to be trying your hardest to fit in and speak French only to be greeted with an attitude of "Ah, les anglosaxons!".
Do you miss anything from your homeland?
I miss affordable shopping!
Any 'memories of an expat' you would like to share with us? Your best souvenir? Or maybe your worst experience?
My funniest memory as an expat would have to be when I was trying to buy pregnancy tests in China. I spoke no Mandarin at the time and my miming efforts saw me offered medication for constipation, weight loss and diarrhea.
As for our time here, I love the relationship the French have with food, or should I say love affair? I always feel so inadequate and poorly educated when ordering in a French restaurant. It is never a simple affair and I doubt I will ever get it right. I hope to one day not illicit a pained expression from the wait staff, however!
My best souvenir so far would have to be photos of turtles and dugongs that we saw on our day sailing on the lagoon, simply amazing.
When did you start your blog? For what reasons?
Before moving to Noumea, I discovered that there was a serious lack of useful information in English on life in Noumea. I decided that I would start a blog to document our time here and to try and fill some of that gap. I hope my blog is useful :).
Did you make new friends with your blog?
I have made a few friends through my blog, but I have made far more friends through my sewing blog.
Why did you register on https://www.expat.com and what do you think of the website?
I registered on expat blog to try and find out more information on life in Noumea, then I discovered the blog list and registered my blog. Now that I speak reasonable French I see that there is far more information in the French forum on Noumea, but I have made a few friends through the English forum and answered some questions :).
Which advice would you give to the other Expat blog members who would like to settle in New Caledonia?
Oh gosh, there is so much I could say!
Don't come here without a job, whilst there are some employment opportunities for those who don't speak French, these are few and far between. Speaking French is also essential if you want to break outside of the small Anglo https://www.expat.community or if you have children in the local schools. Schooling is zoned, so you may want to consider where you would like your children to go to school and then look for accommodation in that area. Accommodation is EXPENSIVE and it seems to be a case of who you know. Put your feelers out and ask everyone you meet for advice. Shopping is hideously expensive and grocery shopping is an adventure. Don't think that you can do your weekly shop at the supermarket, you will find yourself visiting 5 different stores to get everything you need and sometimes you won't be able to find a lettuce or onion or banana no matter where you search.
It's not all doom and gloom however, once you've found yourself a job and a place to live, get out and enjoy this amazing place! Some of my best memories of our time here are a day trip on the lagoon, visiting the north of Grande Terre, catching the taxi boat and spending a day on l'ile aux Canards (Duck Island). I love the lagoon, and when I feel a bit lost, I find a walk along the promenade admiring the water and hoping that a coconut doesn't fall on my head is a great way to relax ;)
