Tags
american, au pair, au pair in france, école, beach, bible, bread, bretagne, christmas, europe, food, français, France, french, homework, kids, life, nineteen, rainy, school
A day in the life
Woke up, looked up at my ceiling window to find out what the weather would be like. A perfect, gray, rainy day:) just what I wanted. Got dressed and went down to the kitchen for breakfast. They have a really big island table which is always covered with breads jellys butter and juice in the morning. I opted for a cherry yogurt then made my espresso and toasted some brioche before topping with butter. I ate my breakfast while the kids were finishing getting ready and spending time with their maman. Then at 8:10 the three kids(the oldest boy is in middle school now and has a different ride) and I set off in the little white car listening to their favorite station NRJ which plays all the current hits.
We got to the school and were a bit early so I dropped off the two oldest at their area of campus and waited with Orlane in the hazy weather for the gate to be unlocked. Once it was open, we went to her cubby so she could change her shoes to slippers before dropping her off in class. And like that, I was done taking care of children for the morning. I then walked from the school to the boulangerie to buy a baguette, pain au céreale, and a pastry for me.
gotta keep the goods safe
Walked back through the town center to the car then headed off along the highway for Binic. Binic is one of my spots I like to go to. It is 5 minutes from Pordic and is a beach with a port, small lighthouse, restaurants, crêperies, postcard shops, and the occasional English tourist.
Once there, I sat on a ledge, preceded to enjoy my croissant aux amandes, and dug in to my Bible reading while watching the sea and seagulls.
it was low tied
It’s definitely a nice place to have some God time:) Although sometimes I get restless that I live in a small town, i.e. not Paris, moments like this make me very appreciative and thankful that I get to be here. Like most people, I love the beach! Afterwards, I took the country route home while listening to a French song and then classical music as the mist of rain fell on the windshield. I have to admit, I’ve become quite a beast at driving if I do say so myself. I’ve mastered roundabouts, passing cars on tiny country roads meant only for one car by American standards and managing not to crash as screaming wars took place; plus the car is a stick shift.
Got back to the house around 10 and began cleaning the kitchen which is pretty much the only house work I have to do so definitely can’t complain. Then I began writing this post which involved me checking Facebook, having the song L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole stuck in my head which lead me to Spotify where I listened to the French, Italian, and English version. After which I was in the Christmas mood given that it’s one of the first gloomy and cold days here so I began a Christmas playlist. Then realized I wanted a mocha so I headed down to the kitchen MacBook in hand and mixed milk with nesquik heated in the microwave (sorry mom and dad) and added espresso from the Nespresso machine. Et voila! J’ai bu mon mocha, ecouté le musique Nöel, et ecriré pour vous. Throughout this time, the rain has been falling like snow and the song It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas just finished up. I’m definitely in the Christmas mood. I’m interested to see what Christmas will be like this year. A lot different than I’m used to, of that I’m sure.
Now it is 11:11, I’m wishing for a White Christmas :). Another half an hour to myself before I head back to school to bring the kids back here for lunch.
So, I drove back through the rain to centre ville, where the school is located, and got the kids. We came home and one of the girls set the table while I recooked the chicken and peas we had yesterday for lunch. It was tasty and afterwards we all had yogurt and watched some cartoons. Their lunchtime is from 11h50 to 13h10, quite longer than the half hour us Americans are used to.
Dropped off the kids and now I’m back home to grab my school supplies and have an espresso before heading off to French class. It is the first day of class for the new school year, and I am excited to go back!:)
School was great! I realized just how far I’ve come these past 5 months, with French and just in general living in France. Since it was the first day, not a lot happened mostly just informing new students how things work and being introduced to new materials for learning French with. Homework, grades, nothing like that is obligatory at this school; it’s solely for learning the language and you choose how and how much you would like to learn. So of course I always print out homework to take home :).
After 2 hours at school, it was time for me to head back to Pordic to pick up the kids at 16h20. The rain had stopped and everything went pretty smoothly. Once back at the house it was time for goûter. I love goûter. It is snack time. The french only eat 4 times a day, most of the time anyway. So it goes petit-dejuener, dejeuner, goûter, and dîner. For goûter normally we have brioche or baguettes with butter or nutella if they have it and maybe some fruit.
Once everyone had eaten they had to go clean their rooms. Then the girls came down with paint and a book about japan so they painted a japanese word then free-painted for a while. It ended up being me cleaning up afterwards. TV time is at 18h and the girls constantly ask me if it is “l’heure de regarder le télé?” While they were watching TV I went around and changed the sheets and duvet covers for all the kids. Which is the only other “light housework” I ever have to do.
Once finished, I went down and watched some of the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie with the kids. Funny to end the day watching a movie involving Christmas after I had begun the day in the same attitude:).
For dinner we had pizza:) now I am just doing some French homework in my little office room before going into my bedroom to catch up on Pretty Little Liars before going to sleep:)
So there you go, a pretty typical day here in Bretagne, France whilst I am 19 and an au pair.
bonne soirée