A few new photos:

November 29, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Day of the Dinde

We did indeed have a proper Thanksgiving meal here in Paris! I can't believe that we were able to make all of our favorite dishes in our tiny, ill-equipped kitchens, but we did, and it turned out wonderfully. Shopping for ingredients was challenging (brown sugar, ground nutmeg, stuffing, and cranberry sauce all have to be bought at specialty stores). The specialty shops were filled yesterday with Americans looking for pumpkin pie spice, Stovetop stuffing and other essentials.

Between the 15 American students in the program only one of them had an oven...a very small oven. Harlan was, of course, in charge of the turkey. Despite the fact that the turkey could barely fit into the oven and we didn't have a roasting pan- it was actually the best turkey I have ever had! He also made the gravy and stuffing, which were equally delicious. The rest of us made our dishes at home and then brought them to the party. I made sweet-potatoes with butter, brown sugar, ginger and orange zest and applesauce with cognac and cinnamon. Our lovely roommate made the most delicious brussel sprouts that were sauteed in balsamic vinegar, almond slivers and honey. Other guests brought green-bean casserole, mashed potatoes, creamy onion and zucchini casserole, mulled wine, salad with goat cheese and cranberries, homemade cranberry sauce, roasted potatoes, pumpkin pie, Martha Stewart's chocolate pudding with wafers and banana, and French fruit tarts... and many baguettes!

It was definitely a very special holiday. Many of us had never met before celebrating together, and this was also a first Thanksgiving away from family for many of us. But, between the food, the American football playing on the TV, and taking turns saying what we were thankful for, it felt very much like home.

And now, just as we are recovering from last night's meal, we are getting ready for Thanksgiving #2 tomorrow with some dear friends who couldn't make it yesterday!

Sweet

This weekend marks my first drip coffee in three months. It's great
here, and I don't want to diminish my French experience, but this is a
glorious reunion.

Quick Update:

Just a quick update (not much news for once):

This week has been a great week of wandering around Paris... window shopping, getting lost, spending money and finding new things to eat! The most exciting purchase of the week was a pair of "house socks" you know the fuzzy kind with tred on the bottom. My feet have been freezing and real slippers are crazy expensive (a minimum of $20 for super thin ugly ones). So I found this store that pretty much only sells cozy things: pajamas, yoga clothes, snuggies, and house socks. I want to live in that store.

I met a fellow Athens girl, Jessica, for coffee! It was so nice to see a friendly face from home and we went to my new favorite coffee shop! This place is the best! It is run by three American girls.

http://www.sugarplumcakeshop.com/en/

They have free refills of coffee and wi-fi and big tables that you can sit at all day! I had the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting- SO good.

Finally got to go inside Notre Dame! I have walked by a few times with the hope of going in but I always seem to be there at the wrong time. It is beautiful inside and I can't wait to go back and go on a tour where you can climb up in the tower!

Still looking for a new gig, but trying to look at all this free time as a blessing =)

Getting ready for Thanksgiving!!! It looks like we are going to do a big Thanksgiving dinner with some of the other American students here! Should be fun! Harlan is on Turkey duty, of course.

Two Weeks Down

A lot has happened in the past week! First of all, I had my first day of work on Monday the 7th. It was terrible! Basically, I had been in contact with this family who wanted to hire me to work as their nanny for the school year and my hours would be from 4-8pm each day. They had two children ages 6 and 3. It seemed like the perfect situation... but no, no, it was not.

Long story short, they had a Philipina housekeeper who had been caring for the children since they were born. The parents had explained to me that the reason this situation was no longer working out was that the housekeeper was not very fluent in either French or English and that she spoiled the children. They stressed that discipline and manners were very important to them and that they hoped that I would be strict with the children. I figured that the children might test some limits at first, but pretty soon we would find our groove and all would work out fine. After having spent one day with the children it was clear that they had never been told NO to anything ever in their entire lives. The next two days basically consisted of me having to discipline the children the entire time. This was not fun for any of us. Then there was the fact that the mom spoke to me like I was "the help" and the housekeeper was clearly afraid of her employers. On day three I found what I am pretty sure was a nanny-cam in the living room. So, I quit. It just didn't seem worth dealing with a bad situation if I am only going to be here for such a short amount of time.

And ever since the moment I quit, my time in Paris has been phenomenal! Things are looking up!

A few highlights from the nanny job:

1. The first night the mom got home and asked if I would make a cake for her son's birthday while she went out to a meeting (all after the time I was supposed to go home).

2. There was a pig's leg in the kitchen. Yes, an entire pig leg (hair, hoof and all). I guess it was to eat? The kids didn't really seem to notice it.

3. The children (who just a reminder were 3 & 6) both wore diapers to bed, had bottles with formula in them, cribs and pacifiers.

4. The housekeeper let the kids eat anything they wanted...e.g. 6 doughnuts for an after-school-snack.

5. They had the full-time housekeeper, me and then they were also going to hire a live-in au pair in the coming months... but they were only willing to pay 10 euros an hour?

My New Paris:

On Friday, Harlan and I went out to dinner and drinks with Coleman (Harlan's old college roommate), Katie (friend of Coleman's who is from Columbus, OH) and Michelle (our lovely roommate). It was so much fun! I ate an entire charcuterie plate on my own at the bar. The meat was unrocognizable but delicious!

On Saturday, we went shopping and found many things we "needed": popcorn, rice cakes, hand-held blender for soup making, speakers so we can play music, and lots of chocolate. We found the french version of the Farmacy (it even smelled the same) and a Big-Lots-ish store. That night we made some awesome butternut squash soup and watched tv and ate popcorn- my dream night! Then today Harlan and I woke up early (9am) and rode bikes to the Eiffel Tower!!! We got breakfast to-go from a boulangerie and ate it under the tower. How Parisian is that? Then we rode home along the Seine! It was great (a little scary to bike in Paris where traffic laws don't exist). Then this afternoon I met up with Natalie (a girl I went to high school with)! We had coffee and took a great walk along the Champs Elysées!

Early November

Run: Bois de Vincennes bis

Taste of Home

Run: Parc de la Villette, and Out and About

Drue's First Days

Around Paris

So far...

These first few days in Paris have been both wonderful and much harder than I imagined they would be. It is absolutely paralyzing not to speak any French. It is one thing to be a tourist who doesn't speak the language but is only going to be in Paris for a few days and a very different thing to be living here. It has been frustrating this week to have to rely on Harlan for nearly everything. (Equally frustrating for Harlan because he has to be my chaperone to many places he would prefer not to go, e.g. H&M) I am pretty sure that most people I interact with during the day (or lack there of) think that I am either an abused wife whose husband speaks for her or that I have autism. Sales clerks will speak to me and either I have no idea that they are talking to me and just shuffling around the store OR they say something to me and I look at Harlan panicked and wait for him to answer.

But, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else! The city is magical! The boulangeries that line the streets are filled with the most incredible desserts I have ever seen. The food is unreal here. And yet, it is true that everyone is thin... I am so confused. Everything is loaded with delicious butter and cream and sugar! French is beautiful to listen to and everyone speaking it seems infinitely cooler than anyone I have ever met. The shoes and clothes are fantastic. And best of all Harlan is here!

We watched Amelie the other night. The movie is much more fun to watch in Paris... especially when you can pause it and say "Look that is where we walked today!"

In an effort to do something independent and combat the croissants, I took a yoga class today! It was great! The instructor was very patient and kind and would come over and correct me if I had obviously not understood her directions in french. The class is a mix of beginner types like me and two "injured dancers" who of course do not seem injured at all. So, it was a success! Oh and the best thing of all was that Harlan brought me a croissant after class (in case it was a disaster or as a congratulations)!