Paris!

OK. I have no idea how I'm going to keep this short! I went into Paris today with my new friend, Yosune. She's from Madrid and is a friend of a friend of my family's. She's going to school for a semester in Paris so had some errands to run before classes start--ya know, it'd be good if she has a place to live. We drove to the train station and took one into the 8th, I think. Yosune headed up to the 17th, where her University is, and I found a Starbucks because it was early.

I walked down Malesherbes, then found the Parc Monceau to sit and drink my coffee and read some Kerouac. After a few chapters, I found a lovely toilet. Then I walked pretty haphazardly and found myself near the Arc de Triomphe. I sat in awe for a bit, ate a sndwich I had packed for lunch, walked under the Arc, decided not to wait in line for a ticket or get caught up figuring out what the ticket was good for, and came out on the other side on Champs Elysees. I bought a post card and walked past many fancy shopping stores to FDR near some palaces or whatever, which I need to go back and explore.

I met up with Yosune again, and we took the metro up to the 19th, I think, where her French classes will be. We got lost but eventually found her academy, and she made sure her registration was all settled while I read an article in French about Darfur. Next, we took the metro to the Latin district in the 5th, I think, where Yosune will most likely be living for the next four months. I really liked this area--I'm not sure why. There was something in the air.

Then we walked way too much more towards the Notre-Dame to meet Amay (a fellow au pair who knows my family) and her friend, Nicole, from Germany (another au pair). On the way, I saw the Mosque that I think was in Paris Je T'aime, and I saw the column at the Place de la Bastille peaking up across the Seine, which was in Les Chansons D'amour. When we caught up with Amay and Nicole, we tried to find the Jewish district but ended up at an enclosed garden. Yosune and I sat at a fountain while Nicole and Amay tried to watch a street fashion show that happened to be going on soon after we got there. Then, it was time to find Ashley.

We walked through the old Palace, where I could see into part of the Louvre, and I had a moment. When we walked out to the court where the pyramid is, the lighting was so ridiculous in the late evening that I took too many pictures. This is where everything in Paris lines up, and after spending a few minutes there in symmetrical sunsetting splendor, I was ready for the Tower! Another au pair (who used to work where Amay does now) named Ashley joined us, we found a market, bought some wine, and I was sung to by a rather toothless bum. He was cool.

A group of au pairs, and friends of friends and the like, met under the Eiffel Tower at 8. Well, some met at 5ish and started drinking, and we got there closer to 9. I met some crazy and interesting folks, who I'm sure I'll have to find on the facebook. I wasn't too excited about seeing the tower, but it was just so bizarre to be sitting under the Eiffel Tower! Right? It's pretty cool--the tower and I may grow to love each other even more. Overall, I was swept away by Paris. Part of the city felt like NYC but... happy. I have to work on putting this into words. All I can say is that I really, really loved it. Gosh, it was such a perfect day!

Yosune and I drank a nice bottle of red wine while chatting with the group and then stumbled somehow back to the train towards my family's house. I like the metro in Paris--maybe it was because I had Yosune to help out, but I found it easier to get around Paris than Boston. It's just bigger and greener with more statues and stuff. I used a weekend day pass, so I swiped it at each metro and at the train to the suburbs and would have on the bus if we took a bus. I can't believe I visited so many arrondissements in one day! I'm glad I did--I have a pretty good concept now of where things are and how to get around. I will definitely be spending plenty of weekend time in Paris!

Why am I still awake?! Bonnuit!

premier jour...

I slept in today until about 11, played with the kids, had corn and beets, eggs (everyone else had sausage) and chips, and cinnamon in yogurt for lunch. Then we put together a 3d puzzle of the globe before my driving excursions. Three things I almost forgot about driving standard: emergency brake up!, neutral when at a stop light, and give it lots of gas up a hill. I took mt french mother and the kids around town; we drove past their English classes and Doctor's office in the next town over, we stopped at the train station, and then we drove to the mall so my french mother could pick something up at the FNAC (like FYI). I'm too slow for the people around here because I'm afraid random roads out of nowhere have the right of way. The other rules of the road are basically the same. The car is a green Puegoet.

One weekend in September, there is free entrance to some places in Paris and around France that you normally can't get into. In two weeks, I'll use a week day to visit the Swiss Embassy and apply for a passport. I need to remember to buy a calendar and a cheap watch. I'm also in the market for a mobile and plan, just for emergencies and letting my french parents know if I go somewhere or need something.

So I was wrong about the pay. It's less than I though, but they put gas in my car, they pay for my French classes, and they are paying for my health care. They are buying me ten metro passes and ten train(?) passes for weekends each trimester--more or less depending on how many I use. International calls from the land-line are free and all other calls within France, except French cell phones. So my student loans, and if I get a mobile, are my only expenses.

The kids: The youngest boy is going through a "difficult" phase. He's trouble, but he's probably the goofiest kid I've ever met. When we get used to each other, he's going to have a hard time saying goodbye. He's already put on his grandmother's shoes, eyed the fashion mannequins in the mall, and pushed around a pink disney princess stroller. He needs to start speaking English at home or he won't be able to get into classes. The other boy is definitely the middle child. He's mostly independent but can also put on a show and push limits. He's a climbin', jumpin', gun-shootin', ball-playin' kind of a boy. He's funny and he knows it, and he walks with a swagger like the Incredible Hulk sometimes. He mostly get ignored. The girl likes glitter and butterflies and seashells and giving me presents. She likes jewelry, bossing around and scolding the 3-year-old, and controlling everything that's going on. She likes my purse. All the kids are really into Bollywood, so I'm gonna teach them some moves that my Babson friends taught me.

Heading into Paris tomorrow--I've already met another au pair and a girl who will be at University in Paris this year. Being introduced to a whole group of au pairs under the Eiffel Tower tomorrow evening. Not too worried about making friends.

Mon Arrivée

Don't want to say much right now because I am dead tired. I guess what they say about jet lag is true--also, airport seating is not ideal for sleeping on an overnight flight. Some highlights:

Taking off from JFK at night after the anticipation of the day (and past few months) was probably the most thrilling experience of my life since November 4th, 2008. Iced coffee, packing chaos, iced coffee, driving to Bridgeport, vanning to JFK, and waiting in three different lines 2 hours each (followed by my third iced coffee of the day)... actually may have had very little to do with the disarming glee I felt rising with the plane wings over the NYC grid lights. This made it real.

For the many hours of sleeping I didn't do, I was woken up a lot. Once when I was yet again shaken from slumber at arm's reach, I looked out the window-seat window and was in heaven. White puffy clouds. God hangin' out. Zeus. Whatever you'd like. That was the sky. The sun rising on my first day in Europe.

Dublin. It was green. No time for kitty stickers at the airport in Dublin, but damn was it gorgeous flying down into the world of present-day celtic bull battles on fields of green. Almost straight onto my next flight after immigration, I didn't get a window seat flying into Paris. Whatever. CDG is so far from anything, anyway. Leaves something to look forward to on my way back into Paris after my excursions throughout Europe. I slept another half hour, sitting up in my seat.

My family! I pretty much met them one by one, and it was strange at first. Kids think having an older sister would be fantastic... and then they realize some stranger will be living in their house. I put my belongings in their new homes, stuck out the jet lag, had tea and scones, met three grandparents, went for a walk, played an inventive ball game with the kids, shared dinner, cheeses and desert with the family, read to 2/3 the kids, and chatted with the rents for a bit. I'll blog next about the kids individually, but so far we are definitely getting along.

My room is on the third (last) floor. My bed is against a slanted wall, but I don't feel that I'll be hitting my head or anything. I have a skylight that opens up and looks out onto some distant fields and the most adorable neighborhood you've ever seen (Natick, eat your heart out), and I saw a train pass by a few streets away. I might live out on the roof. I have a standing shower in my bathroom, and since my bathroom might be larger than my bedroom I've dubbed it my walk-in closet.

Ah, ok. That's as much as I can write without feeling too guilty about being on here instead of sleeping. Speaking of guilt, I'm comparing my blog with Daina's and Billy's and Sarah's and trying not to feel inadequate. This year is for inspiration, expansion and responsibility. There are many years to come, and this year is a necessary step for me. Besides, you are so jealous of my skylight. I'll try to keep it wildly entertaining and seething with philosophical goodies, regardless of feeling wrapped in gilt. Opps, fell asleep there for a minute at the screen. Night!

Email I want to share...

Hiya!

Last night I walked right into a trap! I was planning on visiting the Babson-related folk for dinner--Dave, Nicole, Andre, Amanda. I was trying so hard to figure out why Amanda was being difficult; "Robin, you have to come meet me in Waltham first, then we'll go back to Babson."
"But Amanda, Babson is on my way! I should pick up Andre and Nicole there and then head that way. Wah, wah, wah!"


Amanda finally meets me at Babson (after an hour of trying to track down Andre somewhere between Woodland Hills and Hollister) and she's all, "Don't worry about Andre, let's go visit our freshman dorm! Oh hey, look! I guess there's something going on in the pub; let's go say hi to Dougie."
"Amanda, no. There's some event in there or something--I thought we were going to North."
Amanda walks into pub aaaaaaaand...


Barack Obama is standing there!!!!
He is a card-board cut-out, but just the same...
Dave, Nicole, Tiffany, Pat and his girlfriend Liz are there with blue, white, and red balloons! Deets and Hanno and Andre and some straggling summer resident students show up, too. We have cake. We dance. I almost cry.
It was pretty stellar.


Still, I couldn't sleep last night, thinking about all the things I have to do before I leave and what might happen when I get there. Insurance, cell phone, bank account; learn French, win over family, don't make eye contact in the train stations. I try to keep telling myself that it's just Europe; I'll be with a nice safe family; if all else fails, I'll just do a lot of reading and writing; I won't get turned away from the country. Clearly, I am leaving such wonderful loves! Somehow, that's even more of a reason to go.


Anxiety is temporary. Exploration is worthy. Le voyage est bon!
My life is blessed--Ma vie est beni.
I think this will become my new blog post...

Be well.
Do good.
Have love.

Robin

The Language

I’m finding it difficult to convince myself that I can learn French. I can mostly pick up on what I hear, but I think because I’m so used to being a “writer”, I’ve forgotten how to regurgitate or replicate exactly what I just heard. I’m gonna have to figure out how to make this work and be less picky about my diction. Haha. Believe it or not, it turns out I know more Spanish from high school than I realized—I try to speak more French in my everyday life and Spanish comes out! Maybe no one will notice if all I do is read and listen. Maybe I’ll just be a happy little quiet girl in France…

un rêve fou!

Breaking my one paragraph rule on this one and so not keeping the title like the others. I had a very strange dream, a crazy one as my title says. On my first day of work as an au pair, I let the baby injest toxins. Normally, this would be rather unsettling to wake up to, but there are so many reasons why I know nothing like this will happen in real life.

First of all, the family assured me that on my first day as an au pair, I’d be sleeping off jet lag. They also don’t have any infants—certainly none that can fit in the palm of my hand. The reason this happened in the dream was because I left the house to go to a winery… where I ran into my French parents! I left the kids with my Grammie (who will not be accompanying me to France) in the garden, by the lake with the really cool-ass frogs, without telling her the baby was in the greenhouse. No, this would not really happen. I don’t even think the family has cool lake frogs.

I came back, and the babe had googly eyes and had a bunch of blue stuff in his mouth. I gave him the heimlich. The dream doesn’t really tell me his fate, but instead of being fired, I napped on a really uncomfortable sofa pad with his mother. It was green. I guess I’m a little wigged still, yet I can’t help but think the dream has more to do with having recently watched Mermaids and The Bicycle Thief than anxiety over keeping childrens alive.

Je pars pour Paris... huit

I will have weekends off, so I plan on spending a good percentage of my Euros on travel—into the city and to a few places of interest. I need to smell the air in Switzerland. I think I’d like to try to visit the south of Spain around our Halloween time. I need to try real Belgian beer. My sister’s boyfriend is in Germany, so maybe there for “thanksgiving.” And my friend, CJ, is in Bulgaria, and I’m gonna make him host me. I have a layover in Dublin, but it barely counts compared to how much of Ireland I’d like to enjoy—so many people have contacts in Ireland, I feel like I’ll be there multiple times. A friend will be an au pair in Sweden, too. And there you have the short list. Anywhere I miss during the year, I’ll get to next summer…

Je pars pour Paris... sept

So! France. One of the smaller steps for this woman, kind. I will be an au pair for three children outside of Versailles, which is very close to Paris. The family is British/French, and we’ve spoken a few times on the phone. They have a girl and two boys, ages 3, 6, and 8. I will be with the family for 10 months and as of next summer, backpacking around the places in Europe I couldn’t get to throughout the school year…

Je pars pour Paris... six

I’m not a doctor or lawyer or financial expert. Not that anyone has the right to call his or her self a financial expert these days. Yesterday, a friend reminded me that it isn’t good to live above our means. Simply stated, we should make more than we take. But how do we insure that our lives are producing something of substance? So much of our daily routines—facebook and twitter and youtube—are about constant creation, but there’s a certain threshold where creation takes a backseat to narcissism or insecurity and constant reinforcement. Without sacrificing security for plans of future moral neutrality (and an eventually positive balance of Goodness), I need to start understanding that growing up means growing slowly, accruing knowledge and competencies and putting in the hard work that goes along with helping people. Yes, the goal is to learn about (and dare I say help) the places in this world that are worst-off, but I want to take the right steps, and I need to come to terms with my lack of experience…

Je pars pour Paris... cinq

France. I applied for a Fulbright Scholarship this past fall, and I probably could have been more realistic about the program that they’d accept. I’ll have a better shot if I apply again having learned French with a less ambitious destination than Rwanda. I have this personal policy about the right amount of action—act too fast, and you’re likely doing more harm than good. The turtle and the hair, I suppose—or as Goofy would say, “slow and steady, steady and slow”. I had little interest in France until I started watching French movies and started digging the idea of an entire culture almost… buying into the idea of happenstance. Why not? It makes things so much more beautiful, and less complicated to be honest. It’ll be a good experience to follow Babson—it will make for a good balance.

and a little bonus… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBW-UEbOfyQ&feature=quicklist

Je pars pour Paris... quatre

Europe. I applied to jobs by sending my profile to families in Spain, France, and Switzerland. I kept an eye out for other places, but it was easiest to focus on three, like the agency asked. Spain, because Daina insisted. The language would be easier to pick up since I studied it in school. France, because of my new-found curiosity in French culture. Learning French would also help me out with the list of countries I’d like to visit in the future. And Switzerland, because I still have family there. Europe, because I’ll appreciate it, I’ll learn independence without too much culture shock, and I’ll convince my parents slowly to let me go to other continents. Gardens. Museums. Mad liberals. Revolutions. The concept of ancient civilizations and building them up and down and around and new ones up again. And I’m so glad I’m not too young to understand it and not too old to feel the true depth of the grooove and what it means for the future…

Je pars pour Paris... trois

Ok, I’ve been to Canada, and not to downplay the country, I want to go somewhere further away, in distance and difference. I feel like if I don’t get out of this country now, I never will. Besides, California is broke right now. I decided to look for Au Pair jobs through an agency online; this is one of the first questions I get. There are a bunch of agencies like this on the internets. I made a profile, I have lots of childcare experience and references, and I sent my information to families after viewing their own profiles. Deciding on being an au pair accomplished a few things: I’d go to Europe, I’d stay out of the “business” world, I’d have minimal expenses and be paid regularly…

Je pars pour Paris... deux

I think about it as a step—the next place I’ll hang my hat—a move up, carrying with me all that I’ve achieved to date. A diploma from Babson, too many friends to count or name (<3), a unique home-life experience from where I draw my clarity and creativity. I’m not running away from anything—this is the first time in my life where I feel like the next choice is mine, all mine, and could be absolutely anything! I know I want to avoid business (for now), and I know I want to see the world (preferably as much of it as possible). I want to be a student who doesn’t have to get so attached, so political, so involved, spread so thin. I want to live learning! I want to do Good. And I want to write, write, write, write. But I’ve barely been outside the U.S…