So life has started to get to a norm, and quite quickly if I do say so myself. I do not start "working" for another week, which leaves me with a week of doing whatever I want. I'm excited about that because it gives me the opportunity to explore and figure out how to get places and how long it takes to get places, etc. Life around here is 100 % different from my life in the US, but they are all things that are adjustable. We, humans, are able to adapt and I plan on trying to adapt as best I can.
So my first full day in Chambourcy (Paris) was Thursday and Thursday started off a little bit rough. I didn't sleep well so I stayed in bed till mid morning, as I posted earlier, and when I woke up, the current nanny was over. She is very sweet, from the little interaction I had with her, but she doesn't speak any English either so there was almost no communication between us. There was tried communication, but none that was successful. I wasn't feeling well and without knowing what was going on, I retreated back upstairs to take a nap. I actually a bit anxious to get out of the house and explore and go do something so I wasn't sleeping all day but I didn't know how to get anywhere and I didn't have a map and this area is not easy to navigate without one. The streets all look the same. Rachel, the mom, came home from work not too long after I woke up from my nap and I asked her for a map of Chambourcy. Once I had one, I had a newfound sense of confidence and was ready to go explore, get some fresh air, and figure this town out. I made my way to the park and the Carefour (which is a lot like a Wal-Mart). So now I have figured out it takes 15-20 minutes of walking to get to the grocery store.
Upon returning from my adventure I was greeted with another homemade meal, but served outside this time as the weather has become a lot of warmer and a lot more enjoyable for eating outside. Boy is it nice to be able to enjoy the outdoors minus mosquitos and the humidity, add a cool breeze!
Rachel and Vincent enjoy a glass of red wine each night at dinner and I've been enjoying a glass right along side them. I think I can get used to that!
Thursday night Rachel asked if I would like to go into Paris on Friday, as she goes into Paris for work and could take me if I wanted. Of coarse I wanted!!! So I was up and ready by 8am Friday morning to head into Paris for an adventure unknown. I rode with her into Paris and then we went our seperate ways. It took about 45 minutes to get into town which was not too bad I don't think. I decided to go to the Eiffel Tower and sit on the lawns and read a book I had brought with me, but once I arrived I realized I was going to be too distracted by all the crazy tourists! I forgot, as I have never been to Paris in the summer, that this is the biggest tourist time of the year and there are tourists EVERYWHERE. And it doens't help that all the Parisians leave during the month of August for vacation so it seems like there are very few locals and way too many foreigners. English is to be heard everywhere. I probably people watched for about 2 hours, it was THAT entertaining. The sad thing is that the Eiffel Tower or as the French people say, the tour eiffel, is under construction, so its not that pretty to take pictures of right now, but that didn't stop me. Oh, and I was baffled by just how long the line was yesterday to ride the elevator up the tower. I have never seen it so long! I'm sure the people at the end of the line were going to be waiting half a day if not longer. I personally would not wait that long, but I also have only been to the first level and that was by walking the stairs because when I was here, the 45 minute wait was too long for me.
I do not have my "all access pass" yet (meaning, I don't have my metro pass that allows me unlimited metro rides) so when I decided to move on to the next location I decided to walk. I have to keep reminding myself that this is not vacation so I have to be careful with the money I have. It needs to last me a year if not longer. This is TMI but I decided I needed to go to the bathroom and so I would head to the Louvre where you can use their restrooms without having to pay to get into the museum. So I decided to walk. I had a map but I also remembered they were both on the Seine, so I decided to walk down the side of the river. I just looked up the distance on googlemaps and it says a 45 minute walk.
Not too sound like I'm complaining, but I had not idea what I was getting myself into... long walk, heavy bags, and the weather has become decently hot. Not the best combination. I was however very proud of myself for not giving in and jumping on the metro at any point. I made it! And I made it, only to walk up and see another incredibly long line to get into the Louvre. Yea right, I'm not waiting an hour in a line just to use the bathroom! ha! So I found some shade and sat on the steps of the Louvre and rested a bit. I was waiting on a friend to call me and let me know when he could meet up with me and eventually we did meet up, at the Louvre! It took about 15 minutes to find each other as there were so. many. people.
Thank God for having already made a few friends and contacts here, or it would make this experience that much harder! My friend showed up and went and got some lunch and then headed off to one of his friends birthday parties. I'm skipping a whole lot of stuff, like eating a really great "meal" that I don't know the name, hanging out at a park, and walking through the famous Shakespeare book store (that sells English books). It's nice to have friends that are local or have been here a while as, not only, do you not get lost, they know where some cool places are.
So we made our way to this guy's birthday party who lived pretty far out. So I met the guy I was hanging out with at Hillsong Church of Paris back in march and the birthday party was for a guy who also attended the church. His house was pretty far out of Paris, cost almost 8 euros round trip. It took us a while to figure out where it was, another adventure. I am definitely learning to be quiet since I cannot speak the language I cannot help out in any way. It's frustrating but also freeing to know that I don't have to be in charge and sometimes not speaking is better than speaking. A lot of times, I should say! :-) At this birthday party I met a bunch of people who also attend Hillsong Church of Paris! All of them were my age range and there for various reasons: school, work, etc. There were a few au pairs, or previous au pairs, english teachers, a girl attending Parsons in Paris for Fashion Deisgn (how cool!!!) and a few others. And these people were from all over the globe: Switzerland, Brasil, America, Australia, etc. Most everyone is bi-lingual and several were tri-lingual...I have a lot to learn!!!
We left to walk back to the train, that only comes twice an hour, and barely made it! Whew!!! It took us about thirty minutes to walk back to the train station from this guys house and we walked the backroads instead of taking the bus to save money. The backroads felt more like the sticks! It was a lot of brush and off the road walking. Interesting to say the least.
I was really wanting to get back to my train station in Poissy or St. Germain en laye before dark because once I arrived at one of those stations I then had to take a city bus to Chambourcy (ten minute ride) and I hadn't done it before so I wanted to make sure I wasn't at the bus station wandering around in the dark. Fail! It took over an hour and a half to walk from the guys house to the train station and then ride two trains back to my place. Well, come to find out that in August the buses don't run after 7pm anyways. Luckily Rachel was able to come and pick me up and it isn't too far but I don't really want to be left at the train station in the dark again.
Yesterday was a great adventure, nonetheless!! I figured out I can walk from the Tour Eiffel to the Louvre, I reconnected with a friend I'd met only once before, met new friends, and traveled long and far for a birthday party! Day 2: win!
So to end this extremely long post:
the things I am missing: (but not so much that I am homesick yet)
-ice cubs
-large glasses (they drink out small glasses at every meal)
-air conditioning ...the trains and metros (and everywhere else for that matter)
things i love:
-walking everywhere
-being able to sleep with my windows open
-knowing that i am living in Paris for the next year!
The one thing that is going to be a hiderance, at least the rest of this month, is not being able to stay out very late without Rachel or Vincent picking me up from the train station. But i guess i can learn to work around that, or just ask for a ride once in a while. Oh well, the month is almost over and the schedules and the rest of the city should return to normal soon! Rentre!
Miss you all and wish you could be here to experience this with me! It just isn't the same! I am having the time of my life, so far, but know that I think of you all very often!!! Thank you for your interest and love and support and prayers!
Cheers *** to loosing the weight I gained this summer by eating all the Mexican food one could...***
....I'm off to go on a walk...haha!
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