T minus One Week till I'm back in the States!

Just a couple hours after finally procuring my visa, I received the sad news that my grandmother had passed away. She had been sick for a couple weeks/a month-ish, in and out of the hospital and staying at my aunt's house with everyone taking turns staying with her. It was hard to hear that news, being over here. I thought I would get to see her at least one more time. But the good thing is that I get to go home in one week and be with my family. And I did get to skype with her a couple weeks ago, which really was a blessing. I think (and my mom backs me up on this)that grandma got a kick out of using skype. I mean, she was over 90 years old! Can you believe that? I don't know if she could have ever imagined herself doing something like that!
That was a hard day, but Friday and Saturday have actually been pretty great. I think God knew I needed some pick-me-ups, and I am really blessed.

Friday I had class (for 5 hours). I debated not going and just sleeping all day but really I knew that wouldn't help me at all. So I went to class and interacted with people. It was good for me. Afternoon class is always better than morning class, and this was no exception. We had lively tangent debates about national identity and different experiences from our own countries. We talked and laughed and Adela (from Spain) made really large hand gestures and it was a great class. At the end, Tao got up and put on a Santa hat. He had just turned 25 and had brought a bunch of Chinese candies for everyone, which he distributed joyfully from a red stocking. And after dinner I talked with my parents and with my friend Tanya, and it really helped prop me up emotionally.

Today I slept in. Glorious sleep. I had breakfast, "hung out", ate lunch, and then went for a walk (AKA Christmas shopping trip) around the city. It was as if all of Rouen (and then some) was out and about today. Especially by the Vieux Marche, the Rue du Gros Horloge, and the Cathedral. There were lights everywhere, and the stores were packed. Then by the cathedral there was set up a little "Christmas village". It consisted of a bunch of little vendor stalls, where you could find anyting from belt buckles to russian dolls to fois gras to cider to high end jewelry. Of course, there were wooden deer and wreaths and lights and tons of yummy snacks! I had the most delicious Vin Chaud (hot mulled wine) and ate a churro (yes - they have churros. I got it from a fair-type giant food stand, selling cotton candy (which they call grandpa's beard) and waffles and taffy and the like) while listening to Michael Buble Christmas music and watching kids wave at their families as they went by on the carousel.
My plan was to go back after dinner and take pictures of how beautiful it is at night, when all the lights are illuminated. But I came down for dinner and found out that it was just going to be me and the girls, and that I was babysitting tonight.
Oh well, another time.

Visa Mission Complete!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After what seems like months of worrying I have FINALLY received my "titre du sejour" which means I am legally coming home for Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(I am just glad to have that whole thing over with. If you couldn't tell)

VISA update

here is the update:

So my visa is STILL NOT VALIDATED.

I went to get my chest x-ray (you have to strip waist up and stand against a big machine. its weird).
Anyway, it all took about 15 minutes and went really well.
Of course, France couldn't leave it at that.

I later went to my appointment at the OFII (immigration), waited around for 45 minutes, and had another doctor's check up. It was ok, not great or fun, but fine. And I "passed" so everything was in line. Then I waited another 45 minutes for my other meeting where I would present paperwork and finally get my "vignette" (the stamp I need).
I wait, only to find out that they do not yet have my stamp. Seriously? Haven't they done this before MULTIPLE TIMES EVERY DAY????
Needless to say, I am a bit worried. The lady knows what day I am leaving and said that I will get it by that date. But this is France. And that just worries me a little bit. Prayers and good thoughts for me and France's efficiency would be appreciated!
Love you all
Natalie

12 days of "Until I'm Home Again"

12:
Days until I am home again. And I CANNOT WAIT to see my family :)

11:
My number on the 1-10 scale of frustratedness about getting my visa finalized.

10:
Little wooden ornaments colored with the girls in the last few days.

9:
x2 is the number of pictures I took of Am the other day. She is just too darn cute. Examples:

8:
Is roughly the number of months I have left in France/of au pair-ing

7:
Homework assignments due next class on Friday. We are not even getting a grade or having a test in this class, so it is difficult to keep motivated. But I actually LIKE going now! Gasp! Because our new teacher is great (even if she does give us more work) and it is less boring and I am beginning to develop some serious rapport with the other students.

6:
Pictures from this weekend for you:

5:
Times I have recently (AKA today and last night) wished for my snuggie. My room is cold.

4:
x 10 = the cost of replacing my camera battery charger. In euros. Holy cow!

3:
Loaves of pumpkin I made for thanksgiving were delicious. And there still rests a tiny bit of the last one. I want to eat it.

2:
Chatty Cabbies. This weekend Mia and I went and visited Vaux le Vicomte and we had some very talkative taxi drivers. But in a nice way. They complimented our French and told us about the chateau/how it is the last currently inhabited chateau/how Tony Parker and Eva Longoria got married there/how Man in the Iron Mask was filmed there/to catch the train back at Voie 2.

1:
Prayer: That everything goes well at my appointment tomorrow and my visa will finally be complete, and that I can safely and legally fly home for Christmas.

Almost 3 Months!

I can't believe that I have lived in France for 3 months now (on Thursday). Its strange to think that, on the France Study Program, we were just about to leave. I was not at all ready to leave when that program came to an end. But that was a different experience. Can you remember the last time you got to spend three months straight living with awesome people, traveling, learning, and having fun EVERY SINGLE DAY doing it? That was the FSP trip for me. This is definitely different. It feels as if I have not done even close to as many things as I did on that trip, and it hasn't been fun-every-single-day. That is for sure.
That being said, even though I am not having quite the experience of my last France sejour, I am glad to spend more time here. I would feel slightly ripped off if I had to leave now. There are so many more places I want to visit and more things I want to see and experience.

One thing I could do without - French Bureaucracy! Seriously. Everyone talks about how frustrating it is, and you can imagine. And then you actually experience it ... and its just so ... GRRR! I have had the pleasure of experiencing this many times, but most notably (aka most frustrating-ly) with my visa process. Which is still not finished. Also, I am so happy and content to have gone to an American University. It is so frustrating here. Many people don't know if a class is canceled until they arrive, certain teachers always begin classes at least 10 minutes late and run over, and then there was the whole writing-teacher-fiasco. (went through three writing teachers and multiple class times and multiple classrooms). Anyway, it puts the order and respect for students of American Universities in perspective. And I am thankful!

Today I had methodology (underwhelming as usual) but then went out to lunch with 10 other students because it is Nicolai's last day (unfortunately he has been unable to find work and has to leave). There is a new Chinese girl who is super adorable and hilarious (Yen) and she asked me if I know of the American TV show "the big bang theory". I said I did and then she was so enthusiastic and started quoting all these lines from the show. Then another Chinese student (Shin-Shin) and Hilzam (from Indonesia) started talking about "Friends" and how much they loved it. And who said TV was bad for you!? Ha, it seems to be a great ice-breaking, getting-to-know-you, conversation starter.

Also, its nice to know that American's are not the only ones who think French people do not cook their meat enough.

Next weekend: Vaux le Vicomte!!! Its gonna be awesome and SO CHRISTMASY!

Black Friday

Hey everyone! Over in the US its black Friday. Over here it is just normal Friday.

Yesterday was my FIRST Thanksgiving away from friends and/or family. It was actually my first Thanksgiving that I did not get the chance to celebrate... And while the day wasn't great, that wasn't France's fault. And I made it through it just fine.
To try and commemorate the holiday, I made some (really tasty) pumpkin bread with the girls on Wednesday and printed out some Thanksgiving themed coloring sheets for Thursday afternoon. We gave some of the bread to the nurse (who takes care of Am during the day) and she seemed to enjoy it. But, like many French people, she didn't quite understand what Thanksgiving is. She assumed it was our Christmas (she is in no way the only french person to do this).

Today we re-started our "writing production" class with the 3rd professor. *Complaint: The french bureaucracy is ridiculous and inefficient. Nobody knows when class is canceled/they always start late/rooms are not planned out ahead of time/etc etc etc. This is not even to mention the problems I have had running alllll over town to try and complete the Visa process!)*
Anyway, we had FIVE hours of class - one 3 hour block in the morning and then a 2 hour block in the afternoon. Surprisingly, and happily, I wasn't very bored at all! I think I am going to enjoy this class, even though we have lots of homework. I also like this professor a lot. And today I felt like I made some progress as far as actually making friends with the other students.
Also, funny thing happened. So you know that moment in the trailer for the Pink Panther, when Steve Martin is a french inspector and is trying to say the word "hamburger"?
Well, today in class was kind of like the opposite of that. We were reading an article and I had to say 'hamburger' and 'cheeseburger' in a french accent ... and I totally failed and everyone laughed. Not in a mean way, though, I was laughing too. It was ridiculous.

Anyway, it is no longer Friday over here, so I am going to hit the sack.

Pictures!

Here are just a couple belated pictures!

Spencer impersonating statues at St Malo

Julia (with a sticker on her forehead because she was brave and drove us there!)

I really like this sign

Look something in the water!

monkey hanging out at (of) the Louvre

Beautiful Place des Vosges in the Fall.

Statue in the Place des Vosges, where we got to tour Victor Hugo's house for free

Pretty trees!

Me in front of the Louvre

In the Tuileries with a view

At Chatelet

Some important building :) There are so many of them!

Another view from the Louvre

Again in the Tuileries. I imagine the statue as saying "No! not the eiffel tower!!!"

Christmas Countdown!

Hello everyone! Less than ONE MONTH until I will be home sweet home for Christmas.

Not much has happened in the past week. I spent the weekend home alone, which put me into a bit of a funk. I then proceeded to catch something, perhaps the flu, and combined with a severe lack of sleep was rather not well all week. I am feeling slightly better now but my stomach still cannot appropriately handle any food I put into it. Therefore, I have been drinking many a hot beverage. Mostly tea.

My school class schedule has changed because a teacher was offered another position and they had to replace her. Today I got up early to get ready and everything and went to class only to get there early and wait until 20 minutes after class was supposed to start before I left. The door to the room was locked and I saw nobody from my class there. I can't attend class on Wednesdays so I wonder if perhaps they gave an announcement that I missed...?
In other school news, my Methodology class is a complete joke. I basically detest it but go anyway, because it is one of the few classes I can make it to, and because I want to be able to see the other students. The other day the professor was teaching us how to take notes. HOW TO TAKE NOTES. She came over and literally told me to FOLD my paper into two and then in three smaller folds to correspond to the sections of the material we were reading. What is this, middle school?? I have no problem with anyone who folds there paper while taking notes - go for it! But I think by now, after having graduated college summa cum laude with 2 degrees you would think I have been fairly successful in taking notes. Its hard because just because I don't speak the language well does not mean I am stupid. If anything people in these classes are bright and brave! And the note taking thing wasn't even the half of it.

Not this weekend, but the next, Mia is coming to Rouen and we are going to celebrate her birthday (there really is not THAT much to do here but she didn't want to stay in Paris which is totally cool). Then the weekend after that we are going to visit the Vaux le Vicomte (a chateau that inspired Versailles). It gets all decked out for Christmas and it looks just lovely!

It will be another quiet weekend, with the girls staying with the grandparents the the parents moving Mr. S out of his office (he is stopping his dental practice in Rouen). This means I get a new desk/dresser thing tomorrow. But first I have to clean out the one I have. I'll go get on that right now!
Adios, amigos.
Natalie

11/11/11

Hello everyone!
Here is just a little blog update on the momentous day of 11/11/11.

This weekend was not very eventful. I basically just worked and went to class. Exciting life, I know.
But today was a nice day, despite the more-than-irritating events of last night*

*Last night I was actually able to get to sleep with minimal trouble. However, I was awakened by LOUD THUMPING TECHNO music coming from the apartment next to me. It was 2:50 AM, and this seriously loud (AKA extra pillow on my head AND headphones playing music louder than it should go at 3 AM didn't manage to drown it out) music played on for more than 2 hours. Around 5 AM it finally stopped. Thank God that the family was going out of town on Friday (today) morning because it is the celebration of the end of WWI. This meant I didnt have to wake up at 7 like normal, and I got to sleep in.

ANYway, today was nice. I hung out with the family and helped get the girls ready to go in the morning. They left around 11:30, and then I went up to my room and relaxed a bit. I then went 30 ft down the street and bought a pizza to help cover my meals for the weekend. It was yummy. Then I wrote a response to a letter from the OFII (immigration people. Things like this in France take freaking forEVER) and ran some errands. Then I just walked around. This little tea place/used book store that I like was closed, so I walked some more through the very busy tourist-y streets. I stopped at a cafe, and then decided I wanted to check out the Joan of Arc museum. And tonight I made plans with the other au pair in Rouen to go see "The Artist" at a nearby cinema.
Things in France are really really cool when you are able to do what you want.

le weekend update

I have officially been in France for over two months! Huzzah!

Also just a warning:
This is going to be mainly a "list all the things I did this weekend" blog. You have been warned.

Last week was lighter that normal, as the older girls were away with extended family. It was just Am and me. And man, did we bond. I can already tell I am going to miss that sweet, sweet baby! 1 year old is such a great age, and she is so adorable it just about breaks my heart.

On Friday I left Rouen to visit Paris (I am becoming quite familiar with this train ride) were I met up with Julia on Rue Cler. We then set out to buy some wine (which ended up being more like water-wine) and hoofed it over to the ecole militaire side of the Eiffle Tower (the grassy side) just in time to see it sparkle.
We joined hordes of people lounging on the damp grass, nearly everyone with a bottle of something for themselves. Then we sat and talked and listened to everyone around us. We were surrounded by almost all English speakers. It is so crazy how much English (and especially American English) I hear every time I go to Paris. We then were asked to leave the grass by an officer, so we walked to the OTHER side of the Eiffel tower by Trocadero and spent another hour chatting and watching it sparkle.

For two days it felt like we walked nearly ALL of Paris. Or at least that is what my feet were telling me. We walked the entire Marais, saw the Place des Voges and Victor Hugo's house, the musee conacq-jay were we stopped (mainly to use the free bathrooms), and the rue de Rosiers where we ate some falafel (yum).
We walked the entire rue de Rivoli, saw the hotel de ville, les halles (where we got to see some nice ping pong action), the Bastille market, the Louvre, and the Tuileries where Julia spontaneously reconnected with a friend from her sordid study-abroad past (ok, not that sordid. but man, that kid was awkward).

We meandered through the Latin quarter, visiting Shakespeare and Co and walking by the Caveau de la Hauchette. We were abruptly escorted off the metro line 4 (it was suddenly under construction), so we walked past Notre Dame, the Seine, and through St Germain des Pres and past the Institute de France to find Cosi, where we met another American also enjoying her sandwich. We ended up eating together and found out that she works for a law firm (English/American but with strong international ties) in Paris. Cool!

We stood in line to get into Angelina's, walked by the Place de la Concorde, and stopped by the Paris Opera house to check out their schedule (sadly the ballet for that night was sold out, and we had tickets to see Tintin in 3D anyway). We stopped at a cafe, were hassled by a homeless man and then even more hassled when, somehow, he crashed into our table and ended up on the ground with our broken glasses while the wine and beer ended up all over me. Lets just say I did not enjoy smelling like an alcoholic.

We headed over to Mia's on Sunday night because she was not feeling well. We stayed there and helped her out the next couple of days, chilling and watching movies, with brief interludes into the city like a lovely Halloween dinner in St Germain des Pres and stops in the Paris Mosque Tea Room, the Jardin des Plantes, and the Galerie Vivienne.

Anyway, it was a full and fun long weekend. I currently have no plans for this weekend, but today my hour long search for a Mexican restaurant I KNEW I have seen before was in vain, so I might pursue that again.

I love and miss you all. I'll be home in a month and a half for Christmas and I CANNOT wait!

Fall Fever Believer!

Its true. Sadly, Fall is not as fun here. Kids get like 2 weeks off of school, so there should be the aroma of celebration in the air! (Although this tends to make au pairs around the country grimace and hide in fear, so I can get that. I am one of the Lucky Ones - as the two older children are gone spending the week at their uncle's. It is currently just me and the baby. Which I actually very much enjoy).

The leaves are changing colors, the air is crisp and biting, and when the sun shines, it still shines with that bright, early fall intensity.

But there are no pumpkins anywhere. Nobody is setting out displays of whole frozen turkeys. There are no "fall flavors" of ANYTHING, no scents of cinnamon. No leaves-and-apples decorations up anywhere. Not a haystack in sight. Nor have I seen the abundance of squash that normally accompanies the season.

To combat this lack of fall joy I have taken certain steps:
1. Making applesauce. As it turns out, the father is allergic to cinnamon. That's OK. I get the compote de pomme to myself.
2. My daily tea intake has nearly doubled since my first month.
3. Watching holiday episodes of "Friends" in my spare time.
4. Looking forward to Christmas
5. Thinking of ways I can teach/do crafts with the girls about Halloween/Thanksgiving. We have already made hand turkeys. (A bit premature, I will admit).
6. Planning my upcoming Paris weekend with friends. This is GOING to include buying canned pumpkin in the America/Canada section of the Grande Epicerie de Paris (the only place I have heard of that carries it) and helping Mia take her three kids to Disneyland Paris on October 31st.

Also. Currently my biggest fear is that I will ruin the washing machine. They got new detergent which is in tablets instead of powder. I really needed to wash some of my clothes. I am currently checking the machine every 7-9 minutes to make sure suds don't come bursting forth from the door.

Toussaint

(meaning "all saints", as in all saints day)

So the French don't really celebrate Halloween. I see no pumpkins anywhere. They don't have fall-flavored coffee drinks. Nor is there really any reason to celebrate in the Fall, with no harvest festivals, hay rides, or Thanksgivings.

They do, however, give kids ten days off of school. (I get time off school as well!)

On another note:
This weekend in Rennes with my Whitworth peeps was just what I needed. I feel rejuvenated and just all around happier. It was great.

Mid October Update or : Where does France hide all the Pumpkins???

Hullo everyone.

Here is just a little random update about my life.
(A MONTH AND A HALF IN!!*)
*(almost)

Sometime this week it seemed like things started to get better with the girls. I think this is a good sign: a sign that we might be headed in the right direction. Wednesdays are still nearly impossible but the promise of a Kinder surprise (and goodness they just LOVE their kinder) if they are good at bath time all week DOES make them behave better (exception: tonight. SO we are going to start over and try for the kinder Friday instead of Monday).

Since the weather has been turning cold (the fall turn always makes me home-nostalgic) I have been trying to make the most of what little time we have left to play outside. This means
- climbing up giant red rope structures (I did it too. It was super fun. Although I was out of practice and Lu beat me in our race. But it made me proud of Sa who was scared to climb onto the first rope at first and then went just as high as we did!).
- Lu jumping rope all the time
- Having our "gouter" (snack) outside in this public "place" by our house. Oh yeah. We sit and play on some old ruins.

Oh yeah. Those old ruins happen the be the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the steak. No big. Just, you know, ate my apple and was totally cool about it (on the outside).

Classes are going well. This is mostly due to the people in them, as the material hasn't been particularly compelling as of yet.

Last weekend, I went into Paris (again) to visit Mia, experience again the marche aux puces (gigantic multiple-mile flea market - albeit with a worse scarf selection than before), and then visit Giverny. I also witnessed MULTIPLE examples of how ENGLISH is Europe's common language. Which poses all kinds of questions and gives a lot of explanations.

Giverny was so so so lovely. It is Where Monet lived, his house and gardens. There was also a museum nearby. We stopped for a light lunch at the coziest place I have yet to experience in France. It made me think of Grandparent hugs. It was a tiny, picturesque house with a warm wood burning stove cooking various meat selections, wall-china, and a chatty cook on the inside.

We almost wanted to stay there the whole day. But we didn't, don't worry. The museum was small and I enjoyed it, as I did Monet's house and gardens. It was so nice to be out in the country. However, we forgot that out in the country there are fewer Sunday options than in Paris or Rouen (things in France close down Sundays and Mondays). Luckily we found a boulangerie just about the close and bought some sandwiches to eat at the train station.

I leave for Rennes to visit Julia (and Mia and I think Spencer too) in less than 24 hours. Which is great.

But the BEST NEWS of my entire time here is that I will probably be able to go home for Christmas. :) :) :)
Parents are awesome, aren't they? I was just having a conversation with my friend about this...

School

Hello blogosphere

This blog entry will focus on my university experience so far. And actually, more on the other students than anything we have learned (which hasn't been all that incredible yet. Apparently America does a good job teaching (at least me) how to write outlines, prepare for essays, etc. Because some people didn't understand sub-points...)

Anyway!
I am (finally) registered as a student at the Universite de Rouen, in the DELF/DUAF program for non native speakers. My schedule has 10 hours of class a week, however due to my work schedule which is entirely inflexible I am only able to attend about 6 hours a week. There are anywhere between 12-20 people in my class at one time, tending toward about 15 on a normal day. I have never been in such a vastly diverse group of people. Here are some of the other students I have met:
Marjea is a 41 year old mom from Brazil (who looks like she is about 20). She is here because her husband works here, and has been in Rouen for about 2 years so far, I think. Her accent is incredibly strong but she is really sweet.

Julianna is also from Brazil here with her husband. She is 27 and used to be a lawyer. As you can imagine, its impossible to find a job as a lawyer in a country where you cant speak the language very well.

Katrina (or Katherine, I didn't catch it) is from Alaska! She has been here for three years with her husband, who is French Canadian and plays for Rouen's ice hockey team. She and I had a great conversation about how frustrating the whole French system can be for Americans.

Charisse is from Texas and is here studying art history. She has already been to University in Paris and then obtained her masters in Scotland.

Nazar is from Baghdad and has been here for a couple years. He is studying chemistry and wants to be some sort of chemical engineer.

Nicolai is a 37 year old man from Bulgaria. Like me, he hasn't been here all that long. He and Nazar chat a lot because Nicolai is some sort of chemical engineer too.

Naha is a young woman from London, who wears some sort of headscarf, I assume for religious reasons. I have not yet been able to talk with her all that much.

Hilzam and Patrezeus are both 19 and from Indonesia. I have had a couple of good conversations with Hilzam, revolving mainly around how French people cannot handle spicy food AT ALL. He seems to be quick to laugh and smile, like me, so I think we will get along well.

Ioanna (yo-anna) is from Romania. She is 24 and has been in Rouen for 4 years. She came to university and met her boyfriend, Omar, with whom she currently lives. She is nice and we have had lunch together a couple times. She shared her cookies with me and I gave her an American dollar, which she said she had never actually seen before.

Tao is a nice guy from China, who has also been here a couple of years, and has a friend from Ohio.

Tu is from Vietnam and speaks in short, quipped sentences.

There is a woman from Japan, who works in a boulangerie/patissrie (bakery/pastry shop).

Elizabeth is from Mexico and needs to be able to give a dissertation or some sort of presentation in French. She is friendly and seems to be running around a lot whenever I see her.

Adela is from Spain, and is here with her family. Her husband now works here, and she used to be a lawyer.

I am really enjoying my class time, even though it means no naps. While the material hasn't been exactly stimulating so far, we did get to play a poor man's version of taboo, and have been able to talk with one another, which is nice. It also feels like I am doing something for myself during the day, something not centered on taking are of the kids, and this feels good. One needs to be able to care for oneself, in addition to caring for others.

Almost a Month In!

I feel as though I have been very negative in this blog so far. That isn't fair, and it isn't fun to read either! There have been some great things about being here in this first month. (A lot of them might have to do with food...)
So here is a small sample list of three things I like about being here:

1. CHATEAUX (CASTLES)
Yeah. You are driving along on the highway with the family, who are playing a version of I-spy in which the mother tells the girls what to look for ( a green sign, a red house, cows, etc) and when they see the item they clap. Yeah. She tells them to clap when they see a chateau. Like it is not big deal. AWESOME.
Also, just LOOK AT THIS




2. Trains.
You can take the train just about anywhere. And after having bought the AMAZING Carte 12-25 (a traveler's discount card for those between the ages of 12 and 25) for 49 euros, I can get a round trip to Paris and back for under 15 euros. That is amazing.

3. Language
The French have many fewer words than English speakers. There are approx. 1,010,649.7 words in English (or at least that is what it says here) while NPR tells me that French has fewer than 100,000. Thanks, Academie Francaise! Anyway, while there are pros and cons to having so few words, the words I have heard people use here seem more beautiful, creative, and powerful. Its like when an English professor tells me to cut out my passive language: all my "kind of"s and "seems like"s and "like"s. The French do that more automatically.
Today I walked past a guy on the street and he said something to me like "Bonsoir ma fleur" (something like "goodnight, my flower").
Now, he might have been making fun of me. Who knows? But the fact remains that I could not help smiling at the fact that he called me his flower, serious or not. I do believe that I will never hear strange men on the street in the US call me their flower, even in jest, and that is a little too bad.

(AND also the fact that Miss Mia is only 1.5 hours away by train helps a lot). We have some good times together :)

Everybodys' workin' for the weekend

While complaining about the difficulties of this job to a friend, she asked me what my priorities were, as far as my reasons for coming to France.
I stopped and thought.
The main reasons I came here were not, in fact, to work all the time and become super tight with a French family (Although getting along better with the mother would make things so much easier!). I decided to do this whole au pair thing because it was the easiest way to get back over to France. I wanted to live in France for an extended period of time (check). I wanted to travel all over (past and future check). I wanted to improve my French (we're working on it...). I wanted to have something to do after graduating (duh) to give me time to think about what I want to do with my life (not even close, although I have ruled out being an au pair for the rest of my life). And maybe another goal was to challenge myself and push myself outside my comfort zone (success with that).
So, it actually seems as if I am doing (most of) what I set out to do.

In other news, my first day of school is today. While I am excited for the opportunity to meet people, this also means I don't have a chance to get in my mid-morning nap. ;)
After the placement exam I was placed (on the cusp of/) in C1 with one other girl (the highest level). Alas, the schedules came out and there was about 6 hours of class on Wednesdays. As Mrs. S told me Wednesdays are completely impossible, this posed a problem. I talked with the woman in charge and got the schedule for B2. There are also classes on Wed. but only 3 hours. I figured if I am going to have to miss class all the time, it might be better to miss the easier classes.
My suggestion for this family for next time: don't go through the university. There are plenty of private schools (Mia and Julia both going to one of these) that have an au pair schedule in mind. The classes are in the middle of the day and never on wednesdays. It is very frustrating to be put in this position of being in the middle of two completely inflexible schedules. Grrr.

THIS WEEKEND
Mia and I visited Pierrefonds. The castle was magical, and the weekend fantastic. But now its back to the daily grind.

Paris, Umbrellas, Hysteria, Wednesdays, and Castle #1

Helloooooo.

Almost three weeks in! (With relative success).

Paris:
Sunday I went into Paris early in the morning to meet up with ma chere amie Mia!
Took the train into Saint Lazar, then the metro to Gare de Lyon. Then walked across the river to Les Jardins des Plantes (Paris' biggest botanical garden). Right behind the garden is the Paris Mosque (and more importantly for us, the Paris Mosque Tea Room). There we sat under the trees in the courtyard, sipping delicious honey mint tea. It was a lovely start to the day.
We made additional stops are Shakespeare and Co, then back tracked a bit to hit up Berthillon. After, we headed over to another of my favorite places in Paris, Les Jardins du Luxembourg.
We stopped for lunch at another old favorite, Cosi. Heavenly sandwiches. Then we walked back to the Marais district and made a short tour of the Musee Cognacq-Jay which consists of couple's personal art collection housed in their residence.
Finally we walked by the Pompidou center and sat in front of the fountains drinking Kir and eating dinner.
It was a lovely day and felt a bit like coming home. We walked by certain stores or places along the Seine and I would remember what fun we all had just a year and a half ago on that spot.

Umbrellas:
The other day I was walking about Rouen (If you thought the Cathedral was cool, you should check out the Abbaye Saint Ouen with its wonderfully Gothic flying buttresses!) when it started to rain. Luckily I had brought my umbrella. It is probably the brightest umbrella French people have ever laid their eyes on. But I didn't mind. I was reminded of when, on the FSP trip, certain people (me included some of the time) wanted to be as "french" as possible. That meant dressing, walking, acting, eating, etc. like the French people they observed. There is definitely something to be said for not wanting to be under the severe judgment that comes with most American stereotypes. But I am American. It is more a part of my identity than I thought. And despite the stereotypes, there is no reason for me to pretend like I am anything else. I have come to appreciate America and being American. I don't WANT to be French, or anything else (at least not most of the time). And while I love France, I would not want to live here permanently. I really appreciate experiences like this one and my study abroad trips for helping me discover parts of my identity that I had taken for granted.

Hysteria:
Yesterday I encountered the worst fit I have ever seen/had to deal with. And it is not like I have no experience at this taking-care-of-children-thing either (having been babysitting before 12 years of age).
Sa, the middle girl, threw the worst fit I have ever seen/heard. She was literally in hysterics. Normally I would deal with this be leaving her alone for a while, or sending her to her room, etc. Except we needed to go pick up her baby sister from the nurse. I tried picking her up, she kicked and writhed to the point where I couldn't even hold her. I asked her what was wrong. She screamed - the kind of scream one screams when terrified for one's life. Lu (the eldest) tried to help, but nothing was working. I called her mom at work and had her talk with Sa, in hopes that it would calm her down. Luckily it did, at least enough for us to get her coat on and pick up Am. It was a rough day.

Wednesdays:
Are my hardest day. The girls don't have school (which means I deal with events like above ALL DAY). I find myself dreading Wednesdays, and the fact that I have absolutely no time to myself. They generally turn out better than I fear, but I wonder if that is because I have such low expectations...?

Castles:
THIS is going to be GREAT.
Mia and I are visiting Chateau Pierrefonds this upcoming weekend!!! I am so excited. Fun fact: the BBC show 'Merlin' shoots on location at THIS castle, using it as Camelot!

Two weeks in

As of 9 hours from now, I will have been in France for Two Whole Weeks.

This is mostly what I have been doing:
6:45 AM - Arise. Unload dishwasher. Set table. Prepare girls' breakfasts.
7:30ish - Eat.
8ish - Dress Lu and Sa for school
8:25 - Lu and Sa depart
9:30 - I take Am to la nourrice . Across town and up four flights
10-4: I nap, check facebook, walk about town, eat lunch, clean the girls' room, stop in at a cafe and read a book, etc.
4:15 - Pick up girls from school. We then buy bread for the day, and have a snack.
5:30 - We pick up Am. Again with the fourth-floor. Man. I maintain France = stairs.
(and bread)
(and dairy products)
6/6:30 - Bath time!
7 ish - set table, help get dinner ready.
8 ish - EAT
9 ish - Girls go to bed, Natalie goes to her room and gets on the computer. Then falls asleep. And wakes up and does it again.

*Except weekends and Wednesdays when the girls dont have school

This is Am. Sometimes after her sisters are at school we come up here and play:



Surprising revelations/questions include:
- Mothers of young children must have incredibly, terrifyingly strong arms
- All the clothes I have worn are now themselves clad in cracker crumb-that-was-soggy-but-is-now-dry-and-crusty stuff
- Why do French washing machines take two hours???
- One must pay attention while walking on the street, for many different reasons. Not the least of which being if Sa is not looking where is going she smacks her head on a car side mirror. And there is dog poop everywhere.
- The verb "to take" as in to take a test, is Passer. If I pass a test, it is no guarantee that I actually passed it.
- I am beginning to want to write everything in French.

A tout a l'heure, mes amis.

Pictures

Here are some pictures from Rouen
This is what your bath looks like when you have to give three little girls baths every day:

My House, Logis St Eloi

Eglise Maclou

A street neaby

The Rouen Cathedral

More Eglise Maclou

Another side view of the Cathedral

Une semaine apres...

I have officially been here over one week. And what a week it has been.

First impressions read like this:

- I love being in France.
- My living situation/job situation on the other hand is a bit...difficult and delicate.
- How do parents DO it, anyway? I am so exhausted I nearly fall into bed at the end of the day.
- I now know the proper way to make a french vinaigrette for salad (which, coincidentally, if described in detail in this book)
- Cafe Richard coffee is as good as ever
- France still = stairs. Seriously. This doesn't even begin to describe
- Hard days are made better by discovering little places like a used book store that doubles as a salon de the.
- It is Europe, after all, so of course the cathedral which so enthralled Monet (he painted it 30 times in a span of 2 years) is covered in scaffolding until next July.
- I can honestly say that I am excited for class to start, so I can begin to meet more people.
- I miss HUGS.
- Living in the middle of the city is FANTASTIC. Except for the meal prices.
- After a while, I find myself agreeing to things I don't understand. I am not quite focusing my attention, and people will look at me with a pleasant expression and ask me a question. And I will reply in the affirmative. Thinking back over these interactions makes me laugh :) This brain-work of translation does take a physical toll, even if a small one (and I am happy to say, it is a smaller toll than last time I was here).


This week has been about a lot of hard work, awkward conversations/stern talkings-to, crying children, flights upon flights of stairs, and lovely walks about town. Honestly it has been more difficulty than joyousness, but hopefully we will remedy in the weeks to come.

More pics from Houlgate

Our second day in Houlgate we went out to "peche des coques" which is looking for tiny mussel-like crustaceans when the tide is out. Houlgate is unique in its tides, because it is so flat. We walked what must have been at least a mile on the beach (more broken shells than sand) before reaching water that wasn't even the "real" sea yet. Then later that day on our drive back, the tide was all the way up to the boardwalk.

Greetings from Houlgate

(pronounced ool-gaahh(t))

We did make it to the beach after all. The family comes here nearly every weekend from spring to October. Its a quite, small little town which caters more to the French on vacation than to tourists.(starred is Rouen and Houlgate)


I met the girls the other day. The first minute or two they were shy - after that, there was really no turning back. I don't know if I have ever met such energetic little kids. Holy cow. And they are at that stage when they love to climb and hang on people. Or maybe its just me they want to hang on to, as I haven't seen them do it to anyone else.

I went on a walk today around Houlgate. It is an adorable town, with houses like I have never seen before. Here are some pictures: