Welcome back from what was a well needed break. My lack of writing was a combination of having no time, no energy and just feeling a tad down. Since my last update quite a lot has happened. Some of those things were good, others not so much. Sometimes, it’s impossible to keep up with the ebb and flow of the tide. In those moments, it feels much like drowning. There are only a handful of people who can manage to pull me out of the abyss, and they don’t even realise just how much they help me. It’s touching to know that some people will go above and beyond to ensure I’m okay. I’m so lucky to have such special people in my life. Here’s hoping that they stick around for a long time!
First things first, the snow is out in full force. I’ve lost count of how many times the ground and I have nearly become more than friends. My balance is well and truly being tested, but thankfully I’m winning (so far). The weather is making me think twice about going skiing in February. It would be just my luck to break my first bone in a posh Swiss ski resort!
Things with the family have been a bit Jekyll and Hyde. At the beginning of the month, they bought me a giant M&M advent calendar, which has been single handedly been getting me up in the morning. They also took me to see The Wizard of Oz, but I was bitterly disappointed. Turns out, there’s no place like home in every sense of the phrase, even the shows are better in the UK. On the other hand, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to babysit this month. Last week, I babysat on four consecutive evenings. Exhausted doesn’t even come close. I have also been informed that I’m babysitting the evening before I fly home for Christmas (we have to leave at 6:30am the next day.)
I can’t even describe how excited I am to be going home. Even though it will feel like I’m only there for hours, it’s two weeks that I will utterly cherish. Just to be with my favourite people, doing absolutely nothing at all - perfect!
Marilie has been ‘sick’ twice this month. The first time, she definitely wasn’t. Her temperature was normal and I always think, if you can scream at your Mum the way she did, your ear can’t hurt all that much.
The second time, she most certainly was ill. Rumour has it that in the early hours of Monday morning, she chucked up all over the upstairs bathroom. Classy. The only bonus was that I was fast asleep and didn’t have to clean it up.
On both occasions I was confined to the mansion, with a strangely upbeat eight year old, being slowly driven mad. Just as we got her back to school, the older two broke up for the Christmas holidays. Therefore, my last week here could be a tough one. I just keep counting down the days. Not long now!
Oh, I’d better not forget that the microwave broke, which as a family of six is a massive inconvenience. Especially when nobody is home at the same time. Just another thing to make my life that little bit harder.
Now for the more positive moments on this month.
On the 9th of December, we began Isa’s birthday celebrations with a trip to Charly’s and a surprise cake, courtesy of Marta. It was a pretty chilled night, with awesome people. Marta even brought modelling balloons and I was quite taken with her sword, every pun intended. Until some French guy popped it, rude!
The next day, four of us went to Geneva for lunch. We had a wander around the city, exploring the Christmas market, looking at the lights and ultimately, going into all of the cheap shops. I managed to snatch a few bargains in C&A, so I was happy. I took the risk of trying a 69CHF jumpsuit on in H&M, just to see what the price was all about. Turns out, it actually looked pretty decent and I may have accidentally ordered it via the UK website (for £40, much more reasonable!) It must’ve looked decent because even Brenda liked it! Hana also has two tops in transit that are much cheaper in England, so she’ll get those in January on my return. My bargain-hunting expertise is slow spreading to the others. I will teach them my way!
On Sunday, we took an emergency trip to Val Thoiry shopping centre for Alison to get a coat (nobody really needs a coat where she’s from, not can you purchase one easily.) It was lovely to just mooch around the shops (we were all wet from the rain, but you can’t have everything.) I haven’t done that in so long, especially not with a bunch of girls.
Krisztina and I never want to go home, so obviously the four of us ended up in Charly’s after our shopping trip. It was fantastically chilled and exactly what I needed to finish off the weekend. Here is some evidence that there are no nice pictures of me…
Save for Marilie’s absence from school, the week was pretty uneventful. Until Saturday I didn’t really do an awful lot.
David’s lovely Mum changed my tutoring day to Saturday because they were doing something on the Sunday, so I spent most of the day with Krisztina. She doesn’t live too far away from him, so I just popped out for an hour or so. When I returned, the pizza was in the oven ready for our film night. Apparently it’s a complete travesty that I haven’t seen Notting Hill, so that was the movie of choice. For anyone wondering, I enjoyed it a lot. I’m positive I fell asleep afterwards though. Whoops, sorry Kristi! I’m such a grandma.
On Sunday, the two of us ventured to Annecy. It was a bit of a rush job, so we didn’t really research what the weather was like. Turns out, much of the way was icy or covered in snow. Fair do’s to my chauffeur though, she’s a tough cookie. During the journey, we came across a beautiful bridge and decided to park up for some pictures. Not too shabby, I think you’ll agree.
When we got there, we had to park up far from the centre because it was so busy. The walk wasn’t so bad and we found the centre relatively easily, but we were more than a little concerned that we wouldn’t remember where the car was! We wandered around the Christmas market and the shopping centre, not looking for anything in particular. One thing that we did cave into was a delicious hot chocolate. Well worth it I say!
We both took some stunning pictures that day and I’d highly recommend Annecy as a must-see if you’re in the area. Even if you’re not, it’s worth going!
Monday brought Marilie’s ballet open evening. I didn’t know until I was there and another Mum told me that I could sit and watch them perform. Communication clearly isn’t a thing here, because I had absolutely no warning. Nevertheless, all of the girls did an amazing job and although I couldn’t stop giggling at what I’m calling Mar’s ‘ballet face’, she smashed it.
Shame she doesn’t carry herself with the grace of a ballet dancer the rest of the time…
We ‘made’ some gingerbread biscuits on Tuesday. I use the term made loosely as the batter was out of a packet, we just rolled it out and cut shapes. Why do kids maul things so much? I swear I had to use half a bag of flour to stop the mixture sticking to every surface. What a pain!
On Wednesday, I took the two oldest kids and Kev’s friend to the lake for a kickabout. Walking there was a mission, especially when the boys wouldn’t pick up the ball and insisted on kicking it the whole way. Anyway, we spent a good few hours there with Kee and his youngest, eating popcorn and crisps. Of course, I’m no Ronaldo (shock horror) and therefore I mostly let the others do the hard work. Towards the end, we joined forces with two teens and played a bit of a match. They were super considerate to the littlest ones and it was lovely to see them all happy. I still can’t believe there was largely no issues (apart from an aggressive football to the face - poor Kee!) I think it wore them all out, because they devoured the DELIVERED pizza we had. I felt such joy when that pizza arrived, how sad. This is what my life has become, my only joy is food, hence why I am piling on the pounds. I joke, kind of…
So, there’s only a few more days here. Most of my friends have already left, which is quite difficult to stomach when all you want to do is go home. Hopefully the time will pass quickly and before I know it I’ll be on that plane home. Fingers crossed!
Bonjour from France!
I thought I might compile something useful this week, to interrupt the mundane weekly blog and impart some ‘wisdom’ upon anyone who wants to become an au pair.
Hopefully, these top tips will help you (or terrify you!)
Before you go
If you’re thinking about taking the plunge and moving abroad, there are some things you really need to consider.
Where do you want to go and why? What are your reasons for wanting to live there, rather than just go on holiday? It might be to learn a language, experience a different culture or even just to meet new people, but it’s worth ascertaining what you want to get out of your time as an au pair.
Something I regret is not taking enough time to consider my options and my desires. On reflection, my decision to come here was entirely rushed. I read an article on Facebook about cheap ways to travel and suddenly I blinked and had 143 families on AuPairWorld asking me to work for them.
Once you’ve decided on what country you want to go to, it’s worth having a think about what area you want to live in. On the website I used, you can filter places on whether they’re in a big city, small town or countryside and you can even type in the area you’re looking for. It’s worth properly researching the area and asking about transport links, local amenities and generally anything that’s important to you.
If you sign up to a website, you have to create an interesting profile that will grab families. I chose photos that represented my personality (they were a little kooky, maybe that’s why there was so much interest.) You should list any experience you have with children and whatever relevant qualifications you might have. Before you start talking with families, make a list of things that are important to you. This could be anything, from having access to a car to how much free time you want. I didn’t even think about asking for a car, which was a huge mistake because I live just far enough away from everything for it to be inconvenient to walk. We live and we learn.
When you’re communicating with families, make sure their expectations of you are clear and you’re confident that you are a good fit for them. Absolutely don’t just choose the first family you find, good things come to those who wait (and research.) You need to ask about your working hours, salary, their schedule and your living arrangements. It’s one heck of a shock to live in a foreign country and in a stranger's house, so you need to mentally prepare for that as best you can.
When it comes to actually travelling, who is paying for the flight? I paid for mine, but I know a few au pairs whose host families flew them over. It wasn’t so bad for me, because a flight from Luton to Geneva is virtually nothing. I feel bad for anyone coming from further afield!
Establish the relationship with your host family. Obviously you picked them because you clicked with one another, but meeting them in person is an entirely different story. You will start to notice subtle (and not so subtle) differences in culture, discipline and schooling, to name but a few. It’s essential that you have good communication from the offset, so that your feelings are made clear and you can talk to each other about any problems. In my first two weeks in France I was so unhappy that I nearly made plans to go back home. However, when I sat myself down and really thought about it, going home would have proved everyone who doubted me right. That was something I definitely wasn’t going to allow. So I wrote down my feelings in a letter, thanking my host family for giving me the experiences they did and outlining a few things I was having trouble with. After they read it, we had a chat about what they could do to help make my time here more enjoyable. Things seemed to fall into place after that and it was much easier getting up in the mornings.
Of course, not every au pair connects with their family, and that is okay too. There are so many options for you if that happens. Before you find another family or go home though, consider what exactly it is that you’re not enjoying and decide whether it’s something you could learn to live with or not. For example, imagine that you move in with a super healthy family, but you’re not used to eating like them. You could see it as a positive opportunity to improve your health, or just get a stash of goodies in your bedroom!
