My New Life

 I have arrived in Paris! I got here on Friday and have been very busy with lots of new things, so this post might be quite long as I talk about my first impressions as an Au Pair in Paris.

 Last Few Moments with my Parents.
This was taken at the Goodbye Party they threw for me.

     Friday a long day for me. Lots of new things to take in. I arrived at 11:00 AM Paris Time which is basically the middle of the night for me. Some how I was able to stay awake the whole day is beyond me; not to mention getting to bed at a reasonable time. So my body clock is right on schedule. Yay for me! No really, I have adjusted wonderfully even with the little sleep that I got on the flight.

     Going through customs went a lot faster than I was expecting. I don't even think I slowed down the moment I got off the airplane until I was through customs. It was really nice. However, it was scary when I turned on my phone it wasn't working. I had a slight panic attack thinking that for one minute I just might be all alone in another country with no way of getting in contact with anyone. Thank goodness the airport offered 15 minutes of free WiFi allowing me to Face Time with my family so we could fix my phone and I could call Cecile to let her know that I was here.
   

At the Airport Before my Flight Left

     The bad thing was that I had arrived one hour earlier than expected, so she was at a hair appointment. I talked to her over the phone she asked if I could meet her at this hair salon instead of at her house. So I gave this new address and taxi and was on my way with no idea what I might be in for.
 
     I never thought is was very important to learn how to talk politics in French. I didn't think I would need to know how to do that for a very long time, and so when we went over a few topics in my French classes at the U I wasn't overly concerned about memorizing phrases. Sure enough I get into this taxi and the driver asked me questions about the Presidents Election in America, and of course he only speaks French. I stand corrected. You never know what you might need to know how to say when you visit another country.
   

Arc de Triomphe

     The hair salon was quite a culture shock. I walk in to a room on the second level of the building, with people everywhere. The shop must have been in an old apartment. It was very vintage, meets modern, meets a fashion show runway, meets an exotic zoo. There were stuffed animals everywhere. White peacocks, a leopard, and a few more that I couldn't really see. Everyone was dressed like hipsters. Very messy, uneven clothing. All I could think was "Welcome to Paris."

     Yesterday I got to be on my own for the first time, and with the kids alone for the first time. When I was by my-self I decided to walk up to where my class will be, and then decided to continue on up the Arc de Triomphe, only I went the wrong direction. I walked the opposite way for about 20 minutes, then realized what I did then turned around to walk back. The other problem that I faced was when I was taking pictures of me at the Arc de Triomphe a lady came up and tried the whole "found (dropped) a gold ring, is it yours?" act. I didn't catch on to it at first (she was very good), but it was just her and she didn't ask me for money. Well, at first she didn't. After she walked away, I was going to walk back toward home when she decided to come up and ask for money. I gave her a 2 euro coin from my pocket and the ring back, then walked away from her. When I was coming out of a monoprix after getting a sandwitch for lunch, there was another lady there. She followed behind me for a little bit saying "Excuse me Madame!" After calling for me about 4 times the group of men in front of me turned around and gave her a dirty look and she ran off. Thank goodness.

When I First Met the Kids 

     Watching the kids today was different than any other group of kids that I have ever watched! They are sooo smart. A few times other ladies would ask me a question and the kids would answer for me in French explaining that I don't speak French (I could understand about that much). It was in those few hours being alone with them at the park that I wished I knew French better. I'm trying, and I ask questions when I don't understand something, but the kids are so smart. They NEVER need to ask their mom what I'm saying. They usually just ask me to explain the word or the action. They understand so fast! It might just be Aimée and Daniel because even their friend at the park asked them "Tu parlez anglais?" when they were speaking to me.

     Aimée was able to look at a Butterfly, tell me that she likes the color of it, come home look it up and show me what kind it was. I would say that's because she LOVES butterflies, but she hasn't mentioned them before or since the short conversation. The kids are so friendly. They are very happy to go out to the park and play with whoever is there and whatever they are doing. They have a very good memory, if tell them we will do something at a certain time they come up and remind me about it. I brought a book about Utah and the area that I live in. The kids where looking at it and able to ask very intelligent questions about the mountains and the people that live in Utah. I was quite amazed.

My Room

      That is a big difference that I see. The kids here are encouraged to get outside and explore. No matter how dirty they get, no matter what they are doing. If they are doing something that might not be the best idea, the parents don't tell them they need to stop. They let them figure out on their own why they shouldn't do something (like if someone falls because they were twisting on the slide funny, the parents don't run to them to make sure they are OK). And the kids don't cry just because, usually it comes with a reason. I hope I'm explaining this well enough. You don't see a lot of parents following their kids around telling them NO or STOP (and yes I know both of those words in French), they don't need to because the kids aren't bad.

Bathroom and Personal Entrance 

     I have gotten to see how they are able to keep the kids this way, because you would think that some would drop the ball a little. They drill routine into the kids at a young age. You go to school, then you can run and play after. You must do your homework, shower, eat dinner, then you can watch some T.V. If you play around or don't do what you are suppose to then you lose minutes off of your play time and TV time. They don't reward with food, they don't hit, spank, or yell (at least not very often). They walk to pick up their kids from school, and on the walk home they ask them ever little detail about what they did and learned. Aimée  is learning Chinese and Cecile had her teach her some different phrases on the walk. They ignore their kids when they are throwing tantrums and they walk away when the kids are not behaving. The kids know that in order to express what they are feeling they need to be calm and respectful. They don't acknowledge them when they are being bad, and praise them when they are being good.

My Apartment. The RER and Metro Station
are Across the Street

 
     I think it's great how much time they are able to spend together. I might be because Cecile isn't working right now, but there were still quite a bit of moms walking to pick up their kids from school. No one drives, everyone use's the public transportation. Even Alain was explaining to me that if he didn't have Saturday as a day off, he wouldn't be able to do very well the rest of the week. They are very good about accomplishing the goals that they set for the day, and when it comes to resting for the day, they really do rest. They don't have all of these "oh I will do it later" or "I don't have time to do this or that." They do so much and still find time to rest.
   
     Cecile's cooking is amazing. She has cooked fairly simple dishes, yet they are so good. We might be over thinking our dinners to much. Adding to much fluff and presentation. The food is simple, yet healthy and with variety. Her cooking looks and tastes really good! I really have no idea how I landed such a wonderful family. I am pushing myself so hard to become a different person for them so I can be great Au Pair for this family.

      Today I went to the Latter-Day Saint Church for the first time. I think that the Mormons in Utah are very spoiled. We have church buildings on ever corner, filled with books, music, comfy chairs, and its always filled with people. The ward building is very small. It is combined with the LDS Visitors Center of Paris, the Institute, and BYU study abroad program. It is three floors, but Sunday church is only on the first floor. The Sacrament room is about the size of a normal Primary room, and it's also the room where they have Sunday School and Relief Society. The whole meeting is in French, but they do have someone that translates it into English.

    To listen to the English you would either need to sit in another room where a video of the Chapel is showing with the English Audio, or wear headsets that have the English Audio. The meeting is translated by one of the members in the ward and sometimes it's hard to focus during the meeting. I try to listen in French to see what I can understand, but the translator is also sitting in the front speaking softly into the microphone. It can be very distracting. Other then the distraction from the translator, the new and very different church environment, and the different dress (the men mostly wear jeans, and a few women wore pants), it's still a great place to be. They are all very friendly and inviting.

This is the View from My Bedroom Window

     It was during Church that I met three other Au Pairs living in Paris. One from Idaho, one from Arizona, and one who is from the other side of Murray and knows one of best friends family. What a small world. The other girls live no too far from where I am living, and one girl lives two streets away. We were all very excited to meet girls our own age, with the same job, and doing the basically the same thing I am doing. We have decided to see where our open free time matches up and make Sunday after church our go to park and have a picnic day. How great is that! I'm so happy to find other girl who are doing the same thing I am doing there to live the same standards that have. It makes things so much easier.


Well for now that is all the stories I have about my new job as an Au Pair. I will be on here trying to write down as much as what I am doing as I can. :)