Nouveau Chien de la Famille

Hello everyone!

     Well it’s getting closer for me to go home for the summer, and my emails to my family have been getting

Napoleon Apartments in the Louvre 

fewer and fewer. Which is bad, but sometimes the stories just aren’t as interesting anymore. I guess that’s what happens when people move away. All the little stories disappear and it only becomes about the major events. Well that’s what I’m here to talk about; the major events of my life in Paris.

   
     A good chunk of what has been happening in Paris doesn’t really involve me. I’ve talked about before that’s it’s weird for me to be living in a major world city after growing up in the very protected world of Salt Lake City, Utah. It has become normal for me to see armed soldiers walking around the monuments, crowed areas, and even a few major metro stations. And the numbers increase whenever there’re rumors of protests. Though, I don’t feel scared or unsafe. Everything I have seen has been handled safely, and without extreme violence. That is, until the PSG trophy presentation last week. PSG is the Paris Soccer team, and they won a league title. So they were presenting the trophy at Trocadero (a 10 minute walk from where I live), and a riot broke out. 800 officers were deployed to contain the supporters and it took several hours to bring a situation under control. By the end the place was a mess including smashed store and car windows near the Champs Elysees and setting a few buses on fire.

     All this is basically around the corner from me. Scary hu? Well don’t worry. I was safe and I never saw anything. I only heard about it the next day.

     I hear more about the United States than anything, and it doesn’t sound good. Every couple of months we are getting news of ANOTHER major crisis that’s hitting my home country. Before, while still living in the U.S., I used to think that the only reason why I heard about the tragedies in the U.S. because I lived there. Now I’m in Paris and still a lot of the news is about the U.S. I can’t tell if it’s because the U.S. is getting hit harder with “bad luck” than other countries, or if my brain is just wired to tune into news about home. Either way, good luck. I’m praying I don’t hear about any more breaking news from the States.

Flower Shops are all over Paris. And I love it. 

     Aimée takes horseback riding lessons, and sometimes I am the one that stays with her and walks home with her after. When I went the first time I couldn’t help but laugh because what she was riding is a pony. I was told that all the “horses” are really ponies. Even the big ones. They are called double ponies. They just look like horses. Not sure what the difference is.

     It was funny, Alain came with Cecile, Aimée and Me and they stayed for a minute after dropping us off. After watching them for a while, he comes over and says "Cecile, I want a Horse." She's like "Nope, Sorry." Haha.

     For a while now Cecile and Alain have been thinking about getting a Dog, and recently they became more serious about it. Meaning they told Aimée about it. Basically from there it was nonstop doggy talk for about 4 days. "Can we get a dog? I really want one. What about this kind of dog? What is your favorite?" It was making me crazy! Finally they picked a breed and started looking for where they could get the dog. The contacted a few places and went to look at the puppies on Sunday. Today Cecile told me that they officially have a dog. They can’t take it until it’s a little older, so they are going to pick it up when I come back at the end of the summer. Wow! So looks like when I come back I will have another “kid” to look after.

Mosque of Paris

     The family has been really sweet to involve me in everything to do with the dog. The other night we were discussing dog names, and I’m concerned for this dog. The names the kids are coming up with are… strange. Examples: Binky, Zoggie, Zoro, and I believe the Scooby-Doo was thrown in there. Ok, I know, it’s a dog and not a famous person’s baby, but I still find the names a bit silly. Also since the dog is “Aimée's,” she gets to make the final decision on the name. I will let you all know how that goes down. Maybe this dog will be named Boo like she wants. In that case I’m calling him Bailey.

     A week ago, I went with the family for dinner to this new Muslim restaurant. It's connected to the Mosque of Paris, and it’s a really beautiful building. I loved the food. The environment of it reminded me so much of Egypt. So after telling some stories and hearing about stories about Sara's and Alain's trip to Morocco, I asked Aimée if she could go anywhere where would she like to go. She said London. Cecile asked me where I would like to go and I said “right now I am really interested in either Australia or Amsterdam.” To which Alain said "Oh that is only a train ride away from Paris. Easy to get to." and before I could say anything about how I was thinking of doing that after my second year, Cecile say's "Amsterdam would be nice. Alain lets go there next year."

"OK that sounds beautiful."

"Olivia would you like to come with us."

So I might be going to Amsterdam in the next year or so. Either way, they want me to come with them more on family vacations because as Aimée puts it "you’re part of the family."

     Following this whole conversation, Alain was asking all these things about Utah and the surrounding area, and from what it sounds like they want to come visit Utah some time. I didn’t realize until this moment how close I really was to this wonderful family.

   

The "Cookies"

     Here in Paris, at least in the private schools, each class gets to privilege of going on a class trip. When I was in elementary school we went on one trip. It was 6th grade, three days at Mill-Hollow. Daniel is 6 and Aimée is 9 and they are both taking week long trips in the south of France, and Aimée is even going to a castle. WOW! Daniel was gone last week, and Aimée is gone this week. It has been so nice to have one kid at a time! The house is so quiet and calm! Aimée was very sad to go. She cried, a lot. When we asked her why she said it was because she was afraid she was going to miss us too much. Sweet girl.

     While Daniel was on his trip, Aimée had a friend over one afternoon, and we attempted to make cookies. They didn’t really work… I was so disappointed! The whole time I was trying to help the girls put in the right mixtures, and it didn’t go according to the recipe. They ended up more like chocolate chip scones rather than cookies. I was modified! Lucky the family LOVED them. This is the second time I have made cookies with them and it has messed up in one way or another, yet they still turn out a hit! I don’t understand what it is…

     Yesterday Sara and I were trying to find something to do after church, and we found this beautiful park behind Bercy Village. It was nice to see families out and about again, and children running around in the sun. I do love this time of year. It is so exciting to be outside again.

     

     Well sorry this blog hasn’t been kept up as well recently. I will try to be a little better about that. Thanks for all those who are still reading. I am currently working on a different kind of website that would be more for all kinds of travel with all my kinds of stories and the stories others tell me. So if you have a story, I want to hear about it.

Have a wonderful week!

Voyager de France en Italie

     Hello one and all!

     I am sorry it has been so long since I last wrote a blog. I’m sure you all thought that I had forgotten about my blog. Well you would be right! I have quite the time in Paris and ITALY! Yay!

Mont Blanc in the distance

My first rainy view of Levanto

Alright let’s jump into then!

     I must say, my French is getting better. I am happy to say that I can have a good conversation with a person. Well, as long as I can understand the accent, because that is the hardest part, understanding people. Speaking is so different from writing. They say the writing is harder, but I find it the opposite. Not sure what that says about me… But there is progress!

     I think I have talked about it before, but the way the school system in Paris works is that the kids have six weeks of school and two week vacation. The family usually uses this time to go on a vacation. This time they went to visit their new vacation home in Italy, and they asked me to come along with them.

Panoramic with the kids in the Nunnery Square. Daniel is moving in it.

Beaches in Levanto

     We started Friday after picking up the kids, but the kids passport were forgotten so we had to go back to get them; Putting us 10 minutes behind schedule. We left around 4 in the afternoon and we knew that we would have a six hour drive ahead of us. Cecile hoped to get to the hotel by 10:30. The bad thing was that as soon as we left we hit traffic, and after basically sitting bumper to bumper for an hour we finally started moving faster. At this point it started to rain, and it was the hardest rain that I have ever seen. It didn't stop raining the whole 6 hours. Sure sometimes it was just a sprinkle, but most times it was steady flow of rain. There were a few times where the fog was really thick, and that was scary.

     The kids were watching movies in the back, and Cecile and I were talking in the front. I worked to keep her awake since it was a long drive, in the rain, with it getting darker and darker. She would tell me about the other cities we were driving past, and all the celebrities she has seen while living in Europe.

View of the city from the
 fishing house.

     To get to Italy from France, one needs to drive through Alps and Mont Blanc. There is a tunnel from the French side to the Italian side. The tunnel through the mountain is 7.215 mi long and very secure because in 1999, 39 people died when a transport truck caught fire in the tunnel.

      So they have very high restrictions for this tunnel. Trucks need to be checked, there are emergency exits, reduced speed limits, cars have to stay certain lengths apart, and there are camera and radar to monitor all this. Very intense.

Beautiful churches all over

     After all of that, we made it to the hotel at midnight. We had joined rooms, the kids in one and Cecile and I in the other. That was fine because it was one night and most of the time Cecile used the kids bathroom. All the beds were twin beds though. I thought that was really strange. For breakfast at the hotel they had this apple juice made from sour green apples, and it was so good! When I come home I have all these homemade recipes that I want to try. After breakfast the next morning, we started driving the remainder four hours.

      If you are wondering what it is like to drive from Paris to Italy? Well it's everything you would expect. Lots of open land, farms, little villages, churches in the distance, and castles on the hills. Very beautiful!

     Ok, so here is how our trip went, when Cecile lost her mom she was left with two homes to care for; her childhood home in Milan and the summer apartment in Levanto, Italy. The family is in the final process of selling them. So Levanto was in the first stop on our list. What a beautiful place. The houses are multiple colors, the streets are narrow and small, everyone speaks Italian, and the air feels so fresh.

Time on the beach

     It's really bizarre, learning French, then going to a country where they speak something similar, but I can't understand. I wanted to speak French! Then since we are in a small town Italy, it's very Italian. Not touristy
at all. So everyone speaks only Italian.

     Our time in Levanto was spent walking around town. It's been what Cecile called a "pilgrimage" since she went around to all her old favorite places. The gelato here is fantastic. The kids knew their way around too. We walked by the sea, played soccer in the square. It's was real fun.

Castles in the hills

     All of my time was with the kids. I didn’t mind at all though. Ceciledoes so much, and expects so little from me. I try to jump in and do things for her before she gets a chance to. I find that only fair. They basically let me come along on a family trip where all I do is occupy the kids. Which is not hard because they just play with other kids we find on the beach or the park, and Cecile is always there with us. I have spent a lot of time talking to Cecile and writing in my journal. I can't even begin to express how insane this is for me. Imagine, if you will, going to Italy with an Italian family, who knows the best places to eat and the beaches with the least amount of tourists. Basically, it is the part of Italy that a tourist never gets to see. Then to top it off, the family has money to pay for the best if the best. And they want to pay for me. I love my family, and not because they take me nice places and buy me things, but because they treat me so well, and show me the most amazing things.

     Sunday we walked around the beach. Not through the sand, but up on the sidewalk behind the sand. You could look up into the hills and see them filled with little villages with yellow and orange houses. We played soccer in the open square by the old 17th century nunnery. Oh, and we can hear the church bells from just about everywhere in the village.

     For dinner we went out to have pizza. Now this is expensive Italian restaurant food. I think the pizza melted in my mouth. Wow.

The kids watching the Sharks

     After our week in Levanto, where we cleaned and sold the apartment, we moved onto our second place in Italy. The family has recently purchased a summer home in Forte Dei Marmi. We were there a few days before the workers were finished. Whoa whoa whoa. This place is the same size if not a little bigger than the place in Paris.

The view of the pier from our lunch spot

     It's a three story house that has been modernized to the top gadgets. Everything is new, everything was redesigned. Cecile was very good at managing and knowing how to handle any sort of moving crisis. Meanwhile, I was trying to keep the kids occupied. I really didn't have to do anything, but Cecile didn't want me to help her. She felt bad that she was working me so much. All I had to do was entertain the kids, which was me mostly just watching them play at the park. So I got a trip to the unknown parts of Italy, eating amazing food, staying in very comfortable places, with great people, and in return I supervise the kids? I felt like I was not doing enough. So I help out whenever I can. Set the table, make the beds, set out clothes, and read to the kids... The more I did, the more Cecile is worried she is working me to hard, but the less I do the more I feel useless. So I worked to find a balance. 

     One day Cecile needed to go do some furniture shopping for the new house, and sent me and the kids to the aquarium for the day. That was fun! Things like that are so much fun with kids. They run around and pulled me along to look at all the beautiful fish. Telling me their favorites, and clapping as the dolphins swim quickly by them or the penguins waddle around their tank. Sometimes kids make things that normally wouldn't have interested me, very exciting.

     On Saturday, 5 days before I was to go home, Alain joined us and with both parents there they didn’t have much use for me. Sure I take the kids for several hours a day, but before Cecile needed me all the time. So I got more free time. Which was great! But I had nothing to do. Most times I was a bit lonely.

More Beautiful Churches

     Both of the towns we stayed in were very nice, though I preferred Levanto, and that might be because I had NO internet in Forte Dei Marmi. There were 5 solid days where I didn’t send anything to my family back home. As many of you can imagine, my mom panicked just a bit. It was very hard being cut off from the outside world. The family felt very bad, but there wasn’t much we could do since the internet wouldn’t be installed for another month. Walking around town was OK, but the shopping was SUPER expensive. All the major brand names, so my free time was spent people watching or sitting on the beach writing in my journal. Looking back on it now it was a really nice and relaxing, but at the time I was hard to be cut off.

     The family more than made up for it. They wanted to go visit the neighboring cities in the afternoon. Why? Because I hadn’t seen them. They were very kind to show me around and give me the full Italian experience. I am so grateful for my time here.

     The last day I was in Forte Dei Marmi the 50th anniversary of Lamborghini was happening. 300 Lamborghini's were taking a tour of Europe and they happened to stop for a few days in Forte. It was really exciting to see all the cars there!

     I came back to Paris on my own. Alain was going to drive up with the family so there was no room in the car back. I was given a plane ticket back a few days before the family. They took me to the Pisa airport and when the plane took off I could see the leaning tower out my window. Coming back to Paris was weird. I kept thinking "it's good to be home," but this isn't home. Home is with my family. My family is in Utah. It was nice to be back in a familiar place. It made me realize just how familiar I am with Paris. I can get around this city with no problem now. I know enough French to get by, and I have favorite spots I visit frequently. I was lucky enough to meet up with an old friend from Utah who was visiting with her parents and it was easy for me to show them around. I love history, the art, the culture… It’s a very strange thing for me. I love this city so much.

      Well that is all I have for you this week. I thought it would be great to talk about my wonderful trip to Italy, and I recommend it to anyone who is thinking about driving through Europe! It really was a great experience and I really hope that I can do it again some day. 

Oh, and a side note. I am a few days away from accomplishing another one of my Bucket Lists. I have only a few day (and pages) left in my journal meaning that I have kept a journal going for one year! Good for me that it's the same year I move to Paris! 

Thanks for reading!

Patin à Roues Alignées à Paris.

     Happy Sunday!

     Sorry about last blog! Hahaha! I got so many messages about my "prank." Sorry I really didn't think that it would get that much attention. To clarify, I didn't get a tattoo. Come on, y'all know me better than that. :)

     What a beautiful sunny day we had today in Paris. It was very much needed. The weather has been so back and forth this week that the WHOLE city was excited for the blue sky's and warmth. Really, everyone was outside today. The cafés were packed, ice cream was served, and people were literally dancing in the street. This is where I love Paris the most. When music is played and flowers are in bloom.

Pairs in the Spring. 

     Sara and I walked all over after church today. Just enjoying the weather and atmosphere. Speaking of church, today was the ward conference, and after they hosted a wonderful lunch for the ward. They had hot dogs! Do you know how long it has been since I have had a hot dog? It was so good! It was also really nice to walk around and spend some casual time with the people in our ward. This is one of the many things that I love about the LDS church, we have so many wonderful opportunities to meet new people.

     Anyway, so the weather was beautiful, the company was great, and the kids were so good today! Overall a perfect day. But they have a saving in French that I learned today, En avril, ne te découvre pas d'un fil, which means, Warm weather in April isn't to be trusted. How true that stands. Tomorrow it is going back to the yucky dark clouds and rain. :(

     Other than the excitement with the weather, It's been quiet here.

      I started my new semester of classes. I basically have the same teachers and mostly the same kids. So not much has changed there. Well except, I keep double booking myself on Thursdays. Meaning I have

Last Sunday was my 7th Month in Paris. It's been a great
seven months. 

TWO French classes. 5 non stop hours of French. So by hour 4 1/2 my brain has turned to mush and I can't remember the simplest of phrases. To all you out there who want to learn a language, don't do that.

     The family has had a very trying week. It started with Daniel losing his navigo pass, which is a pain to replace. Then the new family car was broken into, and the windows were smashed. While they were driving Alain's car, the license plate was stolen. It has been a long week of police reports and walking (in the rain).

     Sadly the kids haven't been much help, and added to the hard week. Last Monday, sometime in between the shower and dinner, Aimée said something to Cecile that sent her over the edge and they had a really big argument. It was all in French so I was only able to pick out a little of what it was about. Respect mostly. Alain stayed and worked as a mediator. After some arguing, Daniel ran to watch more tv, Aimée ran to her room, and Cecile looked at me and said "go on and have dinner," and grabbed her keys and walked out the front door. Whoa.

   

Sara and I have been visiting a lot of churches
lately. I am a amazed at the detail that
goes into these buildings. 

Basically it's just me and Alain standing awkwardly in the kitchen. It only took a little to convince the kids to come to dinner, and it wasn't long until Cecile was back. Very calmly she grounded the kids for two weeks. It was all in French so this is what I understood. Both kids have been very rude and spoiled lately, their parents didn't like what they were becoming, and how they were acting when they did their chores. It came down to no T.V., no game boys, no iPad.... Etc.

     Who gets to be in charge of enforcing it? Yours truely. At first I thought it was going to be hard, but the kids responded well to it. They have tried their best to be good the last two weeks. I am so glad that Cecile stepped up and put them in their place, and that Alain backed her up. You don't see that a lot with the Au pair families here in Paris.

     During the last two weeks, whenever we would have a glimpse of good weather I would be itching to get outside. I wanted to play and run, but when I'm not with the kids it can appear a bit strange. I tried running. That flopped. I'm sure I could get used to it after a while, but it just didn't appeal to me. So I had a decision to make. Bike or rollerblades? Everyone I asked said bike. Though to bike around Paris, it means you are in the road a lot. Scary. The problem with rollerblades is that their aren't many places to rollerblade. But I'm stubborn. So I got rollerblades.

     By my house is the Bois de Boulogne. It is SO big. It is very similar to the Jordan Parkway, but bigger

My new Rollerblades! 

and quieter. The paths are great, and I went rollerblading.

     Sigh....

     I guess I should explain. I haven't been on rollerblades in more than three years, and their are some things I forgot. Like how to stop. Oh man. I was bookin it down the paths of the Bois de Boulogne. I only fell twice, and screamed four times. So I would say it was a success! Since them I have only gone twice (the weather), but it gets easier every times. Oh, and don't worry the family bought me an early birthday present, a helmet.

     Paris is really good about rollerbladers. Apparently on Friday nights, and Sunday afternoons they close off some of the streets and have rollerblading parades. I plan on doing that a few times, after I get used to the rollerblades.

     The best part of my adventure? My new app. Its called MapMyRun. It is awesome. I don't need internet. I just push "Start" and it maps my exercise. Where I go and for how long. I can be listening to music and it will give me updates as I go, saying stuff like "Update, you have gone one mile in so much time, your average time per mile is this." It is awesome! So I went four

It was when I came to this in the road
that I really started questioning my decision.

miles yesterday. It was great. Recommended. Five stars.

     How did everyone enjoy Conference? For those who don't know, the Latter-Day Saints had our annual general conference, and it's kind of a big deal for us Mormons. I loved it! I watched all of it! Including priesthood, to which my brother informed that I wasn't suppose to do (oops). I was never really excited about Conference until the last few years, now I get so excited when I know it is coming. One of my favorite talks actually came from the Young Women Meeting from the week before, from Mary N. Cook. Well really all of the Young Women Meeting.Very uplifting for the women of the church.

     I can't get over how powerful Elder Robert D. Hales talk was during Priesthood Session. I have watched it several times now. Same with Holland's talk. I plan on reading that one a few times. And of course, our beloved Prophet. He has always been a wonderful speaker and he has the best stories. I loved how much of the conference talked about family. How important it is to have strong family connections. Especially between the parents, because it will make a difference for generations to come. What a great Conference! Tell me some of your favorites.

The new furby models are sort of scary. 

     Well this weekend, Daniel got a Nerf gun (a big one, like one that grown men collect). And Aimée got a Furby which has been scaring me and won't stop talking. Who remembers furby? Well the new models are freaky! I will never understand this toy. It has been talking so much that I think the parents regret getting it.
Never get a talking toy that doesn't have an off switch.

     Well that's what is happening in Paris. I will keep you all informed of my rollerblading adventures.

     I leave you with my favorite quote from conference,

"All things are possible to them that believe." - Jeffrey r. Holland.

     Love you all, miss you! Until next week!

Faire Quelque Chose D'Imagination

Happy (Late) Easter Everyone!

     It’s so strange for me to be writing every other week, but this way I have a lot more to talk about. First off I decided that I want to get a tattoo. Something in French. A tribute to my time here. "La vie est faite de petites bonheurs." 

View from above a Metro 

     Since I have been back in Paris I have been catching up with friends and talking about our vacations. I am so lucky to have found such great friends who are there for me and talk with me about everything that is happening between family and our au pair jobs. 

     I don't know how I managed it, but I have an awesome Au pair position. The family I work for is absolutely amazing, and I am incredibly lucky to have found them. Working for them makes Au pairing look easy. I should tell anyone that is considering moving to Paris and working as an Au pair, proceed with caution. Not every family is the same or requires the same, and there have been many difficult situations for both Au pairs and the family they work for.

      Despite all that, most Au pairs will tell you that this is the great decision they have ever made. Living, learning, and working in another country is a wonderful experience that few others can compare too. I recommend it to anyone, especially those who know they want a family of their own some day.


     On to my week(s):

     Alain, the father, had surgery on his ankle recently and has been slow for the last few days. There has been a nurse that comes to the house once a week to change the bandages. Talk about service.

I don't know why I thought this looked so cool, but I did. 

     The kids have been really fun lately! I guess they are excited to have me back. I brought back a hex bug (those moving bug toys) for Daniel. He had it for one day, and I didn’t even get to see him play with it before he lost it in the car. He was so disappointed that Cecile ordered him another one online before I could do anything. That seems to happen a lot. I wouldn’t call the kids spoiled, but if something breaks or they lose something (or generally just want a new toy) it’s ordered for them the next day.

     I don't know about anyone else, but when I was growing up (still growing up) I worked for the toys that I wanted, or I waited for a holiday or birthday, and if I was bad I wouldn't get anything.

     Though the kids are still good. They keep their rooms clean, do their homework, and are generally respectable. It just makes me sad that they don't know the value of a dollar, or in this case the value of a euro.

Sometimes the street art in Paris is very thought provoking. 

     Here is something I haven't talked about before, the metric system. Do you know how hard it is to change your brain from thinking in measurements (or whatever) for all your life, then bam! It changes and now everything is different. The only things have been able to understand is miles to kilometers and F* to C*. So lets just say that cooking is a bit of a pain. 

     Anyway, so Daniel is a funny kid. He was trying to finish his dinner (which was Shepard’s pie with purple carrots!) and for some reason he was really slow. The rest of us where finished, with seconds, and the after dinner fruit before he had cleared his plate. It was funny because when he finished he sat all serious like chewing his last bite and slow clapping. I saw it first, and it took a minute for the rest of the family to look up. All the while he had this slow clap going on. You know the kind of applause people do when they are mocking someone. "Oh. Bravo." I was laughing so hard.

     The kids love to play this game that I don’t like. It's called "Oh yeah? My story is better." Aimée is a better player, but Daniel plays it more often. Here is how it works: Someone, anyone, is telling a story or an accomplishment of theirs, and the kids, seeing that the person got attention for said story/accomplishment, decided that they are now in competition with this person and must tell something even better. The goal? To get the attention on them. The reward? No idea.

     

Another panoramic. I know, I know, but I was having a panoramic sort of day. Come on, it's so of cool looking. 

The problem is that Daniel is not very good at one upping someone. He just takes the story and says that he did it too but with more detail. For example: I was talking about my high school swim team and I how I had to swim so many laps in one day. You better believe that he also swam and he swam more laps than I did.

     As cute and as funny as that can be sometimes, most times it is just annoying. It's like both kids are constantly in a competition with each other and everyone around them. It makes me think of that song from Annie Get Your Gun “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better.” These games are mostly played during dinner time, and are followed by an eye roll from Cecile and Alain saying "Come on, don't be silly." So this is what it's like to have kids...


     But its not always a completion, sometimes I do have an advantages since I grew up in the Utah suburbs (what the kids consider the "country"). Last Saturday, I went with Cecile, Aimée, and Daniel to Aimée's horse riding lessons. The plan was for Daniel and I to play in the open field next to the horse track, and then all walk home with Aimée while Sarah and Nicolas ran some errands. Turns out there weren't any lessons that day, so we all played in the field/park. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and the grass was so green. The area

You thought I was joking. This place is HUGE!
Bois de Boulogne.

is called the Bois de Boulogne, and its the biggest, greenest park/forest/field/open natural space in Paris. I had so much fun running around with the kids. All the trees in the area were perfect for climbing, and it was something that I would have loved to go play in when I was a kid. Yet the kids were just sitting around telling me they were bored and they wanted to go home. I told them they should go run, climb a tree or do something imaginative.

     What do they say? "We don't know how to climb a tree." I was so shocked! So I took them over to a good climbing tree and helped them climb one. Daniel was better at it than Aimée, but that was only because she was scared to go higher than two feet. I had to teach them how to climb a tree, and make daisy chains. They got used to the day and eventually when it was time they didn't want too. I'm happy I was at least able to show them that. It's hard when the kids don't want to do anything adventuresome like that.

     

     Shout Out to my wonderful cousin Kelsey and her husband. Yesterday morning I got a message that she gave birth to her twin baby boys. I’m so happy for her and her new little family.


   

Just paining my eggs. It's a lot harder then one might think. 

    Friday was quite an adventure. I took the kids to a play date were they were going to decorate Easter eggs. That’s right, decorate not dye. It was a bit strange painting the eggs especially since I am not use to that, but it was great company.

     On the way back me the kids and I had a train mishap. It was a disappointment to me because I thought I was being so cleaver. There are two types of trains in Paris, the Metro, and the RER. The Metro runs more often and has more stops. The RER is faster and bigger. Instead of changing lines on the Metro a few times (like I usually do), I decided to wait for the one RER train that would take us right to the apartment. All the signs said that it was the right train, but it wasn’t, and we ended up heading south. I was told later that sometimes the trains don’t’ always follow the signs. Well great. Imagine towing three bags and two kids through underground stations and hour longer than necessary. That would be strike two for the train system causing me trouble.


     Easter in Paris, What is it like? Well just imagine a more spiritual, more chocolate, less presents sort of celebration. That is how Easter is. I am very impressed that Easter is not as commercialized here, and it is more focused on the true meaning of the holiday. I had a very good day; a lonely day, but very spiritual. I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ. I know that I am blessed to have this

Very creative and cute. 

opportunity to live in Paris, and that I would be nothing without his sacrifice.


     Thank you for reading my blog. It really means a lot to me to know that I have a big support group back home. This week I was lucky to meet with an old family friend and have dinner with her. It was a wonderful night, and I want to say that if anyone is ever on a trip here in Paris I would love to meet you and go to dinner/lunch/afternoon tea, anything.


     Today is April 1st which means APRIL FOOLS! If you made it this far into my blog congrats, that means you now know that I was joking about the tattoo. My body is a temple. I get the feeling that I will have some explaining to do in my next blog for all those who didn't make it this far.


     Hope it was a wonderful Easter everyone! I love you, I miss you.

La Maison Est Où Le Coeur Est

Eiffel Tower Noodles 

     Hello! It has been a while. I have decided to write my blog every two weeks. My writing hasn’t improved much since my life has become very routine and normal. I don’t need to write about my new experiences as often because it’s all become so normal. Hopefully, I won’t end up being late because of this. Or in this case, my blog is three weeks late. It has been a busy few weeks, and the best part of it was my trip home! I don’t think I realized how much I missed home until I was there.

     Most of the week before coming home was spent getting ready to come home. The decision to come home happened on a whim. The kids got a two week vacation from school and the family made plans to ski in the French Alps. My mom suggested that I come home for a little visit. I thought “Why not!”

The Street Art of Paris is Amazing ALL the Time

     I have been traveling for most of my life, thanks to my mom’s ambition and her great opportunities, but this was the first trip that I was doing on my own. As in, packing, getting to the airport, checking in, and boarding the plane by myself. It wouldn’t have been so bad if a few things hadn’t gone wrong.

     First, after getting to the RER (train station) that would take me to the airport, I stood with several other dozen people watching the sign flashing “Train to Airport cancelled due to construction.” After the shock wore off, I found that they were offering a bus from another station to the airport and it was just a matter of getting to the station. Luck was not on my side. As I was getting on the train that would take me to the new station, I pulled my giant bag onto the train with me and succeeded in pulling the handle right off the bag. I don’t know how, but I managed to get to the airport with only a very tired arm and excited to go home.

We Found a Cupcake Place in Paris! 

     I wasn’t sure what I expected from my trip home, but it didn’t end up how I thought it would. It was very good to go home and see all my friends and family. I now see how much I have missed my home. It was so easy to come home; easier than I expected. In many ways it felt as if I had never left, as if I had only been gone for a few weeks rather than a few months. Meeting with friends was something that I thought was going to be the hardest. Being away from friends during this time in my life is when I get to see who true friends are. It was so nice to know that my best friends haven’t left my side, even after I decided stay another year in Paris.

     Speaking of which, I hit my 6 month mark last week, but the day came the week that I made my journey home. Does that still count as my six month mark if I wasn’t even in Paris at the time? It was only a difference of three days… I’m counting it anyway! So there goes another mark off my Bucket list. Live in another country for 6 months. If I add on there that I would like to live in another country for two years does that count as a bucket list or a goal?

Hot Springs In Utah

     It was so good to see my family. I have felt guilty for leaving them, especially since things with my younger brother became difficult to manage. I was so happy to find that my parents are as brilliant and persistent as always, and have been hard at work to find the help that my brother needs. I was there for the beginning of a new treatment for my brother. It’s not all fun and games, but lucky some of it is. My family has been traveling up to the hot springs in Honeyville for several weeks now, and I was fortunate to go with them on my last visit. It really was a wonderful experience, and it was this travel that made me realize that I could never leave my home in Utah permanently. I have missed the mountains so much. I have missed the long open valleys of dessert land. I would much like to have a great big garden on an open property out in Honeyville one day.

     I can’t let my youngest brother, Geoff, go unmentioned. He is the one who has changed the most. He is taller than me, and has been for a while now. He is driving, and took my place at my old job. My family has had season passes to Hale Center Theatre for more than 10 years, and I have grown up going to the theatre. I was lucky enough to go to play while I was home, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and it was a really good. The whole time I was thinking of Geoff, and how good of an actor he has become.

Last View of Utah before Returning to Paris 

     After 10 days of a wonderful time in Utah it was time for me to come back to Paris. My journey back was more stressful than I imagined, and it was all due to bad weather in Paris. I might have thought I had entered into some sort of parallel universe. I left Utah with beautiful clear skies and came to horrible weather in Paris. It was very backwards for me, and I will say that Paris does not handled bad weather very well. The whole city nearly shut down due to an inch or so of snow. Flights and trains were delayed, everyone was under staffed, luggage wasn’t being pulled off the planes... It was a mad house at the airport. I might have thought that the world was coming to an end. The whole ordeal took me an extra three hours to get home.

     Coming back to Paris was very strange. More than I was expecting. Although nothing had changed, the house felt different. It didn’t take long for me to fall back into routine, especially after seeing friends from Paris and catching up on all the stories. It’s hard to think that I might have two different lives, but I do. I live in two very different worlds, and both have taught me so much. Going home was amazing, and I will take full advantage of all the opportunities I have to visit again. Still, I know that my life is here right now, and it’s a good life. I have been so fortunate to have a strong support group in Utah as well as in Paris. I am truly blessed in all that I do.

Retour à la Maison

Hello! Welcome!

This is how they are advertising for a new car. 

     I have been writing this blog for a little more than five months now, with the first blog the first week I moved to Paris. It feels like a long time ago when I think back on it, and a lot has happened. I have missed so much back home, friends getting married and having babies, holiday’s that I wasn’t a part of, family events I wasn’t there to see, and even old friends passing on. There have also been so many good things that I have gained from this experience: Good friends, meeting amazing people I wouldn’t have otherwise had the chance to meet, wonderful events in Paris, and so much more. This blog is where I have written about my most exciting adventures in the last five months, and along the way I have learned so many amazing stories from all over the world. This got me thinking about a new idea, and I have decided to make it a school project that I am doing for the University of Utah.

SKIP-ITS! I almost bought one on the spot.

     I am creating a website that shares stories from as many people as I can. Think ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ meets travel and the internet. All that I ask is that if you have moment in your travels that changed your life please send it to me at myaupairexperience@gmail.com. It can be completely anonymous. Answer, where you went? How you got there (or if there were any trails that needed to be overcome to get there)? And what you gained from this experience, then include on picture (you don’t need to be in the picture if you don’t want to be). It doesn’t need to be very long, just a paragraph. I know that might be a lot to ask, but I think it will become a really fun site to visit. I hope that others will get involved and I might be able to include a few tips and tricks as to how people have traveled. I have a few months to complete this project, but I hope that it won’t ever be completed and I will always been hearing new stories.

     Oh! I saw Les Misérables. It came out in the State over two months ago, but is just now reaching France. We all laugh over here, because it is a movie about the French, written by a Frenchman that that the British turned into a musical and was filmed by the United States with American actors who are using British accents. American movies that are shown in France have strange titles too. They sometimes keep them English, but they are simplified down. There are lots of examples, but one of the most recent ones was The Silver Lining Playbook. Here it is called Happiness Therapy. The movie industry is strange here sometimes.

I don't know how well you can see this.
It is an advertisement for traveling and it says
 "c'est East!" Which means "it's easy."
In the left corner they explain what easy means in
French. English is all over Paris. 

     Now, on to my week. Or weeks I guess I should say. I realize that didn’t write a blog for last week. That is a first for me. I always finish what I start, but somehow all it takes is one lazy day to mess up the whole pattern. Last week was an unusual week for me. There were lots of ups and downs. I wrote a blog, but I wanted to be sure that I said exactly what I wanted to say. In the end I went against publishing my thoughts. I had to remind myself that this is a public form and not my diary. This is where I tell my stories, not express complains. 

     I have learned a valuable lesson that every long term nanny/au pair experiences at one point during their job, the fine line between being a friend with the children and knowing you are hired by the parents to care for them. The hardest part is when the kids push that line. Being a nanny is hard. I have become very attached to these children, and I would do anything to protect them. The up’s and downs hit me hard. I’m sure it was a combination of a lot of emotions that were circling Aimée and me, but it caused a bit of a power struggle between us. After talking with my parents about it, I came to a solution. With Daniel, he needs a nanny. He needs someone to tell him where to go and what to do. He is happy either way. Aimée is different. She doesn’t need another parent. She has two who are there to instruct her. This week I talked to Aimée about our differences and I think we came to an understanding. After our talk, this week was so much easier to handle. It became easier to move around with the kids and get things done.

This is Aimée's wedding picture for me. 

     This week Daniel had a friend over, and at one point all the kids were running up to me asking if I could show their friend the video we made during Christmas. During the video the kids were all laughing at the faces the kids where making and Daniel responds with “I know I am just HILARIOUS!” I really need to start writing down the things that he says because he has some real good one liners. I have been dancing with the kids, and this week we were dancing to Willow Smith’s song “Whip my Hair,” and while Aimée and I were able to “whip our hair” Daniel's hair is so short that it doesn’t move an inch. Yet, he was keeping up with the music just fine.

This is what I made for the kids on Valentines Day. 

      Then for some reason Aimée decided to draw me a wedding picture. No idea where that came from, I think she read something in her magazine and it made her think of it. She turned to Daniel and said "let's plan our weddings!" Daniel was all "I don't want to do that, because I don't care about my wedding!" hahah kids. They make me laugh.

I don't know why, but this really made me laugh. 

     Sara introduced me to a new restaurant she found, and it is amazing! I am afraid to broadcast the name since I don’t want it to become the new hot spot of Paris (mwahahah! It’s all mine!), but just think bakery with just about any kind of fresh meal you can think of. It has become my new favorite place to go, and Sara and I have been trying not to go too often. If you happen to come to Paris and you want a great in expensive place to eat, send me a message and I will point you in the right direction.

     My last bit of news for this blog is very exciting. I am coming home for a week! Next week I will be reporting to you all from good old Salt Lake City. There is a break here, and the family is going skiing the break. So I have decided to take a trip back home for a week to see how everyone in the 801 is doing! Yay! Hopefully I will get to see lots of friends and family while I’m home!

     Well that is all I have for you this week. I know it’s not a lot. I’m running out of ideas as to what to write for my blog. If anyone has a suggestion they would be most helpful. I love and miss everyone back home! Until next time.

Narwhal à Paris

     Hello people of the internet, and friends who follow my lovely blog! Well I struggled with the WIFI connection on and off for 5 hours today! Yay! The family was having dinner with friends which meant that I couldn’t go sit in the dining area (the best spot to get internet). I may have gone a little bit crazy watching the computer try to “find” the WIFI.

     Well I’m here now, and it’s only 11 at night. No problem.

     This week has been a slow one. There haven’t been any BIG events; Cecile went to Milan for a few days so I was in charge of the kids a lot this week, but nothing really major. There were a few really weird things that happened, so those will be the majority of my blog for the week.

     We cleaned out Daniel's Toy closet this week. When I first got here we were cleaning this darn closet every two weeks, but now we only need to clean it once a month or longer (Progress!). If all fails, at least I taught him to be a little more organized and clean.

     Helping Aimée with her homework this week and I came across something quite funny. Aimée had to pick an animal and the action that animal does. Well the first thing on her list was a narwhal, with an action of lumbering. Her teacher didn’t know what it was. Haha very funny.

Invader is a French urban artist who pastes up characters
made up of small colored square mosaic tiles cities
across the world, then documents this as an "Invasion",
with books and maps of where to find each invader.
This is one of the best I have seen. 

   
     The other day I was at a Café having lunch before picking the kids up from school. The whole café was empty except for one other couple in the corner. There were probably a dozen or so empty tables. In walks this lady who orders her food and moved over to sit directly across from me at my table. Now I have never met this lady before, I have never seen her, and she decides to come sit across from me. She doesn’t talk to me, just sits down and starts eating. The table wasn’t very big either. After about 10 minutes another women walks in and waves at her. She proceeds to pick up her tray, thank me, and move to another table with this other woman. Now I don’t know if she just wanted company, or what was going on, but it was the weirdest thing that has happened to me this week.

     I really like my French classes. The teachers are good, the other students are friendly, and I’m learning a lot. It is bugging me a little that I have been here for almost 6 months and still I’m struggling with how to say so many simple things. I am very happy that at least I have been able to meet some amazing people through these classes and form some amazing friendships. That is what makes this whole experience worth it.

     Recently, I have had a lot of friends ask me why I have decided to stay another year. They all seem almost surprised at my choice, as if saying isn’t always the best option. It is really strange learning about different cultures of education. It’s interesting for me; basically no matter where you are in the world you learn the same things. We all learn about our countries history, we learn math, science, arts, and take our language courses. Yet, still we all end up in difference jobs, with different interests.

     After learning about the schooling of other friends, and there future job prospects, I am grateful that my parents were open minded about my interests. If I would have continued with what I wanted to be when I was 16 then I would be working a job that I wouldn’t enjoy. Why would I want to be in a job that I don’t like? Now I have a wonderful future ahead of me that I’m interested in.

I love an statue that has wings on it. 

     This week, there were some men working on the apartment. Normal fixes it around the house things, and before they left they locked the chain on my door. Well that is a bit of a problem for me when I come home. See, I don’t have a key to the front door. So when I brought the kids home for the afternoon and I couldn’t get in… well that caused a problem. The best part? The alarm goes off when I tried to open the door. Now I know that none of this is my part, but the kids don’t know that. They think they are in trouble. So they both start crying. I end up getting an extra key from the concierge, and we get inside with no problem. Not after I had to calm down two hysterical children.

     Well this is a short blog this week. Let’s hope that I get more fun stuff to talk about next week.

Have a great week everyone! Miss you!

Quel est Votre Nom de Super-Héros?

     Hello! Welcome to my weekly blog. This was quite a slow week, so hopefully I will still have enough fun stuff to talk about for the blog. I have been having a grand old time here in the City of Lights (not sure why it is called that...). I worked a lot this week, and it was sort of an ugly weather week. I guess all over the world it’s been yucky weather, and cold. Good thing the dreaded January is done, and we can get on to the love of February.

     Time is moving very quickly. The weeks are long, but the months are short. I am coming up on my 5 month mark, and before I know it I would have spent half a year living in Paris, France (which is something I can check off my bucket list!). All this got me thinking, I want to know what kinds of things you all have on your bucket lists! Send me something!

     Aimée was sick with all week; home from school, lying in the bed all day kind of sick. Of course Cecile was worried, but it wasn’t until Wednesday afternoon came around and there was still no improvement in her condition that she decided it was time to call the Doctor. Did you know that you can have a Doctor come to your house and give you a checkup 45 euros? Well that was an experience. Aimée didn’t go to school for the rest of the week, and by Friday night she was feeling much better. The down side was that the family was planning on going to Milan for the weekend to see family and couldn’t go since Aimée was sick.

My favorite place in Paris. 

     I was worried about Aimée, because the Doctor put her on antibiotics, and for anyone who know me, or my family, knows that we aren’t a big fan of pumping something that is designed to break down illnesses into your body. The good thing is that Cecile has also been giving Aimée probiotics to balance out her system. She is doing much better now and will be returning to school tomorrow (something, she is not too excited for).

     I have been taking private French lessons with a wonderful lady who Cecile found for me as a Christmas present. It is so nice to have someone to sit down and explain all my little questions about the French language. I hope that I will be able to pick it up much quicker, but it’s still very hard to do.

     The exciting new news?! Well Cecile asked if I had any plans for May. Since I work my schedule around the family, I said no and she asked I would be willing to come to Milan with them to help out with the kids! Yay! So I’m going to Italy in May!

     I have been with Daniel all week! Since Aimée has been sick I have been picking Daniel up from school. This week was super hero week. We were trying to think of a good super hero name for Daniel. He likes Spiderman and Medusa, and Spiderman and Cyclops. For some reason he didn’t like the names Spidusa or Spiclops! Kid doesn’t know a good super hero name when he hears it.

Here is an appetizer I had this week.
It's ham, pickle, and butter. It was
surprisingly good.  

     The other really fun game we have been playing is 20 questions at the dinner table with the kids. Someone has an object/ animal/ vegetable... so on so on and everyone else needs to ask yes or no questions to get to the answer. OK, so most of the time it’s really only Alain, Cecile, and me playing since the kids can’t really keep up yet, but occasionally one of them will ask a really good question.

     This week while picking up Daniel one day, the BIGGEST rain storm that I have ever been in came pouring down on me. Since I was a few blocks away, I walked in the pouring rain for a good 10 minutes. By the time I got Daniel home, I was soaked to the bone. My hair was so wet that it looked like I just got out of the shower. Daniel thought this was really funny for some reason. Let’s just say, I plan on finding a really good umbrella to carry around with me.

     I got a wonderful Valentines package in the mail from my Grandma, and the family loved everything in it! Aimée perked up when I pulled out all the stickers and treats. Since she has been really sick all week, it was nice to see that she was happy.

     I have been reading the Percy Jackson series to the kids, and we just finished book two, well at the end of the book there is a really big cliff hanger, and both kids where jumping around like crazy when we finished! They were running around asking me to start the next book so they would know what happens. That was so wonderful!

The Restaurant I ate at with Gina before
she went back home. I think this might be my new favorite place. 

     This weekend I said goodbye to a friend who was going back home after a month in Paris. I met her at Church and she is from Utah. It amazes me how lucky I have been with my friends. Some of these people I would have never met if I wouldn’t have moved here. Sara lived 5 minutes away from me, but since we went to different high schools and different churches we would have never met. I think about that a lot. The people I would have missed if I hadn’t taken wonderful this opportunity.

     I have a new project that I am going to start working on. As part of my school work I needed to come up with three things that I would accomplish by the end of the semester. One of those is keeping up with my blog, but then I started thinking that I could take it a step further. I am going to start a website about travel. It will be very similar to a blog, but I want to get more people involved. Think “Chicken Soup for the Soul” but for travel. An uplifting website filled with stories from people and their experiences working or studying abroad. I will have my own story, and I have many students/friends here who have offered to put in their two cents, so I’m going to start working on that. If you have a story, or know someone who does, I would love to get a message from you!

     This weeks title Quel est Votre Nom de Super-Héros? Means what is your superhero name? It's something I think everyone should know, especially children. Well this week has adventure written all over it, so hopefully I will have better stories in the next blog!