Know What You Want, These Decisions Could Change Your Life

     Thank you to everyone who is following me on my blog. I can’t believe the support I have received from everyone in the last two months. This week was not as interesting as some of my other weeks, but still very eventful.

     This week I sent in my voting ballot for the upcoming election. That’s right! I’m in Paris and I voted in the 2012 election. What’s your excuse? I’m raising the bar.

     If anyone has any good books that I should tell Aimée about, please send ideas to me. She has already read all of the Harry Potter books, so she has a good reading level. She can finish about 5 (children’s) novels in a week. We are trying to get her more difficult books. Let me remind you that she is eight.

     This week I met up with Emily, Tom, Britney, and Sara. I have been so lucky to have met such wonderful people and learn all about new cultures.

     I picked up the kids and took them to meet up with Daniel's old friend from England named Sam. That was really interesting, and we were at a park facing the Eiffel Tower. It's moments like these that I am reminded that I am living in Pairs. Well that whole trip was a journey in itself. Their nanny was there with him; she is Pilipino and has lived with the family for 5 years. She told me that if I was ever in London she would come show me around. She was very nice. Daniel is a strange little boy. He has been talking about Sam for weeks, but he wasn't playing with him very much. He would run off and play with some of the other kids at the park. It is a bit strange, but then again he is 6 and hasn't seen Sam for a few months. Well then Sam's mom called Cecile and told her that Sam has been very upset about Daniel not playing with him at the park. Sigh.... 

     

     The other really hard thing was that Aimée is quite the little grudge holder. She was building a mountain out of the sand and Daniel came and jumped on it. Then, because we were at the park all afternoon, Daniel couldn't understand why he couldn't go home and play. As you can imagine the ride home that night was not a fun one. Both kids complaining to me about various things: Aimée being extremely mean to Daniel, Daniel crying because he couldn't go home and play, and both kids were covered in sand. I got them home, homework done, showered and cooked dinner within an hour. All the while explaining to Daniel why he couldn't play, and explaining to Aimée what it meant to hold a grudge and why it was bad. Exhausting…

     The next morning wasn't any better. I woke up to find an Email from Cecile asking if I still had the bus passes. And… of course I did (I forgot to put them in the bag the night before), but they had already left and had to use an alternative way. That's when we found out that my phone wasn't getting text messages from Cecile and that she had been trying to text me for the last few days. I had to go talk to the Orange Store (basically the French version of AT&T) to talk to them about it, but I decided to mess around with my phone and figure it out on my own. Come to find out somehow Cecile's number ended up on my blocked list. Well good to know and problem fixed. Cecile wasn't mad at all; she didn't seem bugged by it at all.

     I also needed to go talk to the French Consulate this week, and that was a story of itself that I decided to make a whole separate post for it. If you would like to find out more about how I’m working with the French Government to live here legally look for my other post.

     The kids are so very smart. This week one of the big topics of discussion was “Pluto, and why it was demoted from being a Planet.” Aimée knew exactly why and even was able to explain a little about it. We still looked up all the information and talked about it in further.

     I wanted to write down what I was talking to Cecile about after dinner. She was asking me about how I was doing, and if I was homesick at all. Honestly I'm not. I've been homesick before, but I haven't felt it at all. I am learning so much here that I don't have time to stop and think about what I would be doing if I was home. It's really interesting because I really only feel homesick when I see Bella (my dog). I can still talk to my family and find out how everyone is doing at home, but I can't hug Bella. She is what reminds me the most of home. Is that strange? Well I told Cecile this and she seemed to think that was funny, but then she told me something really interesting. She told me about how she moved away from home really young, and every time she went home to Italy it wasn't the same for her. The longer she spent away from home, the more it wasn't her home. She told me that if I ever want to get married in Utah or grow old in Utah, then it's best not to spend too much time away from home. She said that she would love for me to stay another year, but she would understand if I didn't want too (she only asked that I find a clone of myself to send back to replace me). She said that now, because she has moved to so many different countries, and has had to adjust to so many new cultures, she now understand that a home is where your family is. She wouldn't change anything, and it's true that Friends have changed and that it's been hard. But she said that for her it was all worth it. She then told me that it's different for each person, and in a way you find the calling of where you are supposed to be. The whole conversation was brilliant. 

     All I can say is that I have definitely caught the European bug. There is SO MUCH to do here. All the countries are so close together that it's easy to pop down to Italy for a day, go to Germany for Christmas, or spend the weekend in London. There is so much culture, and old culture that I love. I have met such wonderful people here who have shown me a new world, one that in all my years of travel, in all my years of learning about being open minded and accepting others, I could never have imagined such a wonderful world.

     My week has been very insightful for me, and I have so many things that I need to figure out about what I want out of my life. Basically Cecile was telling me to be careful. To know what I want out of my life, because the decisions I make now about living here/ not living here for the next few years are going to change the outcome for the rest of my life.

     Right now, I'm going to go the way my heart tells me to go, and right now I know I need to be here. Still, this feels like a new beginning for me.

     On Friday the kids dressed up for school in their Halloween costumes. They don't celebrate Halloween here, but I think it's catching on more. Plus the schools they go to have a lot of American families who moved to Paris. Daniel was a Vampire, and Aimée was a werewolf. They were both really cute. I hope that my French is getting better. I feel like I should be picking it up a bit more since I have been here for almost 2 months. That's a crazy thought. I have almost been here for 2 months.

     Yesterday morning I helped Cecile get ready to leave. The family is going away on beach vacation during the two weeks they have off. So I have the place to myself for two week. Luckily my mom has decided to come visit me. The family graciously invited my mom to stay in the guest room for her stay. It was really bad, because when I went to get my mom, I got lost in the airport. I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to find mom. Happily, I did find here and we came back to the apartment. She was tired so we didn't do much. I watched Midnight in Paris (mom was watching it with me, but fell asleep within the first few minutes), I loved it. It was a very good movie. I feel just like the main character.

     Today, I took my mom to all our old stomping grounds from May, and showed her all my new favorite places. I’m sure we took a lap around Paris.

     Around the Eiffel Tower there was a display of Bears from 140 countries. The group that put this program together send a 7ft bear to all these countries and told them to paint them to represent their country. They are beautiful. If you want to see a few pictures of them look under my Adventure Pictures at the top of the page.  

     With my mom here I’m sure next week’s post will be very interesting (for those of you who know my mom). So look for the post coming next week.

     Thank you for following me! I love and miss you all!

Granted Residency

     This week I traveled down to the south end of Paris (a place I have never been to), and walked into the French Consulate.

     The reason I needed to go and talk to the Consulate is to get residence here, and once I have residence I go on the French Healthcare and get a social security that is all mine and I can keep for up to 10 years. That's why I need to go to a medical check-up, so they can make sure I'm not coming in with any previous conditions that they would need to take care of.

     I have heard the horror stories from all the other Au Pairs, so I was ready to expect the worse. Stories like, unacceptance of paperwork, request to re-submit paperwork, and multiple trips back and forth. With fingers crossed I walked up to the building, and then got lost. After a few minutes of wandering the halls I found myself in a very colorful looking DMV type room.

     I had all my documents ready, but when I got to the desk they said that the copy of my passport was too dark and that I needed a passport picture to give them. I was thinking "dang! I'm going to have to go home and come back and do this all over again."

     Turns out I was wrong. They have photo booths all around Paris like something out of an old time movie. Well the guy helping me told me there was one just up stairs and I could run up and get my picture from that. Also there was a copier that charged very little for a copy. I ran up there very quickly, and was back within 5 minutes.

     They passed me on to the next step which was waiting a area. Again I was thinking "this will take forever!" but it was very smooth. I had no problems at all. They looked at my papers and gave me an appointment to go on to the medical check up. That was really easy. I don't know how I have managed to do all of this without any real problems.

     So at the end of November I will go in to get a medical check up. At that point I will be here for three months and I'm sure it will take another few months for everything to go through and for them to send me my official card.

Trial of Faith: Talk in French

Louvre Pyramid

     WOW! All of you out there who have been following what I’m doing, you are great. My blog passed 1,000 viewers last week and I am thrilled. I really didn’t think many would follow my silly blog. I started it to keep family informed, keep a record (journal) of my adventures while living in Paris, and to help others who might want to become an Au Pair. I did want to clarify something. The poll on the right of your screen is not what I will only write on. It is what I should write about NEXT! I want to know what you want to hear about! After that topic is written about I will take it out and replace it with a new one. 

     This week I realized how small Europe really is. I’ve always known that the countries were close together, but living in the United States I didn’t realize that visiting another country in Europe was similar to visiting another state in the United States. This week Cecile went to Italy for the day. It amazed me that she would be able to just visit for a day, as if someone were spending the day on the other-side of town. Now I know that a trip to a surrounding country is just a cheap (if you plan right) plane ticket away.

I realized this week that I can see the spotlight
on the Eiffel Tower from my window.

     Right now I’m establishing a schedule for myself. I have certain days that I meet up with friends, certain days that I study French and days that work with the family. I feel so lucky to have met such wonderful people while living here. These girls are so friendly and caring.

   
     I have been struggling with my French Classes. I’m not getting the kind of practice that I would like. I wondered who picks the topics in French teaching books and why they chose to teach them in the order they do. With this book, I feel we are spending too much time on simple things I could study on my own and not enough on the complicated topics. I can go home and memorize my numbers and colors and various words, I can't figure out how to conjugate verbs on my own. It is all very backward for me. Thank goodness I will now have Emily (from my class) to work with. Not to mention Sara and Britney. What would I do without them? 

     I have loved getting to know new friends from all over the world and even across the United States like Florida and Texas. Not to mention becoming friends with Sara who is from my home town. I go shopping with them, study French and visit markets. I can’t believe how blessed I am to have met these amazing people.

Card from my Grandma :)

     Aimée likes to ask me what I’m learning in school. Then she will test me on various topics. I think she likes being a teacher. While learning numbers, she got all excited and began naming numbers to me. It turned into a game with the kids. They would tell me either a number in French or English, and then I would need to tell them the opposite language. I think I have my numbers down now.

     One of my favorite things from the week was getting a Halloween Card from my Grandma. She sent me a card and stickers for the kids. I don't know who was more excited the kids or me. I loved that! Does anyone want a postcard from Paris? Write me a letter and you will get one. :)

      I had a very interesting thing happen to me on the Metro this week. I was bringing the kids home from school, and there was a tall man who started trying to talk to me as soon as I got on the train. Of course I didn't understand anything and looked to Aimée. She didn't see that anyone was talking to me, so I just smiled and shook my head saying "No, sorry" in French. Well he kept talking and sort of acting silly. Daniel realized what was happening and told the man that I didn't speak any French. He then went on to tell me all about how I didn't speak French in French. Well, his talking and laughing scared the kids and the hung on to me very closely. Aimée was whispering "Crazy" in my ear.

Flowers at the Market 

     We were toward the front of the train, the very front actually, and when the train stopped a man popped out of the conductor box and got mad at the "Crazy" guy. The man obeyed quickly and moved to sit in a different seat. We were almost to the end of the line (which is where we get off), and Aimée turns to tell me that he was still laughing at us.

     The whole situation seemed very familiar to me. At that moment I connected the dots and realize this man had a disability, most likely Autism. I realized the man running the train was his brother (they looked very similar).

     Everything that I felt in that moment changed. Here was this grown man, tall, dark skinned, and normal looking. He was chatting on the train and singing so much that the other passengers avoided him and treated him like a drunken scum. He wasn't hurting anyone, he was just asking questions. Yet, he scared most everyone on the train. It made me very sad how I misinterpreted the man, and how everyone on the train was misinterpreting him. They didn't understand.

Candy at the Market 

     For those who don’t know, my brother is Autistic, and it was very hard for me to leave him. He is going through a very hard phase and I know my family could really use my help, but I also know that I am meant to be here. I thought of my brother and the struggles he goes through. He is also usually misunderstood and scary to those who don’t understand his situation. I know that my brother shaped me into the person that I am today. This experience has also shaped me.

     I have been working closely with Aimée and Daniel, trying to understand why they feel a certain way instead of just getting mad at them. This works better than anything I have ever done in the past. I have been working with Aimée to explain that why some of the things she is saying is not nice, and she is getting better. The biggest problem that I have when talking to her and trying to explain something she always tells me that that's how they say it in England. That has been her excuse for poor English, but sometimes it's hard to tell since they do speak differently. She has been saying SHUT UP a lot, and although it is not a bad thing to say, I still get really offended. I realize that this is a cultural difference and a language difference. It’s not a bad thing to say, it’s just not a very nice way to say it.

     I have been watching all of the Presidential Debates, and keeping up with all the happenings of America. I got my Absentee Ballot in the mail, and I am very excited to vote for the first time. Cecile was also excited to see the Ballot.

     This week I baked cookies with Aimée. She wanted to make something, and since her mom said it was OK we decided to make cookies. They were not the best cookies I have ever made (it’s hard baking in a kitchen you’re not use too), but the kids loved them!

     The biggest challenge of the week was giving my talk in Church. My family heard all week about the stress I was having over giving this talk. For those of you who know me well, you know that I love giving talks. So for me to be this nervous was bad. Usually if I’m nervous I talk more, well when your talk in is a language you can barely speak… It gets a little harder. Thank you to Sara for helping and coaching me all week. It wasn’t the best talk ever, and I’m sure I messed up half the words, but the message was understood. It feels so good to have that done! 

     I have had a good week, and I’m excited for next week. Thank you for reading, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Food of Paris

     I have been learning so much about French food while living in Paris. The food is as delicious as you can imagine! It also helps that I am living with a native Italian who loves to cook. All of the food we eat at home is well balanced meals. It is real food and in season fruits.

     Some of the things we have had for dinner are fishcakes, pasta, chicken off the bone, vegetables with hummus, potato’s, fish off the bone, sushi, and many more. We always have fruit after dinner or a baked good.

     Aimée made a heart shaped cake. It was strange for me, to have cake with no frosting, but instead yogurt on top, Plain Greek Yogurt. It was good for the record and I suggest that you try it with raspberries.

     In Paris, you always eat with your knife. Once you pick it up, you never put it down; It cuts and scoops food onto the fork. Everyone eats this way, even the kids.

     When we have eaten out it’s always very nice restaurants. They bring out three course dinners (appetizer, main meal, and dessert or café). There aren’t many fast food restaurants, and you are expected to stay for a while when you eat out.
     Going out with friends is a bit different, because we all tend to look for something a little cheaper. Most times we can find something really good for around 5 to 9 €. That includes usually the main food item, something on the side, and a drink. So for example I can get a sandwich, dessert, and drink for about 7.50 €. Or a hamburger, some fries and a drink. Everything is cooked right there in front of you.

     As I learn more about the food in Paris I will write more. I want to go visit a Café soon!

Pokemon, Origami, Enemies, & Fireworks

     Well to start off, thank you all for reading my blog. Also thank you to everyone who voted last time on my little pole to the right of your screen. I still don’t know what to write on thought because I didn’t get enough votes. Also, everything I write about in my blog comes from daily letters that I send my family. The sometimes get more information than what I put in my blog. If I miss something, or need to explain something more don’t hesitate to ask. I fixed the comment settings and anyone can now comment as long as you change the “Comment As” to anonymous.

I am lucky to have friends who will give me a
copy of the French Book of Mormon

     This week has been very rainy, and it’s not a rain that I’m use to either. It’s a warm rain, yet very wet. I have never carried an umbrella before I moved to Paris, but since coming here I have an umbrella on me at all times.

     Due to the rain my down-time this week mostly consisted of doing homework, watching TED talks online, studying French and watching the LDS Conference online (yay! for new ages of missionaries).

     A year ago I was planning on going on a mission when I was 21, and since I’m only 20 I had lots of time to decide. Now I find myself a year older than the new suggested age and I feel sort of old. For those of you who know me really well, you know that I plan my life 5 years in advance, but right now I’m not planning out my life. I don't know what I will be doing in a few years. Everything has changed for me. Now I see the little things that I might want to do on a daily basis rather than what I would like to have done in the next year. One thing I know I want to do is go into an old bookstore in Paris and find an old copy of Pride and Prejudice. I will let you know how that goes.

     The language is coming along. I now understand most all of the basics and want to learn more because I like piecing it together. It's like a giant game of matching. I need to figure out the pattern and also remember where everything is so that I can complete this puzzle. It's coming along much better now though. Il est très bon!

Sara and me at the Louvre at night

     I met a guy who is an au pair (or as my mom calls them “Nanny-man”). He is from Germany. He was telling me about Christmas in Germany and how beautiful it was. Some of the other au pairs want to leave Paris for Christmas and New Year’s. I’m staying in Pairs. I want to see how the Parisians celebrate Christmas.

     Aimée always wants me to tell her stories from home. She has a very good memory and keeps up very well. She is always asking if I have any enemies. I always tell her no, but she continues to ask if I have any enemies. "Hello Olivia, How are you? Did you have a nice day at school? What did you learn? Did you make any new friends? Did you make any enemies?" It makes me laugh. I guess that can be the quote of the week.

Who knows? Maybe I have a
career drawing Pokemon? :)

     Daniel loves Origami. I can't believe the time we spend looking at origami. I'm quite good at origami, and I'm not sure if he likes doing origami or likes me to make them for him. I make sure that he makes everything by himself. At least now he wants to do simpler origami, which is good for me. He was starting to pick really hard designs. 

     Playing with the kids yesterday I discovered a hidden talent of mine. I am fairly good at drawing Pokémon. Daniel would give me one of his Pokémon cards and ask me to draw it on a paper for him. He loved them so much, and I must say they weren't too bad. He had me draw four different Pokémon for him. Then Aimée wanted Pokémon as well. Oh what a day. 

     Daniel says the funniest things at dinner, but they aren’t always very good for dinner time. It’s always interesting to see who will break first Cecile or Alain. They were trying not to laugh (I was trying not to laugh). But at the same time they wanted to let him know that he shouldn't be playing with his food, etc. at the table. His latest trick: Picking up two clementine peelings, holding them like a mustache and saying “I’m Inspector Cluzo!”

I draw them, and the kids color them. 

     I walk a lot. One day, I went from my apartment to the Eiffel Tower, to Invalides, to the Louvre, and around to the LDS church. I like walking. There is a lot to see. On this particular day, I was walking around I saw a big group of girls gathering at the bottom of the bridge. After further investigating I found that the band One Direction was coming out at the bottom. I stood there for a moment to see if I could see them come out, but since I was meeting Sara for lunch I didn’t stick around for very long. I did take a few pictures of all the people though.

They were here, but I didn't see them. (Sorry McCall) 

     In my class this week we had a different teacher and he was wonderful. I learned so much from him. He was really funny. He kept calling us the babies of French since we were learning the basic French. In French the word for "Maybe" is peut-être (put*eT) and the word for Potato is pomme de terre or pom terre as the French say it is (pom*ter). They sound very similar when spoken. One of the girls in my class kept saying Potato instead of Maybe. My teacher thought that was so funny he called the girl Pom Terre for the rest of the class. She thought it was funny to.

      I met up with Britney this week and we had Sushi. We talked about how lucky we were to live this way. It’s nice because after we walked over to get the kids from school (her kids go to the same schools). Aimée really seemed to like Britney. 

I want to live in Montemartre

     It was Alain's mom's birthday and she was turning 70. They took her out to dinner, and I decided to go to Montmartre so that I wouldn't just be sitting around at home. I tried to see if anyone wanted to go with me, but it was too short of a notice so no one could go. I went by myself. It was sort of lonely, but they were having a big party by Sacré Couer and there were lots of people around. I sat for almost an hour on the steps watching people go by. I knew they were going to do fireworks, and decided to wait to see them. It was a good idea because they were the best fireworks I have ever seen. My Mom would have been scared because they were quite close. They had music and dialog, which surprisingly was mostly in English. I'm glad I went. I have decided that if I want to do something, I was going to do it even I didn’t have someone to come with me. I'm going to experience as much of Paris as I can.

     I was really nervous at church today. I know that giving a talk next week and I know I'm not ready for it. I could feel the dread of my coming talk and it was ruining church for me. When I told Sara, she said she could sit down with me and help. So that is what we did after church. She helped so much. Not just with preparing me for the talk, but with the whole French language. I understand French so much better now, and I think my speaking will improve drastically now. I was worried that she was bored with helping me, but she told me she liked it because by having to teach it, then it was grounded in her head more now also. So it was a win-win for both of us. I feel so much better now.

     I can’t express how happy I am, and how incredible my life is right now. Even when I’m having a hard time with something, there is always something great that comes along. I am truly blessed. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and I will see you again next week.

The Role I Play in the Family, As a Live-In Au Pair

     I thought this week I would explain a typical day for me, and my experience as being an authority figure for the kids I watch.

     I try to get up to see the kids every morning; even if it’s just in passing on their way to school (Cecile usually takes them to school). Then after having breakfast I will do homework, catch up on emails, or read the news. Then I will either go to my French classes or meet up with other au pairs depending on the day.

     I pick up the kids after school on most days. I pack them a snack and take the Metro. It’s tricky because the kids schools are on opposite sides of the Metro and at least a 10 minute walk from each other, but they only get out 5 minutes apart. Daniel’s school won’t let the kids leave the area until the parents (or au pairs) are there to pick them up. Aimée’s school lets them leave. Here is the tricky part. Daniel’s school gets out first. So I can either choose to get Daniel first and let Aimée wait on a busy street by herself, or I can get Aimée first and let the teachers watch Daniel for longer. As soon as I have them both I can breathe a little easier.

     The kids play in the park for close to an hour. I talk with the other au pairs, or I practice my French. When we get home I fix the kids a plate of fruit of snacks, and we work on homework.

      I play with them during the day and help the kids with showers before dinner.

     Cecile is very particular that they get a balanced diet. They are not allowed to have fizzy drinks (unless it’s a special occasion), and they always get a piece of fruit with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I feel like I'm living with a super mom. It helps that she doesn't work, but I like that she uses all of her time on her family. She is at P.I.A Meeting (like the PTA meetings). She is running kids around. Spending hours cooking delicious meals, and she never has the TV on while she is working. I have learned so much from her about cleaning, food, and educating children.

     There is something interesting I thought I would share. Cecile was telling me that Aimée is considered heavy set for her age and Daniel is average. I find this insane since Aimée is not heavy at all. She looks average to me and Daniel looks underweight. Thank goodness Cecile agrees, but she still is cautious with Aimée's diet. She won't tell Aimée because she thinks that negativity about her body is mentally poisonous. She says that she wants to teach Aimée good eating habits so her eating doesn't get out of control while she is young. I only give them what Cecile tells me to give them. Cecile still lets them have sweets occasionally, the biscuits we take for after school snacks have chocolate on them, and if we go out to eat they can order a desert. Cecile has a really good system. I don't want to mess that up and give them bad eating habits. Especially since clearly mine aren't the best.  

     The first time that I have ever needed to put Aimée in timeout is story worth sharing, and it talks about the relationship I am developing with the kids. We were in the kitchen drawing Pokémon, Aimée was drawing something for Daniel, and when she asked for his opinion and it took him too long to respond she became very mad and threw her paper and pencils on the ground. She thought that he didn't like her drawing. I told her that she couldn't act that way and she needed to pick up her things. She responded by storming out of the room. She does this quite a bit when she gets mad, and I wasn't going to take it this time. So I ignored her, and every time she came stomping into the kitchen (to get my attention), I calmly asked her to pick up her things then I would help her. She would get mad and stomp back out of the room. Her attitude got worse and worse, and she was treating me worse and worse.

     She wasn't being respectful. I got tired of it and told her she was in a time out. I don't think I have ever been so firm with her. After the time was up I went in and had her explain why she needed to have a time out. Then told her that if she can respect me and do as I ask, I am happy to help her and give her more freedom to do the things she would like to do. The only problem was that Daniel wanted to come in and talk to me while I was talking to Aimée. I told him several times that he needed to go back to the kitchen and wait there. After three times of not following my directions I put him in a time out too. I couldn't very well put Aimée in a time out and not put Daniel in a time out. Plus Daniel does this all the time. Then after talking to Aimée I did the same thing with Daniel.

     It was incredible the change she was the rest of the day. I went in the kitchen to find both kids playing nicely together all of Aimée's things were picked up and put away and they were being very respectful with everything I was saying to them. It was something I needed to do with them. They had become too used to me and have been testing my limits on what they can get away with. Aimée told me that I was her favorite Nanny.

     It’s tricky being an Au Pair. I’m a part of the family, but at the same time I am their employee. Imagine living with your boss. I have been very lucky to have such a great family who respects me and my privacy. I do my best to do my job while also giving them their privacy and family time. There are many au pairs who struggle with their families in this area. I am grateful for all I’m learning and all I’m experiencing while living this way.

Nuit Blanche

     I didn't feel very busy this week, but after going through emails that I sent to my family I see that I had an eventful week. I started French classes, witnessed a fur party, helping with moving boxes from Cecile’s mom’s house, when out to dinner, and participated in Nuit Blanche. I’m sorry to say that pictures didn't quite make it. Or at least good quality pictures. Thank you for reading this post. I love the support I’m getting from everyone. I ask that you take a moment to vote on the question to the right of screen.
   

Geoff's Birthday was this week. He turned 16. This is a
typical conversation between me and my family. 

     Cecile is so funny with the hours. I'm happy to help out when I can, but she doesn't want to over work me. On Monday, she was going to pay the school money to keep Daniel at the school for an hour longer because she was going to need to run Aimée to her speech therapist. She really needed me other days this week so she didn't want to over work me. Somehow I was able to convenience her to let me pick him up for her and that the hours will balance out if she didn't need me as much another week. I don't want her to spend more money when that's the whole reason I'm here. Plus I feel like they give me too much already. It's not trouble for me to help where I can. Cecile still wanted to thank me and bought me a pencil case for school.

     It ended up being really good that I picked up Daniel that day because I met a new girl. Hector is one of Daniel's best friends so while they were running around I met Hector's new Au Pair. Her name is Britney and she is from Texas. I hope I will be seeing quite a bit of her since she will be there every day to pick up the kids she watches. I'm excited to get to know her more. We are going to try to talk to each other in as much French as we can. That should be good.

I get to talk to Ty! 

     The kids were a bit wild this week. Alain was in New York on business all week and I think the kids were a bit upset. The quote of the week goes to Daniel. He and I were making Origami Star Wars Airplanes and he was telling me how the man who invented Origami was brilliant. I told him it was the Chinese who started Origami; he said "I didn't know they had electricity in China!" Haha I don't know why this made me laugh but it did. Oh this kids crack me up.

     I had my first day of classes and I understood everything. The whole class is girls and the majority (if not all of them) are au pairs. I talked to a few girls, but everyone kept looking at me the whole lesson. I'm not sure why. It could be because I seemed to understand and was answering questions, but I wasn't the only one. The girls come from all over the world; New Zealand, Germany, Russia, Austria, California, Florida, England, Spain, and so on. When the break started, a girl came right up to me and started talking. She was sitting across the room from me, and she wanted to talk about what I have been doing for fun. She liked that I didn't drink or party and she kept saying how she struggled around all these younger girls who were just leaving home for the first time. I know she was 23, but I'm not that much older than the other girls. I think I must look older than I am.

     On Fridays, I had double classes. The first class is for communication skills. Mostly the teacher gives the class topics and questions and we are partnered up and talk. We discuss the topics and answer the questions, while the teacher walks around helping with pronouncing and answering our questions. I like this class because I was partnered with a girl from Japan. She didn't speak any English so I didn't have that to fall back on. I did really well. I talked to the teacher a little and the whole conversation was in French. My next class was basic French Skills. I know that I have learned all of this before, but it's just now starting to click. So at least I have the basics down. Or at least understand it a little better.

     This week Cecile hosted yet another get together. It was a Fur Party. Friends from Italy came and brought with them 30 pieces of fur clothing. Jackets, Scarves, Boots... so on. Then throughout the day women were dropping by to order said furs. How strange is that? I don't think I have ever even heard of something like that.

Nuit Blanche. Mixing old with new

     I usually pick up both kids from school and, sometimes, stop off at the bookstore for Cecile to pick up a few orders she called in. I was really stressed out this week a few times. One, I forgot to ask Aimée if she had her journal. Of course, the one day I forget to ask is the day she doesn't have it. I explained to her the consequences of leaving her journal. She is responsible for bringing it home and if she doesn't have it then we don't know what homework she has due. Cecile has gotten mad at her about it a lot because she "forgets" what homework she has due because she doesn't want to do it. She has been much better about doing homework, and she was really worried about missing something with her homework. She was really good to come home and work on it straight away and even looked through everything to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything.

     The second thing that happened was that I didn't pick up the kids when I was supposed to. Cecile and I hadn't really talked about it, and it was in the back of my head all day. Thank goodness I sent a message to Cecile about it and she was able to get to them just as school was getting out or they might not have been picked up. I was really worried that Cecile was going to be mad at me (and she had a right to be). She seemed really OK with it. I took all responsibility for the mess up, and she said that it was a very confusing situation. She was OK that she picked them up. Now I know, and no harm was done.

Bubbles :)

     Cecile’s mom died earlier this year, and I have been helping her as much as I can with all the boxes she got from her mom's house in Italy. I was helping her put always a lot of these beautiful wine and water glasses. They are something you might find at the most expensive restaurant. She was telling me how she and her aunt are the only living relatives in her family. That feels so lonely. At least she has a really strong connection with her little family.

     The movers who brought everything are from Italy and speak Italian. They came and stayed for diner and the night. Cecile knows them so they must be family friends. That is sure nice of them. They only speak Italian. So... I couldn't talk to them at all. Well the kids had to translate things a few times. I felt bad for Cecile. She would talk to me in English, the kids in French and the movers in Italian; Sometimes all in one conversation. She is a very talented woman.

     Cecile officially asked me if I would be willing to extend the contract. She said that she knows that it is early in the days, but they are really happy with the way things are going. She wants to know how that would fit in with school. She also mentioned that they might take me on some of their family vacations. Whoa! I have a few decisions to make.

Outside the Restaurant 

     Aimée was having a lot of really hard time Friday afternoon. She pitched quite the tantrum. As we were leaving the apartment Cecile almost left her here. She would run away from you no matter how much you tried to talk to her. It all had something to do with Daniel almost ripping her favorite t-shirt. At one point Cecile had to grab at her and explain why she shouldn't be running away from her on the busy streets of Pairs. She is going to get hurt and if she doesn't stop and change her attitude she would get to stay at home alone. It was hard to watch for two reasons; one, it's not fun to ever watch someone getting yelled at, two, Cecile was yelling at her in Italian. It was like watching a scene from a movie. It ALMOST made me laugh a little. I held it together and focused my attention to Daniel.

     Dinner out was really interesting. It was almost being in a Diner in the States. Well like a Red Robin, with Diner quality food. Burgers, Fries, HUGE portions. It was like being at home. The coolest part was that we were right next to the Eiffel Tower. If you walked out onto the street it was right there! We met another family at Diner who have kids Aimée and Daniel's age. In fact Aimée was in the same class with Charlie the boy. I'm pretty sure this is a boy she has a crush on. She has mentioned him several times, and her mood changes right away after she saw him.

     OH! And I'm pretty sure that I saw Stanley Tucci this week.

     Last night I went to Nuit Blanche. Nuit Blanche is an annual all-night arts festival. Nuit Blanche translates to White Night. Museums, private and public art galleries, and other cultural institutions are open and free of charge all night. All of Paris was lit up with amazing performances. The highlights of the night were: Logorama, a short video set up outside the Louvre on big screens. Église Saint-Merri had a haunted theme going on. Imagine walking through a church at night will spooky lights and videos flashing around the room. Lastly, Hôtel de Soubise. Here they had bubbles everywhere! It was beautiful! 

     This is the first time that I haven't been home during the LDS Conference. It has been so strange for me to be watching in online, and with the time change I don't get to watch it live. It has been a fun Sunday. I get to go back and watch everything that I missed in yesterdays conference. I look forward to watching the Sunday Morning Session Live this afternoon.

     I have had a really fun week and I look forward to more to come. I miss everyone at home and thank you to all those who are continuing to read this blog.

Exercise for the Brain

     This week I wanted to talk about something a little different from my usual posts about what I am learning in Paris. I have made a very interesting observation while living here in Paris. I want to talk about memory. The children that I care for are required to memorize many things. While watching them read and repeat the things they are learning in school, I now understand how important it is to strengthen your brain.

     Aimée and Daniel are brilliant children. They are learning things in school that I didn't learn until I was a few years older than they are now. Daniel is six and focusing on writing in cursive. Aimée is eight and reading books that I didn't read until I was in Jr. High. On top of that, both kids speak fluent English, Spanish, and Italian.

     I realize now that I should have practiced more skills and talents when I was younger. This is not my first time attempting to learn French. Based on the amount of French I have had in the past I should be more fluent than I am now. I can not write in cursive. Yes, my handwriting is very clean and legible, but I can't write or read cursive. I know that these are all skills that I can still learn. My brain is always going to be working as long as I teach it new things, but I wish I would have worked harder as a child to learn valuable talents.
   
     Memory is a powerful thing. How often is it that we memorize something and after it accomplishes its main purpose we forget it. I watch as Aimée and Daniel are required to memorize daily phrases, and they remember them weeks later. They are being taught at a young age strong studying skills. That is what I like about the French Education. The skills they are learning now are skills they will take with them forever. The children here are very knowledgeable about many things, including the USA Presidents. How often did we learn about the Monarchs of Europe in our early teachings?

     There are flaws in the system, Cecile is always telling me things she doesn't like. It's not perfect. I don't think there is ever going to be a perfect education system, but Cecile is so involved in her kids education that she makes up for the lack, if there is lack.

     I should explain that the children are not taught like robots. Yes, they have a strict schedule, but they do have lots of time to play. They still get to have the change to play and run like all kids do. The interesting thing is that most times when they play on their own in their room they are playing with puzzles or making crafts. Daniel was making his own Pokemon cards the other day.

     With how advanced technology is today, I believe we have lost skills that will benefit all of us. I think that children should be taught how to work out problems in their head. I think that children should be required to memorize more things, and I think that children should learn second languages.