as many of you know, i live in paris, france. the most magical, romantic, beautiful city in the whole world. what many of you may not know is why/how i’m here. i don’t blog about it very much, but truth be told, i am an au pair/nanny/baby-sitter. however you want to look at it, there is a sight difference between the three, though i am officially called an “au-pair.”
i’ve known for the past 4 years i wanted to live in paris and there’s not many opportunities for foreigners outside of schooling. i e-mailed countless contacts, i sent resumes to the most random of random businesses, and every time the clock hit 11:11, i wished that someday, somehow… i would end up in paris.
after years of endless searching, one day my inbox received a message from a friend, who knew of a friend of a friend of a friend who was looking for an au pair. i knew “au pairing” was one option to get to france, but i didn’t give it much thought since i had never had much experience with children.
one thing lead to another however and not only did it become clear that this would be my entry ticket to the city of lights, but the job itself was something i was meant to experience all along.
i am an au pair for two little french boys. my job means i pick them up from school, play with them, cook for them, clean their rooms, give them baths, etc.
these pictures give such a real/false impression of what my life is. they really are the cutest kids ever and all we do is play all day, that part is true. it’s not always the most fun and glamorous job however because it can be a very challenging and stressful.
being responsible for two human beings is stressful enough, but adding in the fact that they belong to someone else is a whole other element. i could not be more thankful for this opportunity because everyday i am learning about them as well as myself. it has taught me that there are more positives than negatives and i can’t explain the feeling that overcomes you when they watch “mary poppins” for the first time, or when you see their face when something “clicks” and finally they understand something they didn’t before.
though i have to constantly remind myself to take a breath and just have fun, i have become a better person/parent/teacher/listener/friend from all of this.
i am excited/curious/scared/happy to see what is next to discover in my au pairing adventures…
*bisous*