bonjour

bonjour! comment ca va? ca va, bien! et tu? moi aussi. merci!
Today was my first day of language school and I have to say that it kind of resembles the private french classes I was taking back in the States this exact time last year. Interesting! Possibly the same price also!! So the teacher is very kind and my classmates are all au pairs except for one lady who, if i translated correctly, married a French man and is trying to improve her French but seeing as how I only speak 4 year old French, I could've made that up! All I know is how she old is and that she is from Denmark. And I think i cheated on where she is from because I was sitting next to her so I saw it written down on her notes. Ok, that was pointless. Anyways, the teacher seems nice and she tries to only speak in French but thankgoodness she knows English incase we just have no clue. I'm in an advanced level of beginner which means we aren't learning vocab or how to conjugate the verbs but bettering how to create sentences from what we already know. It's kind of hard, I'm not going to lie. We were to introduce the person sitting next to us which I think I did alright. And then we were given a piece of paper with a picture and a million and one things going on in said picture and told to describe everything in French. Needless to say I need to practice vocabulary because mine is a bit rusty. That and I have officially decided that I was not born to learn multiple languages. It is not one of my gifts! But that does not mean that I am going to let that conquer me, I am going to conquer it! I mean, school wasn't my gift either and I conquered it so I can conquer a foreign language, also! Can i hear an amen!!!
I am officially switching (slowly) from English to French, tellng my friends to start speaking to me in French more so that I can practice speaking back. It's interesting the sentences I can create when taking an opportunity to do so. Some of my friends find it a bit humorous to hear me speak French because of my 'accent' which I find funny because I didn't realize I had one. :-) I know one girl in my class, she is an au pair in my town and we ride the bus together and get along well, I'm glad for that! I take class three times a week for two hours at a time. The only thing (maybe not the only) I don't like is that it feels like school and honestly, I was looking forward to the idea of never having to be in a school enviornment again but alas, here I am, a student to the French language.

On another note: this weekend was legendary for many many reasons. Most of them wonderful!!! I made a few more friends, bonded with a few friends I had already made and honestly had a rockin time! I picked up a weekend flat while I was at it! And slept almost none! All in all, it was my best weekend yet.

My father is making me research more while I'm here about other au pair's experiencs and since it seems as though he either has more time than me or is better at researching than me, he has found a few more blogs for me to read, well, one. And I was reading some of it this evening and I found a common theme that this former au pair and I share, besides being au pairs in the suburbs of Paris, we both live for the weekends! I hate saying that I live for anything like a weekend because I want to enjoy every moment of everday, but honestly, when your job is living and helping raise kids that aren't your own, you are thankful for the chance to be a young adult again and weekends are those times. During the week I am subject to my host family and luckily I have been blessed with a wonderful host family who rarely ever needs my services meaning I am not taking advantage of or forced to cancel plans at the last minute plans, but it does get a bit clausterphobic living where you work.

So back to my weekend, I left Friday before dinner and did not return my house until Sunday for dinner!! I enjoyed the weekend with some friends, all new but soon to be old friends as I'm sure they'll be friends for life. We bonded over fabric shopping, interesting company, and long walks late at night taking us right past the Arc de Triumph. I am so blessed to have made the friends I have. I do not lead the typical Au Pair lifestyle but I think I am okay with that because I am happy with my friends and with my experiences and my memories and that, my friend, is worth it a lot!

It has become tradition (for me) to make it back to Saint Germain just in time to catch the last bus back to Chambourcy at 7pm on Sunday evenings which puts me at my house in time for Sunday dinner that is usually being put on the table the moment I walk in the door. Perfect timing if I do say so myself! After a few long weekends I've had, its the perfect ending to usually untopable weekends (which are usually topped the next weekend).

I am sleep deprived but because of my own doing and I wouldn't have it any other way! I am loving living life as a local but thinking I might soon pick back up on being a tourist at times as there is still so much to do and see and who knows how much longer this awesome lifestyle I have is going to last. And the weather for that matter.

This weekend started the beginning of the French's fall and I'm not so sure how I feel about it. Like it or not, it is here and I am having to bust our my coats. Seriously, its still September and people are wearing long coats... its crazy in my head! I remember last October it was still HOT in Texas adn I remember having a breakdown because I was tired of wearing the same outfits for the past 6 months as summer is a rather long season where I come from. And now the seasons have completely flopped and I hear winter is a long season now. Joy! So just an FYI: for those of you who have compassion on the poor and cold, or who were and are planning me a Christmas present, I can use good socks (I hated socks in Texas so I amybe brought 5 pairs, all of which are ankle socks, I am currently wearing my one pair of ski socks I bought in March in the Alps) ear muffs, and maybe another good warm scarf! Not sure if any of that stuff exists in Texas but this girl could definitely use some of that in the coming weeks/months!

Oh and this weekend, while fabric shopping with another friend who is here working as freelance costumier (designer) for fabric for the hott dress he is going to be making me, I found my new place for buying cheap but cute sunglasses! Back in the States I had gotten into buying 10 dollar sunglasses every few months when I finally wore my current ones down but upon moving here and using my sunglasses everyday  (becuase I swear the sun here is 10times brighter than anywhere else i've ever been, dont judge!) they were finally falling apart on me and I was wondering where in the world I was going to find some more really cheap sunglasses. Alas, when in doubt, go shopping in tourist areas and you can sometimes find the cheap stuff there...i Found some cute aviator knock offs for 5 euros. can't beat that! I will be going back in a few months for my next pair! And I got some rockin' fabric for my soon to be one of a kind awsome dress made especially pour moi!

Ok, well, i"m off to bed! Tomorow is another long day and I'm excited about it but do need the sleep to function... Hope you Texans are enjoying the lower temps!!! I will be cuddling up in my bed tonight wearing every peice of warm clothing i can dig up and put on my body including a few blankets. Miss you all!!!