Update on Paid Subscriptions
Going Forward in 2026
Hello All,
I hope 2026 is off to a great start, and all your resolutions are still intact?
Well, two of my big goals for 2026 involve:
Passing the test for my French Driver’s License, a task that I have delayed for as long as I can, but now I really can’t anymore. I feel a bit like a fugitive. I have to just suck it up and embrace the menacing 264-page booklet, in all its 9-point-font glory, and get on with it.
Helping my Daughter Study (and pass!) her Brevet. An equally daunting task. The Brevet is a 3-hour exam that French middle schoolers take at the end of middle school before entering high school. It’s a cumulative exam based on 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th grades. And since she wasn’t here for 6th or 7th grade and only understood about 50% of 8th grade, we have some work to do!
All this to say that I am going to discontinue the paid posts, to make more time for these Herculean tasks.
Refunds
You all will receive refunds for the remaining portion of your yearly subscriptions, or you will no longer be charged monthly for monthly subscribers.
I truly appreciate all the support and comments on the paid posts! It’s been such fun sharing our experience adjusting to a new life in France. And once I get back some bandwidth and have more stories to tell, I will certainly share those, but for free in my regular Wednesday and Saturday emails.
Thanks always for your kindness and support!
Happy New Year! xxoo Beth
Hi Beth. I also moved to France from California and had to get a French license the “hard way,” since California is a non-exchange state. I recommend you use the website stych dot fr to study the code. My husband and I both used it and, once you get the hang of it, it’s not so bad. We flipped between English and French to learn each lesson so we could understand what the questions were both ways. There are lots of sample tests at the end so you can take them repeatedly until you are scoring nearly 100%. Then we found a friendly driving school to take “lessons” with, although we had been driving in the US for 50 years. Don’t let a driving school convince you that you need 20 hours. We did 5 hours, and we passed the final test without problems. Bonne chance!
Hi Beth - Yikes! Sounds like a lot to do. Good luck with both projects. And thank you for following up with your Substack subscribers. xo, Annie B.