SURFING!

Yesterday whilst at the beach I spotted a surf shop, I went and got talking to the guy that owns it... and decided its about time I learnt to surf.

Had my first attempt today and absolutely LOVED IT!! It wasn't technically surfing because there aren't any waves here but I did what they call Paddle Surf (you have a giant surf board and an oar) and it was so fun! The surfer dude kindly leant me a wet suit (and incase youre thinking "hmm I wonder what Steph looks like in a wetsuit" - you're in luck because I took a slightly cringey picture, scoll down now! Had to be done, I've never worn one before!) Mother asked me if I now have a rubber fetish - I don't.

I spent the first half hour falling off, then laughing so much I could hardly get back on! But then I started to get the hang of it and I could stand up! And I got better each time, staying up for longer, turning around, paddling about! It was great! I even got chatting to a fellow paddler (he came over because I was lying on the board flat out laughing at my own patheticness and he wanted to check I wasn't dead)

It's hard work mind! Arms are aching from rowing, legs are aching from trying to balance on the board... much harder than it looks!

Today was glorious, hot sunny clear skies and I spent the afternoon reading in the garden and napping in the sun...

Today I love France.

I am, however, at war with a million ants. Literally. They keep attacking me in my room... invading my space! And I don't know why! I hoover like every other day, and I squirted anti-ant stuff everywhere, yet they keep finding a way in!!! Little buggars.

I've been cooking this week because the mum's away and she didn't prepare anything in advance like she usually does - perhaps that's a good sign, she finally trusts me to feed her family? Anyway, last night I made a quinoa salad and Vincent complemented me on it :) which was ace because I've never cooked it before and I don't really understand what it is (I just pretended it was couscous, I think it's similar!) And tonight I made a Spanish omelette and the bambinos loved it. Go me.

I'm aware this is my third blog of the day, a bit excessive... but I don't care...

Look here's me pretending to be a surfer chic:

A Day in the Life of ME

6.45 – alarm goes off, snooooze….
7.00 – up & shower
7.20 – work begins, get the breakfast ready & empty the dish wash, we all eat together. Breakfast consists of cereal, toast with butter & jam, orange juice, herbal tea and fruit.
7.45 – I clear the table whilst everyone else brushes their teeth, & put their coats and shoes on.
8.00 – kids leave for school, usually with the Dad but sometimes I take them.
8.00 to 9.00 – I tidy up, put the vac on, put the washing on and then finish getting myself ready.
9.00 to 12.00 – Monday and Friday I go to my French class in Sanary. Otherwise I either chill at home or I go visit friends, or go on a little trip somewhere.
12.00 to 13.00 – lunch. I often take a mini picnic with me if I’m going out for the day. If not I eat at home. Usually salad or whatevers left over from the previous evening.
13.00 to 16.00 – I’m usually free in the afternoon, I go out or go shopping or go running.
16.00 to 17.00 – I have a brew and get the kid’s afternoon snack ready plus anything else they need such as Judo clothes etc.
17.00 to 18.00 – pick the kids up from school, then there’s either English tutors, maths tutors, judo, gymnastics, homework or playtime.
18.00 to 19.00 – everybody has baths/showers and I get the tea ready & set the table.
19.00 to 20.00 – we eat, together as a family whenever possible. There’s always a jug of water on the table, there’s always cheese, always bread, and always desert.
20.00 to 20.30 – clear the table, tidy up, get the kids to bed. Then I’m free to do my own thing.
20.30 – 00.00 – most evening I either skype with various people at home, go on facebook or go out to see my friends. Occasionally I do some swotting up on my French grammar… but not often, and then its bedtime.

Halloween (or not)

I got back to France on Friday, and it proceeded to rain all day Saturday, Sunday and Monday. It was grim! I was not at all happy to be back. Sunday was Halloween, which basically isn't celebrated in France. Which is depressing because I love halloween. We (me, the other au pairs plus our German boys) attempted to do something nice together but France being France meant that everything was closed... even Ikea!! It strikes me as silly that everything is closed, it was pouring down, it was Sunday... I bet the shops would have been packed out had they have been open. It's a nightmare on Sundays, you can't even buy food, even the supermarkets are shut! We ended up watching a film at my place and then we went to the "Irish Pub" at Sanary... I was slightly hopeful that there might be something exciting going on there given that Halloween is traditionally an Irish holiday... but I was bitterly disappointed. The pub is about as un-Irish as you can get, not an Irishman in sight, I met the owner and he wasn't even aware it was Halloween. Terribly poor effort!! We got talking to two middle aged couples on the next table, they were French and surprisingly friendly (probably something to do with them being pissed on red wine).

The rain was constant and the road next to my house turned into a river. What's more I have absolutely no suitable footwear, so I had to endure 3 days of soggy socks and cold toes.

Tuesday however, the rain stopped and the sun came back. And my mood instantly lifted. I was with the kids all day and we did lots of nice things; we went on a bike ride through the forest, we went to the beach, we collected rocks and sand and shells, and we met the father for lunch at a nice restaurant on the seafront. It was a lovely day.

Yesterday (Wednesday) the children went back to school, and I went to a big shopping centre called Grand Var and attempted to buy some boots so I'd be ready for the next storm. Found some great ones but unfortunately my €80/week au pair's wage does not stretch to buying €160 boots!! But still I went with Giulia and we had brunch there, and it was really warm, like 20'c. In afternoon I went for a walk on the beach, and got bit by something... I now have 5 big red itchy lumps on my tummy! :(

Weather today is lovely again, clear blue skies and it's warm. And you know what I'm doing... I'm going SURFING!!!!!

Road Trip

Today Daisy (Dutch) and I went to:

Bormes les Mimosas: A beautiful flowery mountain village with lovely views of the ocean. We had a picnic there for lunch.

Saint Tropez: The famous luxurious town of the rich and famous which was in fact a massive disappointment. There were a lot of road works, it wasn't that interesting, the port wasn't as nice as Nice, the old town wasn't as nice as some others I've been to. We had a good walk round and did some window shopping (its soooo expensive) I found a gorgeous vintage skirt that I'm currently regretting not buying... but an au pairs wage does not stretch to €50 for a skirt, plus it was a size too big for me.

Ramatuelle: Another flowery mountain village with really narrow streets, like a labyrinth, really liked it.

Le Lavandou: Seaside town, reminded me a lot of Santa Pola in Spain. We had a coffee on the sea front and a walk up and down the beach. Its touristy, good atmosphere there though, liked it.

Had a really nice day exploring, although the weather was grey all day and then around 6.30 the heavens burst and a full blown thunder storm broke out. It's definitely a night for staying home and being cosy.

Daisy said something profound today that I think sums up the experience of being an au pair - she said we are treated like a luxury accessory that the family bought off the internet. It's very true. We're employees, not members of the family. We're here to help, to work, not to form relationships/friendships, we're not here for small talk. We should be seen and not heard.

Luckily, I have friends here to keep me sane, and little outings like today make it worth the while, if not I think France would be a lonely place.

My Week Off

So I had this week off work. First we went to Nice, as mentioned, loads of us. To sum up, it wasn't the cultural trip of discovery I had had in mind, however there were tequilla sunrises, copious amounts of wine and karaoke. Nice is a beautiful city, I would definitely go back. The the sea front is lovely, and we climbed up a hill that had panoramic views of the city, there was a park at the top. Very tranquil. We went for a walk around the port and saw some of the biggest poshest boats I have ever laid eyes on. There's an old town part which has loads of little shops and bars and narrow streets... good shops, expensive.

The couchsurfing experience was insane - one bedroom apartment - 10 people. I slept 4 nights with toes, elbows and knees digging in me from all angles. We partied partied and partied - with I think a total of 12 different nationalities. Met some very interesting people (and some total weirdos). We went to a salsa club (I LOVE SALSA) and I mocked every single French man to tried to dance with me! French men CAN NOT dance! I'm not saying I can, but I do know how to shake my booty and have a good time. Ended up splitting my time dancing with two guys - a middle aged short fat Italian man and a young Brazilian guy - both were good dancers and not pervy gropers like the French! A French mans idea of dancing is feeling your bum and humping your leg! Yet even more minus points for the frenchies, they're not doing at all well in my books.

The weather was pretty grim, my hangover was worse, my camera got nicked whilst I was stood on a table singing Mr Brightside in an Irish bar, and the apartment had rudimentary plumbing and lighting. All in all it was a very enjoyable stay.

From Nice, I went to England. To Poole. To visit James. Odd being home but not actually 'home'. Was like a holiday, a nice holiday, with little sausages, pasties, home-made doughnuts, walks on the beach, shopping (stocked up in Boots and bought a replacement camera) and good British weather. Also, Southern chippies don't sell gravy, that's just weird!

And now I'm back. Back in my little garage-come-home. The kids seemed happy to have me back which was sweet (nothing to do with me bringing them sweets from England?) I was a bit sad to be back - I miss my friends and my family. I'm ok though - I have a whisper bar and an English book to keep me going. And I'm going to make the most of the nice weather here by doing some more travelling & exploring.

Nice

Today I started my day by puking in a McDonalds toilet wearing last nights clothes and make up. Nice is awesome!

Couch Surfing here we come!!!

So I'm off to Nice tonight, with 3 other au pairs and a German boy, and we're going to stay with a French man in Nice who I found on www.couchsurfing.org then on Sunday there's another 5 of us arriving! And its a one bed apartment! Lucky man!

Staying in Nice til tues then I'm going to the wonderful place known as ENGLAND!!! yay! Sorry Manchester but I'm a traitor... I'm going down south to see Mr James Muir! (the flights were cheaper...)

So excited!

It's a Joke!!

French people do not get my sense of humour. I've lost count of the number of times I've said something joking and the Frenchies have took it as serious. Im not claiming to be a comical genius or anything but back home I crack jokes and people generally laugh, here NOT ONE GETS ME!! It's not just me, I think French humour is a breed of it's own. I've never met a funny French person.

France is literally shutting down. The whole country is on strike; no trains, no planes, no petrol, no teachers, there are protests, blockades and vandalism. THIS IS FRANCE. They're protesting against the retirement reform. Can someone please explain to me why college kids are protesting over a retirement reform - if they don't go to school now they're not going to get a job to retire from in the first place! It's just an excuse to not go to school and to spend the day burning out cars and generally causing havoc! Its STUPID! Its mob mentality. Sarko has said from the start that he's not going to change it, the reform has already been passed by the national assembly - it's too late to change it! Burning out cars belonging to everyday citizens isn't going to change anything, it's just going to piss people off! Dear France: YOU voted him in, you cant go bonkers just because you don't like what he's doing. And they're only extending retirement age by two years - it's not the end of the world!

I'm the first the criticize the passive attitude of the people of England - if the same reform was passed at home I think the most that would happen would be a couple of disgruntled folk standing outside parliament with some banners - and even then it'd only be ageing hippies with nothing better to do. But the militant attitude of the French is the other extreme and I'm not convinced that that's at all a good thing.

Rant over.

My Day Off Exploration

Today Aunty Therese and Uncle Antonio decided to take the kids all day and night so I was off duty! Whoo! I went jogging, I did some swotting up on my French, and then I went exploring. I drove through the mountains in an inlandy direction, through a little village called Cuges-Les-Pins (it was siesta time and it was a ghost town), stumbled upon a theme park in the middle of nowhere (?), went to Aubagne, then climbed a mountain and sat at the top for a bit - the view was amazing - Cassis to the right and La Ciotat to the left, the sea, mountains, sun, pine trees - LOVE IT HERE its beautiful. Seeing La Ciotat made me think about ice cream so I spontaneously went there to get one (cookies & nutella flavor) and I also had a coffee. Then I took the long coastal road home and stopped off at La Madrague - a pretty little seaside village with a diddy port and some old frenchies playing petanque.

A very nice, chilled & peaceful day - just what I needed.

food food fooooood

Oh jeez what a weekend. Lets start with Thurday. In the morning I picked Sophia up and showed her Le Beausset, and we had a very nice civilised lunch together and ate copious amounts of ice cream. The afternoon was a shambles, I lost a child!! He got on the school bus when I was suppose to be picking him up so I was a very stressed out lady for a short time.

Friday I got a day off because I had to work Saturday and Sunday, so I went to a place called Saint Cyr Sur Mer after language school with Debbie (Danish). Its a nice place, big beach, port, little village. Had a paddle and an ice cream. (Thinking Im spending too much time eating ice cream...)

Friday night was Judit's last night out! We met in Carrefour car park at 10pm and there was loads of lame French kids there reinacting The Fast and the Furious with with their pimped out Twingos and Fiat Pandas. It was lame. I gave Melissa her first lesson driving a manual car (she's American, that explains everything) - that was fun, and then we went to La Plage in Toulon. I drove, as per, didn't drink, danced a lot, was generally a good night although at the end I was well ratty and I got pissed off because everyone was taking their time and I was tired and sober and I had an hours drive ahead of me, to make matters worse we were getting hassled by a load of pathetic middle aged men trying desperately to pull right at the end of the night. One conversation went as follows:

French arsehole: Ver are you from?
Me: England
French arsehole: Ah London [because London is the only place in England?!]
Me: No not London, Manchester
French arsehole: I know very well zee England [evidently] because I lived in Norwich [?!]
Me: Why the hell would anyone want to live in Norwich
French arsehole: comment??
Me: Where are you from then?
French arsehole: I am from France [oh you dont say I'd never had guessed given we're IN FRANCE]
Me: Obviously
French arsehole: Can do you a Scottish accent for me? I just love zee Scottish accent...
Me: Errrrm.... no, now will you please piss off?

That was just one of many pointless irritating conversations that took place outside the club at 3 in the morning. I HATE FRENCH MEN!!!

Saturday I didnt go horse riding because I was tired, although I didnt manage to get a lie in, and I had to go and drop of Quentin's phone because the dozy git had left it in my car. Grr. Had lunch with the family (burgers done on the BBQ) and then we went to Sophie's parents house in a place called Tourrettes. What a strange name for a town, is the disability named after it I wonder... The point of the weekend was that there was a family get together in honour of some cousins that had come over from Canada, and I was there to keep this kids entertained while the grown ups had aperos and did grown up stuff. I had not only my 3 bambinos, but 2 of their cousins too. Great fun. It was about a 2 and a half hour drive away, right in the middle of the mountains. The entire weekend evolved around food, which naturally I loved! I met the family (they're all midgets) and had to play outside with the kids all afternoon. In the evening we had apéritifs - very french! Wine, champagne, olives, dried fruit, cheese related things and crisps (essentially what I would refer to as swanky nibbles). Then all the adults went out to a restaurant and I was left to feed and put the 5 children to bed. To make things even more exciting the parents were all staying at a hotel whilst I was sleeping in the attic with 5 children aged 4 - 13!! Ooh la la! It went surprising well though, had pancakes for tea then got them all too bed. I was thinking oh wow this is far too easy, I got myself to bed at the same time as the kids too because I was shattered, but I'd spoke too soon. I was in the attic, all the kids in one room, me slightly separated but next door, and I could here chatter. I left it but it didn't stop... turns out the little one (Merlin) was hyper and wouldn't shut up and the others wanted to sleep. I gave him a warning and went back to bed. But he carried on, and I ended up putting him in bed with me so the others could sleep. I got no sleep, all I got all night was "I'm scared... I've lost teddy... Can we have the light on..." and when he did sleep he snored because he's got a cold and his nose is blocked. I deserve a medal.

Today was also a wonderfully food orientated day, I got the kids up, fed them, got them ready - yes me and FIVE children! Breakfast was a feast of nutella. Then I played with them all morning in the field next to the house, and then there were more apéros and a fantastic buffet lunch and AMAZING deserts. I know all I write about is food, so for those of you not interested look away now...

Some of the day's culinary highlights: little spoons with creamy goats cheese, fig jam and crumbled up crackers; Provençal tomatoes (which are roasted with herbs and stuff); some meat type sausage that was mixed with stuffing; chocolate brownies (in the shape of hearts and teddy bears); lemon tarts (hand made by aunty Caroline); mixed fruits of the forest and cream.

On the way home Charlottle made me a bracelet similar to the one she and Barnabe wear, and she told me to made a wish as she fastened it, and that I'm never to take it off. How sweet is that? I think we've bonded lately because her Mum's been away a lot and we've been spending some time together just the two of us, she's ace.

When we got home the Grandad came round with his sister and her husband, so there was yet more family for me to meet and do the whole bisous bisous thing - its tiring man! They're really cool though I laughed a lot this evening! They're staying the week because Vincent and Sophia are both working away all week (and they were kind enough to not leave me totally alone with the children). AND WE HAD CHICKEN FOR TEA!! Literally have not had chicken for tea since I arrived here. Haven't eaten it at all in fact and tonight was like Christmas for me. Im looking forward to this week, aunty and uncle are cool and highly amusing, and theyre going to want to spend lots of time with the kids - so chill time for me.

Even more excitingly: I HAVE A WEEK OFF NEXT WEEK!!!!! Its the school hols and I was dreading being stuck with the kids alone all week but they're going on holiday! So I'm free from the 22nd to the 30th - COME VISIT ME PEOPLE!! I'm planning a humongous road trip around the South, might pop into Italy for a bit too. Because I can.

And finally...

Country Life update: Well the sheep are gone which I'm quite sad about. I liked looking at the sheep. And I dont know why but there are loads of fires everywhere at the moment - like everyday. Maybe its some sort of agricultural burning ritual, maybe its foot and mouth...?? Either way its quite annoying because everywhere its covered in smoke, it's like living in a cloud. Check this for rural life - every Friday I go and collect vegetables from a local farm, how fresh! It's nice living here, in Swinton the only farms in a 100 mile radius are ones cultivating marijuana!

Bed time now, I am exhausted!