Friday, June 17, 2011

Almost the Weekend

Well it's Friday! Not quite the end of my first week here (I can't believe it's only been 4 days; the days are SOOOO long here! We get going around 8:30 and aren't putting the children to bed until around 11. I have no idea how Laura does it!) but almost the weekend. Tomorrow is the children's graduation from their current grade, and Sunday we are supposed to go to lunch with their grandfather. I don't know if I will usually get the weekends off, or how my free time is going to work. I've had lots of free time because they were in school, so perhaps once summer begins the weekends will be mine. I hope to figure it out soon!
I met another American au pair yesterday at the pool, and it turns out she is from Arizona as well and we have a handful of mutual friends. What are the odds? We exchanged information so hopefully I will now have a friend! Haha, I feel like an elementary school student again, desperately searching for friends. When we first moved to Arizona, I posted flyers around our neighborhood looking for friends; funny how some things barely change!
Today after school we are going to the river with some of Danny and Laura's classmates. We've gone to the pool everyday, which is fine, but it will be nice to have something new to do.
I also bought some colored paper and tape, and am making labels for their bedroom so they can learn English words for household things like "door," "bed," and "closet." I haven't been really teaching them much (an occasional word here and there) because they are still in school and they want to play afterwards, and I don't want to over-whelm them, but Laura, the mother, has asked about it and I want to make sure I'm doing a good job.
It's hard to tell a lot though, because there are a lot of miscommunications. She told me she thought the children like me, which is a relief. I know it's frustrating for them sometimes because I don't always understand what they're saying (I'm understanding more and more Spanish, but understanding children who speak in English can even be difficult, so I often struggle with what they're saying) and we are usually with their mother, who they obviously prefer. However, I feel like they are warming up to me and talking to me more, so hopefully that will continue!
It's also hard for me to organize activities because it's challenging for me to communicate with them clearly. I don't know how to do the things I usually do when I'm babysitting, or say the usual jokes I make.
Anyway, I'm starting to get used to life here. It is definitely different, and I miss the people at home often, but things are fine here. Skype certainly helps, though it often makes me miss you guys even more! Would love to hear from you all! Hasta luego!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hailey,
Jen Springer here. I love reading your blog. Sounds like life is very exciting, if not a little scary at times. Your comment about looking for friends made me laugh. That is exactly how I felt when I moved to Arizona. I was so excited when I finally met your Mom and Julie. Friends are so important. Pretty amazing too that you actually met another Au Pair from Arizona. I will keep reading!