So for Halloween in Paris I went out with a friend from school, Katie, and she was a rainbow and I was a rag doll. We meet up to make dinner at her place and had some wine with some French pastries and then went out on the town. A couple things to note about French Halloween. 1) don't believe that they do not celebrate this holiday…they do. However they do not believe in fun/creative/happy costumes. Everyone was dressed as something dead, like zombies. Some even just had regular clothes on and had red paint just splattered on themselves to look like they were in some bloody battle or dying scene in a movie. So needless to say Katie and I were the only ones dressed in something colorful. We were going to go to this bar on the Seine that was celebrating Halloween. However the line to get onto this boat (which looked like a fishing boat not like a boat meant to have people on to dance the night away) was at least 100 people long so we went to option two which was another club that was celebrating Halloween. However this line was at least 50 people for what looked like a shoe box of a place. So we just went to a bar for drinks. It was ridiculously crazy for a city that many tourist books or even websites said never celebrated Halloween. It was interesting to see how they celebrated this holiday and then the next day (which is all saints day) was celebrated but much differently than in the states since we don't celebrate it at all. So November 1st aka all saints day is a day to celebrate if you yourself are named after a saint. So you go out with the family or go over a family members home and celebrate you. Then on November 2nd you go to the cemeteries and visit those in your family who have passed away. It was very interesting to see how the French celebrated these three days which are so different.
This is "Jardin de Luxembourg" aka the Luxembourg gardens that I get to walk through every wednesday on my run to class. I have to attend 2 lectures along with my grammar and phonetics classes for my program. However the lectures are offered at strange times. Like everyday there are some from 10am-12pm then 2pm-4pm then 430-630pm. Well, dilemma, I have phonetics from 1030am-1130am every day every other week, so I can't take any of the morning classes. Then I have grammar class from 12pm-2pm and there are no classes offered then anyway. So I am taking the 2-4 and 430-630 lectures on Wednesdays and I get to literally run through this beautiful garden at 2pm. Thankfully, I spoke to my lecture prof about how I will be late by about 10 minutes every class and she was like its not problem you won't miss much and she gives out a handout of her lectures. I am very lucky. I would've taken other classes at other times if I knew this information before I applied for jobs however I didn't and I found a job before the lectures started. I've noticed with this program they like to tell their students whats going on with their program two or three days in advance and not weeks before like in the states. For example, I found out what level I was at for my grammar class the day before classes started. I found out about the lectures the week before they started. In the states I would've known about my level and all the classes I needed to take in March and classes wouldn't start until September. So for this instance, I miss the states system of letting their students know things well in advance. Thankfully I haven't run into any problems here so all things have run very smoothly.
Now back to the job, I wasn't planning on finding one here however an opportunity arose and I took it. Also, even though I have classes, They get out at 2pm and I was kinda bored from then until I went to bed. I've already seen much of what Paris has to offer and I will continue to see it during the weekends but the weekdays were getting long without something to actually do besides spend money. So Katie (the one I went out with on Halloween) told me about her jobs and she works with a company called Baby Langue which hires native English speakers to go into French family's homes and teach their young ones English. So when I researched the company I found they only work their 'teachers' for less than 25 hours a week and are very flexible. So I applied. Not even 2 minutes after I sent my application online I got a call back from them setting up an interview. I went in two days latter and was hired. So I am pretty much a glorified babysitter. I watch the kids and teach them english at the same time. But its only during the week for like 2 or 3 hours a night and I don't work weekends. I got the job before I found out about the lectures so thats why I have to run on Wednesdays since thats the only day I am not working with Baby Langue. The company pays well and they also pay for holidays so if the school has a holiday and you don't work with the family you still get paid so its pretty cool. I work with one family Monday, Tuesday and Thursdays watching Hugo who is 3 years old from 430pm-7pm. According to the Baby Langue training session we had (which was 4 hours long of how we should go about being babysitters and teachers at the same time, boring yet very informational) we as the teachers are supposed to speak only English and no French what-so-ever. Well… I've already broke that rule. Here in France, children start school at 3 with what we would consider pre-k but its much more structured and he is in school from 9-430 like the other students. So he is much more matured than any other 3 year old I've meet in the states. He knows I speak English and very little French and for the most part I don't speak French to him and we play games and watch movies in English. However this was my first week with him and he was a little on the fence with me which is normal and asked on the second night when his mom was coming home. Thats when I broke the "golden" rule and spoke French to him. I could tell him 5 different ways in English his mom was coming home in a half hour but he wouldn't understand. So I told him in French to avoid any tears or miscommunications. So far we've been having fun but its only been the first week and we shall see how the rest of my time with him goes. I also have a family on Fridays with two girls who are 8 and 6. They have had a Baby Langue instructor before and their parents speak English as a second language so I won't be breaking the "golden" rule with them. I had my first lesson with them this week and they were very shy so it may be a slow process to get them to open up to me but I think we should have fun since they seem generally interested in the English language.
Another beautiful fall day on the street where my classes are held.
I just love watching the colors change here! So pretty!
A beautiful night, oh the lights!
St Eustache
Apparently in the 1970s there was some food journey or escape from Paris? I'm not sure if I read the plaque right but the little artistic creation to commemorate it was cool.
So now my time will be juggled between my classes and work like usual for me however the weekends are mine to explore! So my posts my be spacious but they will be filled with lots of pics of the fun and exciting things I will continue to see here in Paris! :)
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