In the process of discovery

Expat zone

Aurelien Capron and wife Amelie, who are from the North of France, love travelling around and learning about new cultures.

The young couple, who have been in the City for more than two years, live here with son Antoine, and are enjoying their stay.

Amelie is from Arras, a city in the North of France, while Aurelien was born in South Africa and moved to South Korea and other places before coming to India. “Adjusting to a new place isn’t a hard thing for me as I’m used to travelling around,” says Aurelien.

He works for Safran and is the head of operations at Snecma HAL Aerospace Pvt Ltd. “It wasn’t just work that brought us here. I had told my wife that we would move around and this was by choice,” he says excitedly.

 “I was into engineering earlier but now, my field of work has changed. Thus, the experience here has been a different one.” He says that the workplace mostly has Indians.

“The people at work are very friendly and warm. I feel very comfortable.” Aurelien says that the people have always been “enthusiastic and willing to learn”. He adds, “The staff welcomed me with open arms and accepted me as I was, which made it easier.”

However, there are some challenges at the workplace like “improper planning and making projects happen”. He says that it is sometimes a challenge to communicate to employees about winding up a project.

“It is easy to start things here. But to complete a project is a difficult task,” he says. Aurelien says that the team spirit over here is something distinct unlike France, where people mostly think about the individual performance.

He also feels that communication isn’t clear here. “When some information is shared, it can often be misleading. This is not on purpose but it can be difficult to understand what an employee is actually trying to say. Often, I have to cross-check with different people. Direct answers to questions can rarely be found,” he says.

The couple didn’t know much about Bengaluru before coming to the City. “We didn’t know anyone who was living here. But we knew that Bengaluru was an expanding place and an IT City. For me, this was an opportunity to create things and I think we have succeeded in doing that,” he says.

Bengaluru is a mix of cultures, agree the couple. “This is also why we never feel like aliens here. Anyone who comes to Bengaluru has to adapt to the people around, since everyone is from a different place,” says Aurelien. He says that sometimes, the language can be an issue and thus he has tried to pick up “swalpa swalpa Kannada”.

He adds with a smile, “I know basic words and phrases like ‘oota aiytha?’ and ‘channagidhira’ now. People warm up faster to you if you know a bit of their language.”

Aurelien loves the countryside on the outskirts of the City and cycles when he has time. “I go out cycling for a few hours during the weekends. I also love to ride on my Bullet,” he says.

 The family also enjoy going to Indiranagar and UB City. Being a florist, Amelie often goes to the City. She says, “I have to frequent the City Market often. I love the restaurants and the many contrasts in life here.”

She adds that she also loves looking for new treasures in market areas like Chickpet and Avenue Road. “I love discovering new things in the quaint parts of the City.” Amelie says that she has seen her share of improper planning, where some clients call for urgent flower arrangements.

  “When working with an expatriate client, things are very organised and planned much before. But I have learnt to work accordingly and it has been challenging.” Antoine, who goes to Maple Bear Canadian Pre - School, loves the place. He says with a cute smile, “There are a lot of Indians in my school.

I have a lot of Indian friends.” He loves the spicy food here as he is used to ‘idli’, ‘dosa’, ‘chapathi’ and curries. “He is more Indian than French. That is how well we have gelled in,” the couple sum up.