Au pair i Paris

aren't so bad for me at all. Probebly because I don't start work until 12.30

and then can have some alone time before. But stil.l if it weren't because I

love my kids and my family I would probebly be like most other girls and hate

it, now I actually like this hard working day.

Tomorrow it's the first of december, too bad I don't have a christmas calender!

Will probebly take a look at the Swedish christmas calender that goes on TV

every year. Looking forward to it!

fan of christmas number one joined them of course. I spent all my afternoon

in the kitchen making them but it was definitely worth it. Adventsfika, here I

come!

get the real christmas feeling. It was lovely, I knew all the songs and

chatted with a swedish lady sitting beside me. Afterwards I bought some

presents, ate falafel in Marais and then went back to St G to see a dance

show at Théâtre Alexandre Dumas. A lot of great things on one day! 

I'm listening to Christmas songs on Spotify right now. Found this list

on facebook that a friend of mine made. It gets me into christmas mood.

Maybe I should go downstairs and make me some swedish glögg too. And

I also need to bake Lussebullar soon, I'm craving for it. I'm going all in for

christmas right now.

for gouté? (I'm telling myself I did it for them when I actually only

thought about myself and my craving for pancakes when making them) 

until I'm home in Sweden. 29 days left for christmas.

Time to get better.

Time to stop laying in bed feeling sorry for myself.

Time to dress up.

Time to go down and take a coffee.

Time to start working.

Some motivations sentences for me to stop being ill and start

living again. Hope it works!

is rinning, my eyes is rinning and the only thing I want to do is go back

to bed and fall asleep again. But oh, I forgot. I can't do that because my

head is killing me. 

Best regards,

Hanna, an au pair with constant illness (like that should be something unusal)

And I like it, a lot! I'm also living in a new country learning a new language

and trying to make a life her. You can think what you want but I'm pretty, damn

proud of myself tonight for doing that! 

Ganska så kool brudi då. (som kommer hem om 32 dagar och då kommer

att krama om mina bästa <3)

think like that but I'm saying it anyway. Because I am and will always

be a twilight girl. It's weird how you can feel so much about a book.

It's twilight and Harry Potter that makes me forget about everything

else and just be there and now in what I'm reading/watching.

Just love it!

drink coffee at Starbucks and then go and see twilight. Just perfect for a sunday! 

Yesterday we were at the catacombs under Paris. A little bit scary actually, being

so deep down with a lot of skeletons around you but the funny thing is that you

after a while got used to it and those thousands and thousands of skeletons started

to be just a part of the interior. Apperently they are skeletons from a cemetery in

Paris that needed to be taken away because of some building project and also

skeletons from people who died in a disease a couple of hundred years ago that

they thought would spread if they were buried in an ordinary cemetery.

Waiting more than one hour to get into the Catacombs. 

Guess I'm not so far from sweden as I thought.

a guided tour at Le Louvre 10.45 with my agency. It was stressful but I'm

glad I managed to do them both because they were both very interesting.

Phonetiques is a course you can take extra at my language school. It's

only 45 minutes * 4 times but you learn a lot about pronunciation and

how to read the phonetique writing.

The guided tour at Le Louvre was something that my agency send out an

e-mail about and this was the first museum visit of six. We're gonna go see

and talk about the history of art from the Renaissance until todays modern

art. Today we started talking about the Renaissance and the Italian painters that

are very famous from that epoch. This is a really good opportunity since Paris

has so much art to enjoy but it's hard to know where to go and what to see

because there's so much! Just walking around Le Louvre is a challenge itself.

The first four tours are gonna be at Le Louvre and after that there will be one

tour at Musée Orsay and one at Centre Pompidou.

fête that day every year when you are drinking Beaujolais noveau wine.

Remember when I told you about the fête I was at in Sigean, Southern

France, where we drank noveau wine produced in that area? Anyway,

this is the same but with Beaujolais wine and this is not only done in just

one small place, whole france is "celebrating" it because it's a really popular

wine that is produced in in the wine region Bourgogne (southern France again).

We had a tasting at my school after class with Beaujolais noveau, cheese,

and baguette (of course). So good! Très sympa. Hope we will have more

happenings of this type. No one can say no to food, right?

what that is and it just disappears just because you did something stupid

on your keyboard. Will write it again tomorrow and post it then instead.

The only thing is that he says just like that because he wants me to leave so that

he can be alone with his mum. So when I'm trying to go down the stairs he stops

me and pushes me back so that I can't get through and take his mum away from him.

Aren't they lovely sometimes our youngest?

Morning again, wednesdaymorning again. I'm up way to early just

because I can't change my routins with taking a run wednesday

mornings. Feeling quite proud of it actually! After my run I'm going

away with Caitlin on a secret mission and at lunch time it's hard

work work again. Not that I mind, being au pair is probebly the weirdest,

toughest, hardest work from day to day but it can also be the best,

happiest and the most rewarding job you can ever have as well.

Not very clear maybe but I think my au pair friends out there are

agreeing with me.

a big swedish shop all over the world. 

I actually am. Therefore I took my friend Caitlin too IKEA not so far away

from our town. Bought some candles and christmas things and ate salmon

at the restaurant. Just like home. Can't be more happy right now! 

Samlade ihop lite frågor som jag fått och svarat på men inte publicerat. Hoppas

Jag har läst tre år franska på högstadiet men ingen franska alls på gymnasiet.

Hur gör man för att läsa franska i frankrike? Är det med andra svenskar? Vad kostar det?

I Paris finns det många olika ställen att läsa franska på vilka man oftast anmäler sig till när man

kommer hit. Det är bara att söka på internet eller fråga någon i en utav alla facebookgrupper

som finns för au pairer i Paris. Även i andra delar av Frankrike tror jag att det är lätt att hitta

språkkurser då det är många som vill läsa språk. Jag fick också förslag från min organisation på

olika skolor att gå på och blev även rekommenderad den skola jag läser på nu av den förra au pairen

i min familj.

Man läser med människor (oftast au pairer om man väljer ett “au pair – program” från hela världen och

undervisningen är oftast endast på franska vilket är det bästa om man vill lära sig språket. I min klass

pratar vi bara franska hela tiden och blir tillrättavisade om vi pratar nåt annat. Kan låta svårt och tufft

men man kommer in i det snabbt och vill man lära sig ett språk så måste man faktiskt använda det och

det här är ett självklart sätt att göra det på.

Avgiften för kurserna varierar. Min kurs kostar knappt 1400 euro för två terminer. Har även hört skolor som kostar runt 800 euro för två terminer men man får räkna med att betala lite grann för sin skola. Vissa får skolan

betald av sin värdfamilj men det är något man får göra upp innan och inget man ska räkna med.

Räknas franskautbildningen som en högskoleutbildning när man kommer hem till Sverige igen?

Nej, det flesta franskakurserna räknas inte som en högskoleutbildning i Sverige. Det kan vara skillnad om

man läser franska på ett universitet här men det är ganska ovanligt och jag vet inte riktigt hur en sån utbildning

räknas. Men det är ändå en ovärderlig kunskap och merit för jobb och studier i framtiden.

Hur funkade det i början? Krävde min värdfamilj att jag skulle prata flytande franska när jag kom?
Det är alltid tufft att komma till ett nytt land och jag kämpar fortfarande med språket och livet här. Men man får

ta en dag i taget och se att det kan bara bli bättre. Jag har en jättefin familj som jag trivs bra i men det är en

stor omställning att åka till ett nytt land och bo och arbeta i en ny familj med nytt språk, ny kultur och så vidare så

det får man räkna med.

Tror att det är väldigt ovanligt att familjen kräver att man ska kunna prata flytande franska när man kommer. En del av au pair – livet handlar ju om att man ska lära sig ett nytt språk och då är det ju ingen idé att kunna det perfekt innan man kommer. Däremot skiljer det sig från familj till familj hur mycket franska de vill att man ska kunna prata. En del tycker att det är okej att man inte kan nån franska alls och en del vill ha en au pair med lite mer kunskaper i språket. Det skiljer sig också vad för språk man pratar hemma. Det finns familjer som vill att au pairen ska prata sitt eget hemspråk med barnen, kanske om en av föräldrarna har samma nationalitet som au pairen, och en del familjer vill att man ska prata franska. I min familj pratar jag engelska med barnen för att deras engelska ska utvecklas (även fast min familj är helfransk) och sedan pratar vi franska när föräldrarna är hemma för att jag ska utveckla min franska.

Det beror ju helt på vad man tycker är roligt! Vill man leka mycket med sina barn så ska man väl försöka hitta en familj med mellanstora barn som inte är för små och heller inte för stora. Jag har en två-åring, en elva-åring och en fjorton-åring så jag får både göra småbarnssaker men också lite mer ungdomssaker med det större, som att hjälpa med läxor, skjutsa till aktiviteter och så vidare.

Har inte varit några problem alls för mig. Tvärtom. Kommer man till en familj som har haft au pairer förut så vet de mer vad de ska förvänta sig och man får också chansen att prata med förra au pairen, ställa frågor och få en “au pair-bild” av familjen.

Får du stor respekt av barnen, som en extraföräldrer, eller ser de dig mest som en jobbig barnvakt?
Det är viktigt att barnen respekterar en men man är mer en extrasyster än en extraföräldrer. Det är inte mitt jobb att uppfostra barnen utan jag ska följa de regler som föräldrarna har satt upp. Man är inte heller bara en barnvakt. Man är ju någon som bor där och som är en del av deras liv hela tiden och det är något barnen också måste respektera. Det är klart att barn är bara barn och kan bete sig illa ibland men då får man ta upp det med dem och sker de upprepade gånger också med föräldrarna. Du ska aldrig behöva känna dig orolig, rädd eller ledsen inför ditt jobb!

Backar föräldrarna upp dig i konflikter med barnen?
Har inte haft några riktiga konflikter men det tror jag att mina föräldrar skulle göra ja. De pratar alltid om hur viktigt det är att barnen lyssnar på mig och respekterar mig.

Vad får du för lön och vad ska du betala för den?
Jag får 360 euro i månaden. Det enda jag måste betala är mina språkkurser och ifall jag vill åka till Paris nån gång under vardagarna (jag har ett kort som gör att jag åker gratis på helgerna som min familj har köpt åt mig). Mat, boende, internet och telefon betalar min familj för.

Hur har det varit att åka genom en organisation (STS)?
STS har varit jättebra att åka med. Det har gett mig en trygghet och de har kunnat svara på frågor jag haft. Jag har även fått kontakt med andra au pairer genom dem. Att åka privat är dock inget dåligt alternativ, de flesta åker privat och det funkar oftast väldigt bra. Att träffa andra au pairer är aldrig ett problem, det gäller bara att vara noga med att skriva kontrakt och se till att man får en familj som passar en. Sånt som man slipper om man åker genom en organisation då de matchar en med familjer som man får tacka ja eller nej till (man behöver alltså inte leta själv på samma sätt).

Jag hade inte jättemycket barnerfarenhet innan jag åkte men åker man med STS så måste man ha minst 200 timmars barnerfarenhet vilket jag ansåg att jag hade. Jag klarar det dock bra här även fast jag inte har lika mycket barnerfarenhet som en del andra au pairer. Tror mest att det handlar om sunt förnuft och att man gillar barn.

I got some questions from some swedish readers.

Jag har ju nu varit här i drygt två och en halv månad och mycket har

hänt sen jag första gången satte min fot på fransk mark och mycket

har jag lärt mig. Och tänk då att det är mer än 6 månader kvar i det här

(oftast) fantastiska landet! 

Jag får ju ibland lite frågor här i bloggen vilket jag tycker är jättekul. Det

är många som funderar på hur det är att vara au pair och jag svarar alltid

på era frågor så det är bara att fråga på. Det jag inte har varit så bra på

har att varit att publicera frågor och svar i bloggen. Det tänkte jag göra nu,

men först undrar jag om det är någon fler där ute som har några frågor om

au pair - livet eller rent allmänt om mig och mitt liv här i Frankrike. Skicka en

liten kommentar här under så ska jag försöka svara så gott jag kan! 

kardemummabulle. Couldn't be more happy! You realise how much you

actually like your own home country and the small things that you

never think about at home but miss like crazy when you can't have them.

Like the swedish word fika for example. A cup of coffee and a cinnamon

bun with people you like and care about. Even though that exist in other

countries too is it hard to actually find a translated word that means the

same thing. Fika is a fika and I will probebly go to the Café Suédois again

soon just to have my fika in a swedish way.

of the ending of the first world war. That means that all schools were closed and

left until it's CHRISTMAS! I love christmas and all my friends and

family thinks I'm crazy wanting to listen to christmassong, eating

ginger bread cookies and decorate my room with things that belongs

to christmas this early. But that's me! I just love it and I can't resist

when monoprix is already selling christmas cakes. I think I need

to go to IKEA soon to by some decorations and I'm hoping that

my mum will bring dough for ginger bread cookies when she's

coming in a month. 

Soon the month is here wich I've waited for the hole year!

I can't be the only person that feels like this? 

this weird language. There are so many rules everywhere that

should be followed. But that's not the real problem. The real problem

is that there is a lot of rules that is questioning each other and are

the complete opposite of each other too. How can you ever lern the

rules when it is like that?

But there are a few things that makes me feel better about this weird-

french-that-I-will-never-learn thing: 

• When you're studying is it completely okay to eat cookies the whole time.
• When it gets too boring I always fall asleep on my carpet and wake up as a new person
• The feeling when you understand something is the best feeling in the world!
• You look pretty smart (and chic) when you're sitting on the RER reading your french book

seeing my swedish friends one last time before Märta was leaving.

She left this morning and I can admit that I'm pretty sad about it.

Was nice to have her here and that made me feel a lot like home

and old times. But it's not so long time before I see my mum again

(she's coming in a month) and after that is it only two weeks before

I'm going home for christmas. That's nothing? Can't believe how fast time

is flying by. 

We went to a restaurant close to Jasmins place. Märta was hungry so

we figured it was best to eat something. The food was good and the

place was really nice (don't remember the name, sorry) but the waiter

was just so rude. Couldn't believe it! He was just stressing us when ordering,

under the time Märta was eating and after when we payed. The whole dinner!

Will probebly not go back there just because of him. Too bad when that sort

of things happen.

comparée du Jardin des Plantes. There you could find tons of skeletons

of animals and humans from our time but also fossils. Very interesting

and I was really exited about all the big skeletons. It's crazy to even

think about how these animals lived and are living on our planet. 

Since I was with my school it was free for everybody visiting from La

Clef but this museum as many other museums in Paris is free if you are

under 26 and a european citizen or a long time residence in Europe.

Good thing!


A giraff skeleton and some other animals from the savannah.

Galeries de Paléontologie et d'Anatomie

for me this time. Me and some other girls from my class are going

to Paris with the school to a museum. To be honest, I have know

idea where we're going but it seems cool and it will all be in french

(of course since it is a french course) so I hope I will learn something

new today as well.

Later on it's time to clean the kids rooms. Monda = cleaning day!

À tout a l'heure.

Spent the day with her, Jasmin and our danish friends eating sushi and

walking around in Paris. Manage to do some shopping also before I met

them. What I bought will I save as a surprise for tomorrow but I can tell

you now that I am so happy about my new clothes. 

Babysitting tonight and my head is just killing me so I will probebly go to

bed in a couple of minutes. My plan is to wake up early and go for a run

in the morning before I'm going to Paris. We'll see how that goes.

went to La Clef and heard some boys playing with their bands. We

were absolutely among the oldest at that place right now. Made me

feel really grown up (since I'm not really that old yet, right?). It also

felt like Sweden and our place in Karlstad for young people where

we can go and hang out, watch bands playing, have some coffee and

so on. (Karlstad, Värmland, Sverige: såklart pratar jag om UNO!)

Afterwards, we went to "the view", some stairs where you can sit

and look out over Paris and later on we also went to a pub in St G.

Not the one that we planned to go to because it was too crowded

there but another one that played Bob Marley all evening wich was

really nice. To sum up: a great evening!

to show you. But you're absolutely worth it! Now it's friday again and I'm

just on my way out to meet some friends at the local pub here in St. G.

Tomorrow, my dearest Märta is arriving in town. So exited! 

A little bit sad, I will miss it. But still, it's good to be home again (isn't it

crazy that I call Paris my home? and it really feels like it too).

But Porto, I'm not finished with you. À bientôt!

Allison slept in and after a long breakfast (as usual) we took the bus to

a contemporary art museum that had a lovely park. I couldn't take

any pictures inside of the museum but we saw a very nice photo

exhibition there. Will try to go and see some photo exhibitons in France

too since I realized that that's really something I like. We probebly have

tons of them. 

We finished our day at a restaurant by the river. It was heavy rain but that

made the atmosphere more cozy and we had a very nice time sitting inside

listening to the rain.

morning though, we went to a special café wich is famous in Porto; Café

Majestic. The coffee was good and the place was really nice, but crowded.

I guess I would have liked it more if it were smaller and not so many people

around but it was still very cute with the old interior and the waiters that wear

very proper costumes. 

Afterwards we took the touristbus that went to the ocean. Was so happy to

see water and the sea again. And the waves were just amazingely beautiful.

Saw a lot of important buildings in Porto also but i prefered to take most photos

of the sea since I really loved it. 

The thing that most people think about when they here Porto (besides the

football team) is probebly the port wine wich they produce and mature here.

Of course we needed to go a guided tour in a cave where they stored it. We

chose to go to Sandeman and that was absolutely a great experience since

I'm so bad with wines. Now I know at least a little bit more about the port wine.

At the end of the tour we got to taste two different port wines, on red and one

white. Maybe a little bit to strong for my taste but definitely not bad.

and of course eating wich was one of our favourite things to do. The food in

Porto was really good and also very cheap wich was good for us who travelled

with a small budget because then we could still go to this really nice restaurants,

having a good meal and drink good wine without paying so much. I would

guess that Paris is about twice as expensive when it comes to restaurants than

Porto is. Another reason why Porto is a good place for travellers.

(finally someone in this world could give me a decent latte that wasn't

ended up at probebly the nicest metro in europe, wich was the fact about Portos

metro. 

We went to our apartment wich also was a very pleasant surprise. Big, modern,

clean and with two roof terraces with a beautiful view over the city. In the appartement

was Allisons friend Brian waiting who arrived earlier then us because he took a flight

from Edinburgh.

All three of us went for a tour to see a little bit more of the city wich is so beautiful!

Hope the pictures will prove it do you. We finished the day with dinner at a restaurant

close to our appartement. Salmon for me of course!

Nightview.

now I just need to study a little bit before picking up my kids for Tennis. So

hopefully I will put them on the blog tonight or early tomorrow. Ciao.