Interview with Marie

Marie moved to Devon in September 2020 with her husband and daughter, after living and working in Oxford for six years. Marie is from Charente-Maritime on the West coast of France, and prior to living in England has lived in Spain, Australia, Belgium, Switzerland and Ireland. As a native French speaker who has studied English at a university level, Marie also speaks Spanish fluently, and uses this language at home to communicate with her husband who is Spanish. Despite the challenges that it sometimes poses, Marie enjoys speaking foreign languages on a daily basis, including for her job as a development editor in a publishing house. Globally, Marie has not experienced any animosity related to Brexit, but she does highlight that at the time of the referendum she lived in Oxford which felt like a ‘bubble’. She has once been subject to xenophobic remarks when speaking in Spanish, but states that this has not happened in Devon, which she sees as a multicultural and friendly environment. Notably, Marie’s experiences of living through the Me Too and Black Lives Matter movements while in England have been identity-shaping, urging her to reflect on important social issues affecting herself and those around her. Marie’s memory object is a Claddagh Ring that she purchased on her Erasmus year in Galway 15 years ago; this was an important year for Marie which encouraged numerous personal developments. The ring symbolizes values that she holds dear, as well as her relationship with her husband whom she met during this exchange. The ring also reminds her of her love for travel and living in foreign countries.