For the past eight years spanish teacher Maryline Gengoux has lived outside of her home country, and has changed her scenery from the countryside and rolling hills of France to the hustle and bustle of the big city of Dallas.

Now, Gengoux will be saying au revoir to America as she is moving back to France this fall.

“There are things that France has that the U.S. doesn’t for me,” Gengoux said. “Things like my friendships and my family.”

The main reason Gengoux has decided to go is to be closer to her family in France.

“For the last eight years I have been seeing them a month or two weeks a year,” Gengoux said. “I’ve missed a lot on their lives, and I can’t wait to go and catch up. I want to go to France to be with my family.”

Along with missing her family, living in the United States for Gengoux and her husband is harder than it is for most people. Both Gengoux and her husband are immigrants, her husband being from Mexico, meaning they are living in the United States via visas.

“[Being immigrants] makes it hard for us to make a living here,” Gengoux said. “It’s a little harder to get visas, and it’s harder for him than it is for me. This makes things a little more challenging than they would if we were in France.”

When the couple arrives in France, Gengoux’s husband hopes to continue his work as a chiropractor.

“At first when we get to France we are thinking about opening a [chiropractic] clinic for him, and I will probably be working with him at first,” Gengoux said.

While working alongside her husband, Gengoux will most likely take the role of an interpreter for the clinic.

“He does speak French but not perfectly,” Gengoux said. “So, he will probably need an interpreter to help him with his patients and the paperwork as well. Once he can work on his own, then I will open a yoga studio.”

Because Gengoux earned her degrees in teaching in the United States, she cannot be a teacher in France.

“I don’t have a French diploma to teach,” Gengoux said. “I have diplomas that are not recognized in France. It might be a possibility [to teach in France] because I have been a teacher for more than five years so there might be an equivalent, but it might be hard. I could be teaching in international schools if I wanted to, though.”

Gengoux plans on visiting France this June and staying for the summer before she officially moves.

“I will be there for four months and a half to plan before going back,” Gengoux said, “We might be actually moving in September, or if we need more time, December.”

Although Gengoux plans on coming back to the United States for visits, there are things she is going to miss about living in America.

“I am going to miss a lot, mainly the little things,” Gengoux said. “Things like American ice cream. I love it. I am really going to miss all the Mexican restaurants. I’ll miss the yoga studio I go to for sure, and the friend’s I’ve made here. I love how people here, like the people in Dallas, are so happy. They are happy people. In France people are friendly, but not as open as they are here. I love this country.”

One of Gengoux’s most memorable things she takes from eight years living in America will be what she has learned from her students.

“I like the American students,” Gengoux said. “They are fun kids. Teaching [here] has really helped me grow as a person, so it was one of the best things that happened to me.”