Cheers From London!

This past weekend I took the ridiculously fast, 1 hour and 20 min train ride from Lille to London town. I was a bit nervous to take the train at first knowing that it would be going under the water, BUT I knew London would be too fun to pass up. I left Friday evening after getting Cleo from school and off I went to visit a friend. 

Now...get ready for this train ride experience....

ready?! ok...

I took my seat with 3 other passengers, about my age, 2 guys and 1 girl, that were making their way to London from Brussels. At first we didn't talk because they thought I was French and I just wanted to relax and listen to my music. However, I couldn't help but hear their American accents and conversations of Chipotle and shopping at J. Crew. I knew I had to ask where they were from...

They all answered with a friendly smile and in unison said "Chicago!"

....shut up...

So I had to ask where in Chicago. One guy was from Libertyville (a town not far AT ALL from Hoffman Estates where I'm from), then they said they all work for a finance company that originally had them all working in Deerfield, IL (again...a town I visit quite frequently back home). For now though, the 3 Chicagoans continue to work for the same company, but in Brussels. As we continued to discuss all the things we missed most in Chicago, the conversations changed to Universities and where we all graduated. When I said I went to BGSU, the other guy looked at me in awe and said "you mean...in Ohio?"

to which I replied "of course!"
He then tells me he is from Dayton, OH and the other girl is from Cincinnati, OH and that they both graduated from Miami University.

That's right....the other guy is not only from Dayton....but more specifically...Beavercreek.

SHUT. UP.

Small world, RIGHT?!

We immediately bought beers on the train and gabbed the rest of the way about Chicago things, Ohio things, and Dayton things. By the end of the trip, we were the loud Americans on the train. It was incredibly funny and serendipitous. We are now all Facebook friends and will hopefully see each other again soon.


London Time!
 

Though my weekend was a short visit to London, I can't help but constantly miss such a lovely city. Friday night my friend and I went to dinner and had a quiet night in since I arrived late that night.

Saturday we went to Borough Market which was wonderful! It is this huge market where there are tons of different booths with foods from all over the world. Tons of smells, colors, languages spoken, weird food, delicious food, everything you could ever want was in this cool warehouse type structure. After meandering around we decided to try some duck sandwiches (seemed to be a big favorite). Oh man...they were incredible.

  

This is right by a cafe just across from the Market. Too cute!

After we had lunch it started to rain so we walked along the bank of the Thames and had some coffee for a bit. Then continued our walk to Westminster and past Big Ben just as 3:00 struck: Perfection.

We saw Buckingham palace, St. James park, and finished off sight seeing by taking the public transport of the double-decker red bus back to West London where my friend lives. It's such a charming area with quiet streets, cute shopping, and classic English brownstone type flats.

 We stopped for a couple pints of Guinness at a local pub to watch the Rugby game where my friend attempted to explain the game to me. I'll tell you...Rugby is one hell of a sport. Really fun to watch though! I think I'm hooked!

We finished off a full day of walking, sightseeing, and being "oh so English" at a cute little restaurant where covers of the Beatles played in the background speakers while we enjoyed dinner.

Considering that it's England, I had some seriously delicious meals...I was impressed.

(It's still not France though)

Sunday afternoon I returned home to Lille and converted back to my French speaking mind. It's incredible how quickly I can lose my French when I don't speak it for a matter of days...

I could easily live in London. It really is a wonderful city. Maybe one day I'll be able to afford to rent a cardboard box there. I should start saving now...

Cheers! Bisous!
Claire

I'm Back, I Swear...

Hi everyone! It has been a while, hasn't it? Sorry...

Honestly not much has been going on here. It has all been pretty routine. Only recently have things gotten a bit hectic. I'll try to sum up this past month.

Let's begin:

Cleo has finally stopped all her ridiculous 5 year old tantrums and drama with me. Hallelujah! I think it just took some time for her to realize just how totally cool I actually am. AMIRIGHT?!

Recently I am trying to find Halloween activities to do with her since Halloween isn't really celebrated here much. In fact, it is nearly impossible for me to find a NORMAL pumpkin here. Turns out Fred and Perrine know a farm that we can drive to and find pumpkins to carve. Hopefully we will do that soon. Also, Cleo is obsessed with finding things in nature, like acorns, leaves, snails, and buckeyes! Here, buckeyes are called "Marrons", or "Browns" in French...so creative...but I figured it would be fun to make the edible kind with Cleo. So, after weeks of hunting, I finally found ingredients to make edible buckeyes that I love so dearly, but my thighs loathe. Fair warning: Peanut butter is ridiculously hard to find here. Though I eventually found two types of PB in the "English" section of the international isle, you know, right next to the spotted dick, marmalade, and bangers and mash, obviously. Results on how the buckeyes turn out: Pending.

I've really been enjoying my one French class. It's 3 hours twice a week with other foreigners like me, so it is really nice to meet people that are all in the same boat. I am making lots of new friends and really loving Lille more and more each day (minus the copious amounts of rain this town gets).

I've been having to work a lot recently to help out around the house more with Perrine. Her pregnancy hasn't been an easy one. In fact, the last month she has been having a lot of pain and contractions from the baby because he is way too low. I won't go into details, but unfortunately last night Perrine went to the hospital as a precaution and for her safety and, sadly, had to have the baby way too soon. So tonight the baby didn't make it since it was only 5 months along. I am not sure what will happen next since Perrine comes home tomorrow. I think Fred is the one having the most difficult time because he was so excited to have a boy. Good news is that Perrine is fine and healthy though, and next week she will have the house all to herself to relax since Fred will be on business in China, Cleo will be on holiday with her grandparents, and I will be on holiday in Italy!

Yes, next week starts the 2 week holiday for classes, so I will start off my holiday this Friday by heading to London for the weekend to visit a friend. Then, return Sunday afternoon, and Monday morning I'll be on my way to sinking Venice, followed by the sunny beaches of Palermo, and finishing off the week in Milan. Perfecto! I'll be going with my Friend that I met through couch surfing that has truly taken me under his wing as a protective brother or cousin would (so enough with the boyfriend questions, DANG Y'ALL). He and I will be able to speak French the whole week so I can retain some French while I am on vacation. Should be a fun week!

Last weekend I was in Paris with a friend, which was lovely. I've only ever been in Paris in the cold, early weeks of spring, so to see Paris in Autumn was a treat! Gorgeous fall colors, flowers, and warm sun in the crisp air. Needless to say, it was tourist mania, so we opted for the local route of people watching in cafes, drinking obscene amounts of Café au Lait's, visiting my favorite bookstore Shakespeare & Co, and walking along the seine (mostly to avoid all the dog merde on the sidewalks). It was also the 850th anniversary of Notre Dame, so there was this garish, stadium-bleecher-go-team-go-structure just in front of the cathedral so people can just sit...and look at Notre Dame...
The stupid thing blocks the entire view of the church and looks hella dumb, but whatever...C'est la vie.

Anyway, I think that sums up this past month. I can't believe it's almost been 2 months since I have arrived. Time is flying by! I am truly loving this experience and wait to see where my progress in French will be in the months ahead.

OH! I forgot to add that I am now officially on the tennis team here in Tourcoing. So for now I just have tennis practice on Wednesday evenings and will start to play matches against other towns in spring I believe.

Now, I promise to be better about keeping you all up to date on how I am getting along. Pictures to come as well!

gros bisous à tous!

(big kisses to everyone)

xoxo
Claire

Updates!

Sorry I haven't been writing posts recently, but not much has really been happening here. The usual mornings and afternoons to myself, then get Cleo from school at 4:30, play time, bath time, and dinner time by 7:30. Then I'm free. Friday though, while riding the bike of doom to get Cleo, I think I hit a curb and broke something. While I walked the bike through the skinny sidewalks, the tires kept locking up and I couldn't even push the darn thing! Thankfully the future nanny of the future baby here was walking past and noticed I needed some help. She's SO nice, but doesn't know a single word of English, so it was a bit difficult to assess the bike situation. We ended up having to carry the bike (Cleo chariot with it) the rest of the way to the school (about 2 min walking). After I got Cleo, the nanny talked to the school director about my bike. He fiddled with it but even he couldn't figure it out. He unhooked the back tire break and then the bike worked! But I only have the front brake working. Yikes! 

So Cleo and I continued on home until about halfway when the tires started to lock up again. So the rest if the walk home I pushed and dragged the bike while Cleo walked along side me, remaining occupied by all the snails and seriously huge slugs in the dewy grass. 

Fréd and I will try to fix the bike before the weekend is over, but his Dad has been in town visiting all weekend so the bike is still broken. 

Friday night we all enjoyed a nice dinner together where I basically sat and listened to conversations between Fréd and his dad (both huge tennis fans) talk about American and French tennis players, French football, and other topics I didn't quite understand. Overall, I'd definitely say I'm improving in my understanding of the language!

Saturday afternoon I met up with two couch surfers, both fairly new to Lille, like me. One girl from just outside Paris who moved here last week to attend University, and one guy from Barcelona who is here to work. They were so nice and so much fun to go out with!! We walked around Lille a bit, went to the art museum because it was free for the weekend, and then finished off the day with some beers at a small bar. We mostly spoke English because the guy needed to improve for his job. He told us that his boss wanted him to improve his English more so needless to say I was thrilled to speak English. It's much easier for me to be myself when I speak English with new friends. With French I can't really express myself much thus making it harder for me to introduce myself and get to know others. The girl speaks English, Spanish, and French. The guy speaks Catalan, French, and English. It was so impressive to listen to them rotate between all 3 languages if they couldn't find the right word in one language. It inspires me to really work on my French and perhaps one day learn Spanish too! But one language at a time here...

The 3 of us have already talked about going to Belgium for a day, traveling together, etc. I think (and hope) we will all become some great friends here. 

It's been very dreary and rainy here all week. And chilly too! Fall has definitely arrived. I miss Chicago autumns though. They are much nicer, dryer, and prettier. 

Today (Sunday) I will probably meet up with my friend from Lebanon for lunch just to get out of the house today. I always feel a bit weird just staying in my room when the family is home so I try to get out as much as possible: rain it shine. 

I'll keep you all posted on the bike situation. OH! And I start my French class tomorrow, 9am-noon. First day jitters! Hopefully I'll find the right classroom. This university is the worst about posting room numbers and where to go. They literally just put up pieces of paper around the buildings the day of class saying "if you're taking this course - it's in this room number".... Awful. 

Culture shock is really starting to hit me and I've been a bit homesick, but that's nothing a little Christmas music can't fix for me!! I know I know...Christmas music, Claire? Really? Already? 

Oui. 

Loads of bisous!!

Xoxo

Claire

This week...

This week was the return of classes for all the students of France. However, Cléo was not too thrilled about the earlier bed time and earlier morning starts, as any child would.  Let me explain how I get Cléo to and from school with a visual. 

What is this picture you ask?

 Why it's Cleo's chariot and my certain end of existence. 

This is what I transport Cléo to and from school in. If I don't die by the end of the school year then I might as well be an Olympic athlete with the amount if coordination and strength it takes to use this; literally, uphill both ways. I dread the days of rain and snow...

Cléo and I leave about 8am so I have time to wheeze and die on our way to school as my lungs shrivel up into raisins. I dump Cléo at school at 8:30, and then I make the trek back home; avoiding small cars, cafés that take up the entire sidewalk, and small children. Then, I finally make it home to sit in the shower, holding myself, as I cry rocking back and forth. I will certainly lose 10 years off my life. 

After, I have the afternoon off to go to the little fruit and vegetable stand just across the street, lounge in the sun, or meet friends in Lille. 

At 4:00 though, I must be home to head out on the death trap and retrieve Mademoiselle Cléo from school with a small snack waiting for her in her chariot. At 4:30 the zoo lets out and Cléo and I head home, again, me, eyes bulging, lungs shriveling, life ending. 

Typically after school, Cléo plays outside til about 6, then after an ocean of tears from Cléo not wanting to come in, I get her to take a bath or shower while I cook her dinner. Dinner for Cléo is typically a microwave meal specially picked out by her mom. Easy for me, but I'm sure the lack of nutrition aids in this child's insane mood swings. Not so fun for me. 

Cléo typically cries a good hour all together every night. Between coming inside, to having to take a shower, and going to bed, the child cries at the drop of a hat. Tips on how to control the tear flow?? Accepting any and all advice now please!

That's a typical school day for me and Cléo. But today I was free because I had to go to the University near Lille to take my French placement exam. I did fine, found the class ok, and was able to meet the teacher. She looks a lot like a Native American hippy, with two, long, grey braids on either side of her head and wearing long dresses from probably 1996. She's super cool though!! I start my class the 16th, Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Hopefully with this French class I will improve my French language skills and meet more people in the same boat as me. Results pending. 

Oh, and Scribbles says hello and sends bunny kisses to all! 

Bisous! (Kisses)

Claire

***Bisous is a typical way to say bye to friends and family. Kind of like "cheers!" Or "love!"

La braderie

This past weekend was the largest flea market that I have ever seen. Ever. It is what people from all over France, Europe, and even the world, come to see. The market is called "La Braderie" (which is essentially the word for flea market in French). It's famous for selling furniture, books, clothes, toiletries, and pretty much a bunch of junk. But man is it fun! If you've ever been to a Chinatown, canal street in NYC, or any other flea market in the USA selling fakes of name brand items direct from China, just multiply that size by 1000 and voila: La braderie.

 I decided to go on Sunday afternoon because that is when most if the families attend. Saturday and in the evenings the braderie has been known to have many occurrences of pick pockets, thefts, and a lot if drunken quarrels. Therefore, my Saturday night I stayed in for a quiet evening of French TV that I cannot understand. 

Sunday I met up with a friend to check out the market and try the northern european coastal delicacy of "des moules-frites" (mussels and fries). One cannot attend la braderie without having tried des moules frites! Many restaurants throughout Lille will save all the shells of the mussels and toss them on the streets to show off to their competitors just how many mussels they've sold. (See picture below) 

It was insane! There is supposedly a winner each year for the one restaurant who sold the most moules frites. I'm not sure whether they actually win a prize or if it's purely for bragging rights. 

After walking through the narrow, cobblestone streets of Old-Lille, my friend and I stopped for some seriously delicious mojitos. While we sat and conversed in French, he saw one of his friends from university. I forgot his friends name but he was very nice! He's from a small country in Africa so French is his second language. It was great for me because he spoke French very slowly so it was easy for me to understand him. He even attempted to speak a bit of English. It was very, very basic, but I give him some serious props for trying like he did. I know more French than he knows English, yet I am always so timid to speak. He, however, had no shame. I envy the Europeans and their thought process on new languages. They always seem to try any language regardless of skill level. I always fear someone will think I'm stupid for not being able to communicate efficiently, even though French is my second language. It seems like in the US, there is such an awful stigma placed on those who communicate slowly, with poor grammar, or that just don't quite understand something. In Lille, when someone communicates slowly or with poor grammar, a person will ask "where are you from?" out of curiosity and perhaps to help him or her in their native tongue if possible, rather than saying "are you stupid?" for not speaking perfect French. People here have MUCH more patience for others than back home. I love it. 

Anyway, the friend from Africa then left and my friend and I continued through la braderie. After a few hours of people watching and rummaging through everyone's junk we decided to try des moules frites!!! We stopped at a cafe in the Grand Place de Lille (the grand plaza of the city) and began our feast. One bucket of mussels, two orders of "french" fries, and two huge beers (called Blondes) and we were set.

 I must say, the mussels weren't that bad. Just the texture is sick. And the aesthetics of the mussels was a bit off putting. Regardless, like true northern Frenchies, we finished them. They tasted like the ocean! But never again. Okay, maybe once a year for la braderie...

Thus concluded my first trip to the great flea market of France! 

Bisous à tous!! (Kisses to everyone!)

Xoxo

Claire

Nights on the Town

Couch surfing has really been my tool for getting out of my shell here. Thursday night I met up with two girls in Lille city center (downtown Lille) for some dinner. One girl is from Morocco but basically grew up in Lille. The other girl is studying here for the next 9 months and is from Sweden so she, like me, needed a lot of help while speaking French. Granted, she already speaks perfect English AND Swedish. The 3 of us grabbed dinner at a typical petite café and chatted all night about our cultural differences both in French and in English. It was really interesting and very eye opening! After a great night we all decided to meet up again next week. 

The next night, Friday, I met up with my guy friend that had shown me around the week prior. He and I grabbed a bite to eat at a Japanese restaurant for some sushi. It was ok. He was telling me how there are no Japanese people in Lille so it is impossible to find a decent sushi place. Most of the Asians here are from China, Cambodia, and Vietnam, yet they all insist on opening sushi and Japanese restaurants. Interesting...

Friday night commenced the setup for the HUUUUGE flea market that takes place annually in Lille. It's called La Braderie and everyone had told me "itz a place where zee people, they sell their crap....But it iz a lot of faan". Though during recent years it's also a place of a lot if pick pockets and thefts as I have been continuously warned. The streets are closed off and you basically stand elbow to elbow as you dig through everyone's junk that is for sale. Even watching people set up tents and guardrails on Friday night was overwhelming. Some friends and I may meet up Sunday afternoon to attend the event. Apparently people come from all over to attend this event! It's what Lille is known for. 

Another big thing about la Braderie is the typical Belgian dish of "Moules frites"! Or muscles and fries in English. I am not sure how the dish and la Braderie are correlated, but I just know I am a bit weary to try it...Restaurants will keep the muscles shells from dishes throughout the day, then at night, toss the shells in the streets to see who sold the most apparently. I'll have to see for myself if they really do that. 

Things are still going well. I feel that my French is improving, but not as fast as I thought it would. I guess the fact that I still have to speak English to Cléo slows me down on the full immersion bit. Hopefully when university starts in 2 weeks I will show much more progress. I know I have to be patient with myself too though. 

Lastly, I've been finding little notes in my coat pockets that my mom snuck in before I left. I have the best mama.

Xoxoxo

Claire

Working Girl

Today was my first full day of au pairing and my second full day of only speaking French. Needless to say I'm exhausted. 

Yesterday was rather relaxing for me. It was raining all day so Perrine took Cléo to see a movie while Fréd played tennis with his coworkers. Meanwhile I had run of the house. Bliss! At about 4pm Fréd came home and about an hour later he and I made out way to the small tennis club just around the block. It consists of 2 outdoor classic concrete courts and 3 indoor courts with a carpet like surface. It is seriously SO bizarre, but lots of fun!! Fred and I played for about and hour, really smashing the ball back and forth. I could keep up with him for the most part, though he is very, very good. Playing with Fréd was a way for him to assess my playing level so I can be paired with women of my same skill. Tennis is very competitive here and it is ALL about your level ranking. Sheesh, anyone hear of leisurely playing tennis? Obviously not the French...

I will be hearing from the club soon with playing times with other women. Fréd thinks I'm good enough to play on the team there too! Playing on the team just allows for friendly competitions and a cheaper monthly club fee. I'll take it!!

So today my muscles are aching. I decided to have a slow morning of laundry and playing with Scribbles, the pet bunny. 

Cléo arrived home about 12:30 today, so I made us both some lunch and played My Little Ponies with her for about 3 hours. Cléo then put on some music she likes to dance to which is almost identical to my entire music playlist. As we danced around the kitchen to "call me maybe", I couldn't help but think...This girl is the 5 yr old French me...

Perrine came home about 6 and from then on I was off the clock. She and I spoke a bit about how our days went (en français of course) and I was able to keep up! Of course we won't be discussing Proust over a glass of red anytime soon. 

Yet another day has passed in chez Oudeville and I am still very happy here! Miss you all very much!! Bonne soirée!

Xoxoxo

Claire

Meet Scribbles: the pet bunny I'll be trying not to kill. 

Couch surfing

Today is my last English speaking day with my host family. So what better way to spend it than meeting new people in the city of Lille and practicing my French! I'll explain:

A few friends of mine had introduced me to an incredible community called Couch Surfing. It's a travelers best friend when traveling alone or going to a new place. It's a website that allows people to offer up their couches for sejourners to sleep on for free rather than paying for hostels or expensive hotels. You also get to meet incredible people, see the town through a locals perspective, and create friendships.

So I looked into the Lille area for fellow couch surfers and voila! Thousands of fellow travel lovers looking to meet new people! I put up a post about being new in town as an au pair and asking if anyone wanted to meet up to help me with my French and in exchange I could help with English. Not 5 minutes later I had 7 people contact me with loads of info, meet up times, and phone numbers. Commence euphoria!

So today I went into the city of Lille and met up with a young guy who made sure to only speak French with me and I to him. He took me all over, showed me cute cafés, the best shopping, best bars, etc. Despite the grey skies and wet cobble stone streets, we trekked our way all over town. We stopped for some vegetarian lunch (again...so dense), then headed to an art museum, and lastly the zoo! By the end of the day my mind was fried with French. But I am feeling confident for tomorrow's start if 100% French. And the fact that everyone here finds my American accent while speaking French "trop mignon" (too cute). 

When I got home about 8pm, Perrine and Fréd were setting up for a small dinner gathering with their friends who I then met with kisses on both cheeks and some French/English small talk. I was so exhausted though that I enjoyed one beer with the family and guests, but then went to my bedroom to get some sleep. 

Tomorrow, Fréd and I will be playing tennis so I can see the tennis club and decide if I care to join or not. Hopefully all goes well. 

Time to rest for my big day of French speaking tomorrow. Yikes. 

Bonne nuit! Xoxo

Claire

New in Town

Hi Everyone!

I've made it through my first 6 days here in France so I will go ahead and fill you in on how my first day went.

I arrived on Sunday, August 18th, in Paris at about 5 am with a large carry on and a 50lb suitcase which I had to drag from baggage claim all the way to the trains which would take me to my new home in Lille. Finding the train was easy. It was dragging and lifting my suitcase which was most difficult. Thankfully the train conductors were nice enough to help me as they spoke only French. I replied with a smile and a nod, not understanding a damn thing.

Then, after 50 minutes and the smoothest and fasted train ride ever, I arrived at the Lille train station where I would meet me new family for the next 11 months. It was a bit rainy, overcast, and cold as I arrived at 9am with greasy airplane hair, unbrushed teeth, and wrinkly clothes from the 8 hour flight. Great first impression. I found my family with ease as they greeted me with two kisses on the cheek and a small bouquet of white roses from Cléo, the 5yr old girl I will be caring for. They are seriously the nicest and most welcoming family!

My orders upon arriving was to only speak English with Cléo (always) and only speak French with Fréd and Perrine (the parents). Thankfully, they said for my first week here they will only speak English to me so I am fully aware of my duties. Hallelujah!

On the car ride from the train station we stopped at one of the only open Boulangeries (bakeries) to pick out some croissants and many other breads for a cliché French breakfast at home. It was great, but holy delicious carbo-load....

Later, after a quick nap and unpacking, we had a heavy lunch (which was essentially dinner) on the patio and then headed out to see the city of Lille.

It is beautiful! Everyone is still on holiday until the end of August so everywhere has been dead, including closed shops and empty streets, but it has been an excellent environment for exploring. The architecture is very Belgian with some French aspects tossed in. You can hear basically only French speakers, but also a bit of Dutch too. NO ENGLISH. UGH! Then, we walked past an open area where salsa dances were being held, so we stopped in to watch everyone awkwardly dance. It was too funny. We stopped at a café in front of an old church for some drinks and to people watch. An accordion player was off in the distance playing as everyone smoked and two giant poodles trotted by and pigeons crapped everywhere. How French.

After a long travel day we came home and I went to bed without dinner. Between the insane amount of carbs from the morning and the dense lunch of Salmon and potatoes, I was totally done with food for a while. Let me just say, the food situation has been the hardest thing to adjust to. Trying to find some brown rice, Quinoa, and hummus seems almost impossible....I may have to eat the pet bunny, Scribbles, to survive...

Anyway! Things are so far so good here. Love the location, family, weather, and home. I have not hit much of a culture shock yet, but I am embracing for impact soon.

Love and Hugs from Lille!

Claire