Hello all,
I have reviewed my recent posts and although there are not many of them, they are all fairly negative. I am blessed to be here in Paris having an experience that most people will never get to have. I am trying to take things one day at a time and lately, things have been a lot better. In light of that, I am going to dedicate this post to the things that are currently making me a happier and better person!
1. My relationship with Philippine
As some of you may know, the first few months here were pretty tough with Philippine. Being a new nanny with stricter rules than the previous one, I had a very hard time getting her to listen to me or even just be considerate at all. Maybe the 2 weeks without me made her realize that she likes me and missed me or maybe she just decided that resisting my rules were just making her life harder. Either way, I am not complaining! Every morning she greets me with a hug and a kiss and seems genuinely really happy to see me. We cuddle lots and she listens when I ask her to do something. At bedtime, even when her parents are home, she chooses me to read to her and tuck her in. We have started playing this game called Rummikub which is a bit like Gin Rummy but its played with tiles instead of cards. The game is for ages 8+ but Philippine has been playing with her Grandma since she was 4 and she is really good at it. She taught m how to play and now we play almost everyday. Sometimes her brothers will play with us, but it has kind of become "our thing" and its really nice to have that. As with all children, things are not always golden but the change in our relationship has made both of our lives significantly easier. The only worry about getting closer to her is the fact that in 6 months, I am going to be leaving her for good.
2. Anticipation of a fantastic 2 week holiday
For Christmas this year, Maddy was given a trip to Paris for her February reading break. The family had told me that they were going skiing for that week so it was a perfect time for Maddy to come. After the flights had been booked and Maddy was all set to come, the family announced that they had changed their holiday to the week before Maddy gets here. They realized they had screwed up so they have now given me both of the weeks off so that I don't have to work while Mads is here. Up until yesterday I wasn't sure what I was going to do for the first week. Mad and I are going to go to Amsterdam for a few days and with my lack of money, I wasn't sure I could afford to do 2 trips back to back. I also wasn't thrilled with the idea of having to spend an entire week alone in Paris. (Most of the friends I have made here either had plans already or didn't have the time off.) Yesterday, things took a turn for the better when Sasha Crosse informed me that she was planning to come visit during that exact week! Sash is on an exchange in Madrid for the semester and she has another friend visiting her who wants to do some travelling. Needless to say I was happy to offer them a place to stay and play host in Paris for a few days. The whole thing works perfectly for me because I will have 3 days here by myself, which will be perfect for some down time, and then 4 days with Sash and her friend.
3. New friends!
In the past 3 weeks since I have blogged, I have found a group of girls that make me really happy. Since coming to Paris, I have met tons of girls from all over the world in my french classes. Its been an interesting process because its a bit repetitive having the same conversation over and over again.... "where are you from?" "how long are you here for?" "do you like the family you work for?" blah, blah, blah. It ends up being a bit superficial and its hard to really get to know people. There are definitely a few girls who I continue to meet with for coffee, walks, and maybe an art show or something but its always one on one. I had really missed just a bunch of easy going girls getting together and chatting.
One of the girls who I had met in class lass semester and continued to meet up with is Stephanie. She is from Manitoba and is actually here with her sister Adrianne. The 2 of them are both Aupairs for different families but kinda decided to tackle this year as a team. A few weeks ago, Stephanie invited me to go to Fontainebleau with her, which is an incredible castle 45 mins south of Paris. I jumped at the opportunity to get out of the city and without having any idea what the plan was, I jumped on the train to go meet up with her. Stephanie, Adrianne, and Emily, another Aupair from Nashville, and I had the most amazing day. The castle and its gardens were incredible, we had an amazing lunch at a cafe in the town, but the best part was how much we laughed. Being with 2 girls I had never met before, and one that I honestly didn't know very well, and being able to have that much fun really surprised me. We ended up spending well over 12 hours together that day and I was not the least bit sick of any of them.
Last Saturday, the 4 of us met up again at Emily's apartment in Bastille. We made lunch and dinner together and spent another 12 hour day laughing. It just feels really good to finally have a group of friends instead of just 3 or 4 individuals that I meet up with once in a while.
That is all I can think of at this moment but I'm liking the idea of the happy list so I may keep it going.
Much Love,
M
