But worry not, I am surprisingly not that angry about being sick. I have a lot of things to be excited about lately. What's a few days of coughing and sneezing compared to a semester of Paris? Exactly.
I guess I should recount this past weekend's babysitting adventures. So I'm picked up at 3 on Saturday and whisked off to the middle-of-nowhere, France. It's literally in the middle of nowhere. I don't even know what province it was in. We drove past Chartres. That's all I know.
We arrive, and I am dropped in front of 5 kids, aged 2-4, of varying dispositions and personalities, all of whom speak in a high-pitched kid voice that I could barely understand. That and kid lingo. Don't know French kid lingo. I can understand university professors better than I can people of my own grammatical capabilities, apparently.
It was an... interesting experience, partly because the parents were also there, and also keen on spending time with their kids, meaning I really didn't do much "babysitting" at all. I was the token "babysitter," but when anything went wrong, it was the parent who came to the rescue. For instance: each of the kids woke up in the middle of the night. And who do they want? Their "maman." And here I am trying to comfort these crying kids in a language I do not fully understand: "Are you ok? There, there. Did you have a nightmare? Do you need your mommy?" etc. That, and diapers. Never changed diapers in my life. Don't want to start now.
Let me explain the setting a little more: a bunch of college pals, now twenty/thirty-something yuppies, rent out a bunch of cabins in the middle of France once a year and have a party/reunion. This year was a theme party; theme: "movie stars." Couples dressed as movie couples: Batman/Catwoman, Austin Powers/Chick from Austin Powers, Uma Thurman's character in Pulp Fiction with John Travolta's character in Pulp Fiction, etc. It was bizarre and absolutely fabulous, and I wished so badly that I could join them in the festivities. Alas! euros first, I suppose. There was a party room and everything, with somebody DJ-ing. I swear I heard Madonna's "Hung Up" a few times and had to restrain myself from running over to the party room and dancing.
I also got a chance to explore the French countryside a little bit. And oh is it beautiful! As a person who never really went camping and has always lived in cities with AT LEAST 2.5 million people, who has fallen asleep to an orange- or pink-tinted sky for 20 years of her life, walking outside in the middle of the night and seeing millions of stars... it was breathtaking. For a second (JUST A SECOND mind you) I wished I grew up in the country, or at least spent more time there. I wanted more than anything to just lie down there on the grass and stare at the stars.
Another problem with city life is you grow up practically lacking night vision. I can't even remember all of the things I bumped into in the dark, frantically trying to find the parents when some kid or other started crying or pooped himself or threw up.
Total of kids: 5
Total of kids who woke up at least once in the middle of the night: 5
Injuries received by kids: 0
Injuries received by babysitter: 6
Cold received by babysitter probably due to contact with kids: 1
Oh, what I suffer for a chunk of petty change!
Actually I exaggerate a bit. One of the kids was sooo cute: a four-year old blonde girl named Lola. I got pretty attached to her. With children I feel like it's hit-or-miss with me: either I'm hated or loved. When she got up in the morning she ran over to hug me. It's a good feeling. Especially for an only child like me.
And now, a few pics of the totally awesome kids at Reid Hall:
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