We hopped on the train and arrived in Paris a day early so I could at least meet my new kids before I had to be responsible for them. But instead, after checking in at the hotel, we went "tout de suite" to the exact opposite of the city (an hour by 3 different metro lines!) to meet Erin's friend from one of her previous exchanges. We ended up having a great evening watching a band, drinking some wine, and then biking through the streets of Paris in the dark (as cheesy as it sounds, I loved the biking part - I felt like I was a true frenchmen). We shared some couscous and then went back to our friends' apartment for a digestif (after dinner drink). Erin had some berry moonshine from the Czech Republic (or something) and I sipped a whiskey and we shared some nougat.
The next morning Erin woke up feeling horrible (berry moonshine from Czech - what could be wrong with that?!) but we got up and did a day touring Paris with the other teachers and kids. Half way through the day Erin was still in pain and needed me to take her home. We tried to get her some headache medicine but the pharmacies were all closed (it was Sunday after all!). I listened closely and found the next english speaking group (two women) and asked if they spoke English (in French I asked, even though I had stalked them for about 5 minutes to make sure they were English speakers) and they said yes and I explained that Erin was having a killer headache and I asked if they had anything (knowing no was probably the answer). As it turns out the one lady was a nurse and she had two different pills - basically Advil and Excedrin. She gave Erin the stronger pill and after we got lunch Erin was doing better. If that random lady is reading this and she remembers giving pills to random strangers on the street in Paris (sounds bad when I put it like that!) - THANK YOU!
The teachers then left me with the kids while they did a quick check-in (although there was a misunderstanding and it turned out it was a formal meeting that they missed half of, but that's for Erin to explain). I had the kids for probably a total of 1.5hrs and I was paniced by the end! The moms thought it would be fun for us to hangout at the Eiffel Tour - sounds good in theory right? A nice park and tons of grass. Oh and thousands of aggressive souvenir vendors, tens of thousands of people (I guess its a popular monument to visit?), and oh yes, just to add to the fun, 5 weddings photos! So I was constantly running after the kids. The one was playing with a bottle of water, just throwing it up in the air....and then losing control of it and almost severely hurting a innocent bystander! To their credit, when we were in the middle of the worst of the crowds, I asked them to forgive me but to hold my hand and they readily did. The next few days should be interesting!
The kids went back with their moms and the rest of us met up with the partner of one of the french teachers that we had met in DC, and also his cousin. They took us to a nice place for dinner and we just had a great time talking with them and walking around Paris.
The kids went back with their moms and the rest of us met up with the partner of one of the french teachers that we had met in DC, and also his cousin. They took us to a nice place for dinner and we just had a great time talking with them and walking around Paris.
The next day I met the 18 year old daughter and her friend of one of the teachers. So I was not alone in watching the kids. We headed off to the Louvre, with the main mission being "to see the Mona Lisa". We got to the line to and we waited patiently....well some of us did, the younger ones ran around while they still could. We got our tickets and headed into the main museum section and walked passed rows and rows of statues - or as one of the boys called them "millions of naked men and women". We slowly made our way towards the Mona Lisa, stopping for rests along the way - did anyone ever think to put a few metro stops inside the museum? I suppose it might subtract a little from the ambiance though.
So we were walking through hallway after hallway of priceless works of art. In the US there would have been massive barriers to prevent anyone from touching them. The french version is a thin metal bar about a foot off the ground - nothing else. No joke. I just about died. I easily saw one of the kids running up to the painting, tripping on what was suppose to be a barrier and long story short, I'm locked away in a french prison never to be heard from again. After our last stop, we spotted a sign for the Mona Lisa and make the turn. Luckily, she was very well guarded - ropes, two workers, and glass around her. I let out a slight sigh and that's when one of the kids ran off. Luckily I grabbed him quickly and we headed out of Mona Lisa's room.
We decided it was time for lunch and since we were in the middle of the museum we kept going forward. We eventually made it out and one of the boys exclaimed joyfully "no more naked dudes!" I was equally happy about not being sent to a french jail.
We fed the boys a healthy lunch of crepe au nutella (hey, when in france...) and headed back to the hotel to wait for the teachers. I started to get ready for the big reception that night and as I finished cutting the tags off of my new suit, Erin came in and started to get dressed. We went downstairs and met everyone. We were headed to a very posh reception at "Quai d'Orsy" which when we told people, they immediately went "oh la la" - this wasn't a shorts a slippers type of place!
We arrived and had our identification and invitations checked by the french military before we were allowed entrance. We all were in awe of the place and took hundreds of pictures before we even walked up the red carpet towards the inside. We were ushered back towards the reception area. We spotted Erin's new principal for the year and introduced her to the other teachers. After a brief couple of speeches the wine and desserts began to flow.
We helped ourselves to some champagne and mingled with the other fulbrighters and a couple of principals that had made the trip. One principal tried to leave early, but there was another state function happening at the same time and we were required to stay put until we were released. Maybe I did end up in prison after all - if so, and if the champagne kept flowing, I don't think I'd mind!
The next day was more of the same. Touring around Paris with the kids. It was a lot of fun. We played "touche" (tag), in the Luxembourg Gardens and generally ran around. We ate at "McDo" (my first McDonalds experience in France) and were blown away by how fancy it was. The teachers had another dinner (this time without me) so the girls and I took the kids out to a pizza place.
That evening the teachers came home and crashed. The girls who had helped me watch the kids wanted to go to see the Moulin Rouge. So I went with them. They were not expecting to walk off the metro and for it to be....so blatant. So we found a bar across the street and had a few drinks while watching the Moulin Rouge. A few Americans heard us speaking English and ran over. We just started talking and ended up losing track of time. We bolted to the metro with 5 minutes to spare before they closed......or so we thought. We missed it by literally 30 seconds!
As I was trying to ask the metro lady for help (in french) on how to get home a group of Japanese business men started asking me for help (in english). Then a french guy was telling the girls that he could help us get home by the bus. He seemed very nice, but also a little drunk. So I showed the Japanese guys where they needed to go (not far) and when I showed them where we were going they just said "good luck!" We were about as far away as we could have been. I joined the girls waiting for the bus with the drunk french guy and I talked with his more sober friends and we checked the map and lo and behold, he was right. So we grabbed the next bus and headed home - extremely glad we didn't end up having to walk!
The next morning the kids and I stayed in and watched a movie. Around lunch time the teachers joined us and we headed out to our mandatory medical visit. We waited outside this closed (it was lunch time) government building on a side street. Lots of other immigrants were there and were waiting in line, but it was arranged for us to just wait off to the side and come when it was our turn. They took us in and it was very intimidating - but luckily we had our Fulbright person to walk us through the process and the workers couldn't have been any nicer.
When I was called, I explained I only spoke a little French. She was really nice and weighed me and took my height. Then they had me read letters from a distance (I just hoped I pronounced them correctly!) and then she gave me a book and asked me to read. What?! So I read the best I can, not understanding a single sound that is coming out of my mouth. Just as I'm getting the "chez moi" (words I know!) she says I did good. But wait, I can read that! Oh well.
Next they put me in line with a few other teachers and explain that when its my turn to go in the room and take my shirt off. But considering past problems I've had with my clothes and the french (the diver in Tahiti who wanted me to strip naked on the beach to put a wetsuit on and others), I confirmed with the teachers, "just my shirt right?" When it was my turn they asked me to hold my breathe and then exhale (luckily I knew those words from watching TV - is there anything TV can't teach us?). Then I had a short interview and the lady apologized for not speaking better English which I told her no, I need to be speaking French. All in all, what should have been a scary process (and we're told its suppose to be to make the immigration process hard), was actually delightful.
So we headed back to the hotel to get our bags and then headed to the gare. What an exhausting few days, just like DC was - and just like DC, it was a lot of fun!
So we were walking through hallway after hallway of priceless works of art. In the US there would have been massive barriers to prevent anyone from touching them. The french version is a thin metal bar about a foot off the ground - nothing else. No joke. I just about died. I easily saw one of the kids running up to the painting, tripping on what was suppose to be a barrier and long story short, I'm locked away in a french prison never to be heard from again. After our last stop, we spotted a sign for the Mona Lisa and make the turn. Luckily, she was very well guarded - ropes, two workers, and glass around her. I let out a slight sigh and that's when one of the kids ran off. Luckily I grabbed him quickly and we headed out of Mona Lisa's room.
We decided it was time for lunch and since we were in the middle of the museum we kept going forward. We eventually made it out and one of the boys exclaimed joyfully "no more naked dudes!" I was equally happy about not being sent to a french jail.
We fed the boys a healthy lunch of crepe au nutella (hey, when in france...) and headed back to the hotel to wait for the teachers. I started to get ready for the big reception that night and as I finished cutting the tags off of my new suit, Erin came in and started to get dressed. We went downstairs and met everyone. We were headed to a very posh reception at "Quai d'Orsy" which when we told people, they immediately went "oh la la" - this wasn't a shorts a slippers type of place!
We arrived and had our identification and invitations checked by the french military before we were allowed entrance. We all were in awe of the place and took hundreds of pictures before we even walked up the red carpet towards the inside. We were ushered back towards the reception area. We spotted Erin's new principal for the year and introduced her to the other teachers. After a brief couple of speeches the wine and desserts began to flow.
We helped ourselves to some champagne and mingled with the other fulbrighters and a couple of principals that had made the trip. One principal tried to leave early, but there was another state function happening at the same time and we were required to stay put until we were released. Maybe I did end up in prison after all - if so, and if the champagne kept flowing, I don't think I'd mind!
The next day was more of the same. Touring around Paris with the kids. It was a lot of fun. We played "touche" (tag), in the Luxembourg Gardens and generally ran around. We ate at "McDo" (my first McDonalds experience in France) and were blown away by how fancy it was. The teachers had another dinner (this time without me) so the girls and I took the kids out to a pizza place.
That evening the teachers came home and crashed. The girls who had helped me watch the kids wanted to go to see the Moulin Rouge. So I went with them. They were not expecting to walk off the metro and for it to be....so blatant. So we found a bar across the street and had a few drinks while watching the Moulin Rouge. A few Americans heard us speaking English and ran over. We just started talking and ended up losing track of time. We bolted to the metro with 5 minutes to spare before they closed......or so we thought. We missed it by literally 30 seconds!
As I was trying to ask the metro lady for help (in french) on how to get home a group of Japanese business men started asking me for help (in english). Then a french guy was telling the girls that he could help us get home by the bus. He seemed very nice, but also a little drunk. So I showed the Japanese guys where they needed to go (not far) and when I showed them where we were going they just said "good luck!" We were about as far away as we could have been. I joined the girls waiting for the bus with the drunk french guy and I talked with his more sober friends and we checked the map and lo and behold, he was right. So we grabbed the next bus and headed home - extremely glad we didn't end up having to walk!
The next morning the kids and I stayed in and watched a movie. Around lunch time the teachers joined us and we headed out to our mandatory medical visit. We waited outside this closed (it was lunch time) government building on a side street. Lots of other immigrants were there and were waiting in line, but it was arranged for us to just wait off to the side and come when it was our turn. They took us in and it was very intimidating - but luckily we had our Fulbright person to walk us through the process and the workers couldn't have been any nicer.
When I was called, I explained I only spoke a little French. She was really nice and weighed me and took my height. Then they had me read letters from a distance (I just hoped I pronounced them correctly!) and then she gave me a book and asked me to read. What?! So I read the best I can, not understanding a single sound that is coming out of my mouth. Just as I'm getting the "chez moi" (words I know!) she says I did good. But wait, I can read that! Oh well.
Next they put me in line with a few other teachers and explain that when its my turn to go in the room and take my shirt off. But considering past problems I've had with my clothes and the french (the diver in Tahiti who wanted me to strip naked on the beach to put a wetsuit on and others), I confirmed with the teachers, "just my shirt right?" When it was my turn they asked me to hold my breathe and then exhale (luckily I knew those words from watching TV - is there anything TV can't teach us?). Then I had a short interview and the lady apologized for not speaking better English which I told her no, I need to be speaking French. All in all, what should have been a scary process (and we're told its suppose to be to make the immigration process hard), was actually delightful.
So we headed back to the hotel to get our bags and then headed to the gare. What an exhausting few days, just like DC was - and just like DC, it was a lot of fun!
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