EP 58: Rebecca's loaded up on the Good Stuff and sharing epiphanies revealed in Portugal, then drops a healthcare bombshell at the end

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Where to find Aimee:

• Instagram: @vibrancenutrition
• Nutrition Coaching: vibrancenutrition.com
• Podcast on Nutrition: Blasphemous Nutrition
• Substack on Nomadic Life: NomadicNomMom

Where to find Rebecca:

• Instagram and her life in Paris: @beseriouslyhappy
• Podcast for Interior Design-preneurs: Stuff Interior Designers Need to Know
• Biz Coaching for Interior Designers: seriouslyhappy.com
• Book on Interior Design Psychology: Happy Starts at Home

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Welcome to Bonjola, a podcastabout two women, Aimee and
Rebecca, who each moved from theUnited States to Europe to
become expats, Aimee to Spainand Rebecca to France.
We're here to share the highs,the lows, and the logistics of
this adventure, encourage you tofollow your own move abroad
dreams, and remind you thatyou're not alone when the going
gets tough.
Enjoy.

chingona_1_01-07-2025 (00:24):
Bonjoula, Rebecca.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (00:26):
Bon Jovi, Aimee.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_04102 (00:28):
You are, uh, now sick.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_13102 (00:32):
Yes, I have my second French cold and
I'm very sad about it, but I dohave my Dayquil and NyQuil
stash, so it could be worse.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (00:41):
Yeah, I was gonna say, did you, did
you get some American drugs?

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_1310 (00:46):
Yeah.
Back when we were in Oregon, orback when I was in Oregon, I
brought home, uh, I think twobottles of each NyQuil, DayQuil
in gel caps, NyQuil and DayQuilin liquid form, and some Mucinex
and Pepto.
I grabbed everything that Icouldn't imagine getting here
and feeling very grateful

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (01:09):
Yeah, I'm surprised you're not in a
better mood because you you'relike hopped up on all the good
shit

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_1310 (01:15):
Well, it's the new and I had all of
these goals and things that Iwas excited to dive back into
when we got back from Portugal.
And you know, like they say,life is what happens when you're
making other plans, but I feelvery defeated, you know, by this
virus and it's making otherdecisions than I wanted to make.

(01:35):
And it's saying, no, you have tosleep in.
Rest.
And I, that's not what I wanted.
And so

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041022 (01:43):
I have just

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (01:43):
I'm feeling a lot of resistance

chingona_1_01-07-2025_0410 (01:46):
yeah But I will say having worked in
the health and wellness fieldfor as long as I had January is
the time when people who overdoit In November and December
crash because your body is like,okay, we're done We are done

(02:06):
now.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (02:08):
And the irony of it is that I was in
Portugal for three weeks and itwas a wonderful trip and I had a
lot of time to just be, to justexist.
We would walk.
It's about a.
Two mile walk down to the beach,and then we walk two or three
miles on the beach.
And this is not really in atouristed part of Portugal, so

(02:28):
we could walk a mile or two onthe beach and see maybe one
other person.
So it's very meditative, verygrounding.
And I had some really importantreally silly epiphanies.
but they were mindset shiftsthat I'm really pleased about or
I was pleased about.
And I'm assuming in a week Iwill feel pleased about again.

(02:51):
For example, I've always beenthe kind of person I am, the
kind of person who goes at 110percent and a hundred percent
has always felt like what youshould be striving for.
And so the idea of, you know,take it down a couple of notches
has always been something Iresist because it's like, well,

(03:12):
if I have a hundred percent, whywouldn't I give a hundred
percent?
And then I was in Portugal wherethe pace of life is dramatically
slower.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (03:22):
Yeah, I guess you don't you don't get
to realize that so much in Parissince you're you're in an
international bustling city.
It's a European city.
So you feel a difference from anAmerican city However, it is
still not the pace of life thatmost of Europe holds

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (03:44):
If anybody goes back and listens to
some of the first episodes, Idefinitely talked about
Downshifting and how I reallylike the pace here in Paris and
then having spent those fewweeks in Portugal now that I'm
back in Paris, I do feel thatkind of amped urban Buzz and

(04:05):
I'm, I haven't quite settledback into it partly because I'm
sick, but also partly because Iwant to bring back from Portugal
a different way of thinking.
So instead of thinking, insteadof going at a hundred percent
and go at 80 or 20%, I'mthinking of it more now, like
how you drive certain roads.

(04:26):
It's safe to drive 20 miles anhour on other roads.
It's safe to drive 60 miles anhour on.
It's not a mark of whether ornot you're driving.
in order just to drive faster.
Faster isn't the be all and endall when you're driving.
You also want to enjoy the view,be safe, not run over
pedestrians, not kill yourself.

(04:49):
And so until I got sick two daysago, I was pretty excited about
this concept of Allow yourselfto drive a little slower rather
than feeling like it wassomething holding me back or
tying me down.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041022 (05:04):
I love this analogy so much.
This is fantastic.
It makes me so happy.
And I also, when you said, whenyou said, um, You know, the
first thing that came to mindwhen you talked about, the
safety of some roads, right,there is a posted speed limit.
It's not a, it's not theappropriate speed all the time,

(05:29):
right?
Like, if you take a corner, ifyou're supposed to take a corner
at a speed no higher than 35miles an hour, 35 miles an hour
is your 100%.
If it's raining, if it's icy,And you're, take that corner at
35 miles an hour, you're goingoff the road.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_1310 (05:47):
Yeah.
Which, so here's the full circleof it, which is, you know, this
is my rainy weather these two

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (05:54):
Yeah.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (05:55):
I am not able to go 35 miles an
hour on this road and I have toaccept that right now if I'm
lucky I'm going to go 10 milesan hour and really I should
probably just leave the car inthe garage

chingona_1_01-07-2025_0410 (06:08):
Stay home,

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (06:09):
for

chingona_1_01-07-2025 (06:09):
implement weather.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (06:12):
So, even though I'm super bummed
about being sick right now, itdoes go with what I wanted to
bring back, which is drive atthe appropriate pace for the
conditions.
And I was hoping for sunny,clear roads on January 6th, and
it's not.
Um.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_04102 (06:33):
And think about what you want from
your road trip, too.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_13102 (06:37):
Yes.
Yes.
Because getting there faster,where are we all getting

chingona_1_01-07-2025_04102 (06:42):
The grave.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_13 (06:42):
getting to the end of our life.
I know.
I'm, it continues to be ajourney for me.
I am not pretending to beperfect at it yet, but Paris was
a downshift now Portugal'shelping me downshift further and
go.
The journey is on.
All there is.

(07:03):
So we'll see if I hold on to it.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_04102 (07:07):
How many times a year do you need to
go to Portugal to have thatreminder?

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (07:14):
I love that you just asked that
question.
And I don't know that it's aboutPortugal per se, but it's about
taking myself outside of my ownrat race.
The first time I experiencedthis successfully was when I
wrote my first book, happystarts at home, discovered I
could not write it.
in my regular life.
Some people can get up everymorning and write for an hour or

(07:34):
something.
I'm, that's not me.
So I had to book an Airbnb forthree to four days at a time.
And in four sessions over thecourse of a year, I wrote the
book, which is great, but that'snot the point of the story.
Because I was full, Forcingmyself to take these mini
vacations.
I was experiencing these momentsaway from the hustle and bustle

(07:57):
of my life.
And the year I wrote my book wasone of the healthiest years I've
ever

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041022 (08:02):
Mm hmm.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (08:03):
I imposed, or I guess I gave
myself an excuse to take thosetrips.
So my answer would be, I thinkabout if I was truly being my
healthiest once a

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (08:15):
Yeah.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (08:16):
I would take a three to four day
break from the internet, from myjobs, from my bills, from my
clients, even from Damien.
I have to remember I am anindividual strong person and I
can forget that in my own

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (08:31):
Yeah.
Yeah.
It is real easy to forget thatwhen so much of your attention
is focused on other things andother people.
Oh.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_1310 (08:42):
Yeah.
Now, funny thing is I've known,I wrote that book in 2016, so
we're, that's eight years agonow that I learned that lesson
is nine and I have not been goodabout taking those breaks.
I.
Take them maybe once a year.
And that, I would say, is only asustaining

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (09:05):
Yeah.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (09:07):
And the move to France, I had to, I
didn't understand somethinguntil recently, which is in the
past, I could come to Europe andEurope was the break from my
real

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041022 (09:20):
Mm hmm.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_1310 (09:22):
Well, my real life is here now.
And so ever since March, I havebeen.
adventuring, but it's the thrillseeking, the thrill ride kind of
adventuring.
It's not a be quiet and be kindof adventure.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_0410 (09:41):
part of that because you are in
Europe.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_1310 (09:44):
Well, I think it's because I'm trying
to live my real life.
The one that has bills andresponsibilities and deadlines
and Europe.
Kind of amps it up because I'malso trying to learn French and
find new friends and, and figureout how weigh my vegetables at
the grocery store.
And so your, your brain, mybrain is always, always, always

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (10:08):
Yeah.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (10:08):
in life.
And so being in Portugal, Iworked for one week before
Damien showed up.
And then the last two weeks Iturned off email.
I turned off everything.
And I literally could find, Icould feel my body.

(10:28):
I don't know how to evendescribe it.
I could feel my body heal,

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041022 (10:33):
Mm hmm.
Mm

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (10:34):
the way I want to put

chingona_1_01-07-2025_0410 (10:35):
hmm.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (10:37):
My body and my brain feel them
healing.
Ah, and yet I'm sick.
So, the irony,

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (10:46):
Well, your defenses, your body let
your defenses come down.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (10:51):
I suppose.
And, know, if I'm not completelycrazy, is my immune system doing
what it's supposed to do, and itneeds to do that in order to be
good at its

chingona_1_01-07-2025_0410 (11:04):
Yes.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (11:04):
if you never ever get sick, then
you're actually weaker, right?
Is that true?

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (11:09):
Yeah, yeah, it is true.
Um, You know, it's like youdon't, you don't recruit
military forces and not havethem train and then throw them
into combat and expect to comeout alive.
So yeah, our immune system is areactive, responsive system to

(11:31):
the environment.
And if it doesn't have a chanceto experience and learn and
adapt from what it comes across,then, then yeah, you get, when
you, when something gets throughthe defenses, it gets knocked
down pretty, pretty hard.
It's one of the reasons why, youknow, in the initial phases of
coming out of the pandemic, whenpeople did get Just what was

(11:54):
basic colds and flus, they feltit so much more.
It was like, it, you know, itwasn't just the sniffles.
It was like, bam, you're out.
And one thing I just casuallyobserved, and I don't know if it
is anything other than, acorrelation I'm making up in my
own mind, but the people whowere the most sequestered, you

(12:18):
know, who did the, the best joband were the A plus students at
Shelter in Place were, um, morelikely to be like seriously
knocked down than people whowere like, Oh my God, I can't
stand it.
I have to get out of the houseand engaged early and often in
the world.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_1310 (12:35):
Yeah, I know that there's a lot around
parenting with that too, likelet your kids play in the dirt.
Their bodies need to get to knowthe bacteria and pathogens that
are around

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (12:44):
Yeah, there's a whole hypothesis of
immunology, um, called the,Hygiene Hypothesis, which is
based upon observations thatkids who grow up with pets and
kids who grow up in farms inrural areas have less autoimmune
disease and less asthma than,um, than kids who grow up

(13:05):
without those things.
And it's this idea that Youknow, early and often getting
the immune system exposed to allsorts of different bacterias
Viruses molds, you know all allthe different things Helps build
a more robust immune system thatis more resilient over the

(13:26):
lifespan,

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (13:28):
And it's also about letting the
whole system work the way it'ssupposed to.
I've been reading the mostwonderful book on the history of
French cheeses, totally geekingout about it.
And so much of what the book isabout is the Bacteria that is in
different areas of France, andthen the effect that those
bacteria have on the cheesesthat they're trying to

chingona_1_01-07-2025_04 (13:48):
right?

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (13:49):
in terms of flavor and stuff.
But one of the things that wasinteresting was, um, some of the
changes that came around withPasteur, who created
pasteurization, and there was abig craze in the cheese making
industry, too, to, to turn to,like, steel doors instead of
wood

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041022 (14:06):
Mm hmm.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (14:08):
But through some of the book, um, as
I've been reading it, In certainsituations, the steel is less
good because it kills off or itallows all the bacteria to be
killed off.
And so now the good bacteriathat not only creates the
flavors that they want in theircheese, but also kept the bad
bacteria at bay, alsodiminished, letting the bad

(14:30):
bacteria have the opportunity totake root.
So,

chingona_1_01-07-2025_04 (14:35):
That's hand sanitizer

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_1310 (14:35):
know,

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041022 (14:36):
in a nutshell folks

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_13102 (14:38):
it's a delicate dance of, of things
we can't even see creating thebiosphere that upon we, upon
which we

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (14:48):
Yeah,

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (14:49):
Oh, speaking of biosphere, so
Portugal.
Obviously not very developedcompared to many of the other
places that we've been.
really dark sky.
We saw five planets in the skyone night.
I don't think I've ever seenfive planets at one time.
That was so cool.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_ (15:07):
awesome.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_13102 (15:07):
See, getting to see the stars.
It's, you know, I spent the last30 years in Seattle, which
almost always has a cloud andmarine layer.
And then Paris not only cloudsup a lot, but obviously has tons
and tons and tons of night sky.
So the stars are not something Iget to enjoy very often.
It's a real treat.
Um, I mean, everything aboutPortugal was just a little bit

(15:29):
closer to a natural lifestyle,even though it's obviously a
completely developed country.
Um, there were some fundifferences.
One, they definitely don't careabout the bonjour effect.
Going into a store in Portugalfeels exactly like going to a
store in the United States.
They're like, the clerks arelike, okay, you're here, we

(15:50):
don't care, let us know if youneed us.
Um, was, it was just, it wasnoticeable, not good or

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (15:59):
Yeah.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131 (16:01):
People are so much slower, In
everything, in their walking, intheir talking, their body
language is more open.
will absolutely stop if you'retrying to cross the crosswalk or
something.
They're just very aware becauseit doesn't feel like anybody's
in a hurry.

(16:22):
Everybody that we encounteredspoke quite good English.
That was something I wasn't sureabout, but traveling there as a
non Portuguese speaking personturns out to be very easy.
And then of course the cost ofliving is significantly lower.
I learned that the median wagethere is 11, 000 a year, the

(16:44):
equivalent of, it really putslife in perspective when you
hear those numbers in acompletely developed country,
right?
Your brain does a little bit oflike a, Oh yeah, reality check

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (16:57):
Yeah.
Gosh, no wonder.
I mean, that is, um, half, Ithink, of what it is here in
Spain.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_13102 (17:06):
Wow.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_0410 (17:07):
when I think about, you know, the
impact that all of, that thehousing market has had on the
average Spaniard, I can'timagine how much worse it is in
Portugal.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_1310 (17:19):
Yeah.
Well, and then it makes youunderstand the blowback against
the golden visa

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (17:24):
100%.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_13 (17:24):
because originally they were allowing
random people to buy regularhomes, but they had to invest at
least 500, 000 euro.
And so they were justartificially making the homes be
worth 500, 000 euro so that allthese, foreigners live their
little expat dreams withoutrealizing, you know, completely

(17:46):
innocent of the fact.
That is completely outpricingthe Portuguese people who
deserve to have a home in theirown

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (17:53):
Yeah.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_1310 (17:55):
It's, uh, it's complicated.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041022 (17:58):
It is.
It is.
Yeah.
And it's, it's funny because I,how do you, how do you feel
about that as someone who didtake advantage of that, of the
golden visa scheme and,

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (18:11):
Oh, how, oh, well, of the things
that occurs to me is that all ofus who are on the bottom of the
wealth totem pole, way, very,way far away from the Elon Musks
and Gates's of the world andTaylor Swift's, people we like
on the list too.

(18:33):
You know, the people with thatmuch money.
money makes them money.
They are allowed to play gameswith their money in a way that
anybody in the middle and lowerclasses are not allowed to.
And so as I have slowlyaccumulated a small pile of
wealth for myself and I'm makingchoices about how to use it, I

(18:54):
am really torn because I don'tlike the idea that I would be
contributing to a system ofhousing

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041022 (19:01):
Mm hmm.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (19:03):
But I also am like, but why can't I
take advantage of the rules thathave been set up?
Other people are going to takeadvantage of those rules.
Why artificially keep myselfpoorer and broker when an
opportunity presents itself tome?
I'm not saying I have an easyanswer.

(19:23):
But I will also point out that Ihaven't been flashing pictures
of my condo in Portugal all overInstagram because I am
uncomfortable with the idea ofhaving even a little bit more
money than another person.
How's that for a psychologicallyconfused answer?

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041022 (19:43):
I think it's superhuman.
I mean not, not superhuman as inSuperman, but superhuman as in
really, genuinely very human.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_1310 (19:53):
Yeah.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_0410 (19:53):
It's so, I don't know, it's normal in
my mind to hold very complex,conflicting emotions and ideas
on the regular.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_13102 (20:05):
Yes, but people don't really tend to
share them

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (20:07):
Well, that's true.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_ (20:09):
Everybody wants things to be in black and
white, and everybody is so readyto be offended that it can feel
very vulnerable to answer aquestion like that with any
sense of honesty.
then when nobody out there isbeing honest about how
conflicted all of thesedecisions are, then it becomes
now a point of shame and onethat we can't talk about, so we

(20:31):
just argue about it and calleach other names.
You know, and then we just likego into the whole expat versus
immigrant thing and now we'reback into classism and racism
and all I wanted to do was walkon the beach.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041022 (20:47):
I feel so removed from all of that
right now, and I feel so glad.
I'm so happy to feel so removedfrom all of that nonsense.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_13102 (20:56):
What do how can you tell me more?

chingona_1_01-07-2025_04102 (21:00):
And maybe it's just that I have not
been as engaged in the onlineworld as of late.
You know, I go through thesefits and starts.
Like, I detest social media, andsometimes I just end up there
anyway, because Phones areaddictive.

(21:21):
Um, and then I get cranky and Ipull back again and, uh, you
know, here in Spain, thechildren get Three and a half
weeks off of school for theChristmas holiday.
And so having kiddo at home, youknow, there hasn't been as much

(21:44):
focused time to get caught up inrando drama on the internet.
So I feel very removed from the,from the conversations where
it's only this or that.
It can only be this way.
Et cetera, et cetera.
And I'm super happy about that.
I also feel like there's alittle bit of pushback to that

(22:04):
now.
Like, there's been a, there'sbeen a really strong energetic
shift that reminds me a lot ofwhat happened when, um, Stuart,
What's his name?
The comedian, Jonathan Stewart.
Is that right?
That's not

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (22:25):
Jon

chingona_1_01-07-2025_04102 (22:25):
Jon Stewart.
The, there was the, you know, wecan't talk about, anything other
than the Wuhan market hypothesisof COVID otherwise you're, you
know, racist, you're, orwhatever, you know, there was
only one narrative that wasacceptable for a significant

(22:48):
period of time in 2020 as to howthe COVID Pandemic came about.
And then Jon Stewart was like,just like said the thing that
nobody was allowed to say.
And instantaneously, peoplestopped getting canceled online
and blacklisted for talkingabout other possibilities.
And I feel like something hashappened recently where there is

(23:14):
less severe instantaneous.
Cancellation and blacklistingfor doing something as abhorrent
as talking about weight loss.
I mean, that's kind of where I'mseeing it.
Like, I almost feel like all ofa sudden in December, it feels
like it's okay to talk aboutpeople wanting to lose weight

(23:35):
again, that that's not, like, abad thing.
And I don't know why.
I don't know why, but it's justa very, uh, It's a sense that
I'm getting in the internet thatpeople are going to feel more
comfortable being honest aboutbeing uncomfortable in their

(23:58):
body without feeling thatthey're going to be told that
they are like victims of thepatriarchy or they're not
allowed to You know that thatthey're not accepting their body
at any size if they want tochange something, right?
Like I feel like some of thatand maybe it's just New Year's
stuff.
I don't know that could be itBut I do feel like at least in

(24:20):
that realm, there's been astrong shift of almost a release
of all this pressure of beingtold that there's only one way
to think and one way to speakand one way to be in the world.
I don't know.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_1310 (24:35):
Yeah.
Well, and I think that there wasthis fear of being canceled, you
know, and that shows up in a lotof different levels.
It's not like you and I arefamous people that are going to
get canceled at that, uh,celebrity

chingona_1_01-07-2025_04102 (24:50):
No, no, but I had plenty of plenty
of people cancel me and likestep out of my life during.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_13102 (24:55):
just within friendships and, um,
even, or getting.
Uh, what are they, what ifFacebook kicks you off the
Facebook platform because youused the wrong word, I guess, in
a post, but I think what we wereseeing for a while is that
everybody was so afraid ofgetting cancelled that they
started walking on eggshells,which is not a way to live.

(25:18):
You cannot let the fear ofsomebody else being mad at you
or taking away their approval,whatever level that is at, let
you shape yourself to what theywant you to be.
That is the, that is a slow butsure death of your own soul.
And so maybe if people are justfinally tired of walking on
eggshells and they're like, no,look, this is how I feel.

(25:40):
This is how I see myself.
see it.
And I think that's so importantbecause if we can't do that, we
can't have conversations.
We will stay to talking headsthat take on our little
political points never everallow information to come in
because it could challenge ourblack and white view of the
world.
it's a very fragile way to live.
It will, it will kill you and itwill kill everybody else around

(26:03):
you.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (26:03):
Well, I would say that American
culture has been nothing if notfragile for quite some time.
Hmm.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (26:09):
is.
And we've talked about the needfor resilience and grit.
And I think it's part of why Ihave enjoyed calling my, calling
entrepreneurs, my friends for somany

chingona_1_01-07-2025_0410 (26:19):
Hmm.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131 (26:21):
people who are willing to risk their
daily income status have adifferent level of grit and
resilience than people whodon't.
Um, we're lucky enough to findlongterm stability in a job,
which is hard to find

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (26:34):
Yeah,

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (26:36):
Um, but an entrepreneur chooses
instability and that sayssomething about, like, if you're
an intra entrepreneur andlistening, like Bravo to you,
like no matter how hard it is orhow much you have or haven't
succeeded, have a spark insideof you.
That is rare and valuable.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_0410 (26:59):
it's so funny because my experience
is so different and maybe it'sjust because I come from
multiple generations of peoplewho have done their own thing
and worked for themselves, butI've always viewed.
Working for someone else asbeing a much more unstable and

(27:21):
fragile position because I don'thave control over how much I get
paid.
I don't have control overwhether or not I'm allowed to
come and work.
You know, something could happenand I could lose that position
because of a stockholdermeeting.
Right?
So it's never really felt likethis secure thing.

(27:43):
Because I think by time I wasable to enter the workforce, it
was already starting to becomeclear that working 20 25 at the
same job and getting the goldwatch was not going to be
something that we, ourgeneration, was going to be
entitled

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (27:58):
No.
And I do think that it is afacade.
There is no actual stabilitythere, but I think it's easier
to trick yourself into a senseof security and stability in the
nine to five job.
Like there's no, no veil ofsecurity when you're an
entrepreneur.
It's day you're like, I bettergo make this happen.

(28:21):
I mean, you know, after five to10 years, you hopefully have
created a machine that is selfsustaining, but it still needs
sustaining.
You can't just drive a car for20 years and expect it to just
keep running.
You have to take it in for tuneups and fill it with gas, and
the business is the same way.
Whereas, you know, especiallyhere in France, it's really hard

(28:42):
to get fired.
So depending on where you live,you can coast out your life.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_04 (28:48):
that's true.
That's true.
It's hard to get fired in Spainas well.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_1310 (28:52):
Yeah.
And there's a, there's pros andcons to that too.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (28:55):
There

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (28:56):
We

chingona_1_01-07-2025_04102 (28:56):
are pros and cons.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (28:59):
Oh, speaking of which, I was
affected by my first strike.
Um, there have been quite a fewwhile we've lived here over the
many months.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_04102 (29:06):
The French do love a good strike.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_13102 (29:09):
That is their love language, I think.
Well, we had, uh, tickets to goto the Pompidou Center, which is
a modern, uh, museum, modern artmuseum here in France, in Paris.
And they're going to be closingit this summer for five or 10
years for a great big

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (29:24):
Whoa.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (29:26):
And they've got a surrealism exhibit
right now.
And I love surreal art.
So I got tickets and we walkedup to the Pompidou, doo, doo,
doo, doo, doo.
And everybody's kind of standingaround, like it's kind of a
weird stand around vibe energy.
And it took us like two or threeminutes.
And we finally realized thewhole thing was just shut down.

(29:47):
And everybody was standingaround looking at their phones,
trying to figure out, is itreally shut down?
Is it shut down all day?
What's going on?
But yeah, sure as heck, thewhole thing was shut down for a
strike.
I got an email about two, twohours later saying, we're very
sorry, um, but the museum isclosed for exceptional reasons,
which is how they often say itin French.

(30:07):
And we will refund your ticketsfor the exhibit.
And life goes

chingona_1_01-07-2025_0410 (30:12):
Wow.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_1310 (30:14):
Yeah.
But we ended up finding two.
Uh, really great thrift storesright in that same area.
Damien got a really fantasticwinter leather coat three new
stripy blouses.
So it's a good lesson in goingwith the flow of what life is
handing you and not freaking outabout plans changing, which is

(30:35):
something that I am practicing.
And it turned out to be a reallygood

chingona_1_01-07-2025_ (30:39):
Awesome.
Yeah, that reminds me.
I need to go back up to Paris soyou can take me thrift shopping.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (30:45):
Oh, and I'm finding more and more
and more good ones.
So yes, I'm glad that weactually waited because now I've
got a whole route for us tofollow.
Well, is there anything else wewould like to share as we go
into the new year?
2025.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041022 (31:05):
I honestly can't think of
anything.
I think really the takeaway fromtoday's episode is,, be mindful
that there's a speed limit andbe mindful that sometimes you
need to go below the speed limitto stay safe and on the road.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (31:22):
You do.
All right.
Well, actually, you know, I'vegot to slip this in here at the
end.
I don't.
I don't know if I told you,Aimee, do you know that Damien
crashed his bike?

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (31:33):
Nope.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (31:34):
No.
Okay.
So I was in Portugal already andhe was, it was like finishing up
the quarter with all of hisfriends.
Remember his friends are intheir mid twenties, late
twenties.
It was nighttime.
It was a little bit wet out.
They were all biking from onebar to another and he clipped a
curb.
He went down.

(31:54):
No helmet.
He's okay.
His face is okay.
He sprained his right hand,which is mostly healed now, and
he appears to have torn hisrotator cuff in his left
shoulder.
He's had rotator cuff surgerybefore, so we've been down this
road.

(32:14):
He ended up having to go to thehospital, so we've now tried out
the French health care system,and it is the beginning of a
journey.
Just like in America, he was atthe hospital for four, five, six
hours, long time.
But got x rays, and nothing wasbroken, so now he's back and
he's going to have to get an MRIand then find a surgeon and

(32:35):
everything.
So the two lessons, or the twothings to share, number one is,
guess what the hospital billwas?

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (32:42):
Zero.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_1310 (32:45):
Well, now you make my answers sound
bad.
No, it was 20 whole

chingona_1_01-07-2025_04102 (32:49):
Oh, my God.
That's amazing.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (32:50):
I know.
just feels like a typo.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041022 (32:56):
I need five more zeros here.
Why is there only one zero?

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_1 (33:00):
Exactly.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041022 (33:01):
me out of zeros.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (33:03):
Um, and then we are, we are getting
our toes into the system.
So how it's working so far,because Damien is a student, he
was able to apply for thehealthcare system a bit earlier
than me.
So that means he has a socialsecurity number.
they mail you a pin number sothat you can get into the Amelie

(33:24):
site so that you can sign up andget your doctor.
'cause it kind of works like aPPO here.
Well he,'cause we kept moving.
He never got his four digitthing.
So we had to go to the CAMoffice, C-P-A-M-C-A-M office,
and they were able to give him.
His four digit code.
Great! So we come home, and he'slike, Now I can log on to the

(33:45):
site, change my address, andfind a doctor.
Sadly, it has been three days,and so far, every single day,
the website has said, We'resorry, the website is down.
It does continue to be a onetiny baby step forward at a time
experience of learning how to bean

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041 (34:06):
Yeah.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (34:07):
but we're going to focus on that
beautiful silver lining of a 20euro hospital bill and trust
that the rest of it is going towork out.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_0410 (34:16):
Wow.
I can't believe you droppedsomething like that at the end
of the episode because now Ifeel like we need a 20 minute
conversation about, like, how isDamien doing?
Is this going to affect hisability in school?
Because he's right handed,right?
Yeah.
Yeah.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_13102 (34:33):
Yes, but it is his left

chingona_1_01-07-2025_0410 (34:35):
What

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_13102 (34:36):
that is good.
But this is the perfect way todo it because I really just told
you everything we know so far.
So stay tuned because we'redefinitely going to be diving
deep into the French health caresystem over the next couple of
months.
And have no idea how this isgoing to unfold.

chingona_1_01-07-2025_041022 (34:52):
a great way to start 2025.

rebecca_1_01-07-2025_131022 (34:55):
Oh, good Lord.
Well, with that, our dearfriends, fois, and please keep
yourselves healthy and well.
We hope you enjoyed this episodeof Bonjola.
If you did, the best thing youcan do is share it with another
person brave enough to moveabroad.
See you next time!