Céligny

Well I made it. I'm in Célingy. Unfortunately I cannot sleep. I have been sleeping. In fact I took a nap yesterday afternoon (Sunday) and then woke up and proceeded to play with the children. Which was quite fun. Benjamin, the eldest has already told me "je t'aime" which makes me feel good about being here. And Melchoir (Kiki) also seems to like me (or at least is beginning to).

They picked me up from the airport (which is only 15 or so minutes from their gorgeous home) and we just relaxed a bit. Then they had a short dinner engagement so my first night I babysat the boys. (well sort of, Kiki was already in bed, and Ben & I watched a little télé and then I read him a story, or at least attempted to... and tucked him into bed. I sang Twinkle Twinkle to him and then went and took a bath. It was so nice to just emerge into the hot water. I could have stayed there all night but I was exhausted so I went to bed.

Yesterday, Sunday - we went to Nyon, the nearest "large town" which appeared to me to be the size of say, Arlington. But of course MUCH more gorgeous. According to my employer, Solveig, all lakeside property must be public land. There are a few places where old houses still sit on the water and are "private" but for the most part she says that the waterfront is public space. In Nyon it was the day of the monthly flea market where vendors set up along the brick boardwalk and sell antiques and misc. wares. It was sort of a cross between an antique mall, Pike Place & a garage sale. This is Nyon, looking at the castle (17th Century I believe). It's quite beautiful.

After walking along the water for a while, stopping at the ice skating rink to say hi to some friends we came back to the house and I was given a driving lesson. I felt just fine behind the wheel, it isn't too difficult, however it's FAST. The speed limit through the towns is about 50kmph which is about 30mph (but this is through a windy road in the middle of a town). On the country roads it's up to 80kmph (or about 50mph) and that's a road where houses are, there are occasional crosswalks, etc. The other odd item is when two roads merge, those to the right have the right of way, not necessarily the one on the arterial route. This can be confusing because you approach a street and you must try to see if someone is coming from the right and if so they go first. Also, although I have yet to come to a stop light, I have been informed that one cannot turn right on red, which is good to know.

Then, after a little driving together, Daniel left me with the car to drive on my own a bit and get a little more comfortable behind the wheel. They have a GPS in the car which helps a lot, except that it wanted me to hop on the highway and I refused to do so. (I'm sorry 120kmphh is just a little fast for me to begin with).

They had some friends over for brunch and the children played in the playroom in the cellar. After I ate I crashed for about an hour & 1/2 which probably wasn't the best idea considering now it's 6:20am and I can't sleep but I needed it then. After I woke up I played with Ben, Kiki and their friend Alicia for a few hours and had my first experience trying to discipline "en français" which is terribly difficult if you speak so little. Actually, my french isn't so bad compared to the children, it's when I'm around the adults I feel as though it's Swahili not French, they speak so fast and detailed I pick up about every 5th word. But that's better than nothing I suppose.

Today is my first official day "on duty." Solvieg has taken the day off so we will do everything together, wake the children in about an hour, get them dressed and then take both to school. Then it's off to Nyon again to take my placement exam for french classes, which I'm a little nervous about but know that I'll do fine. Then, Solveig is taking me to buy a real winter coat because I came "unprepared" for the 1º celsius weather that they have here (and the even colder weather in the mountains were we will go this weekend). Then, back to the house to go over my cleaning duties (nothing major, make beds, kids laundry, dishes, etc.) By then it will be close to the time to pick up Ben from elementary school in Céligny and then back to Nyon to pick up Kiki.

Tuesday I'll be picking up Ben on my own. Wednesday is my day with the boys, both are out of school and we'll spend the day playing. Solveig is working from home Wednesday so I won't be totally on my own. Thursday is my first day solo, so wish me luck!

I'm going to try and grab another 20 minutes of sleep before the day begins, but wanted to say I miss you all deeply & hope to see you soon. Below are a few pictures from yesterday, I will share more as I take them.

Love you all!