Bilingual School

Hi all,
My name is Irene, I am a spanish girl living in Ireland.I am travelling in January to Guadeloupe to check the place as I would like to move there in 2013 with my daughter,I am checking everywhere in google trying to find out if there is a bilingual school in there as I would like my daughter to keep her English.
Does anybody knows any English Speaking school??
Will be very helpfull
Thank you very much to all of you

Welcome to Expat.com Irene!

Hope that you'll soon be enlightened.;)

Harmonie.

Thanks Harmonie,


I hope so too :)

Irene

hi irene

unfortunately there is no bilingual school in guadeloupe. It's entirely french. however based on your daughter's age, she could join the the international section of a public high school where part of the classes are done in english.

hi irene,

i guess you have moved to guadeloupe since you posted that msg. I do not know your child's age but if you are in gpe now you must be aware that there are no bilingual school as such. However its quite new there are 'bilingual' school at kindergarten levels. but how much english is taught, i do not know. in basse terre there are internationa section at high school level for both spanisg & english. spanish in 3 rivieres & english at saint claude. at the lycee gerveille recahe there is an international section & a cambridge section. Hopes this information helps.

Thanks Chinchin for the information,you are great!!
At the end we did move but to Malta,after hearing from everyone in this forum how bad the situation is in Guadaloupe for work we got scare and decide to go somewhere easier. We still thinking to go there but maybe in 3 o 4 years when we save enough money in case we don't find a job in 6 months and need to back to Europe.
In case we move in the future I will keep this info
Once more thanks a million
Kind Regards,
Irene

i think you made the right choice cause here if you have not worked in france or guadeloupe, martinique the overseaes territoires, there is no way you can secure a permanent job or even a temporary job. It's great living here. you have the french system under the sun but you should not be looking for a job.

you can easily secure temporary spanish teaching work - but you will find it hard to live on this money as the prices are higher. Better that you chose Malta, at least you are near to a mainland if you need anything. I like Guadeloupe and still go back but it's not an easy place to live in.

Hi Ronnyrambler,how are you?
Yes we did choose Malta for few years but still want to go to Guadaloupe, it is our dream , the only thing is that everybody say how difficult the lyfe is there.
Could you please tell me why? is really that difficult to find a job?
Thanks a million and kind regards,
Irene

Below i have pasted my reply to an irish girl who wants to know whether she should move to Guadeloupe. Read through & will discuss.

first of all i think i ought to tell you that adapting  anywhere in this world depends on one's motivation, mental state of mind (capacity to adapt, willingness, enthusiasm etc). your experience might not be neceesarily similar  to mine or another foreigner.  for e.g somebody who is seeking to experience different worlds cultures & somebody forced to move  because the spouse got a job  will  experience things differently . If you are the kind of person looking to experience new culture, different things  then you will adapt & probably enjoy your experience here in Guadeloupe. From my point of view, socially & economically living in guadeloupe is like living in france with the sun as a bonus. On the other hand where everything will differ to france is culturally france & guadeloupe are 2 distinct countries & this is where adapation becomes difficult.

What i have missed here is that it is not so cosmopolite. It is not common to come across what in other countries we call expats, you come across immigrants from the neigbouring islands & nowadays migrant workers (in very distinct cases but rare). consequently expats are likely to feel  feel lonely.

I worked in saint martin & there i really felt at home because with over 100 nationalities  melt & fit in. In guadeloupe if i were to start speaking in english in public  i will feel like an alien. all eyes will be turned on me. even english speaking tourist are rare except when they come on board cruise ship. However the people love the idea of having an english speaker as a friend cause i guess it is a rare species. In gosier, ste anne, saint francois you are likely to fit in more rapidely cause it is the place where the french from france choose to settle so as just like you they will be finding their mark so maybe easier to make friends. it is one reason why there are more clubs, associations, or gathering where outsiders (meaning expats including french from france) choose to meet. In basse terre you do come across  english speakers but there are'nt really those social gatherings which brings such groups of people together. My advice is to give it a try & take up the job, you are likely to end up loving  your experience even if it might be hard at first.

Hi Chinchin,
Thanks a million for the information,very kind by your side.
Almost in 4 years in the forum of Guadeloupe this is the first time someone seems to give me an objective opinion , every time we are advice not to try as we wont find any jobs and we will have a bad experience.
Honestly we still keeping in mind to move in a couple of years as we are looking for something less cosmopolitan and more laid back,as it had been our dream as a family to move there.
I think you are totally right, I believe it depends in the person and the approach you take, I am aware job situation is not good but why not to try? we may find something :)
So you were living also in Saint Martin, will you recommend it better? We are going with a 4 years old which speak Spanish and English,and we may look for an English School for her,which I heard there is none in Guadeloupe but it is in Saint Martin
A friend which also lived there told us Saint Martin will be better for adapting and specially for our daughter, he told us job situation is better in Saint Martin.
My husband is IT sales and I do work as a ground steward at the airport.
We are travelling in November for a couple of weeks to see the place before taking the final decision.
Once again thanks a million for sharing your experience and taking your time.
Kind Regards,Irene