A Year Abroad: My First Week
I have decided to write about my time abroad as an au pair. This will be slightly like a journal for me, but also for people who are interested in possibly au pairing or traveling to France! 'A Year Abroad' is the name of the series, and I hope to write a new post every few weeks.
I have now spent about a week and a half in France, as well as just finished my first week as an official au pair. I arrived safely to Fontainebleau! My first week with the family was filled with lots of activities, as well as getting familiar with my work schedule. My host mom, the kids, and I all went to Le Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte on my second day upon arrival, and it was one of the most beautiful castles I’ve ever seen! When you stand at a certain point in front of the entrance you can see a full view of the golden ‘Hercules’ statue that was built in the garden and is about one mile away from the view point! It was there that we had a picnic and took a tour of the castle.
The next day I practiced driving in France (and now even a week into working - I’m still terrified!). The streets are very narrow here, and there is a lot of road rage from the drivers. Here’s hoping I get more used to it, and more comfortable as time goes by. Coming from a rural town in Virginia, where although everyone is a terrible driver, there is much more space and fewer cars to worry about (as well as no buses, pedestrian, or bikers coming out of no where).
On Friday, I went to Paris and was in awe of everything I saw! I met with a friend of mine who is studying abroad for a year and we went to lunch at a cafe, and she showed me where she is staying (her view is to die for!). We then took the metro to see the l'Arc de Triomphe! When we arrived we walked around the whole round about trying to find a way to cross the busy traffic (and by busy - I mean we witnessed about 15 “almost” accidents occur - and I thought driving in Fontainebleau is hard). We thought about making a run for it and crossing the street, but it turns out we much prefer to live to see another day. We found out later you actually go under to get to the Arc.... we clearly missed that memo! Anyways, we made our way down le Champs Élysée, where it is there that I can only afford something from the McDonald’s or Five Guys (and even those look très chique)! Afterwards we bought ourselves dinner for a picnic and headed to my favorite spot in Paris, le champs de Mars, which is the little park right in front of the Eiffel Tower! We ate and enjoyed the view, walked around a bit, and then came back to sit and watch the light up of the tower! My favorite view still to this day is watching the twinkly lights come on. It truly is mesmerizing!
My first week of au pairing went better than imagined. Although kids have bad days, most days went well! The kids really love to play outside, and so after I help them with their homework, I start to prepare dinner while they and their friends all play in the street. The neighborhood is so safe, however, I do keep the door open just to make sure I don’t hear any sudden cries! The kids speak English very well for their ages, and are fluent in French, and intermediate in German (and here I am trying to figure out if I need to use ‘être’ or ‘avoir’ for passé composé with a certain verb). The little girl really loves animals, and the boy loves Star Wars! They both are very affectionate and constantly want to hold my hand when we walk, or give me hugs and kisses! On the first day, my host mom asked me to do a first day back to school board for the kids, and they said that mine is the coolest that any of their au pairs have ever done (I’m sure they say that to every au pair!). They are very sweet, energized, and fun filled kids! I think we are going to have a fun year all together!
I have met about ten other au pairs that are staying in Fontainebleau or near for a year as well (there are just two who will leave before me)! We all had a picnic in the grand park, and talked for almost three hours getting to know one another. After making some new friends, this place is starting to feel more like home.
Having weekends off is such a blessing, and I am excited to see what my weekends will have in store for me!
Until the next update, à bientôt!
