I realize it has been far too long since I've posted, but I can safely say that life has been nothing short of busy.
I moved in with my new family on January 6th. I am just so grateful to be in this new environment! I get along really well with the kids (Jakob, 3 and Linus, 9 mos.) and seem to both really like me. Jakob is just starting to realize that he has to share his toys with his brother, which has led to several instances of Jakob having to play by himself since he can't play well with others. The parents here (Doris and Hanno) actually agree with (or are at least okay with) my tough love with the kids and have said that I'm good with the kids - even when I'm being firm with them! Even though I've been firm with him, Jakob still really seems to like me and tries to learn from the past! He's getting better at using "bitte" (please) without me prompting him, and he doesn't tend to make the same mistakes over again (except, of course, taking toys out of Linus' hand... or mouth...)
It just feels really good to have the parent's support. It's just so different than at my last house. They've taught Jakob to ask if he's allowed to leave the dinner table ("darf ich bitte auf stehen"), and one day he asked me. I said he had to ask his parents, but Hanno told me that I'm an adult in this house and it's okay for me to decide if he can or can't. Usually he just needs to have taken a few more bites (if there's anything left on his plate), finish his drink, and maybe we'll offer him a yogurt (kid loves his yogurt). It's just SO different from before, and so nice to feel trusted and like I'm actually an adult in the house who is there to help with the kids. It feels so nice to be trusted and respected like that.
I do have to say that being an Au Pair does tend to bring out my imperfections... namely that of my tardiness. I've run into a few scrapes here with that, and although it's extremely embarrassing and makes me feel completely ashamed, I appreciate that they're willing to tell me up front. We don't need to have weekly meetings because they tell me how they feel. They just give me a printed schedule over the weekend (which I actually don't have to work during!) and let me know if there's anything particular I need to know. I have made a few really dumb mistakes here and there, but even though it's thoroughly humbling, in the long run it helps me grown. Sometimes, though, I get afraid that I'm not good enough and I feel like a red-headed step child (not because of them, but because of the stupid things I do).
So here are a few highlights of the last few weeks:
-I spent the first week or so in the guest room (house is being renovated downstairs and my room didn't have a door). The heat has had several problems which are now resolved, but during that first week I was living in the ice cavern of death.
-I went to London!! It was magnificent. I just adore that city so much it's out of control. I saw four shows, met with friends from Olaf studying theatre there for a month (which I did in January 2007), met another friend who I graduated with who's studying music composition outside of London, and met a new friend! My dad has been telling me for several months that there's a Rotary Scholar from his club studying there and she had a free bed... so I emailed her a week before I was coming and asked if she was interested in hosting a perfect stranger. To my surprise and delight, she said yes!! We got along really well and I'm so grateful to her! I enjoyed wandering around London and getting to know the city better, and I was reminded of how much I really do love that city, and how much I would love to stay there for an extended period of time...
-I moved into my new room!
-The renovated kitchen was ready to be used and we moved everything downstairs!
-The heating, which had been poorly functioning, began not functioning at all throughout the whole house. We spent a day over at Doris' parent's house because it was so cold.
-The heating was fixed, but the pipe leading to the upstairs bathroom froze.
-The frozen pipe warmed up, and then burst during the night... and flooded our new kitchen. I was awoken at 7:20, and the pipe was fixed around 9. However, the water caused a good amount of damage, and not only to the kitchen. My room is adjacent to the kitchen, and accordingly received a small amount of damage. The water seeped through the wall and soaked half of my floor. The water followed the paramater of the room and even managed to sneak it's way into the ceiling and wall of the room on the other side of mine.
-I have moved back into the ice cavern of death, which although not as cold as before is still assuredly quite cold. A few days ago it was a mere 57 degrees, but it's now up to a whopping 64. Trust me - as anybody in Minnesota will tell you, the difference those degrees make is pretty huge. And maybe you're thinking to yourself "64 degrees sounds pretty warm to me," just remind yourself there's a difference between 64 degrees in the Spring and 64 degrees in your bedroom.
-We have been using the upstairs kitchen (although bringing our dishes downstairs to the dishwasher), but will now have to move back upstairs as the repairs will take 2-3 weeks. They might have the dishwasher brought upstairs in the meantime.
-I have turned a friend of mine into a fan of Anne of Green Gables. If nothing else were to come of my time here, at least I know I've changed one life for the better ;)
Quite the few weeks, right?
I have tomorrow off, mainly because Hanno will be gone Thursday and Friday and I will working all day those two days. Wish me luck...
Liebe Grüße!
~Julia~
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