In France!

And I'm finally in France! This should be an especially exciting blog post, then, since being here is sort of what this entire blog is supposed to be about.

BUT: I'm now here! I'm writing from the day bed in my room, having a little extra time tonight because I did not end out going for a driving lesson with the father (I'm going to have to find a better way to refer to the family I'm working for - that's way too awkward). The reason I have to re-learn to drive being that the car I'll have the use of is manual transmission and prior to Tuesday, I'd never driven anything but automatics. But tonight it was raining pretty heavily and since my coordination of the clutch v the gas is still tenuous at best, we decided it was best not to risk me driving around in the dark.

Other than driving lessons, I've been settling in. Le père (i.e. the father, which is better ... but perhaps not there yet) has been working since I got here on Mon, but la mère (starts with "m," rhymes with "other") started work yesterday. So I had the three kids (9, 7, and 5) half the day yesterday and all day today because they don't start school till late next week.

In terms of French accomplishments, I have drunk an Orangina (oh, how I love thee!), eaten baguettes or some other bread with butter and jam for breakfast every morning, had cheese after dinner most nights, and, most importantly, spoken and mostly understood lots of French. I have to take French lessons while I'm here, per government mandate for everyone on au pair visas, but those don't start till late September. So for now I'm speaking French with the family and working on learning some of the basic household vocab that I've forgotten.

I have also been learning to cook various french meals - because they believe strongly in a hot meal for lunch as well as dinner, unlike most Americans (i.e., you know, me). Fortunately for me, I have the help of the oldest child in this, since I'm often uncertain about the meanings of food-words and, when those are clear, about how the French usually cooks said foods. And the 9-year old is a competent cook, or at least a competent explainer, so so far I've done pretty well. All 2 days that I've cooked lunch, that is. But hey, we all have to start somewhere.

In other French news, when la mère got back from work in the early afternoon on Wed she gave me the afternoon off and I walked to a nearby shopping center where I purchased a hair-dryer. I brought my own, but after using in on Monday, I decided that it might be prudent to purchase one that I was sure could handle French electric voltage. Mine blew out the same amount of air regardless of setting, was significantly louder than usual, and emitted and unfortunate and pervasive smell of smoke and singed rubber.

So yeah, bought a new one. And while that may sound banal (o ye of little imagination!), it was actually a minor victory: I found the mall, found an electronics store, found the hairdryers, talked to a sales-person, paid for the hairdryer, and picked it up from the back of the store after doing so. All kinds of French happened throughout that, people. And I understood everything and managed not to make a complete fool of myself.

And this sounds trite, but I think the title of this is blog is actually appropriate now. Because I really am - mostly, except for a few things like, you know, this blog - living in a francophone environment. It's actually kind of thrilling, not gonna lie.

Leaving!

Since the last post, written a day or two after I got to Orlando, I haven't updated. This has been (mostly) purposeful - I've been at home, relaxing, spending time with family, doing last minute getting-ready-to-go-to-France things, and those don't make for particularly exciting blog posts (in my opinion). So suffice it to say that the last week and a half has been lovely - we had an early b'day party for my youngest brother and sister, went to the beach, I got to see a friend from high school, watching Phineas and Ferb, read, and generally lazed away my time.

Now, though, I'm sitting in the airport in Orlando, surrounded by people who are speaking what I think is Dutch (though I wouldn't swear to that) and waiting to board what promises to be a very crowded plane.

I'm a little nervous, I admit. After all, I haven't actually met the family I'll be living with for most of the next year, and I don't actually know anyone in France. It's a lot of newness. But I'm also really excited. I've been looking forward to living in a francophone country for years - and my obsession with French can finally be appeased! I know it will be quite an adjustment, so I'm trying to get ready to be wrong a lot and to learn learn learn - so please pray for me in that, that I'll be humble when I'm wrong, ready to be taught, and a good au pair and role model for the children. And now I've got to run, because they're going to start boarding in a few min; wish me luck!

Back at home!

Well, once again I forgot about my blog. In my defense, since my last post I turned 22, packed all my stuff, drove to the top of Pike's Peak, traveled to Birmingham, had a sleepover, met with as many relatives as possible, repacked my possessions, flew to Orlando, had my birthday party, took the GRE and went through all the stuff I'd packed at the beginning of the summer in order to start packing for France.

So I've been a little busy. Also: GRE, you were not particularly better the second time. All that studying I did (and I swear, I did study) and I only raised my math score a measly 10 points. Ugh. My verbal score didn't change at all (not that I was particularly trying to raise it).

Although given that I now think I have to take the GMAT anyway, this maybe doesn't matter that much. But it would have been so gratifying to raise it 40 or 50 points. But I'm letting that go. Really.

And anyway, that day ended better than it began (I took the GRE from 8:30 to 12) because my 19-but-almost-20 year old sister and I had a combined birthday party that night with, and this was her idea, a piñata. See below:

I know. Fierce. But we won. And now have smarties and chocolate to prove it.

In other news, my Mom, Dad, younger brother and I went biking this afternoon while my younger sister read and my youngest sister was in cheerleading practice. It ended up being fun. I hadn't ridden a bike in, wow, several years? A long time, anyway. But we rode around a nearby neighborhood and drove by youngest sister's practice on a path that may, in retrospect, have been verboten for bikes. Oops. And we got disgusting and hot and sweaty (though, being in Orlando, that would have happened even if we'd just sat outside long enough). So went swimming as soon as we got home. Lots of fun. It's good to have some time at home.