Girl Meets World: "Cuz."

"But why Josh?" My instinct to mouth the word "cuz" as Josh says it simultaneously has habitually become second nature for me. This slang word has become my newly despised word that The Josher gives me no matter what the posed question might be. "Josh, why don't you want to go to school today?" "Cuz." "Josh, why won't you poop in the toilet instead of your diaper?" "Cuz." So in honor of Josh’s one and only answer to any question, I decided to post a new blog just cuz.

Who knew that being an au pair could make ME find out that I have a speech impediment? Okay, I might be slanting this a little, but Thom has brought it to my attention that Josh now says the word "um" and the source of this issue could stem from no other place except me! It's just a matter of time until he adds "like" "stoaked" and "rad" to his vernacular to become fully California bred. I'm planning on packing him on my suitcase when I move home so this will more or less happen anyways.

As anyone who has spoke to me recently might know, reality is hitting hard that "the end" is sneaking up on me much quicker than I would like. To put it simply, I’m just not ready to leave. Paris has become home to me. I have my routine, I have my friends, I have this city- none of which I want to give up just yet. Three weeks. That’s all there is left until I’m jet setting back west... or is it? Last week I found out that my “replacement” backed out and the Ricke’s are having to start from scratch again to find a new au pair. When they told me this over dinner last Sunday night, the first thing that came to my mind was, “is this a sign?” Mentally playing around with this idea, I came up with another solution for them- I stay. Now wait, before you jump to conclusions, allow me to explain. I’m still coming home for Christmas and New Years. And if I returned, it would only be until March when my Visa expires. So by next week I’ll find out if I’m staying only three more weeks, or three months. There are several variables that play factors here but as this looms over my head (and now my anxious parents), I think the odds are in favor of me moving home for good in December. I’ll just have to find a way to cope with leaving Paris sooner than I want to but this entire situation is starting to feel like a break-up right when things are at its best. Some might argue it’s best to leave on a high note, but this has truly turned into something I want to last forever.

One thing that makes staying here a tad bit easier, is getting to see familiar faces all the time. Whenever someone is traveling to Europe, it’s almost considered illegal to not come to Paris. This time was no exception as Karen and Sophia Bonacorso came into town two weeks ago! Bonacorso should ring a bell to my close family and friends as they were my host family I lived with both times I was out in Boston playing soccer. Sophia, the oldest of their four amazing kids, was in a ballet competition here in Paris. This little girl is unbelievable!! She’s only 14 right now but is hoping to become a professional ballerina by the time she’s 16. That might sound shocking to most, but watching her on stage, I’d be shocked if it didn’t happen. Karen, the mother, was nervously holding onto her seat during her entire routine but she should definitely be a proud mama! Besides the dancing, I was able to show them around Paris a little bit and even show Karen a smidgen of the night life, taking her out to a bar with Leslie and I :) if anyone asked, she was my older sister! It was terrific getting to see both of them but also a little bitter sweet because it reminded me how much I missed them! And with only the two of them in tote, made me miss the rest of the clan that much more! If all goes according to plan, I’ll get to see all of them in March when I plan to visit Meghan in Boston... the fact that St. Patricks Day overlaps with my trip is pure coincidence... :) and who knows, Karen made an offer for me to basically come be their au pair. Boston round three? Figuratively speaking, in my life right now I feel as light as a feather... We will see where the wind blows me.

With the most wonderful time of the year inching closer, one thing Paris (and most major European cities) is known for during Christmas time are the Christmas Markets! Vendors and booths line the streets of popular Paris areas including the Champs Elysees, La Defense, Trocadero, Montmartre, and more. Everything from corn on the cob and kebabs to hand made scarves and soaps are on display for sale. Christmas music plays and people come from near and far to see what these are all about. Hands down, my favorite thing to buy here is the “vin chaud” ... or, hot wine. Pay an extra euro and they’ll add some “rhum” to it and warms you right up! So far, I’ve strolled around the Champs Elysees Christmas Market twice, but look forward to peeping some others in the next few weeks.

With the Christmas Markets up and running, Paris decked out in Christmas garb everywhere you look, and Starbucks finally whipping out their Christmas cups (which of course, OFFICIALLY marks the start of Christmas season), it took a conscientious effort to not forget about Thanksgiving. We celebrated Thanksgiving with a dinner at our house Saturday night. Since it’s not a celebrated holiday here, Thursday was a normal Parisienne work day. Luckily, being an au pair, I have all day to trapes around this city I love so much. Leslie and I knew we had to do SOMETHING American on actual Thanksgiving so we set up going to Breakfast In America with us, Bryana, Hilary, and Katie (three other American au pairs who all went to UCSB). Kristin, a German au pair, came as well. She was keen on trying their “Obama Shake.” Breakfast In America is not a made up name or something clever we came up with. It actually exists and is so popular, there are two locations in Paris. Go here to get your fix of french toast, pancakes, breakfast burritos, and milkshakes! It was a nice time out to spend together and actually get to celebrate our American Roots. Once breakfast was over and we stepped outside, it was back to the “oui’s,” “non, merci’s,” and “pardon’s.”

Jumping back to a month ago, we decided that my family would host a thanksgiving dinner for us and the Van Gaver’s (Leslie’s host family). No biggie right? Well, when my family includes four boys, and her family includes three boys and a girl, our two families combined equal fourteen people! As the day inched nearer, Leslie and I were nearly salivating at every Pinterest and Food Network recipe we saw. But as we kept asking our host families what dishes each of us wanted to prepare, everyone seemed pretty aloof to the whole thing. Finally, Leslie and I took initiative and went shopping at Thanksgiving. Hold the confusion, to explain, Thanksgiving is a store here in Paris that sells all American food that you can’t buy in the grocery store such as Betty Crocker cake mix, Trix cereal, and PopTarts. And yes, they are open year round. And yes, they cost approximately three times as much as in the states. Nevertheless, we were able to stock up on the essentials and prepare for a promising Thanksgiving Feast!

The day of the dinner finally rolls around and Leslie comes over at noon ready to get cookin’! We realized quickly we didn’t have half the ingredients we needed so made another grocery run. Finally back in the kitchen, the preparation gets underway. Dumber and Dumber are on a roll as we finish up the Pumpkin bread, stuffing with added cornmeal and sausage, maple and brown sugar yams with marshmallows, and green beans with sauteed mushrooms and onions. Starting on our apple pie and peacan pie desserts, reality hits us. Sadia (my host mother) walked into the kitchen and told us she was going to get a massage. Josh was taking a nap and Sam was watching tv, so we were to keep an eye on them. For the first time all day, Leslie and I realize we are getting zero help preparing this feast for fourteen people... just peachy. Back to work, we just keep laughing over the situation. Sadia is getting a massage, Leslie’s host family is currently at the town pool, and here we are, slaving away in the kitchen. In one of my earlier blogs I wrote how being an au pair is “MIT” and I think this definitely exemplifies being a Mother In Training. Leslie jokingly said, “I thought we were going to have time to relax, get ready, and even watch a movie!” In actuality we barely had time to change out of our sweats, taking alternating five minute breaks to go up to my room and throw ourselves together. I will give Thom some credit, as he picked up the turkey in the morning and checked it every now and then. ((Golf clap)) Being that the house is “european style” which means small kitchen including only one oven, it made for quite the challenge trying to cook all our dishes as well as the turkey.

In the end however, I must say everything turned out really great! ... except for a minor debacle with the gravy. Completely forgetting about it as the boil overflowed the pot, I quickly moved it into the sink. Forgetting I left it there and starting to clean up the mess, a good amount of soap ended up in the gravy. Hesitating over what to do, Leslie and I concurred it still tasted okay?... Nobody was injured or got sick from it but let’s keep that our little secret. What kind of holiday would it be if everything went smoothly anyways?

Once Thom and the boys got home from football practice and the Van Gaver’s arrived, it was pretty smooth sailing from here on out. We enjoyed some aperitifs and champagne then all gathered around the table to finally enjoy the feast! One of the bigger “MIT” moments came pretty early into the night as we set out our appetizers, which were our homemade “Brie Bites” (pie crust bites stuffed with of brie cheese and jam) and the pumpkin bread. My excitement quickly turned into being perturbed as Nathan went into the kitchen to open up a bag of Dorito’s instead of eat the appetizers we spent hours making! Looking back, this moment, along with going back into the kitchen every ten minutes to check on the food, makes me laugh/a little scared at how much of a parental figure I’ve become here... the inevitable is happening, I’m growing up! Everyone was very grateful and impressed with everything we had prepared. But I’d have to say the best feeling came from just the general sense of accomplishment that I felt once the night was complete.. We really pulled that off! As I’m writing this I can just see my mother laughing at this, picturing me in the kitchen all day, with an I-told-you-so grin on her face. Well mom, believe it! I took pictures of the feast just so I would have hard evidence :)

Other than the Christmas Markets and Thanksgiving, my noteworthy highlights are simply just checking things off “the list.” One thing so great about Paris is you can live here years (or nine months in my case) and still not have come close to doing/seeing everything in this city. For months now, I’ve been wanting to go to the Pére Lachaise Cemetery. Here, you can find the burial spots of Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Giovanni Bellini and other famous writers/musicians/artists/popular Parisian figures. I think putting this off until now actually worked out to my advantage because it was SO beautiful there (in the least morbid way possible) with the crisp fall air and colorful leaves on the ground.

On Tuesday, Leslie and I knocked another off the list which was going to the top of Notre Dame. See for yourself below but of all the views I’ve seen in Paris, this was definitely one of my favorites. Everyone always immediately thinks the Eiffel Tower is the mantra view here (which, don’t get me wrong- it’s breathtaking), but most people forget that you can’t see the Eiffel Tower if you’re standing on the Eiffel Tower! Being at the zero point of Paris, Notre Dame gives you the best of both worlds, being able to see the Seine, Eiffel Tower, Napoleon’s Tomb, Sacre Coeur, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, and more. (you be the judge- see for yourself below)

Going hand in hand with some more cultural exposures, yesterday Leslie, Kristin, and I stood in line in the freezing cold for almost two hours to see the current exhibit at the Grand Palais: Edward Hopper. All I have to say about that besides my toes being numb, is you’re welcome (or I’m sorry) to anyone standing within a ten foot radius of us. One thing is for sure, we girls know how to TALK and we were surely a solid source of entertainment to the others queueing. Once inside, the exhibit itself was fantastic and well worth the wait. Besides the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and the Louvre of course, this definitely tops my list of art museums/exhibits I’ve seen. After seeing this American realist painters works of art including Nighthawks and my personal favorite, Chop Suey, we headed over to the Marais for one of our “boozy lunches.” As you know, being an au pair gives you the freedom to do whatever you like during the day while everyone else is at work so we figure what better way to spend our days than with good food, good company, and good wine? Oh how tough our lives are :) But reality quickly hits come five o’clock as I’m cleaning up a different type of liquid from the bathroom floor as Josh missed pouring his little potty “debris” into the toilet.

Jumping back to magnificent city views, tonight I’ll be going to the top of Montparnasse (the second tallest building in Paris, behind Lady Eiffel for you smarty pants). Many people traveling here opt to go the top of this building instead of the Eiffel Tower because the line is much shorter... and this view allows you to see Her Majesty. Tonight should be great for several reasons. A. I’m getting to cross another thing off the list. B. We’re going at night so seeing everything lit up should be great. And C. There’s a bar at the top. No explanation needed there :)

If you can’t read my enthusiasm about my life here, than let me spell it out. I love my life here! Not a day goes by that I don’t feel so incredibly blessed and thankful to have had this experience. In my last few weeks here, I’m determined to make every day count. This weekend I’m going to Dublin, Ireland so check back next week to hear all about my continued european adventures!

Santé!