Dear Kitty,
well, here I am. It's...it's different, certainly.
Etienne is adorable - some of the time. He's impossible the rest of the time, like today when it took me 45 minutes to give him a bath, but when he gets into bed and you read him a story and he just kind of sighs and squeaks and then asks for a cuddle - well, it's adorable.
It's harder than I thought it would be - but that's probably because I'm tired. I get really homesick every so often - like I actually miss William - and then sometimes I just don't have the energy, but it's moments like when I put Etienne to bed that makes it feel so worth it.
He's obsessed with Star Wars, which is difficult because I haven't seen it. But as he knows the whole thing off by heart, he just tells me what to say and I'm learning it slowly.
The first day was dreadful. I cried practically all the way here, and then again when I got into my flat that night - but I only cried once on the Saturday, and not at all yesterday. It would be much easier if we weren't moving house, but that's something that can't be helped, really. Also, as I have Julia (au pair 2009) here, she's really friendly and is great fun to hang around with. She's also full of info about the family, and gets on with all of them really well - and she's excellent with Etienne, so if he won't listen to me, then she can get him to do stuff.
I haven't seen any of the massive tourist attractions yet - we went to the gay Jewish bit yesterday, which was really cool and really interesting, and today I went and found a supermarket and did some shopping. I think I'll see the Eiffel Tower when I have friends here. Luckily, there are loads of au pairs near where I am, and there's a big lunch thing on Thursday for all of us in the surrounding arrondissements.
Aside from that, it's a getting-better situation. It feels really hard, but it's one of those things that'll get easier over time.
I miss everyone more than I can say, and can't wait to see them all. This year will be interesting for all of us. I just hope that the old 'everything-goes-wrong-when-we're-apart' doesn't happen.
Yours,
Francesca
well, here I am. It's...it's different, certainly.
Etienne is adorable - some of the time. He's impossible the rest of the time, like today when it took me 45 minutes to give him a bath, but when he gets into bed and you read him a story and he just kind of sighs and squeaks and then asks for a cuddle - well, it's adorable.
It's harder than I thought it would be - but that's probably because I'm tired. I get really homesick every so often - like I actually miss William - and then sometimes I just don't have the energy, but it's moments like when I put Etienne to bed that makes it feel so worth it.
He's obsessed with Star Wars, which is difficult because I haven't seen it. But as he knows the whole thing off by heart, he just tells me what to say and I'm learning it slowly.
The first day was dreadful. I cried practically all the way here, and then again when I got into my flat that night - but I only cried once on the Saturday, and not at all yesterday. It would be much easier if we weren't moving house, but that's something that can't be helped, really. Also, as I have Julia (au pair 2009) here, she's really friendly and is great fun to hang around with. She's also full of info about the family, and gets on with all of them really well - and she's excellent with Etienne, so if he won't listen to me, then she can get him to do stuff.
I haven't seen any of the massive tourist attractions yet - we went to the gay Jewish bit yesterday, which was really cool and really interesting, and today I went and found a supermarket and did some shopping. I think I'll see the Eiffel Tower when I have friends here. Luckily, there are loads of au pairs near where I am, and there's a big lunch thing on Thursday for all of us in the surrounding arrondissements.
Aside from that, it's a getting-better situation. It feels really hard, but it's one of those things that'll get easier over time.
I miss everyone more than I can say, and can't wait to see them all. This year will be interesting for all of us. I just hope that the old 'everything-goes-wrong-when-we're-apart' doesn't happen.
Yours,
Francesca
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