This is the beginning. The beginning of my life changing. In the beginning of September I will be moving to Paris, France to be an Au Pair for a wonderful family. I thought it best to start off by telling how I got to this spot and why I chose to go on this amazing journey.
I have always loved the French Language. Not just because it is said to be the most beautiful language in the world, but because of how quick and smooth it is. It also helps that I am in love with French Culture, and everything to do with French History (gotta love Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution). So of course I would pick French to study in High School, and then again in College. Here's the tricky part, I could not get the language to stick! No matter how many times I took the classes, and retook the classes, I could not pick it up.
Well it was while we were there that we met a wonderful woman named Hava. She and her husband owned a bike tour that would take groups of people around the city of Paris on cute baby blue bikes. She is one of the greatest people I have ever met, with a wonderful personality. The more we talked to her the more we learned about her life before she came to Paris. She grew up in the United States and moved to Paris to become an Au Pair in her early twenties. It was there that she met her now husband. When I told her how much I loved Paris and how I wanted to learn the language she recommended the Au Pair program. After that I was hooked.
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| Mom and Me in Paris |
I have always loved the French Language. Not just because it is said to be the most beautiful language in the world, but because of how quick and smooth it is. It also helps that I am in love with French Culture, and everything to do with French History (gotta love Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution). So of course I would pick French to study in High School, and then again in College. Here's the tricky part, I could not get the language to stick! No matter how many times I took the classes, and retook the classes, I could not pick it up.
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| The Blue Bike Tour |
It was around this time last year that the idea of going to live in France began to form. My parents and I knew that this was going to be the best way for me to learn French. Learning French was more than just me trying to learn a pretty language, it was also going to be very helpful for me in my future career and my major. My parents knew this and were really supportive about it. So supportive that my mom decided that we should take a trip to Paris and enroll in French classes. At the end of my second year of college me and my mom left to live in Paris for a month. Now I knew that I loved the culture, the language, and the history, but I had no idea that I would fall in love with the methods, people, and French country like I did. I wasn't the only one either. My mom loved Paris so much she considered moving there permanently.
Well it was while we were there that we met a wonderful woman named Hava. She and her husband owned a bike tour that would take groups of people around the city of Paris on cute baby blue bikes. She is one of the greatest people I have ever met, with a wonderful personality. The more we talked to her the more we learned about her life before she came to Paris. She grew up in the United States and moved to Paris to become an Au Pair in her early twenties. It was there that she met her now husband. When I told her how much I loved Paris and how I wanted to learn the language she recommended the Au Pair program. After that I was hooked.
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| Hava, My Mom and Me |
The application and search for the perfect family started as soon as we got home from Paris. As recommended by Hava I signed up with an agency online and waited for my family. A week or so went by and I wasn't getting as many hits as I thought I was going to. I considered going with a different agency. Then my family came to me. Cecile sent me a message that she would like to Skype with me sometime and I accepted. It was hard with the time change to meet with Cecile, and I needed to miss part of my swim lessons to do it, but I have a wonderful Dad who was willing to take my lessons for me. I knew within the first few minutes of talking to Cecile that she was the perfect match for me, but it wasn't going to be that easy. She still had two other girls she was looking at. So I waited. Waited to hear if I got the job. It was within a few days that I knew that I was going to Paris to be an Au Pair for this family!
Still, the process wasn't done yet. I had contracts to look over, appointments with the French Consulate in San Francisco to make, and documents to translate into French. All of this taking several weeks to process and sometimes not allowing me to go to the next step until I wanted for something else to go through. I wrote my resume in French, and translated both my High School Diploma and Birth Certificate into French and sent them on to Cecile where she would need to present them with the Contract that she had written up to the French Government. This took two weeks. Then I had my appointment with the French Consulate to get my Visa. Three Days in San Francisco, because I had to go in person, and the appointment took less than 15 minutes. Despite the fact that it all felt quite strange, I got my Visa and I got to spend time with my parents before I leave.
Now here I am again. Waiting to get my Visa in the mail so that I can leave to live in Paris, and the process to get to live there isn't done yet. There are still a number of things that I will need to do once I get to Paris. But more on that later.
A year ago I knew that I was going to need to live in France to learn the French Language. 8 weeks ago I was in Paris. 5 weeks ago I met my family and knew I was going to be their Au Pair. Two weeks ago I got the green light from the French Government and three days ago I got approved for my Visa. I have a little more than two weeks to go until I am in Paris, and I am counting down the days.
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| Me at the French Consulate in San Francisco |
Still, the process wasn't done yet. I had contracts to look over, appointments with the French Consulate in San Francisco to make, and documents to translate into French. All of this taking several weeks to process and sometimes not allowing me to go to the next step until I wanted for something else to go through. I wrote my resume in French, and translated both my High School Diploma and Birth Certificate into French and sent them on to Cecile where she would need to present them with the Contract that she had written up to the French Government. This took two weeks. Then I had my appointment with the French Consulate to get my Visa. Three Days in San Francisco, because I had to go in person, and the appointment took less than 15 minutes. Despite the fact that it all felt quite strange, I got my Visa and I got to spend time with my parents before I leave.
Now here I am again. Waiting to get my Visa in the mail so that I can leave to live in Paris, and the process to get to live there isn't done yet. There are still a number of things that I will need to do once I get to Paris. But more on that later.
A year ago I knew that I was going to need to live in France to learn the French Language. 8 weeks ago I was in Paris. 5 weeks ago I met my family and knew I was going to be their Au Pair. Two weeks ago I got the green light from the French Government and three days ago I got approved for my Visa. I have a little more than two weeks to go until I am in Paris, and I am counting down the days.
