Shrimp

I ate the shrimp below tonight. I should have taken my own picture but didn't. So we ate boiled shrimp with the heads still attached. France never fails to surprise me. The first shrimp I decapitated, I got guts all over my fingers. I fine-tuned my decapitating technique later on and no guts were spilled on me hence forth. The tasted the same as in the US, so it was very yummy and exciting/weird at the same time.

I went to Giverny, Monet's gardens, on Saturday with my French school. I had been there before when I studied abroad, but it was worth going again! We also drove to some old old chateau with a great view and had a picnic, and then we went to the village where Van Gogh died. It was a fully day exploring more of France!

When I came home from my wknd last night, the dad told me that they had run out of gas to heat the house/water, so I had to even take shorter showers now. He told me the boy took a 2 minute shower, and I was like well how long am I supposed to take? And he just said as short as possible. I am already paranoid about the length of my showers. I have to wash my hair tomorrow, and I am worried! A guy is coming Wednesday to fix it though, but I have to handle it, and I am nervous communicating with him. I have to tell him where to park and then the dad told me to check how many liters he actually puts to make sure he doesn't cheat us out. I hope is isn't a cheat!

6 more weeks of au pairing, and I AM DONE! Wooooo!

Odds and Ends

So I have been failing at my blog. I don’t have any interest that more really, but a lot has happened since I last posted.

First and foremost, I got incredible news last night. A week ago, I had asked my host mom for some days off in July to be able to go to Nice for interviews for my grad school. They are July 10-11, so I asked if I just could leave for good since my end date was July 19^th. I also said just those days were fine too, but it would be better to get all the days off so I don’t make a trip to Nice then back to Paris just for 5 days. When I got home last night, my host mom  and I were chatting about our weekends, and then I asked when are the kids getting out of school. She said July 5^th, and that I could end then as well. 2 WHOLE WEEKS, booooyaaaaaaaaa!

Now I don’t have to worry about what to do with the kids all day everyday bc they are in school up until I leave. So right now, I need to plan when I am going to Nice and I also am planning a trip to Barcelona with Lindsey. It is good to know my dates now, so I can seriously plan this.

The only bad thing is I had budgeted my remaining salary including the 2 extra weeks of work, so this has put a crank in the budget unfortunately. I was already having to save 50 of my 90 euros a week to be able to pay for these things, along with an iphone I bought this weekend, so now I have to save even more a week, which will be hard. And I bought the iphone to be able to have for next year, and I got a super deal on it, so I am not regretting that at all. A little because I have depleted my money, but I need the phone eventually, so it is ok.

This weekend I am going to Giverny. It is a day trip through my French school, and it is where Monet lived with his gardens to get inspiration for his paintings. I went 2 years ago (almost to the day), with my study abroad group, and it was so pretty. The thing is that when I went 2 years ago, the weather had been beautiful the whole time I had been in Paris… 70’s and sunny. The past few days have been cloudy, rainy, and in the 50’s. It is always in the 50’s. Where is the beautiful weather?? L At least it isn’t freezing anymore, but geez. This whole wknd was rainy, so I literally stayed at Jerome’s apt watching movies and stuff and then going out at night.

Speaking of going out, I went to Jerome’s concert on Friday; my first one. I really enjoyed it and had a good time. He is in the rock band and plays drums. They are getting pretty popular in Paris, which is exciting, and they put on a really good show. They play their own music and covers, and I have heard some of their own songs before, so it was nice hearing familiar music. I enjoy concerts much better when I know the songs.

I also had a 2 week holiday recently where I went to Amsterdam, Lille, and Nice. I don’t really want to recap it because it was so much, but I really enjoyed my time! The Netherlands were like nothing I have ever seen before, and I thoroughly enjoyed discovering a new country. Visiting Lille was really nostalgic, but again, I had a blast, and I am happy I went back! And then Nice actually didn’t have great weather this time around, it was cloudy and cold like Paris, but I still had fun. I went to Monaco one day and a nearby town, Antibes. Discovering more of France!

Oh last week, I made madaleines. They are a French pastry thing; very classic. The dad told me no one knows how to make them anymore and just buy them at the store, so I feel very accomplished. They came out well!

The dad got a job, and he started today. So I have been in charge of cooking since last week. It is a lot to handle, but I haven’t screwed up so far. Today I was so busy with chores and cooking, so it was stressful, but I got everything done!

Wknd happenings

Holidays are in like 4 days! I can’t wait for Amsterdam. The Netherlands seem like a great country from all Paige has said (she studied abroad there). I am couch surfing, and have since switched hosts to someone who gets back to my emails, so that is all set. It should be a good time. Meghan gave me an orange scarf and shirt to have for Queen’s Day in exchange for an adapter because she is going to London. All in all, I am getting excited for it. Especially the tulips! All the tulips are blooming there right now, and I googled it, and it looks so pretty.

This weekend was pretty packed with stuff. A French friend has a bday party at a bar Friday night. And then Saturday, I went to Versailles with Jerome. It iswas sunny weather, so it was a good day to go. Since we are under 26, the Chateau was free. We quickly went through the Chateau and then explored the gardens. It was so massive! We ended up taking a boat on the canals, which was cool and then getting some ice cream sitting by the canals. We attempted to find Marie Antoinette’s house, but we couldn’t find it and were tired.  We both really enjoyed it; it was a nice day.

We didn’t do too much that night because we were tired and had a big day the next day. We went to Vincent’s village he grew up in, which was like an hour by train outside Paris. It was very small. Smaller than my little town, but quaint and cute of course. We just meandered around and Vincent ran into some old friends, and then we had a nice picnic by this pretty river. We then walked forever down a road to some Stone Henge-like rocks, but never found them. We took back trails to get back. At one point we crossed this muddy river and had to take off our shoes. It was a painful experience because there were briers  but it is funny to think about now.

When we got back to Paris, Air de Paris was open, so me and Jerome b-lined there. This is a hot air balloon I saw in November randomly, and I was like I HAVE TO GO. And every wknd it has been closed until this past Sunday, so we went! It was great. It is just this massive air balloon anchored by this metal (idk the word) rope, so it doesn’t sway off into the wind. And the conductor just releases this rope to go up in the air. So you just get to see a great view of Paris. Pretty legit!

Today I met up with Meghan at Printemps near the Opéra to buy a baby present. Then we sat on top of the café and soaked in the view. After, I headed to have lunch with Nico. We picnicked near his work by this cool looking manmade water full that was actually very pretty. Then I headed home.

Nico gave me a French show recently called Les Revenants (translated They came back), and it is so good. It is a sci-fi show kinda, so it is right up my alley. I am also addicted to Game of Thrones. On book 3! So good!

Better Weather

So tomorrow marks 3 months until I am done au pairing. Woooooo. Counting down the days.

Last weekend I went to Lyon with Paige, Meghan, and Lindsey. It was a really good trip! Especially to discover a new city in France. It was sunny and in the 60’s, which was very nice, so we just walked all over on Saturday hitting up all the sites. The main part of town was between 2 rivers, so there were a lot of bridges. The city itself was very colorful, which made it beautiful. My favorite part was the Basilica with an awesome city view with the Alps in the background. The church was so gorgeous with mosaics and such. We climbed like a thousand steps to get there, though, so it was a workout!

Next weekend marks the beginning of holidays! My last holidays til I am done. I am going to Amsterdam and Lille with Paige, and then Nice to join Jerome. So I am excited about that. Visiting a new country plus re-visiting two cities. It will be nostalgic being in Lille again!!

The weather is nicer now. Such a relief!! It was in the mid 70’s Sunday and Wednesday. I laid out yesterday and today to get some color. The girl thought I was so weird haha. This weekend, I want to go to Versailles with Jerome to visit the gardens. I have never been to the gardens, and it is supposed to be nice, so I want an outside activity. We also want to do the Balloon de Paris; a hot air balloon in Paris. It is always closed though because it is sensitive to the weather, so maybe this weekend. 

Updates

I think I am officially blogged out at this point, so I will just update periodically and randomly from now on. I have been consumed with working on my grad school applications, so I haven’t had a lot of free time. Right now, I have done as much as I can do before I meet up with Jerome tomorrow to work on it, so I am free!

As for random updates…

I am in a new French class now and LOVE it. I have this older man as a teacher, and he is so funny and sweet. I love him, and I understand everything he says, which is cool. Also it is weird, but even though I am in an upper level of class, the people are generally worse than the people in my last class, so I feel at ease because everyone is at my level. I am just comfortable in there. I haven’t skipped yet because I’ve enjoyed myself.

On Monday, I went to an Australian café with Meghan. Most of the workers were Australian, so we got to speak English! I ordered this almond, pear bread, which was uber yummy too.

I am going to Lyon this weekend with Paige, Lindsey, and Meghan! American girls’ weekend wooo! We found a bus for 5 euro to Lyon, but going back, I am taking a train earlier than the girls because the bus comes back too late for me to catch my last train. But it’ll be a good weekend. A SKEMA friend from Raleigh was in Paris a few wknds ago, and he told me all the places to go, so that’s cool to have a local’s point of view on things.

Overall the weather has generally been better. Other than today and yesterday, it has not rained for what seems like 2 weeks. It has been sunnier! And I have gone on two picnics to enjoy the sun, even when it is chilly. Once under the Eiffel Tower and once at Parc Belleville, which has a good view of the city.

On Saturday, me and Jerome just walked around Paris, but it was really fun. There was a parade right outside his apartment, which we followed, and we think it was a teacher strike, but it was Saturday, so who knows. Then we went to Pont Neuf, which is right on the Seine where you just sit by the water. There was this cute, manicured garden with flowers, so it was pretty. We meandered our way to the Pont des Arts, which is covered in locks that represent lovers. We then continued upon the Louvre, and we found this pigeon man, who was feeding and holding pigeons, and he helped tourists do it to. So I did it! The pigeons were fighting on my arms, so it was kinda scary but cool. They didn’t poop on me either! We were cold at that point, and walked by the Opera and found a brasserie for some vin chaud and this tuna stuff, and then we went home. It was a full day just enjoying the city.

We went out to eat that night too. I wanted to go to a Japanese Steakhouse, and Jerome said they had them here, but it wasn’t the same (not surprising). It was a good meal, but we didn’t get mountains of food with shrimp sauce (so good, I miss that stuff). We did get 30% off though from a restaurant website, so we are gonna use that site from now on for sure!

The Saturday before that, I went to Jerome’s gym with him where he goes rock climbing. I attempted it, but it was scary, so after one try, I stopped and just worked out with treadmills and stuff. We then went to a show called How to be Parisian in One Hour discussing French and American stereotypes. It was hilarious! I’ve been hearing about the show everywhere, so I am glad I finally went.

We also booked a trip to Nice during the second week of my next vacation, so that’s cool! I am going to Amsterdam and Lille the first week, then Nice. I can go visit IAE Nice while I am there too to check out one the schools I will (by then) have applied for. I need to go visit the one in Paris too… haven’t done that yet. Maybe next weekend I will go with Jerome.And then the one in Bordeaux... I just won’t see it until (if) I go there.

Ants have been invading my room. They are so annoying. I just kill each one I see, which is constantly. They don’t really get into food though surprisingly. Although, last wknd they did get into my Mentos when I came back Sunday night. I made brownies today, and I have wrapped them up in multiple layers and in a zipped duffle bag, so hopefully they are safe until tomorrow when I bring them to Jerome as a thank you gift because he has been helping me a lot with my applications.

Well I want to a watch a show, so goodbye until I right here again!

Peeps

Not much to update. I do have my car back though, so I am actually useful again. Before I was just so bored because I’d stay home while the dad did all the driving. It’s good and bad because now I am busy, but now I am busy, so it is tiring haha.

Last night we ate mussels and fries. It was so good. The fries were homemade, and I have only had mussels twice in my life, and both times it has been here with the French family. Tonight, we had couscous with chicken and all sorts of veggies. This was also really scrumptious too!

I prepared the English lesson for tomorrow, it is all Easter themed! Easter is more or less the same here as it is in the US except that America does it bigger and better obviously. Instead of the Easter Bunny, they have the Easter Bells who hide the eggs, so odd! And the Easter eggs here are just straight up chocolate eggs.

I went to the American mom’s house today, and she had brought back all this Easter stuff from California! I saw Peeps!! And she brought back plastic eggs! It made me so happy to see that stuff. You know, I didn’t even know it was Easter till very recently because France just lets these holidays go by with no notice. It is sad for me. America may make holidays are commercialized, but I like it that way because at least we celebrate!

We had this big discussion how the French don’t really have a sense of community with any group. Schools don’t do fall festivals/spring flings here, no talent shows, plays etc. She told me she was telling her French friend that after dropping off the kids from school, all the moms would meet for coffee, and the French lady was just so surprised at the idea. She has tried throwing themed parties, like Halloween parties, but no one came. And with me, all the French students at my university just loved it because we did so much… sports, volunteering, people just out and about on campus, clubs, etc. I don’t know… this aspect of France is definitely a negative for me. If I decide to live here for a number of years, I will definitely need American friends, so I can have some sense of home and our traditions. I will also try to share these things with my French friends to let them see a new way of living life.

Living here is all about that. Sharing our differences and taking the best from each.

Mexico, Dublin, and London

So I have been SLACKING with my blog. I am sorry. I took a break during my vacation because hey, it is vacation. Mexico was great. Warm weather and sun; I did get a tan, but it doesn’t even matter because no one can see it!! >:( One day my bro and I went to a cenote for an adventure day. A cenote is a cave with beautiful, clear water inside. We took a 20 minute bumpy jungle ride into the adventure park, and we did all sorts of zip lines and things and ended with snorkeling in a cenote. It was beautiful, and I think it was Wyatt’s favorite thing. Mexico was very relaxing. I was so jet lagged and messed up, so I went to bed at 10pm and woke up at 6am every day, usually taking a nap before dinner time. Idk why I was so messed up. It was great seeing my mom and brother, and I just needed that family time. Mexico will forever be a good memory <3

Then to my travels back to Paris…. GAH. Mexico to New York was uneventful. I got a fried rice meal at the airport while waiting for my next flight, and I also called my dad and Amanda to kill time and to use my phone! But Jerome had warned me that it was snowing in Paris, so I may have problems. I was worried, but didn’t think it could affect me that much because I was arriving the next day from the snow, but I was wrong. When I boarded the plane, the pilot said that 40 planes were in front of us to take off, so we had to wait 40 mins inside the plane before we could leave (I wish we could have waited in the airport for this!). Just adding extra time on that 8 hour flight.

The flight was as good as a transatlantic flight can be, and then we finally landed, and Paris was a white wonderland. I was ready to be OUT of the plane, but the next blunder came along. The airport people had to clear out the ice from our walk path to the bus (because we didn’t exit the plane through those tunnel things as usual), and this took like an hour for some unknown reason! I was livid just waiting waiting waiting. I then got through customs easy peasy, but getting my checked bag was an ordeal. There were TV’s saying which number conveyer belt to go to for your flight, but they never put NYC on there, so I waited like 30 minutes until I found someone on my flight and asked what the deal was. He said he thought there weren’t any of our bags left to take, so I had been waiting for no reason, and my bag was available the whole time. I got it easy enough, and then I eventually found the RER to get into Paris.

The RER screen said it would arrive in two minutes, which ended up being like 15. Then we got on the RER, and it finally left 15 minutes later. I was crammed into a corner standing the whole time because it was overcrowded since the line was operating properly. We waited a good 15 mins in the middle of two stops, so it was just effed up!! I finally got to my stop to catch a bus to Jerome’s to discover the bus wasn’t running that day. I was finally in Paris, and snow was everywhere, so it made sense. I was dead at this point and hailed a cab for the rest of the way, but I was close so it was 10 euros.

I finally made it to Jerome’s and just had a day in his apartment of resting basically. It was great reuniting! Our trip to Dublin was the next morning, and I was in no mood for travel again, but I went and had a BLAST!

Dublin was great. After 36 hours of being awake and getting 5 hours of sleep, I was up bright and early for our travels to Dublin. We took Ryan Air to Dublin, which uses an airport way outside Paris, so we took a 1.5 hour bus there, but it was relaxing just watching the scenery. Nothing exciting at the airport or plane ride; it was like an hour ride, so very quick. But we were finally here in Dublin!!

It was invigorating being in an English speaking country with everything in English. I loved it. Dublin was a spread out city, so it reminded me of an American city because you needed a car to get around. Anyways we took a bus in the city center and got an Irish breakfast, which consisted of baked beans, mushrooms, a potato cake, fried egg, ham, sausage, and black and white pudding. I tried the pudding, but the thought of it was just so weird for me! I couldn’t finish it.

We met Jerome’s cousin and her boyfriend, whose stay was unexpectedly longer, and they were really nice and went to the zoo with us—the largest zoo in Europe. It was great! We then went to Jerome’s brother, Adrien’s, apartment. It was VERY BIG… biggest apt I have ever seen. Adrien eventually came home, and he ended up being the best host. I will overview everything we did, but Adrien drove us everywhere every day. One day, we went to a quaint harbor town and hiked and saw the cliffs. We took a walk along the beach one day in the cold, but it was very pretty.

St. Patties, we went to a parade and then a hurling and Gaelic football game. All cool experiences! We met Adrien’s Irish friends along the way, who were really nice and sometimes hard to understand (especially at the bar that night). That night, we went to one of me and Jerome’s friend’s apts, Romain, who recently moved to Dublin, and I met some French people. We then went out to a bar, and stayed there the whole night because it was so fun! There was enough room to dance and move around, so we were happy.

The next day was our return to Paris, a Monday. We left that evening and got to the airport an hour before as Adrien advised us to. When we got there, we discovered our flight was overbooked, so they offered us a deal to take another flight, but we wanted our flight, but while the guy was finagling getting us on, we debated. We decided what the heck, we will take a free night in a hotel and 250 euros each to take a flight through London the next day. When the guy came back, he had gotten us tickets, which I felt bad about because he probably had to pull a few strings, but he let us take the deal.

So I called my host dad and let him know I would be an extra day late, and we seemed totally fine, so it was all set! Me and Jerome stayed in a hotel, which was so cool because we have never done that together before. We had a king bed, which I found was two twins put together—wth, but whatever. We also got free dinner and breakfast! It was a well-made decision, and I am glad we made it. We flew through London, which added time to our day, but it was worth the price.

So Tuesday night I came back to au pair life. I learned my car still wasn’t ready, so that week was chill. I didn’t do a lot since I couldn’t drive. I got to sleep more too, but I was pretty bored last week. Then on Friday, the dad asked if I could just stay in Paris all day and not come home, which was cool! He was having to drive me back and forth to the train station, which was annoying for him, so I understood totally. More freedom for me! So I just saw Jerome and worked on my school applications with him, and that night I was off to LONDON to see my godmother, Vickie, and her daughter, Lindsey.

London was so great! I know I have been on travels galore, but I like it that way. I needed to have London to have something to look forward too after the vacation crash and beginning au pair life again. So anyway, I took the Eurostar to London and got there at 10pm or so. I took a cab to the hotel and waited in the hotel bar until they got back from a show. They came like 15 minutes after I got back, and we just chatted at the bar until bed time.

The next day, it was snowing, so we went to Harrod’s, which was a crazy shopping experience. It was so crowded! We bought all sorts of souvenirs, food, clothes, and then fro yo! I was wiped out afterwards. We got back to the hotel and watched Men in Black 3, and I napped through most of it. We had a nice dinner that night right near the hotel. The next day was my last day, and I was leaving at 2:30pm, but we squeezed in Madame Tussauds, a wax museum. I never went last time I was in London, so I was all for it. They had everyone from Morgan Freeman, Justin Bieber, to Ghandi. It was really cool! I then was on my train back to Paris. It was a quick trip, but I really enjoyed it especially seeing more of my family!!

And then I asked if I could stay in Paris Sunday night since I still don’t have my car, and the dad said yes, so I got like a 4 day weekend. I could get used to this! Me, Jerome, Vincent, and his gf had a picnic at Parc de Belleville this afternoon because it was very nice and sunny.

So that’s been my life for the last few weeks. I have no travels plans for two weeks, then I go to Lyon, then another two weeks, and it is the next VACA (and last).

I am not proof reading this, so I am sorry for the typos! 

Jetlag

So I am finally in Mexico, not Cancun, but the final destination of a little town one hour south of Cancun. It has built up a lot since I was here 6 or so years ago, but it fits my vague memories. We are staying in a rental house that my mom’s friend, Linda, owns. Linda has lived here 7 years and built the house to be a rental home, so it is nice having her bc she knows the area and speaks Spanish.

As expected, everything is Spanish here, but I find myself missing French. Here I read something, and can’t read it at all, and that is hard when I am used to reading French and basically understanding it. There are similarities, but I still miss my French! Whenever a Spanish person talks to me, I have to hold back my French hellos and thank yous, and it is just so weird!

I am also still jetlagged, and I have been here for two nights now (about to make three). Jetlag has never hit me so hard before, but I just can’t get over it. I went to bed at 10pm both nights and woke up at 3am and then 6am each night respectively. But now, I am so freaking tired! I did wake up at 6am, but I am used to that, so idk my problem. It is just the time difference I suppose.

Today, I woke up at 6am and went for a run, which was good bc the weather was cool for running. My brother then woke up at 8am, and I was just laying out and reading by the pool at the house. Linda came over at some point, and we waited for my mom to wake up. After she woke up and we hung out a bit, we went to a big grocery store for a big shop. Mexican stores have a lot more American brands, which is cool. I bought peanut butter and popcorn to bring back. And that reminds me, Wyatt (my brother), gave me Thin Mints!!! I seriously have thought about Girl Scout cookies while in France and just laughed it off knowing I just wouldn’t see them this year, but now I can!

While at the store, we were in the bakery section, and in Mexico they make a lot of pastries and such, which is just different from France and even America bc I had never seen these pastries before. I bought a baguette (or something similar)… I am turning so French! I need a fresh baguette now! And then we found this pizza looking thing in the shape of a slice of pizza with cheese and pepperoni, and then there was a top crust layer that looked suspiciously like there was sugar on there. When we got home, we discovered we were right… it was good, sweet and salty, but kinda weird.

Later on, Wyatt and I rented snorkeling gear and went snorkeling. We got split up at one point, but I ended up finding a sea turtle and two cuddle fish! Wyatt found sting rays too; I wish I had seen those.

I then skyped Jerome for a bit afterwards, which was nice. Reminds me of this past summer when our relationship was Skype for three months; luckily it is only 9 days of skype this time.

Mom and Linda made chicken, rice, and salad tonight for dinner. I was sitting outside napping for like 30 minutes waiting for dinner because I was just so tired. I am not used to being like this. I hope tomorrow I finally get over it!

Yesterday, we rented the car in Cancun and drove to Akumal. I am the sole driver here, so it is a lot of pressure. We have an SUV, which is huge compared to my Panda in France and it is automatic, so it is just weird, and then the different style of driving here. Driving the automatic, I realize how stupid and simple it is… like really it is crazy. You don’t do anything. As for the different driving styles. The speed limits on highways are slower than in France—annoying. There’s a weird right hand half lane that slow cars use and cars turning off use when on highways, but you’re still sticking on the other lane, so it is just awkward. The stop signs say Alto, which is just cool. Funny how France has actual Stop signs. Oh and the car is a push start car, so I had to read in Spanish how to turn it on bc you have to press the brake pedal and press the button at the same time. I figured this out because I recently learned pedal is an English and French word, and now apparently a Spanish word. Good to know.

Oh and I have been brainwashed living in France bc the toilet seat flush buttons are on top of the toilet, and here in Mexico they are on the side like America, but EVERY TIME I reach to press it on top!

Wake up in Paris, Go to Bed in Mexico

So I am on my flight to Chicago right now, and last time I looked at the map, we were over American soil. I am actually in America, WOW. AND I looked at my iphone, and it says roaming!!! So that means I can use my phone/3G for a good solid 2 hours or so before I go to Cancun. Kind of exciting haha. Haven’t a proper phone in 7 months.

Anyways, I can’t believe my trip is actually happening. I have been dreaming about it since November, so it has been so long just anticipating it. This flight sucks though. GAH 8.5 hrs on this damn plane. There is a baby crying off and on 2 rows ahead of me. I have an isle seat, which is good, but the guy next to me has asked to go to the bathroom twice, once when I was watching a movie on my laptop—annoying. This plane doesn’t have personal TV’s for you to choose your own entertainment. It has shit TV’s in the middle every few rows, but from my vantage point, I can’t properly see it clear enough, but they have played crap movies anyway. Usually they show new movies, but these two have been old.

As for an update on my past few days. My last au pair days were made easier because we took my car to the shop on Wednesday, and thus I haven’t had to do half of my au pair job since, which is driving. The dad had to do it all because I can’t drive his car, so that was cool. I got to sleep in Thurs and Fri while he took the kids to school, and I took a later train each day to come home to coordinate with when the girl got out of school.

This weekend… on Friday, I arrived at Jerome’s with my big suitcase, and one his Bordeaux friends was there visiting for the wknd on a business trip. I met him before when I went to Bordeaux. We all hung out for a bit, and then Jerome, his friend (I cant spell my name for the life of me or even pronounce it correctly—Orelie… something like that), and I went out to eat nearby the apt at this African restaurant, which was AMAZING. The food here is just amazing in general as you all know. I had slow-cooked lamb with prunes and almonds, sounds weird, but it was great. The boys then went to a studio to play music somewhere in the burbs, but I was tired, so I went home.

Jerome got back at like 8am the next morning… that’s how the French do, so I just lazed around for a bit until they all woke up, and we hung out at the apt. I then went on a search to get a pedicure for Mexico. There was a place literally 5 feet from Jerome’s, but they couldn’t fit me in, so I just wandered till I found another place, which wasn’t too hard to find. But man oh man, it was a strange pedicure experience.

They put me in this private message room, and I was sitting on a massage table type deal, and I was so confused (where was the pedicure chair with the tub of water for your feet?). Basically I sat on this table the whole time and she worked on my feet on the other end, and she had a portable tub she would pick up and down each time I needed to soak. It just seemed really inconvenient for her, but that’s how France is sometimes, not the most logical about things. But in the end, I got my nails painted, feet buffed, and all that, so it was good. I had to walk home in the 30 degree weather in flip flops, so ppl thought I was a CRAZY person, but whatever haha.

That evening, I brought Jerome with me to the store to buy some food gifts for my fam. Cheese, sausage, and wine, so they should like that when I arrive. Then we cooked dinner, and I finished sorting out my suitcase, and we all went to a friend’s apartment for a “party,” which was just a few people drinking. Me and Jerome left at like 11:30pm though because I wanted sleep for my big day today.

I woke up at 6:30am, and left by 7:15am. For whatever reason the RER B to the airport was closed part of the way today (of all freaking days), so I took the Roissy Bus to the airport. Jerome went with me thankfully, and he helped me with my big suitcase, so it wasn’t so bad. Just annoying since we took a bus to an Rer, to the Roissy Bus, so there was a lot of connections.

When we got to the airport, it was so crowded. I was overwhelmed. And I stupid because I didn’t write down my reservation number, flight number, or the airline I was using. So we were wandering a bit before Jerome’s Iphone would let us log onto Gmail, but once we did it was ok. Turns out I was there too early to even get in line, so we ate at McDonald’s, which took a while bc it was uber crowded. By the time, we got in line again, it had doubled, and we probably waited an hour or so to check my bag. After I said my goodbyes to Jerome, and security took like 15 mins, and then I arrived at my terminal, which was boarding. I had to scramble to go buy a bottle of water and two bottles of champagne for my mom before before it was too late, but I all worked out.

So now I am here. I have like 1.5 hrs of this flight. I cant to be in America! So cool, but it will be for like two hours, and then off to Mexico. I hope everything goes smoothly today. So far it has, but I have no idea about my mom’s end of things. She is gonna meet me at the airport tonight (she gets in 5 hrs earlier), so I hope I can find her there easily. It’ll be so weird seeing my mom and brother after 7 months! Looking forward to it though!

SNOW Booooooooo

So it snowed last night, and I had to stay home today. I was rather bored. It is supposed to snow tonight, so I am betting I will have to stay home tomorrow, but I am praying no. It is so boring. Wednesday is ok because the kids have stuff to do, so I am busy, but no school days are no bueno. This is like the 5th time it has snowed when the fam told me it never snows here sheeeesh. I am sick of ittttttttttt.

I finished all the downloaded Game of Thrones episodes, planned out my English lessons, did the kid’s laundry, made banana bread, played Monopoly with the kids, and printed stuff for a university application, but this didn’t keep me fully occupied all day. I did accomplish a lot though. I also brought my big suitcase down to my room, but haven’t started actually packing for Mexico (eeek!) yet. I hate packing, but I am excited to bring out my summer clothes— dresses, shorts, sandals, bikinis, oh it is so good!

When I got back to my station last night, and the dad picked me up, I discovered he had wrecked my car. The airbag had deployed and the front seat belts had locked up, so they were useless. Yet today, I barely saw any damage… like literally none. How did he deploy the airbag? The girl showed me where, but it’s just that the hood won’t close all the way on one side by an inch or so. Weird. So now it is incredibly awkward to drive because the airbag takes up a lot of the grip of the steering wheel, and then I just feel naked without my seatbelt. I don’t like it. I hope nothing happens to me driving because it is so unsafe right now.

Jerome’s parents came this weekend. They had gone on a cruise in the Caribbean for a week, and Paris was their connecting flight home, so they made a pit-stop for a night to see Jerome and me (I guess I can add myself to that sentence?). So Jerome was at work, so I was going to let them in and spend the afternoon with them before Jerome got off work. They came like 2 hours earlier than expected, so I had barely started to tidy up the apartment. At least I had showered and everything.

So it was cold cold weather and flurrying, but we took a walk to the nearby Jardin des Plantes, and then went to a botanical garden to warm up some, but the orchids were beautiful. We came back to the apartment, and then made plans to visit the REX. I had seen the REX before on Grands Boulevards (the street with all the bars/clubs), but I just assumed it was another club, which it is, but it also is the theater where all the movie premieres in Paris are. So we took a touristy tour through it, which we all said was “c’est nulle,” or it is lame. It was highly touristy and just dumb. I don’t wanna detail it. You didn’t even see the Grande Salle, the actual theater where all the celebrities go.

After, I went to a brasserie with Jerome’s mom to get something to eat, then a few errands, then back to the apt to rest and wait for Jerome. I was exhausted from walking around and speaking French. I was just reading my book about to close my eyes when Jerome finally got home. After a bit of hanging out, we went to a restaurant. The same one Jerome took me too a few weeks ago that was INCREDIBLE. I had a Kir Royale (champagne and cassis—red syrop stuff) for the apéro (drinks before eating), then my appetizer was a “millfeuille” literally thousand leaves, which is just saying layers, and it was cheese layered with ham over slices of tomato.

Then I ate the same thing for the main dish as last time because it was SO GOOD. It was les ravioles with thus yummy green sauce and pine nuts. It is so rich, I have never been able to finish the plate each time. Then there was dessert, and I got a brownie with raspberry sauce and vanilla ice cream. I was stuffed and tired from all the food, walking around all day, and speaking French. I went straight to bed when we got home, while they stayed up doing whatever, but I was TIRED.

The next day, me and Jerome slept in some. I got 10 hours of sleep, which I desperately needed after my 5 hrs the night before and like 6-7 every week night, so I felt really refreshed. We eventually went to a movie in the afternoon, Hitchcock, which was really good! I recommend it. I knew nothing about it going into it, but I really enjoyed it. We went back to the apt after and cooked a late lunch, and the parents left an hour or so later. Then me and Jerome hung out for a few hours, speaking ENGLISH (I needed it), and listening to music, and then I went home.

I enjoyed this weekend. It was low key, and I didn’t mind one bit!

Do You Know Your US Trivia?

So today for English, among other things, I quizzed the kids on American trivia. The girl did terribly, but I was impressed with the boy (maybe based on the girl’s performance). I understand though, they are French kids, so American history and everyday knowledge (to me) wouldn’t be known for them. I included the questions here, and the answers are at the bottom if you’d like to try!

U.S. Quiz questions

1.                   How many states are there? Can you name some territories?

2.                   What is the capital? (Full name!)

3.                   When is Independence Day? Independence from which country?

4.                   Why are there 50 stars and 13 stripes on the flag?

5.                   What is the national anthem?

6.                   What is the largest city? (by population)

7.                   What is the largest state?

8.                   What is the population of the United States?

9.                   Who is currently the president and vice president?

10.               What are the two major political parties?

11.               Who was the first president?

12.               Which president freed the slaves (in 1863)?

13.               What is the official language?

14.               What is the American holiday in November? And on what day?

15.               What are the most popular sports in the US?

16.               What are the least popular sports in the US?

17.               What is the legal age for drinking alcohol?

18.               What is the legal age for smoking cigarettes?

19.               What is the legal age for driving a car

But I have to admit, I don’t know all the answers if it was a France quiz, so I need to get on that and learn it since I do live here, and I would like to learn some general everyday knowledge a French person would know.

Anyway, so next week is my last week until holidays! So a week from this Sunday, I will be on my way to Mexico; so exciting! And then Dublin after that, good times are ahead.

Although, it is kinda weird because a part of me could easily wait and prolong my next break. I just feel so at home now with au pairing, and I know the first week back will be an adjustment all over again, and I just feel like I really have the hang of everything now. But it’ll be nice to have two weeks to not have to think: I need to wash the kid’s laundry because it is Monday, I need to plan my English lesson for Thursday, or piano is at 6:30 pm. I can just think and focus on me for two weeks!

Lately, my comprehension of the French language has drastically improved, with my host family at least. I hear their voices the most, so this makes sense, but finally I understand 95% of their convos, and it makes me feel so good about myself, and this has affected my speech too. I am speaking more, so this is overall just a good thing, and I am proud of myself.

This weekend, Jerome’s parents come and they are staying with us in his apartment. I thought Vincent would be there too, but I found out he’ll be in Nice this weekend, so I thought for a while there’d be me, Jerome, his fam, Vincent and his gf all in one apartment, but it will just be 4 people like norm on weekends. I am looking forward to seeing his parents, though. They are really warm and friendly with me, so it will be nice to see them again. While Jerome is at work Saturday during the day, it will just be me and his parents! I have never really been alone with them before, but it is a challenge I will be fine with.

U.S. Quiz Answers

1.       How many states are there? Can you name some territories?
50 states; Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, United States Virgin Islands

2.       What is the capital? (Full name!)
Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia)

3.       When is Independence Day? Independence from which country?
July 4, 1776; England

4.       Why are there 50 stars and 13 stripes on the flag?
50 stars = 50 states; 13 stripes = 13 colonies

5.       What is the national anthem?
The Star-Spangled Banner

6.       What is the largest city? (by population)
New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island)

7.       What is the largest state?
California (population); Alaska (size)

8.       What is the population of the United States?
320 million

9.       Who is currently the president and vice president?
Barack Obama and Joe Biden

10.   What are the two major political parties?
Democrats and Republicans

11.   Who was the first president?
George Washington

12.   Which president freed the slaves (in 1863)?
Abraham Lincoln

13.   What is the official language?
There is no official language, though English and Spanish are spoken most.

14.   What is the American holiday in November? And on what day?
Thanksgiving; 4^th Thursday in November

15.   What are the most popular sports in the US?
Football and basketball

16.   What are the least popular sports in the US?
Soccer and rugby (which are the most popular in France)

17.   What is the legal age for drinking alcohol?
Twenty-one

18.   What is the legal age for smoking cigarettes?
Eighteen

19.   What is the legal age for driving a car?
Sixteen; or fifteen with your parent

Church

Before I opened Word, I had a lot to say, but now I have drawn a blank… grrr. But I guess I can start with Friday, which now that I think about it… I did a lot on Friday.

I didn’t go to school because I had an interview for an organization that matches up English speaking baby sitters to French fams inside Paris. The interview went really well because I have a lot of experience, so they hired me on the spot! This job is for when I start school in September to earn some money on the side. I basically will be matched up with a fam and take care of the kids after school and speak English, which is exactly what I do right now. I get paid a minimum of 10 euros and hour, so it should be good money, and I get paid regardless if they go on vacation during holidays.

After my interview, I met up with a new American girl, who had posted interest into going to Amsterdam one weekend in April. I want to go, so we planned to meet up to plan and get to know each other. She was really nice, and leaves out in the boonies like me, so we had a lot to relate to. Anyway her fam is kinda weird about giving her time off, so I don’t know if it will work going with her to Amsterdam because the wknd she wants to go is the wknd before that Tuesday, which is Queen’s Day, which is a HUGE deal in Amsterdam. It is a day to celebrate their Queen, and everyone wears orange, and it is a giant party, so I don’t want to miss that. Queen’s Day falls on my last 2 week holiday, so it is perfect timing!

Paige wants to go, but she has a friend she can stay with in a dorm, so I would have to find my own lodging, which kinda sucks. I don’t know what to do. I wish I could stay with Paige, but maybe I can go with the new girl , and we stay together for a few days til she leaves, and then I will only be a few days on my own. I am nervous to couch surf on my own too, but I don’t wanna pay for hotel/hostel, but I need to do it soon because everything books up for Queen’s Day way in advance.

And also, I mentioned last night to Paige that we could totally pit-stop in Lille for a day or two. It is right in the middle of Paris and Amsterdam, so it is perfect! May break will be good if I can make Amsterdam/Lille and then Rome pan out! We will see.

On Friday night, I didn’t leave the house until the 10:30pm train because the dad had a meeting, and the mom didn’t get home until late, but it wasn’t so bad because I skyped Mary Kate and chatted with Gina, so that was nice. When I finally got to Paris, I just hung out with Jerome in bed and went to sleep, no time for anything else because I didn’t get to his place until 11:40pm.

Saturday, I went to the oldest church in Paris with Paige and Lindsey, which was cool, and then we ate some food at Les Deux Magots, which is apparently famous, and therefore pricey.  Then we headed to a movie, Les Miserables, which I knew nothing about, so I almost didn’t go, but I am so glad I did. It was really good, and I was balling at the very end because it was so emotional! I don’t think I have ever cried so hard in a movie before. I recommend it!

Then I went back to Jerome’s and invited Lindsey to come with us to a birthday party we were going to that night. I didn’t want to go to this party without and English speaking friend, and I am glad I didn’t because it helped a lot that she was there. It was a fun night, and I really practiced French a lot and didn’t spend one euro because I kept getting free wine!

Sunday evening, I met up with Paige for a bit before her church service, and we randomly found this awesome park! It is Parc de Monceau near the Arc de Triomphe, and it had all these sculptures and bridges and things; it was very decorated and pretty. I was hungry for dinner afterwards, so we found a restaurant, and I got a croque monsieur and frites along with “citron pressé,” which I thought would be lemonade, but it was literally squeezed lemon juice, so it was so sour even with two packs of sugar!

Paige was going to church, to her first English speaking service, so I decided to join her. She is Catholic, and I thought it’d be way different than an Episcopalian service, but it was very similar. The process of the service was the same, but the wording was a little different. Anyways, it was nice, and I am glad I went. Then Paige accompanied me to my train, and we had to say bye.

Today was your average Monday. I made chicken and broccoli and washed all the kids’ laundry. I do it Monday and then Thursday, and they really pile up clothes form the weekend for just three days’ worth of clothes. I hate they wear an article once, and they put it in the dirty clothes. Geez… wasteful ,and France is supposed to be good about that.

TODAY WAS BEAUTIFUL…. SUNNY, but it was cold, but it was sunny! It was sunny Sat and Sun too… 3 days in a row—this NEVER happens, so that’s cool. I ran today… I had no excuse because it was so darn pretty, and I wanted to get some vitamin D.

Mexico in t minus 13 dayssssssssssssssssss!

Oh side note: So on Friday, I was taking my train as usual when the lady across from me proceeded to clip her fingernails on the train. UBER GROSS WTF

Valentine's Day!

So today is Valentine’s Day! I went and saw Jerome, which I wasn’t sure if it would happen because the girl’s teacher wasn’t there this morning, so I usually have to stay home when that happens. It is bogus because the dad is always here too, so I asked if I could still go to Paris, and he said yes luckily! I didn’t even have to pull the Valentine’s Day/boyfriend card either.

So Valentine’s isn’t big here, but luckily Jerome took it seriously for my sake. I don’t think it is a big deal, but I like to celebrate anyway just because that’s how we do in America. So anyway, he suggested we go get massages at a place across the street, and I was all for my first massage, but it was in experience because I had no idea what to expect since I have never had one before.

Jerome and I were in separate rooms, so he couldn’t help me speak to this Asian speaking French, who I just couldn’t understand at all. When I got in my room, I asked if I should take my shirt off, and she said yes, and then when I asked about my pants, she made this gesture that looked to me like pull your pants down below your butt. So that’s what I did, and when she came back inside, she signaled to take off my pants completely, so I had to undress right in front of her haha. So then the massage started, which was really nice, but there were a few times I just wanted to bust out laughing because I was sensitive and when she was touching my butt… it was just silly to me.

When it was done, she signaled to flip over, so that’s what I did, but I got that wrong too. She wanted me to sit up so she could get to my shoulders for like 30 seconds, and then it was done. So basically this woman saw me naked many times unnecessarily, but whatever, I don’t care at this point.

After me and Jerome compared experiences, and of course, I am the only one who made a fool of myself, but that is to be expected. We then went to a sushi place we had been to before, and we both got “un tartare,” barely cooked meat (which in this case was salmon and tuna) with rice, avocado, and then we added soy sauce. It was so good! And then we got sushi on top of that, but I was so full, I didn’t eat half of mine unfortunately, but we saved it, so hopefully it’ll be there tomorrow night when I go there (you may be grossed out, but I don’t care, I will eat sushi a day old). Then we went back to the apartment, and I left 15 minutes later.

Since the girl did not have school today, I asked the dad if I could take a train an hour later than usual, and he said yes, so this is why I had time for all of this fortunately. When I came back, he said that she went to her grandparents for the weekend since she doesn’t have school tomorrow either, so that means I only have to teach English one time tonight, which is cool, but I like teaching the girl better, but whatever. 

Mardi Gras

Today is Mardi Gras, so we had a dinner full of gras (fat). The dad made fried chicken, which I was skeptical about because how can a French make fried chicken as good as where I am come from in the South? But alas, I was pleasantly surprised, and it was good fried chicken! He then made potato fries, which is a classic for me from home, so that's always yummy. Then dessert, he went all out and made beignets and la tarte au citron meringue!

The beignets were slightly weird because he put apples in the middle, but it was an interesting addition. I like just the plain sweet fried ball of dough though! And then the meringue... I don't know how to explain really, but there were three layers. Well first he made the pie crust of course, then the layer of lemon cream, then the meringue, which has a crispy/melt in your mouth layer on top and a fluffy cloud in between... that's how I explain it! It was délicieux!

As for today... the girl didn't have school, so I stayed home, but a classmate texted me later saying we didn't have class either, so that worked out. I did my laundry, the kid's sheets, and ironed their clothes. I also watched Inception because I wanted to watch it again. I planned a Mardi Gras themed English lesson too. I was pretty bored by evening, and I am not excited for tomorrow because I have to stay home again!

Les Cailles

So tonight I prepared quails (les cailles), and they wereyummy! The bodies were so cute and little, like a mini chicken. They came withthe heads, and the dad chopped them off. I then stuffed onions in them and madea butter/honey sauce to put inside them and the pan, and then we stuck them inthe oven. They were really good! I liked them a lot. He also made a leak quicheessentially, and that was yummy too.

Friday night, I officially bought the tickets to Dublin, soit is official! On Sunday, I also finally bought my tickets to London, so thatis official now too! March is gonna be great with travel along with Mexico too!

Friday night I went to Nico’s apartment with a few Frenchpeople from Raleigh. We made raclette, which was so good. There’s basicallythis warming machine, and then you have little devices with handles you put asquare slice of raclette (cheese) on and then stick it in the middle of thewarming machine to melt it. When it’s melted you put the cheese over potatoesand sliced ham/sausage. It was so good! We were then drinking and dancing andall that, and they all went out, but me and Jerome went home because he hadwork the next day. But we also stole Traylor, the unicorn stuffed animal mascotof the boys in Raleigh. I may have talked about him in the beginning, butanyway, he is now at Jerome’s haha.

Saturday, I went to Breakfast in America with Paige andKendall, and it was really yummy as always. Then me and Paige went to Jardindes Plantes and looked at the wallabies. They are so cute, like mini kangaroos(I like mini animals as you can see), and they are separate from the zoo, so it’sfree to see them!

Sunday, I did the same thing again with Jerome, and got himto see the wallabies. It was gross and snowy outside, but I am glad we went. Wethen watched 2 Days in New York, a sequel to 2 Days in Paris; it was prettyfunny, and just shows American vs. French culture, so I can appreciate it.

I didn’t run on Friday, but I did run today, so I don’t feeltoo guilty. Hmm I don’t know what else to say really. I am editing my coverletter to apply to a uni, and the application will be available in March, so Iwant to apply before I go to Mexico (March 3), so it is a tight squeeze I know. 

Aren't they cute?

The dad took the heads off for me.

I was mortified at first, but now I am ok with it :)

Cashews

So the family has a list where we add the food we want when the dad goes grocery shopping. I always add whole wheat bread and creal, but yesterday I added cashew nuts. I want more healthy snacks around here, so I figured they were a good choice. So the dad does the shopping and comes back asking why I wanted the nuts and what recipe I was going to make, and I just said Oh they are for snacking. Then later on after dinner, he continued this conversation saying how the kids don’t eat snack foods, and he doesn’t buy snack foods for the house, and he thought he was buying the cashews for a recipe. Basically implying, don’t do this again.

It’s shit like this that just bothers me and makes me feel awkward around this house. I hate it. God… they are supposed to feed me, and I am sorry, what is wrong with cashews? They are healthy… it is not like I asked him to buy Cheetos. I guess I will just continue to buy my own snack food, but sheesh. I am just fed up with this shit. I am 22 years old, and I shouldn’t have to have conversations like this.

Jerome finally decided that he wanted to go to Dublin! But of course, the tickets rose. When he finally got the ok by his brother for the dates and we figured out which planes we wanted, I asked my host mom if I could take a Monday (St. Patties off), to which she said she needed to check. When I thought it would have been a simple yes because a few days ago I asked for a Fri afternoon off for other travel stuff, and she said yes with a blink of the eye (which later didn’t work out when I bought the tickets, so I am not taking time off now).

She told me yes last night though! But of course, the flight home wasn’t available, so we have to spend an extra 40 euros on a plane ticket home. I guess it is no biggie. It’ll be like 245 euros though compared to the 150 euros it would have been before when I first looked. Oh well.

I am so excited about Mexico! It is definitely less than a month away!

I have ran Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday this week, and I will today when I get home from school. I think running 4 days a week is good, and I have fit it nicely into my schedule, so I can maintain it. It is really good, and I am glad I am running again. I can only manage 20 minutes to fit within my sched, but that’s ok with me. It really has boosted my spirits in general, which makes me happy and feel good about myself.

I have an interview next week with Baby Langues. It is a babysitting service for French fams who want English speaking sitters. It will be for next school year to make cash, so hopefully that works out.

Happy

I am happy right now! No particular reason other than today was a good day. Well I have a few reasons to be happy particularly about today, but overall I realize I need to feel this way every day because I have every reason to feel this way all the time.  I let the bad things get to me too much, and the bad things are so small compared to the good.

Anyway, I think I am running on endorphins from running earlier. Yes, I ran, and I am damn proud of it! Running is a part of me, and I am sad I let it go for a while, but today is the day I am turning that around. Running is so healthy and just a positive thing, and it does more than help lose a few pounds. You also lose mental weight…the weight of the everyday stuff that drags you down. So my twenty minute run right before picking up the girl set the tone for the rest of the evening, which is nice because I usually just feel bleh after my afternoon/evenings being an au pair. It sucks I can’t leave after dinner and see my friends, but it’s ok. Next year I will be able to do that, so I guess I can wait for now.

I have less than a month until Mexico (by one day, but hey it is  less than a month!), so that realization gave me a light bulb—hey, you need to start running again to get a beach bod… oh and it makes you feel so good, happy, healthy, etc. So today is day one of the rest of my life and running again. As long as it isn’t freezing cold outside. Today was 50 degrees (so warm), but kinda rainy in the morning, but it was nice for running in the afternoon.

I am just gonna leave the house twenty mins before I have to get the girl and run this loop back to the car, and then go get her. It optimizes time, which is essential. I really only have twenty minutes to spare because I get home at 3:30pm, which gives me thirty minutes to relax, then I go run and pick up the girl and commence au pair evening. Anyway, I think this can be an everyday thing if I want it to be.

Today my translations of my birth certificates came back, so I can mail this darn stuff the third time and hopefully they won’t want more stuff they failed to mention the first time. Happy to make progress in that area.

On Saturday, I met up with Meghan at Place d’Italie, and we went to a Mexican restaurant, El Rancho. We both got guacamole as an appetizer and then enchiladas (chicken for me). It was pretty good! Nothing like my mom’s Mexican food, or when I am actually IN Mexico, but for France, it suffices. We also had cocktails too (pina colada for me because they ran out of daiquiris), but the meal was expensive, but worth it.

Then we had some time to kill before a movie (tradition), so I was like let’s go to the Eiffel Tower because I haven’t been there a while, and it’s my fav place in Paris! So we went, and we saw the line to go up was really short, so we paid 3 euro 50 and walked up the tower! I haven’t done that yet, so it needed to be done. It was incredibly windy up there, so I turned into Eskimoretta for a bit. Going up the Tower was great, but when you are on the Eiffel Tower and look at the Paris skyline, what do you look at? You’re on the Eiffel Tower… the epitome of Paris… of France really. Honestly to me, Paris looks like some white building slum. If you don’t have some extraordinary landmark in the background, it does look that way. Just a slum with sub-par looking buildings, but it is my slum of a city, and every time I see a skyline, I realize I live in Paris. Wow. It really takes a vertigo view for me to feel that way.

Then we saw Lincoln. The theater was so packed that we had to sit separately… so annoying. But it was pretty good. I had had a long day (climbing up the Eiffel Tower ya know), so I admit I fell asleep off and on for like 30 mins I’d guess, but it was a good movie. Not spectacular, but good.

Then I went back to Jerome’s because I was already late for a dinner reservation. I quickly changed into something nice when I got back, and we headed out to a restaurant Jerome had been to before with his work. It was a really good restaurant and reasonably prices. 24 euros for an entrée, main dish, and dessert, so I had a brie (cheese) dish with bacon on top over a piece of bread… pretty amazing. Then I had “ravioles,” tiny ravioli’s filled with this cream sauce that was just yummylicious. Then dessert was a “feuillité,” which is hard to explain, and without me knowing this particular word was when I ordered it, I knew what it was because “feuille” means paper, so I got the idea (which I know doesn’t make sense). Ok so anyway it was a flaky pastry with chocolate sauce and bananas in between.

After, we went to a friend’s apt and drank a little, and then when they went out, me and Jerome took a cab home. The next day, when Jerome finally woke up, he made lunch, which was lamb and green beans, and he made this really good cheese sauce to with it. I then made us watch Despicable Me because I like that movie a lot. It is funny because the French translation is Moi, moche et méchant, which means Me, ugly and mean. I just think that’s funny , but it is a good translation I guess.

Then I randomly got a haircut, which turned out great. It was just a trim, but when I saw myself afterwards, it was so obvious I needed a haircut… badly. Anyway some girl posted about her hair stylist friend on an fb au pair group, so I was like ok! She speaks English, perfect! Sorry, I only trust English speakers with my hair. Anyway, I met her at her apartment after texting her earlier to make an appt. She’s an Australian who lived in London for 2 years and decided to move to Paris when her visa ran out. She has been here three weeks so far. She just cut my hair in her room (very au pair style), when I get my hair cut in America, it will have been a full yr without being in a salon to get a haircut haha. Anyways, I am very happy. I just got a trim, but it looks great.

Today after class, I went to la Défense and met up with Kendall for a bit. It had been a good three weeks since I saw her, so it was sooo nice to see her again. I missed her. So I think we can make that a reg thing bc Monday is the only day we both have class, so I think it can work out!

Waiting

So I have been slacking with my blog big time. I just don’t have the urge to write as much because at night, I just have other things I want to do.

Today is Friday, and I stayed home. I just watched the season 4 finale of Breaking Bad, which was AMAZING. I love that show, but unfortunately, I think season 5 is the last season. Anyways I stayed home today, even though I did have class. Me and the dad took my car to the shop yesterday because it’s been having troubles… not because of me though! And it had to stay through until today, so the dad had to take me to the train station this morning since I don’t have a car, but it would have been a train that’s an hour earlier than usual, and I didn’t want to do that. It’s been raining all day too, so that would have been no fun walking around in.

Instead I got to sleep in some, however the dad took the kids each to school today because I can’t drive his car. It is 42 years old and a stick shift, but the stick shift is on the dash board, and I never learned how to drive it, so I was unable to take the kids myself. Anyways I asked him last night if I needed to wake up the boy in the morning assuming I wouldn’t since I wouldn’t be taking him to school, but he told me I needed to. Kinda shitty, but I just woke him up at 6:30am and went back to sleep, but I could hear them talking and all, so I didn’t fall asleep until probably 8:15am when they finally all left.

So I woke up again at 10:30am and watched an episode of Breaking Bad, then showered, ironed the kids’ clothes, cooked grilled cheese for myself, and just watched the season finale. It has been a relaxing day, but I am little bored, but I will just watch another show I suppose.

Lately I have been so down about au pairing. I just can’t believe I have 6 more months of this… seems like forever.  And I have only been an au pair for like 5 months. It just seems so much longer. I am just ready for the next step, but when I step back and realize my situation, it is really good. I am living here for free basically, and that’s pretty amazing.

I am just excited for next year if it pans out the way I want it too. I don’t know if I ever mentioned this, I probably have, but I am just so excited I found a university with an International Business program in English. I just want to fast forward. It sucks the application isn’t open until March though. One more month of waiting. I am nervous about my living expenses though. I guess I will take out a loan to pay for it all, but can you take a loan out for that? I am considering being an au pair again, but I just don’t know if I will have enough time for school and au pairing. I can’t know about that until I am in school and have a class schedule, and I don’t know how long that will take to figure out.

Basically a month until Mexico! I am so excited to get away from it all. One, I want to see my family. It has been so long, and it will be so nice just being around people who love me. Two, I am ready for the weather and the beach!! It will be weird being so “close” to America, but not going there, but I think I will be fine. And then I think I may have plans for after I come back with Jerome and Vincent. Jerome mentioned visiting their old roommate, Nico, in his town, Rocamadour, France. I have seen pictures, and it’s a village built alongside a huge rock face, so it looks really pretty. I am excited to see more of France, so I hope it all works out. 

Today

A lot has happened, but I don’t even remember it all. That’s what happens if I don’t blog every other day, but I just don’t want too anymore.

Today was beautiful. It was sunny, not a cloud in the sky. It was in the 40’s, so I wore a lighter jacket, but I may have been a little underdressed because I was cold, but it was so nice having the sun. I actually got to wear sunglasses.  It is supposed to be in the 50’s this week, but rainy, but I will take it because it has been in the 20’s for like two straight weeks.

Today I went to CIO. I don’t care to look up what it stands for right now, but the dad recommended I go there for advice on Master programs in Paris. It is an organization that gives advice on schools and such, and they have an office located at the same metro stop as my train, so it was convenient. I brought Paige with me, which was lucky because she speaks French better, so when I got confused when the lady was talking, she helped me. I was hoping someone would speak English, but no luck. Anyway, the lady just gave me a list of schools with Masters programs in business in Paris, all of them I already knew about, but hey it was worth a try. I never woulda known if it’d be worth it or not if I didn’t go, so I am glad I did even though I didn’t learn anything new. But now Paige is interested in school too possibly, so I am glad she went with me because she got info for Art schools.

Today we ate coq au vin, which is a chicken dish cooked in red wine. It is a classic French dish that I had yet to try, so I was glad we had it. It was very good! At one point, the dad put some liquor in the stewing pot, and I got to light a match and light the alcohol on fire to cook. It took like four failed attempts before I finally got it; I thought a huge fireball would blow up on me. I singed some of my hair though, not much, but anyways it was cool. The dad videotaped me, so I may put that on here.

I bought rain boots this weekend! Basic black rain boots, but they have like a 2 inch wedge to them. The selection of rain boots was very limited, and they were the first ones I found, so I got them because they were cute. So far I like them, and the heel isn’t too much of a problem (I suck at walking on heels—I don’t own a pair of high heeled shoes for a reason).

Stir Crazy

Well I have been here 3 days in a row not leaving this village, and I am going crazy. I am at my wit’s end… I just need to get out of here and just breathe. I just feel like I am under constant scrutiny in this house, and leaving every day gives me a breather to just act how I normally would and be me! But I haven’t been able to do that for three days. I just feel like I am judged when I stay in my room, and when I leave my room with every movement I make. And I know most of it is in my head, and I am acting paranoid, but three days is too damn much. I must leave, and thank god tomorrow is Thursday, and I can.

I have stayed because of snow days, and I am getting sick of snow. It just won’t go away. It is in the process of slowly melting, so now when I walk outside in the driveway, I slip every other step in the slushy mess. I don’t have any shoes I can wear in this weather either. I don’t want to wear my new suede boots, so I usually wear my uggs, but today they soaked through and then I wore my leather boots, but I don’t wanna wear my nice shoes in this nasty slush. It is all muddy , cold, and wet here. Blehh. I am on a mission for rain boots this weekend along with leg warmers because I can wash mud off the rain boots no problem. I just need shoes that won’t stain or anything and can withstand wet/cold weather.

I finally received my health insurance stuff last night, but they sent my file back with even more problems. I sent my file initially in August when they had a problem with my birth certificates. It took until January to finally get the right birth certificate stuff they wanted, and now I have more problems. I have to get my birth certificate re-translated by a certified French translator approved by the court system, and I have now found one, and hopefully I can go to them Friday and pay/give them my documents to translate. And then I can send all the extra stuff they want, and hopefully they will be happy, so I can finally be on French health insurance. I bet there will be more problems though with my luck.

It is so hard to be a foreigner living in another country legally. I just can’t imagine this being an on-going battle for the next few years. I almost think just getting married would simplify everything a whole lot. Ha ha we will see about that, it probably won’t happen until after I have somehow decided to stay here and done it independently.

I have found a school in Nice with and Intl Business Master program that is a public University, and I am pretty sure in English. Jerome has given me a contact who has helped tremendously, but the directors of the program still won’t email me back (surprise, surprise). But that’d be great to pay like 500 euro total for a program in English that I want. I think I would like living in Nice… better weather for sure. It is so beautiful, but I don’t know anything yet. The application is not even available online yet.

The dad has not done “faire des courses” (grocery shopping) in sooo long. I have no cereal… haven’t for the past day, and this is a huge dilemma! I have no bread… there is no sandwich bread to speak of. He hasn’t even said if he is gonna go tomorrow, which he needs to tell me bc we still share my (yes I know they gave it to me) car, so I should be entitled to a heads up because my ass is planning on going to Paris tomorrow.  Whatever, I am peacing out at 9:15am tomorrow if he doesn’t tell me otherwise.

I have already started to dream what I want my mom to bring me when we reunite in Mexico. Definitely more peanut butter. The peanut butter here is too natural for me, which I know sounds degusting, but sorry, I want the fake peanut butter from a straight-up factory. I want some easy mac, but Velveeta brand. I can’t even think of the shit food I would snack on sometimes back in the USA. I did stay away from it, but now in France, I am entitled to it. Cheese-its for sure. More popcorn, it is so nice having my stockpile of American popcorn here. I want normal sized toothpaste, the toothpaste comes in smaller tubes. A big bottle of conditioner. I have a monster one I brought in August, and I am still using it. You just can’t get big sized stuff here… it is a waste really in some cases. France is all green, but I think buying in bulk is more green in some cases. Oh I want a big bottle of Curel lotion. And I want my mom to bring some of my shoes… I know my cowboy boots and small black boots. I don’t even remember my other shoes.  I am gonna have to bring a big suitcase to Mexico, so I can bring all this stuff back!