School Holidays

So the time has finally come, the time I was really dreading…School Holidays! The reason for my dread was that I was going to be with these boys all day everyday. Truthfully it frightened me a little. I was used to having them for 5-6 hours after school, but never for a whole day. They are boys so they are highly active, but they all have different interests. I feel like an octopus being pulled in many different directions. They all want me to do something with them, take them different places, and buy them different things. Plus there parents of course have expectations of what they should be doing everyday to become accomplished people. Such as running, reading, cycling, socializing, doing extra circular things to try and get ahead at school. That sort of thing. But of course the kids are on holidays and they don’t want to do all that stuff. I mean who can blame them, neither did I when I was in school. 

The first week was a little bit hectic to say the least, I was adjusting to have them full time, as well as being at a new house (their beach house), which by the way they don’t have internet at half of the time. The kids wanted to do everything possible it would seem in one week and by the end of it I was exhausted. Not to mention that their mum was out of town for half the week, and their dad decided he would stay at their other house for two nights because it’s closer to where he works. So I was pretty much working all day and night. By the weekend I was stuffed. I mainly just stayed in my room and slept for the two days. I didn’t really want to see those children and staying in my room was the only way to do it.

However this second week is going much better, the kids have settled down into a routine and they understand that I am just one person. I try to divide my time between them equally as well as leaving time to do the housework and cook dinner. It’s helpful that the two older guys don’t need me watching their every move so I often let them go to the park or the library by themselves. The youngest also got the lego movie on DVD this weekend, so that has been playing on repeat it feels like. But it keeps him occupied. The beach is right in front of our house too so we can spend a couple of hours there a day. But I do have to ensure to lather up in sunscreen, cause my albino skin got a little fried this week.

I know that I will be fine and make it through the holidays. Let’s just say it’s giving me a much greater appreciation of my mum, not that I didn’t already appreciate her, but it puts a lot more things into perspective now. Love you mum x

I’m going to Virginia this weekend to finally see my friend Bek. We have lived in the same country for nearly 5 months and haven’t managed to see each other. So that’s something that I’m really looking forward too.

NYC, DC and Philly with my sister

Kate came on the 27th of may and was here for two weeks. In that two weeks I got some time off from minding the rugrats, and we went to New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. Not only was it amazing to be able to travel more and get to see more of the USA. But it was wonderful being able to see my sister. Let's just say it was an emotional reunion with just a few tears.

On Thursday the 29th of May, we headed into New York City for a four night, five day stay. This was the part of the trip that we were both most excited about. For a while we had been talking together about traveling to New York. I wanted to make sure that we got to see and do lots of things in our short time there. So I had made a schedule. Now I wasn't trying to be a bore and someone who was strict about keeping time, but I just wanted to have a plan or at least a rough guide for each day. We stayed at The Ace Hotel, it was incredible. It's not your typical hotel, it has a very hip vibe and it's lobby is constantly full with people writing, having meetings, drinking excellent coffee from Stumptown Coffee Roasters, or a cocktail from the hotel lobby bar. The rooms were very really nice and ours was incredibly spacious and clean. I would recommend this hotel to anyone, especially younger people. Other things that we did were shopping, went to time square, ate cupcakes in central park, strolled the streets of 5th Ave, saw Wicked on Broadway, ate lots of yummy food, and drank great coffee, went to the top of the Rockefeller Centre, visited the 9/11 memorial, saw the statue of liberty, explored the streets of brooklyn, took a stroll and ate ice-cream in Greenwich village, gazed in awe at Grand Central Station, managed to figure out the subway system (well Kate did), played the tourist role to a T in Time Square, and many more things. We had a truly amazing time and I can't wait to go back with her again someday. 

Central Park for Rockerfeller Center

First of many great coffees

High tea at the Plaza Hotel

Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes

Breakfast at Tiffany

The second city we visited on our trip was Philadelphia, we just went there for the day because I only live 45 minutes from there. We got a little bit lost trying to find our way around. We did however see the Liberty Bell and the house where the President used to live. There is a lot of history in the city and some truly beautiful old buildings. We also of course ate food and did a little shopping whilst we were there.

Amazing building in Philadelphia

Last on our agenda was Washington D.C. We just went there for the weekend because I couldn’t take any more time off work. We saw the white house, the lincoln memorial, the Washington Monument, and the reflecting pools. We also went to four of the many museums that make up the Smithsonian. The museums were pretty cool and we even got to go into the Archive Museum where the Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights and The Constitution are kept. Washington D.C is a great city if you have an interest in history, especially American history. I enjoyed being there, I just didn’t enjoy all the walking. I thought by the end of Kate’s trip I would be super skinny from all the walking we had to do over the two weeks.  

Washington Monument

Lincoln Memorial

 It was an amazing trip and to be able to spend it with my sister is what made it truly special. I miss her dearly every day.

Luck of the draw

This AuPair thing i'm doing really is a luck of the draw kind of thing, on both sides. From the AuPairs stand point you never really know what your getting yourself into, what your host parents might be like, how the kids might behave, what their real expectations of you are, how at home you'll feel, if you will get treated properly, and the list really does go on. From the host families point of view they never know who they have coming into their home. Does they person really have as much childcare experience as they say, can they drive, can they cook, are they reliable, will they actually take good care of the kids. etc...

For me I think that I am defiantly on the luckier end of the luck scale. My host family treat me as part of their family, they invite me to do everything with them. The kids are pretty good most of the time, although challenging because in the end they are all boys. I have my own bedroom/bathroom, places that are just mine in both their houses. I have 24/7 access to a car. They have never mistreated me, and I really do feel welcomed into their home as a part of their family.
Those are the positives, on the other end of the scale there are some things that   I just wasn't expecting when I came here. Like the extra errands that I would have to run that have nothing to do with the kids. Maintenance of the pool and spa. The overtime hours. The feeling that I often can't leave on weekends because they want me to be with the family all the time. The feeling of often being the only parent in the house and just having their real parents be there on weekends acting like the cool aunt and uncle who just stop by to have fun. Things like that.

I think these things were a shock to me because none of it is explained by Cultural Care (the company that I went through). I guess they have rules and guidelines that both the family and AuPair have to stick to. However once you are with your family, living in their house, they are your primary "boss" and Cultural Care do very little to ensure that all the rules are being followed. You have a person called a Local Childcare Coordinator (LCC), who is employed by Cultural Care to be your point of contact with them. You have monthly meetings with this person, where you and the other AuPairs in your group gather and discuss any issues and problems. But also to chat and get to know new people. The only problem with this is that my LCC is a little bit clueless.You can tell that she only really does it for the money and doesn't care about us really. The other problem with raising issues with her is that she goes directly to the heads at Cultural Care and then they try and get the family in trouble. It would be nice if instead she could just be a support in discussing things with your family, like a back-up. Because really you are on your own, living in someone else's house. I feel that CC are defiantly just trying to get AuPairs in the door, because you get a tremendous amount of support to get here, but once your in the door... silence. It's just frustrating cause it feels like they have taken your money and run.

Anyway besides the dodgy support I think that on both sides, the family and the AuPair, you can run into issues. So the most important thing that I can stress is when interviewing with families, be thorough. Ask as many questions as possible and don't settle for a family because of the state where they live, or how big their house is. If they don't seem like decent people who will actually treat you right and with respect, then don't even go there. Because you ultimately have to live and get along with these people for a year.

People Watching

I know that the title of this post sounds weird. However when you think about it, we all do it, even if you don’t think you do, you do. Even if it’s a subconscious thing. Why has this come up as a topic of discussion? Well I was sitting at the beach today and I caught myself watching the other people around me. The family with five kids, having what looked like a stressful time. The two old ladies frolicking in the water without a care in the world. The young group of extremely hot guys playing volleyball - I may have watched them for a bit longer than the others. The group of kids digging a hole half way to China. An elderly couple strolling hand in hand along the waters edge. Even the individual who thought it would be funny to throw a ball at another strangers head. 

I find it fascinating to see what other people are doing, and before anyone calls me creepy i’m not stalking the people. It’s just interesting. I love watching people interact with each other, how when two people enter a group of friends they look awkward and shy until they find their place in the situation. How two young kids who are complete strangers can meet and play together like they have known each other their whole lives. How one mum ignores her children and plays on her iPad, whilst another mum is building a sandcastle with her kids. 

When I see these people I always wander about their lives, where they come from, what they do? The mum ignoring her children might just be having a hard day and needs some time to herself, whilst the other mum may have a nanny at home so she feels refreshed and has the energy to build sandcastles. Who knows really. I think that’s the thing about watching other people, you can assume. But just remember that it is an assumption, you can’t judge another person on what they are doing. We are all just individuals journeying through life.