29 Feb Ask an Au Pair: Katrina makes the most of her time by pushing herself and taking risks
This week, we asked Katrina, a 23-year old from Ontario, Canada. She lives with her host family in the 7th arrondissement. Here are excerpts from her responses.
What inspires you about Paris?
Seeing so many small businesses that are thriving.
What tools, information or tactics did you find helpful in supporting yourself and the children after the terrorist attacks in Paris?
I actually found it very therapeutic writing my blog post that gave an account of my personal experience as well as worked through reconciling the reactions I was getting from my friends and family back home and my host family and other Parisians here.
As for the kids, their parents were the ones to explain what happened to them and let them know they were there if they wanted to talk about it. My kids view their parents very highly and would go to them before me if they wanted to talk so I left it at that.
What is the best way to meet Parisians?
Going out to the bars that are in the less touristy districts and just talking to people; people will often come up to you. Meet-ups can also be a good way to meet Parisians with similar interests.
How do you improve or master your French language skills?
Speaking French with the kids I take care of.
Texting in French to my friends, even my English speaking ones!
Talking to Parisians in bars.
Taking risks and forcing myself into additional situations where I have to speak in French, ie. getting meat and cheese from the boucherie and fromagerie rather than Carrefour on Monoprix.
What is your favorite neighborhood?
Latin Quarter
What is your favorite café and/or the best meal you’ve had in Paris so far?
Pomze would have to be the best meal I’ve had so far! An amazing apple themed restaurant!
What is your favorite shop?
Cute little honey shop on Rue Cler
What is your favorite museum?
Modern Art Museum at Pompidou
What is your favorite secret Paris spot?
The pure water well in the 13th!
What do you dislike most about living in Paris?
The pollution, the lack of picking up after their dogs and THE SMOKING.
What advice would you give to incoming au pairs?
1. Try your hardest to remember what it was like to be a kid and be the person you would have wanted to take care of you. When you play with them, make it genuine. Really get into the game and respect their play. This will make it so much easier for you to get their respect in return.
2. Keep in touch with your friends from home! It can be very exciting to make lots of new friends here but don’t forget about the people you left behind in your home country. They want to hear from you and if you loose contact with a lot of them it will just make you more homesick.
3. Profites-en bien! Make the most of your time in Paris. When deciding between going to that museum or staying in and watching Netflix, go to the museum! You time here is precious and so spend it in a way you won’t regret.
ASK AN AU PAIR SERIES
Get to know Paris, from an au pair’s perspective. Our “Ask an Au Pair” series was so popular that we’ve decided to continue it with our next round of au pairs! We pose a dozen questions about the City of Light to those who are seeing it with fresh eyes and learning all of its wonderful intricacies. And, we decided to expand this series by adding a question about adapting to life in Paris after the 2015 terrorist attacks.
Read more from the Ask an Au Pair series