Tips and Tricks Archives

3 Easy Ideas to Decorate with Maps

Sometimes I get overwhelmed but in the most awestruck type of way. Travel never fails to remind me what a big world we live in. And maps show me how much more exploring I need to add to my bucket list. And it can really overwhelm me with how small I am and how vast this world is. Like, wow. I’ve long been fascinated by maps and love buying new ones when I travel to a new destination. For years, they’ve become a home design staple for me, and often I’m getting compliments and long pauses at the wall...

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What to do During Your First Months of TAPIF

Taking a trip abroad is complicated enough, but moving abroad has its own set of challenges. If you’ve been accepted to the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF), you’ve probably already received multiple handbooks and links with all sorts of information. It’s overwhelming, no doubt. The months leading up to TAPIF are stressful when it comes to visas, flights and such. But what should you do once you arrive to teach English in France? In this post, I’ll explain what you need to do during your first months of TAPIF. Stick around to grab my 101 TAPIF + TEFL...

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6 Things Every Expat Needs

There’s a club for everything, I’m convinced. From knitting to Quidditch, pickle ball to coffee, there’s truly a club for everyone. One massive group I’ve discovered by moving to France is the expat community. It takes a lot of grit, patience and strength to be an expat, or someone living outside her native country. To willingly remove yourself from all familiarity can seem odd at first, but after living as an expat for sometime, you develop a type of daring endurance. With several months of life in Marseille, France, under my belt, I want to share some of the...

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Best Black Friday Deals for Travel Lovers

It is that time of year again! If you don’t usually start your holiday shopping early, this is the year to begin. Because the early bird gets the worm called sales and better prices. Although this year hasn’t included travel for most, it’s still on our minds. And if you have a travel lover in your life (or maybe it’s you!), I’m rounding up some of the best travel-themed gifts. And best of all, most are on sale or offer coupons. And if they’re not on sale, they partner with Rakuten, meaning you get a percentage cash back with...

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How To Pack for a Year in France

It’s not like I didn’t know. Over a year ago, I decided to apply to different programs where I could teach English in France. And truth be told, I didn’t look into many options outside of this dream. And despite COVID, I am heading to France to teach English to little kiddos through TAPIF and am psyched. All that to say, I have been mentally preparing for a year abroad. Yet the packing process is daunting no matter what. Today I’m walking you through how to pack for a year in France. This post includes affiliate links, which means...

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How I Applied for My TAPIF Visa to France

When people would ask me about my “trip” to France, I often chuckled. Because a trip suggests short-term for the purpose of sightseeing. And because it’s entirely easier to take a trip than it is to move abroad for work. Most trips don’t include health insurance coverage, salary, rent or visas — the last of which truly distinguishes between vacationing and moving abroad. I want to start off by saying every experience and every country’s process is different. And it even varies by what type of visa you’re applying for — and they are many. Although there are a...

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Basic French for Travelers

People like to joke about the French often, but the truth is that France is the most visited country in the world with 89 million tourists each year. And there’s good reason for it. If you know me, you know I’m obsessed with all things France and lived in Toulouse for a summer. Knowing a few key phrases for any country you visit is a great practice, and in France, these will come very much in handy. The French are known to be nicer to tourists who at least attempt French. If you’re traveling to France, here’s a quick...

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Our Trip to France Got Canceled, Here’s What We Did Instead

COVID has changed nearly every aspect of our lives, and it can be disheartening. Last April, my mom and I started planning my graduation trip to France. We’d start in Paris and then head down to Lyon and later the Riviera. My grandpa gave me Christmas money that I set aside for snorkeling in the Mediterranean, and my sisters, mom and I worked on a Google doc with our itinerary wish lists. We spent over a year planning and paying off our trip, and COVID canceled our trip to France. Although extremely bummed, my sister had the bonne idée...

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My Post-Grad Plans and Reflections on College

Displaced. I truly can’t think of a better word than displaced to describe the past few months but also this new life stage. It’s called college graduation. I truly can’t tell you what I expected to feel and experience, but it wasn’t this. No, this wasn’t the way I wanted to end my college career — in a global pandemic, that is. But is there really any good way to say goodbye? I hate goodbyes. They’re awkward and just make me sad; they feel forced, sometimes fake. I’m entering a new season of life, but I don’t exactly know...

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