My Life in and Love of France

Well, it's basically been two months since I updated about my life here- that either means I'm really busy or really lazy, but knowing me, it's both!

I've fallen nicely into the rhythm here, but a two-week school break this week and last has thrown off that rhythm a little. (And I can't decide which is better: not having to drive the kids back and forth to school every day, or not having to watch the kids by myself all day. I like the vacation days because they're so relaxed, but then all my friends are away on their own personal vacation, so I will be ready for the normal school days to start again.) I can't believe that it's already been almost two and a half months! That's insane! Christmas will be here soon! (And yes, I do get to come home! Hooray! Thanks mom&dad:))

Claire, my neighbor au pair, and I "go out" at least twice a week so that we're not stuck at home and so that we're maximizing the incredible opportunity we have here to be a part of a new culture and region. There's an au pair club that meets twice a month, and the leaders host a Bible Study every Monday night that we have been attending. We have also met a couple people via couchsurfers, and have discovered new places to hang out via other au pairs. There's also a wonderful English-speaking church twenty minutes away, and a contemporary church service on Sunday nights in Geneva. And of course, there's French class twice a week, in which we have met more au pairs! What else!

I have never been a drinker, as I simply don't like the taste of alcohol, but with Europe being such a different environment for drinking, I'm starting to try some new things out. It seems that here, almost no one drinks to get drunk; the exceptions would be foreigners and young college kids. I knew that drinking was a social experience here, but it's hard to understand what that means until you're involved in it. But when everything closes by 7pm and the only things left open are classy little bars and pubs, it only makes sense to grab a drink with friends at the end of the day!

I have come to love the region and pace of life here so much that I'm starting a search for a job to take after my year here as an au pair is finished. I'm primarily considering and English-teaching job, since I have an English degree and should have enough experience with French and children at the end of the year to qualify, but I am really open to anything. However, the cost of living so close to Geneva is somewhat high, so I'll have to find a good enough job to cover expensive housing costs.

Things I love about the culture/region, etc.:

• It's not necessary to smile at everyone. Don't get me wrong, I'm a happy person and I like to smile, but it does get tiring to smile at anyone you make eye contact with, like you would in the US. I like being generally left alone, especially if I'm not in the mood to smile! ;)
• Everyone is extremely polite and courteous. This concept overlaps with the no-smiling custom, as people simply want to be kind and respectful towards others, helping when necessary and giving them their space when it's not. The principle of non-toleration towards screaming children in public also falls under this umbrella.
• I love roundabouts, aka rond points. When I was first learning to navigate these curious little streetways, I hated them; but now, as I sometimes miss my turn... I think they are wonderful little inventions for the absent-minded or lost citizens who need another chance to make their turn without having to turn into a parking lot, etc., to turn around somewhere down the road. Insert philosophical musings on second chances in life here, haha!
• Everyone is much more health-conscious. Meals are balanced, sugar is not eaten in excess, fruits and vegetables are grown locally, and packaged foods have color-coded health notices. Because all the food is so much healthier, everything tastes better and I enjoy trying new things almost every day.
• Nothing can compare to looking outside and seeing the Alps every day. Nothing. I can't imagine wanting to live somewhere where you couldn't see such a wonderful landscape every day.
• When there is a price sticker, you pay exactly that price! The tax is included! This is brilliant if you only have a certain dollar amount to spend, and you know exactly what your total will end up being. Revolutionary (except that it's really not). Let's do it in the US, please.
• The historical atmosphere of Europe is wonderful. I love seeing simple houses that have been there for hundreds of years, old architecture, famous historical spots, everything! When I visited Annecy and saw a French prison that Frenchmen had been detained in during World War II, it really hit home to me where I was and what I had become a part of by living here.
• Even though tea is common in the US, it's more of a tea-friendly atmosphere here. I've never been big into drinking tea before, but after getting sick and drinking it for the benefit of my poor, sore throat, I discovered how much I enjoy it. Also, tea is so common that you can get great tea at any place that serves any kind of drink, and not just some basic bland tea that you would probably get at a restaurant in the US. Therefore, the social drinking concept includes tea (and coffee)!

I'm sure there's much more that I'm forgetting, but I am obviously enjoying it here! It's hard for me to know what I should share with you, so please let me know if there is something you would like to hear about! (And yes, I do know that I need to post about traveling to Paris and Annecy... I am indeed a true procrastinator!)

Can you see the evidence of our first snowfall? The pictures are hard to discern, but it was lovely to watch coming down! It snowed October 27th and 28th, but there hasn't been any more since then.

Word Wednesdays >> Language Levels and Anecdotes

I'm alive!!! I know I haven't posted in a long time, but it's probably because I feel like I finally have a life here! haha:) (I'll talk about what I've been up to in a subsequent post.) But the kids have school vacation the next two weeks during which I have to work and my au pair bestie, Claire, doesn't have to work, so I should have extra time to catch-up on my blog posts!

I have done a lot of thinking about levels of language learning in trying to figure out exactly what level I'm on and what a reasonable goal is for a level to finish on at the end of the year. First, I'll lay out how the levels are set up for French. The DELF and DALF exams are proficiency tests that you take to receive a certificate showing which level of French you are, and you can use that certification on CVs. Unlike the English TOEFL, you are not tested to receive a grade; instead, you test in a specific level and get the certificate of completion if you pass the test. The levels are DELF A1, A2, B1, B2, and DALF C1 and C2. Basically, level A is beginner, B is intermediate, and C is fluency.

I am currently taking classes (two hours, twice a week) on the B1 level, so I am on the lower intermediate level. However, it is not very challenging. I can't decide how much I like the class, because it's good practice, but it is still sometimes fatiguingly easy. For example, I am currently learning the difference between the passé composé and the imparfait (the two most common past tenses) for the millionth time. That probably means that I am therefore reasonably good at it now, finally, but still. So. Boring. I've considered moving up to the B2 class, but it may be too much trouble because it is nice to be on a lower level than what I may be capable of since this is the first time I'm actually actively using what I'm learning and can immediately apply it, and because switching classes would present scheduling problems.

But because I would like to be able to test for the DALF C1 by the end of the year, I will do my best to work ahead on my own in order to progress far enough to qualify for the C1. I have some supplemental texts that I have started working on in addition to the work in class, and I have a wide variety (both in terms of genre and level) of French literature I can read for practice. It will take a lot of work, but it's possible.

In terms of speaking, I get really lazy about speaking French because I know that my host parents and any French-speaking friends speak English, so I usually just slip into speaking English. A lot of that has to do with the type of learner I am, however. Claire and I are on the same level of French and in the same class, but our personal level has variations. I am better at reading and writing and Claire is better at speaking (and we are about the same on comprehension). This is because I want to be perfect when I speak, and am therefore hesitant to say anything unless I know precisely how to say it. Claire, however, takes the bold approach of talking a lot, not fearing what actually comes out. In that method, she does make a lot of mistakes, but she is actively using the language and gaining confidence in it. In truth, there is no one best way to learn, and we can both gain fluency on our own terms, but it does complicate the issue of deciding what level we are really on.

In comprehension, I have been doing pretty well. I can listen to my host parents talking and understand a majority of what is said; what holds me back the most is simply vocabulary, which will come with time and exposure. And in reading a text, it's the same; in both situations you can use context clues to figure out the basic message, even if you don't understand quite a bit of the vocabulary.

Therefore, depending which skills one considers, I am on a B1/B2 level, and if I work hard enough, it shouldn't be impossible to reach a level of fluency by the end of the year. I primarily need to work on speaking out more and being willing to make mistakes in order to progress, but that will always be something I do less than Claire simply because of personality, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Language Anecdotes

I just learned today that I've been telling the kids to take off their shoes/coats using lever, when the verb is really enlever... oops.

Words that kids use don't always work in adult situations... Most of the time it's nothing of great importance, but there's a significant difference between using the word coquin/e for a child and an adult; for a child, it's something to call them when they're being mischievious and it is very acceptable, but for adults... yeah. Not the same. I'll let you figure that one out.

Oui is yes and ouais is yeah, and apparently  there is a way in which you can change your tone when you say non which makes a similar distinction of formality/informality. Go figure. And the kids yelled at me when I used ouais with them because they're taught that it's very impolite. Oops again. I just have to remember not to use it when I'm around them.

The French make a pfft sound to mean I don't know a lot, which Claire picked up on quickly and then I therefore picked up on from her. It's pretty fun to learn these little subtleties and use them without thinking about it because that means we're really immersing ourselves in the language and culture.

I'm planning on writing a post later today about what I've been doing lately, so I'll talk to you again soon! :)

My Progress

Salut! Sorry that it's been so long since I posted - I've been busy! What has happened since I last wrote?...

Well, I'm slowly getting better at everything as each day passes: driving, finding my way around, understanding the language, understanding my tasks, getting used to the way of life...

And I have to get used to military time!

With driving, I'm more afraid of getting lost, etc, than not being able to drive a standard properly, but I am still far from perfect with the driving!!! I can say, however, that I'm thankful for mistakes because they teach me what to look for next time. For example: I stopped at a stoplight and put the car in first, or so I thought; it took me two and a half light cycles with people passing me for me to figure out that I was in third instead of first! Oh la la! I felt like an idiot after that, but now I know that that's something I need to be especially careful of and something to look for if I have the same problem again! With the traffic, there are a ton of round-abouts and, particularly in the smaller towns, the streets have no rhyme or reason to how they are organized, and so it's hard to learn how to get around. But, I'm getting by, even if it means arriving somewhere a little late because I got momentarily lost.

I don't know how to track my language progression except for basic explanations. For the most part, I can understand almost everything that is said with a combination of current knowledge and context clues, but there are still many times when I simply don't understand. I'm still pretty bad at speaking because of a combination of lack of vocabulary and stage-fright/thought translation lag, but I'm hoping that all of my "absorbing" with oral comprehension will soon translate to better speaking!

My French classes start on October 1st, and I'll be in the same class as Claire (we are the two American au pairs of Gex!); I'm ready for them to start because I hope they'll help me with my grammar so that I'll feel more confident in speaking. I'm also using Duolingo to brush up on basic vocabulary (and as I advance in the program, learn more difficult vocabulary), and I have a little phrasebook that I skim through. Soon, I'll also start using Livemocha and see how helpful it is, because I got an all-access key for really cheap. I get motivated for language work by Benny the Irish Polyglot, who stresses immersion, among other things.

I'd say the most stressful thing is learning how to take care of two small children, as I've never done so before. Erine is in the stage of testing me to see if I'll respond to bad behavior like the parents do. Oscar is still warming up to me, but it's coming along. My patience is definitely being tested, particularly when I don't know the vocabulary to tell them to do or not to do something or to explain an answer to their questions.

I'm sorry I haven't posted any scenery pictures, but it has still been so foggy that I can hardly see the Alps in the distance. But here are some pics of my current room vs. future room!

My current little space

The insulation being worked on in my future room

The walls on opp side being finished

The main view from the door

(I don't know what's up with the spacing, btw. I worked on it for ages and it wouldn't work right.)

I'm going to learn how to make a Croque Monsieur (typical French dish- like a toasted ham sandwich, basically) tomorrow, so I should have a lovely food post for you on Friday!

My Arrival and First Full Day

Eh bien...

My brain is in French overdrive! Talk about immersion! The parents will speak English if I don't understand something or if they want to make something easily understood, and I speak English with the other au pair, Claire, but otherwise everything is in French and it's spoken pretty quickly! For the most part, while I don't understand 100% of what is said (probably about 50/50!), I get the basic message, or if I look confused, they'll say it differently! :) But I've immediately found myself saying little words to myself in French automatically since it's basically all I hear. It's hard to imagine myself becoming fluent, but I guess it will come with time.

I hated the nine-hour flight because it was cramped and I couldn't sleep, but there was a good movie selection, so I watched The Lucky One (which is a one-time watch kind of movie... super cheesy) and part of The Avengers. I was so glad to get off that plane! Then I had to go through security in the London Heathrow airport, where they're much more strict than at DFW. (The lady made me try to cram my liquids into a sandwich-size bag and pulled out most of the contents of my bag into a separate bin, so that it was practically impossible to be organized any longer- gee, thanks!)

I finally started to fall asleep on the second flight, but then they served a snack and I was hungry... And then the best part... the view! Omg. The view of the Alps coming close to Geneva was the most spectacular thing I've ever seen!!! I wish I could have taken a picture, but the best views were during the slow descent and I couldn't have my phone on. The mountains stretched across the horizon and they were so majestic! It was the perfect welcome to my new home!!! (Oh, and I can see both the Alps and the Jura Mountains from my house! It was too foggy for pictures today, but I'll take some as soon as I can! I can see Mont Blanc from the second story!)

Apparently, Claire (the au pair of a nearby family) was on the flight from DFW to London as well as from London to Geneva, but I had no idea what she looked like and so I chanced asking this random girl what her name was right before going through customs and it was her! haha! The mother and the kids were waiting for me, and the kids were extremely shy at first, but I'm practically best friends with little Erine now!

Today, I played with Erine, had my driving lesson, chatted with Claire as her little Marie and my kids played, and drove around Gex a little with the mom and kids. Ah, the driving lesson... mon dieu. Evidently the driving teachers are insanely strict here and most people fail their test at least once. My teacher kept tsk-tsking me when my shifting gears wasn't 100% smooth and she told me that if it was a test I would have failed and that it would be very hard for me to drive here, and so I should get an automatic instead. Talk about a stressful hour! But then get this- I drove around with the mom and she said that all I need is some practice because everyone has trouble at first, and that I'll be just fine! She also said that the teachers are so strict these days that even she would probably fail if she had to take the test again because now they have a lot of confusing questions on courtesy and theory.

Upcoming...
The kids' school starts next Tuesday, so a schedule will fall into place then. I'll have the kids all day long by myself on Thursday and Friday! Maybe next week, I'll be going to Bourg with Claire so that we can register for our residency. I also have an appointment at the bank to get an account and a debit card on the 9th, I think. My school starts on the 17th, so I'll have to take the placement test the week before to see what level I'm on.

I've got information overload, but everything is going ok so far! I'm definitely ready to go to bed, however! (It's about 11:30 here!)

How to >> Become an Au Pair ((in 5 steps))

Step 1: Be Determined to Get to x Country.

It's been my dream since I was a small child to learn French and go to France, even though I don't know what started the dream. I started taking French classes in the seventh grade, and began dreaming of living in France and how to do it. I would also like to travel to as many other countries as I can, and maybe even to every continent, but going to France is my primary goal. I would never be able to live with myself if I never made it to France, so I'm using this opportunity of being young and fresh out of college to realize my dream!

 

Step 2: Weigh Options

  

At first, I thought the only logical option for going to France would be to go to school there full-time in order to become fluent, while living with a French family. Through the many programs I investigated, it was going to cost at least $20,000 for me to go abroad for one year and attend school; the first and most publicized program I researched was through EF Tours, which was particularly expensive. Since I am not made of money, I then began considering options to raise the money, including starting a scholarship fund. Then I realized I could get the money on my own by being an assistant English teacher in Japan through a program that my sister participated in, the JET Programme. However, I had just missed the December applications and would have to wait an entire year after finishing school before starting the program, which would mean waiting even more time to go to France and finding a job at home for the time being.

I first got the idea of being an au pair from two of my language teachers at school, who had students that had been nannies in France; I dismissed the idea at first, thinking that wasn't something I wanted to do, but later changed my mind as I realized how well it could work. When I began researching, I initially found a site that had an au pair program in which they placed you with a family in your desired country; however, the program costs about $500 and doesn't have a very large salary, so I determined that it would probably end up costing me money instead of the program paying for itself. Then I found greataupair.com, which is basically just a networking site that helps au pairs and families that need au pairs find each other; this method did not have any program cost, and making a contract directly with the family meant that I would also have a larger salary. And going the au pair route rather than simply taking classes 24/7 means that the experience will pay for itself (except perhaps some money for airfare), and I still get to take a few hours of class each week as it is required as part of getting an au pair visa.

Step 3: Networking for Free

There is an option on the Great Au Pair website to get a subscription so that you can have additional features to help you find a family, but I found that such a subscription was unnecessary. I created a profile for myself, which included a long typed interview, and searched for a family that had matching criteria to my credentials and interests. Simply by "favoriting" some families that I liked, I had several families email me asking me more about myself and telling me more about themselves. I ended up with two families that were both interested in me, and I had to choose one! The website was really easy to use; the only time-consuming part was answering all the questions for the interview on my profile! The best part was that it took me less than three weeks on the site to find the family I ended up with!

Step 4: Pick a Family

I ended up having two very different families that were interested in having me as their au pair, and as it was so hard to choose between them, I had my family and my best friend help me weigh my options. One family ended up having more qualities and perks that benefited me, and they were located very close to a large city that would also benefit me greatly, so we decided that they would be the best. The only slightly frustrating thing about this process was that with the time difference, the emailing process was a little slow. Patience is a virtue! But it worked out pretty well, and it finally set in that I was going to get to go to France! I was excited, terrified, anxious, and then all those emotions at once! But I knew that the most nerve-wracking part was yet to come: the technicalities of getting to France, and starting my job taking care of two young children!

Step 5: Fall in Love ((but don't forget the paperwork))

The more I talked to the family (the mother, really), the more excited and comfortable about the situation I got. The mother is really outgoing and upbeat and understanding, so she's fun to talk to and makes me feel more at ease because she had been an au pair once, too. She also sent me some pictures of their family, which are adorable. So, I got more and more excited!

The not-so-fun part is all the paperwork. I had to renew my passport, request documents from my school for both proof of attendance and proof of 150+ hours of French studies, get an au pair contract (which I got in just enough time! whew!) and an enrollment letter for the French school I'll be attending from my French family, and then take those items along with a visa application form and a fee (of course) to Houston to apply for my long-stay Au Pair visa. It wasn't so great to have to go to Houston to get the visa, but it was worth it, obviously! Once in France, I have to register with the OFII (French Office for Immigration and Integration) and get a bank account (it's not a requirement, but it will make managing my money easier).

And voilà! I'm an au pair! Let me know if you need help in becoming an au pair, as I now understand how it all works! :)

Bienvenue!

Bonjour, mes amis!

My name is Chelsea Fairless, and I'm going to France to be an Au Pair! This shall be my blog about my adventures in France, and I hope you enjoy it! See my "About Me" page for a short biography and basic info.

When am I going to France, you ask?
Departure: August 26, with 2 flights. 1) Flight from DFW @9:25pm to London (+6 hours: Time zone change to Greenwich Mean) @12:25pm (9hr flight). 2) Flight from London @3:25pm to Geneva (+1 hour: Time zone change to CET) @6pm (1:35 flight duration).

I will be developing regular features for my blog so that every post is not like a journal entry. These features may not be consistent within the first few weeks as I settle in, so be patient with me! Features to look for:

• Beautiful Mondays - Photographs or anecdotes about everyday beautiful things that are commonly overlooked. This will focus on the subtleties of French life.
• Word Wednesdays - As I progress in my French language skills, I'll talk about funny, ironic, misleading, confusing, etc., words and phrases.
• Food Fridays - I will post about my favorite French foods and give a recipe if it's something I made or helped to make!
• Photo an Hour - (I got this idea from theperfectpearpair.blogspot.com) For my traveling days, I will have a journal entry via a photograph for each hour of the day and what I was doing during that hour.
• Quote of the Day - I will post a quote or verse of scripture that I feel is relevant to my current activities and/or emotions, perhaps with every blog post.

To read all the posts on a particular feature, you can search it by title, click on the label link, and for the MWF features there is a link at the top of the page to read them all.

I will go ahead and start doing some of the above features before going to France about my life here at home so that you can get to know me and my blog.

Please let me know if there's something in particular you would like me to post about and/or if you see something on my blog that needs to be fixed! I'm open to any and all suggestions!

You can follow my blog through the Followers section with an account from one of the following: Blogger, Google, Twitter, Yahoo, Orkut, or Plaxo. You can also follow me through bloglovin' or by email if you don't have an account with one of the previous sites.

Also, today is my beautiful mother's birthday!!! I love you Mama, and I appreciate everything you have done for me!!! I love you!!!

Thanks for taking the time to follow my blog!