Parc Monceau and Pink Toilet Paper

As many of you all know due to my frequent pictures on Instagram, I arrived safely (after a five hour delay in Chicago!) and my new home is wonderful.

School begins next week for les garçons (the boys), and my French language and culture classes start September 26th, so currently there is not a strict schedule.

That aside, three of the boys' cousins came over this afternoon (Arthur, Blanche and Victoire) and we walked to Parc Monceau, a beautiful park in the 8th arrondissement. The little ones are precious, but if you have tips on how to singlehandedly manage five French-speaking children under the age of seven at one time, I'm all ears. At one point they sped too far ahead of me on their scooters and all I could think was "they're going to get kidnapped and die on my first day." I found them two minutes later.

A few little details I love:
- Le papier hygiénique (the toilet paper) in my bathroom est rose (is pink).
- I can faintly hear and feel the Paris Métro traveling underground when I'm falling asleep.
- Elvire and Christophe comfort the boys with "yes, my love" ("mmyiss, me luff" is more like it).
- Christophe really does make French press coffee.
- Lee Anne left une bouteille de vin dans ma chambre (a bottle of wine in my room).
- My towel racks are heated.
- I walked past une boulangerie et une pâtisserie (a bakery and a pastry shop) and nearly fainted. It smelled just as I'd imagined.
- I made a friend on the first night! His name is Souris and he lives in the vent above my shower. Souris means mouse.

"You're kind of old."   -Dimitri

Parc Monceau

On Thursday, I'll call Paris my home!

It seems like yesterday when I installed a countdown app on my phone solely to see how many days, hours, minutes and seconds until I would depart. At that time, there were 225 days left. Mais mercredi est le jour! (But Wednesday is the day!) At 2:12pm, I will board un avion en route to Paris, and frankly I don't think it will hit me until I start to unpack my bags, organize my clothes into drawers, and place my books and pictures onto shelves. My family and friends frequently ask if I'm "ready," and the answer is simply, "Oui, je suis très prêt!" ("Yes, I am very ready!") But in reality, how can you prepare to transition from all things familiar, to leave everyone you love, and move to a new city, in a new country, with a new language and all new faces? (Cue: prayers!) I will let you know if I ever figure out the answer. With that said though, I could not be more thrilled. I still remember vividly the morning when I received une lettre from Elvire welcoming me into their family-- it was on Friday, November 9th. I started screaming, crying and jumping up and down. J'etais rempli de joie! (I was filled with joy!) Don't believe me? Ask my roommates at the time (Helen Hosmer and Courtney Willoughby) and those who lived below us (Mary Frances Steagall aka my girl crush forever, Kelly Roy and Sarah Ragan). I was on an all-time high and my halfway-completed assignments, upcoming papers and daunting exams suddenly were a bit superflu. I remember thinking, "If I could leave tomorrow, I would." That dream is now in sight!

I've thought of another prayer request if it crosses your mind. Having never traveled to Paris, my expectations of life in the city are very high. I mean at this point I'm envisioning the entire city doused in glitter. Please pray that my expectations would diminish so I will enjoy even the simplest of things. Merci, mes amis! (Thank you, my friends!) 

"I am going to enjoy life in Paris I know. It is so human and there is something noble in the city… It is a real city, old and fine and life plays in it for everybody to see."   -Katherine Mansfield

Quotable

I'm now a sucker for inspirational quotes about traveling, so I wanted to share a few of my favorites.

"Are you going to like, have friends?"   -Dad

"Have you ever seen the movie Taken?"   -literally everyone

"Well if you come back after 9 months, I guess we'll all know why."   -Carrie Ann Cochran

"It'll just be very different than what you've been used to. I think you're going to get bored."   -Dad

"You're going to be so lonely."   -Jane Anne Mathis

"Just remember that France didn't support us after the September 11th attacks."   -Lindsey Windham

"Flights back are over $1000, so hopefully you won't come home too often."   -Dad

"Well you heard what Elvire said about how cars in Paris don't stop for pedestrians. Wouldn't that be awful if..."   -Mom

 

Eight days until I arrive! Can't wait!

Beaucoup de Baisers (Many Kisses)

Yesterday my parents and I drove to Sanibel Island (on the gulf coast of Florida) to meet the family I will live with in Paris! Of all the places they can travel, they have been going to Sanibel each year since 1978. Want to know a fun fact? I'll tell you. During la morte-saison "the off-season," about one million Parisians leave the city for their summer vacations. Anyways, the island is just under four hours from my home in Winter Park, so there could not have been a more perfect opportunity for my parents and me to get acquainted with les garçons et leurs parents! When I left the hotel this morning to drive to their condo, I had completely lost my appetite; J'étais très nerveux! I'm talking first-date-with-the-handsome-guy-except-they-are-going-to-be-my-family-for-a-year-or-two-no-matter-what nervous. Elvire (maman) and Christophe (papa) were welcoming and warmhearted, and Dimitri (sept ans) and Victor (cinq ans) took to me rather quickly! They ran up to me and each gave me kisses on my cheeks; my heart melted! Hugo (deux ans) was taking a nap, but awoke after we had eaten lunch and was a bit more shy. He did give me un bisou on the cheek after a little while though! I wish I could go on and on about their individual personalities, but I'm not able to do them justice after just spending two hours with them. More details will come, I promise!

Prayers on Prayers on Prayers

People I'm close with have asked how they can be praying for the time I'll be in Paris; I'm so thankful! As my arrival is approaching, anxiety does kick in (which I assume is pretty normal), so in no particular order, here are a few specifics to pray for if you think about it:

1. Pray that my family over there is accepting of me and that I'll feel at home with them. Being away during Thanksgiving and Christmas might be challenging, so I want all of us to feel as comfortable as possible around each other.

2. Pray that I will find a church and a community of believers who will be encouraging and uplifting, and that I would make my attendance to church a priority. I feel like it'll be easy to get distracted!

3. Pray that I can love on Dimitri, Victor, and Hugo, and that I can be a good role model for them. I want them to think I'm cool! But I also want them to respect me. I've learned that there's a fine line with little ones!

4. Pray that I pick up on the language quickly. I don't want to feel too lost initially, and I'd love to be fluent before I leave.

5. Pray that I make friends and that I make my relationship with each of them a priority.

6. Pray that I'm open to learn every single thing about the culture. The people, the art, the language, the cuisine, etc. are all so fascinating. I don't want to miss out on one detail!

7. Pray that I can learn my way around the city quickly. If you know anything about me, you know that my sense of direction is worse than someone who lacks all five senses. I don't want to be afraid to explore. 

I know there are WAY more important things in the world... and people who need prayer WAY more than me... But He hears them all and they're all important to Him, no matter how small.

18 days, 17 hours, 37 minutes, 28 seconds

That's how long I have to wait until I arrive in Paris, France, but who's counting? I'm excited enough to start a blog to keep my family and my friends updated, despite the fact that attempting to manage a blog may be the most annoying thing in the world. I tried Wordpress. Failed. I tried Tumblr. Failed. And now I'm forcing myself to try Blogger, which I could have sworn was known as Blogspot. I don't know how those women with five kids have time to pack organic/homemade/gluten-free lunches for their little ones, AND do age-appropriate crafts with each of them, AND take perfectly edited pictures, AND THEN blog about it. I'm just complaining for now; surely I'll grow accustomed to it sooner than later, I hope. One more thing (a bit of a disclaimer)... writing it not my forte.