Hope

For those of you who find it fun to sneak into my bedroom and take pictures with my things, maybe try to do it more discreetly ☺ As weird as I find it having people in my room while I’m not there, I still find the pictures quite entertaining. I’m writing today instead of tomorrow because I’m not exactly sure when I’ll get internet hooked up so I thought it would be the best to do it now.

Monday after class, I walked to the house where my interview was. Both of the parents were there, as well as the 4-day-old baby (which is absolutely adorable!). We just talked about what I would have to do and they seemed like a really great family (6-year-old girl and 4-year-old boy; I still haven’t met the kids though). When I told them that music was a huge part of my life, the dad said, “Oh well in that case, we’ll probably buy a piano as long as you teach the kids.” Oh my goodness, I was so excited! Later that night when they phoned, I told them that I would like to be their au pair. With all the contracts and everything, it makes it a bit more difficult but it’s going to work out so that I move in later this evening (how fast everything is happening, hey?). I really, really hope that everything turns out well and that I get along with everyone. Now that I have my little “Hillsong family,” I feel a lot more confident and I know that if something goes wrong, they’ll be willing to help me out. I played Monopoly that night (I also really hope the new family doesn’t even KNOW what Monopoly is) and then we had supper. Tuesday was a holiday so I played football (aka soccer) with Julien (and no, this was not PlayStation football, it was actual football haha) and afterwards Julien, Alexia and I melted chocolate and put them into moulds.

On Wednesday, Julien and I made our own city using pretty much everything possible: building blocks, cards, dominoes, etc which was a lot of fun. We then had lunch (it was bunny day again.. oh and did I forget to mention I had veal for the first time last week?), and then I got to spend some time with Alexia. We played a board game as well as cards. On Thursday, Julien and I attempted to make a card castle a numerous amount of times until supper. After supper, I talked with Alexia for an hour and a half and for the first time ever, Julien came in (when he was supposed to be sleeping) but we all had a silent agreement that he could stay for awhile. The kids came into my room before and gave me a Christmas bag of chocolates and candies, yay! The whole day, I couldn’t stop thinking that I’d be gone three days later, which was so hard because this has been my home for the past two months and now I not only have to go through my homesickness from Canada but possibly even homesickness from here. Then I started to think of all the things I was missing in Canada already (yes, mostly food): Coffee Crisps, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Icy Squares, ice caps, banana slurpees, Dairy Queen onion rings, sundaes, peanut buster parfaits, licorice milkshakes, Stove-Top Stuffing, Ukrainian Food, the stresses of high school that now seem so foolish, listening to an English radio station, watching English television (although I’ve definitely improved at La Roue de la Fortune), my piano, seeing the first blanket of snow on the ground, Christmas carols, and then my thoughts slowly wandered. I thought about how on Christmas day, I always take the time to think of the people who have to spend Christmas alone or without all the things we take for granted: a tree, stockings, presents, snow, carols, family, a feast… and every time, I would never have thought that I would become one of those people. But here I am, on my 19th Christmas, spending it without presents, snow, carols, family, and possibly without a tree, stockings, or a feast. Who knows, maybe the new family will have something huge in store, but even so, I think Christmas in Paris will be unforgettable, even without everything that I’m used to because I’ll still have my Christmas spirit, which is the most important part.

On Friday, I went to school and there were two new additions to our class: one girl from (I believe) Moldova and another from Canada. I didn’t even get a chance to talk to either of them though so next week, I’ll have to find out where the Canadian is from. I picked up Julien from school and he asked if I wanted to make another card castle. So we tried making one again (or I tried while he jumped around excitedly every time I finished a new layer). This one was a lot better than the one on Thursday though; we got pretty far. Yesterday morning, I went to the store with Catherine and Alexia to buy (yet again) more Christmas presents. Afterwards, we went back home and played cards. It was crazy to think yesterday was my last full day here! Today, I’m planning to go to Paris to go to church and then come back and spend time with the family before I move in with my new family. I really hope everything works out!! And lucky for you guys, the Enchanted Forest and the Festival of Trees start this week!! How exciting with all of the Christmas spirit spreading throughout the world, I love it! I hope everyone is having a great weekend and I’ll try to get internet hooked up as soon as I can. Hugs and kisses!
Hope – Twista feat. Faith Evans