7 Months!

Bonjour

I have officially been here over 7 months! Woot Woot! Hope you had a great "poisson d'avril" (This means "fish of April" and is the equivalent of April fools day. They cut out paper fishies and tape them to people's backs as jokes).

Meeting people is difficult over here, when I spend most of my time alone or with children. Luckily I have been able to meet people in my classes, through the au pair agency (so they know what its like to be an indentured servant and we can commiserate together) and also through taking care of the kids.

Its great to get out of my stuck-in-my-room bubble. This weekend I drank an "apero" (aperotif - its drinks before dinner. Happy hour is 6-7:30 at this place near my house - all drinks half off!) and went and saw a movie with my au pair friend Svetlana (from Russia). Tomorrow I have lunch plans with a bunch of people from class.
I have also gotten to know the baby's nurse (Sevrene) and the mother and grandmother of one of Lu's friends. All the children love going to the "pierres" (french for rocks. In this case they are referring to the ruins by the Joan of Arc chuch) after school. We meet Lu's friend and her friend's brother there. Their grandmother picks them up after school on Mondays, and she is very nice and engaging. Their mother was colder at first but is now also very nice to me and we talk quite a bit while watching the 5 kids (my 3 and her 2).

Anyway, its nice to know people! Sometimes I feel like just curling up and staying inside my own little bubble - not necessarily in a negative way. I feel much more introverted than I did back in the states. I enjoy spending more time alone, and more time on my computer or with books. Its unusual for me, as I definitely lean toward extroverted-ness. Its good to get off the bed and off the computer and go interact with people - even if it takes a lot of effort and a few language misunderstandings :)