October 14, 2019
Boy, I am bad at keeping these posts up. I swear that I'm not avoiding writing, I really do enjoy sharing my experiences, but I'm just busy having a great time:) Okay, so, since the last time I wrote a blog, we got a new car for me to drive, I turned in all of my paperwork, we went to a couple museums, and I am planning a trip. It was a fast couple of weeks!
So. The car that I drive now is a Toyota Aygo, and it is perfect for me to drive. It is a manual transmission, but it is tiny and cute:) I am getting SO good at driving with a stick shift, it's not even funny. Like, I think I could pursue a career in race car driving if I can't figure what I want to be when I grow up. Well, maybe not, but that's how much more comfortable I am driving the smaller car than the van.
Two weeks ago, I sent in my final paperwork to the immigration department. I had to turn in another form, a copy of my passport, and my original letter of acceptance to the country and to the au pair program. Last week, I went in to the immigration building to get my picture taken and my fingerprints scanned. This week, I can pick up my residence permit. With that card, I am a temporary EU resident for the year. That means I could skip the lines in the airport when they stamp your passport:) Also, if I am feeling bold enough, I'll include the picture of my face that will appear on the card because it looks like a mugshot.
The Wednesday after I last posted last was my first French lesson. I was so overwhelmed. I've never felt so under-prepared for anything in my life. Thankfully, one of our neighbors is a French family, so I will go over every Tuesday morning to prepare for my class the next day with the mother, and I will go back on Wednesday evenings to help their ten year old with his English. Here is a pretty picture of my walk to take my mind off how bad I am at French:)
Lat Wednesday, I had a meeting at SNJ (the department of youth) with other au pairs. They finalized some paperwork they needed, and talked to us about different rules we need to follow. In my group, there were several other girls from the States, and I am now in a Whatsapp group of American au pairs.
Last Thursday, one of the kids' music lessons was canceled so we had the whole afternoon off. We went to the Luxembourg Science Centre, and had an absolute blast. I think the kids would have stayed forever if they were given the choice. It was a place my brothers and dad would love, so I'm hoping if (when!) they visit, we can head down and spend a day there. On Friday, I made one of my favorite desserts, apple caramel rolls. They didn't turn out quite how they are supposed to look, but they tasted just as good, so that's what counts:) I also babysat that night as the parents had a dinner party they were going to. I introduced them to Cards Against Humanity as a true American should, and they took the original game and all of their expansion packs. They all loved the game, so when the game takes over Europe, I'm demanding royalties from Cards Against Humanity.
On Saturday, I went with my au pair friend to Decathlon to get a raincoat and hiking shoes. The nearest one is in Belgium, about twenty minutes away. Not that I'm going to start hiking, but I was in desperate need of waterproof shoes. It rains pretty much every day here, and I discovered that none of the clothes I brought with me are waterproof. Of course, my Crocs are waterproof, but they have holes in them (by design), so they're not really protecting me from the rain. We went to McDonalds for lunch (yay America), and then went grocery shopping. My friend was looking for stuff to make sushi for her family, and we couldn't find the rice or the seaweed. Finally, I stumbled upon the world aisle, where we found both items. I also found Dr Pepper, the Mexican food brand Old El Paso, and and Clif bars, so I know where I'm going next time I need a taste of home. That evening, the family and I went to an annual event called Night at the Museums. It was amazing! I love history so much, and the second and third museums we went to was a historical museum. Out of the ten (I think) museums open that night, we went to four before we all were too tired to carry on. The first was a modern art museum. I got some amazing pictures of the city from one of the windows. The artwork was too advanced for me to understand it, but I think I took some pictures of it to show you. The most puzzling piece was a huge square of yellow chalk with a telescope pointed at it. The color was great, but it had something to do with space and half-lives, and I'm sure the artist had a great reason to make it. It was just too complicated for me. The second museum had several exhibits on the history of Luxembourg. The museum itself was in a series of historical houses and had several floors. The first couple of floors (starting from the top down) showed the history of the annual fun fair. Remember when I went to the fair the second day I was in Luxembourg? Apparently, the fair has been running for over a hundred years. In fact, Buffalo Bill even came on a tour of his Wild West show. The bottom floors (there were five in total) of the museum were underground and part of the exhibit highlighted the rock that the building was carved from. The rock of the old fortress helped to make the walls of the museum that now tells the story of that fortress! I could have spent so much time there. I will have to come back when I have a day off and it's not as busy. The third museum was also a historical museum, except it showed the history of the country from when it was part of the Roman Empire and earlier.. There was one of the biggest complete mosaics that had been the floor of a Roman villa once that I got to take a picture of. This museum was all underground, using the remains of the fortress as the foundation. I only got down to the first two levels before we left, though I am planning to come back. The fourth museum we went to was another modern art one. The artwork here was very strange as well. There was a fountain that had ink instead of water?? And one of the exhibits was a video of a guy banging his arm on a piano while it played a song. It was weird; I'm definitely like the historical museums better. After leaving that museum, we followed the path down to another fortress museum. We didn't go in this one, but it was part of the fortress, built in the 1700s, and one of the exhibits includes a tour of the casements below. The walk between the two museums was lit with many paper lanterns, making it look otherworldly. It was absolutely gorgeous!
I can't wait to go back and visit all of the historical museums and take my time learning the history of this amazing country. I'll have to find a book to read as well.
Finally, my friend from Rocky, who is au pairing in Germany, and I are going on a trip this weekend. We will go to Innsbruck and Salzburg and take a couple days in each place. I get to take a train(!) to get there, and then we'll stay in hostels while we are there. I can't wait to visit each place. We wanted to see the fall colors on the Alps, so both of these towns will be perfect for seeing that. In Salzburg, there is a castle that you have to take a tram to, so OF COURSE I'll be there. I can't wait to post pictures of it when I get back.
Okay, I will sign off for now. I really do want (and need) to start posting every week, so maybe I'll set an alarm on my phone? Oh well, goodbye for now!
So. The car that I drive now is a Toyota Aygo, and it is perfect for me to drive. It is a manual transmission, but it is tiny and cute:) I am getting SO good at driving with a stick shift, it's not even funny. Like, I think I could pursue a career in race car driving if I can't figure what I want to be when I grow up. Well, maybe not, but that's how much more comfortable I am driving the smaller car than the van.
Two weeks ago, I sent in my final paperwork to the immigration department. I had to turn in another form, a copy of my passport, and my original letter of acceptance to the country and to the au pair program. Last week, I went in to the immigration building to get my picture taken and my fingerprints scanned. This week, I can pick up my residence permit. With that card, I am a temporary EU resident for the year. That means I could skip the lines in the airport when they stamp your passport:) Also, if I am feeling bold enough, I'll include the picture of my face that will appear on the card because it looks like a mugshot.
The Wednesday after I last posted last was my first French lesson. I was so overwhelmed. I've never felt so under-prepared for anything in my life. Thankfully, one of our neighbors is a French family, so I will go over every Tuesday morning to prepare for my class the next day with the mother, and I will go back on Wednesday evenings to help their ten year old with his English. Here is a pretty picture of my walk to take my mind off how bad I am at French:)
Lat Wednesday, I had a meeting at SNJ (the department of youth) with other au pairs. They finalized some paperwork they needed, and talked to us about different rules we need to follow. In my group, there were several other girls from the States, and I am now in a Whatsapp group of American au pairs.
Last Thursday, one of the kids' music lessons was canceled so we had the whole afternoon off. We went to the Luxembourg Science Centre, and had an absolute blast. I think the kids would have stayed forever if they were given the choice. It was a place my brothers and dad would love, so I'm hoping if (when!) they visit, we can head down and spend a day there. On Friday, I made one of my favorite desserts, apple caramel rolls. They didn't turn out quite how they are supposed to look, but they tasted just as good, so that's what counts:) I also babysat that night as the parents had a dinner party they were going to. I introduced them to Cards Against Humanity as a true American should, and they took the original game and all of their expansion packs. They all loved the game, so when the game takes over Europe, I'm demanding royalties from Cards Against Humanity.
On Saturday, I went with my au pair friend to Decathlon to get a raincoat and hiking shoes. The nearest one is in Belgium, about twenty minutes away. Not that I'm going to start hiking, but I was in desperate need of waterproof shoes. It rains pretty much every day here, and I discovered that none of the clothes I brought with me are waterproof. Of course, my Crocs are waterproof, but they have holes in them (by design), so they're not really protecting me from the rain. We went to McDonalds for lunch (yay America), and then went grocery shopping. My friend was looking for stuff to make sushi for her family, and we couldn't find the rice or the seaweed. Finally, I stumbled upon the world aisle, where we found both items. I also found Dr Pepper, the Mexican food brand Old El Paso, and and Clif bars, so I know where I'm going next time I need a taste of home. That evening, the family and I went to an annual event called Night at the Museums. It was amazing! I love history so much, and the second and third museums we went to was a historical museum. Out of the ten (I think) museums open that night, we went to four before we all were too tired to carry on. The first was a modern art museum. I got some amazing pictures of the city from one of the windows. The artwork was too advanced for me to understand it, but I think I took some pictures of it to show you. The most puzzling piece was a huge square of yellow chalk with a telescope pointed at it. The color was great, but it had something to do with space and half-lives, and I'm sure the artist had a great reason to make it. It was just too complicated for me. The second museum had several exhibits on the history of Luxembourg. The museum itself was in a series of historical houses and had several floors. The first couple of floors (starting from the top down) showed the history of the annual fun fair. Remember when I went to the fair the second day I was in Luxembourg? Apparently, the fair has been running for over a hundred years. In fact, Buffalo Bill even came on a tour of his Wild West show. The bottom floors (there were five in total) of the museum were underground and part of the exhibit highlighted the rock that the building was carved from. The rock of the old fortress helped to make the walls of the museum that now tells the story of that fortress! I could have spent so much time there. I will have to come back when I have a day off and it's not as busy. The third museum was also a historical museum, except it showed the history of the country from when it was part of the Roman Empire and earlier.. There was one of the biggest complete mosaics that had been the floor of a Roman villa once that I got to take a picture of. This museum was all underground, using the remains of the fortress as the foundation. I only got down to the first two levels before we left, though I am planning to come back. The fourth museum we went to was another modern art one. The artwork here was very strange as well. There was a fountain that had ink instead of water?? And one of the exhibits was a video of a guy banging his arm on a piano while it played a song. It was weird; I'm definitely like the historical museums better. After leaving that museum, we followed the path down to another fortress museum. We didn't go in this one, but it was part of the fortress, built in the 1700s, and one of the exhibits includes a tour of the casements below. The walk between the two museums was lit with many paper lanterns, making it look otherworldly. It was absolutely gorgeous!
I can't wait to go back and visit all of the historical museums and take my time learning the history of this amazing country. I'll have to find a book to read as well.
Finally, my friend from Rocky, who is au pairing in Germany, and I are going on a trip this weekend. We will go to Innsbruck and Salzburg and take a couple days in each place. I get to take a train(!) to get there, and then we'll stay in hostels while we are there. I can't wait to visit each place. We wanted to see the fall colors on the Alps, so both of these towns will be perfect for seeing that. In Salzburg, there is a castle that you have to take a tram to, so OF COURSE I'll be there. I can't wait to post pictures of it when I get back.
Okay, I will sign off for now. I really do want (and need) to start posting every week, so maybe I'll set an alarm on my phone? Oh well, goodbye for now!
The fountain of ink flows once more....(snicker). I love seeing your adventure through your enthusiasm!
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