Paris et moi

I want to write you a post about how I'm feeling, seven months since moving to Paris. Blogs are things which encourage the narcissistic element that exists in all of us, brought out by writing about, well me, so excuse me if I go on a bit.

When I first arrived here, on the 29th of August 2010, I was terrified. Although I had met my host family once before they were in fact total strangers, I doubted my ability to look after two identical small French children, and of course, my French was a "Horreur!".

How things have changed... I seem to have lucked out, as my host family couldn't be any nicer, I've grown pretty attached to the children and they to me, and yesterday I was told by my host mum that my spoken French is "parfait" and my only area in need of improvement is my vocabulary. As French is such a structured language and I've found the grammar so hard to learn, this is a huge compliment for me and shows how much I've learnt since arriving. I've still got a lot to learn but well isn't that the case with most people and most things?

My knowledge of Paris, although nowhere near complete, is rather impressive these days. And the best part is that there seems to be no end of things and places to discover despite this.

Living in one of the wealthiest suburbs of Paris, Le Vesinet, might be a pain a lot of the time when I don't fancy getting the last train back or waiting for the first one in the morning, but experiencing the way of life of a French town as opposed to a city is "charmant". And as I've mentioned before, the Seine is a 10 minute bike ride away from my doorstep. Oh, also, apparently Johnny Depp lives in Le Vesinet which doesn't surprise me as mansions and countryside paths are plentiful here, and all within a 15 minute train ride from the Champs Elysees. Jealous yet?

Living with a host family has also been character-building, as has working with children. After three years of university and living with friends I've learnt yet another way of life. And observing the way a family different to your own goes about raising their children whilst fulfilling successful careers and a happy marriage can be thought-provoking. It's not something I'd like to pursue as a career but my time here has been great and I don't really want it to end. I've decided to make the most of it, I've made some real friends here, people I know I will keep in touch with and visit apres Paris. Being here has also given me the inspiration and time I needed to realise that I want to begin a career in publishing, which I suppose has been obvious to all but me for some time.

I know London is waiting for me, but I'm going to miss you Paris. You are like an old-flame that will never truly die out, and I know I'm going to come back for more one day.

For now, however, I'm looking forward to spending the next 2 and a half months with you.

Bisous