A few stories and more photos

A Walk in France

Last night Katie, another au pair, and I took a walk in an attempt to see the stars. We wanted to cross the border into France (the French border is literally a 7 minute walk from my front door) and look at them from the fields. I had gone for a run through the fields the day before. As we started walking we realized that we couldn't see the stars very well because the moon was so bright. We just kept walking until we came to the next town, Leymen. We walked around the quiet town and then started to head back towards Fluh, but taking a different route. We were lost walking through the French countryside. There were cows, and flowers, and corn. It was really pretty, so we just kept walking and talking. Anyways, our short walk ended up being over two hours and we overshot Fluh by at least two miles. But, we made it!

-

The "F" is to signify that you are in France. The other side has an "S" for Switzerland. The other picture is of the fields as we were walking.

-

-

These are pictures of most of the rest of the house. The first one, the all pink one, is Sterre's room. She's 8 and really sweet. She is very motherly and cautious. If I ever have a question I ask her!! The next is of Constantijn's room. He's 5 and is pure boy. He has the cutest smile, but can be a devil the next minute. Then there is the kitchen and the living room.

-

These last two pictures are from yesterday after the kids got home from school. Sterre got this little pool for her birthday a few months ago. Even though we have been to the city pool twice since I have been here, they can't get enough of the water!!

-

-

-

-

-

Lesson on Ironing:

Yesterday Marit, the mother, asked me to iron the last few things she had while she picked up the children from school. I have no clue how to iron; I just tried to get the wrinkles out the best I could. So, I unplugged the iron, and as I was laying out the things I had ironed, the iron fell on the floor. I quickly picked it up and I saw one more wrinkle I wanted to get on the front of Marit's black dress pants. I put the iron on, and as I pulled the iron off, there were strings of goo stretched from the pants to the iron. The carpet had melted onto the iron when I dropped it and now there was a perfect outline of an iron on the front of her pants. I freaked out and started trying to scrap it off. I got a credit card and scraped until I started sweating. It was coming off, slowly, and you could still kind of tell. I was really worried, but I thought I did a good enough job that she might not be able to tell. I didn't say anything. And well, she wore them today!!

Because I know you only want to see pictures!!

The first picture is what the street looks like if you walk up my driveway and look to the right. The second one is what it looks like if you look to the left. The third is of the berries I picked from the neighbor's yard. I've also picked apples, plums, and grapes since I've been here. The fourth is the view from the balcony off the back of the house. And the last one is another picture of Romee in her room. I just thought her outfit was really cute, haha. I am still working to get picture of the rest of the family; I just keep forgetting to use my camera!

So far so good

Though I have only been here 2 1/2 days, I feel like I have done a lot. I have already driven the kids and mom to and from school, mind you a stick shift up and down huge hills with extremely narrow roads and I didn't kill it once! I learned the morning routine of cleaning up breakfast, cleaning the kids room, playing with Romee, etc. I also met another au pair today!! She is from the US and we ate lunch. We are the same age, both have Education degrees and are both vegetarians! I am meeting her and another au pair that I have only emailed before in Basel tomorrow. I'm really excited. I live about 20 minutes outside of Basel in a town called Fluh. I can take a tram rather easily to Basel though. I have to be home by 6pm tomorrow because there is a "street party" and the mom, Marit, wants to introduce me to all the neighbors. Then the parents are going out for the night and I'm going to babysit!?! Anyways, after meeting the other au pair for lunch, the mom and I picked the kids up from school and went to the pool. Their public pool is really awesome, it has green lawns all around it and not a lifeguard in sight. Then, the dad came home from his overnight business trip and we went out to a really nice dinner. I had the only non meat item they had of pasta with a mushroom sauce. It was yumm! The restaurant was on top of big hill/mountain and the view was beautiful. So, it's been good so far. Though there are a lot of times when things are akward and I don't know what I am suppose to be doing, I like the family and they are always asking me how I am doing and if everything is going well. So, so far so good I suppose!

The first picture is my house. The second is of slugs. They are everywhere around here, especially in the morning when there is dew out. The third is a picture of the whole family. This is the photo they emailed me before I came here. They are Dutch and moved to Switzerland 1 1/2 years ago. The speaks Dutch to each other and English when they talk to me. So, basically I am lost half the time and the dinner table is especially confusing. The last is of Romee and I. She is turning 2 in 2 weeks. She's starting to talk more, but it is hard to understand her because some of the words she says are English, some are Dutch, and then some are just babbling. She's really cute and she is obsessed with shoes and autos (the Dutch word for cars).

Day 1

I'm in Switzerland!!! Finally, after missing my connection flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Basel and having to sit in the airport an extra 4 hours, I made it, and it was sooo worth it. The family is so nice and welcoming. The kids immediately ran up to me and we played in the backyard for a good 2 hours today. We had dinner on their porch which overlooks mountains and a castle! My room is so awesome. (I put some pictures up of my room, but I will be sure to get some of the family soon.) I'm so happy I made it, because before I got here I was really doubting if I wanted to do this anymore. I think everything is going to be ok. Tomorrow I already get to babysit by myself for the 2 year old girl, Romee. I guess that means they trust me? Anyways, I'm here and I'm safe and I'm glad I came. Please keep in touch with me because I am expecting at some point soon the excitement will wear off and I will start missing my friends and old life.

These are pictures of my room. Isn't it awesome!!