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It's been a while since I've updated my blog and taken pictures as well. I will try to take a few more pictures of the town that I have called "home" for the past four weeks. The reason is because my au pairing duties are going to come to a hault soon.
If you've been in communication with me the past few weeks, you will know that the family I am living with is not an easy one to live with. It all started with the grandma who did not respect anything I did and would purposely insult me in front of the kids because of things I did differently than her. Some examples included her insulting my French speaking ability, embarassing me for eating pasta with milk, telling the kids they don't need to say thank you when someone gives you something, etc. I could continue the list for a while but I'd rather not.
Once the grandma left for Italy, everything seemed to be good again and I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. The week following her leaving was great. The kids were given a chance to get to really know me and I got to cook which I had missed doing so much. The kids even gave me a 10 out of 10 on two of the three meals. One of the former au pairs named Willy came from Germany for a visit and is still here. He is a really nice guy and nice to talk to when I need a break from the kids.
All seemed to be going good and I was going to stick my plan of staying here until May 2nd when I fly home. However, two days ago Willy and I went out to a community center to play volleyball for a few hours. When I got home, I looked in the fridge and found some leftover lasagna. Being polite, I went and asked the mom Laura (while she was hanging out in the sun room with her husband and the kids) if she would mind if I ate the lasagna for lunch. Instead of simply saying that she was saving it for herself, she went on a huge rant that I am only allowed to eat at scheduled times as the kids do. And if I want to eat at any other time, I need to go and buy my own food. In one simple question, her entire demeanor towards me changed. Anyways, long story short...like grandma like daughter.
The kids are pretty good, usually. They are spoiled but it's not really their fault. They have people coming in and out of the house all the time and they take advantage of this. I am either the third or fourth au pair they have had so far this year. The kids don't clean up after themselves and they give you attitude if you ask them to do anything on their own. I know that most kids are like this but it is worse than most. Alex, the oldest one is only ever nice when he wants something which makes it hard to reach him. However, he is a smart boy and because of my travels and his keen interest in learning, I have been able to reach him that way. Josh, the middle child has a heart of gold but his biggest trouble right now is crying. He cries over anything and everything but other than that, he is a good kid and he loves to play sports which is fine by me. Patrick, the baby, is at the stage where he is just learning to say a few words. It is a fun time until he begins to scream (I think he is testing his voice and seeing what attention he can get as a result of it). The other day, I woke him up and said "Bonjour Patrick" and out of the ordinary, he responded "Bonjour." It was pretty cool and a huge surprise.
I definitely cannot finish talking about the family without mentioning the father Corrado. He is a very sincere man and a good father. It is really unfortunate that he is living in Italy during the week because if he was here, I am sure that I would be here until my flight back home. He makes the best homemade pizza I have ever eaten.
The past couple days haven't been a whole lot of fun because Laura has been criticizing every little thing I do no matter what it may be. She made the kids eat out in the sun room this morning where it was freezing because it's part of the routine even though the kids were huddled around the heater to try and keep warm. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to have an almost two year old eating in a cold environment when he is already sick. Just small little things like that that she is starting to do just to make sure that they do opposite of what I tell them to do.
I decided this morning that I do not want to spend part of my year off from teaching in an environment where I know my skills are not being utilized so I booked a flight to Budapest. I am really excited about the chance to see the country where my grandma and grandpa used to live, get to see Lendvay Street where the revolution took place and anything else the country might have to offer. My flight takes off next Thursday so I will spend the rest of the week here and then on the weekend join up with Michelle and our school's annual European trip before venturing off to Hungary.
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