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.