My wife just found out that she has to go to Montpellier, France for 3 months to set up an office there. I'm left with the choice to be apart for 3 months (yuck!), or take a leave of absence from school and go with her.

Does anyone know if it is possible to work as a foreign stagiare for only two months? Also, my French is pretty poor, so this might be a problem. I know English is sufficient to get around in most of Europe, but the French are so nationalist that I'm not sure if English will do there.

Any info TJ, Helene, or anyone else can give me regarding contacts, visas, etc., would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, Mike

By Scooter (Scooter) on Friday, February 25, 2000 - 04:52 pm: Edit

an excellent resource for networking and general infomation about moving to any country is The Expat Exchange at http://www.expatexchange.com. You'll find info on visas, moving issues, working, etc., as well as message boards similar to WebFoodPros on just about everything. hope this helps.

By tj on Friday, February 25, 2000 - 10:19 pm: Edit

i would strongly recomend just getting to france,as a turist.dont complicate yourself with working visas,etc,it might take too long ,or get too much to handle.find a local bakery and just ask the owner to help arround and learn what they do.many times they will be happy to get some help.sometimes they might not,but its sure worth a try,especialy around busy easter time .English will work in many cases ,but many french never bothered learning english ,so even if they want to ,they just can not answer in anything else but french.i now this can be a problem for many people,but hey ,what can i do about it? french is the official international language, not English.

By Doucefrance (Doucefrance) on Saturday, February 26, 2000 - 07:24 am: Edit

I agree with tj. Official papers would take too long and only lead you to having to pay taxes to the french govmt which I suppose you can live without!
Tj is also right about going directly to see bakeries, our work laws are so strict you wouldn't be able to do anything.
You might probably try writing to the professional organizations to help you find a bakery to work at.
I'll try to look up their addresses, and if you need a french translation to add to your english letter, just e-mail me.
Helene

By Doucefrance (Doucefrance) on Saturday, February 26, 2000 - 07:36 am: Edit

Mikeh,
Here is the address of the pro pastry organization of Montpellier. They are usually happy to help out.
Good luck
Helene

Confédération des Patissiers de l'Hérault
zac Tournezy
210 r Joseph Sébastien Pons
34070 Montpellier
Phone: 04 67 42 60 91

By tj on Saturday, February 26, 2000 - 04:53 pm: Edit

good idea.
just keep in mind this:
try to keep things as simple as posible.dont start filling request forms, job aplications, etc.any of those might have to be handled officialy, and there for will complicate things.i know of dozens of chefs who did just what i recomend.no one is looking for you.french imigrations is not waiting neer bakeries to arrest ilegal workers,etc.you get my point.anyway, when you get to france ,just tell the guy who stamps the passports that you are a turist on vacation for such and such time. thats it.

By Panini (Panini) on Sunday, February 27, 2000 - 06:11 pm: Edit

good info! no paper work, no job,just a tourist, thats all. Ship your tools to your new location. Some of the small town bakeries may shock you, but don't let that turn you away. You may find dirt floors around the ovens and things like this.The language should not be a barrier,you'll be talking bakery.Unless things have changed over the years, be prepared to do almost anything. But even mindless jobs give you the chance to observe things.
Of course the large fancy bakeries should be like ours here in the US.Most of the up-scale bakeries here have tried to copy theirs. French people, let me know if I'm wrong.
Best of luck to you Mikeh!
take the TGV to Zurick and visit some pastry shop there to.

By Doucefrance (Doucefrance) on Monday, February 28, 2000 - 06:24 pm: Edit

I don't think Mikeh will find any dirt floors in Montpellier! You can still find some in very old bakeries back in lost villages, but it tends to disappear with the CEE sanitation regulations.
I would say, leave your tools at home if you want to use them again, usually you use the bakery's tools otherwise yours might be considered as everybody's and you might as well say goodbye to them.
For the rest, pastry and baking have effectively a common language and you'll do fine.
People in Montpellier are really nice and it is an interesting city, I'm sure you'll like it there.
Helene

By Doucefrance (Doucefrance) on Monday, February 28, 2000 - 06:24 pm: Edit

I don't think Mikeh will find any dirt floors in Montpellier! You can still find some in very old bakeries back in lost villages, but it tends to disappear with the CEE sanitation regulations.
I would say, leave your tools at home if you want to use them again, usually you use the bakery's tools otherwise yours might be considered as everybody's and you might as well say goodbye to them.
For the rest, pastry and baking have effectively a common language and you'll do fine.
People in Montpellier are really nice and it is an interesting city, I'm sure you'll like it there.
Helene