"Go Parc!"

After some much needed sleep, I was expecting to wake up in Paris and have it be the best feeling ever. Instead, I was startled by a loud pounding at my door...I checked my watch and it was 9:30....I didn't have to be with the family until 3 right? Again the pounding accompanied by some loud, incoherent French....did I already upset them in under 24 hours? Turns out my morning visitor was just someone coming to check the electrical panel and my host mom, later today, was so sorry that she didn't warn me.
After that visit, waking up in Paris was delightful. The morning was spent unpacking some more, hanging up pictures (and of course my CGA banner), and checking email. I was pleasantly surprised to find a bunch of emails from other au pairs in le 16ieme arrondisement! There are about 9 of us and we are already planning on getting coffee and meeting each other because chances are, our kids already know one another.
That's something I noticed today. Just because we are in a city, doesn't mean that it can't also have a neighborhood feel to it. This after noon Louis, Virginie and I went to the park which is at the end of the street. I couldn't tell if it was more fun for the kids to throw sand at each other or if the mothers and au pairs were getting more out of this unofficial social hour. The chaos was generally kept under control by one or two people but in general I noticed two things about French children: 1. They are generally very well behaved and polite and 2. They are allowed to do more and run more freely than American children. There are no (at least that I've seen) "helicopter" parents...if a kid trips and fall, as long as they get up, they are fine, if they want to dump a bunch of water into the sand and cover their adorable French outfits, so be it. These parents and au pairs are attentive but they don't follow their children around and constantly insist on staying within 2 feet of them. And one thing that I don't think I will EVER see in Paris (and hate seeing in the US) is a child leash. They treat kids like young adults.
That being said, kids are still kids. They have their own language and slang they use which is way over my painfully slow French consisting of academic-type grammar. Louis (2 years old) knows a handful of words...his favorite of which is "non" which, thankfully, I can understand; but his favorite saying is "go parc!" because he can't get enough of the park (until, of course, he has tired himself out). He has been saying it all the time the past couple days. If he isn't saying "non!" or "mama" it's "go parc!". At least it's not "watch tv!" (which, by the way, the family does not own).
Anyways, just a bit about the kids before I end this:

Valentine- 8- very mature, the big sister, helps out and is making sure the younger ones are doing the right thing, very creative and and into art.
Clemence- almost 6- the middle child, a bit rebellious but very loving and caring, always excited to see me and very active.
Louis (or "LouLou")- 2- always happy and laughing, he finds himself hilarious and he loves his sisters along with any sort of automobile.

Au revoir!

Sunset over my building (looking in)

Jardin du Ranelagh on a sunny day