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.