This is one of the most fun words ever in French! It's said pretty much how it looks: shtroompfs. Go ahead, try it! And make sure to get that gutteral French R.
So what are Schtroumpfs? Any guesses?
If you guessed Smurfs (all two of you) you're right! It's actually the original name, as it was first a Belgian cartoon.
Anyway, one of the kids called me this morning to ask if I'd go see the Smurf movie. It was cute, and surprisingly easy for me to understand - it was dubbed in French.
The kid was super excited when the Schtroumpfs were sent to NYC, where I just came from.
I met up with the mother afterwards, and she had the baby with her. He was so very excited to see me! I was surprised. He insisted I hold him for a while then actually started to cry when I left. I'm glad he is happy with me as he's so attached to his mother I was afraid he'd be trouble.
The movie ruined my plans for buying apartment stuff today but I should be able to do it Monday. Bonus points to the movie anyway for having Tim Gunn in it!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
I'm back in Paris, safe and sound! I was sort of dreading coming back to my apartment because I was afraid that, after several days of no use, the door would be tough to open again. But there was absolutely no problem, which probably means I'll be okay for the rest of the year.
So usually I'm very efficient at getting over jetlag, but when I got home today I fell asleep for almost 8 hours! Sleeping 8 hours at once is an impressive feat for me in most circumstances, but not a good idea this time as it was in the middle of the day, Paris time.
I'm starting up work with the school schedule on Monday, so I'm a bit anxious about that.
Tomorrow I'm planning to get things I need for my apartment: cooking things, a pillow, something to dry my clothes on, and possibly a bin for clothes, if I can find a cheap one. The total of cooking supplies in this apartment when I got her was one pot and one sautee pan, some silverware (butter knives but no other knives), a bottle opener, and a wooden spoon. This has been somewhat of a problem thus far so I'm excited to get some new supplies.
Sunday I will try to arrange my apartment, finding places for things mostly. That's difficult in a space that is about as big as my bedroom at home.
No news to report from Paris but I'll try to keep things updated.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
So usually I'm very efficient at getting over jetlag, but when I got home today I fell asleep for almost 8 hours! Sleeping 8 hours at once is an impressive feat for me in most circumstances, but not a good idea this time as it was in the middle of the day, Paris time.
I'm starting up work with the school schedule on Monday, so I'm a bit anxious about that.
Tomorrow I'm planning to get things I need for my apartment: cooking things, a pillow, something to dry my clothes on, and possibly a bin for clothes, if I can find a cheap one. The total of cooking supplies in this apartment when I got her was one pot and one sautee pan, some silverware (butter knives but no other knives), a bottle opener, and a wooden spoon. This has been somewhat of a problem thus far so I'm excited to get some new supplies.
Sunday I will try to arrange my apartment, finding places for things mostly. That's difficult in a space that is about as big as my bedroom at home.
No news to report from Paris but I'll try to keep things updated.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Disney!
One of the benefits of working as an au pair is the fun things you get to do with the kids. I worked for almost two weeks before I left, and the children weren't in school yet, so I spent a lot of time preparing for the new school year and hanging out with them. I got their school books, ran errands, helped the mother shop for new shoes/clothes, etc.
The highlight of this time, though, was definitely taking two of them to Disney last Monday! I took the 14 year old and 10 year old there because they had season pass type things that they wanted to use again before starting school. It was sort of rainy and the day the younger kids all start school, so the lines were amazingly short. Normally you can wait over two hours to ride some of the roller coasters, but we never had to wait more than a half hour. It was awesome!
EuroDisney is really just like the American Disney places: the rides have the same names, they have similar kinds of shops, and overall it's the same kind of vibe. It's smaller though, and doesn't have as many attractions.
I hadn't been to any Disney place in many years, and I had a blast there. I love roller coasters and for the most part the kids were fine because they wanted to do the rides in peace.
However. These two kids do NOT get along. It started out okay, but by the end of the day they were both super tired and upset at each other - J, the 10 year old, was in tears and wouldn't speak to his sister or even me for a while. Both felt like we had done more rides for the other kid, and they generally disagreed on what rides to visit and in what order. I was able to maintain the peace for the most part but the last couple were really no fun at all.
I'm hoping that once school starts and they're not constantly around each other anymore things will be better between them. They're both really great kids and I like spending time with them individually but they're somewhat of a nightmare together!
---
I'm trying to think of other news on the Paris front but am not coming up with much.
Obviously I was (finally!) able to move everything into my new apartment, and I'm completely installed there now. I was even getting used to the 6 flights of stairs before I left. The area is pretty much the same as where I lived before, just about a 10 minute walk away. I now have a bigger, slightly closer market, but I'm not sure the products are as high quality as my other market.
There are more students around this immediate area which is fun and sort of interesting. Although it's generally a livelier neighborhood I don't hear nearly as much noise as in the other apartment - over there it was not unusual to hear people being loud until 5am, even on week nights. That kept me up a LOT. This is much more peaceful and quiet, probably because I live in the attic.
This is a much bigger building, almost an apartment complex, and I see my neighbors much more. I'm hoping I can find some nice ones to ask questions: I still don't even know the code to one of the outside doors (there are two) or where I'm supposed to put the trash!
I'm still settling into the whole au pair schedule and lifestyle, so I'm not sure anything exciting will be happening anytime soon. I'll report as I can from my phone! I hope you're all well, and to whoever I saw while I was here: I was glad to see you all and keep checking in here! I haven't left forever, I promise, but it's difficult to blog from a phone.
The highlight of this time, though, was definitely taking two of them to Disney last Monday! I took the 14 year old and 10 year old there because they had season pass type things that they wanted to use again before starting school. It was sort of rainy and the day the younger kids all start school, so the lines were amazingly short. Normally you can wait over two hours to ride some of the roller coasters, but we never had to wait more than a half hour. It was awesome!
EuroDisney is really just like the American Disney places: the rides have the same names, they have similar kinds of shops, and overall it's the same kind of vibe. It's smaller though, and doesn't have as many attractions.
I hadn't been to any Disney place in many years, and I had a blast there. I love roller coasters and for the most part the kids were fine because they wanted to do the rides in peace.
However. These two kids do NOT get along. It started out okay, but by the end of the day they were both super tired and upset at each other - J, the 10 year old, was in tears and wouldn't speak to his sister or even me for a while. Both felt like we had done more rides for the other kid, and they generally disagreed on what rides to visit and in what order. I was able to maintain the peace for the most part but the last couple were really no fun at all.
I'm hoping that once school starts and they're not constantly around each other anymore things will be better between them. They're both really great kids and I like spending time with them individually but they're somewhat of a nightmare together!
---
I'm trying to think of other news on the Paris front but am not coming up with much.
Obviously I was (finally!) able to move everything into my new apartment, and I'm completely installed there now. I was even getting used to the 6 flights of stairs before I left. The area is pretty much the same as where I lived before, just about a 10 minute walk away. I now have a bigger, slightly closer market, but I'm not sure the products are as high quality as my other market.
There are more students around this immediate area which is fun and sort of interesting. Although it's generally a livelier neighborhood I don't hear nearly as much noise as in the other apartment - over there it was not unusual to hear people being loud until 5am, even on week nights. That kept me up a LOT. This is much more peaceful and quiet, probably because I live in the attic.
This is a much bigger building, almost an apartment complex, and I see my neighbors much more. I'm hoping I can find some nice ones to ask questions: I still don't even know the code to one of the outside doors (there are two) or where I'm supposed to put the trash!
I'm still settling into the whole au pair schedule and lifestyle, so I'm not sure anything exciting will be happening anytime soon. I'll report as I can from my phone! I hope you're all well, and to whoever I saw while I was here: I was glad to see you all and keep checking in here! I haven't left forever, I promise, but it's difficult to blog from a phone.
Return to NY
Hello! It's been a while since I've updated so I'll probably be going through a lot.
I got back to New York just fine and have had a pretty busy week or so here. Lots of things to do, people to see. And of course I've been answering the same half dozen questions over and over since I got here!
I was fortunate enough to hang out with my little niece a few times while here; that was really nice! She is an adorable little thing, and a very good baby. Mostly she doesn't cry much but she's very wiggly and attentive - she has these huge blue saucer eyes and she'll just stare and stare, without blinking, when something interests her. Last time I saw her she was only a couple of weeks old and now she's three months, so it was really fun to finally see her again.
I also saw a bunch of friends from Northport and some NYU people - all the visiting worked out well and kept me busy. As per usual I also have had some doctor appointments while I'm here.
So, the questions I've been asked multiple times daily since being here:
1) How is Paris? Do I like it? - Yes of course I love it! It's wonderful and interesting and lively and all around great place to live. My apartment is very little but it works for me and my situation is good. There are really too many things to go into in writing, but I love so many aspects of the city and its culture.
2) How is the weather in Paris? - It's like London but slightly less rainy. It's been a rather abnormally cold for summer in Paris (as I complained about a lot in July). It's more temperate than NY.
3) How is the family I'm working for and how are the kids? - The family is very busy, but fun, and they're very generous. I usually eat lunch with them during the day and sometimes stay for dinner or take something home with me. The schedule with the baby is not bad, and by the time I left he was really getting used to me. In fact, the last day I was there he kept asking his mother for me - he has a tough time saying Angelica so he will call me "elica" or "lica" and it's adorable! I hope he'll be as enthusiastic when I return. The rest of the kids are really good although they can be a handful. More on that in the next post. The only one I'm not too sure of is the 12 year old, he and I don't seem to have that much in common and he's rather quiet, but I'm sure I'll get to know him better soon.
4) Will I be coming back anytime in the next year? - Yes, I'll be back around the end of December. After that I probably will not be back because I'm plotting to travel elsewhere during their spring break from school: a friend of mine is spending the year doing a program in Israel, and it would be awesome to visit. IF (and that's a big IF) I can find a cheap flight over there in April I might do that. So it's likely that after December I won't be back until next September.
5) Is it hard being away so long/do I miss people? - Of course I miss people in the States, but when I have internet access it's really not that different from the times I was away at school. I keep up with people via Facebook, email, and Skype, and I do have some limited phone access. So aside from my little nephew and nieces, who are too young to use the internet like that, I have much the same contact with a lot of people as I did during college.
6) Am I fluent in French? - This is kind of difficult to answer. I can certainly express anything I want to express, and make myself understood. I rarely have trouble understanding people and can read completely fluently. However, I always make tons of grammatical errors and my vocabulary is seriously lacking. I probably speak on a similar level as a 7-8 year old: I can say whatever I want to say, but I'm somewhat limited if I want to deal with complex issues. Language is not really a barrier in everyday life.
Not much else to report regarding the trip back home, actually. I haven't done much of interest, so in the next post I'll move on the what I was up to in Paris before I left.
I got back to New York just fine and have had a pretty busy week or so here. Lots of things to do, people to see. And of course I've been answering the same half dozen questions over and over since I got here!
I was fortunate enough to hang out with my little niece a few times while here; that was really nice! She is an adorable little thing, and a very good baby. Mostly she doesn't cry much but she's very wiggly and attentive - she has these huge blue saucer eyes and she'll just stare and stare, without blinking, when something interests her. Last time I saw her she was only a couple of weeks old and now she's three months, so it was really fun to finally see her again.
I also saw a bunch of friends from Northport and some NYU people - all the visiting worked out well and kept me busy. As per usual I also have had some doctor appointments while I'm here.
So, the questions I've been asked multiple times daily since being here:
1) How is Paris? Do I like it? - Yes of course I love it! It's wonderful and interesting and lively and all around great place to live. My apartment is very little but it works for me and my situation is good. There are really too many things to go into in writing, but I love so many aspects of the city and its culture.
2) How is the weather in Paris? - It's like London but slightly less rainy. It's been a rather abnormally cold for summer in Paris (as I complained about a lot in July). It's more temperate than NY.
3) How is the family I'm working for and how are the kids? - The family is very busy, but fun, and they're very generous. I usually eat lunch with them during the day and sometimes stay for dinner or take something home with me. The schedule with the baby is not bad, and by the time I left he was really getting used to me. In fact, the last day I was there he kept asking his mother for me - he has a tough time saying Angelica so he will call me "elica" or "lica" and it's adorable! I hope he'll be as enthusiastic when I return. The rest of the kids are really good although they can be a handful. More on that in the next post. The only one I'm not too sure of is the 12 year old, he and I don't seem to have that much in common and he's rather quiet, but I'm sure I'll get to know him better soon.
4) Will I be coming back anytime in the next year? - Yes, I'll be back around the end of December. After that I probably will not be back because I'm plotting to travel elsewhere during their spring break from school: a friend of mine is spending the year doing a program in Israel, and it would be awesome to visit. IF (and that's a big IF) I can find a cheap flight over there in April I might do that. So it's likely that after December I won't be back until next September.
5) Is it hard being away so long/do I miss people? - Of course I miss people in the States, but when I have internet access it's really not that different from the times I was away at school. I keep up with people via Facebook, email, and Skype, and I do have some limited phone access. So aside from my little nephew and nieces, who are too young to use the internet like that, I have much the same contact with a lot of people as I did during college.
6) Am I fluent in French? - This is kind of difficult to answer. I can certainly express anything I want to express, and make myself understood. I rarely have trouble understanding people and can read completely fluently. However, I always make tons of grammatical errors and my vocabulary is seriously lacking. I probably speak on a similar level as a 7-8 year old: I can say whatever I want to say, but I'm somewhat limited if I want to deal with complex issues. Language is not really a barrier in everyday life.
Not much else to report regarding the trip back home, actually. I haven't done much of interest, so in the next post I'll move on the what I was up to in Paris before I left.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)