My first weekend with the family was a bit of a mess. The parents went away to Berlin so I had my first experience with the children alone. I am helping out with twin girls who are 4 years old and they can be quite a handful! To put it simply...it was awful. The girls did not listen to me and there were a few incidents such as my phone being chucked across the room and a ceramic horse being smashed into pieces...but I survived! After that experience I really questioned whether or not I can make it through an entire year. I even called Patrick in tears and told him I cannot be an au pair! However, I had a long chat with the mother and we agreed that it will take some time for the girls to warm up to me and I of course will not be working every weekend nor will be I always be on my own. After that chat I think I had a complete change of heart and mind and realized that this is an incredible experience and opportunity and I should just sit back and enjoy the ride. Plus, aside from the girls being a little bit of a challenge at times, I am so lucky that this family found me because they are so wonderful. Plus, I think I can learn a lot from the mother. She is SO great with her children and always wants to spend time with them which really makes my job a whole lot easier because I only work 5 hours or less a day (aside from the occasional weekend when I'm needed). The Dad is also great...he was outside jumping on the trampoline with the girls a few days ago! So not only am I surrounded by wonderful people but I have a great apartment of my own, a car to use, free food, and German lessons that are paid for (and those start on September 27!).
Some things that I'm finding challenging so far:
1) Meals. Patrick is German and of course eats typical German food but in my eyes he is more like an American so when I stay with him it feels more like home. In a "real" German family's house, however, they eat breakfast...usually muesli or toast with meat and cheese on top, then have a large hot lunch around 1 pm, and then have a cold dinner consisting of bread with either a spread on top or meat and cheese and this is usually later in the evening around 7 or 8 pm. Germans also eat A LOT of pork products.
2) Laundry. Actually, using any appliance with instructions or buttons labeled in German is a bit of a challenge. Last night I did laundry at my family's house and I had no problem with my first load but then the second load got stuck. The washer locks until the cycle is done but I guess I jumped the gun and turned the machine off too quickly and I couldn't get my clothes out! So I turned the knob to see which cycle took the least amount of time and I found one that went for 12 minutes so I set it to that. However, I did not know what "Schleudern" meant so after turning the machine back on and pressing start I ran across the hall to my room to grab the dictionary and make sure I wasn't doing anything weird to my clothes that would ruin them. Thank goodness it only means "to spin" so no damage was done :)
3) Driving. I have only driven once and it went well because I just tested out some back roads by my family's house but I am scared to try the autobahn! No speed limit?! I can smell disaster.
But aside from those few things I really LOVE this country!! I am going to fully commit to being an au pair and really get to know the girls and the family and I am going to work EXTREMELY hard at learning German. I plan to study a lot on my own outside of class and take every opportunity to learn new words.
Plus...it's...OKTOBERFEST TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes...this is really what it looks like!!! It is the Disney World of beer. I only went for a few hours so I still have a lot to explore and experience at Oktoberfest but my first time was AWESOME. There are different tents...each one with a different type of beer and as soon as you walk in you are surrounded by hundreds (maybe even thousands) of people! My first time I went with Patrick and his two Californian Friends Jooho and Chris, and we immediately got some beers (which are HUGE) and found a spot at a table...which is pretty hard because the tents are so jam packed with people and everyone is drunk and dancing and singing along to the music. But we managed to find a spot, hopped up on the bench, and started dancing around and talking to all of the people around us. That night I met people from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and Italy. I can't wait to go back and meet more people and try some awesome German food!
Ich liebe Deutschland!
