Disneyland Paris

So as you know, i'm on holiday with the kids now. Manon and I got to go to Disneyland on Tuesday! It was just an idea and when I asked her if she wanted to go, she was really excited. I told her to ask her mom, and I figured she would say "no, it's too expensive" or something similar. 2 seconds later she tells me that her mom said it was okay! So after looking at the weather, I decided the best day to go would be on Tuesday (and now looking back at the week, it's the only day that it DIDN'T rain). So her mom gave us some money and sent us on our way. Disneyland is exactly opposite where we live on the train line. We just had to hop on and ride for about an hour and it put us out right at the entrance. I was glad for that because I really despise driving here. Anyways, since all of the paris schools vacation at the same time, you can imagine how many people there were. It was insanely crowded. But we had an amazing time. Since I have been to the park in California, I thought it would be interesting to see how it compared and what differences and similarities there were.



- The setup of the actual park was actually identical to that of the California disneyland. All the different "lands" (fantasyland, frontierland, adventureland, etc) are laid out exactly the same. Since I had an annual pass for a year to the park in Cali, I pretty much knew my way around and could get Manon and I to where we wanted to go without much difficulty.

- The restaurants and shops are all the same as well. Granted, the food is a little bit different, but basically the same. That was nice because I knew where to go to eat that wouldn't be outrageously expensive.

- The Pirates of the Caribbean ride was a favorite of mine when my friends and I used to go. The california one was just recently updated to resemble the new movies, but the paris one is exactly the same as the california one before it was redone. Manon didn't really like it because it was slow. She was all for the fast rides. There aren't a whole lot of those at Disneyland, but we still had fun.


- The Indiana Jones ride was my absolute favorite in California so we went to find it in Paris and let's just say it was different. the one in cali is a "ride" while the one in paris is a "roller coaster." However, manon was too short so we couldn't ride it. I was a little disappointed, but oh well.


- We rode Big Thunder Mountain first which is a wooden roller coaster. The wait line was 70 minutes! It was awful. But Manon said it was worth it afterwards. I was about to go crazy because we had these annoying people behind us who were standing entirely too close to us, like way closer than necessary, and I wanted to scream. I "gently" nudged them with my purse, but to no avail... oh well. I survived and didn't let it get to me.
This is us standing in line. I think it must have been early on. We both look pretty happy. :)


- We decided to get a fast pass for the Buzz Lightyear ride, which turned out to be really good because the line was 80 minutes when we decided to go (we only had to wait about 10 with our passes). That ride was probably my favorite. For those that don't know, you sit in a little space ship with one other person and you have a "laser gun" and you shoot the targets. It keeps track of your points on your spaceship and it's a competition with the person next to you. I won. I was pretty excited. :)
So you can't really see much in this picture, but you get the idea. maybe.

I think Manon's favorite ride was Autopia. It's basically a go kart ride except there is a metal track that keeps the car going the right way. Manon was a little nervous at first and being quite cautious. And I was just nervous. :) She was not the best driver.


Then she just got crazy and was having a blast (note- this picture was taken without her knowledge, so she wasn't posing. This is a real candid shot. I love the look on her face!)


By the end we were both having quite a lot of fun! She was still horrible, but it was funny and great.


This is just a picture of Manon after lunch. She got a halloween hat with her kids meal and she was pretty stoked about it. She couldn't wait to wear it on halloween (which is today, and she didn't...). But still, it's a really cute picture!



Here's me in front of the castle.


And here is me by the Pirates Ship:


It was a long day, but it was so fun. Manon loved it and hasn't stopped talking about it. In her words "c'etait SUPER!"

Differences between French and American Schools

Today begins a two-week holiday for all the kids in Paris and surrounding areas. The schools here are very different than those in America. They go for 6 weeks and then have 2 weeks off and it repeats like that until summer. The reason they get so many breaks is because the time that they are in school is extremely difficult and time-consuming. They are worked hard and kept at school for long hours. My kids go at 8 in the morning and don’t get home until 5 or 6. Julien has to take tests on Saturdays because his teachers don’t want to waste “lesson time” during the week. The students are graded extremely difficult here and are often told that they will never make it. The teachers push the students a lot harder than I remember being pushed as a student. Most assignments are graded out of 20 and it is absolutely impossible to receive a 20. Even if there are no mistakes, it will likely only score a 17. Kids have hours of homework each night and on the weekends. I feel bad for the kids because it seems that they don’t have any sort of social life. I agree that it’s important to receive a good education, but I also think it’s important to have friends and to interact with them regularly outside of school. My kids here aren’t allowed to have friends over or go to a friends during the week. They can only see a friend on Saturdays. As for television, they are only allowed to watch the news during the week. They get home from school, have a snack, watch a very small amount of news and then stay in their rooms all night doing homework. They come down and eat dinner but I don’t see them after that until the next morning. And school doesn’t end when they get home. Julian has math professors and Spanish professors that come over to the house each week for more lessons and practice. I am an English tutor for some kids down the street. I go to their house each Wednesday and help them with their homework, give them vocab words, and work on their writing and speaking. Those kids have another language class on Saturdays that they have to go to as well. They really just don’t get a break. The assignments in English that I help them with are incredibly difficult for a second language. They aren’t just learning grammar and vocabulary. They are studying history, literature, science, and all the other subjects as well (in English!). I had to help a 12 year old write an essay on a Shakespeare play where the topic was asking “to what extent does a mid summer nights dream adhere to a comic play?” it was hard for me, and I can’t imagine what it was like for a 12 year old. In the USA we didn’t start reading Shakespeare until high school. I imagine it must be difficult for a non-native English speaker as the wording is very poetic and old English. There are many days where the kids come home and just cry because of a bad grade they received or just because of the stress of school. I really feel bad for them. Maybe it is just my American mindset, but I don’t know that I would want my children going to school in France. At least in the states, kids are praised for their effort, while here they are scolded if they mess up. I hate that American students don’t learn other languages sooner, but I think Europe may take it a bit too far. It does give me a new perspective on why many foreign people think that Americans are stupid or uneducated. It’s not that we are, it’s just that the standards are a lot higher in other countries.

But anyways, the 2 week break commences today and the kids are thrilled. That means that my classes are on holiday as well because Au-Pairs usually work full time if the kids aren’t in school. My friend Chandra’s host family is going on holiday to Saint-Tropez and she goes with them and looks after the kids the whole time. Most of my friends don’t get to go away, but just stay and watch the kids throughout the day which is what I get to do as well. It’s not too bad for me since I am caring for older children. The oldest two are actually going to see their cousins in England for the first week, so I will just have Manon for that time. We are going to try and do some fun things like go to the movies and go into paris. I don’t know what else we will do but we’ll think of something. Then the second week LaDonna, my roommate, will be here!!! I’m so excited. The family gave me a couple days off so I will get to spend some quality time with her. We are going to have fun. I’m sure I will post all about that with pictures later. So be looking for that.

Well, that is all for today. Thanks for all your input on my postings. I’ll try and use some of your ideas soon.

any suggestions?

so i haven't posted in awhile because i really just don't know what to write about. can you guys please comment and let me know if there is something you would like to hear about? i'm lost as to what to say. i dont feel like anything exciting is going on, but maybe you guys have ideas or questions or something. so please please, let me know what you want me to write about. thanks guys!!!

One of the reasons I came to Paris

I love the Eiffel Tower. I always have. I really haven't seen it much during my trip so far. I have climbed to the top on previous trips, but not this one. I have seen it sparkle at night on other trips, but not this one. I see it from a distance and get a little excited. Well the other night i finally got to get close to it. No i didn't go up into it, but I will. Currently, France is leading the EU which is why the tower is blue with stars on it. So these are just a couple pictures of my evening by the tower. It was lovely.




Me and Chandra underneath it.


It sparkles for 10 minutes each hour at night. so here it is sparkling and being blue. *sigh... i love it. i really really just love it. i couldn't stop staring at it the whole evening.