My experience as a French-speaking person outside of Canada. Here are the questions I asked three of my French-speaking friends living in the same place as me in Riga, Latvia.
1 - Did you hesitate before accepting this posting in Europe?
For Valerie, not at all. For her, it was the experience of a lifetime. They had wanted to do an OUTCAN for a long time. When the opportunity finally presented itself, they jumped into the adventure with both feet. This family with two children and a dog took the plunge and was ready to take on the challenge!
For Karyne, she had always wanted to visit Europe, so being able to live there was even better. As she would say, a great happiness! The only place she had visited before this great adventure was Walt Disney World. She and her husband decided to embark on an experience that was out of reach for many!
For Joanie, it was the ultimate gift. After spending the early part of her husband's military career at Valcartier and despite the difficulties associated with the COVID, they seized this opportunity without blinking an eye. This family with three young children had a thirst for adventure.
2 - Did you find your Francophone community in your host country? If so, how did you do it and if not, how do you manage to communicate and flourish?
For Valerie, she finds that the Francophone community is less numerous than the Anglophone community. For her family, it was a known element and they were ready to use English. For her husband and children, since they are bilingual, there was no problem. For her part, she is happy to use this experience to improve her second language.
As for Karyne, she recognizes that there are fewer Francophones in the Canadian community in Riga, but thanks to the great efforts of her husband, she has managed to meet military spouses who speak her language, so she is able to flourish despite this. That said, she has found the adjustment to this new life very difficult at first, but was determined to make it a success!
For Joanie, concretely, she had the chance to meet other Francophones and thus built her network. She speaks English very well, but considers that her friendships were made naturally with Francophones. Her background as a stay-at-home mom was different from many others, which did not necessarily make her available to meet other English-speaking military families. She did share some good times with English-speaking families in the community. Her eldest daughter, who attends an international school where English is the first language, took her first steps towards bilingualism and learned in record time not only English, but also the language of the host country, Latvian. Exposure to English for her two youngest children has made them move towards bilingualism as well and for her, this is an incredible richness.
3 - Did you take language classes to help you with the language of the host country or English classes?
For Valerie, she would have liked to, but with the restrictions on face-to-face classes imposed by COVID, the English class she had signed up for was cancelled. She is looking forward to resuming this activity. Having a second language is very rewarding.
For Karyne, she had done English classes with the Rosetta Stone software and unfortunately, she didn't really like it. The formula does not suit her at all. She feels that face-to-face classes are what she needs.
For Joanie, she is enrolled in English with the courses offered by Rosetta Stone. However, she finds it difficult to see her progress as the course progresses. Latvian is not available in the language choices. She feels that postings are often a good time to improve or expand our knowledge.
4 - Do you feel that there is a lack of services or activities in French? Are you able to keep yourself busy?
For Valerie, she did not expect that there would be so many services in French. She thought that the official language for activities and communications would be English. She was pleasantly surprised to see the services offered in French and the effort made to accommodate the Francophone community.
For Karyne, she feels that there is a lack of services and activities in French, especially since she speaks almost no English. She keeps herself busy by creating opportunities to meet with her network of Francophone friends around her and travel with her husband when time permits.
For Joanie, who understands English very well, this was not a barrier, but for others it can be and so she finds it great that it is possible to get most services in both languages. Although she has not participated in many of the activities offered for Francophones, she considers the opportunity to participate to be a great advantage. In general, she finds that there is a lot of support available for families, both through the MFS and the activities organized by the PSP and even the people in the military community who are always willing to help those around them.
5 - Go with your heart and say a little if you had another assignment where French is not the first language or even present in the host country, if you would still accept.
For Valerie, she considers English very important in the world. Since it is the official language of business and international communication, they have chosen to send their children to an English-speaking school. She still has to work on perfecting her second language but she does not see this challenge as a limit to an adventure as rewarding as the OUTCAN posting. She would do it again without hesitation even if no one spoke French in the host country. That being said, having the chance to find people to talk to in your native language makes you feel good, understood and a little more at home.
For Karyne, she would accept to do it again, but only in a European country. The reason is simple; she loves the lifestyle, the culture and the architecture. Despite the language barrier, she feels much more at home here than anywhere else in the world, with the obvious exception of Quebec.
For Joanie, in light of her experience, she would not hesitate to do an OUTCAN again. If the opportunity presents itself again in the future, it is certain that they will jump all over it again. She recommends that anyone who want to live new experiences, who has a thirst for adventure, who likes to travel, who likes to meet new people and who has good coping skills to give it a try. One thing to consider for spouses accompanying a military member is that it is difficult to work in multiple host countries. She believes that it requires a certain amount of adaptation for the spouse who finds himself or herself without a job and she knows some people for whom this new reality was very difficult. She therefore always recommends that people have plans. Think about developing more hobbies, learning a new language, spending time planning trips, reorienting your career or simply developing new skills. There is also the opportunity to volunteer in the community, get involved with the military community, etc. She would add that the distance from loved ones (family and friends) in Canada can be a challenge for many and therefore, people who wish to do an OUTCAN must be aware of this and really think about whether they are ready to leave everything and live in another country.
For me, Riga is our second posting outside of Canada and the first place we have lived and we do not speak the local language. Not all Latvians speak English and at first, it creates stress, which gradually dissipates. One of the things I would have found difficult if I did not speak English would be medical appointments. I found a family doctor who not only speaks English, but French as well. I found this out by talking to her. Sometimes there are nice surprises! The other point would have been the school if you have children. Riga has a school where the first language is French, though. Having confidence in yourself and surrounding yourself with the right people help a lot. The key, for me, is planning. There was no way I was going to turn down this wonderful opportunity to experience culture shock and travel Europe. Our boy was able to meet young people from different cultures and to me that is priceless. He created incredible bonds and developed, once again, his ability to adapt. The pace of life is so much more pleasant than in many places in Canada, the European countries are so close to each other that it allows us to make nice weekend getaways, which we could not do in our country. The Canadian community in Riga is quite large, so we do not feel alone and can count on it if we need it. If I had to do it again, I would do it again without hesitation. Without this experience, I would not have known these incredible friends!
Thank you, my friends!