I've been staying with my incredibly gracious friend Fabien since I arrived in Paris, but I should be finally moving out of his place this weekend. I have been interviewing with families the past couple weeks because I decided the smartest thing for me to do would be to work as a "fille au pair"" while I'm here. It's almost impossible to pay for an apartment in Paris with my teaching assistant salary, seeing as I net 730 euro/month, and you won't find a room, much less an apartment in a good part of Paris for less than 500 euro.
The family I met on Sunday live in the 17th arrondissement (west-central Paris), not far from the Champs-Elysees and directly across the street from a metro station. Part of my job will be to serve as English "immersion" for their three kids on a daily basis. They will provide me with housing in exchange for about 30 hours of work/week. They are very sweet and gracious, and I really hope everything works out! I'm a bit hesitant to celebrate yet, because nothing is set in stone and if this doesn't work out, I'm back to square one looking for a place to live!
Tomorrow is officially my first day of work at the elementary schools where I'll be a teaching assistant in English classes. I really have no idea what to expect, but I'm hoping they'll agree to let me observe classes this week so I can get a better idea of the students' abilities and do some lesson planning. I have some ideas if they really want me to start teaching tomorrow (along the lines of practicing "my name is" and "I'm 8 years old", from what I've seen the kids are real beginners!)
Even though I've been pretty stressed out about finding a place to live, I've been trying to enjoy the beauty of Paris. I'm going to try to take some pictures this week so I can show you guys what my Parisian life looks like! I've also been getting to know some of the other teaching assistants and everyone seems pretty awesome. This Friday I'm going to the France vs. Japan soccer match at Stade de France with a group of other teaching assistants and I can't wait! I love soccer and I'm glad I finally live somewhere where a big majority of the population is soccer-crazy. I think this is going to be a fun year!
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| The view from Fabien's apartment onto Rue Saint-Severin and the church of Saint Severin |
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| Having lunch at a cafe in a courtyard by the Sorbonne |
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| Silly tourist in front of the Sorbonne |
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| Picture-perfect view from the restaurant on the top of the modern art museum! |
I'll try to update soon. I miss my friends and family back in the States a ton, and I'd love to hear from all of you as often as possible!
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