Knudsen family moves to France
January 23, 2018
The Knudsen family had lived in Carlsbad their whole lives, until they decided to move to France for one year. A job opportunity presented itself to Mrs. Knudsen in France, and the family decided to make the move.
Moving to a foreign country without any knowledge of where you will be living for the next few years presents its challenges, but the Knudsen family worked together to figure out how to navigate their new lifestyle.
“The most difficult thing about moving to France was just taking care of everyday needs, things that are taken for granted on a daily basis living here in the US,” Mr. Knudsen said. “Going to the market, attempting to get cable TV connected, buying gas for the car, even driving around and trying to find places was very challenging in a foreign place.”
When freshman Zach Knudsen found out that his entire life was about to change, he was very surprised. He could not believe what was about to happen.
“I was shocked,” Zach said. “I was also super excited because I thought it was a great opportunity that would open many doors in my future.”
I was also super excited because I thought it was a great opportunity that would open many doors in my future. — Zach Knudsen
One opportunity was the chance to learn French. Zach had never taken an interest in learning French before he found out he was moving, but he turned this opportunity into a learning experience.
“My school was taught using only French,” Zach said. “I had to adapt to the conditions and learn to speak French with the help of others. Overcoming the French/English language barrier wouldn’t have been possible without my translators, Sunny and Amaëlle.”
Mr. Knudsen did not already know French, and because he could not learn it in school like his son, he had to try to learn French on his own.
“It was a daily struggle to communicate,” Mr. Knudsen said. “Friends that we made who were bilingual did a lot of translating for us until our kids got up to speed with the language.”
Although there were many challenges to overcome in the beginning, the family thinks that moving to France was an amazing experience for the family, and Mr. Knudsen says he would do it again in a heartbeat.
“My favorite part of living in France was all of the interesting people we met and became close friends with,” Mr. Knudsen said. “Their kindness and generosity was completely amazing and something we never could have anticipated.”
