My Biggest Struggle: Lotion

I am a lotion fanatic. Dry skin runs in my family and we apply lotion multiple times a day. My lotion was too big and too heavy to bring with me in my suitcase, so I left it behind. I had a few things that I needed to buy, so I asked the oldest daughter, Apoline, to go with me to the pharmacy that is just down the street. We walked to a small store first where I bought a few postcards, and then we went to the pharmacy. It wasn't like a CVS or Walgreens. It was very tiny. It did not have a lot of options. Apoline helped me look for lotion, but it so far was the hardest thing I have done here. We spent a long time staring at the shelves with many body cosmetics, lotions, body washed, shampoos. They were all mixed in together. They store was organized by brand, not the type of product. Instead of going to the isle of lotions and finding the cheapest one, I had to look at every brand, find the lotion, and compare it to the other ones to see which one cost less. To make everything worse, everything was in French. Some products, I had no idea what they were. I had to read the back where they have it in english to find out. Luckily, there are two pharmacies in walking distance, so we went to both. I finally settled for a bottle that was about 12 euros. That was the cheapest I saw. So i guess it will have to do.

After my lotion problem was fixed, I still had about 6 euros left over so we went to a bakery across the street called Petit Pain Viennoiserie Brioche. And omg...typical French style bakery. The man in front of me ordered a baguette! I was star stuck. I had no idea what I wanted to order. There were little cakes, breads, macaroons, cookies, and croissants. I wanted to eat it all. Thinking that everything in France is expensive, I thought I would only afford like one thing, but no. It all was very cheap. I told Apoline to choose something and she instantly told the woman working that she wanted a cookie. I got a pastry the size of a baseball called petits pain au laut et pepites de chocolat. It was kind of like a croissant but more round and more flakey. and there was a little chocolate on the inside. It was sooo good. I wish I had my camera so I could show everyone the pastry shop and the food there, but I didn't bring it with me. Now I know, the camera must always go on my little adventures! But I did find a picture of it online:

So freakin good.

First view of Paris

My first time to drive into Paris on the first day there was overwhelming! I didn't think you could see so much in one day, but I saw pretty much everything just by driving through the city. I felt like a 5 year old in Disney World pointing at everything in awe. Still can't believe that I am here. Here are just a few things I got photos of: 

 Arc de Triomphe

 Crazy drivers on the round-about

 Champs-Elysees where cars pretend to drive in lanes but they don't really.

Something Significant

La Tour Eiffel and La Seine River

La Madeleine and some crazy guy on a bike in the middle of the road

I almost died!

I almost died on that plane ride. I didn't want to be on there. I couldn't believe that it was taking me away from my family, my home, and everything I love. It was taking me to a wonderful place, but all I could do was think about my family. They had just dropped me off, it was a crying mess, I was sorry for causing pain unto all of us. So, the whole plane ride was spent by myself, no one to talk to, AND IT WAS SO UNCOMFORTABLE! I was in a funk. I couldn't go to sleep either. The benadryl, meletonin, and sip of chardonnay didn't work very well. I maybe got 2 hours of sleep. Dinner was interesting. A lovely tray of mushy pasta and chicken, a roll that was hard as a rock, crackers with cheese that tasted like plastic, a brownie, and a small salad. Surprisingly, the salad was the best part. Even more surprisingly, I ate every bit of my dinner. Breakfast was a joke. They were just kidding I think. A little mushy croissant and some nasty yogurt. I still ate it all though.

Things started getting better when it was around 1am. I started looking outside and watched for things below as the sun started to rise. I couldn't see much because of all the clouds. I managed to see the very tip of England, I saw boats in the English Channel, Normandy, and northern France (from a distance). That was pretty cool.

I was still in my funk when I got off the plane. Baggage claim was soooo slow. And there were too many people trying to get their bags. I watched one of my suit cases go past twice before I was able to grab it. I was in that mindset where I thought if I take my eye off my bags for one second, someone would steal it. It wasn't until I saw the mom that I was able to get out of my funk. She was so happy to see me.  She told me that her kids were so excited to meet me too. When we got in the car, and she started talking to me a lot about their family and their town and that was when I started to get more excited. She drove me around Paris that afternoon to pick up the children from the train station. That was when I saw it.
The whole reason I came. Why this is my dream. My motivation. Oh and I saw the Eiffel Tower. The whole city was packed with people. Cars were everywhere! I mean, everywhere. There aren't any lines on the streets sometimes. Roundabouts are terrifying. Only Parisiens can drive in Paris. Otherwise, you will die. But this city, the culture, everything about it is why I came. It may sound so lame or goofy to some people, but I wanted to learn French for a reason. I have a purpose in being here, and I know I will discover it after this year is over.

I always believed I would come here, but the dream was so far away. It came to life real fast for me.

This is harder than I thought

I knew happiness came with a price, but sheeesh. This is hard. I leave for Florida to visit family tomorrow morning, and I stay there till the 22nd. Then fly to Paris on the 27th. So, today was my last day to work as a nanny for a wonderful family. I started working for them in May of 2010. They started meaning more than just a job when I realized that these people have become my friends and my brothers.

I was fine all day long. The mom, Kelly, is out of town, so I didn't get to see her today. I will see her at church the day before I leave. The dad was out of town also, but he came home at 7. The boys and I had a great day, we went to Pierce's school to get his new class schedule, Paxton and I have a good conversation about his best times in middle school (hes going into 7th grade) and I told him about mine, we all went grocery shopping together, and then we watched my favorite movie, Sweeney Todd. Its totally rated R, and I'm a horrible nanny for letting a 12 year old and 14 year old watch it. But if they were to watch it, I wanted to be the one they watch it with. They ended up liking it but still wondering why my favorite movie is about killing people and turning them into pie...and singing about it.

Everything was fun and happy till I knew I had to leave. I didn't want to, but I know I have not packed for Florida yet. 5am is when I need to wake up tomorrow. So, Phil, the dad, walked with me to the door and gave me a hug. I told him that I will see them all the Sunday before I go. I do not remember at all what he said after that, but somehow tears started running down my face. It was real to me that I would no longer see them nearly every day from then on. I was so thankful of them. I just became an emotional girl right then. I know I will see them again, but It just hurt me that I wouldn't be their nanny anymore.


People ask me all the time "are you excited about going?!" and my answer is always "yeahhh" and I want to add "I guess" to the end. Right now, all I see is the negative. I wont see my family, my friends, my dog, I can't drive my car, I can't celebrate people's birthdays, I cant go country two-stepping, I can't go to the greek food festival, I can't eat chickfila, and I can't go swimming in september anymore. I can only think about the things I am going to miss. I keep having to remind myself that I don't know what I am missing in Paris. There has to be so many things I will love in Paris just like I love things in Texas. Maybe the same thing will happen when it's time to leave France. I guess I am looking forward to going, but right now, I'm kinda sad. I'm Thankful for Florida though already. It will be great for me to have a vacation where I can get my mind off of things and just enjoy my family. I am looking forward to that.