About Me
I’m Benedicte, a member of the Great Floating Tribe.
I’ve spent more than 25 years living and working outside France, across six countries, moving more times than I once imagined I would.
I was born in a small village in the French Alps, where I had always felt different, almost like a foreigner.
Maybe it was because my family was not from that village — unlike many of the other inhabitants, whose families had lived there for generations. My parents came from a city in the west of France, quite far away. Or maybe it was because of something deeper inside me.
My mother was a librarian, so I grew up surrounded by books. I was particularly fascinated by books about the real lives of children growing up in environments very different from mine. I loved observing the pictures — the landscapes, the houses, the way people lived — and discovering that, somewhere in the world, children my age were living completely different lives.
There was some envy too. I wanted to experience some of what they were experiencing.
Looking back, I think those stories helped me make sense of my own feeling of being different. They showed me that there were many other ways of living in the world — and made me want to discover them.
I still wonder if that fascination for far-away cultures and ways of life led me, as soon as I could, to leave my village and explore the world.
Forty years ago, I left my region first. Later, I left France to live and work abroad. I have now spent more than 25 years living across 2 continents and 6 different countries — and I am still abroad today. And the weird part of it is that, when I go back in France, I don’t feel at home.
Somewhere along the way, I realized I wasn’t alone.
There are many of us whose lives stretch across countries and cultures. We have left places we loved, arrived in places we knew very little about, learned new ways of living and working, built relationships, moved again, and sometimes returned.
Some of us live far from where we were born. Some have returned but don’t quite feel at home anymore. Some have lived in so many places that they don’t know anymore how to answer simply to the question “Where are you from?”.
And some simply have a deep curiosity for how people live elsewhere and travel to understand, rather than just to visit.
What we share among all members of the Great Floating Tribe, and what makes us unique ?
Each of us have a unique story. We know what it is like to let other places, people and cultures become part of who we are. When we think about where “home” is, we don’t have a simple answer anymore.
What living across cultures taught me
Living in different countries has made me increasingly curious about what we consider “normal”. I am still observing, learning, getting things wrong and changing my mind.
Learn from the experience
I don’t stand outside the experience and explain it to others. I live it, continue to learn from it, write about it — and use what I learn to help others navigate it.
Every place changes you
Adapting is not only about learning how things are done somewhere else. Every place changes me too, adding something to who I am and how I see the world.
“Normal” is relative
What feels completely normal to me can seem strange somewhere else. Living across cultures has taught me to question my assumptions and be curious before judging.
There is always more to understand
I have learned to get comfortable with being uncomfortable — not knowing, not understanding, getting things wrong. I try my best to stay curious, keep learning and change my mind.
We think we are going to make a journey, but soon it is the journey that makes us — or unmakes us. — Nicolas Bouvier, The Way of the World.
THE ART AND PRACTICE OF MOVING ACROSS CULTURES
After more than 25 years of living abroad, I am still learning how to move and live across cultures.
There is the practical side of it — leaving, arriving, finding your way, building relationships, working with people who see the world differently, sometimes returning.
And there is everything that happens inside us along the way: what we question, what we leave behind, what we discover, and how we change.
This is what I explore through the Great Floating Tribe — through my writing, my work with people and teams, and my own experience of continuing to live across cultures.
I am still learning — and I love talking with others who are navigating it too.
