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I haven't been able to give the full story as of yet. But, now, I can!
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Here goes.
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I had a return plane ticket and was due to leave Paris on Thursday, September 30, 2010. I did NOT want to leave, but after sending my CV out over 100 times for teaching jobs and hearing back about only TWO, it looked like I had no choice.
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I was hopeful that I could get a teaching job through the school where I took the CELTA course. I'd submitted my CV to them, and I thought the chances were good that they'd be willing to take me on. Unfortunately, I was wrong. On September 22, I got an email from my teacher stating that there was no position they could offer me at this time. Big bummer.
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It was disheartening, but I kept plugging away. I decided to pay a visit to a place I'd heard about from the FUSAC (the French-American monthly periodical), and a bunch of American people I'd met had suggested it, too.
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On September 25, my Facebook message was "Karen Wislocky is off to the American Church for a JOB miracle." James and Esmé graciously accompanied me to the American Church, which has a bulletin board loaded with job opportunities.
I scoured the board, initially hoping for a teaching job, but really open to anything that would enable me to stay. Unfortunately, there were no teaching job advertisements. There was one person looking for a private tutor, and I of course, took down the number. There were several ads for nannies/au pairs. So, I began to write those down as well. In the end, I took photos of the board to make sure I had all the information I needed. One stood out in particular to me. It was on the September 24 board, so I found it the next day.
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(Roughly): "Paris sixteenth arrondissement family with three daughters (11, 8, and 2 years old) returning from London is looking for a young woman who must speak English to help the girls maintain the language. Housing offered: beautiful room with a private bathroom, and payment. Approximately 25-30 hours per week.
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Over all the other ads on the board (which ranged from singing waitress to live-in au pairs), this one leapt off the page at me. The family is returning from London....so, chances are that the whole family speaks English. The girls definitely do. Maybe they're English people? And a beautiful room?! sounds nice...
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Even though I was open to this opportunity, I didn't jump on calling them that day. First, I wanted a teaching job (primarily to justify all the money I'd dropped on the dang certification!), and secondly, I didn't think the chances were very good that the family would want to take me on under a "tourist visa." I've heard about loopholes for renewing a tourist visa that let you stay off the government radar, but at the end of the day, it still isn't kosher to work without a working visa. So, this advertisement stayed in the back of my mind, but I didn't think it was the miracle I'd gone looking for.
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So, the flight arrangements were still up in the air. I'd gone back and forth a zillion times about whether to push back my flight for a month and keep pounding the pavement OR if I should just go home as scheduled. A huge part of me knew that if I went home as planned, I'd essentially be waving my white flag admitting defeat. I knew if I wanted to get a job in Paris, I needed to be IN PARIS. There was no other way around it. Aer Lingus told me that the last I could reschedule/change my flight was 3 hours before take-off (quite generous).
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Just days away from my impending return, I was still at a loss for what to do. So, I scheduled a video chat with my parents on Sunday (Sept. 26) to discuss it with them. My parents have been so encouraging and supportive during this entire process. I am so incredibly blessed to have them. In the end, the three of us agreed that it was probably best that I come home as planned. The risk of shelling out even more money to stay another month just to end up where I currently was, was just too great.
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So, after a (nearly) sleepless night, Monday morning came. I decided to go over the ads from Saturday's trip to the bulletin board. I called a restaurant who was looking for people to sing in English. I told the lady I don't have a visa, and she told me to call back after 3 the following day. (Turns out it was a singing WAITRESS job. We don't just serve you with a smile, we serve you with a SONG! Guess what, tourists?! The song is in English, too!) Ha.
After reviewing the photos of the board, I decided to call 3 families:
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Got the mother for tutoring. She'd already found someone.
Got the mother for the live-out, and arranged a meeting for that evening at 7:30.
Got a voicemail for the live-in, and left a message.
About 30 minutes later, I got a call back from my voicemail. She explained how she'd just been burnt from the last au pair she'd brought over from London who left after two weeks, and I explained in great detail my visa issue. She decided she wanted to meet me, and we arranged a meeting for 3:00.
sI went to the house in the 16th (which Esmé shared with me is a shi-shi neighborhood.) I met the mother, Laure, and the middle daughter, Flore, who was home from school that day. They were lovely. Around 4:00, I met Alix, the oldest, who came home from school. Flore had dance, so Laure asked me if I would stay with Alix for an hour and a half, which I gladly did. It was lovely.
As I left the house and hit the metro station, I got an email from the woman I was to meet at 7:30 that something had come up and she needed to reschedule. (Funny how things work out.)
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As I left the house and hit the metro station, I got an email from the woman I was to meet at 7:30 that something had come up and she needed to reschedule. (Funny how things work out.)
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So, needless to say, I got the job. I moved my belongings over to their place on Wednesday night and I moved in and stayed my first night in their guest house (where my room is) on Thursday, September 30.
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Now, this may be new news or old news to you. I have told a few people, but I've asked them to keep it on the DL as the agreement was that I would stay here and "work" on an under-the-table type deal.
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In a meeting with the parents, my employers, on October 11, the visa situation came up. After talking to their friends, they learned that I can mostly likely renew the tourist visa two times without a problem, and after that it'd be difficult to do again. We know that the visa situation was difficult and time-consuming (meaning I'd have to be in the US for 6-8 weeks, which is not good when you need your au pair on a daily basis...it's a bit far for a daily commute), but the father suggested that we should, at some point soon, look into what's involved in getting me visa.
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A few days later, Oct. 13, I went to try and enroll in French classes that au pairs typically take, and the class was full. I was told I could start in January.
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The next day, Thursday, October 14, Laure told me some great news. They found an au pair agency that would take care of all the paperwork involved for me to get an au pair visa. It would allow me to work for them for one whole year. And, the best part is, that I will come home for Thanksgiving and pick up the visa during my 10 days home. No long waiting period!! Only thing was, I had to enroll as an au pair through their agency. No prob Bob!
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I met with the woman yesterday (October 22) and signed my contract!!!! I am an official au pair in Paris for the next year!!!! WOOO HOOOO!!
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I had to wait to make sure everything was going to go through before I broadcasted this whole process to all the world. It's not like I think I have 10,000 readers, but I'm just conscious of my Internet footprint, and I know that these things can never be "deleted" from the net once posted. So, I've just been conscious of my (& the family's) safety.
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I (obviously) won't be posting any pictures of the kids or the house or anything on here. That's out of the question. I do have a photo of my bedroom on my daily blog though (365,000 words).
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Feels so good to not "hide" it anymore! Ahhhh.....
Guess I got the miracle I was looking for after all.
xo,
aKiP
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The next day, Thursday, October 14, Laure told me some great news. They found an au pair agency that would take care of all the paperwork involved for me to get an au pair visa. It would allow me to work for them for one whole year. And, the best part is, that I will come home for Thanksgiving and pick up the visa during my 10 days home. No long waiting period!! Only thing was, I had to enroll as an au pair through their agency. No prob Bob!
s
I met with the woman yesterday (October 22) and signed my contract!!!! I am an official au pair in Paris for the next year!!!! WOOO HOOOO!!
s
I had to wait to make sure everything was going to go through before I broadcasted this whole process to all the world. It's not like I think I have 10,000 readers, but I'm just conscious of my Internet footprint, and I know that these things can never be "deleted" from the net once posted. So, I've just been conscious of my (& the family's) safety.
s
I (obviously) won't be posting any pictures of the kids or the house or anything on here. That's out of the question. I do have a photo of my bedroom on my daily blog though (365,000 words).
s
Feels so good to not "hide" it anymore! Ahhhh.....
Guess I got the miracle I was looking for after all.
xo,
aKiP
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