Anne

Originally from Australia, Anne and John lived in Paris, France in 2015 for John’s first postdoctoral position before they moved to Pasadena in 2016 : “I was born and raised in Australia, but my parents are from Indonesia. They were very conscious that I was growing up in an English speaking country and felt that it was very important that I learn the Indonesian language and not forget about my heritage.” From a very young Anne started to learn about her roots and took traditional dance and art classes. This sparked her love and interest for the creative world and eventually her work in the arts.

“John and I have been together for ten years and we just celebrated our two year wedding anniversary. It has been a fun ride… Leaving Australia was not what I anticipated for my career, I had to leave a job that I loved, but this is what you need to do sometimes for those you love, right? (Laughs). But I am very grateful for the opportunities I’ve had... Especially for living abroad, meeting new people, seeing amazing places...”.

Arriving in France was not very easy : “We arrived on a Monday, and John went straight to work on Tuesday. So I was immediately by myself. I learned how to be a lot more independent. It was hard to be motivated... When you don't have friends, when you don't know how to speak the language fluently and you have too much time... I experimented with new recipes, I took French baking classes and some art classes to keep myself busy. And the first six months I took an intensive French class.” Anne managed to work as an English instructor and babysitter for a great family. “Josephine's grandma was a curator for the Louvre in Paris... Josephine is quite an artist herself, she drew a portrait of me!” as Anne showed the drawing made by the four year old girl with a laugh. “Yes, she was my best friend...” she said with a lot of tenderness in her voice. “I expected to meet more people in France but it was hard to make friends.. but I have to say, the French people I met since we’ve moved to Pasadena have been very nice! (Laugh)”.

Transitioning to Pasadena has been easier for them : “In Paris I thought I would be able to volunteer, but nobody wants you to work for free! There were days where I wouldn't even leave the apartment, not because I didn't want to,it was more like a motivation thing. It was hard not knowing people, the language... Feeling out of place... So when I learned that we were going to move to Pasadena I had a totally different approach. I had to go in and start volunteering as soon as possible and for everything I could to - to make friends and start making connections. It worked pretty well. John received this information package from Caltech and told me about the Spouses Club (CISC) and the IDCN... So I started to go to the recreation group and other activities run by CISC and when the recreation group leader stopped leading, I took over... I had been here for only two weeks. The IDCN (International Dual Career Networking) were also looking for volunteers, so I signed up for that too. On occasion, I also volunteer for the USC Pacific Asia Museum and the Armory Centre for the Arts” Joining the Spouses Club, Anne used her previous experience in France to help new post doc's spouses to settle in Pasadena through the club. She found a community that didn't exist in France. A place where she felt she could contribute.

Leaving Australia hasn't been too hard this time around : “ I am the only child in my family, I think being so far away from my parents is the hardest thing. But before we left we made sure they had smart phones, they know how to use Skype, Whatsapp, Facebook... So it makes things really easy, and they’ve taken it up very well - I am proud of them! We keep in touch regularly, I feel like I don't miss them that much because it’s so easy to sync up. I think it would be harder if we had to stay indefinitely. But as we know we will go back it make things easier.”

Created By
Christophe Marcade
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Christophe Marcade

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