Fille Au Pair: Partie Deux

Nearly 5 months have passed since my initial post about life as an au pair. I am happy to say au pair life has improved immensely since then. In fact, I'd say it's about as good as it can get. Yes, the initial transition felt impossible, overwhelming, and just plain tiring. I felt like there was no way I could last 9 months-- I even considered just giving up at one point. 

Luckily, I am stubborn to a fault and stuck it out... and I am really glad I did.

About a month in, I had already reached a breaking point. After hours of sobbing speaking to both my parents and questioning my decision, they both finally convinced me to explain myself to the parents. When I finally went to speak with them, I swear I lasted two seconds before bursting into tears in front of them. 

In the end, this was a good thing because I am pretty good at putting on a happy face, but after this they were able to see how much I was struggling. We discussed how isolated I had been feeling, how stressful it was to wake up to a screaming/hitting/kicking 2-year-old each morning, and how I just didn't want to feel like this stressed for the rest of my time abroad.

Honestly? In many ways, I've come to realize I hit the au pair family jackpot. 

Un Mélange

This post has been in the making for the last two weeks, but as with anything I write-- I'm a perfectionist. So that means, I write and rewrite about 10 times before I am absolutely satisfied with what I've said. But finally, I finished. I ended up making this post a bit of a mixture, un mélange, of three topics: Traveling, Au Pair-ing, and Teaching.

Travel:

We ate lunch next to this temple from 10 BC.

I love a good day trip: no need to pack a bag, just bring your camera and a bit of cash and you're good to go. My friend Christian, another au pair/assistant, and I had been talking about taking a day trip for a while, and we finally found a day and time to do one. We decided to go to Vienne, a small city not more than an hour and a half train ride away. I had heard about Vienne from my au pair family because it is known for its Roman ruins, which are somewhat rare to this region. When I lived in Montpellier, it seemed like every city had Roman ruins, but that was an entirely different region and the Roman history goes back much further there than in central France.

Assistant de Langue en France

I have had this post in draft mode for weeks, trying to organize my thoughts because I just don't even know where to begin with to describe my last month or two with TAPIF. As much as it's been beyond confusing and, at times, seriously stressful... I am still so happy that it has given me an opportunity to combine my two greatest passions in life.

I guess you could say that confusion has been the presiding feeling over the last few weeks. I came here assuming all the schools and their administrators would have already figured out when they wanted me to teach, what grades, and what classes. This was not the case. We actually started this discussion after I met with my assigned schools and from there it was difficult for them to all decide when would work best for them.  Luckily, it all was resolved after a month of back and forth and I received a definite schedule.

Today, I had my first day of teaching in one of my schools-- it felt SO good to get back to teaching. When I think about it, I haven't been in a classroom as a teacher in at least 5 months. It is always such a rush to be up in front of my students and be able to get them excited about what we are learning. It definitely put me in a great mood to be back doing what I love again.

Fille Au Pair

Ahhh, the life of an au pair. How do I put this eloquently... There are highs and there are lows and sadly, the last few days have been on the lower end of the spectrum for a variety of reasons. In sitting down to write this, I immediately thought of a scene from one of my favorite movies (500 Days of Summer) where the screen splits and presents the main character's expectations and reality on either side. To some extent, I feel like I had this ideal image of what life would be like as an au pair, and in many ways, those expectations have been met. But in other ways, I am definitely struggling with the reality of at least part of the situation.

I feel it's important to preface this post by saying the parents continue to be wonderfully accommodating and concerned for my well being. I feel very lucky that I get along with them and that they have done so much to help me get settled. The boys are really amazing too and are enjoying learning English through talking, reading, and singing with me.

However, like in any situation, not all expectations can be met and some things aren't ideal as a result. My two biggest struggles have become very stressful for me to deal with after a month of being slowly overwhelmed by them daily.

Je suis arrivée!

Day 1:
September 19th I arrived at O'Hare 3 hours early to be on time for my 8 hour flight at 6:10pm. The flight arrive in Paris around 9:15am the next day, but I had to wait until about 1pm for my second flight to Lyon which got in around 2:30pm. I was greeted at the airport by Gui, the father, and V, the 4 year old son. The drive home provided me with a 45 minute view of the Loire valley-- which is incredibly hilly, so driving a stickshift here should prove to be interesting. When we arrived at the house, which is a little removed but only a 15 minute walk to the train, I was greeted with bisous (kisses on the cheek) by So, the mother, and G, their 2 year old son. They had been in the midst of picking raspberries from their backyard for their goûter (afternoon snack). All in all, I ended up traveling for almost 17 hours!

My day wasn't over yet, though, because it was only just after 4 in the afternoon when I got to their home. I was determined to stay up until at least 8pm to try and ward off most jet-lag and kept busy until about then so that I was truly exhausted by the time I did sleep-- so we all hopped in the car to go to a nearby park. I see now why Gui and So told me I COULD walk to pick up the boys from daycare, but it'd be easier to drive... the Loire hills would be pretty intense to deal with 2 and 4 year olds. We all played on the jungle gym of the park for what seemed like a long time, but it was probably just my jet-lag kicking in. I picked up a few reminders of phrases that might be helpful for me when handling les garçons (the boys) on my own!

Seulement Six Semaines!

Well, my flight is finally booked and I fly off to live in France for 9 months in just six weeks! I head out September 19th in order to arrive the next day and I will return on June 7th, 2015. Well, at least I intend to return, but people keep reminding me of the possibility I might just want to stay, especially after I make a life for myself there over the next 8-9 months. We will see!

I recently bought myself a long-awaited present to celebrate my return-- a fancy camera! My little blue Canon Powershot has lasted me since high school, but I decided I wanted to take even better photos to help remember my time abroad. So, I finally decided on a camera and purchased a Canon Rebel SL1. It's the smallest DSLR camera available, which I thought would be perfect for traveling! The reviews for it were stellar and I can definitely see why-- I cannot wait to take it with!  As preparations have continued, I definitely have a lot to get done before now and then, but luckily it is mostly an exciting process.

Décisions, Décisions!

These past few days have seen a lot of unexpected changes to my plans for France! I was under the impression that I would be an au pair for a family in Saint Etienne... until I found out my French contact never passed along my information to the family. Unfortunately, they were unaware of my interest and chose another au pair. I was incredibly distraught because I had my heart set on this lifestyle that would allow me peace of mind with my finances, while also letting me live in the heart of downtown Saint Etienne. Mais, c'est la vie...

My little pity-party lasted for most of the morning, but by afternoon I had made a profile on aupair-world and began my search for other families in the area. Within an hour I had contacted three potential families, though all on the outskirts of Saint Etienne,  and one wanted to talk to me right away. Later that afternoon, I was able to speak with them on the phone and learn a little bit about what they were looking for and what the expectations would be. Today, I Skyped with them and their two boys and discussed things more in depth.

But then I was incredibly divided between my desire to work and live as an au pair and my interest in living in downtown Saint Etienne where I may have the opportunity to be more social and flexible.