10 days!

So I lost my cell phone charger that goes to my French phone.  You know how much it was to buy a new one for that dinky-old-beat-up-piece-of-you-know-what?  26 euros!  Ridiculous.  The charger is worth more than the phone, guarantee it.  I know it was my fault in losing it, and cannot even imagine where it could be between my tiny apartment and well, my tiny apartment.  I have turned this place upside down.  But, I hadddd to have it, people have to get in touch with me somehow. I suppose.  

Spent most of the day gawking at beautiful French clothes that apparently only the French can afford (and the Asians...is their exchange rate or something really good against the euro?  They are always buying up the entire store!).  Everything is so beautiful and so expensive.  I mean, yes I'm in France and I would love to buy a pair of pants at a lovely boutique with a lovely French label.  But, I will just order my jeans from Forever 21 and have them internationally shipped.  I mean, you can't beat $19.80 for a pair of jeans.  No, they don't last years and years and years but honestly, right now, I'm just looking to get through the winter.  HA!  Taylor and I were on a mission today to find a pair of shoes for me to wear this fall/winter (I wore a hole..yes, a hole in my Merrell's that I had here last winter) and he wanted to find a bag to have with him in the city (other than his backpack which he thinks targets him as a suspected tourist).  We found both, and rewarded ourselves with a delicious falafel from L'As du Fallafel in Le Marais.  Always a treat.  

Guess what friends and family?!! 10 days until Jimmy Buffett in Paris!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhh!!! I am so excited and have been jamming island tunes as I pound the pavement every day.  Anddd I just found out that there is a huge "tailgate" before at the Hard Rock Paris.  I am a member of the group on facebook (Parrotheads in Paris...duh) and they have arranged for us to have an entire floor of the restaurant.  Starts at 1pm so I think I will go, mingle, have a Cheeseburger in Paradise and a margarita, pick up Marie-Césare at 4:30pm and Chloé has agreed to come home at 6pm that night!  So I can go back and join in on the party.  Sounds like an absolutely AWESOME evening to me.  Can't wait to meet other European and Expat Parrotheads!  

Favors

I went to give my rent money that Chloé had given me to Sabrine the other day and Sabrine is always so shocked to see me.  I only see her about once a month or so and she calls me her little "american parisienne."  She loves how much I've changed since I've been here but then she tells me to go back home to the states before it gets any worse.  haha!  Love her.  She sent me home with a bottle of champagne (from Reims of course) as a thank you for keeping Lila a couple of weeks ago.  I did that because I wanted to, but I will certainly take some champagne in return!

Okay, so I told you I would share with you everything about the city.  The good and the bad, and the beautiful and well....the ugly.  The ugly and out of control just got brought into my apartment because I woke up this morning to a skyscraper of dishes in my sink.  Gross.  I can't remember a time that I have been so lazy about doing the dishes but apparently, this week was it.  

Don't judge me.  You all know you've done it at one point or another.  My apartment is normally spotless.  So sue me for being lazy.  

I had to stay with Marie-Césare today because she was sick.  I don't mind staying with her while she's sick because all we do is lie around and hang out.  Chloé and Franck felt bad because it technically wasn't my day to stay with her all day (which is normally Wednesdays) and kept apologizing.  I understand that Didou and Padi are still in the south and things like this are going to come up, no big deal!  We had a rendez-vous at the doctor at 4 pm.  Every time she gets sick we go to a new doctor.  This lady (an ex-surgeon) I'm pretty sure was running a clinic out of her house, but she seemed nice enough and apparently Chloé had been there before so I just went with it.  This was her waiting room.  *Note that she only sees children.

I'm pretty sure if an American kid walked into this waiting room that they would be slightly confused and oh so bored.  It couldn't have been more bland and white and there was only a small box with very few toys and a play tractor.  No children's books, colors, puzzles, or toys.  Just a gray couch, white walls, white chairs, and a white trash can.  Luckily, we didn't wait for very long.  

Since any time a child is sick here, parents rush their kids to the doctor to get absolutely doped up with 15 bottles of medicine.  Marie-Césare has a cold, a simple cold that she caught from countless others at school no doubt and the doctor prescribed 4 different kinds of medicine.  Wowzers!  That's a lot for a 4 year old.  Although here's the kicker-it only cost us 2.30 euros.  

Chloé brought home a small bouquet of flowers for me this evening.  In exchange for keeping Marie-Césare today.  (This whole doing people a favor thing can really pay off, you know?  Champagne...Flowers...Now if only I could weasel some jewelry out of the deal I'd be doing alright!)  I love having flowers in my apartment but they are quite pricey here so I don't purchase them much.  Since my place is so small fresh flowers really brighten up the entire room!  

They haven't bloomed just yet but hopefully tomorrow!  

Happy Birthday Grandaddy!

Today would have been my Grandaddy's 84th birthday.  I am sad that I cannot call him, or better yet, be there to wish him a very Happy Birthday but I know that he is somewhere receiving my birthday wishes to him in much better spirits than the last time I saw him.  I never realized how hard it would be to lose a grandparent, and I think of him daily.  He was such a truly amazing grandfather (hard to deal with at times but hey...he's a Philpot after all!), and I fully cherish the time we were able to spend together.  I am close to all of my grandparents...and am thankful everyday that I have had that opportunity.  

Before I left to come back to Paris I went into my Mimi's house one day and Catherine, the housekeeper, had helped her clean out her cabinets underneath the bookshelf in the den.  The very first thing that came to my mind was Grandaddy's Pac Man handheld game.  It was the old, circular, bright yellow Pac Man game that had distinct gaming sounds from the 1980's.  I remember the sounds because there wasn't a mute button and it use to drive my Mimi crazy!  Grandaddy could play that thing for hours and better yet, teach me how to play.  There was a switch for "amateur" and "pro" and of course he played on the pro level and I was an amateur.  He use to tease me all the time about being an amateur but I didn't care, it was our thing!  Needless to say, I grabbed up that Pac Man machine so fast, turned it on, and guess what?  The batteries still worked.  I am happy to have it in my possession and if that's the only momento I ever have from his life I am 100% glad that it is.  I miss him dearly, but I know that he was proud of me for all my accomplishments thus far, and all the things I have yet to conquer.  

Just leave you with a few photos that I happened to have on my computer!  We always celebrated his and Laine's birthdays together (13th & 15th of Sept.) so a couple are from their joint celebrations! 

And there's me, trying to hog in on all the spotlight.

The fam. At Christmas....2009 I believe?  

Laine's 17th and Grandaddy's 83rd

9/11 Memorial Service at Notre-Dame...why not?

Laura joined me for Hillsong this morning, and I was glad to have some company!  It was rather rainy and cloudy so I decided to go see a movie afterwards.  

Friends with Benefits was the movie of choice....as there wasn't really much to choose from as far as rom-coms go.  The movie was funny, although I think Justin Timberlake should just leave us with a distant memory of *NSync...he is no actor that's for sure.  There were a ton of American English clichés which made the movie not so funny for the French people reading the subtitles and not understanding the English.  Their translations were boring and didn't make sense.  The movie was "bicoastal" between New York and L.A. and it was raucously funny when a cliché was noted about either of the two cities.  Such as New Yorkers drink coffee and Los Angel(ans?)(ites?) drink wheat grass and soy milk.  I don't know why but that got them all riled up.  

I, however, was the only one in the entire theater laughing when a reference to Seinfeld was made.  It apparently was a pretty funny joke (can't remember it now...sorry folks) and I laughed out loud one of my boisterous, somewhat overbearing chuckles.  Of course no real French person has a clue what Seinfeld is (it is not one of the many television shows being translated and repeated in France. Aka, Friends, Two and a Half Men...) so I sounded like an idiot.  Even though I was one of the few who actually knew what was going on.  

I moved swiftly from my cozy seat in the theater to a very unpleasantly uncomfortable chair in Cathédrale Notre-Dame.  Between the huge columns and the crowds of people I managed to find a seat...but that doesn't mean I could see a thing!  

There was a memorial mass in honor of the victims, families, and troops for September 11, 2001.  How could I miss out on something like this? I'm an American after all!  It was typical mass at Notre-Dame but the liturgy and prayers were focused on 9/11.  I not only had to pull out my "Godly" French vocabulary but my 8th grade Catholicism as well.  Those 8 years of religion classes in a religion that wasn't mine really paid off at this point.  I say this not to intentionally offend any of my Catholic readers.....but I always forget how "robotic" a Catholic service is.  Stand up, sit down, say a prayer you've been saying every day of your life, stand up, kneel, stand up again, sing a verse, sit down, recite the Our Father, stand up again....whew.  Its exhausting.  But I tell you what, I haven't been to a Catholic service since 8th grade and I still knew every word that was coming so maybe that's a positive thing?  I stayed seated during communion as I know from Sister Mary Janice (and 3rd grade experience) that communion in a Catholic church isn't for Christians...its for Catholics.  Anywho, attending mass at Notre-Dame was on my to-do list before I leave and I killed two birds with one stone...hoorah!

The service itself wasn't patriotic...there was no American flag, picture of the twin towers, or 21 gun salute.  There wasn't a weeping widow, no Star-Spangled Banner, and there were no official troops, firemen, or policemen there...but yet somehow between the hallowed walls of the Notre-Dame Cathedral peace reached every person.  I couldn't begin to tell you how many nationalities were represented today at the service.  But I could tell you it was the first day here in Paris that I have been absolutely proud to be an American.  I was proud of our United States Ambassador here in France, Charles Rivkin, for organizing the event.  I was proud of the presence of Americans living in Paris that turned up for the event, myself included. 

The Cardinal and the United States Ambassador greeting special guests.  

After the service there was a music program and the Maitrise Notre-Dame de Paris (choir) performed a beautiful arrangement of songs in English.  Donald Grantham's We Remember Them among the list.  The clarity of the notes from the ancient organ and the sweet angel voices from each member of the choir filled the massive cathedral as we all reflected on the day that changed the world 10 years ago.  This "video" is nothing to see, just some of the beautiful music being played.  (This one's for you...Papaw.)  I wasn't too close so there may be some background noise.  

I have really come to enjoy solemn, joyful, peaceful, alone moments here in Paris, such as the one I shared with you today.  As soon as I stepped out of the church-boom.  Sounds of the city.  Metros whizzing by, music on the iPod, tourists snapping photos, those funny sounding ambulances, the smell of crêpes and Nutella in the air, and life in Paris goes on.  

Catching you up on some photos

A friend of mine at the American food store in Paris, Thanksgiving, suggested that instead of sour cream in recipes I use crème fraiche and plain yogurt and it is the same consistency.  So using that advice I tried to make guacamole tonight.  Success!  I didn't have salsa, but just used tomato and onions.  Turned out pretty darn good.  My refrigerator was left cracked overnight a week or so ago which in turn made my freezer hugely frozen shut.  Today, I bought some strawberries at the market and remembered I had a half of a frozen pound cake somewhere in there!! Hello-instant strawberry shortcake!  So, I got out my wooden spatula and basically starting fighting my freezer.  I eventually chipped away enough to where I could reach my hands in and wedge it out....I only wish someone was here to see my battle.  I was sweating by the end!  

Just wanted to leave you with a few photos today....photos from the summer that were on Chloé and Franck's camera.  

My birthday dinner and my delicious pain perdu!

Clémence, Marie-Césare and I catching some waves

Baby Louise and I playing in the sand before dinner

Some paying attention...some not...

The entire clan on the beach!

Eating fries on the beach in Belgium...how stereotypical are we?

The next one wasn't on Chloé and Franck's camera but have been wanting to share it with you anyway.  Taylor's first night in Paris and what did we do? Of course, baguette, cheese and wine picnic at the Tour Eiffel!! So typical of us but what a great way to spend your first night in Paris!  Love it!  

To ride...or not to ride...

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...promise.  My life has been a whirlwind of activity lately!  Monday I went to France Langue (my school) and re-registered for my classes.  When I was there before they told me I had to take the placement test again....so I walked in on Monday, grabbed a test, and waited in line for 2 hours to have it graded.  (No, they haven't figured out a better way to expedite that process yet...)  Of course I placed in the exact level that I left off (pretty self-explanatory, huh?) so will continue in my same book.  Yay! I don't have to fork out any money for a new book!  After I picked the class I wanted, trying to get into the same class with a girl who I started with there, I waited in yet another line for yet another hour to empty out my bank account in exchange for lovely French lessons.  

That evening was the first school day for Marie-Césare.  She told me they learned how to tie their shoes in class today.  I was very impressed and sort of confused that it was a skill they would have learned in school, but I looked down and realized it must have been a joke.  

Tuesday morning I woke up bright and early and met Taylor at the RER as he was coming in from the airport.  We took his hugely massive and super heavy bags to my apartment, slowly lugged them up the stairs, and I headed back down and left Taylor to catch up on his sleep.  

I went to meet Alison Filbin, a Pi Phi pledge sister of mine, for lunch.  We met at St. Michel and quickly found a good spot to nosh.  She was with her boyfriend, Casey, and they had come to Austria for a wedding and decided to spend a few days in Paris on their way back, lucky for me!!! I love seeing familiar faces.  We caught up with each other and it was so great to meet Casey.  I had heard about him as they have been together for a couple of years but never actually met him.  I happily walked with them down to their next tourist stop on their fun-filled vacation which was the Musée d'Orsay trying to squeeze in as much time as possible! 

Tuesday night Taylor and I met after I got off work for a little picnic and Eiffel Tower watching.  I kept looking over and thinking, "Wow, you are really here.  And you are not leaving in a couple of days after your vacation...you will be here for the next year."  Hooray!  It was so weird and surreal.  

Wednesday was just another day...except-

we had our first horseback riding lesson!! And yes, I say "we" because it takes just as much effort for me as it does her.  After we took 2 metros and a 15 minute walk we arrived at the equitation center at the Jardin d'Acclimitation.  Check out this professional grande cavalier.  

She had the outfit to play the part and the attitude to play the part.  She was so excited we were practically running to get there.  We walked over to the accueil hut and waited for them to call her name.  "Marie, Marie...MARRIIEEE??" I don't listen for "Marie" so it took me a little bit longer for me to come together and go, "Oh, Elle est là!"  Her teacher was a middle aged rough looking woman who looked as if she had been working with bratty little kids her entire life.  My assumption was about right.  The children were escorted back into the barn and the parents directed to the appropriate riding rings.  

I can tell you right now that my first year at Camp Merri-Mac I took horseback riding.  I was 8 years old and not so very independent.  All it took was one class to realize that horses were NOT for me.  They stunk, they were huge and dangerous, it was HOT, you had to wear jeans and close toed shoes, and you had to scoop horse poop.  Nuh-uh, not for me.  Those of you who remember Jan...she was my first instructor.  She was nice but firm and I guess you have to be since horses and little girls are a dangerous combination.  I could never heave my awkward self over the back of the massive animal and always felt like a baby needing help.  I always went back to my cabin stinking which in turn made my entire camp trunk reeeeek like horses.  You can imagine I was absolutely ecstatic when Chloé told me I would be taking Marie-Césare every week to riding lessons.  

There were 3 other little ones in her class who pranced their ponies right out into the ring.  They got the rules and regulations speech, proper etiquette, and care for the ponies.  After mounting one by one, we got going.  

About 5 minutes in I Marie-Césare looked at me and began to cry.  Oh no, this cannot be good.  I looked away and she quit but as soon as we made eye contact again she began to cry.  I went and hid behind the nearest tree thinking that if she doesn't see me she will buck up, and act like a big girl.  Well, not so much.  I walked back out and sort of did some hand motions and mouthed words to each other only to figure out that she didn't like her teacher.  I motioned for her to calm down and that there were only 30 minutes left in the class.  Eventually she did, but that's not to say she didn't despise her teacher along the way.  Her teacher was just rough, fair but tough, she knew what she was doing, but I think on the first day the kids needed someone to sort of....befriend them.  (That, and the fact that her teacher at the pony club in Maillane was super super nice.)  They learned several skills and then went to put the ponies up for the day.  She came back out of the barn and immediately ran into my arms, "I do not want to come back here! I am not coming back!"  It took forever to calm her down and decide what was really wrong. Her bombe was too tight on her head and she did not like the teacher.  I just went with it and told her that mom would decide whether or not she came back....ha!  

We left the park and she was tired and exhausted.  I brought a small bag of noisettes which I opened on our walk to the metro.  I gave them to her one by one and held them in my hand for her to come get or else we would have never made it back.  I felt like I was leading a squirrel into a trap or something.  Our haul back to rue Pierre Fontaine was brutal at 6:00 on the metro.  But we made it nonetheless.  We start dance classes next week in the morning and can honestly tell you that if she decided to quit horseback riding I would not be too disappointed.  

I finally copied the photos from my birthday dinner, the families pictures from Belgium, and some other photos from Provence from Chloé's camera and will share those with you soon!  

Au Pair Picnic 2011

Started off the day with Hillsong this morning.  For those of you that don't know, Hillsong is a network of contemporary churches, the main church based out of Sydney, Australia.  They are based all over the world, Kiev, Cape Town, London, Paris, New York City, Moscow, etc.  The senior pastors reside in Sydney and they were scheduled to come to Paris for a visit today.  Everyone was excited they were coming and the theater was packed.  After a great 45 worship through song, not even 5 minutes into Brian's sermon the lights go out and the fire alarm goes off!  Most people kept their seats, but a few left, and it wasn't until 15 or 20 minutes later we were able to resume the service.  I'm glad to say that they will be returning again next week in lieu of today!  It's so cool to be a part of such a global network of people!  

Today was the big annual au pair picnic.  We were anticipating about 150 girls.  Omphile and I walked together over to the Champ de Mars after church and waited for the rest of the girls to arrive.  Shortly after we found a good bench, it started to drizzle.  Figures.  I was waiting on Laura to arrive and wanted to be sure she found us so we stayed put.  Laura is the new au pair at Ashleigh's family.  Ashleigh and Laura studied together at NC State and became really good friends over the course of their time together.  As Ashleigh's family was searching high and low for an au pair to come close to the time and energy she had put in, her friend Laura was wondering what to do with her life....ta da! Instant fix!  Laura had something to do with her life and her family had an awesome new au pair with a personal reference!  

I don't mean to make Ashleigh jealous on this post, but fearing that it will anyway, we spent a great afternoon getting to know each other!  Getting to know everyone!  There were only about 50 girls that braved the rain...but that's 50 more than I knew this morning!  We all gathered under the peace pavilion that sits at the far end of the Eiffel Tower.  This is what our day started off as:

It was strange all standing around in circles cramped under a little bit of cover and felt kind of like a round of recruitment at Ole Miss sorority rush, but the weather eventually cleared up and we finished the day off actually on the grass!

Met lots of girls from England and the States actually....several from California.  Finland, Denmark, Germany....you know, your usual EU countries.  It should be a good year.  It's always so interesting to hear everyones takes on the world and au pairing, different cultures and customs, why they've decided to come do this, and about all the different families involved.  Some girls who have it good and some girls who have it not so good.  Some girls who think they have it good but I can tell by experience and what they've told me that in 3 months they will tell you its horrible!  ha!  That's one thing I love about this experience is that I now have friends all over the world!! Who wouldn't want global friends?!  I don't only want to hang out with girls from the states because.....how boring would that be?  I already know about their cultures and customs (even though I think California is an entirely different country in itself).  

Now looking forward to an excellent year full of friends and all things France, an excellent first school day with Marie-Césare tomorrow, and Taylor's arrival on Tuesday morning!