Parisian, Elodie Ribeiro, Practices Podiatry in Dubai, Istanbul, Mauritius, Vietnam & Portugal [Ep 33]

Elodie Ribeiro is a podiatrist and reflexologist, now based in Portugal. Elodie is second generation French of Portuguese heritage, her grandparents having moved to France in the 1960s. As a native Parisian, learning Portuguese from her parents and grandparents, her spoken Portuguese was old school and this she found, along with her French accent when she spoke Portuguese, the basis of some clients mistrust of her when a year ago, she returned to live and work in Portugal. Prior to her return, she took her podiatry training from France and her reflexology training from Barcelona abroad, working in Dubai and Istanbul and on the island of Mauritius, and then in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where she built her own private practice. This past year, Elodie has been working at a clinic outside of Lisbon, gradually winning the trust of her Portuguese clients, while also building an international clientele whose interest is mainly in her reflexology work.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Louise: Welcome to Women Who WaIk. I'm Louise Ross, writer and author of Women Who Walk the book, the inspiration for this podcast. And just as I did for the book here, I'll be interviewing and unpacking the journeys of impressive, intrepid women who've made multiple international moves for work, for adventure, for love, for freedom - reminding us that women can do extraordinary things. You can find a transcript, with pictures, to each episode, and my books on my website, LouiseRoss.com.

[00:00:47] Louise: Hello listeners. Welcome to Episode 33 of Women Who Walk.

[00:00:52] Louise: This episode is the third in a series of interviews that I'm doing with women who've moved to Portugal, women who are self-employed in the healing arts as holistic, alternative or non-medical practitioners. 

[00:01:07] Louise: My guest today is Elodie Ribeiro, a podiatrist and reflexologist, now based in Portugal. Her reflections on building her professional standing here may well be of interest to listeners in the healing arts who are thinking of moving to Portugal with the hope of practicing.

[00:01:29] Louise: Elodie is 34 and she is second generation French of Portuguese heritage, her grandparents having moved to France in the 1960s. Portuguese immigration to France took place mainly during the sixties and seventies, the latter years of the Salazar dictatorship, as a means of escaping conscription into the colonial wars in Africa, and for a better way of life.

[00:01:57] Louise: In fact, Portugal was the second Western European country to lose millions of people to immigration after Ireland. But as is common in the Portuguese diaspora within Europe, Elodie's extended family in France were very close and they all maintained their ties to Portugal returning each summer to spend time with additional family members who had remained. 

[00:02:24] Louise: Having grown up in France, learning Portuguese from her parents and grandparents, her spoken Portuguese was old school and this she found, along with her French accent when she spoke Portuguese, the basis of some clients mistrust of her, when a year ago, she returned to live and work in Portugal. 

[00:02:49] Louise: Prior to her return, she took her podiatry training from France and her reflexology training from Barcelona abroad, working in Dubai and Istanbul and on the island of Mauritius, and then in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where she built her own private practice. 

[00:03:10] Louise: This past year, Elodie began working at a clinic outside of Lisbon as a podiatrist, gradually winning the trust of her Portuguese clients, while also building an international clientele whose interest is mainly in her reflexology work. 

 [00:03:41] Louise: Welcome Elodie, thanks for being a guest on the podcast today. Uh, we've had a few technical issues and so we're actually recording this on my phone or on our phones, on What'sApp and I think it's going to be fine. So now when I was first introduced to you via a WhatsApp group, I noticed that you said that you're Luso-French. Can you explain this for listeners? What do you mean by that? 

[00:04:07] Elodie: Hi Louise. Yes, Luso is, uh, a Latin prefix meaning relating to Portugal or the Portuguese culture. And Portugal used to be called Lusitania so that's why I introduced myself as Luso-French, as I'm Portuguese and French. 

[00:04:23] Louise: Thank you. Yes. Lusitania, I think was a province of the Roman empire, uh, and the, the tribes or the, the people in this area on the Iberian peninsula were mostly Celtic peoples and they were called Lusitanians. Have I got that, right? 

[00:04:40] Elodie: Yeah. That's true. Yeah. 

[00:04:42] Louise: So you are Portuguese-French and, um, were you born here or in France? 

[00:04:48] Elodie: My family is from Portugal, but my grandparents immigrated to, to France in the '60s and I was born in France. So that's why I'm also French.

[00:04:59] Louise: Can you tell us where you were born, perhaps a bit about your neighborhood, some of the memories from your French childhood?

[00:05:06] Elodie: Yeah. I grew up in a, in a quiet little town, in the suburb of Paris. 

[00:05:10] Louise: Mm-hmm. 

[00:05:10] Elodie: And, um, even though I'm an only child, I have a very, very large family. So I grew up surrounded by my grandmothers, my aunts, uncles and cousins. And on the weekend I would spend it with my cousins and we used to have a big family lunches on Sundays and still have very fond memories of, of that.

[00:05:31] Louise: And so this was in Paris, your extended family was already in France? 

[00:05:36] Elodie: Yes. Half of my family moved to France and the rest is still in Portugal. So yeah, we, we used to, to see each other every weekend. 

[00:05:44] Louise: Well, interestingly, these days, everyone wants to move to Portugal, but your family immigrated to France and you said that was in the '60s. So now why did they leave Portugal? 

[00:05:56] Elodie: It was during the dictatorship. So it was quite difficult here in Portugal. And, uh, my grandparents decided to move, to try to offer a better future to their kids. 

[00:06:07] Louise: I believe that was the reason for, uh, the immigration from Portugal to other parts of Europe for a better way of life or to, uh, create a better life for the generations to come.

[00:06:22] Elodie: Exactly. 

[00:06:23] Louise: So despite that you're a second generation living in France, it sounds as though the family is still very connected to Portugal because you came back to visit every summer. And I know that there's a Portuguese term, immigrantes, and it's used to describe returning immigrants, but I believe this carries some negative connotations. Can you tell us a bit about that? 

[00:06:46] Elodie: Yes, it does carry a little bit of connotations. Every time we would come back for holidays, our family here in Portugal would call us, os imigrantes, the French. They would call us The French. And in France we would be seen as the Portuguese family. So it would be difficult and confusing to know where I was from and to identify as French or Portuguese.

[00:07:12] Louise: Mm-hmm. You really are bicultural aren't you, you grew up in France and yet your Portuguese heritage is very much a part of who you. 

[00:07:22] Elodie: Yes, totally. I grew up with both cultures.

[00:07:26] Louise: And of course, when you speak English, we can hear a little bit of a French accent, which is delightful. 

[00:07:31] Elodie: Yes. 

[00:07:34] Louise: And then you went on to study podiatry. Uh, was this in France? 

[00:07:39] Elodie: Yes, I did study podiatry in Paris. 

[00:07:41] Louise: Mm-hmm. And then why the feet. What was it about working with the feet that appealed to you? 

[00:07:48] Elodie: As a kid I actually suffered from shin splints, and, um, I used to, to wear custom-made orthotics so I would visit my podiatrist once a year to renew my orthotics and I was able to, to practice sports without any pain. So I decided myself to become a podiatrist and to be able to help people to walk and run pain free. 

[00:08:13] Louise: Were you quite a, a runner before you got the shin splints? 

[00:08:19] Elodie: Not a runner, but practicing different sports as a kid, gymnastics and yeah. 

[00:08:24] Louise: Mm-hmm. And so then the orthotics really helped with the, um, the discomfort that you were experiencing?

[00:08:31] Elodie: Yes, they did. With orthotics we can actually realign feet and release the pain, but also register tension in ankles, knees and hips and improve the overall posture. 

[00:08:42] Louise: I see. Well, I remember that, um, when we, we first met and we were talking a little about your work, that, uh, you mentioned that you were offered the opportunity to take over the podiatry practice shortly after you completed your studies, but you chose not to because something else was calling you.

[00:09:02] Elodie: Yeah. Um, I was offered to take over one of my teacher's podiatry office, but I just felt that it was too soon and that I wanted to travel and, and discover new cultures, learn new things before settling. So I looked for job offers abroad and, uh, I first moved to Dubai for two months. Then I went to Istanbul for six months and, uh, then I got the opportunity to move to Mauritius where I lived for five years.

[00:09:34] Louise: Okay. So in Dubai and Istanbul, you were working as a podiatrist? 

[00:09:41] Elodie: Yes. I was working as a podiatrist in five star hotels.

[00:09:44] Louise: Oh, I see. Mm-hmm and so obviously that was mostly with tourists coming through. 

[00:09:51] Elodie: Yes, mostly with, with tourists in the hotel, but also some local people coming for foot treatment.

[00:09:58] Louise: Mm-hmm. And then Mauritius. Now I know that you love kite surfing so were you there for five years because of the, uh, the kite surfing opportunities or was there something else? 

[00:10:12] Elodie: I do love kite surfing and Mauritius really has some amazing kite surfing spots, but no, I stayed there because I really liked the place, the nature, the people and the mix of cultures on the island.

[00:10:27] Louise: And then you are also practicing, uh, podiatry there as well? 

[00:10:32] Elodie: Yes, I, I did, uh, in a paramedic center. 

[00:10:36] Louise: And were they mostly locals or, or again, were they tourists? 

[00:10:41] Elodie: No, in Mauritius it was mostly, uh, local patients. 

[00:10:44] Louise: I'm curious, were they, um, issues to do with the feet because in a tropical setting, people are most often in flip flops and, uh, non-supportive shoes.

[00:11:00] Elodie: Yes. I, I have been able to observe, uh, different type of pathologies depending on the country I'm working in. And it's true that in tropical countries the pathologies are different. People, uh, often wear open toe box shoes, uh, sandals and flip flops so they have less, um, fungus and nail fungus, for example, than in Europe where people wear closed shoes. And so the feet, uh, um, breathe less, I'm gonna say. 

[00:11:34] Louise: Do you think that your travel experiences, practicing in very different locations, very different climates has been advantageous for you as a podiatrist to understand the way the feet are affected by different climates and different shoes based on the climate.

[00:11:54] Elodie: It has, I've been able to observe many different type of pathologies, but also work with different health professional, like osteopath and physiotherapists. So we would exchange about, uh, patients to be able to bring a multidisciplinary treatment and, uh, this really, uh, improved my, um, knowledge of the, of the biomechanics and how the human body works. Yeah. 

[00:12:21] Louise: Interesting. So five years in Mauritius and then where? Where did you go after that? 

[00:12:27] Elodie: In Mauritius, I met my partner, Keesje. Um, he's a Irish-South African. He was born and raised in California. 

[00:12:35] Louise: And your relationship with, you said his name is ... 

[00:12:39] Elodie: Keesje, Keesje. 

[00:12:41] Louise: What a beautiful name. So he's quite multicultural and I imagine with your bicultural background, the two of you understand each other quite well. Is that, is that right? 

[00:12:53] Elodie: Yes, it's right. Because, uh, he is Irish-South African, but grew up in, uh, in the US. He also had the, the bi-culture, and it was a bit difficult for him as well, to identify as an American or as an Irish or, yeah. 

[00:13:11] Louise: Yeah. That does seem to be the case when individuals have grown up between two or three countries or more, uh, that it's challenging to understand just who you are and where you're from. And so then, uh, you had another international move. You came back to, to Europe. 

[00:13:28] Elodie: We moved back to Europe for him to complete his Master's in Architecture and while in Europe for those two years, I, I trained as a, as a reflexologist.

[00:13:39] Louise: Okay. And can you tell us what that is? Is that a different form of podiatry or is it something completely different? 

[00:13:48] Elodie: It's completely different, but related to the foot. It's another identity holistic medicine that uses pressure on specific points and zones, on feet, hands and face in order to, to improve your overall wellbeing.

[00:14:04] Louise: Interesting. And then there was another move. Can you tell us about this move? 

[00:14:09] Elodie: Then Keesje got a job offer in an architecture firm in Ho Chi Minh City, in Vietnam. And so we moved there. And when I first arrived there, I looked for podiatrists in the country and I was really surprised to find out that there were none. This, uh, this profession simply didn't exist there. So I decided to open the first podiatry clinic of the country.

[00:14:35] Louise: Good for you. That's fabulous. And in Ho Chi Minh City? 

[00:14:40] Elodie: Yeah. 

[00:14:40] Louise: And who was coming to see you? Was it locals or again, internationals or tourists?

[00:14:46] Elodie: It was mostly, uh, international patients at the beginning, but then I went to introduce myself to doctors and other practitioners and, um, and they would, uh, they would send patients to me.

[00:15:00] Louise: Fantastic. And I'm sure your French helped you in Ho Chi Minh City, too. 

[00:15:05] Elodie: Yes. There is a big French community. But there is also a lot of, uh, Australians and Americans and some Portuguese as well. So speaking few languages was a real advantage there and I was able to attend many international patients.

[00:15:23] Louise: And again, it's a more of a tropical climate so you're seeing people with issues to do with the feet that are more related to open-toe shoes. 

[00:15:32] Elodie: Exactly. 

[00:15:33] Louise: Flip flops, which you were well prepared to treat given your five years in Mauritius. It sounds like things were going really well for you in Vietnam. You have your own practice. You're building a practice. You're making yourself known to other practitioners. So then why did you leave and come back to Portugal? 

[00:15:53] Elodie: When the, the pandemic started the Vietnamese government closed its border. And we weren't able to reenter the country if we were to exit it. So after two years, without being able to travel and to visit our families, we decided to, to relocate, to Portugal, to be closer to, to them. 

[00:16:14] Louise: I see. I did an interview with, uh, a friend, it's one of the first podcast episodes, and she had been a, a resident of Vietnam, I think, for about 19 years, and because of the pandemic and because they weren't reissuing visas to foreigners at that time, she, she had to leave after all those years. And I know she was very disappointed, but she, she went back to Australia. Were you equally disappointed? Did you feel that Vietnam was a place that offered you a quality of life that you were enjoying? 

[00:16:50] Elodie: Yes. I really liked living there and I had a, a, a good balance, very good quality of life, but, um, not being able to, to see our families and being so far from them was, was difficult. And I think moving back to Portugal was a good, a good choice. 

[00:17:10] Louise: And so you've been back, uh, about a year now where you've been working as a podiatrist while also building your own practice as a reflexologist. As a returning immigrant, that, that we talked about earlier, are you on the receiving end of any of the discrimination that we sort of alluded to?

[00:17:32] Elodie: I wasn't really expecting to suffer from discrimination when, when I moved here as a, a Portuguese citizen, but, um, as I never lived here before relocating, I do have a French accent when I speak Portuguese and unfortunately, sometimes it predicates me. Yeah. 

[00:17:53] Louise: And so what kind of, uh, feedback are you getting?

[00:17:58] Elodie: At work, for example, at the beginning, I had some patients that didn't wanna book an appointment with me because I had a French name or said that I sounded weird. But, uh, slowly, slowly, um, I, I was able to integrate and become appreciated by my patients. 

[00:18:16] Louise: That's good news. 

[00:18:17] Elodie: And, and the, the majority of the people are very welcoming and, and accepting.

[00:18:22] Louise: Mm. Very good news. So in your practice here, are you finding that it's a combination of both Portuguese and internationals? 

[00:18:33] Elodie: I would say more Portuguese, but since, since I, I joined the team, uh, we do attract more and more international patients, yeah. 

[00:18:42] Louise: The, um, previous episode to yours is with Gillian Harrison and she created this WhatsApp group that we met on, uh, as part of the community of holistic healers that she's building. And, and you're a part of that as well. And that's one of the ways you've been reaching the international community here to do your reflexology work. Isn't it? 

[00:19:04] Louise: Yeah. Yeah, that's correct.

[00:19:06] Louise: Mm-hmm. So, the podiatry is more for the Portuguese and perhaps the reflexology more for the internationals? 

[00:19:15] Elodie: In Gillian's group it's true that there is a lot of international people, but I just created a Facebook page to promote reflexology treatments, and the page will be in both English and Portuguese to try to attract more Portuguese people. 

[00:19:33] Louise: Fantastic. Well, before we finish up and I have you tell me what your Facebook page is, perhaps tell listeners a little about the reflexology. I had a treatment with you, but it was just on the feet. And I was a little, um, concerned that it was going to hurt a lot because many years ago I had a treatment and it was quite painful. The, the, the woman I saw was pushing and pushing on these points, but the treatment I had with you was very gentle. Is it generally a very gentle treatment that you do? Or how would you describe it?

[00:20:11] Elodie: It is generally a gentle treatment, especially the first session. Many people have, have intense side effects after session. So I always, always, uh, do a gentle first session to, to see if there is any, any side effects and then I adjust the treatment for the, for the next session. 

[00:20:32] Louise: I see. And then the treatment I had was just on the feet as I, I mentioned. So what happens when you do, uh, the face when you do a facial reflexology treatment? 

[00:20:44] Elodie: Face reflexology is based on the same principle of correlation between specific zones, located on the feet, face and hands, um, to treat every part and organ system of the body. And it helps eliminate the toxins and increase energy. It's not a beauty treatment per se, it's, uh, it's much more than, than a beauty treatment. But it does have beautifying side effects, as it improves your lymphatic drainage and stimulates the facial nerves, increases your blood flow and also helps to build up new skin tissue.

[00:21:24] Louise: That makes sense, coz there's a lot of lymph around the, uh, jaw isn't there on the underside of the ... 

[00:21:30] Elodie: Yeah. 

[00:21:30] Louise: The jaw bone, right? I see. 

[00:21:32] Elodie: Exactly. 

[00:21:33] Louise: One more question though, about, uh, your relocation to Portugal. Do you both see yourselves staying here long term or do you see another country move at some point? 

[00:21:43] Elodie: When we moved to Vietnam, we agreed that it was, uh, the, our last expatriation and our last experience abroad. And then, uh, yeah, we had the plan to, to settle in Europe and I think, uh, Portugal makes sense because I do have half of my family here already. My parents will retire next year. They will join us here. We, we are gonna try to, to settle here for the long term. 

[00:22:07] Louise: Okay. Well, getting back to that Facebook page, if listeners would like to learn more about you and your work, what is your Facebook, uh, address?

[00:22:17] Elodie: Yes. It's called The Foot Connection.

[00:22:20] Louise: Oh, that's great. That's easy: The Foot Connection. So I will link to that in the transcript of this episode and thank you so much for, for sharing your story. It's been, very interesting to talk about the feet as we've moved country-to-country. Thank you so much Elodie. 

[00:22:37] Elodie: Thank you for having me as one of your guests Louise.

[00:22:40] Louise: Thank you for listening today. So you don’t miss future episodes, subscribe on your favorite podcast provider or on my YouTube channel Women Who Walk Podcast. Also, feel free to connect with comments on Instagram @LouiseRossWriter or Writer & Podcaster, Louise Ross on Facebook, or find me on LinkedIn. And finally, if you enjoyed this episode, spread the word and tell your friends.