New beginnings

On the way to the airport the next day, we were quiet and pensive as we rode our taxi, packed to the rafters with suitcases and carry-on luggage, just like the day we arrived. There was sadness in the air, how could there not be? Paris welcomed us with open arms and became our home. And now it was over. Dianny and I had truly loved living there and did not want to leave. Yet from the day we arrived we knew that day would come. We knew it was for just a year, and then it was back to Seattle. 

Except we weren't going back to Seattle. We were moving to Bogotá. We had finally decided to make it happen. We were going back home.

Moving back to Colombia was something I'd been struggling with before we decided to move to Paris and something I thought about a lot during our time there. I was aware that moving to a place like Colombia wasn't the kind of thing people dreamt of doing. Although things had improved a lot since we last lived there, Colombia still was a complicated place. Besides, we'd been away for 17 years and had become experts in adapting to new places but weren't so sure of our ability to re-adapt to Colombia. We worried about reverse culture shock, especially once they "honeymoon" period wore off.

But how could I really know if it was the wrong or right decision? If moving to Paris had taught us anything it was that taking chances is part of life and usually things work out okay.

It's amazing what a change in scenery and perspective can do to help you see things in a different light. Moving to Paris had helped me take a step back and get a fresh perspective, and in a way I think I knew we could never go back to our old lives in Seattle. That short year had infused us with new confidence and I felt audacious and adventurous. I wanted to move forward, and since we had already kind of uprooted our family, it seemed easier to keep the momentum going than going back to Seattle. 

I also knew the decision didn’t have to be permanent and that, worst case scenario, we could always go back to the States. So we didn't talk about moving back home or moving for good, we just saw it as the next stage of our lives. Living in Bogotá would be a new experience for us as a family, and we would try it out for at least a couple of years and then take it from there.

When we decided to move to Paris everyone told us how great it would be that the kids would learn another language. While that was true, learning a third language was never our main goal; it was always more important to us that they master Spanish, our family's native language, which is one of the reasons why we decided to move to Colombia. But of course, once they started learning French, we realized it would be wonderful if they could keep it up.

They got to do both. When we started seriously thinking of moving back to Colombia after our year in Paris was over, we applied for admission to the Lycée Français of Bogotá, the official French school in Bogotá. 

The Lycée was just a few streets away from where I grew up in Bogotá. It was founded in the 1930s by a few Colombians returning from France who were attracted to the French culture and wanted to provide a French education to their children. The school is accredited and partially funded by the French government through the Agency for French Education Abroad, the network of French schools that was created to help promote the French language and culture and is present in more than 130 countries. 

Because most of the teaching is done in French, to be able to join the school you either have to start in kindergarten or transfer from a French school, so we didn't know how much of a chance they'd have due to their short time in the French school system. But thanks to their Parisian school being part of the French school system, their report cards, and the glowing recommendation from the headmistress, the Lycée accepted them right away and made us feel very welcome. This school search definitely was a lot easier than the one we had to do the year before. We were happy and proud that the kids would be going there and that we got to remain in la Francophonie.

Au revoir, Paris

July 9th was my birthday. I can’t think of a better way of celebrating it than by being in this beautiful city. 

Today is also our last day here, and we spent part of the day packing and cleaning up and meeting with our landlady, but we made time for a special dinner at one of our favorite nearby brasseries, L'Etoile 1903. One last confit de canard, one last carafe of wine before we head back to reality.

I was going to title this entry "Goodbye, Paris," but I realized that although it's time to go, this is not goodbye, it's just au revoir―till we see each other again. We'll surely be back soon.

A year ago we were dreaming of Paris. Now we’ve lived out our dream, and besides the sadness of leaving is a feeling of joy and happiness, a sense of accomplishment for having taken the chance to make our dream come true and deep gratitude for having been able to live such a wonderful experience.

As Hemingway said in his memoir A Moveable Feast, “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast." I was not as young as Hemingway was when he lived in Paris, but I knew Paris would stay with me all the same. 

We joked that that may have been the best year of our lives, but if it wasn't, it certainly was one of the best. The kids enjoyed it too, and even thanked us for bringing them here ("making us come to Paris" was someone's exact words).

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
― Dr. Seuss

Neighborhood life

One morning, as we were walking to school, Andrea asked me what I loved about Paris. She caught me by surprise; I wasn't expecting a philosophical question that early in the day. But then she told me what she liked—the wide sidewalks she gets to ride her scooter on—and I realized she meant what I loved the most about Paris. I answered the question, a bit lightly, by saying that what I love the most are the crêpes.

Of course I love crêpes, especially the sugar crêpes, but there are many things to love about this place. At the top of my list are all the sidewalk cafés, but there's all the other obvious things like the monuments and the architecture and the museums and the boulevards and the Seine and the history and the language and the atmosphere and the outdoor markets and the wine and the food and the cheese and the bread and the pastries and, oh my, I could keep going on forever.

I've loved seeing all the famous sites and monuments, and discovering new ones, reading about places and then visiting them, learning more about the history of Paris, going to parks and cafés and brasseries, enjoying the food and the wine, walking everywhere, and just absorbing the atmosphere.

But I think what I've loved the most this year is our neighborhood.

When we rented our apartment we did not know this area of the city. It's off the tourist path, so you don't normally come this way when you're visiting Paris. So when we got here we felt a bit like strangers. At the beginning it was just a few scattered streets that we walked up and down as we got to know the area and found our way to the school and the stores we'd need to use the most. Little by little, as they became more familiar, those streets started seamlessly weaving themselves into what became our neighborhood, the wonderful neighborhood we have come to love.

Possibly the biggest compliment you can get as a visitor is when someone stops you to ask for directions, especially if that someone is Parisian. Usually they'll start by asking if you are from the neighborhood, to which you bravely say yes while secretly praying that you get asked about a street or place you know. 

We have tried as much as possible to live like the locals. We walk our kids to school and take them to the local park. We buy bread on the way back from school and do all of our shopping in our neighborhood. We love to frequent our local cafés and brasseries. We say our bonjours and au revoirs when we enter and leave stores and cafés and stop to chat with the building gardienne. 

As we came back from dinner the other night (we've been saying goodbye to places that've become favorites this year), we mentioned how great it is to be able to just walk to and from the restaurant, not having to worry about driving or parking or how much wine you've had. Plus, there's nothing like taking a leisurely stroll after dinner.

There's not just one Paris, but many, and each one revolves around its neighborhood. We've visited and gotten to know many of them, but when we return to our neighborhood we feel right back at home.

A local friend told me that many times when people are looking for a new apartment they stay in the same neighborhood. They know all the local places and don't want to start all over. We can relate to that, and have even wondered that if we ever spend some time here again, would we live in the same neighborhood?

School's out

Yesterday was the last day of school. This is a milestone we did not want to reach because it means the end of our Parisian adventure. But it's also a major achievement because all three kids did absolutely great this year—in every possible way. Their third trimester grades were great, but beyond grades we can see they've thrived and learned a new language and generally grown so much that we can call this crazy adventure a success. The school also exceeded our expectations and we feel lucky to have been able to be a part of their 2011-2012 immersion program.

The kids are, of course, happy that school is over, but they're also a bit sad because they know what it means, and after making so many great friendships and sharing so much this year with all the other kids, they wouldn't mind staying longer.

We wouldn't mind staying longer either. But we know we must move on.

End-of-school-year stuff

Last week things started winding down at school and we had some class presentations as well as the end-of-school show and festival. We got to visit the kids' classrooms and see some of work they did during the year. It was fun to be in those same classrooms we saw the first day of school, when this adventure was just starting and we had no idea how it would go.

The school show and festival took place at the Paris IV campus of the Sorbonne. The first part of the show was based on the Lion King's Circle of Life entrance song, for which the twins dressed up as condors; then Andrea's class did a few songs choreographed by the school's primary director.

After the shows were over we stayed for a while at the school festival, where they had some outdoor food and entertainment and we got to hang out with all the other parents.

We've also had farewell picnics at the park and have generally just been enjoying the nice weather and everyone's company. And even though we're still here, I think I am already missing Paris...

Fête des Tuileries

Every summer the Tuileries Gardens hosts a carnival on their grounds. When we were here two summers ago we loved going there, and when we got here last August we were looking forward to going back but they had just shut it down, so we're glad we were able to make it before leaving Paris next week.

The main attraction for us oldies was the Ferris wheel, or as Nicolás says, the Perris wheel, from where many of the pictures below were taken. For the kids, without a doubt, it was the floating balls.

On the way back home we made a quick stop before Napoleon's statue at the top of the Vendôme column.