New in Town

Hi Everyone!

I've made it through my first 6 days here in France so I will go ahead and fill you in on how my first day went.

I arrived on Sunday, August 18th, in Paris at about 5 am with a large carry on and a 50lb suitcase which I had to drag from baggage claim all the way to the trains which would take me to my new home in Lille. Finding the train was easy. It was dragging and lifting my suitcase which was most difficult. Thankfully the train conductors were nice enough to help me as they spoke only French. I replied with a smile and a nod, not understanding a damn thing.

Then, after 50 minutes and the smoothest and fasted train ride ever, I arrived at the Lille train station where I would meet me new family for the next 11 months. It was a bit rainy, overcast, and cold as I arrived at 9am with greasy airplane hair, unbrushed teeth, and wrinkly clothes from the 8 hour flight. Great first impression. I found my family with ease as they greeted me with two kisses on the cheek and a small bouquet of white roses from Cléo, the 5yr old girl I will be caring for. They are seriously the nicest and most welcoming family!

My orders upon arriving was to only speak English with Cléo (always) and only speak French with Fréd and Perrine (the parents). Thankfully, they said for my first week here they will only speak English to me so I am fully aware of my duties. Hallelujah!

On the car ride from the train station we stopped at one of the only open Boulangeries (bakeries) to pick out some croissants and many other breads for a cliché French breakfast at home. It was great, but holy delicious carbo-load....

Later, after a quick nap and unpacking, we had a heavy lunch (which was essentially dinner) on the patio and then headed out to see the city of Lille.

It is beautiful! Everyone is still on holiday until the end of August so everywhere has been dead, including closed shops and empty streets, but it has been an excellent environment for exploring. The architecture is very Belgian with some French aspects tossed in. You can hear basically only French speakers, but also a bit of Dutch too. NO ENGLISH. UGH! Then, we walked past an open area where salsa dances were being held, so we stopped in to watch everyone awkwardly dance. It was too funny. We stopped at a café in front of an old church for some drinks and to people watch. An accordion player was off in the distance playing as everyone smoked and two giant poodles trotted by and pigeons crapped everywhere. How French.

After a long travel day we came home and I went to bed without dinner. Between the insane amount of carbs from the morning and the dense lunch of Salmon and potatoes, I was totally done with food for a while. Let me just say, the food situation has been the hardest thing to adjust to. Trying to find some brown rice, Quinoa, and hummus seems almost impossible....I may have to eat the pet bunny, Scribbles, to survive...

Anyway! Things are so far so good here. Love the location, family, weather, and home. I have not hit much of a culture shock yet, but I am embracing for impact soon.

Love and Hugs from Lille!

Claire