Welcome to Episode 6 of Profiles in Franceformation. I’m your host, Allison Grant Lounes, and this week, my guest is Brian Jones. Brian is originally from Michigan and moved to a village near Rennes in Brittany, France, in 2019 with his French wife. Initially, he worked as a technical mechanic at nuclear plants, and now, he restores artisanal furniture with Phénix Meubles. You can find him on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Phénix-Meubles-103042188065060

In this episode, we talked about Brian's move to France on March 12, 2020 just before France entered confinement, and his experience of getting settled and doing various French admin tasks:

• The CRAZY serendipitous way Brian met his French wife, and how he knew they were meant to be together.
• Why getting advice in France abut how to do any particular administrative task is so difficult
• The difficulty of finding work in a technical field in France when you don't speak French and don't have a French degree - and how Brian has chosen to pivot to furniture restoration
• The French meal schedule, and how Brian finds it difficult to adapt to a light breakfast and a late lunch, when he's ready to start his day early in the morning.
• Why Brian is not a fan of la bise, and why he might get away with not doing it ever again!
• and more!

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You can join me, Brian, and 12,000 Americans in France in the Americans in France facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/americansinfrance/; You too can enjoy and comment on our many posts about the proliferation of dog poop in France.

And if you'd like to learn more about how you can begin your own Franceformation, go here: www.yourfranceformation.com