Instructions for an impromptu 10 euro picnic in France:

• Buy a baguette, a soft cheese, and a hard cheese. This constitutes your main course. Add a box of Petits Ecolier cookies for dessert.
• Pick out a bottle of red wine, as you won’t be able to chill a white or rosé. Don’t worry about not having a bottle-opener — it’s France, so most grocery stores have a courtesy bottle opener at the cash register that you can use after buying the wine.
• Pick a spot on the bank of a river, where university students congregate. Convert someone’s jacket into a blanket.
• Time the picnic for dusk, so you can watch the opposite shore light up as the moon comes out and the sky deepens from pink to dark blue. Let the hum of nearby conversations, the warm night, the good company and the good food all blend together to create l’ambiance parfaite.

You can trust my instructions because I put them into practice just last Saturday with two other au pairs— Ana and Lara— whom I had met a few days before. It was one of those magical moments that made Ana say “I can’t stop smiling,” and Lara “I’m so happy to be here.” And I was in total agreement; it was the type of moment that made any doubts I had about coming to France fade away, like when I went out dancing with my host mom Émilie or saw the alpine blue waters of Lac d’Annecy or sat outside in a little square one Sunday afternoon with a cappuccino and pastry.

Arrival

I’ve been in France for almost four weeks now, but it feels like longer because I already know the flow of the household and the personalities of its inhabitants. There’s the even-tempered dad, Matthieu; the charismatic mom, Émilie; seven-year-old Manon and four-year-old Louis.

My first weekend in France I stayed in Paris and it was a bit of a mess: I spent Saturday afternoon dragging a 50 pound suitcase and 25 pound backpack up and down metro stairs in 90 degree heat, getting lost without internet connection, and fighting off panic in my sleep-deprived, travel-weary state when I couldn’t open the door of my lodging (I was staying in the vacation flat of Matthieu’s parents…). You can imagine my teary relief when after THIRTY minutes, three phone calls, and 5 raw fingertips later, I finally unlocked the door.

Luckily my Sunday in Paris was much better: a picnic in the Jardin du Luxembourg with an old study abroad friend and a sunset Eiffel tower visit. On Monday evening I arrived in Lyon and met my host family for the first time in person.

The Basics

Being an au pair is a kind of cultural exchange: I speak English with the kids, and practice French with the parents. I have my own room and bathroom and get paid “pocket money” each week. My routine is straightforward, which I like:

• French class with other au pairs from 9 to 12 four days a week.
• Au pair work from 4:30 (when I pick up the kids from school) to 8:30 (when I put them to bed). Wednesdays are the exception because I have the kids from noon until 8:30.
• I play with the kids, take them to tennis and gymnastics, make them dinner and help them get ready for bed.
• I have weekends off for exploring France!

Adjusting

I love my host family, but my first week and half in Lyon was rough. The kids were still on holiday so I was watching them all day (the babysitter who was supposed to come part-time canceled due to a family emergency)— this was exhausting in itself, but I was also sick with a cold and adjusting to a hundred different new things. The kids weren’t listening to me super well, my French wasn’t as good as I thought, I didn’t know anyone my age, and I couldn’t find a box of Cheezits anywhere.

Things have gotten easier as time has passed, though. We had a family meeting and now the kids listen better. I still haven’t found Cheezits, but there’s an infinite supply of superb pastries, and plus my French course started last week, which means my social life will improve along with my French.

Lyon is a beautiful city. I’m already starting to fall for it and its two brilliantly blue rivers. And I’m lucky because I really like my host family: the parents are cool, and the kids — while a bit difficult — are also pretty sweet and cute. My first Saturday here, we all took a day trip to swim at Lac d’Aiguebelette and visit the fairytale-esque Lac d’Annecy, and the views were so pretty that day I felt like I was in a dream.

I think adjusting to a new city is always difficult, especially when that city operates in a foreign language and you’re living with people you’ve just met. Simple things like going to the post office or buying bread can be incredibly frustrating when you don’t understand what the cashier is saying. But I’m excited to make friends and explore the city and have many more impromptu picnics.