T'aimes le flânerie?

The sun is shining over Paris today, for the second weekend in a row. That's it, I'm calling it. Spring is here, and it's the perfect time to learn a new french word.

flâneur

A flâneur is someone who strolls around, observing society and soaking up the atmosphere. Balzac described flânerie as "the gastronomy of the eye", and Baudelaire explained it thusly:

For the perfect flâneur, for the passionate spectator, it is an immense joy to set up house in the heart of the multitude, amid the ebb and flow of movement, in the midst of the fugitive and the infinite. To be away from home and yet to feel oneself everywhere at home; to see the world, to be at the centre of the world, and yet to remain hidden from the world...

— Charles Baudelaire, "The Painter of Modern Life" - Originally published in Le Figaro, in 1863. 

I'm an au pair, not a mother in training

What I am about to say may surprise you. It may even offend some of you. But I think it's worth being honest about, as it perhaps goes against many of the stereotypes of being an au pair.

I'm not really interested in being a mother. I'm not even that interested in children.

Ok, I can almost hear the gasps and angry comments being thrashed out on poor unsuspecting keyboards - let me explain.

I'm just looking forward to the day when my handbag isn't full of compote.

L' Éventail Bar-Restaurant

L' Éventail means two things in French. First of all it means a fan, the type you hold in your hand and use to stay cool. But it can also mean something else - the range, usually price range. So, cool and price range - something to consider when considering what may be one of my new favourite places to grab a bite to eat in Paris, L' Éventail Bar-Restaurant.

When things go wrong

If you read a lot of au pair blogs you may well have the impression that working as an au pair in France involves a lot of sitting in cafes, drinking cafés noisettes and occasionally swanning around a museum looking profound. Certainly, this is true to an extent, we do get to do this. But we also work really hard and, as far as jobs go, it can vary wildly from life enriching experience to a living nightmare. Just like any other job, how bad it gets will vary depending on your office (the house), your boss (the Host Parents), your coworkers (the kids), and your contract. However, suffice to say, when it gets bad it can get really bad.

You may have noticed that the blog has not been updated much recently. That is because my experience has been going through one of these difficult times. Consequently I have not felt motivated enough to write much and I have felt even less motivated to go out and experience things in a worth writing about. But this blog is meant to be an honest account of my time as an au pair, and I guess the best and most honest thing to do is tell you about how bad things have been.

Happy New Year

I hope you've all had a wonderful break over the Christmas period. For those of you who stayed withe your families I hope you had fun learning some new French Christmas Traditions. For those who did not have to stay with their host families, I hope you got to enjoy some peace and quiet!

Sadly the holiday is almost over, and soon it will be back to Work and School. But it's New Year's Day, so I'm going to recover from last night's celebrations and reflect upon what I learnt about being an au pair in 2015, and what I can do better in 2016.

Time for my Au Pair New Year's Resolutions...

Champs Elysées Christmas Market

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Or if, like me, you loathe crowded spaces and shopping its time to get your game face on and reluctantly trudge around desperately trying to find something to take home for Christmas. This is made all the more difficult by the fact that your whole family wants something "from Paris", a city famed for luxury and chic, and your au pair wages just won't cover a Chanel coat for everyone.

The one upside to this time of year is that is more or less acceptable to consume hot alcoholic beverages in public at anytime after midday under the ruse of 'being festive". This helps to take the edge off the dreaded christmas shopping stress to the point where elbowing strangers in the stomach to get to the last box of macarons is almost bearable.

So in the spirit of christmas, and drunken public disorder, have you checked out the Christmas Market on Champs Elysées?

La Vie Est Belle - Sephora Poudre exfoliante métamorphose

Ok, so you knew it was coming. How can a girl write a beauty post from France and not mention SEPHORA?

It's beginning to look a lot like christmas in Paris

Well, it's time to admit to my addiction.

An Au Pair Out And About: Hôtel des Invalides, Musée de l'Armée

After the attentats that struck Paris, I decided to go on a temporary hiatus. It is very difficult to write about life in Paris when almost every day is overshadowed by such extraordinary events. Two weeks after the events, the whole of France watched as President Hollande delivered his address to the nation, commemorating those who had been killed alongside some of the families involved. He made this address from Hôtel des Invalides, a place filled with military symbolism for France. Some people in France criticised the choice of location, the talk of being at war, and the politicisation of his actions. I feel ill-equipped to discuss the politics of the situation here, as I am not as well versed in French politics as I should be by now. I however, went to Les Invalides just before the attacks happened for a look around, and thought I would share a few things

Nous Sommes Tous Parisiens.

I don't really know how to begin.

I have written and rewritten this so many times. Sometimes I want to make it funny, to try and lighten the mood. Sometimes I am angry. Sometimes I am so sad that typing the words brings tears to my eyes. Sometimes I feel as though my opinion is so insignificant in the great scheme of things that I shouldn't post at all. Sometimes I feel that it would be dishonest, considering the purpose of this blog is document my time in Paris, not to write about it. Most of the time I am so confused I don't know how to put the words down. So I will just write what I can see, what I can feel, and what I hope.

Image Credit - Jean Jullien (@jean_jullien )

Money Matters - How much is an au pair worth?

Money. No-one likes talking about it.

No-one ever said that being an au pair was a way to get rich quick. Yes you are paid, but part of your payment comes in the form of your bed, food, and use of the washing machine. While this is amazing and incredibly generous on behalf of the family, it is difficult to convert into cold hard cash. In a city like Paris, where life is pretty expensive, that can be a problem for a young person who wants to see it all. I was getting by on my payments, not seeing everything, but seeing at least one interesting thing a week, when I got a shock.

On one of my last blog posts, someone mentioned that they felt I was being underpaid for the amount of work I do. A quick survey of other au pair friends and colleagues on my French course confirmed that I was being paid at least 5€ less a week than anyone else, in some cases 10€ less. That's when I finally sat back and thought about money seriously.

An Au Pair Out And About: Hallowe'en Special! Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle

It's Hallowe'en! And to celebrate here is a special spooky edition of An Au Pair Out And About - Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle! How is a natural history museum spooky? Well I'm specifically going to be looking at les Galeries d'Anatomie comparée et de Paléntologie - aka the bone rooms!

Bonjour. My name is Pierre, and I am your hell hound guide for today...

Holiday Hell and the frustrations of being an Au Pair.

So by now most of you have been au pairs for at least 1 month. You dealt with La Rentrée and you've finally sussed out what the kids like and do not like to eat. You've got your Navigo, and you've finally mastered enough french to get what you need. You have perfected the Parisian street style (black trainers, dark jeans, trench coat, scarf) and can walk with enough speed and confidence for people to believe you're local, or at least not try to drag you into their restaurant. You think you have it sussed. But now you are halfway through the first set of holidays, you have been working a 60 hour week entertaining the children while the parents are at work, and you've definitely caught some kind of illness from one of the kids. You are ready to scream. What has happened? Get ready for the rant...

This week I am feeling a lot of sympathy with the horses on the carrousel at the Jardins d'Acclimitation - going round and round in circles. 

Fortnight of au pair hell begins

This Monday morning I got up, dressed and went to breakfast. Unlike most mornings, I was not greeted with the sound of fighting over cereal, or the microwave pinging as it churns out porridge. The kitchen was dark, and the dad was getting ready for work without being harassed for apple juice or goodbye kisses. But do not be fooled by this illusion of calm, dear reader. The children were asleep, and as I write this are STILL asleep, but they are merely resting in preservation of the two weeks of hell that is about to descend on all the au pairs in Paris today.

A beautiful sunrise to start the week

An Au Pair Out & About: Père Lachaise Cemetery

Ok, so for this edition of An Au Pair Out & About we are going with a classic Parisian tourist spot - Cimetière du Père-Lachaise (Père Lachaise Cemetery). If you aren't afraid of graveyards and have excellent map reading skills, this can be a fun and interesting way to spend an afternoon.

My first month as an au pair - What I have learnt.

So my first month with the family is up. It's been a mad month, and I have learned a lot. To recap what has happened, here is a list of the 30 things I have learned during my first 30 days as an au pair

Coffee is BAE

An Au Pair Out & About: Les Jardins Albert Khan.

Last weekend was les Journées du Patrimonie. These heritage days allow Parisians, and those in the many small villages outside of Paris the opportunity to go behind the scenes of buildings that are normally off limits or to enter local landmarks for free. I took the opportunity to visit Musée Albert-Kahn. I was joined by fellow British au pair Lucie for a free look at this unusual and beautiful place.

Beware: This is an image heavy post.

La Rentrée

Bonjour from Paris! I am finally here! I hope you understand the lack of updates over the last fortnight - you can probably guess I was very busy!

I arrived last Friday at Charles de Gaulle airport just outside Paris where my new family was waiting to meet me (with a home-made banner - how cute). Despite a horribly early start, there were no problems during travel, and I managed to unpack a year's worth of clothes in one afternoon. I immediately took photographs of the Kitchen, because you can see la tour Eiffel from the window. After 3 nights the light show late at night is still beautiful to me.

La tour Eiffel from the kitchen

I have spent my time here so far out in Paris with the family, enjoying the last few days of the summer holiday. This has been accompanied by a heatwave in Paris - temperatures reaching above 30 degrees celsius. Considering I mostly packed for the upcoming Autumn, I not only found myself short on chic floaty dresses, but have also treated the Parisians to the sight of a very red-faced, overheated Brit who has spent the summer in Wales and the English countryside where the temperature barely made it over 20 degrees. How nice for them.

Hiding from the heat on the balcony - not a bad view.

However, last night it rained and this morning there are grey clouds over la tour Eiffel. There is a slight chill in the air, and the streets that had been mostly deserted except for some very tanned teenagers and a few old ladies with dogs are now filled with business men in suits and chic women with portfolios and silk scarves. This is the beginning of La Rentrée.

La Rentrée is the name given to the 'back to school period' in France, though it is much more than that. In August, many parts of France shut down almost entirely. Not only are the schools and government AWOL (as they are in the UK), but many shops, businesses and restaurants close as well. This means that some parts of Paris can feel a little bit dead, as not only are the businesses closed but many families leave the oppressive heat of the city for family homes in the countryside. Paris si mostly left to a few families, some pigeons, and a lot of hot and sweaty tourists.

This morning, my family's mum and dad (Teresa & Marc) have left for work. However, the children do not start back at school until tomorrow, so my first official day of work is going to be pretty intense! The eldest (Nina) has a music exam at 18:00, but the rest of the day I have to entertain them without giving in to their demands to watch the television.

Wish me luck!

x

Au Pair Reads: Almost French: A New Life In Paris - Sarah Turnbull

I hope this will become a recurring feature. I want to review books that may be helpful or insightful for an au pair in Paris (or France more generally).

There are no shortage of books for people who have the desire to up sticks and make a home for themselves in France. Yet these books tend to focus on those who have both the means, and the luxury of time, to renovate quaint farm houses in the south of France. They know that they have years of warmth and sunshine in which to make their mistakes. This is not the case for au pairs. Au pairs have a maximum stay of 12 months on the stagiaire aide familial étranger and every minute not spent speaking French or trying to absorb chic by osmosis is a minute wasted. The easiest way to get around this is by reading the tales of those who have gone before you.

So I will be highlighting books which may be the most useful for you as an au pair on your placement. I am not looking at any particular genre - travel guides, travel writing, language books, poetry, and prose. If it will help you make sense of French life, I will read it and review it. So, let's start with:

Almost French: A New Life In Paris - Sarah Turnbull.

So you want to be an au pair?

Look. I am no expert on the matter. I have not yet been an au pair. I am, if you like, an au pair in waiting. That being said, I have already had several people reach out to me via twitter and tumblr with questions about how to go about finding your au pair placement, and I think I have a few insights which may be worthwhile considering. So let me take you through the stages I went through when selecting my au pair position, and how to avoid the pitfalls and problems that can crop up. Get ready for a long post...

Expectations

Reality

À quelle heure part le prochain vol pour Paris?

Ah! My first term at law school. I am going to get a Graduate diploma in Law (GDL) under my belt, where it will join my MA and BA. I am taking control of my life. I am ready for the real world. I have been offered an internship at the EU commission and am discussing it at a conference for students going to Brussels at my university...