1st Week in Paris

Bonjour Y’all!!

I thought I’d put a little southern flare on the French Hello! As asked for by many of you, I have finally gotten around to updating everyone on how it’s going here in Paris. I have been here a week and I can honestly say that I love it here! All of my anxiety and fears have been replaced with excitement and curiosity. God has totally blessed me with this amazing opportunity and I’m enjoying finding Him in everything I see and do.

For those of you who don’t know, I moved to Paris, France on January 5 to be an au pair, which is a fancy word for nanny. If you know all of this already you can skip to the next paragraph:). I met the family (Olivier-dad, Orelie-mom, Capucine, and Rose-children) in Nashville while the 2 girls, Capucine and Rose, were going to school at FRA. They are from Paris but were in Nashville for 2 years for Olivier’s job. I received an email about how they were moving back to Paris and were looking for a native English speaking girl to come to Paris with them and watch the girls and help them continue to use their English. It sounded interesting so I emailed the mom to ask her about it. That was the beginning of September and by mid-October, I had committed to moving to Paris for a year. I still can’t believe I’m here. I think I have one of the best set-ups that an au-pair can have. The family is paying for most everything, including my own apartment. It was too great of an opportunity to pass up. So that leads you into me actually arriving in Paris.

My first task was to make my way through the Paris airport, go through customs, get my luggage AND find a taxi…all by myself!! As soon as I stepped off the plane though, my fears were laid to rest because everything was really easy to find. Everything was well marked, in French and in English, and there were pictures that corresponded with each sign. Yay me!! The only thing I had trouble with was the darn payphone at the airport. It seriously took me 20 minutes to figure it out! I eventually made it to my family’s apartment, by taxi. Seeing Orelie was a relief because I felt like I could relax….and accomplished. I actually did this…all by myself!! The next couple of days were filled with errands and paperwork. Orelie went with me for some things, the others I had to do on my own. Apparently paperwork and legalization is a pain in every country. As of now, I have applied for my green card twice, and each time they told me I needed something else. I’m hoping by this time next week the 3rd time will be the charm.

On to lighter news, the food here is amazing!! Everything I have eaten has been great. I buy fresh bread everyday for the family, which is a must here. There are pastry shops and chocolate shops everywhere. I am in heaven! I have also become a fan of Nutella. It seriously is amazing. I had a crepe nutella on Sunday as I was walking near the Eiffel Tower. I ended up getting a sugar headache but it was well worth it.

As for transportation, I have become a big fan of the Metro, which is the subway system here. I have been very proud of myself for being able to navigate it so well. And, I walk….a lot. Which is why I don’t mind having the bread and chocolate because I eventually walk it off!!! Once you know what you’re looking for and if you know how to read a map, getting around the city is a piece of cake. I haven’t done many touristy things yet but I will eventually. On Sunday I went to church at the American Church in Paris. It was good and I’ll probably go back, but I still want to explore the other churches here. The American Church is really close to the Eiffel Tower so I walked there after church. From a distance I thought, “It’s not so big”. But as I actually walked up to it, I was mistaken! The bottom part of it makes it huge, in my opinion. And, I didn’t realize you could walk underneath it, but you can. I can’t wait to see it lit up at night. I can see why they call this a romantic city. There are parks everywhere and even during the winter, when the trees are bare and there is snow and ice on the ground, it’s peaceful and relaxing and you take your time and enjoy being here.

Well, I think I’ve written enough for now. I’ll try and write something every week, or at least every couple of weeks. New and interesting things happen all of the time so I can’t wait to share them with you! For example, the power went out while I was typing this. It was off for about an hour. It came on just in time for me to post it!!

I hope this finds all of you well!! If you have any questions that I didn’t answer in this, please ask me! I don’t mind answering questions. I’ll try and fill you in as much as I can. I love ya’ll and I can’t wait to share more soon!

Au revoir!

Jessi