WickedFrenchKiss is a blog where I document my life as an American expat living in France. "Wicked" was chosen because I'm originally from the Boston area, and it's a common word used to mean "very" (e.g. "that's wicked cool!"). "French kiss" was chosen because, well, what's the first thing to come to mind when you think of France? That's right, the famous "french kiss"!

It was created in June 2001 as I prepared to head to Toulouse, France, for a year-long study abroad program. After returning to the US to finish my undergraduate degree, I came back to France in September 2003 to teach English at a university in Clermont-Ferrand. I loved it so much that I decided to try and stay!

I worked and lived in Clermont-Ferrand through August 2010, during which time I completed a Masters 1 and a Masters 2 in American civilization (2005 and 2006, respectively).

In January 2008, I applied for French nationality, and I became a naturalized French citizen in April 2009. I voted in my first French election in April/May 2012.

On June 3, 2009, my boyfriend Damien and I got PACSed (the equivalent of a civil union).

I successfully passed the French national teaching exam (CAPES interne) in 2010, making me a permanent government employee. In 2010, I accepted a contractual teaching position at a university in the Paris region (Université Paris-Est Créteil), where I taught for two years. I lived in Vichy and commuted to Paris every week (3 hours each way), knowing that I could only have that contractual position for 3 years, max.

In November 2011, I accepted a permanent teaching position in the Centre de Langues at Université Lumière Lyon 2, starting in September 2012. Damien and I moved to Lyon in the summer of 2012, and we're enjoying our time in this fabulous city! I was elected Co-director of the Centre de Langues in June 2013, and I've been enjoying the new challenges.

Contact

If you want to call us or send us mail, please email me at ejohnson [AT] wickedfrenchkiss [DOT] com and I'll email you our info!