One Year in Paris
EN: I can't believe it has been a year since I moved to Paris.. 365 days in this gorgeous city I fell in love with, time flies way too fast! I remember the day I left London with countless questions, excited and scared at the same time.... big challenge was waiting for me. All I knew then and there was, that I will give it everything....start from a scrap, learn a new language, find a job, make new friends, begin a new life. It wasn't easy, let me tell you, but after one whole year in Paris, I am now sitting in my apartment, writing these few words and asking myself, "Would I do it again?" and the answer is simply "Hell yeah!!!"
SK: Nemozem uverit, ze je tomu uz rok, co som sa prestahovala do Pariza .. 365 dni v tomto nadhernom meste do ktoreho som sa totalne zamilovala, cas naozaj leti tak strasne rychlo! Spominam si na ten den, ked som sedela vo vlaku z Londyna s nespocetnymi otazkami, plna ocakavania a strachu zaroven .... cakala na mna velka vyzva. Jedine co som vedela bolo, ze do toho dam uplne vsetko. Zacnem od nuly, naucim sa novy jazyk, najdem si pracu a novych kamaratov, zacnem novy zivot. Poviem vam, nebolo to lahke, ale po jednom roku stravenom v Parizi, si teraz spokojne sedim na pohovke v nasom bytiku, pisem tychto par riadkov a pytam sa sama seba "Urobila by som to este raz?" a moja odpoved je jednoznacna "Tomu ver ze Ano!"
Mission number one: Get to know your neighbourhood
EN: Ok, so now I live in Paris, but What exactly is around me? What is an arrondissement? Where can I buy my groceries? How can I get that cool bicycle (Velib haha) everyone seems to be riding around town? I bought a map of Paris and decided to walk, all day long, wandering around finding my way around Paris and of course I took my camera with me, that's how I started this blog.
SK: Takze zijem v Parizi, ale co je presne okolo mna? Ktory je moj distrikt? Kde sa daju kupit potraviny? Ako mozem aj ja mat ten super cool bycikel (Velib haha) ktory ma skoro kazdy? Kupila som si mapu Pariza a rozhodla som sa ist vsade peso, cely den som bludila ulicami a spoznavala Pariz s fotoaparatom v ruke, tak sa zrodil moj blog.
EN: One of the hardest tasks and one of the most important ones, understandably. Simply said, french language is difficult! The pronunciation, the grammar, written words don't look anything like the spoken ones! It took me six months of an intensive learning to be able to start communicating with more confidence and to be able to say to all my french friends, that I am no longer willing to practice their English, now it's time to practice my French! I listen to either Michel Thomas audio songs or Pimsleur, that is how I learn French. Surely, it's not for everyone, but it works perfectly for me. On the train to work, during my weekend wanderings, at home while cooking... I listen to French, I speak it out loud, I repeat, I watch TV, listen to radio.... you don't want to see me on friday evening... tired is an understatement, but I know I must do it, so I do. Oh and a French boyfriend is also a great way how to learn French very fast, that is Only if he doesn't want to practice his English with you, of course! ;)
SK: Jedna z najtazsich uloh a jedna z najdolezitejsich, pochopitelne. Jednoducho povedane, francuzsky jazyk je tazky! Vyslovnost, gramatika, napisane slova sa ani z dialky nepodobaju tym vyslovenym! Trvalo mi sest mesiacov intenzivneho ucenia, aby som mohla zacat komunikovat s mojim okolim s vacsou istotou a byt schopna povedat mojim francuzskym priatelom, ze uz nie som ochotna trenovat ich anglictinu, nastal cas precvicovat moju francuzstinu! Kazdy den pocuvam audio nahravky od Michel Thomas alebo Pimsleur, tymto sposobom sa ucim francuzstinu. Viem, ze tato metoda nieje pre kazdeho, ale u mna funguje perfektne. Vo vlaku do prace, pocas vikendovych potulkach po meste, doma pri vareni, pocuvam francuzstinu, hovorim nahlas, opakujem, zapisujem si slovicka, nechcite ma vidiet v piatok vecer, unavena je slabe slovo. Ale viem, ze to proste musim robit a tak bez reptania pokracujem, uz som si na to aj celko zvykla :) Ano a aby som nezabudla, francuzsky priatel je tiez skvely napad ako sa rychlo naucit po francuzsky, ale len v pripade, ze on s vami nechce precvicovat jeho anglictinu, samozrejme! :) (Ak mate otazky k audio nahravkam nevahajte mi poslat emial, rada pomozem lebo viem ake je to narocne naucit sa cudzi jazyk).
Mission number three: Find a job
EN: Another hard one especially if you don't speak French. To find a job in Paris takes time and many things depend on your circumstances; Can your family financially support you? (Paris is a very expensive city), Have you got some savings to help you to go through the first months? Do you speak English? Languages, that was my ticket out of the sensitive
SK: Dalsia tazka uloha, hlavne ak nerozpravate francuzsky. Najst si pracu v Parizi trva isty cas a vsetko zalezi aj na vasich okolnostiach; Moze vas vasa rodina financne podporit? (zivot v Parizi je velmi drahy), Mate sporenie ktore by vam mohlo pomoct prejst cez prve mesiace? Ovladate anglictinu? Jazyky, to bolo moje vykupenie z citlivej nezamestnanej situacie. Anglictina je este stale velmi dozadovany jazyk, takze mi netrvalo dlho kym som si nasla pracu ako ucitelka. Viem, ze je to velmi daleko od mojej PR kariery (momentalne pracujem na tomto zadrhely), ale to ze mam pracu mi dovoluje volne dychat, ucit sa francuzstinu, stretavat sa s novymi ludmi, uzivat si vsetko co Pariz ponuka a samozrejme platit ucty.
Mission number four: Make new friends
EN: Little did I know, that by creating this blog, opportunities to meet other creative people will be on my fingertips. Instagram is a great source of inspiration but also a platform through which you can approach other people with whom you have something in common; love of photography, traveling, favourite city or you love coffee and enjoy photographing it. I was very lucky to meet few wonderful people with whom I like to spend my free time, all thanks to Instagram and my blog. My advice is, put yourself out there, let people know about you, don't be afraid to take the initiative and I'm certain you'll soon make a circle of friends thanks to whom the life will be a little more beautiful.
SK: Ani som len netusila, ze vytvorenim tohto blogu, budem mat prilezitosti na stretnutia s inymi kreativnymi ludmi na dosah ruky. Instagram je skvely nielen pre dennu davku inspiracie vdaka nadhernym fotkam, ale tiez ponuka prilezitost stretnut sa s ostatnymi ludmi s ktorymi mate nieco spolocne; lasku k fotografovaniu, cestovanie, oblubene mesto alebo mate radi kavu a tiez ju radi fotografujete. Mala som to stastie spoznat niekolko svelych ludi, s ktorymi velmi rada travim svoj volny cas a to vsetko vdaka Instagramu a blogu. Moja rada znie, dajte o sebe vediet, nebojte sa prevziat iniciativu a zarucujem vam, ze si onedlho vytvorite kruh priatelov, vdaka ktorym bude zivot o nieco krajsi.
Mission number five: Don't forget about your old friends
EN: While trying to live a "new" life in a new city and meeting new people, it happened that I forgot to reply to an e-mail or a missed call from a friend or family. I realised, that I must put more effort to remain in close touch with them. Happiest day last year was definitely the one when my mum came to Paris and a few months later my sister. I managed to go to London to visit my best friend and she came twice to Paris. And of course, I couldn't survive without at least one visit to my beloved Slovakia to see my friends and their growing families! I hope this year, we'll see each other at least as often as the last one.
SK: Zatial co sa snazim zit "novy" zivot v novom meste a novymi ludmi, par krat sa mi stalo, ze som zabudla odpovedat na e-mailu alebo neprijaty hovor od kamaratky alebo rodiny. Uvedomila som si, ze musim vynalozit vacsie usilie zostat v uzkom kontakte so svojimi starymi priatelmi a rodinou. Najstastnejsi den v minulom roku bol urcite den, ked prisla moja mamina do Pariza a par mesiacov neskor aj moja sestra. Podarilo sa mi zajst aj do Londyna navstivit moju naj kamosku a ona zase prisla dva krat do Pariza. A samozrejme by som nemohola prezit bez aspon jednej navstevy mojho milovaneho Slovenska a stravit nejaky cas s mojimi kamaratkami a ich rozrastajucimi sa rodinkami. Dufam, ze tento rok sa uvidime aspon tak casto ako ten minuly.
Mission number six: Enjoy Paris
EN: There is so much to do in Paris, and I wanted to enjoy, do and see as much as possible. I loved walking in the Jardin des Tuileries or the wonderful Jardin du Luxembourg in summer and autumn. Paris has many beautiful gardens and parks (Park Monceau, Albert Kahn, Jardin des Plantes, Parc Montsouris, Musee Rodin. Oh, and the Eiffel Tower, that was my most photographed location last year (South African colours, Le Diner en blanc). I spend some great moments on Île Saint-Louis, enjoyed the view from Printemps terrace and even more spectacular view from the Montparnass tower, experienced my first Bastille day, Fashion Week and the stunning Dior exhibition. I am afraid to admit how many cakes and chocolates I ate and how many cafes I've visited. And of course my first Christmas in Paris with the best pre-christmas present ever - Disneyland at night! I need to mention the wonderful Christmas windows and lights all over the town plus my absolutely favourite part of the day in Paris, the night.
7 comments
I adore Paris, and your blog is amazing!
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky that you live there! So many thing to do, so many things to see!
Thank you so much!
DeleteYou're right, I'm lucky to experience Paris and I think about it every day :)
Love this city :)
Amazing Paris ! beautiful pictures and a great write up !
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Deven! :)
DeleteLove this post! And i'm very happy we got to meet too :) bon courage pour demain xx
ReplyDeleteThank you Jasmine! xx
DeleteBeautiful post, reminds me why I live here :) I especially love your photos taken at night, they're stunning!
ReplyDeletewww.sexandthecityoflight.com