Old and New

So things are starting to settle down a bit. I now have a vague idea of life over here and a schedule. Having a schedule is a novelty for me as for the last ten years my life has been absolute chaos; and I am really soaking it up. I usually sleep until 8am and I LOVE IT!!! I have a normal sleeping pattern and I swear I cannot go back!
On Mondays I go to French class from 9am till 1030am, then study till noon or one. Occasionally I go to Paris after, but typically I stay home and study for meetings and do my family worship. Tuesdays I come over to the Dubarry's and make breakfast for Charlie and I, Alistar and Cesca are off to school. Sometimes Marc and Helen are home, but typically they head off to work/school around 1030. At 1130 I pick up Cesca and Alistar from school, and make dejuener while they play. Then Cesca goes back to school and the play and drive have sufficiently tired Alistar and Charlie out enough for a nap. To be really honest, Tuesdays are my favorite day becuase there are less people around and I usually do laundry, read and reply to emails and study for school. Wednesdays are my worst day (although compared to my previous life they are a thousand times better then my best day at work). There is no school on Wednesdays so the kids are home all day and Marc works from home on Wednesdays. This makes a deadly combination, as the kids have to be kept busy and sometimes very quiet becuase Marc has a conference call or something. Then just when I am about to reach my limit, Helen comes home and we all rush to get ready for meeting. Needless to say, it is difficult to concentrate at meetings that night. Thursdays I go to school in the morning then watch the kids in the afternoon. Friday morning I watch Charlie for two hours then have lunch and go to school. Now we get to the best days. Saturday I sleep in or read or watch a movie in bed and drink tea (yes, tea/coffee in the afternoons now). Lazily get up and head to Paris; where I wander. I finally bought a guide book to give a bit more structure to my wandering. I am also planning on buying a book on Parisian architecture and art history to make my wandering more meaningful. Probably a book on the history of Paris too.
This is where the old comes in. I really, truly love French food and am excited about discovering new and interesting and favorite cafes, restaruants and brasseries. BUT my guitly pleasure is finding a Starbucks, there are plenty, buying a double tall soy latte, curling up in a cozy chair and reading. Yesterday I found my favorite Starbucks. Its just off the rue de Rivoli across from the Palais Royale and the entrance to the Louvre. It has planty of cozy chairs and an upstairs seating area, where I can look outside the windows and stair at Napolean's former home to remind myself where I am when I start to feel too comfortable. They play the same music, from Beth Orton to Louis Armstrong, the drinks, decorations and clientele are all the same as home. Well, they all speak French. I know its an awful indulgence, I should be in a true Parisian cafe, reading a French book. I am just not comfortable in a cafe yet. First of all, there are no milk alternatives, thats just ludicrous to the French. And they kind of hover over you if you take a table, so its not the laissez-faire situations Starbucks provides. I have been introduced to the Centre Pompidue which is a contemporary art Museum that has a cafe overlooking the main entrance. I do plan on spending some time there. Its great for people watching and has a bibleotheque full of books on art. But Starbucks is so incredibly familiar to me and it is a wonder for staving off any homesickness that might pop up.
Ok, this has gone on long enough. I will have to talk about Sundays and service on the next entry. Until next time!