What a Day!!!!

This has been by far the most stressful day for me. Oh my goodness I am so happy to be in the house and not having to be anywhere else. It started out by having to go to Saint-Germain-en-Laye to take a French placement test to see which level of class I will be put in. Today was the first of 2 tests, this one being written and the next one being oral. I wasn’t worried about it at all. The thing I was most nervous about was finding the school. So I get off the RER (the train) and I know that the school is within 2-3 minutes (walking) of the stop. I know the main street it is off of and am just hoping to find that. Well, 30 minutes later I still haven’t found the main street, or the school, or anything that looks right. I was too flustered to ask for help. I didn’t want to get laughed at or be told something that I don’t understand. I knew it would have been the smart thing to do, but I couldn’t make myself do it. Everyone looked like they were in a hurry and I didn’t want to bother them. So I just kept walking. The directions I had written down were from the main street and since I couldn’t find that my directions were useless. I continued walking, back the direction of the RER and all of a sudden pass a street with a name that sounded familiar. I looked at my directions and it was one of the streets I was supposed to turn on. Luckily, it only went one direction so I didn’t have to worry about going the wrong way for 10 minutes. I found the next street which was the one my school is on and there was my school! I was so relieved, yet still flustered and in no mood to take a test. However, I had no choice. Now mind you, this is strictly a general placement test to see what I know. It felt more like an upper level exam towards the end of a course than a placement test. The entire thing was in French (directions and all). I was glad that I have had some sort of training and could get through it because if I had never studied French I would have put my name on it and handed it right back to them. However, I worked my way through it trying my hardest to remember all the stuff I supposedly learned in my French classes over the years. The very end had me write a paragraph and I was so irritated by then that I rushed through it just so I could get out. On my way out I made sure to ask where the RER station was and just as I thought a 2 minute walk. Left, left, right, and it’s on your left. Ugh…

This only brings us to about 10:30. I go about the rest of my day which involves picking Manon up from school, making lunch for the kids, and taking Manon back to school. (I will give you guys a detailed description of what each day looks like when I have figured it all out!) After lunch I went into Paris to meet some friends and do some shopping. Knowing what was coming up later made it difficult to enjoy myself.

Today is my first day of having to drive, with a specific destination. I had to pick Manon up from school, along with one of her friends, and drive them to gymnastics lessons. And of course, as soon as I walk outside to get in the car, it starts raining….perfect. So my first obstacle was finding the windshield wipers. Not too difficult. I guess the picture of a windshield and a wiper is universal. So no biggie. Next I drive to Manons school and have to find parking. The streets are tiny, the car is massive (compared to my mini at home), and they park like sardines (really close together). Arriving in front of the school and looking for anything easy without angering other drivers turns out to be not bad. I can only attribute it to God that a couple got in their car right as I was pulling up and it allowed me to park right by the school. Oh, I don’t know if I mentioned this, but it’s all parallel parking. The idea of a parking lot would simply be too easy…right?  So now I have only 2 more obstacles: finding the gymnastics building, and then finding my way back home. Thank goodness Severine had taken me driving over the weekend and showed me where the place was at. I have a pretty good visual memory and was able to navigate my way there without a single wrong turn. Parking there is absolutely impossible so I was just going to have to drop the girls off. Of course there was an irritable driver behind me and the girls weren’t quite ready to get out of the car. So I had to circle the place and try again. We survived and then I was on my own to get back home. That was easy too. Oh but wait, I forgot about my last obstacle: getting the car in the driveway. The streets are tiny and the driveway is also tiny. They like to back the car in so that it’s easier to get out the next time. Up until this point, I have not succeeded in getting the car in backwards. Severine usually allows me to pull in forwards. But today I must go in backwards. They have a gate in front of the house and so I have no room for mistake. There is about 5 inches on each side to spare… honestly guys, I don’t know how I did it…but I did. The car is currently backed into the driveway just as it should be. Thank you Jesus! I am not going anywhere else today. I have had quite the day.