It’s been a week already since my last real update. October
is flying by faster than I can enjoy it. While I am super bummed that the rest
of the world does not celebrate Halloween the way Americans do, I can at least
be excited that one week from today, I will be riding the Eurostar through the
French countryside on my way to Jolly Old England to spend a long weekend in
London. I haven’t been to London in 10 years and I am so excited I could cry. I
still need to make a list of all the things I want to do, but I can’t wait!
Perhaps I will find something Halloween-y to do since I’ll be there on the 31st.
To be honest, I haven’t spent much time in Paris this week.
I went out to a movie near Palais Garnier, home of the Paris Opera, and that
was an adventure. I was super excited to check out this beautiful movie theater
called Le Grand Rex. We get there and turns out none of their movies, including
American movies, are shown in English with French subtitles, but are dubbed in
French. Such a bummer. Perhaps when I get better at the language I’ll go see a
movie there. So my friend and I set off in the direction of the Opera house,
per the instructions of the nice gentleman at Le Grand Rex, to locate a theater
that does show movies in English with French subtitles. We had pizza at a cute
little sidewalk café, complete with outdoor heaters which made it nice and cozy,
and then headed to see Crimson Peak.
After that, I’ve spent the majority of time at home this
week, which is exactly what I’m doing right now. Lounging with G and watching
some obscure Nickelodeon show. Schools here in France work differently than in
America. The kids go to school for 6 weeks, then have 2 weeks of vacation. So
this week was G’s first week, and I have him home with me. I can’t go to my
language classes this week, which is a bummer, but it has been nice to relax a
bit and play with G. I can tell that this week having to spend so much time
together has really been good at establishing our relationship. There’s been
lots of hugs, laughs, and I even got to take him and his friend to see Hotel
Transylvania 2 in La Défense. I’ll be honest, that was a bit nerve-wracking
because I had 2 kids to guide on and off the metro and through a very urban
part of town, both of which don’t speak English, so it was a difficult
experience overall. But the kids liked the movie and I saw lots of smiles, so
overall it went well. We also went to the local carnival the other day, so
there’s been plenty to do.
At home with G, he loves to draw, loves French rap and likes
to play the same song over and over and over trying to learn the words. We play
a lot of soccer, watch a lot of Disney and Nickelodeon, play cache-cache (hide
and seek), and he LOVES to guili guili (tickle tickle) me. It sounds like “gilly
gilly” in English. And he loves to be tickled back, proven by the fact that
right now as he is playing on his iPad, he’s putting his feet in my face saying
“guili guili.” He’s been super affectionate, and will cuddle up to me on the
couch if we are watching TV. The kid also has the most addicting laugh. When he
really gets going, it’s impossible not to laugh with him. And he does some of
the most hilarious things. For example, last night there was a commercial for
some show on TV, and there were a few mostly naked guys, and he looks at me and
says in perfect English “turn around” while motioning for me to turn. I busted
out laughing. I can tell he loves to make me laugh, and when I start laughing
like crazy when he’s tickling me, or if he says something I find hilarious, he
starts laughing along with me. All that to say, we are bonding and it’s been
really good. I’ve also enjoyed spending more time hanging out with the family
when they get home. There’s been time for conversation, and I’ve felt much more
comfortable and at home.
Last night, my host mom told me that when I come back from
London, she is going to start speaking to me only in French. Up until now, she
and I have been communicating in English, and despite the fact she thinks her
English is terrible, it’s actually very good and I haven’t had to use French at
home when she is here. But she knows the best way to help me learn the language
is to force me to hear it and then use it when speaking back to her and the
rest of the family. She’s right, and I know that it will help me learn, but I’m
incredibly nervous. I’m not good at French. The few times I’ve attempted it
with G, I generally get some confused expressions. I’ve picked up on a few
words that he has said and that I’ve started to use myself, such as quoi (what), arrêt (stop), viens
(come), alle (go), prends (take), attend (wait) and fais
(do). When he says one of these, depending on the circumstances, I can
generally figure out what he wants me to do, but having to speak it back and
use the correct articles and conjugations and it make sense…I’m not quite there
yet. I guess I won’t have much of a choice here soon. But I know this is how
they have helped their previous au pairs learn, so as difficult as it will be, I
know it will be beneficial in the long run. Like I said though, I’m incredibly
scared about this.
The family will be heading to Bordeaux all next week, so I
will be heading to class Monday through Wednesday, then heading to London. I
plan to go through all my French notes and try to commit to memory everything I’ve
learned in the last 2 weeks of class. It’s a lot, and it’s hard to imagine a day
when I will actually be able to speak it decently well. I guess only time will
tell.
I’m now being asked to go play soccer outside, so that’s all
for now.
À bientôt!
