My name is Kenza, I am originally from Paris, France and have been living in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada since 2017. I have been writing on this blog for ten years!
My story
I grew up in Paris and I studied to become a French teacher. Everything was going according to plan until a big strike happened in 2008. I needed a break from university so I spent a year in England, teaching French to primary school kids.
This experience changed my life: I would be a French teacher, yes, but abroad! I moved back to France to finish my second undergrad and then left for good. I taught French for ten years, in various places:
- York in England,
- Jersey, in the Channel Islands,
- Brandon, Manitoba, Canada,
- Melbourne, in Australia,
- Budapest, in Hungary,
- And finally in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
In the summer of 2019, I stopped teaching French, having grown weary of the difficult work conditions and bad salaries. I did some project management and I am now the corporate trainer in the same company I have been at since I left teaching.
Why Winnipeg?
I loved my expat life. I loved being always on the move, starting everything in a new country once a year, creating new routines and discovering a new school system. But progressively as the years went by, I got tired of being moving all the time and lacked stability. I chose Canada as the country I would settle in.
I got a Canadian Working Holiday Visa in 2016 and left for Winnipeg in April 2017. Why Winnipeg? Because I had friends there already, a job was waiting for me and it’s easier to get Permanent Residency for French-speakers in Manitoba.
And 5 years later, I am still in Winnipeg and waiting for my Canadian citizenship!
The day to day
When I am not working, what do I like doing? I write in this blog, I take photos, I shoot Youtube videos and also write for other websites, about Manitoba and Francophonie. I go for walks, I do some geocaching. I enjoy coffee, cakes, reading, and making too many lists in too many notebooks.
The blog
My blog is very personal. I haven’t translated everything yet but you are going to find:
- A monthly post where I sum up what I have been up to, what I read or listened;
- Content about Winnipeg
- Content about Manitoba
- Past travel stories in Europe, the United States, Costa Rica, Asia, Australia.
You can also find me and follow me on any one of the social media above. Talk to you soon!
