An update on my French

My French is coming along so well, I'm surprised! I saw catching fire in French, and understood most of it. I can hold a conversation pretty well, and sometimes my first reaction comes out in French.

The first time I noticed this, Alandra and I were walking to the movie theatre, and Alandra was about to cross the street when the pedestrian guy was red and not green, and there were cars coming and everything. She goes to step off the curb (we were preoccupied with being excited to see Catching Fire), I grab the strap of her purse, yell, "C'EST ROUGE!!" And yank her back. And the car goes speeding by her. We were both impressed by that haha.

And I'm still not use to when I have a thought and it's in French... That's strange to me. Sometimes, I ink it's not even my thought because it's a bit weird.

And today, as we were going to church, I was talking to sœur Gerad about scarves, Christmas, Canada, and a French verb. (All in French).

I'm also pretty sure my dream was in French last night because I awoke with French words on my mind.

Last Sunday, I invited Alandra to church with me, so after we could go visit the chateaux de Versailles. She understood most of what was being said, but since we were talking about family history and doing work for the dead she was a bit confused, so I had to explain a couple things for her. It was also fast and testimony meeting. I had prayed that she would feel the spirit when she came, but as I was sitting there as the sacrament was being passed, I had this feeling that in order for that to happen I needed to act. I knew that I needed to get up there a bear my testimony, share what I know to be true. It was a very simple testimony. But after she told me she was very impressed that I got up there. And she was amazed at how welcoming and kind all the members were to us when we came, she could definitely see why I enjoyed coming so much. Hopefully she enjoyed it too, and she'll be up to coming with me again.

Bruxelles, Belgique

The first thing you notice when you step of the bus in Brussels is the smell. A wave of fresh... garbage, and then you do this awkward two step dance move trying to avoid the trash on the sidewalk. According to the guide we picked up from our hostel, "Brussels is ugly, but we love it."

Speaking of hostel:

Very good first experience!

We are use to a very relaxed way of traveling, but in Brussels we had only 30 hours to see the whole city! And boy did we see everything! Our feet were sore!

Enough talk now, I'll just post the pictures.

Mannequin pis

My family

We made pizza the other night with zucchinis, peppers, sausage, mozzerella, olives, and ham.

Starting on the left, that is Letizia, she is ten years old, favorite color is yellow, has super curly hair, best friend is Berenice (German), and she helps enforce the rules.

Giulia, (sounds just like Julia), just turned nine, favorite color is blue, she has multiple best friends, who make a regular appearance at our house. She can be loud sometimes, and she likes to bargain with me, to get away with as little piano as possible. But she's a sweetie, and the dramatic one of the house.

The mom is named Sonia, and you can see where Letizia got her curly locks from. She's always making sure I am doing alright, and loves the different foods I cook for them.

Football

Meet Heidi, a Finnish au pair, who just happened upon two free tickets from her host family to...

France vs Finland football match!

Qu'est que je mange?

For breakfast:

A bowl of warm milk, with a handful of cereal. Yes, Erin, I pour the milk in first... 

Lunch consists of usually leftovers if I'm at the house, which is most likely to be pasta. Some bread, some fruit. 

For dinner, I try to shake things up a bit by making some foods we eat at home. The girls love taco salad and guacamole. But the dad loves his pasta... We will eat pasta about four times a week for dinner. And steamed vegetables, and bread... Though we don't eat a lot of meat.

And on the weekend, when I wake up before everyone else on Sunday to go to church, when I look into the fridge I will most likely find this staring at me:

Weekends are for eating fish, (yes mum, I rather like fish now) although waking up to this can often put ones appetite off.... My host mum has gotten in the habit of warning me when she puts fish in the fridge.

So French people are a little strange when it comes to eating (luckily my family is Italian), but well they cut their pizza up, and they can't eat spaghetti without cutting the noodles. And they will look at you strangely if you don't do that.

But Europeans have this habit of eating everything separately. Like in courses. We will dish up the first part of dinner, usually the pasta, eat that, clean our plate with a bit of bread (they hate mixing their food), dish up the vegetables, eat that, and finish with some cheese or fruit.

You know how uncle Duane eats ketchup with everything..? Well we eat oil with everything. On the pasta, on the salad, on chicken, on potatoes, on fish. Oil and Parmesan are a necessary condiment for the table.

Ok well now that I've made myself hungry... A bientôt!

Let the Holy Spirit guide: ex. 2

Giuliano is always the one to bring up the topic of religion, always asking questions, telling me about his, comparing the two.

Well, he was telling me about his religion, and how this Sunday is the first major communion of the year. He was explaining it to me, and it is just like the sacrament. He tells me I should come sometime.  Then he asked me what gospel we read, if we read the holy bible. I said yes, and then I "let the Holy Spirit guide" me again, and went on explaining how we read another book also, called "the Book of Mormon". I explained how it's another testimony of Jesus Christ, and then I didn't even think about what I said next, which was, "I have a French copy, if you would like to read it and see for yourself what it is about?" He agreed, so I grabbed it, and left him in the dining room to read it, and I immediately went to my room and prayed earnestly for the spirit to touch his heart as he read it.

Twenty minutes later, he knocks on my door, hands me the book, and very unlike him, he says simply, "je compris." Which means I understand.

I say that was very unlike him, because he's the kind of person that can talk forever about anything, and I was expecting this whole long sentence to say that it was nice, but instead he just says I understand. 

I'm a little bit in shock, I've never even given a Book of Mormon out before..

All I can do now is pray that something from his twenty minutes of reading stuck out to him, and he felt the spirit.

Another first

I had my first day of school on Monday.

My class consists of about 12 others students. I am the youngest... 

We go Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 11:15 to 1:15 (not counting travel time). And basically, we are taught French... In French, for two hours! The first day was completely overwhelming! Had a head ache the whole time, but now it's easier, I'm use to it. And plus I can catch most of what is being said in conversations now.

I chose a good spot to sit. Beside this girl named Rebecca (from Australia) and Marie (Denmark) they both are the best speakers in the class, and super nice! Yesterday I went with Rebecca after class to get a coffee/hot chocolate and practise my pronouciation. It was just what I needed.

Also they offer sport classes at an 80% discount for au pairs, so my friend Alandra and I are going to sign up for a Zumba class.

Some ketchup please?

Ok sorry about the lack of information... I am fine no worries! Just enjoying myself too much to find time to "ketchup" on my blog... Haha... D'accord!

First order of business: 

My travel buddy!

Her name is Alandra, and she is from Oregon. She lives literally five houses away from me. We really clicked! She is another au pair, she went through the same agency that I did. And we were emailing before, but when we finally got together we couldn't stop talking! Maybe it was because we hadn't talked to someone who could speak proper English since we got here. But none the less, we are making tons of plans for these next months!

Second serving of ketchup:

    

Need I say more?

My personal favorite!

There's a lot more... But I shan't bore you with the nude statues.

Final course:

Bucket list item #1: check! Très belle! Worth the 13 euros it took to get to the top. Such a perfect day too! Couldn't have asked for warmer weather in fall.

The seine! Yes it is dirty, and no it's not as cold as I thought it would be.

There are no "public washrooms", if you buy something at a restaurant you can use one, or a store. But other then that you have to pay. This is what 2€ got you in the middle of Paris. 2€ also got you a bottle of water... See the common denominator? A luxury toilet, that's what they said. (That's just wallpaper not toilet paper). 

Their decorations consisted of toilet seats on the wall. It was a very nice bathroom. But there are better ones for free in Canada...

Enjoy your ketchup! I will post again soon, but for now, a bientôt.

Be thou an example

Just the other day, Sonia and I were fixing up the kitchen after the girls were in bed. As we were talking, she told me that they were lucky to have found me for their au pair, because she told me, I'm different than most girls my age. She went on to explain that, she didn't know quite what it was, but I was more open to everyone, kinder, easier to talk to, polite. Etc. She explained that there is certain feeling I have about me. I smiled thanked her graciously.

You see, living in Cardston, and being among many LDS people, you never realize just quite how different you are from the world. I've heard many stories of other youth, being told in a way that they have the Lords countenance in their faces, but I didn't even know if I emitted that light myself. Until now.

Let the Holy Spirit Guide

The Marello's are always asking if I have a good sense of direction before they send me off somewhere. I always nod my head. But in my mind I'm thinking that it's not me that has the good sense of direction.

Multiple times, I have been lost, or I don't know where to turn, or when to get off the bus. And every time I start to worry, a hymn comes to mind, Let the Holy Spirit Guide, and I start humming it. As soon as I do, my worry no longer exists, and I'm turned around and faced in the right direction. This is where my faith comes in. I have to trust that He will not lead me a stray, and I need to rid all doubt from my mind as I just let the Holy Ghost guide me where I need to go. 

Voila!

Whenever I go out I have a couple phases on the tip of my tongue, ready for when I need to talk to people. Today Sonia had me go to the bakery to pick up some bread. I would like to let you know that everything went better then expected!

I knew what I needed to get, I had rehearsed the lines in my head on the walk over, so I was ready. When it came to be my turn at the counter, the normal bonjour was shared, and then she asked me what I needed, I told her. But on the spot, I did not see the corn bread I was to pick up also, I had to change my sentence right there. But it worked! Mind you she probably knew I wasn't French haha, but hey you can't get mad if I try eh? The next surprising thing was when she spoke to me again, and I didn't even have to think about translating it! I just knew what she said!

I'm getting really good at hearing French, and if its a yes or no question it's easy for me to answer. I still have to practise speaking back in French, but I'm getting more and more confident speaking to the girls. And they are getting better at speaking so I can understand them better.

My first Sunday

What an adventure I had at church! Though the familiar face I saw was well worth it. Getting there was umm ok... Haha we had a little mishap. Because Giuliano, the father, told the bus driver, who couldn't speak English, that I need to get off at such a such place make sure I know where that is. But he forgot!! So he went around to the place again, and dropped me off. But by then, church had started, and I still had a twenty minute walk. Finding my way to the building was no problemo. I just had to follow the cars with suited people haha. Plus, I think the Holy Ghost had a lot to do with everything today.

So, I arrive at church, and they are in the middle of the fifth Sunday meeting. I sneak in the back with a big smile on my face, because of the feeling I had of finally being in church, and I also recognized the back of someone's head! I had to keep myself from running to Elder Clarke, but luckily he turned around, and I offered a little wave.

Throughout the rest of the meeting I was constantly being introduced to people I can't even pronounce the name, let alone spell it. And during the talks and and prayers, although I couldn't really understand, I still felt like I knew what was being said. (Case study #2 of the Holy Ghost). After, Austin, this is what I get for being his cousin, asked me to stay later to play the piano at a baptism.

                Coming home was easier, in a way. I figured out how that you need to push the stop button so the driver knows someone is to get off at the next stop, or else he will keep going. Also I learnt the hard way, the system of the buses, which take me where and when. Though it would have been easier to just call my family and ask them, I really wanted to figure it out myself that way I could do it again.

So I did! I also got more confident with my French, because I had to ask people where to go, and how to get to a spot on the map. I also feel like I can understand it a lot more then before. If only the girls would speak slower. Tomorrow the parents go to work, but the girls don't start school until Tuesday. I get all day with them and their neighbourhood friends. Wish me luck!

Kisses for Ashley!

I grabbed my bags from the baggage claim, and make my way to the exit. I felt as if a ping pong game was being played in my stomach as I looked around for the airport for the marello's. I was probably standing there for about 30 minutes, scared that they weren't going to show. But then I see this green shirt in a sea of dark dull colours, with two gorgeous little girls standing beside him. Truth be told, I didn't even recognize him, I just decided to walk closer. As I got closer, I looked at him with a puzzled look, and he asked, "Ashley!?" As soon as that was said a huge weight lifted off of my heart, and I excitedly replied to his question. Automatically I thought he was going for a hand shake, but no, then perhaps a hug? I asked myself. But alas! I ended up getting two kisses on the cheeks!

Wish me luck!

About 120 minutes left, before I meet my family, face to face. 

Ive never been the minority before, but as I'm sitting in Germany anxiously waiting for the plane to come, listening to all the German announcements, sitting by myself in the boarding area, and  having to say pardon so people speak English to me, I realize that I am alone. I've flown before, but not on such a long flight by myself. I've never had to take my carry on in the bathroom with me. I've always had someone there to watch my back.

 I didn't have anyone to lean against on the plane to sleep. I've barely spoken a word to anyone, my conversations are just filled with smiles and pointing.

 In spite of all of that, the butterflies in my stomach are just making me more excited.

Full of last times.

Yesterday was my last day of having long hair. I cut it off, and donated it to cancer. I am now sporting a short curly bob. I love it! I feel like a burden has been lifted!
My last shift at work was today. Au revoir terrain de golf!
Probably the last time I fill up with gas, until I get home.
My last party with my friends, tonight.
This Sunday is my last English church meeting for ten months.

My plane leaves at 12:30 pm on August 29! My last week here!

Just in time

Yesterday in Vancouver was a success. I qualified for my French visa! We had quite a scare because we were waiting for two very important documents to arrive from France, that without them I would not be leaving for France on the 30th of August. But thankfully, they arrived Monday afternoon, just in time.

My mum and I spent 13 hours in Vancouver, and flew out the same day we flew in. Until after my appointment, I was a nervous wreck.

I was scared we were going to be late, and my mum can attest to that. I checked the time every five minutes it seemed like.

Also scared that I didn't have the necessary documents and would have to make another trip to Vancouver.

That I would get a cranky old lady, who is a stickler for everything. 

That I would lose something.

That we would get lost as we wandered around town.

And just plain scared that it wouldn't work out.

Now looking back, I don't see why I was so scared. It was easy peasy. First of all, we weren't late, (they actually told us to come back closer to my appointment). But I had reason to be scared of being late. While I was there waiting for my turn, this family of three came in, in a panic. Their appointment was at 10:15, but it was 11. The consulate wouldn't see them because they were late, and they had to make another appointment. I know for a fact that the next available appointment isn't until August 26th.

I met another girl who is going to France to be an au pair as well, and we got talking, she is from southern Alberta as well, in Lethbridge, Katherine Wagner. That name seems oddly familiar... We exchanged emails, so now we can be travel buddies.

For my appointment, I barely even talked to the person, I just handed them my documents and waited as they looked them over. And then she said the words that took a huge weight off my shoulders, "Everything seems to be in order Ma'am", with those words I could breathe again.

Meet the Marellos!

57 days... but who's really counting? Right now, we are just waiting on getting my visa, quite boring, and a lot more paperwork. And in this moment of blogging drought,  I thought I would tell you a little bit about the family.

The Marellos are an Italian family who moved to France and love it. They have two little girls, ages 8 and 10, who play the piano, do gymnastics and judo. The parents speak Italian, French, and thankfully English, that will be very helpful in the transition period. Whereas the girls only speak French and Italian and go to an Italian immersion school, so I will be conversing with them in French, wish me luck! And they don't know any English... All well that's the way to become fluent, right?

Where in the world.

St Germain en Laye (point A) just west of Paris 20 km. Versailles lies South of point A, and holds the closest meeting house. It takes 50 minutes by train but lucky for me, I get Sundays and Saturdays off.

This is the street I will be living on. The house is the first one on the left behind the tree. Everything is practically with in walking distance. Even better news, I've already made friends with another au pair just down the road from this family that arrives around the same day I do.

87 days

People are always asking me what are my plans after high school? Am I playing rugby? Going to school? Then I tell them what I am doing and there are two main reactions. Jealous or "are you crazy?". Usually the parents asking my parents if they are crazy letting me do this.
I understand the parents view on this, I mean letting your daughter go over to France for ten months...

...definitely insane.

Here's the plan. I went through an agency and website called
www.interchange.com and signed up to become an au pair for a family. They found me a host family (more on that later) and I arrive in France August 30th. 87 days.

A new beginning

Our graduation theme this year was "every ending is a new beginning". Even though the graduation was fun, I'm ready to turn the page and start a new chapter in my life and this blog is my aid in writing my story. So follow along as I embark on a new leg of the race.