sunday in the park with georges (and paul)

It has been an unacceptable amount of time since I last wrote here, but that's a good sign! I've been insanely busy and having so much fun. Here's a quick update of how my life has been here. 

I teach three days a week in a small town at the end of the RER D line, so it takes me about an hour and a half each direction... I'm learning to love the commute, though, figuring out the trains and buses, and taking advantage of my time to read and rest instead of frantically driving through rush hour traffic. I babysit a whole bunch, and I'm starting to really develop relationships with the kids. Today Paul misled me as to what is allowed, and we made microwave popcorn (so delicious, by the way, and such a treat over here). Ella walked in and was shocked because they hardly ever have popcorn, so we had a long conversation about telling the whole truth and being a trustworthy friend. Bit by bit, the kids are learning that I love them and want them to be the best people they can, and I'm learning how exactly to that. Paul eventually cheered up out of his guilty pout when he, Georges, and I went and frolicked in the Tuileries! We made huge leaf piles and jumped in them, played hide and seek, and laughed our butts off! Apparently, playing in the leaves is not common practice in France... boy, are they missing out on a *lot* of joy over here! 

Now I'm officially on vacation, and I'm looking forward to a week of sleep and rest and exploration and free time with sweet France friends. Every so often, we'll be walking around the city, and someone will gasp and say, "We live in Paris!" It's good to be reminded of how thrilling is this life we lead.

Gros bisous, et à bientot!

kids say the darndest things

I wanted to write a little about the precious children that I spend time with in exchange for my home here in Paris. They are a franco-american family living one floor below me in a beautiful apartment building right in the heart of the city. The four children are Zoe (14), Ella (12), Paul (9), and Georges (4), and they are amazing. Zaza and Lala (as Georges calls them) are lovely, sophisticated, typically French young ladies with pizzazz and flare to go around, but they laugh and joke with their brothers and are generally pretty level-headed and kind. Paul and Georges are incredibly unique, and today I had the pleasure of walking around Paris with Paul, just the two of us. It was fantastic because it helped me to adore him, whereas before Georges required so much attention that Paul was just kind of in the way, unfortunately. Paul is so cool! I'm teaching him how to solve the Rubik's cube and today we played piano and Wii and Life and had such a blast. We made each other laugh so hard that it hurt, and I'm so happy to be bonding with him. Georges is such a charmer. He is very much a four-year-old, especially in that he shifts instantly from elated to enraged based on seemingly nothing at all. Yesterday we were playing and all of a sudden he frowned and shouted, "You huht me! I'm bweeding!" (which, of course, I didn't and he wasn't), and it took an intervention from his twelve-year-old sister for him to say "sorry" and for us to become friends again. :) Of course after about ten minutes I don't think he remembered it at all and he was back to being my best friend and clinging to my hand all the time. Love is a beautiful thing. The other night I was giving him a bath for the first time, and he wanted the independence of putting the shampoo in by himself. Of course he got too much in his hands which then went quickly into his eyes (by the way, all parents of toddlers should purchase kids' tear-free shampoo - gentle and wonderful), so I had him screaming bloody murder for a little while. If it wasn't the suds in his eyes, then it was the water being too cold and then too hot ("it buhns!"), and you know the drill. But finally I got him calmed down and we'd wait each time until the temperature felt just right (he'd let me know by the progression of, "too cold... too hot... nice" in a very gentle voice) and slowly but surely rinsed out all that silly shampoo. My heart melted and all the frustration was washed away in an instant when he gently said, "Katie? I love you." Sometimes love is all it takes to remind us that the buhns and the scwapes aren't so important in the end. 

crepes and cocktails

France is absolutely delicious! It's so fun to be able to walk down the street and have your choice of freshly baked pastries and crepes. Mmmm... Also, chocolat chaud is one of my favorite things about rainy days in Paris, like today. I think I'll go sip on one in a bit.

Yesterday we had our orientation day, where all 400 or so assistants from my académie met at a university an hour outside of the city. We listened to French people trying to explain complicated clerical processes in broken English, and it left us even more confused than before! But we ate a scrumptious free cafeteria meal and met in smaller groups in the afternoon to talk about life in the classroom. Then they helped us all open a bank account! Thank goodness, because it is insanely difficult for an American to do anything official and businessy here, there are so many documents and things required. 

I've been babysitting and living in this sweet studio apartment for a little over a week now, and it's wonderful! I have a mezzanine/loft place where my bed is, and I also have a living area with a sofa and even a little kitchen! A bunch of my assistant friends are still homeless and kind of desperately seeking a place to stay, so Chez Katie has been a popular place for people to crash for a night or two. This evening my girl Katie from Cali and I are gonna cook dinner for a little group at my apartment, and we'll watch Friends or some fun American movie to keep us laughing. Tomorrow is my first official day at school/work, and I have to get up pretty dang early to get there in time. It will be a Friday full of teenagers and school and then little kids and babysitting, but then it will be another weekend in PARIS! Life couldn't get any better.

Katie's home - time to have a snack and go window-shopping!

pareeee, the place to be

I officially live in Paris! Today my friend and I hung out in Melun where I had a scrumptious pain chocolate and then I packed up my valises and hopped the train to the second arrondissement, my new home. It is thrilling. This city is SO vibrant and vivacious, with all sorts of people everywhere you turn. I love just sitting and kinda listening, letting the waves of sounds and languages gently wash over my ears. I moved all my things into the really cute studio apartment that's one floor above my awesome family's apartment, and then I went to a cocktail/lecture sponsored by Vanderbilt! One of my new friends from Trinity International Church actually grew up in Knoxville and went to Vandy for grad school (what are the chances!?) and he told me about this sweet soirée. So tonight I got all prettied up and headed just down the street to spend a few hours schmoozing with my new friends (alumni that are mostly my parents' age, on a one-week exploration of Paris, as well as some folks who live in the city of lights permanently/for now). Okay, my computer's about to die, but I'll write more soon. Overall, life is grand and fabulous! Amen.

la vie est si belle!

Oh my goodness, what a life! 

I spent the weekend in jolie Paris (whee!) exploring and having a grand ole time with my new friends. The other assistants that I've met so far are fantastic. One girl even let me stay with her in the city, so we got to stay and play even longer! I went to the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Montmartre and Sacre Coeur, the Arc de Triomphe, and so much more. We watched the Tower, which is lit up a beautiful blue right now, sparkle twice, while eating a delicious Nutella crepe. We ate yummy Thai food and went to a cool tea room and saw some breathtaking churches. What a delightful weekend.

Today I stayed in Le Mée and let my feet rest. :) Then I went to the collège (middle school) where I'll be teaching and met with the principal who was so kind and friendly. The process of figuring out what hours I'll work and coordinating between the collège and the lycée (high school) is ongoing, but we have some semblance of a schedule set up. Now the question will be whether I can babysit in exchange for a studio, which is what I hope to do.  I met with five families last week, all of whom were wonderful as can be, but one of which stood out to me the most. They have four lovely children and a Pomeranian puppy Oona, and I felt like a part of their family from the first moment that I walked in the door. We'll see in the next few days whether me living and working with them is part of the Plan, and in the mean time, it sure is fun to dream about!

I am madly in love with peanut butter. It is my American best friend, aside from Betsy and Tiffany and Matt and Leah and all my actual American friends here. No matter what's going on or what's going wrong, I can have some PB and all is right with the world again.

Another pretty awesome part of life here so far is the church family - three, actually - that I've found. Not only do I have Trinity International and the American Church, but on Friday night I went to this rockin worship service at Hillsong, the same big family that makes my favorite worship music in Australia! It's such a blessing to be able to walk into a new building in a foreign city and immediately have a warm, loving family. So wonderful. 

Okay, time to tidy up my room (where I'm staying temporarily... I'll let you know as soon as I have a more permanent plan), and get ready for bed. Amusez-vous bien, et à la prochaine!

la vie en rose

I'm here!

I've been in France since last Wednesday, so I'm finally writing to fill you in on the past few days. At first it was so hard to be in this strange land (tiny village with no Americans and no kind smiles or friendly younger folk), and I really wanted to just go home immediately. Thankfully, though, I'm feeling much better and more comfortable, and I'm even getting excited about the year ahead! 

On Sunday I made a bunch of friends, one of whom is another assistant Jen. We met up in Paris on and commiserated about our struggles and frustrations over a delicious cup of chocolat chaud. Then we went to the American Church in Paris to look at postings for housing and childcare opportunities. I went to the end of the contemporary worship service there, and it was wonderful. Afterward I met several kind people who befriended me immediately, and the young adult social stuff there will be a fantastic way to make more friends. I had a muffin and a coca with Martine and her daughter Valérie, which was such a blessing. Valérie is "handicappée," so she is 34 years old but can't really eat or verbally communicate or walk by herself. Martine and I chatted about life and the Church and Islam (which she is a big fan of, despite her ongoing love for Christianity - really interesting conversation), and then she drove me to Trinity International Church. My new home away from home. They were so kind and friendly and warm - the very family that I'd been missing since I got to France. I even met a man who went to Vandy for grad school! Most of my friends are young married couples, which is so fun because they have babies! I went to the train station to head home, but I ended up waiting at the wrong place for an hour. Apparently, on Sunday nights the trains there don't go to my tinytinytiny town, or to the town next to mine, where my new friend Nicolas was heading. Eventually we got to the right station and on the right train, and I made it home safe and sound. 

Today we explored Melun, the town next to Le Mée sur Seine, and I bought a cell phone, got a little hostess gift for the teacher that's renting me a room while I look for a long-term place, and we ate at McDonald's! It warmed my soul, and it's actually a really different menu from our American MickeyD's. The "grand" coca is like a small in America. No wonder...

I'll start teaching on October 1st in Le Mée sur Seine, about an hour southeast of Paris. Until then I'm looking for a place to live, preferably in or nearer to the city. Ideally I could get a room in exchange for some baby-sitting hours, so if you know of anybody in need or any openings, let me know! I'll keep you posted as plans firm up and as things start really getting into gear. (Also, I'll soon post a photo of me actually wearing a beret, but for now, you can imagine.)

Merci, et à bientôt!

here we go...

I'm almost ready to leave America for a while. I have one day left to take care of business, and then I'm off to France! I'll be teaching conversational American English to teenagers for the year. I'm thrilled, and really excited about the adventure that is to come! I'll keep you posted, and you feel free to do the same.