Pay attention to the Guide!

One important detail of the timing of our trip involves the French school calendar.  While my kids finished for the year on May 21st (extra early, actually,  and strangely, but that's another story!), the Parisian children are in school this year until July 1.  They then enjoy 9 weeks of vacation and return, refreshed, the first week of September (school starts on the 2nd).

So there will be lots of kid-friendly activities in July and August, but what to do in June?  We considered hiring an American university student to come with us as an au pair, but that would require a larger, more expensive and less available apartment (it was hard enough to get what we got, considering our dates, actaually), and would also mean that the kids would be speaking primarily in Englsih during the month of June.  I found that last bit particularly unacceptable.

What to do?  I put out a call to my FB friends who live or spend considerable time in Paris, asking for both apartment and "babysitter" leads.  One of the first came from my friend S, who is a French professor in the States but whose boyfriend of many years, Benoit, lives in Paris.  Benoit has a nephew in his 20s, it turns out, who is au chômage (unemployed, an official status here in France).  There's about 10% unemployment across the country, but the rate is much higher among those under age 25.  So I contacted this person, who I'll call him M, and he was very enthusiastic about the offer.

M has been the children's guide for four days now.  That's what they call him -- not the babysitter, not the au pair, but The Guide.  He's tall, lanky, and a bit shaggy, also very calm and very engaged with the kids.  After his first day, the kids asked if he could stay for dinner, and he accepted!  And so we made pasta and salad and he and I had a glass of wine and celebrated his first day with us.  The children now want him to stay for dinner  every evening!  I have helped him explain that he has friends and family who also want to spend time with him.

Plus he's got to be tired.  They are busy all day long!  He's already taken them to the science museum, a farmer's market, the canal, several parks, and to the movies.  He's fed them crêpes and ice cream and leftovers.  Together, they have made stuffed tomatoes and "little sweet and salty clouds" (whipped cream with salted caramel) and macaroni and cheese (brought from the US for this express purpose).  They have shopped for food, postcards, and a special plaque for our mailbox.  Next week, they have plans for a picnic in Luxembourg Gardens, a drop-in art class, and more.  It's all good.

Not only are they being shown the city by a native, they are also speaking French with him all day long.  Meredith is used to this sort of thing, but Thayer truly is not.  I have already noticed an increase in T's French usage after just a few days.  If nothing else good comes of our summer (and I suspect it will),  my little man will have made some big linguistic leaps in a few weeks.

For a variety of reasons, I have always led a rather charmed life in Paris.  I don't want to get over-confident, but M. has already enhanced our experience here. I  am most grateful to S and B for helping us find him!