ATTESTATION DE REALISATION D'UN BILAN DE COMPETENCES PROFESSIONNELLES

So remember that contract that I signed at the OFII saying I was going to do my best to integrate into French society, learn French, yada, yada, yada...

Well, as part of that signing I also agreed to get a job! And the wonderful French government is going to help me accomplish that goal by sending me to a recruitment center. They even made a half day appointment for me! Yesterday was the big day...

I arrived at the SAFIP Fondation Jeunesse Feu Vert for my appoitment. (Which by the way is a center originally established to help young people who lack control of social skills and an education find jobs. Then one day the government decided they'd also be good at helping immigrants get jobs. So, what do you think that says about me?)

Anyways, I arrived right on time at 9:00 AM and checked in for my appointment. I took a seat next to my fellow job seekers, (there were about 7 of us in all), and we waited. About 15 minutes later, two gentlemen came out and called for two of my comrades and informed the rest of us that they would be about an hour. We were free to leave and come back by the end of the hour.

So, I went out and grabbed a coffee at the Tobac on the corner. This was a fun adventure that I've always wanted to do but of course have never had the solo time to try. I went right to the bar, ordered my cafe creme, and enjoyed it while watching the local news with the locals.

After my delicious coffee I headed back to the recruitment center and was fortunately part of the next group of two to get called in to the back! Let the excitement begin....

As always, I started my interview with a "Je parle un peu de francais". My fabulous social worker Anthony informed me that he, "parle un peu de anglais mais je parle francais plus lentement." So we conducted our whole meeting in French. I wish I could say I was a total bad-ass but I cheated by writing out a few things that I anticipated they would ask. However, I did hold my own on the French end and did a descent job. (Remember, I have that other certificate from the government of France saying that I'm proficient!) Anthony might say otherwise but we did get through all the paperwork and I received yet another certificate! That's the best part about immigrating to France, you collect all these paper certificates! I can't wait for the Civics' Class when I earn another one!

The best for last: Anthony and I ended our meeting and I signed my bilan attesting to all my professional and social skills. This record of our meeting verifies that I am NOT actively searching for a job and that I happily doing my "Mere de foyer". As Anthony and I shook hands, he informed me that I would be receiving a phone call in three months from immigration to discuss my job searching progress. But Anthony, "Je ne veux pas travailler. Je ne cherche pas de travail." He shrugs his shoulders and says that I will be fine but that they will continue to call every 3 months while I stay in Paris. It's part of the program. And, he adds, they will speak very fast French and you won't understand. You may want to have a friend help you! Bonne journee!

Hey, at least I got a great certificate out of the day! ;)

Ladies in Dresses

Paris was covered in snow this morning when we woke up! It was fabulously white and bright as we walked to school and Elise loved it! Although she's a born California girl, her midwestern roots really shine through whenever it snows! :)

Not much going on except for cold, snowy days. The ladies are in hibernation mode every afternoon and evening. They sleep like champions and I'm loving it.

Hope everyone is doing well out there!

Bonne Annee

Elise and Celia find the center of the maze at Chateau de Chenonceau

Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a fabulous holiday season! We had a great time celebrating our first Christmas in Paris by exploring some of the city and eating a lot of good food. Brian had a lot of time off so we ventured off to the Galarie Lafayette to see the lights, drank delicious hot chocolate on the rue St. Paul, and then got to the Loire Valley for castles and relaxation! Although we learned the hard way that the Loire Valley shuts down over the New Year, we managed to squeeze in some of the best sites of the Loire: Abbaye De Fontevraud, (Chateau de Breze was closed despite what they said on their website!), Chateau et Parc de Langeais, Chateau D'Azay-Le-Rideau, and the best of all Cateau de Chenonceau. We'd love to go back and explore these places when the flowers are in full bloom and we're not freezing cold, however our quiet visit with very few tourists was quite pleasant. And the B&B we stayed at, La Couture, was incredible. Lesley is an amazing chef and our New Year's Dinner and Saturday night dinner were so unbelievable. We were spoiled by their hospitality!

The Langeais and Chenonceau were the best. Both chateaus included great gardens. The Langeais had a great big tree house and playground in the back and the Chenonceau had a fun maze to run around. As you can see, the Loire is very kid friendly. And we all loved exploring the inside of the castles and seeing how life was once lived. I don't know how they ever stayed warm living in those things! :)

Speaking of kid friendly, the ladies did allow us one wine tasting on our trip. We visited the winery of Christopher Herpiniere in Villandry. It was really quite cool, literaly. The guys tasting room was in a cave! After trying some of his wine, he let us explore the cave. Although Elise was afraid of the cave monsters, the rest of us thought the place was amazing. He even had a little bar set up in the back! It was really neat.

It was a great visit and like I said, we hope to go back. Be sure to check out the pictures when you get a chance on the right of the page. The Hot Chocolate pics don't do justice to the amazingly warm, thick treat that we delighted ourselves in at Comme a la Maison. You could have rested a spoon on that stuff. So thick and delicious!

Wishing you all the best in '10!