Category: France

Love Today (Difficulties at School, & France)

Well, I finally reached half-term break. And I never thought it would get here! Unfortunately, now it’s already over 😦 This half-term was a lot longer than usual (not only literally, but mentally and physically too). Normally, half-terms are six weeks long, but this one was seven and I spent it with the same kids everyday instead of changing schools every few days. Before I agreed to take the position, this school was my favourite school to work at, but that quickly changed within the first week of my short-term position. I basically ended up getting bullied by 11-16 year olds for the entire time I was there. Why? Because for some reason, the kids here think they’re entitled to everything. Including being disrespectful. Kids threatened to report me. Kids ACTUALLY “reported” me (once cause I wouldn’t let a student go to the washroom – the teacher he complained to obviously didn’t care, and another time cause a student didn’t like the groups I chose for drama class – again, the teacher didn’t care). Physical incidents in my classroom became at least a weekly thing. Everything was my fault. Kids wouldn’t own up to anything – whether it was that they were talking (“I didn’t say anything!), chewing gum (“I don’t have anything in my mouth! Why do you accuse me of something I didn’t do?!”), being out of their seat (“I was asking for a pen/ruler/eraser!” – when there’s clearly one on their desk), being late (“No, I’m on time! The clock in here is wrong!”)… I was constantly blamed for everything, and the students told me that it would be my fault that they didn’t do any work because: I didn’t have spare pens for the 20 people who asked for them on the daily, I was talking too much, I was going too slow, I was going too fast, I “didn’t tell them about a test,” I “didn’t teach them that,” I wouldn’t let half of the class go to the washroom during a single hour, I wasn’t being strict enough, I was being too strict with giving them behaviour points, the list could go on… The kids here have no problem with telling you everything that you’re doing wrong, and why you’re a bad teacher. On my last day before the break, one of the students said that the next teacher would accept them as they are, unlike me. Good luck with that… Anyway, I had quite a few temper tantrums (by the students, not by me). I was once called every swear word in the book (f***ing idiot, slut, b****, etc.) by a student before he stormed out of the room and slammed the door, all because I asked him to switch seats. I had one student get extremely upset because apparently I didn’t tell them about a quiz: “You didn’t tell us this!” “Yes, I said it about three times last class. It just so happens that only the four people who were actually listening are the only ones who know about it” (and those four backed me up and claimed that I had said it). “No, you didn’t! I hate it when teachers do that! I’m reporting you to the head of science.” “Okay, great. But can you do it after class? You’re wasting class time right now…” “I don’t even like science! It has nothing to do with my life!” “Science IS everyday life…” “No! It has nothing to do with my future. I’m working with kids when I’m older, I won’t need science for that!” “So, what if one of the kids you’re working with has diabetes.. how are you going to know about glucose in the blood, and insulin levels?” “Well, that won’t be my responsibility.” “Yes, it will.” “Well, I think…” “No. I think you’re being ignorant.” The entire class was quiet for once, and a couple of students were giving me thumbs up in the background. Sometimes these students just have to be told how it is. And this student ended up working really hard in every class, and helped me out in class after that event occurred. Anyway, by the fifth week, I couldn’t take it anymore. I was miserable, I was coming home everyday completely hating my job and my life, and then I’d just stay in a bad mood until I went to bed, and wake up in a bad mood because I didn’t want to go to work. On Tuesday at lunch, I wrote my agent and told him I was done. He said he’d talk to the school, but said to expect someone to approach me by the end of the day. I was covering a math lesson that afternoon when the head of science walked in and asked if I could come talk to her after school. On my way there, the vice-principal saw me in the hall and asked if I could talk to her. She was fully determined to get me to stay, and said she was willing to support me in any way that she could in order to keep me there. She asked if there were any specific classes causing problems (obviously the year 9s – in both my science and drama classes), and asked for a list of names of problem students. She then said she would email the head of science in order to get some support set up. I went to the head of science, who did pretty much the same thing as the vice-principal, and tried to get me to stay. Obviously, I can’t say no to peoples’ faces, but it didn’t seem I was really given an option to leave anyway. When I checked my email, the vice-principal had not only emailed the head of science, but cc’d about 10 other staff members in it as well. She also said that I would be sending out an email with a list of all the problem students, and the events that have occurred with them. Therefore, I spent one or two hours that night preparing an informative email for the other staff members. The drama department was extremely supportive, and put all of the students who I listed on report, so they had to reach three targets every drama class or else they’d have one hour detention. This really helped with getting the students to actually participate, as most of them used drama as a “sit and catch up with friends” class. However, I never heard the end of it from the students who were put on report, “Miss, did you talk to Miss So-and-so about me?! Why would you do that? She thinks really highly of me and now she’s going to be upset!” or “Miss, why did you put me on report? Did you put so-and-so on report too? Because he/she talks way more than I do!” One student even gave me the silent treatment for the entire class (yay!). The science department was supportive for about a week, and then the support went back down to normal. They put a different teacher in each one of my classes. The teacher just sat there and did marking, but just them being there helped so much. The first time it happened, the scariest teacher was there. I’m even scared of him! Some of the most talkative students pulled me aside and asked why he was there. “Well, because I talked to the vice-principal about the behaviour of this class.” “Is he going to be here the entire time?!” “I don’t know what his plans are.” “Well, can’t you ask him to leave?” “No, I quite like this. This is the quietest you’ve ever been, and you’re actually getting work done!” “But can’t you say you want a different teacher? Like a nicer one?” “No, you had a nice teacher and you took advantage of it.” “Well is he going to be here next class?” “I’m not sure..” “Well if he’s going to be here, I’m not coming to class!” “Okay then, that’s your choice.” After about a week, teachers stopped showing up to class and the year 9’s went back to their old ways. The year 8’s had also gotten quite bad. There was a lesson where I decided to let them do group work, and the class got completely out of hand. The head of science barged into the classroom (this wasn’t the first time she’d done that) and got extremely upset with the class for being disrespectful not only towards me, but towards her and the entire science department. “Now that you’ve shown us that you’re unwilling to work with miss, with me, or with the science department, miss and I will find the driest, most boring lessons that we can find for you. You’re each going to be given a textbook and you’re going to have to read the textbook every lesson and answer the questions. If you don’t know the answers or if you need help, miss won’t be helping you. From now on, the textbook is your teacher.” Great! Now I had one class that I didn’t have to deal with. And any time someone put up their hand, I just shook my head no. Towards the end of my time, I let the students know I wouldn’t be coming back. And while there were a couple “yes!”‘s, most of the students begged me not to leave. Especially the year 9’s, who vowed that they’d be better if I stayed (doubtful). One student asked if I could name my first daughter Tatiana (after her), to which I replied, “I don’t think I’ll be having kids after this experience.” Anyway, my agent ended up calling me and asking if I’d go back on Monday and Tuesday after the break, to which I replied yes because at least I’ll be tied in for two days of paid work.

One thing that I’ve grown to love while being at this school is challenging the students. As in if they share information or an idea that I know is totally bogus, I’m going to call them on it and do a mini-debate with them. The students are so narrow-minded (as we all most likely were in high school), so it’s always entertaining for me to watch them squirm, trying to come up with evidence to support their ideas, and to present them with other views. The students usually like it as much as I do, because soon they’ll smile and realize that their idea is just as bogus as I thought it was. The students are serial liars, but this is the one time I can really question them without them getting super defensive and upset (unlike when I see a phone out or I see someone chewing gum and I ask them to put it away and they reply with “Put what away?! I don’t have anything!” – Literally happens at least five times a day). One day, the students were talking about another student in the school, who has decided to identify as a female, and throughout the year has started changing her appearance, putting in hair extensions, joining the girls’ phys ed and dance, changed her name, etc. (This isn’t the first time this student has been brought up in one of my classes). Anyway, the conversation eventually progressed into whether or not it would be okay if they punched said student based on if she was a girl or a boy. I then decided to join in on the conversation and just said, “Maybe you just shouldn’t be punching anyone, and then you wouldn’t have to worry about it.” “Wait, you know who we’re talking about?” “Yeah, she’s in one of my classes.” The group of guys started laughing at how I said she. “Well, I think we’re supposed to start referring to her as ’she’…” “Who said that, did Mr. Jones?! (The school principal)” “No, but if that’s what she wants to be seen as, then we should respect what she wants.” One of the boys made a comment, “Well only until he undergoes the procedure will I start referring to him as a she.” “Ummm no, because the procedure is changing the sex, and we’re talking about gender.” “What do you mean?” “The sex is what biology says is male or female – ex. sex chromosomes, reproductive organs, etc. Gender is what society considers is male, female, or somewhere in the middle. Therefore, the procedure really has nothing to do with confirming what she identifies herself as.” The boys then decided to go back to their other conversation… And again, I asked why they would ever need to punch her in the first place. “Well, if he hurt my sister, then I’d have to do something about it. So if I punched him, it’s not really about what he thinks of himself as, it’s how the rest of the world sees him and what they think is okay.” “Ummm no, definitely not. That’s what I was saying before. Gender is a spectrum made by society and how society thinks a male or a female should be perceived. Who’s to say that someone is more or less masculine than someone else? If we put you guys in a group, and numbered each of you from most masculine to least masculine, who makes those rules? Society does. So if said student wants to identify herself as a female, then we respect her wishes.” One student ended up asking if I was on the debate team when I was in school and I said no, why? He was like, “Well, you just have an answer for everything!” I’ve learned that while being here though; the students keep me on my toes, and I know I’m going to have to have an equal comeback to whatever remark a student throws at me. No, you’re not going to burst if I don’t let you go to the washroom. No, you’re not going to die of thirst if I don’t let you get water.

Even though it was quite difficult at work, I still tried keeping myself busy when I wasn’t working. A couple of weeks ago, Jess and I went to Forbidden Nights, which is like a Magic Mike/Cirque de Soleil show, but they keep it classy. I’m pretty sure I was smiling from ear to ear during the entire show, and I’m also pretty sure I managed to record most of the show! After the show finished, they cleared the chairs and made a dance floor, where Jess and I spent a good amount of time dancing (Again, Jess and I both claim we “never dance” when we go out, but somehow every time we go out together, we end up on the dance floor…). We then decided to head closer to home since it was close to midnight and the metros/trains stop working at that point. It was on our way from the Putney train station to the bar when I decided to change out of my heels, but upon taking my shoe off, I looked closer… “Is that blood?!” I showed Jess and yes, nearly half of my shoe was covered in blood. Meaning it had to come from somewhere. I looked at my foot, which was also quite bloody. No pain though! And oddly enough, I never ended up feeling any pain even the day after, or during the healing period. To this day, I still have no idea how it happened. I used to drink responsibly, but apparently that part of my life seems to be over! I guess now that I’ve had nearly a year of not having to DD, I really have no more excuses. I also ended up going to Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, the musical. The set was absolutely amazing! I spent a day shopping in Camden Market with Kim as well, and we found an all-you-can-eat sushi place (finally!), where we explained to the bartender how to make a paralyzer, and ended up paying a crapload of money for it.

For the week off, I decided to go back to France and spend some time with the family there. The cheapest (and longest) option was to go there by bus, which cost me 45 pounds there, and 14 pounds back! It also ended up taking about 10 hours each way, with only one quick stop at border control. I finally arrived in Paris at about 7:30 on Saturday night. Being in Paris for even ten minutes made me realise how much I missed it, even though I didn’t even know I missed it in the first place. All of the familiar sights, smells, sounds – seeing smiling people, hearing French being spoken – I was smiling from ear to ear. I felt the happiest I had been in a long time. I was somewhere familiar in a place that comforted me. An onslaught of different emotions took over me. Even though I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face, I also started tearing up within ten minutes of being there. I was flooded with memories, and I think just the realisation of how unhappy I might have been finally hit me. I knew I was unhappy with my job, but I didn’t realise how much weight it was putting on my emotions and my well-being. I spent that night in a hostel that was located in my favourite area, Montmartre. I was able to walk around the area, enjoy the atmosphere, and I went for dinner at my favourite restaurant, which has a piano bar. I started with French onion soup, had roast chicken with fries, and finished with apple pie. During my meal, I was extremely emotional and kept tearing up since the last time I had been in Paris was almost four years ago. When the server asked where I was from, I could barely say a full sentence without wanting to burst into tears. ‘Come on, what’s going on?! Hold it together!’ I kept telling myself. And then after dinner, I went to the steps of the Sacre Coeur, where everyone gathers to sing songs. There, I let out all of the emotions I was feeling. I had never allowed myself to release any emotions during my time in London because I had went back into my stone-faced, no-crying-allowed routine. In France, I’m very familiar with crying in public places, as it’s happened multiple times, so this seemed to be the place where it felt safe to let go.

The next day, I met up with my friend Beatrice for lunch, where we talked for hours and then she invited me to go to church with her. Since I had nothing else to do, I decided to come along and then I made my way to Rambouillet afterwards. The kids were really excited to see me, and it was nice to see all of them again! It’s crazy that it had already been five months since I last saw them; time just flies! Within five minutes, the dad said I’ve lost weight since Christmas which was somewhat weird to me, since during Christmas I was actually going to the gym and watching what I was eating and now, I’m doing nothing haha However, France is not the place for a person doing a paleo diet (which is no gluten and no dairy). With baguettes and cheese at every meal, I guess I had to cheat quite a bit more than I usually do this week. On Tuesday, I went to Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to check out the shops, and then I headed into Paris to have coffee with Beatrice. After that, I went to Le Perray to have dinner with the first family that I au paired for. Alexia is now 19, and she’s in her second year of med school! And Julien is 15/16 and is just learning how to drive. It sure makes me feel old! It was nice to catch up with the family though; it was weird to me because I find having conversations with them a lot easier compared to having conversations with the other family. I feel like I understand them a lot better, and I’m more confident in trying to speak French, which isn’t the case with the other family. On Wednesday, I spent most of the day playing with Elsa: playing barbies, house, drawing and colouring, and watching a movie. It was nice to just forget about all of my adult responsibilities, and be a kid again. However, when Antoine came home from school, he came into Elsa’s room to see me, and Elsa told him to get out. They continued fighting and Antoine said that I didn’t come here to only see her and that I wasn’t HER Janelle and that the world didn’t revolve around her. But Elsa still won when she told on him, and he was forced to leave. The fight continued at dinner time when Antoine explained that it wasn’t fair because Elsa got to play with me all day. Elsa replied, “Well, you all went to Disneyland without me.” Which I guess she had a point… On Thursday,  I did a bit of wandering around Rambouillet and then I came back and spent my last evening with the kids. Since they seem to continuously be on their electronics (Antoine playing video games, Elsa watching tv, and Alice Skyping with her friends), I went out and bought some games and crafts for them to do. We did some painting and I taught them how to play skip-bo, which was nice! The next morning, I went to the Celtique to have coffee with one of the old servers there (to anyone who kept up with my Celtique stories 7 years ago, it was ‘funny guy,’). It was a bit awkward with the language barrier, but it was overall really nice to catch up with him!

I came to France during the worst week possible. There was a scheduled strike on Wednesday and Thursday, so I wasn’t able to go to Paris at all. Then, during the entire time that I was there, it rained non-stop. I know it’s rainy in London but even though it rains almost every day, it usually only rains for 20 minutes to an hour and then stops; it seldomly rains for the entire day. Here in Paris, it was literally the entire day, every day. To the point where buildings and roads were getting flooded. Elsa had school cancelled on Wednesday cause her school had flooded, roads and parking lots had water that reached the tops of vehicles, the street of the hospital was flooded so the police had to use boats as ambulances.. It was crazy! Anne said that the last time this happened was in 1909. So when the strike was lifted on Friday, I was so thankful since I needed to get back to Paris in order to catch my bus on Saturday morning. However, because of the rain, one of the walls next to the track had collapsed, which blocked the train tracks between Rambouillet and Paris. Therefore, we found out that only two trains were leaving that day. I was quite panicked, wondering if I’d make it back to Paris that day, but luckily when I went to the station, they had added more trains onto the schedule, and I was able to take a slow train back to Paris. The height of the river Seine was insane! Traffic lights were nearly covered, shops that were on the riverside had disappeared, I’ve never seen anything like it! That day, I went for a walk around the Promenade Plantée, which used to be an old railway that travelled over Paris, but they made it into a garden that you can walk along, and see different parts of Paris. The entire walk is about 4.5km, and there wasn’t any rain! I then made a quick trip to the Eiffel Tower before going back to my hostel. My bus left at 9:30 Saturday morning, and was scheduled to arrive in London at 6pm. But as we know from my past travel experiences, not a lot ever goes as planned. Due to the strikes, the bus wasn’t able to take the Eurotunnel on the way back and instead had to catch the ferry. We went through customs at about 2:30pm and then the driver did a headcount 45 minutes later. He said that the ferry left at 4pm, so hopefully everyone would be back by then. Then at 4:05, he made an announcement saying that we were still waiting on one more person to come through customs, and we had missed our ferry. He also said that since it was half-term break, the 5:15 and the 5:45 ferries were fully booked so we might have to wait for one after 6pm. The girl who we were waiting for still hadn’t been released, but came to get all of her stuff off of the bus and go back. Luckily, the 5:15 ferry ended up having room for us, so we ONLY ended up having to sit around for 2-2.5 hours. The ferry ride was 1.5 hours long, so we got to the other side at 6:45, 45 minutes after we were supposed to arrive in London. Then we made our way to London and arrived at the station was 8:15, 2.25 hours late! By that time, we had been travelling for 11 hours and 45 minutes, and everyone was cranky, tired, and ready to get off the bus. But wait, it can’t be that easy! We were stopped outside the bus station by the police, who kept asking the bus driver questions. Apparently, they were suspicious as to why we came so late, and decided that they were going to do a baggage check. BUT no one was allowed off of the bus until they were ready for us. So we literally sat at the bus station in London ON THE BUS for 30-40 more minutes, while we waited for the police to say it was okay to get off and claim our bags, so they could start the check. By this point, kids were crying, people were freaking out about connecting trips, and everyone was in a bad mood. We were finally let off the bus to collect our luggage and then we had to give it to the police, who put it through the metal detectors. I was concerned because I brought my favourite French sausage back, so I wasn’t at all surprised when the police officer came up with my bag and asked whose bag it was. I said it was mine, and he replied with, “Do you have a knife?” And everyone looked at me with shocked faces. “Um, no?” “Like a folding knife?” “No.. I have fingernail clippers?” “Can you open your bag and show me where they might be?” So I did… “Oh yeah, that’s it.” Phew! Then we had to go through the metal detector – take off our belts and empty our pockets, just like in an airport. After that, they took all of our passport information and manually typed it onto their iPads. I finally left the station at 9:15pm, 3.25 hours after I was supposed to arrive! Therefore, I didn’t end up getting home until after 10pm. On Sunday, I spent the day getting ready for the new week – grocery shopping, cleaning, unpacking, etc. Then that evening, I went to Mika! His concert was amazing, probably one of the best ones I’ve seen! He just seems like a really down-to-earth person, where you leave thinking, “Wow, I’d really like to be friends with that guy.” And his voice is incredible! I (as well as everyone else) was just awestruck at the notes he could reach; I could listen to him for hours! Now I’m back in the real world, but at least I only have six more weeks left until summer holidays!

Home is where the heart is, and a piece of my heart will always be in France. It was the place where I’ve done most of my growing as a person. I came there as a young, shy, naive, and depressed 18-year-old and it was there where I overcame that depression, where I went way outside of my comfort zone and pushed myself to the limits – not only forcing myself to talk to people I didn’t know (which at that time was extremely difficult for me), but doing it in a completely different language. Not only leaving the comfort of everything that was familiar to me, but moving to a completely different part of the world. It was there where I learned to budget my money, with my 2.50€/hour pay rate (when going out for coffee or coke would be equivalent to two hours of work). It was there where I learned how to take other people’s crap not only with a smile, but followed with a, “what can I do next?”, which has allowed me to continue working in other crap jobs and know how to deal with crap customers, bosses, or students with a smile. And it was there where I learned how to play mom to three kids almost overnight, three kids who I’ll love unconditionally for the rest of my life. Even though it was a struggle, even though there were times when I thought I wouldn’t make it, when I’d call home crying, I pushed myself through. And I created friendships and relationships that will last a lifetime. Being there has really made me start comparing that life to the life I have in London, and I can only wonder if London will have that same effect on me five years from now. One last thing (because I know that this is getting quite long)… I just want everyone to know how happy this makes me. To see that people are taking 10-15 minutes out of their lives wherever they are in the world to read what I’m doing in my life means so much to me; you have no idea. It’s so neat to see the different countries that are taking part in reading my blog, and I can usually figure out who belongs to each one, so thank you 🙂 I hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather, and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in less than 8 weeks! Love always
Love Today – Mika

Choices (London and France)

Now it’s been a full month since I left, how crazy! On Monday, I made my way to London! It was about a two and a half hour train trip under the ocean. I was expecting to see sharks and jellyfish but I was disappointed to see nothing of the sort 😦 Just a big, black tunnel that made my ears constantly pop. Finally, I arrived at St. Pancras Station. The first thing I noticed about London was how clean it is! No more having to watch every step I take in order to avoid stepping in the presents that the dogs left behind. And I love the cars! I don’t know why, I don’t even like cars… It was also weird to be able to talk to people I don’t know in English! I’m so used to approaching someone and only speaking French, so that was nice! I got to London around 2:30 and went to find my hostel, Clink78. It’s actually really close to the train station so I didn’t have to worry about the metro very much since almost all of the metros stop there. I found my bed in my 14-person dorm and it actually wasn’t that bad! After getting settled, I made my way to the will call office so I could pick up my Olympics ticket. I then headed to the Hard Rock to get my drumsticks before going to Hyde Park. I had to go through security before getting in but once I got in, it was so cool! They had some kind of chocolate tour and then they had four huge screens, each playing a different event of the Olympics. There were people everywhere! I made myself say hi to the first Canadians I saw and you’ll never guess where they were from… Regina! So they gave me some of their leftover tattoos since I didn’t have any, yay! After Hyde Park, I went to Buckingham Palace and watched the guards move (I thought they weren’t supposed to?). It started raining so they had to move into this little hut thing. I then went to the Big Ben and Parliament Buildings, which were gorgeous! London’s architecture isn’t as breathtaking as France, but I really enjoyed those buildings! I also got a nice view of the London Eye, didn’t go on though. I spent too much money on souvenirs… (so much for no more shopping!).

Tuesday, I woke up and had breakfast. I sat with this guy named Cameron who was from the UK and has never left except for Belgium, which I found absolutely insane. He said it’s not weird at all for EU citizens not to travel Europe. His accent was sooo strong though; half the time I felt like he was speaking a different language! After breakfast, I went to the London Tower and walked across the Tower Bridge, then walked along the river. I didn’t really do anything specific, but there was so much going on everywhere because of the games so it was always easy to find something to look at or to do. I then went to the station so I could head to Olympic Park. They said to leave at least three hours before your event so I was ready (and had been counting down every minute before then) by 4. I was impressed at how organized they had made everything; they kept the crowds moving smoothly and I seldomly had to wait (except for getting back to London). We had to go through security, just like you would at an airport. No drinks or liquids unless they’re less than 100mL! The Park was so cool! I heard someone beside me yell out, “This feels just like Disneyworld!”And was he ever right! There was that magical feeling you get, like a kid gets on Christmas morning, or that we all get at Disneyworld. It was just so awesome to be there, it almost didn’t seem real! I found my way to the Aquatics Centre and got in nice and early (so I could watch them dive beforehand). Only a true fan would know Alexandre Despatie from across the Aquatic Centre, just by seeing him holding his lavender towel 🙂 I was second row on the balcony, which were considered the best tickets. But when I sat down, I couldn’t believe I paid THAT much money for the view that I got. Sure, the seats WOULD have been awesome… If the staircase wasn’t right between my seat and the diving boards. Literally could not see a thing! So I made friends with the two girls from Great Britain who were sitting behind me (they bought cheap tickets for the women’s diving and said those seats were better than the expensive seats) and then I moved beside them once the diving started. I was able to see the entire competition, yay! The diving was great! It was just too bad when Alexandre’s knee buckled during his last dive, causing him to slap across the water, and making the entire crowd go, “Ooooooh,” in unison. I felt bad for him but he was happy with his overall performance, considering he lost three weeks of practice due to cracking his head open a month before the Olympics. After the medal ceremony, I was heading out of the Aquatic Centre and heard, “Canada!” So I met Phil and his son Justin (who’s about my age) who are from Montreal but moved to London in 1997. They invited me for drinks so we got some beer and strolled around Olympic Park. They were really nice guys and it was fun to meet some Canadians! I then headed back to my hostel, which took forever! We had to wait outside in the rain while they slowly piled us onto the Javelins. I didn’t mind, but it was pretty difficult to enjoy myself with everyone around me complaining. The next day, I went to St. Paul’s Cathedral and then walked through Picadilly until I made it to Westminster Abbey. After my back and shoulders could no longer hold the weight of everything I brought (and bought!), I went to the train station and waited to go back to Paris.

On Thursday morning, Ben came to Paris! I met him at Starbucks and then we stopped at my apartment before I gave him the big tour! We went to the Notre Dame, the Pompidou Centre, the Louvre, and through the Jardin des Tuileries. Lots of walking, so Ben was sure ready to pass out by the time we got home. I was impressed that he was able to stay up til 10! On Friday, we went to Versailles. We first went to an Italian restaurant for pizza and chocolate mousse (so good!), then we went to the castle grounds to relax in the sun. After Versailles, we went to Rambouillet to go to the Celtique! This time, no one I knew was working there; I was quite disappointed. That status that the girls and I worked SO hard to get was gone. No more being the important customers who were greeted upon their arrival. Now we had to wait. And wait and wait until someone came to serve us. Just like we had to do the first time we came three years ago. How sad… After the Celtique, we went for a walk in the castle grounds and stopped at my school before heading back to Paris. On Saturday, we did a walk from Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe to Trocadero to the Eiffel Tower. By that time, we were both extremely tired so we went back to the apartment for dinner, then went to the Sacré Coeur for a bit before trying to get to bed early.

Sunday morning, we woke up extremely early to pack up and leave the apartment. We went to Hillsong (for my last time) and then went for lunch with Beatrice. Now we’re finally on our way to Switzerland! We’re heading to Geneva first so in about three hours, I’ll be there! Now the adventure begins! And now I’m ACTUALLY backpacking! I have my little university backpack, and I have about six shirts, one pair of pants and one pair of shorts to last me for the next five weeks! I’m actually quite impressed that I was able to put that and a sleeping bag in my backpack! We’ll see how it goes… I hope everyone’s doing well! Love always

Choices – The Hoosiers

Hey You (France and Vimy Ridge)

Can’t believe I’ve been gone for 4 weeks now, where does the time go? On Tuesday, I went to visit the first family that I was with when I au paired. Alexia and Julien hadn’t changed much except for being three years older. It’s just hard to believe that Alexia’s sixteen now and she’s starting to learn how to drive! It was great to see the family again, and I managed to speak French for a full five hours! Catherine said my French was really good so that made me happy! Although after about 2-3 hours, I was mentally exhausted; it’s hard on the brain to speak, think, and listen in French for so long cause you have to use it constantly. They took me to the Abbaye des Vaux de Cernay, an old abbey from the 12th century. It was so pretty! I would have posted pictures BUT the computer in my apartment has broken down and the owner hasn’t bothered to come fix it. So now I can no longer upload pictures unless they’re taken on my iPod 😦 hopefully I can get to a computer soon to put some up! After the abbey, we went back to the house to play poker. It was a good time! I also left my suitcase with them so all of the shopping I did was for nothing and now, any shopping I do, I’ll have to carry with me. So no more shopping!

On Wednesday, I went on strike. That’s right… Wednesday was August 1st and the day before, I found out that my one-month metro pass was expired. I paid for one month because I’m in Paris for one month but I guess their months are from the 1st to the 1st, so I ended up paying one month for just over half a month. I was so not impressed… So I decided that I wasn’t going to use the metro. I don’t know who I was trying to prove my point to but it’s probably just because of me and my stubbornness. I’m a Taurus, it’s not my fault. So I walked to the mall to eye shop (no, it doesn’t count) and on the way, I found an English pub so I walked in and asked if they could turn on diving. At the time, they were playing cycling (which people were watching) but they changed the channel on all the tv’s just for me! Alexandre Despatie and his partner Reuben Ross got 6th place, but they weren’t expecting a medal in the first place. The REAL event to watch is THIS TUESDAY, August 7th, probably between 12pm and 2pm your time on either TSN, Sportsnet, or possibly CTV!! You might see a lone Canadian girl cheering in the crowd (that would be me). Anyway, after diving, I went to the mall and then walked back home. The entire trip was about 8km, so that was a good way to get rid of the crepes and croissants I’ve been eating! :p Afterwards, I went to the Sacré Coeur with Laura and Kelsi since it was their last night.

Thursday afternoon, I went out for coffee with a friend that I had met in church three years ago, Beatrice. She’s originally from Kenya but hasn’t left France since when she came five years ago. It was so great to see her again and to spend time with her that day, and again on Sunday!

On Friday, I got up way too early to catch the 7:20 train to Arras, a town about 45 minutes north of Paris. I sat at a little café to wait for everything to open and then I caught a taxi to Vimy. The taxi driver kept complimenting my French and said I hardly had an accent!!!!!! You have no idea how hard I’ve tried to sound French, to perfect that “r” noise that comes from the back of your throat: the sound that seems so weird to use because it’s never been used in the English language, but is needed in French so you don’t sound like a foreigner. How many times did Emmanuel tell the kids, “Help her with her r’s; she has to have them perfect before she leaves!” So the fact that I hardly had an accent anymore was a huge compliment! Vimy Ridge was absolutely amazing! I started by taking the tour through the tunnels and trenches. Because the Germans occupied the hill (that the monument is now on), we weren’t able to attack above ground because we would be seen. Therefore, tunnels were built in order to move the soldiers forward. Railways were also put underground to bring in supplies. It was really neat to be able to walk through, but it was tough to imagine how it would have been 95 years ago, under such different and difficult circumstances. On the way to the tunnels, the soldiers had to walk through a field containing all of the graves that were dug in advance, ready to be used (by many of them) once they went into action. The soldiers weren’t allowed to talk to each other and had to stay underground until given the message to move to the trenches. They waited for 36 to 48 hours in the tunnels with only 24 hours worth of food (the attack got postponed because of a snowstorm). To communicate with each other, they used phones but with wires running along the wall, they used morse code, pigeons, and runners. Pigeons mate for life so they would keep the male underground and send it up with a message attached to its leg for it to find its mate and at the same time, deliver the message. In another area, there was one pigeon, Cher Ami (he’s on Wikipedia), that was shot and lost one eye and one leg, and still managed to deliver the message, saving 200 Americans during World War I! Runners were a volunteer position and they were highly respected since during peak war periods, they usually wouldn’t live longer than 3-5 days. They would go in groups of two to run and deliver the message, many times getting killed in the process. Soldiers would sleep in dugouts that were in the sides of the trenches, usually with their feet hanging out because they weren’t very large. Also, the distance between our trenches and the German trenches was about 25 metres! So they were actually able to yell back and forth to each other. I found myself tearing up many times throughout the tour; words can’t even describe the feelings I felt. After the tour, I went to the monument, which is dedicated to all of the Canadian soldiers who died in France. On the monument, there are the names of 11,285 missing soldiers, whose resting place was then unknown. It really is a beautiful monument and area; definitely worth visiting! I always hear how I should be proud to be Canadian and be thankful for my freedom, and we have our Remembrance Day every year, but only until that moment did I actually FEEL it; it was so overpowering and it’s indescribable but I hope that every Canadian has the chance to feel what I felt at some point in their lives, because it’s amazing. I can now truly say I’m proud to be Canadian and I’m so thankful, and I UNDERSTAND. Those kind of things you can’t just learn in school or from a book, you have to learn from your heart. After I left Vimy Ridge, it started to rain so I spent the afternoon in a café before catching the train back to Paris.

Saturday, I didn’t do much except clean the apartment and buy groceries. Sunday, I went to Hillsong for church, then went for lunch with Beatrice. We spent as much of the afternoon as we could in the jardin du Luxembourg, then headed to her church when it started raining. After church, we went to the movie Brave which was so awesome! I heard good things about it, but I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it was. I then went home to start packing! This afternoon, I leave for London; I’ll be there until Wednesday! Hope you’re all doing great! Love always

Hey You – Pony Pony Run Run

Cemetery (Dieppe and France)

Luxembourg Gardens
Well, another fun week is unfortunately done. Monday was my shopping day (I seem to be having quite a bit of these…). My goal for Monday was to get 1) a Christmas tree ornament, as I’m hoping to get one everywhere I go. And 2) a Lollipops Paris purse. I’ve always wanted a Lollipops purse ever since I saw my very first one in February three years ago. I remember it clearly: the family and I went to Hendaye for the week and the day that I decided to go to Spain, I jumped on the boat that would take me from France, across the bay, to Spain. There was a family on this boat and the mom had a gorgeous purse that I instantly fell in love with. So I got up nice and close until I saw the “Lollipops” label on it. When I got back to Rambouillet, I looked it up and went to the store, but only to admire the purses as they were way too much for my $3.75/hour paycheck to afford. But now it’s sale season, and sale season is a magical time. That day, I ended up getting my Christmas tree ornament, but I didn’t find my Lollipops purse. I however found not one, but two pairs of shoes. So now I have six pairs here… Oh geez. 

On Tuesday, I went to my favourite gardens, the Luxembourg gardens. It was a gorgeous day out but it was one of those days where you had to sit still or you would die of heat. So the Luxembourg gardens were great for that! Then I found a cute, little park in Bercy so I explored that for awhile.
On the way to the cemetery
Uncle Walter Ahrens 30/09/20-16/07/44

On Wednesday, I woke up early to catch a train to Dieppe. It’s a nice little town about two hours north of Paris, right next to the English Channel. It’s also the closest beach to Paris. And since it was 31 degrees, I think a good majority of Paris had the same idea as me. When I got there, I found out what bus I had to take to get as far south as I could. Then I walked about ten minutes outside of town to the Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery, a beautiful little cemetery on the countryside. There, I was able to find Uncle Walter’s grave, my Grandpa’s brother. I felt so happy to finally be there, after talking to my mom many times about going. I felt such a sense of pride, knowing that he fought for our freedom. But it was also scary to me. And what’s so scary about it? A combination of things… The fact that he was only 23, a year older than I am now. That he went to the other side of the world to fight for his country and for our freedom, never to actually return. That only a handful of people have went to see him in the 68 years he’s been gone. But I know he hasn’t been forgotten. No, I knew who he was even when I was a child. Grandma and Grandpa kept a picture of him in that guest bedroom with the pink bed and the organ, the room my sister and I always slept in. But I wonder… Was HE proud? Happy? Did he get everything he wanted in that short amount of time we call life? Did he love? Was he loved? What were his final thoughts when he looked death right in the eye? Then I wonder, if I were to die tomorrow, would I be happy with the way I lived my life? I think so… But did  I do everything I wanted to? Well, no. I have never let myself love, never been loved, never had a child to call my own. But maybe because I don’t know really those feelings, I don’t know what I’m missing out on and therefore it would be okay. Because I’ve also had amazing experiences, experiences that I DO know how they feel, and they’ve made me live life to the fullest. I’ve been lucky enough to swim in the Pacific and Atlantic, ride a helicopter, travel the world, walk up the Eiffel Tower, fly a plane, zipline through Mexico, swim with dolphins, go repelling down a waterfall, find friends who love and care for me. I’m happy with who I’ve become, with the people I have in my life, and the family that I have been blessed with. It would almost seem selfish to ask for more… But I hope that Uncle Walter got everything he wanted out of life; I think he should be really proud of what he did. After the cemetery, I made my way back into town. I explored the castle, which was pretty cool, and then I went to the Canadian square. It was really neat in Dieppe because down all of the streets, there were maple leaf signs with “Dieppe 1942-2012” written on them. Everywhere there was a France flag, there was usually a Canadian flag as well. I went for a walk by the beach, which was really overcrowded, but then I found a deck that was reserved for reading. They were strict on making sure that everyone who sat on that deck was only there to read. So that was kinda cool! I went for dinner afterwards and I figured I should probably have seafood since I was by the sea. So I got some kind of fish soup and then a HUGE bowl of mussels. They were okay, but the consistency was really throwing me off. I made myself finish them though, even though I wasn’t sure if I could keep it up. Then I had dessert! I don’t even know what it was but it was delicious! Some sort of apple cake thing, so good! And then I had to catch my train. And I literally could not walk; I was way too full! That’s what the French do though; they give you a really awesome deal to get an appetizer, main dish, and dessert, and then they give you HUGE portions. And you eat the entire thing cause French food is amazing, and then you can’t move at all! That must be how I gained 25 pounds the last time I was in France…
Dieppe Castle

On Thursday, I continued my search for my Lollipops purse but ended up buying two OTHER types of purses. Then Friday, I finally became the proud owner of a Lollipops purse, yay! On Saturday, I stayed at home to watch the Olympics before Laura came. I still don’t think I’ve seen an event with a Canadian in it. Unfortunately, France only focuses on France, but I guess it makes sense since they’re fourth place in the medal standings right now. Laura showed up later that night with her friend Kelsi, so we went out for dinner before going to bed. On Sunday, we went to the Moosehead Canadian pub for poutines and then we spent the rest of the day at the flea market. That night, Laura and I went to the movies to watch To Rome with Love! Unfortunately, half of the movie was in Italian with French subtitles, so I had to translate as much as I could to Laura. It ended up being an okay movie in the end though. Today, Laura and I went to L’as du Falafel for lunch and then we just walked down the street and shopped. It was fun! It’s good to finally have someone to talk to and to enjoy my time with; I’m really happy that she was able to come! I only have less than two weeks left here so I’m going to have to figure out if I need to do anything other than shop… Miss everyone tons! Love always
Cemetery – Charlie Simpson

Penguins & Moonboots (Paris)

Vel d’Hiv Memorial
I can’t believe I’ve already been gone for two weeks! The time goes by way too fast, but it must be cause I’m having a great time! Monday, July 16th was a very important day in history: the 70th anniversary of the Vel D’Hiv roundup, a day that wasn’t even acknowledged in France until less than twenty years ago, in 1995. Seventy years ago, 13152 Jews were arrested by the French police, who were at that time controlled by the Nazis. The victims were kept in the Vélodrome d’Hiver, a bicycle stadium, for days without food or water, before being sent to the camps. I spent the day at the Shoah Memorial, a museum and memorial of what happened during those years beginning in 1942. It was sometimes disturbing, but very moving, and I felt like I should acknowledge what happened, as most still choose to ignore it. After I couldn’t take any more sadness, I went to where the Vel d’Hiv used to be, before it was destroyed in a fire. There, in front of the memorial were many Jewish people, probably amongst them some survivors. I wondered what it felt like now for them, to show who they are with pride; I had a tremendous amount of respect for all of them and just to be in their presence felt great. For more information on this tragic part of our history, I encourage everyone to add a book to their Reading List: Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. It’s an amazing book and it has also been made into a film. I think we all need to be a bit more educated about this stuff 🙂 I only remember slightly going over it in school, but not to a great extent.
Tuesday was my shopping day. I woke up nice and early to catch the train to Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, which is where I used to always shop three years ago. I guess I haven’t mentioned yet but France, by law, only has two sale seasons every year. It’s against the law for any stores to put stuff on sale when it’s not during that period of time. So right now, we’re just nearing the end of the summer sale, which is why I’ve been spending so much time shopping. And the sale season is the best/worst time to come to Paris. I found out that I have no self control; I’m turning into a shopaholic! Good thing I came with an almost empty suitcase! That day, I got most of my clothes at H&M, one of my  favourite stores in Europe (it just isn’t the same in Canada).
Bois de Boulogne
Wednesday was my relaxing day. I went to the Bois de Boulogne, a beautiful park on the edge of Paris, that hardly any tourists know about. It has a small lake in the middle, where people can rent rowboats and paddle to the island to have lunch. I spent my time right beside the lake, reading The Time Traveler’s Wife. It was a gorgeous day, and it was nice to get away from all of the mayhem that occurs in Paris.
Thursday was my Rambouillet day! The family told me to come at 7pm for dinner but I got to town at about 12 so I could spend some time walking around town and going to see familiar places. I started at the mall (of course) and did a bit of shopping there. Then I stopped at my school and headed downtown, where they were taking down the carousel! So I’m glad I at least got to see a little bit of it. I got my lunch at my usual Chinese place and took it to the castle grounds to eat. Everything was pretty much the same, it felt so good to be back! I think I got better feelings being back in Rambouillet than when I first got back to Paris. After lunch, I walked through the grounds and went to look at the castle. Then I went to my absolute favourite store (Cache Cache), which I probably shouldn’t have saved for last. Then I went to the Celtique, my café! I was pretty sad when an unfamiliar face came to take my order, but then I saw Old Guy walk out, and it brought a smile to my face. None of the other guys were there though. I got my demi-pêche and I had forgotten how good they were! It was amazing! I ended up staying at the Celtique for about two hours before it was time to see the family. My heart was racing as I got closer and closer to their house, getting to about a thousand beats per minute. I tried walking as slow as I could to try to calm myself down before I got there, but it didn’t work. And then I was there. I walked up to the front door and knocked, waited, but no one came. Then I heard a car drive up and as I turned around I heard, “Janelle!” All of the nervousness washed away and all I could feel was happiness. I gave Anne and Emmanuel kisses and then Elsa stepped out of the car. And as soon as I saw her, tears started pouring out of my eyes. I started bawling as I picked up that little girl and held her close, as she said in her high-pitched voice, “Janelle, you looked after me when I was really, really small?” That’s right. That precious baby that I met for the first time when she was four days old, whose diapers I changed, whose bottles I gave her, who I’d let fall asleep in my arms, as I tried to make as strong of a connection as I could with her so that maybe she might remember me, that sweet, little baby was now a beautiful 3-year-old girl. She’s the cutest thing and she’s such a tease, I never saw anything other than a smile on her face. And she snuggled right up to me all night and asked me to pick her up and hold her. All that worrying I did about her being too scared to talk to me because she didn’t know who I was, was completely unnecessary.
Me, Elsa, Antoine, and Alice
Alice and Antoine are pretty much the same, just three years older and much more mature. Alice is nine, oops sorry, “almost ten,” and Antoine is eight. Alice is still her talkative self, still my little helper when it comes to my French. She was always so good with making sure I understood everything at the age of six, and even now, when the adults were talking, she’d come up and say, “Do you understand what’s going on?” and her English! The parents and I can no longer speak English when we don’t want the kids to know what we’re saying. Alice picks up bits and pieces, strings those pieces together, and can figure out what we’re talking about. She even read me an English book! I was so amazed and so proud. I went and got my wallet and showed her the marble she gave me three years ago, the one I carry with me everywhere I go. And she replied with, “Just a second,” and bolted upstairs. She came back down with a piggy bank and said, “There’s only one coin in here and I’ve kept it for three years. I’ll never spend it,” as she pulled out the Canadian quarter I gave her on my last day. I was touched, that something that doesn’t seem like much to us, could mean so much to a 6-9 year old. And I was shocked that she had kept it without losing it this entire time! Antoine is the same too; he’s shy and he keeps to himself. The parents say that I’ve been the only female who’s been able to give him hugs and kisses, and who he’s actually had a real relationship with. “Antoine thinks he’ll never be able to find a girl like you,” I couldn’t help but feel flattered. I remember trying so hard to get him to open up to me, and finally succeeding. As for the family, they haven’t had an actual au pair since me. They’ve tried but Anne said she kept comparing them to me so they didn’t last long. The first lasted two weeks, and the second lasted three. Since then, they decided, “It’s Janelle, or no one.”
Tryo!!
That night, I got to sleep in MY bed in MY room, which has now been made into Anne’s office. It was nice being back, being able to sleep in a familiar place, and being able to see familiar faces. I had breakfast with the family, helped Elsa get dressed, and did Alice’s hair, like I always used to (but this time while I was doing Alice’s hair, Elsa was doing mine). Then I said my goodbyes and went back to the train station, as they had places to go. It sucks that I only got one day to spend time with them, since they’re leaving on holidays, but it was totally worth it! I loved every minute of it! 🙂 That night, and for the next two nights, I went to the FNAC Festival. They had seven concerts every night set up on a stage outside the Hotel de Ville, and they were all free! So I got to watch singers and bands, some I didn’t know, some I knew from keeping up with the French music scene while I was gone. There were 75000 people who showed up for the festival; it was crazy! I got to see Naive New Beaters, Pony Pony Run Run, Revolver, and many others that I had never heard of before (and will have to add to my music library!). One of my favorites was We Were Evergreen so I decided to name my blog title after one of their songs. The last night and the very last concert was my favourite band, TRYO! I came early that night (the concerts start at 5:30) and I ended up getting front row! By the end, my back and legs were killing me but it was totally worth it! Anne was very jealous that she couldn’t go; she probably loves them more than I do since she’s the one who introduced them to me. The festival was a great way to spend my weekend! Now I just have to find more stuff to do before Laura comes on Saturday! I hope everything is going well at home, miss everyone tons! Love always

Let the Rain (Iceland, France, and Bastille Day)

Well, less than a week in Europe so far and I’m having a great time! My journey started off in La Ronge, when I left on Sunday after our family reunion. I arrived in Saskatoon around 6:30, unpacked, went for dinner with Ben and met up with Katie, then started repacking at around 9, tried to go to sleep at 1:30, could hardly sleep and woke up at 6:30 to go to the airport! I had to walk on the tarmac to my plane for the first time in Saskatoon, and as soon as the plane started its motor, it began rocking back and forth. And for the first time ever, I thought I wasn’t going to survive. I mean, we all know I like planes as much as I like pilots! 😉 but this one didn’t feel so great… When we got in the air, I swear the motor quit and I was just waiting for us to fall. At least that flight was only to Edmonton. I got to Edmonton as soon as they started boarding my flight to Toronto. On this flight, I watched The Hunger Games! (which was very suiting since I read the book the day before). When I got to Toronto, I finally got to eat! No, the plane didn’t serve ANY snacks, so I was starving since all I had was a muffin before I left Saskatoon. I had an amazing Indian tikka masala meal, with rice and chutney at the Beaches Boardwalk Café. Then I waited for my four-hour layover to finish so I could hop on the plane and make myself go to sleep. Like that would happen… 
Hallgrímskirkja Church
Five hours later, we were finally in Iceland (Reykjavik) at 6:30 in the morning (12:30am our time). We had to go through a second round of security when we got there, before we could be mixed with the EU passengers, it was weird. Then I waited for my luggage. And waited… And waited… And waited… And of course, nothing came. So they informed me that the next flight from Toronto wasn’t coming until Thursday, meaning they’d have to send my luggage to me in Paris once it got there. But they kindly gave me an overnight pack, consisting of a toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream and a razor, cleansing milk and moisturizer, a brush, deodorant, and an XXL white t-shirt. I then caught the Flybus to my hostel: Reykjavik Backpackers, which didn’t have check-in til 2pm. So since I had just over five hours to kill, I spent the majority of the day walking, taking pictures, and going into absolutely every store downtown. And Iceland  sure is gorgeous! I was always shocked by how beautiful something was and then I’d turn the corner and I was shocked all over again! The Hallgrímskirkja Church was absolutely breathtaking!! I noticed that the majority of the population is blonde; I’ve never seen so many blonde people in my life! So I actually fit in, even though I kind of missed being the minority in La Ronge… 😛 When I checked in at the hostel they asked, “Do you have a sleeping bag?” And I said, “No, they lost my luggage so I have nothing,” (not that I had a sleeping bag in the first place…), so they gave me free linens and towels, wahooo! Then I continued to walk around, shop, then went back to the hostel to shower. I can live without shampoo and soap, but the hardest part was not having flip flops to wear on the shower floor, yuck! Anyway, I managed to stay up until 8 and then passed out in my top bunk. When I woke up at 11pm, it was still light out, and when I woke up at 2am, it was the same thing. 24-hour sun days are kind of cool!
Gullfoss Falls

I woke up the next morning at 6:30 to get ready for my big tour that I signed up for, the Golden Circle Tour. They took us to a bunch of lookout points, to Þingvellir National Park, and then to the Gullfoss waterfalls, which were so cool!! I got drenched just walking to them, but it was sure worth it! There, I had some traditional Icelandic lamb soup, which wasn’t too bad, although I don’t think I’ve ever eaten lamb before. Then we went to the geysers of Geysir, which shoots out water because of pressure underneath the ground. The first time it happened, I jumped cause it was so unexpected. After that, we visited the Skalholt church, and then went back to Reykjavik at around 6pm. Afterwards, I just sat by the pond until my bus came at 9:30 to take me back to the airport. I later realized that I got sunburned just from sitting outside from 7-9pm, wasn’t expecting that!!

My flight to Paris was at 1am on Thursday and was only 3 hours long. I wasn’t able to sleep at all so I was quite tired by the time I got to Paris. Nothing a grand crème and a pain au chocolat couldn’t cure! I got settled into my apartment, which is in the Montmartre area, right by the Sacré Cœur. It was so good to be back in Paris, seeing the familiar metro stops, smelling the familiar smells, I was smiling from ear to ear while walking down the sidewalk. The only thing that’s changed is my ability to tell the difference between Parisians and Americans. Three years ago, an American would stand out like a sore thumb but now, someone that I think is American is actually French. Either the French got more American or vice versa because there were three ways that you could tell the difference before (not counting the extreme obnoxiousness that came from the Americans): 1) Denim. Denim used to be a no-no in Paris, but now EVERYONE wears it! 2) Converse sneakers. They used to be a French thing, now they’re an everyone thing. And 3) Hair gel. If there was a guy who wore more hair products than you, you’d know that he’s French. Now, no guys wear hair gel, which I can’t complain about. Anyway, once I got to my apartment, my first task was to get groceries, shampoo, etc. The grocery  store was awesome, seeing all the foods that I’ve totally forgotten about. I tried to remember everything Anne had taught me in the kitchen and grabbed some things to make some simple meals. After the grocery store, I made my way to H&M to get my much needed clothes. I don’t remember actually going to sleep that night but I know it was sometime between 10 and 12. I didn’t wake up the next day until 2:30pm! That day, I stayed in my apartment because I had to wait for my suitcase delivery.

Saturday was Bastille Day, the biggest day of the year!! I woke up early to make it to the Champs-Élysées for the morning parade. It was just a whole bunch of military marches and vehicles, not floats or anything like we have in Canada. I then headed to the Eiffel tower (finally!) to enjoy my lunch in the park. After that, I went to a free piano concert, cause I’m cool like that and would choose a free piano concert over a free actual concert any day. I then thought about how I haven’t touched a piano since the last time I left France, and I figured maybe I should pick it up again. Afterwards, I went to the Eiffel Tower and waited an hour and 15 minutes for the bathroom (!!) before finding a spot in the overcrowded park to wait for the fireworks to start. This year’s fireworks were disco themed, playing classics from the 70s and 80s, such as “It’s raining men,” “YMCA,” and “Funky town.” By far, the best fireworks I’ve ever seen!! Getting home was an adventure in itself, as all of Paris (and more) was trying to do the same thing. The next day, I went to church (yay!), which moved locations since the last time I was there. Afterwards, I went to the Pere-Lachaise cemetery to see Chopin’s grave, and then I went to the Sacré-Coeur to hang out for a bit before heading home.

About two weeks before my trip, up until I got to Iceland, I kept doubting myself. “My life is perfectly fine here; I’m with the people I love, what kind of crazy person decides to go halfway around the world alone?” But as soon as I made it to Iceland, I knew I had made the right decision. Now I’m just wondering what stopped everyone else from going with me… It’s so worth it! Hope everything’s going well back at home, thanks for reading!
 
Let the Rain – Sara Bareilles