Trip to the Alps!

Yup, that's right. I take the train to Annecy tomorrow afternoon (Vendredi) and am coming back to Paris Mecredi nuit. Buhahahaha.

What about my French classes? Hmm, conjugate verbs or ski in the alps...
Actually today was a pretty good day in class. We went over possessing objects and imparatifs (how to order/tell someone to do something). My teacher is different this week because our other one is on holiday. This guy is pretty funny. To practice imparatif (imparative) tenses, he had us get in groups and come up with things that annoy people. Some of the examples people came up with were hilarious. Like the guy from Russia, Tigram, said, "chante dans la salle de bains" (sing in the bathroom). Mine was prends ses affaires (take one's things). For mine he came over to me and tried to take something off my desk, but I protected my stuff before he could. The other American, Nichole, said being obscene. Our teacher didn't know what she meant by obscene and asked if she meant porn. Which is even funnier if you picture him saying it in a French accent. When she said no, he asked if she meant flipping someone off and made the gesture. Eventually we managed to get across that she meant impolite. There are several Koreans in my class and a couple Japanese. One guy is from Ireland, a woman from Nigeria, a woman from Finland, one from Australia and a couple others. Everyone is pretty patient with each other, because we are all struggling together. Today though, it was really great to laugh together.

This is a picture of a couple of girls in my French class in front of the Louvre. We went there to study and walk around after class the other day. The one in the red jacket is Gunna, from Iceland, who lives in my arrondesment (district) actually. The other girl is Nichole from Colorado. I haven't actually been inside the Louvre, or any other musee` for that matter, since arriving here, but I will soon.

The mixture which is not stirred decomposes

Bonjour Mon Cherie,

I found some ultimate players to hang with! Saturday night there was a mini winter tourni at the local university with 6 teams playing 3 half hour games. It felt sooo good to run around and throw the disc a bit! I picked up with a team called Revolution Air, which is a pretty good team with solid players. They appreciated having another competent women on the team and we all went for pizza after at one of the guy's apartments. There are a couple Canadians, one Englishmen, and a woman from Columbia who were nice enough to translate what was being said on the field. Man, it's hard enough to remember to call out directions in English on the field. Now I have to remember to say a gauche and a doite, etc. instead. Going to Laurent's house after was pretty fun too. Though there are definitely cultural differences (like eating yogurt for dessert after pizza) ultimate players are pretty much the same here as in the states. Even though I couldn't understand what was being said most of the time (though Andrea, from Calgary was nice enough to translate) I still had a great time.

Last night (Tuesday) I went to practice with another team called Ah Ouh Puc. They are even more international, but maybe a bit less experienced. It was still fun though and I may go to their practice again on Thursday.

I'm finding that there are a lot of foreigners in Paris. I discovered that my next door neighbors in fact are from NY. I couldn't get into the apartment the other day and they were nice enough to let me stay at their place until I got a hold of Anne-Marie. They are a couple who has a one year old and are working in Paris for a couple months. It's nice to run into people I have something in common with, but at the same time, I'm not here to speak English and I'm trying not to hang out with too many English speakers (though that is what my family hired me for...)

Speaking of learning French, I'm trying not take it too seriously. I really want to learn, but it's a really slow process. I feel like I'm learning the grammar, but it's becoming more and more apparent that I need a conversation course. The plan is to finish out this course that I paid for and then re-evaluate the situation. There is no sense in staying in a course that I'm not getting the most out of.

Anyway, more about this weekend: Holy crap it was beautiful day on Sunday! It was about 65 degrees and Sunny. There were a TON of people out walking and shopping and seeing the sights. It was really great. I can't wait until spring and summer when it's like this more often! I decided just to bimble about in the Latin Quarter because I haven't really spent any time there yet. I went to St. Sulpice and roamed around the Pantheon. I also walked to the park around Luxemburg and down this street that started with an M that was only for pedestrians with lots of little shops and people eating glace and crepes all over the place. I finally ended up at Hotel de Ville (city hall) which is on my metro line. There is a full time ice skating there in the winter and it was really bizzare to see so many people ice skating in 65 degree weather. There were a ton of people gathered for a Chinese New Year celebration, but by that time I was very tired and headed home.

Since the kids are gone this week, Anne-Marie has pretty much left me up to my own devices. I think she is really enjoying her time alone to do her work and go house hunting (more on that later), which has given me a chance to do whatever. So, since I didn't have any chilins to pick up from school, I decided to go on a walking chocolate tour of Paris Monday. It's through this company called Paris Walks and they do all kinds of tours every month in English. This one happened to be a Chocolate tour and I have to say it was definitely worth the money! The guide took us to 4 different chocolatiers in the area around the Louvre (which isn't that far from my place by the way) and we tried 7 different tarts and truffles. We began the tour with a ganache w/ mousse and creme brulee in the center, then moved on to candied oranges dipped in chocolate, chocolate truffles with a hint of grande marnier, and dark chocolate covered pralines. In addition to the gastronomic entertainment, we also got some history about places and chocolate in Paris. So, if any of you out there come to visit, I have all the names and addresses of the places we went to... (yes, that's a chocolate stelletto above)

The Chilins

It 's been a few days since I wrote last, but I needed those days to get a bit of perspective...
So, last Wednesday a bunch of things that have been just under the surface came boiling over the pot. The kids have Wednesdays off from school and I am expected to watch them/play with them while the mom works from home until their dad comes to get them around 1 or 2pm. This is how it went:
No TV unless it's on Tuesday or Friday night, so we (meaning the kids and I) decided to make up a game. It was a pretty cool game and elaborate too where we made the living room the game board and we were the game pieces. We were all going along fine until Chloe cheated. I knew exactly what she did, but she wouldn't admit it. I told her to just roll again, but she wouldn't. Then the other two started to get involved. This of course caused enough commotion to bring the mom down and yell at all of us. Chloe then left the game and the three of us continued. We got almost to the end of the game (which would be the first time since I've been here that we finished one) then Elliot didn't get his way (ie win), so he started to pitch a fit. Blah blah blah, we didn't finish the game and I told him to go get dressed. blah blah blah he wanted to do crafts instead. blah blah blah he wouldn't change from his pjs to his clothes so he threw a temper tantrum. The whole morning was a battle and this was supposed to be there day off! My nerves were a bit frayed. Not because I was pissed, but because I knew that my job was to watch the kids and control them and I couldn't. I also had to deal with waiting out a temper tantrum. I've never had to put my will against a kid's like that before. Even though he eventually did what I wanted and we hugged when he was calm, I still felt a bit shakey after.

After all of this, eventually Anne-Marie called Denis to come early and sit down with all the kids to have a family discussion. Basically, the whole family talked a bit about what has been going on (tantrums and arguments, etc.) and laid down a few rules. We also talked about setting and sticking to a schedule. This was all in French and after the dad left with the kids. AM and I talked probably for about an hour about schedule and what we think we should do with the kids, etc. I feel pretty good about it, though the kids will be on vacation the next couple weeks and the schedule is kaput, but I really think it will help them to have more structure when it is implemented. And, even more so, I feel good that AM and I talked. I feel like I know what is expected of me and I think the kids needed a bit of that too. I don't think it will be the last discussion by far, but I think it was a very good start.

A bit of background: Before today (Friday), there was not a single day this past week when one or two of them didn't throw a fit before we got home. Over what you ask? Who fucking knows. One minute Elliot is describing how he had the best day in the whole world and the next minute he is crying and whimpering and doesn't want to do anything anymore. I ask what's wrong and he says, "you're not listening to me!" Ah, ha yes, good that's something that I can fix. Is that really what's going on though? No. Granted with three kids all vying for your attention at once, I can see why he gets frustrated, but it's really hard to please a kid who wants your attention all the time. What I mean is, he starts talking about something then keeps going and going and going sometimes not making any sense and of course during this time one of the other kids will chime in with something or I don't understand something and Elliot gets pissed off. Done. Can't console him can't distract him. Can't cheer him up. We just have to wait it out. And, if he gets pissed he sometimes kicks or hits his brother or sister which pisses them off and you can guess the rest. There were a couple days where we almost got all the way home without incident, but alas today was the only one where everyone came home happy. The difference was that we set some rules before getting on the metro. Today we had a little discussion about interrupting each other. It seemed to work because we made it home with out any tantrums!!! After we came home, we had a bit of daylight left so we went to the park to play. We also made it there and back without too much of a problem too!! All in all I consider this a very good day.

What I have learned this week:
1)If you are going to play a game, read the rules before starting if there are some, or if not, make sure everyone knows them all and agrees on them. Perhaps even writing them down.
2) It's ok to make rules for things that are not games, like riding the metro. If we all agree on them before hand there will hopefully be no desputes (And the rules have to be made BEFORE)
3) No matter how many times they are told to share, sometimes it's just not possible and either I do it myself (like pushing the code to get into the building) or the game/activity needs to stop.
4) Yelling at screaming kids does nothing.
5) Make sure to close the shower curtain when they have control of the shower head.

One thing I have to say that is pretty cute...The first or second day I was here I asked the boys to brush their teeth. When they came back, I didn't believe them so I asked to smell their breath. Even though I had a cold and couldn't smell anything, I told them I didn't think they brushed. They then ran back to the bathroom and really did brush their teeth. Ever since then when I ask if they've brushed their teeth they say, "yes I did, smell them!" and I do, and they did. Ah, the little uns can be very cute.

Tomorrow the kids are off to the country to visit their grandparents for two weeks. I still have class every day, but no chilins to take care of. So, the plan is to explore Paris the first week and hopefully go skiing the second. I don't know how or where yet, but I think I can make it happen.

National Anthem

I wanted to describe the kids' personalities a bit.
First, Pablo, the 4-year old. It never fails that during dinner time, he has to use the toilet. The rest of us are peacefully eating when we hear strange sounds coming from upstairs. At first, it sounds a bit like crying, but when you listen closely, it is actually the Australian national anthem. Yes, Pablo sings the Australian national anthem when sitting on the pot. It is frickin hilarious. I keep telling his mom that we need to record it for when he's older. After he comes back to the table, we ask him to sing it for us, but he always refuses and says, "not until after dinnah" in a cute whiny Australian accent. The kid can be really entertaining, but then the next minute a kicking, screaming drama queen. He's pretty jolly most of the time though.

Elliot, the 7-year old is very sensitive. The slightest thing can set him in a crying, bad mood. The good thing about that though is that he gets over it quickly and can be the happiest, bubbliest kid in the world. It seems that every night (at least last week and this) he has a tempertantrum before dinner and then is fine the rest of the night. I really don't know what's going on with him. He is a pretty sweet kid overall though.

Chloe is a bit bossy. She can be very loving, but everything has to be a certain way. She makes sure her brothers and everyone else follow the rules, except doesn't quite hold the same standards to herself. She means well most of the time, but can be a bit moody.

I'm really curious to see how my relationships with all the kids develops. So far, I feel like I've integrated into the family pretty quickly. The kids all seem to be fine with me being here. I have to remind myself that I've only been here 2 and a half weeks.

So, just a bit about my school. I've once again changed classes. I swear, I've never had to deal with administrative ignorance like this before. I found out that there is another beginner class that I could have gone into that started last week. It's not for au pairs because it's everyday (the kids are off wendesdays), but it's so much better than my other class. This one seems to be following a logical grammatical path, where as the other one just bounced from topic to topic. It doesn't matter how much the teacher speaks to me in French, if I don't understand why things are the way they are, then I will never get it. Anyway, I'm going to try this class and hope that it works out better. I think it will...

Lessons...

Do not do any activity that could remotely be confrontational right before bedtime (basically everything)
Do not do or say anything yourself that you want the kids to repeat over and over and over
Do not laugh at anything you don't want the kids to repeat over and over and over
"No" does not equal compliance and re-direction does not always work on the committed
TV is not necessarily all bad

Loza Lives!

I forgot to mention yesterday that it snowed! I woke up to big flakes landing on my skylight. The ground was too warm for it to stick, but I don't think fresh snow will ever get old for me. Today it rained in the afternoon and a rainbow came out. Not the most novel thing in the world, but I really enjoyed it especially with the old Parisian buildings in the foreground. Ah, I have a picture, I will post it.

Today was a pretty good day. In my French class, we learned how to describe physical features. If you call someone noir, you are referring to their skin. If you want to say they have black hair, you have to say chauveux first. It was good because everyone in the class was learning it for the first time, so we all struggled together (not just me). It was pretty funny when we made mistakes and it felt good to laugh.

Let's see...Oh, I found an ultimate team to play with! Well, at least I found out where they practice. Tomorrow (Friday) I am going to check it out. If that doesn't work out, it's still OK. I might pick up with a team from Paris for a beach tournament in Spain at the end of the month. Ooooh, I hope that works out!!!!

Viola!

Today was my second Macrede (Wednesday) in Paris. Meaning, the kids didn't have school. It was a pretty good day overall. Denis (their dad) came over around 13:00 then we took the bus to one of the many local swimming pools. I hadn't been swimming in a pool in a long time and I have to say, I had a lot of fun. Also, no major temper tantrums or crying episodes. I had to scold Chloe for not clearing the table when she said she would, but other than that, everyone seemed to get a long pretty well (and my scolding probably doesn't have the bite that some others may have).

I feel like I'm finally starting to get better because I realized that some of the food I've been eating actually has a different taste than I originally thought. Now that my nose is less stuffy, everything has much more flavor! It's funny though, I found when doing my homework that some of the French words were easier to pronounce with a stuffy nose.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow because I have 2hrs of class then the rest of the afternoon free. I think I'm going to give my brain a bit of a rest and go see Babel at the theater close to my school. I guess the American movies are all in English with French subtitles. There are a lot of marketing for American movies here! Everywhere on the metro there is either a poster for Nuit en le Musee (Night at the Museum) or Hannibal or something. It's pretty obnoxious. Anne-Marie told me that the French government actually had to pass a law forcing French TV stations to show a certain percentage of French TV shows because all they were showing were American ones. Speaking of which I haven't talked at all about French TV. Pretty much all I've watched to far are cartoons, but they are pretty cool. There is one that the kids watch all the time that, from what I can tell, is about history. From what I gather, there are French explorers that travel to different historical periods/events and interact with the characters there. This morning the cartoon was about people going from Oklahoma to Oregon on the Oregon Trail!! How cool is that? Of course there is still all the marketing to kids during the breaks and I swear after every one Chloe says, "I want that!" How many little pocket ponies or whatever do you need? I guess it's not about need eh. I haven't watched too much TV otherwise, but I'm curious to see the differences. There is so much else to do though, I'll get around to it later. Ah, I can ramble on for quite a while, but I need to stop... Oh, totally off the subject, I found out today that France runs on about 85% nuclear energy. Interesting huh? In the 60's they made a decision not to depend on petroleum and sell their energy to surrounding countries. Where do they put the waste you ask?? Hmm, good question.

Alright enough, I'll write more later. Keep in touch!!!

PS: Above is a link to a French news website that Denis sent me. There don't seem to be too many stories, but it is very worldly and best of all, UN-SENSATIONAL. I frickin hate when the news tries to entertain. Just tell us what frickin happened. Anyway, if you can't see the link, you can still click on the box and it will take you there (same goes for the link to my pictures as well).

Adventures in Babysitting

Apparently, the picture link didn't work. Try this one...
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=lauren.gross&aid=576460762388442820&pid=&wtok=hClHu5i56iRJAVNMD4F4Yw--&ts=1170799925&.src=ph

La Petit Explorer

Ok, a lot has happened since I last wrote in this here blog. I continue to swing from good feelings to bad to good to bad, etc.. I have only a bit of time to write as I have some homework to do before bed and before my brain starts to seize up entirely. I will write a bit about my exploration adventures, my visa and school bureaucracy and learning adventures, the kids, and bitching about being sick.

And, if you don't want to read this long story, here is a link to some pictures:
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/lauren.gross/album/576460762388442820

First, my exploration adventures:
Some time last week, after dropping the kids off at school, I didn't have class so I decided to just walk around. You really can't get too lost in Paris. Even without a map, all you have to do is find a metro station and you can find your way from there. So from their school, I took a bridge across La Seine and just walked through the little alleys. I turn a corner and voila! Notre-Dame. It was great being there at 9am because no one else was around and they were having a church service. Listening to the chanting and singing in that great big church was absolutely amazing! I didn't stay long, but really enjoyed myself.
Last Saturday I was still a bit sick, but it was such a nice day that I had to get out in the sunshine and fresh air. I went up to Sacre-Coeur, which is another famous church on to of the highest hill (?) in Paris. It was beautiful and you have a view of the whole city from there. That minor excursion took so much energy, I went home and slept until pretty much the next morning. (sorry, not to the bitching part yet).
Sunday, Anne-Marie, Pablo and I went to the local open air market to get groceries for the week. There are markets like this all over Paris, all selling cheese and meat and bread and fruit, and vegetables and fish and ahhh...

On to the Visa and School:
Briefly on the visa: went to get my card. Did all the paper work, talked to the people, got everything in order, waited in line...then they tell me, "well, we have to wait 6 weeks to "make a decision about your visa" then at the end of the 6 weeks you have to take a medical examination. What?! Fine, I know, it's not the worst thing, but hey, it's a pain in the ass and I can bitch about it because it's my blog.
Briefly on the School: I have to say it is a really strange experience sitting in class not knowing what the hell is going on. Yeah, I can pick up on some things and try to answer the way the teacher wants me to when it's my turn to answer, but I usually pronounce it wrong or have no idea what the exercise is about. It sounds funny now, but it really sucks and it's frustrating. Yes, it was only my second day of class, but patience was never a virtue of mine when it comes to things like this. And with the kids and class it's a bit difficult to find time for homework. Ok, in addition to walking more, and saying what's in my head (eloquently if possible), my other new year's resolution is to plan and prioritize my time.

Ah, the kids:
I don't think I have enough time now to give this topic justice (really not the other topics either). The kids are both great and aggravating. Which, I have to say, I prefer. At least they are being themselves. There is a lot going on in this family now with the whole family moving back to Paris and with the parents splitting up and of course a new person taking care of them. It was my first time giving the two boys a bath the other night and I might as well have gotten in the shower with them because I was pretty wet by the end as well. And, tonight I was very proud of myself for getting them to eat all of their lettuce by pretending that they were sharks and the lettuce was little fish that they were gobbling up. Hey, if it works, I'm gonna ride it out as long as possible. The mom works pretty late some nights and I can tell the kids really don't like it. It's good for them to cry and let it out, but it's hard to see them sad. Anyway, that's the jist, I'll write more next time.

Last, being sick:
This probably won't be a very interesting bit, but it feels good to bitch into the internet void so here it goes...
I have been sick now for going on three weeks! First, it started as a cough then moved into my sinuses and last week/weekend I had a headache for 3 days!!!! It is amazing how much we take being healthy for granted! I have never ever experienced that! Holy shit it sucked. From Friday night until just this morning I had to turn my head very slowly for fear of what felt like a sharp whap to the back of the head feeling. I'm pretty sure it had to do with pressure from my sinuses, a bit of dehydration, and a bit of jet lag still. Thank the lord for making me put 3 little Advils in my toiletry bag before I left the states! Saturday I woke up around 9, had breakfast, went back to sleep, woke up around noon and went out to explore. I came home around 3:30 and slept pretty much until 8:30 the next morning. Luckily, Anne-Marie and the kids were at a birthday party all afternoon and evening, so I didn't feel bad about not being around. I do feel better today, but definitely not all better. Speaking of sleep it's now 10:30 and time to go to bed. I will do my homework before class tomorrow since I drop the kids off at 9 and my class is not until 11. Ah, this will be interesting...

Thanks for reading, Bon Nuit.

But I am le tired

It is only my 4th day on the job and I am exhausted! I am still sick and I am expending a lot more energy than I thought. The kids don't have school on Wednesdays so we (the grandparents and I) took them to the science museum in the afternoon. It seemed like it would have been a really interesting exposition on space if only I could have understood what was being said. We got home and had crepes for dinner with a variety of toppings (creme fresh, jam and nutella) for the second night in a row and soup. Tonight we ate waffles. I asked Chloe if this was normal and she said yes. Seriously, what a great country.

I had a good and bad day today. First the bad: I had my first day of French today and had to deal with the school bureaucracy. Apparently I need a paper saying that I need 10hours of French per week to qualify for my temporary visa. The paper the school gave me previously said that I only have 6hours. They were supposed to put 6hours of class and 4 of homework. Because they didn't do this (and after arguing with them for about 40minutes), I had to cough up another 100 euros and register for the 10hour class. This means that I will have 10 hours of class plus homework. That doesn't sound too bad initially, but I am extremely pissed as this. There is a huge difference between 6 and 10 hours and the normal hours for au pair is the 6 hour class. The good thing is that I will have more practice than the other au pairs, the bad is that it is coming after the term is already 3 weeks in.

The good: I asked some people where the post office was in French and understood enough of the answer to actually find it all on my lonesome. I also managed to maneuver my way to my school and back home using two different metro lines. Did I mention that my language school is about 5 blocks from the Arc d' Triumph?

Well, tomorrow I don't have class, but I do have to deal with more bureaucracy when applying for my temporary visa. Arrg, I don't want to think about it...