Someone else's houses E-Book

Natalia Sadocco

• Herausgeber: Viseu
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 750

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Nadia Novak, a young Brazilian woman, moves to the United States to work as a babysitter while living with an American family. In a journal, she writes about her common and unusual experiences. Even though knowing that she would be in the middle of a culture different from hers, she learns in the hard way that living with another family and speaking another language would require more patience than she expected. After all, things are not as easy as it seems.

Leseprobe

Copyright © Viseu

Copyright © Natalia Sadocco

All rights reserved.

Total or partial reproduction of this work is prohibited, in any form or by any electronic, mechanical means, including through processes xerographic, including the use of the internet, without the express permission of Editora Viseu, in the person of its editor (Law nº 9.610, of 19.2.98).

boss editor: Thiago Domingues Regina

graphic and editorial design: BookPro

editorial coordination: Blenda Castro

revision: Natalia Sadocco

copidesque: Évelin Tiedt

digital version: Fabio Martins

cover: Leticia Rodrigues

e-ISBN 978-65-598-5290-1

All rights reserved, in Brazil, by

Editora Viseu Ltda.

[email protected]

www.editoraviseu.com

This book is for the kids I called my own for a few months

while living with them in someone else’s houses.

Lindsay K. Weaver – Inhabitant of Her Own Island

Spencer D. Weaver – My Friend

Teagan R. Leblanc Alghafari – That Girl with Those Beautiful Ice Blue Eyes

Noah A. McKeller – The Fun Cool Person

Chloe E. McKeller – The Happiest Girl on Earth

Mason M. McKeller – The “Let’s Play Army” Kid

every day

holds the possibility of

a miracle

This is a true story.

People’s identities and places were changed for reasons of privacy.

Part I

Monday, July 19, 2010

Quartzo, São Paulo, Brazil

3:15 a.m. – The annoying sound of the alarm rang and I, of course, hit snooze. However, I couldn’t fall asleep for those five more minutes. I had gone to bed at two in the morning, but I was still excited.

In a very slow motion, I got up and walked to the bathroom, took a shower, and put clothes on. It was cold, about 50°F. I dressed in a bunch of long sleeve shirts because I wanted to put that pink T-shirt on top, even though I didn’t like that color. That V-neck was going to help me find the other girls at the airport.

DESTINATION – International Airport of Guarulhos - Guarulhos, São Paulo, Brazil

Around 4 a.m. I was leaving my house. My green suitcases were in the car by then. I just had to say goodbye to my dog, and then some tears came up to my eyes. All the other fair-wells were throughout July, but the ones from that day were going to be the hardest ones.

I hopped in the car and took a good look at my house. It was dark because of the winter. My mom wasn’t crying yet and, to be perfectly honest, I was in disbelief. I knew sooner or later she would start and, eventually, I would, too.

My parents and I got to the airport around 5 a.m. As soon as I got in, I saw someone else with a pink T-shirt. There was no way that girl wasn’t getting the same flight as I was. My mom and I walked towards her with my two big green suitcases. Not much after, I realized there were 12 “girls in pink” nearby.

At a normal pace, I dispatched the suitcases, hoping they would get to my destination with no problems. After two hours of walking around and waiting, my folks and I sat down for their coffees. We talked about some stuff and my grandmother, my dad’s mom, called.

Grandma said the same blah, blah, blah everyone says when one goes on a trip. The doctors thought it wasn’t a good idea for her to go to the airport, since she was in treatment for cancer. No one else in the family was going over because they had to work that very day.

My parents finished their drink and we saw some “girls in pink” passing by, we followed them, and stopped by the gate. My dad gave me a ten reais bill, the currency in Brazil.

“Just in case you need it inside,” he said.

I remembered my brother’s words when he was getting on his plane to Florida, in May.

“Don’t take any money from Brazil because it won’t be worth it. It’s just gonna be something else to carry in your wallet.”

I really tried to convince my dad that I didn’t need it, but it was in vain. I ignored my brother’s words and put the bill in my wallet.

And the time came. The “girls in pink” started hugging their parents. It was time for me to do the same. My mom cried, of course. Me, too. And my dad as well. I got in line with the other girls, and my parents were watching me. I sent them a kiss from a distance.

Once inside, where no familiars could be seen, the girls started stopping crying one after the other. We were relieved we weren’t all by ourselves and we had each other to keep us company.

Our airplane was able to board the passengers, then. We all stood up and then I stopped for a second and a big thought came to my mind.

What the heck am I doing?

I didn’t have an answer, so I just followed the girls and we got on the plane.

DESTINATION – El Dorado International Airport - El Dorado, Bogotá, Colombia

Most girls were sitting together by the window. I, on the other hand, was alone in a middle seat. But there was another girl alone, too. We both tried to convince a Japanese guy to switch places with me. He didn’t speak Portuguese or English, and we didn’t speak Japanese. It was hard, but we made him understand by using our hands.

This girl, of course in pink as well, and I spoke a lot and shared a bit of our lives and what our expectations were for the year. My idea was to sleep on that flight to have some extra hours of sleep. The one hour and fifteen minutes from that morning weren’t going to be enough for the day. I slept for about three hours or so in that little tiny chair. My airplane friend slept almost the entire time.

The flight was six hours long and it went pretty well. As soon as we landed, we got in line for our next flight, which took us two hours and a half.

DESTINATION – John F. Kennedy International Airport – Queens, New York, United States of America

Different from what had happened on the first flight, someone asked me to switch places with an elderly man, so he could sit with his wife. Certainly, I said yes. That flight would also take six hours. I tried to watch two movies, but I slept in the middle of them both. At least I was sitting by the emergency exit so I could stretch my legs.

When we were approaching New York, there was a thunderstorm. To avoid the bad condition, the pilot had to fly up and up. My ears were killing me with pain. He was about to get out of orbit, yet he wasn’t authorized to land. It took about 15 minutes just flying around until he was finally able to do so.

11:19 p.m. – We reached our destination.

At the JFK airport, the weather was about 80°F and it was summer. The “girls in pink” and I had our winter clothes in our hands and were sweating. The line for the immigration was long and boring. We just wanted to go to the hotel and sleep. We knew we would have to wake up early the next day.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

At some point waiting in line, the day changed. It was already Tuesday. We passed through the immigration, got our suitcases, and waited for someone holding a sign. We followed this person outside the airport to wait for the bus. We were amazed by all those yellow cabs.

In the meantime, a girl from Peru joined us. Her name was Guadalupe, but she told us to call her Lupe. She was also going to be an Au Pair and was in the same program as we were. Lupe had her winter clothes in her hands and tied her black long hair up on a bun because of the heat. I could see her indigenous features and she would talk to us with such a smooth voice that it felt like I was doing yoga.

The bus arrived and we got in to find some German girls already seated. They stared at us as we were accommodating ourselves on the bus and they didn’t even say hello when we greeted them. All Brazilians and Lupe were speaking in our native language about how rude they seemed.

DESTINATION – Brookdale, Connecticut

When we finally got to the four-star hotel around 1 a.m., the staff offered us some bananas, apples, and bottles of water. A lady from the exchange program came and got all the girls together.

“Welcome to the orientation of your Au Pair year!”

An Au Pair is a person, normally a female, between the ages 18 to 26, who decides to live abroad with a host family being a nanny or babysitter for this family’s child or children.

The lady explained all that was going to happen over the next three days. We received bags with books and our bedroom’s number. We would be sharing a room with two other girls also from the program. It so happened I was in the same bedroom as Lupe, and we didn’t know who would be the third person.

“Who do you think the third person will be?” Lupe asked me.

“I don’t know. But I hope it’s not a German.”

“Me too.”

In front of door number 342, I tried to open it, but the hotel key card wouldn’t work. We tried over and over again, but it was impossible. Lupe and I were about to go down to the reception desk to ask for help when a blond girl opened the door from inside. I was amazed by how tired she looked. I thought I was tired, but that girl... She won.

“She’s probably German,” I said to Lupe as she walked away.

She nodded with a disappointed face.

We were kind of uncomfortable because we didn’t want to bother the blond girl, who went back to bed after opening the door to us. However, it was hard to figure things out with little lights on. We were also trying not to make too much noise.

I wanted to take a shower. I was disgusted with so many clothes in the summer. I got all I needed and went to the bathroom. If I had a list of “What to Learn in the USA,” the first item would be “How to use the freaking shower if there’s a bathtub in it.”

I tried to turn the shower on, but I failed. I opened it normally, but the water was coming from the low part and not from the part of the shower. I didn’t know how to make it work, so kneeling down in the bathtub, I put soap on me and used my hands to take the soap out. It was embarrassing.

I had never felt so stupid. How come couldn’t I take a regular shower? I didn’t want to ask anyone. I was sure I was going to figure it out by myself.

There isn’t much technology in a bathroom, I believe.

After my shower, I let the turn to Lupe, pretending nothing had happened.

As Lupe walked in the bathroom, I kept my ears open, trying to see if she had managed to open the shower. I couldn’t hear anything. Lupe didn’t take long to come out of the bathroom, and when she did, she had a funny face.

“Nadia, do you know how to make the shower work?”

A-ha! I’m not the only one.

“Hard, right? I couldn’t quite understand how it works either...”

We tried for a little bit to understand the hard mechanism of that thing. It didn’t turn out very well, and we gave up in the end. Lupe did the same as me to take her shower.

There were two beds left for us. A king-size one and a small folding bed. Lupe said we could alternate the big one for the next few days, so I slept on the folding bed that night. We were talking in Spanish about the trip, the experience, and a little bit of our lives in our home countries. We finally hit the bed, which was much more comfortable than that seat on the plane.

7:30 a.m. – The alarm rang. The hotel was calling to wake us up. While getting dressed for breakfast, we realized the German girl seemed nicer than the ones we saw on the bus. Lupe made the first move to ask the blondie her name and nationality.

“My name is Annalisa and I’m Italian. What about you?

Lupe and I made a relief face, but I don’t think the not-German girl realized it. We got to know her better. She was very nice and the three of us talked about everything that would come up to our minds until we had to go downstairs.

There was a big room for breakfast and we realized how many of us were there. I tried to guess 80, but soon I saw on a list that there were 108 girls from all around the world. The Brazilian girls plus Lupe sat close to each other and were talking about our roommates. All girls who weren’t sharing rooms with Germans were apparently the lucky ones.

We met the lady who was going to give us instructions for our year in the United States as an Au Pair. Susan was her name and her English was not fast, so it was easy to understand.

I sat in the back of the room with Lupe and some other Brazilians. Susan gave us some useful concepts about our Au Pair year, a bunch of ideas of what to do with the kids during summer, winter, vacation, rainy days, and everything else.

Susan also spoke about American culture, what they were used to doing, what could be the differences from our countries, and some other clues in general. Unfortunately, she didn’t say anything about how showers work.

One thing she said about Americans was that they normally ask just once if a person would like to go somewhere or have something to drink or eat. If the person says no, they won’t ask again and again as most Brazilians would do.

“Don’t be shy,” she said. “If you want something, if you really want to go somewhere with your host family and they invite you, or if you’re starving and they ask if you would like to have dinner, or if you’re in the desert and they ask if you would like to share the last sip of water you say yes. Because if you say no they will think it’s no, and that’s it. You won’t have it.”

By the end of the day, Lupe and I decided to ask Annalisa how that freaking shower worked.

Gosh.

She didn’t even laugh at us, even when Lupe and I couldn’t control ourselves for asking such a question. She showed us and, finally, we got the chance to take a shower. A decent one. We only had to pull a little thing that was upon the pipe for the tub.

Most of the girls went for a walk around Brookdale. We talked about all we could learn in one year. I remember asking someone what MPH meant. A girl explained the “miles per hour.” We basically talked about driving and the differences between driving in our home country.

The fact about my driving was that in Brazil I had only taken my driver’s license to become an Au Pair. I wasn’t great at it. I was always really patient when driving, but in the beginning, I couldn’t drive by myself. My mom was always with me, or sometimes my dad. I used to drive a manual car and very often the car would turn off. If I was going up a hill and had to stop in the traffic light, I would freak out, so my mom would help me.

I knew the host family I was going to live with had an automatic car. I was scared. When I figured I was moving to that house, I decided to practice in one of those and I did it just once in a neighbor’s car. I was amazed by how easy that worked. I fell in love with it. I was insecure still, but at least I had the knowledge of how that car worked.

Another thing I learned when I got to the USA was their dinner time. Around six o’clock.

Seriously? How come it is so early?

I was used to having dinner at 9:30 p.m. back at home, if not later than that. We had had dinner that day at six, and at ten I was starving.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

I slept on the king-size bed, and that time I answered the phone at 7:30 a.m. The day went just like Tuesday. After lunch, an ice cream truck pulled over outside the hotel and we got the chance to have a free dessert.

Then it was dinner even earlier than the day before, at 5 p.m.. After that, most of the girls went on a tour around New York City. I stayed with two Brazilian girls and a South African at the hotel. We decided to go around the city again. A bit away from the hotel, it started raining, so we were literally running through Brookdale and arrived at the hotel soaked wet.

I went straight to my bedroom to take a warm shower since I knew how to work the shower then. I sent an email to my parents and friends through my iTouch. I also emailed my host family saying that I had arrived okay and that I was very excited to finally meet them in person.

My first email exchange with that family was on April 17th, 2010. We spoke through Skype four times and exchanged a bunch of emails. I had seen the kids, a seven-year-old boy and a soon-to-be ten-year-old girl, the parents, the grandmother, and the family’s dog. They seemed like a great family.

Lupe and Annalisa got back kind of late and I was already in bed watching TV. We chatted for a while and we soon hit the bed. The next day was going to be an exciting one. We were finally close to meeting our host families.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

My suitcases were packed, and so were Lupe’s and Annalisa’s. I was glad they weren’t going to live far from me. Annalisa was 45 minutes by train, and Lupe was going to live about 15 minutes away by car.

During the morning, Susan gave us some more advice before we left.

“Every single girl in this room at some point this year is going to have problems. Either with your host family, or being homesick, or driving, or something like that. Don’t worry. This is totally normal. I’m not saying this to scare you. It’s just that if you feel something isn’t working out the way you think it should, you need to let your host family and counselor know about it. They do want you to have a good experience in America. And I hope you can solve these problems in an easy way.”

Every time someone says not to worry, I worry. After 20 minutes of saying this sentence, while all the girls were getting settled after morning break, a lady handed a paper to Susan, who started walking around the room.

“Who’s Nadia? From Ukraine, is that it? Nadia?”

“It’s not Ukraine, Susan. It’s Brazil. Who’s Nadia from Brazil?”

Great!

I raised my hand and stood up. Susan walked towards me and said to go outside the room with the assistant.

I was trembling. I had those terrible thoughts about my host family saying they didn’t need me anymore or some stuff like that. I worried so much. Why did I have to have a problem with my host family not even being with them?

I stepped out of the big double white door and saw the lady on the phone. She was trying to find a way to get some girls to Texas since some flights had been canceled because of the weather.

“Have you spoken to your host family since you got here?” she asked me when she was apparently on hold.

“Yes.”

“Have you?”

“Yes. I emailed them yesterday,” I said impatiently.

Just say it already!

“Okay, it’s because...”

When she was telling me what that was about, someone spoke to her on the phone so loud that I could hear. She made a ridiculous face pushing the phone away from her ear. She just stopped talking to me and gestured her hand in a “wait” way.

“I have 15-83. And there’s a connection in Phoenix, which is 19-06.” Someone on the other line said something, the lady continued, “No, I can’t. They can’t. It’s 19-06, not 18-05. Those girls are supposed to be there today, not Saturday...”

Again, she was on hold. That annoying little song was playing on her cell phone. She looked at me and told me to go back inside of the class. She would explain it to me later.

I was scared. I went back in and all the girls around me tried to see what had happened. That just freaked me out even more. Lupe was trying to calm me down with her yoga voice, and Annalisa was sure it was nothing serious.

Lunchtime came and I went to look for the assistant. She was still figuring out Texas’s flight situation and very quickly said it was nothing. My host parents just didn’t get my email and were wondering if I had made my flight okay. That relieved me.

Soon after lunch, the buses arrived to take some of us to train stations and some to the airport, except the girls going to Texas because the situation hadn’t been resolved. I was getting the bus to the train station with 30 other girls.

Our suitcases were outside the hotel and we had to find them. The average of suitcases for one girl was two. Those who were living in Connecticut or somewhere nearby didn’t have theirs there since they would go to their new houses some hours later. It was funny to see all that luggage. There were about 140 suitcases and most of them black. I was never so glad for my green ones. I got to find them quickly.

I had to say goodbye to Annalisa. Even though she was living in Pennsylvania, her host parents were picking her up in Brookdale. Lupe and some other girls got on the bus. The remaining ones waved at us as the bus pulled away.

DESTINATION – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The train took about 45 minutes to show up. And there were two hours to get to Philadelphia. Inside the train, I could see all the girls nervous and excited. Everybody was asking what they should do when they first met the family. If they should hug them or shake hands. What they should talk about when they were in the car to get home.

After getting to Philadelphia, I would have to stay for another 45 minutes in the car, until we could reach home. I had no idea about what I should talk to the family about. In fact, I didn’t even know who was going to be there to pick me up. And by then, I started worrying.

“My host mom said to wait near a big statue if I don’t find them or if they don’t find me,” a girl said.

“My host family said they were going to hold a big balloon, so I can find them easily,” a German said.

What is that supposed to mean?

I was scared. I thought the place was huge. I mentioned to Lupe that I didn’t know what I was supposed to look for, and I didn’t know who was going to be there. I was really hoping the kids would be around. Anyways, at that point I just really wanted someone to be there and that I could find them easily.

The total number of girls to get down in the Philadelphia station was five. Lupe, another Brazilian, two Germans, and I. Some guys from the station came to help us with our suitcases. They were trying to be nice after seeing all of us with those scared faces.

“I saw some kids upstairs holding cards and balloons. They’re probably here for you, girls,” one of them said while putting Lupe’s humongous suitcase in the little cart.

We were just looking at each other and feeling more and more excited. Up the staircase, I could feel the butterflies in my stomach. At the top of the staircase, I heard someone with an accent saying something out loud.

“There’s my family! I can see my little girl!”

I was in disbelief. How did the German girl do that? The place was huge, but it wasn’t crowded. It was about 6:30 p.m. Some people were passing by and I saw some kids, but none of them looked like the ones I wanted. Either they were too little or had dark hair.

The Brazilian and the other German found their families kind of fast, too. Lupe and I were the last ones to get our suitcases and we still couldn’t see anyone. When Lupe pulled her gigantic red suitcase out, she stared at something.

“Oh, there they are. I see my girl.”

At that very moment, I thought no one was there for me. There were no more kids without Au Pairs. Everybody started to head out, except Lupe, who was walking slowly with me.

“Do you see them? Do you see them?” she asked over and over again.

I was looking everywhere. I saw a tall woman and she was walking towards me. She was carrying four balloons and a vase with hydrangeas in it.

“Yes, I see her!” I said very excitedly. “I see her over there.”

She walked faster than I. I left my two suitcases on the floor and she hugged me.

“Hi, Nadia, I’m Leigh Ann. So good to see you! How are you?”

Leigh Ann was a tall woman. She had her black hair down and it was a bit under her shoulders. She was in her late forties. I think she must have been a very attractive woman when young.

“I’m fine, thanks. Nice to meet you in person!” I said smiling.

I looked to see if Lupe had gone to her family, and she was with them by then.

“Here, this is for you,” she gave me what she was holding.

Leigh Ann told me where she had parked the car and said we had to walk for a while. I was a little bit clumsy sometimes and that was one of those moments. I had two big suitcases, one backpack, and one of those purses that go across your chest. Then, I also had four balloons and the vase, which wasn’t exactly a vase but a big Spider-Man plastic cup.

My host mom offered to help me. She got the balloons and the vase back, and one of the suitcases. We started walking to the car. Lupe was leaving through the other door.

In the elevator with me were Leigh Ann, a German Au Pair with her host mom, and three host kids. We talked about the weather and nothing else. We all went out, just saying a brief bye. We loaded the car, and we both got in. I was excited. I only needed 45 minutes to finally get to their house!

DESTINATION – Crimson Oak, Pennsylvania

RESIDENCE of the WEAVERS

Mother: Leigh Ann

Father: Mike

Girl: Lindsay – 9 years old

Boy: Spencer – 7 years old

Dog: Dove (Female)

The ride in the car seemed to take forever. Leigh Ann and I talked about everything that would pop up in our minds. I mentioned to her that hydrangeas were my favorite flowers, then we spoke about the price of the gas, and other things such as shopping, colors, kids, school, college, and pets. At one point, I had no more subjects to talk to her about. I couldn’t think of anything else to say and, to be honest, I was tired. I really wanted to meet everybody and go to bed.

Leigh Ann asked me what time it was in Brazil. It was only one hour ahead of the United States, so I didn’t even realize I had the difference. On the other hand, some other girls were six hours ahead of their countries, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the girls from China.

My host mom’s phone started ringing. It was her daughter calling.

“Yes, she’s with me... Yes, she is... I don’t know if she’s hungry... Nadia, do you like spaghetti?”

I nodded.

“Yes, she does,” she continued. “Okay, we’ll be there in about 15 minutes.”

As soon as she turned the phone off, she looked at me with a big smile.

“It was Lindsay. They’re making dinner for you! By the way, when you’re driving, I would ask you not to use your cell phone. You can stop the car and then answer, but it’s dangerous while driving.”

It was quite hard to understand why Leigh Ann could answer the phone. I wasn’t a terrific driver at the time, and I couldn’t even drive with the radio on. I wouldn’t answer the phone in any circumstances. I was more concerned about the fact I still had 15 minutes to get to the house. Good thing was that she started talking and talking, and talked for the remaining time.

The roads in the USA weren’t similar to those in my city in Brazil. It had curves and hills. There were no houses near, and I saw a bunch of deer signs. That started worrying me a little. I couldn’t see anything close when we were getting to the house and I mentioned that to Leigh Ann.

“Yep… For everything you will have to use the car,” she explained.

By that, I chose a problem for myself. I didn’t like driving, so I was hoping I’d be able to find some friends who would give me rides. And regarding driving the kids, I thought, maybe the kids’ schools weren’t far.

My host mom said we were really close to the house and she entered the development. She turned left on the first street and told me they lived in the last house, in front of a cul-de-sac. As soon as Leigh Ann pulled the car into the driveway, I was amazed. They had quite a view. It was gorgeous. I didn’t think I had ever seen anything that beautiful.

While I was looking in astonishment, Lindsay came out of the garage and she hugged me. She was beautiful and very polite. Her hair was blond, and her eyes were green. She looked younger than a soon-to-be ten-year-old, though, and was also very skinny. She helped me with one of my bags and held my hand.

In no more than two minutes, Spencer came out, too. The seven-year-old boy was very handsome. He was also skinny, had green eyes and blond hair as well. He looked straight into my eyes and smiled, and I smiled back.

We went inside the house, and I was even more astonished. It was huge and gorgeous. The dad, Mike, was watching TV. He stood up and said hello, he asked about the trip and the orientation. He was in his fifties. He was as tall as Leigh Ann, but the opposite from the kids, he wasn’t skinny at all. I was intrigued. The kids looked smaller than they should be.

Of course, I met their dog, too. A mix of two tiny breeds, a Papillon and a Poodle, resulted in Dove. An eight-pound dog, kind of white, kind of black, and kind of gray. She was smaller than a big rat, with the abilities of a chameleon because she would blend easily.

I had dinner and was the only one eating. It was a little complicated because they were asking me all those questions and I was trying to answer. The boy decided to have dinner again. We were eating spaghetti, but I was full pretty fast. Spencer started to teach me a code to tell if the food was good or not.

“It can be awesome, good, kind of, bad, and terrible.”

I didn’t know for sure what to say to that, so I copied him. And to be honest, I couldn’t wait until he was done. After he finally did, Leigh Ann and Mike told the kids to show me around the house.

I went on my little tour, starting in the basement. We went downstairs and I almost fell two times because the steps were small. In the room, I saw a pool table, a big TV where Spencer’s video game was, a bathroom, and a sofa. Across the bottom of the stairs, there was a big double door that could not be opened because apparently everybody would forget to lock it later.

We came back upstairs, and I almost fell three more times. On the main floor, there was the kitchen, a living room, a dining room – with a bunch of Legos on the table – the kid’s TV room, and Leigh Ann’s office, where the kids were allowed to play on the computer for no longer than 20 minutes a day.

The house had a staircase to go up, one starting in front of the entrance door and one from the kitchen. The two flights would meet halfway to continue up in a few more steps, those weren’t small like the basement’s. Up on the second floor, there was a little hallway where rooms were distributed.

The kids’ bathroom – that I was going to share with them – was on the first right door. In front of it, was Lindsay’s pink bedroom, and next to her, was mine. Right straight from the top of the stairs, was Spencer’s blue bedroom with his red race car bed.

To go to the parents’ bedroom, we had to walk to the other side of the hallway, passing by a gigantic, beautiful glass window with a view to the cul-de-sac. I didn’t really get into their room, but I saw the most incredible enormous bed. For real life, six people could fit there easily. There was a bathroom too, but I saw nothing from it.

After my mini-tour, the parents told the kids to put on their pajamas and lay down. I still spoke a little bit with Leigh Ann and Mike, and I went upstairs. I said good night to the children who were about to fall asleep and went to my bedroom. My host dad had taken the green suitcases by then and they were a bother, so I had to jump over them all the time.

My bedroom had a king-size bed in the middle of the room, but probably only three people could fit in it. There was a bureau and also a small TV on top of an even smaller table. Outside my window, I could still see that beautiful view I had seen from the driveway of a slight hill and with a short tree right in the middle of it.

I started unpacking, but I was tired and couldn’t figure where to put all my stuff. I decided to brush my teeth and, again, I had problems. I thought that was the last one, though. I didn’t know how to turn the sink tap on. I pressed, I turned, I passed my hands underneath it in case they had a fancy sink. I even looked to see if I had to step on something on the floor to make the water work.

Great!

Again, very embarrassed, I went downstairs to see if one of the parents could help me. Leigh Ann was sitting on the couch with the computer on her lap.

“Leigh?”

“Yes?”

“I can’t get the sink to work...”

“Oh, what do you mean?” She stood up and started walking upstairs with me. “The sink?”

“Yes, like, to wash my hands.” I didn’t know how to say “tap.”

“Oh,” she opened a big smile and showed me how it worked.

It wasn’t that simple, but still not that hard. I had to pull the tap and then turn a little bit to the side. Since she was upstairs, she also showed me how the shower worked. But she didn’t have to because at that point I knew it! I had classes with Annalisa. However, she taught me that one of the curtains needed to be inside of the bathtub and one outside, so the water wouldn’t fall on the floor. That I didn’t know, so it was useful!

After that, she told me I could take my time on Friday to wake up and get ready. Then she would tell me about the rules, show me the neighborhood, and some other things she judged important since the kids would be in a summer camp until 1 p.m. If I could, I would sleep until eleven, but I set my alarm to nine o’clock.

Friday, July 23, 2010

I wasn’t tired anymore, just excited to see everything. The host mom was around when I woke up, she had breakfast with me and soon started telling me about what I was expected to do when babysitting Lindsay and Spencer. She told me about my responsibilities while taking care of her children as an Au Pair. Also, what to do in case of an emergency, where and when I could use the car, and a long list of rules.

Leigh Ann had a big book filled with those, called the “Weaver’s Rules.” Pages and pages. It looked like I was a total stranger in the world who knew nothing about stuff. I didn’t think they meant that, but it was what I felt. There were things like how to use the dishwasher, the washer machine, plus that I had to press the button ON/OFF to turn it on or off.

Really, lady?

There were very specific rules about showers. The house had something that I didn’t fully understand about how the water was connected. If there was a person taking a shower and another would open the sink downstairs, the shower would get really cold. She told me the best time to shower and said I had to announce it, so nobody would turn anything on.

About showers, I was shocked by one of those rules. It was written that the kids had to shower two times a week. Two times. Two! I mean, they are kids, they play, they get dirty, they sweat, and still only have to take two showers a week.

I had a curfew and had to be home by 10:30 p.m. if I was working the next day. But if I wasn’t, I was supposed to be back at midnight. If I was going out with friends, I had to write their names down and their telephone numbers.

The car rules were also strange. Since I could use the car both to drive the kids and myself, they had a little notebook where I had to write down the miles showing on the car and how many miles I drove in my free time. At the end of the month, they would sum it up so I could pay for my own gas.

Another rule was that I could only drive the car in an area within 15 miles of the house. I didn’t know exactly how much 15 miles were, but I thought that was enough to get me to places I would like to go.

They even had a map made by hand with some of the closest things in it, such as Spencer’s school, the drugstore, the train station, the supermarket, the dry cleaners, the gas station, and others that could help me get around for the first couple of times.

The mom went through all of it during the morning, and then she took me to have lunch. The owner of the pizza place was also Brazilian. During the conversation with Leigh Ann, she asked how my parents got to handle my experience living in another country.

She was interested to comprehend how I was dealing with the moving and about getting homesick. It was a nice conversation. I could tell she was a very smart woman. We also spoke about my host dad’s life, his family, and his job at the same company as her. The fact was, Mike was the vice-president of an Engineering Company, and Leigh Ann was the CEO, the chief executive officer, meaning she was his boss.

When we came back to the house, the kids were already there. Lindsay came running downstairs when she heard us.

“Nally!”

Nally? What the heck is that?

I’m a big fan of nicknames and I love calling people by them, but Nally? I had never heard of it before. I just smiled. It wasn’t that bad after I got used to it, although she barely called me by that. She hugged me and asked if I would play with her. Spencer was still too shy to come with us, but after 20 minutes he came along and started coloring.

The grandmother, Leigh Ann’s mom, arrived. Jennifer, or Jen, was very happy and was smiling all the time. Hugging the kids and talking, talking, and talking. She was staying at the house for about a week and a half to help me with everything.

Lindsay, Spencer, and I decided to go outside and enjoy the nice weather. Soon we decided to ride bikes. There was Leigh Ann’s, that according to the kids, I could use at any time. Everything was going perfectly fine until Lindsay tried to use her mom’s bike.

It was designed for tall people, not my case. I could barely touch the ground, and even though I wasn’t much taller than Lindsay, I said she couldn’t ride it. The girl got mad. She said it was her mom’s and that she could use it whenever she wanted. I was still saying no, and she ran inside crying.

Great!

“It’s okay, Nadia,” Spencer said. “Sometimes she doesn’t like when people say that she can’t do something. But you don’t have to worry. She’ll come out again and play.”

That boy was so sweet. He was seven years old and was telling me that everything was going to be okay. But even though he said Lindsay was coming outside again, he ran back in.

Seriously?

What was I supposed to do? Wait for them to come out or should I go in?

I went back into the house and found Lindsay crying in the kitchen. Her parents were there and so was Jen, the grandma. Lindsay was trying to explain what was going on, but just Spencer and I knew what it was.

“Nadia and Lindsay, let’s go to the office. I want to talk to you both,” Leigh Ann said with a firm voice.

We went and Lindsay started explaining the matter of the bike. My host mom said it didn’t matter what the problem was, and that Nadia was in charge. I was glad when she said that. At least I knew she wasn’t one of those moms who would stick to their kids’ side all the time.

Until dinner time, Lindsay, Spencer, and I played a bunch of things, like coloring, Legos, and making bracelets. We went to bed earlier than usual. The kids were still tired from their summer camp.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

The weekend went by fast. I was learning the names of the roads, where they kept their silverware, and of course, the light switches. One thing I realized I would have to learn was how to live with the air conditioning. There was even one point when I was walking with long pants on Saturday around the house, and someone asked me how come I had jeans on.

“It’s too cold for me because of the air,” I said.

“Wait until you see the winter,” Lindsay reminded me.

“You better get used to it,” Mike said. “We’re not changing the air conditioning because of you. Welcome to America!”

What was that supposed to mean? I didn’t ask anybody to change anything on the air conditioning. I thought it was a bit rude the way he said it, but I didn’t care much. I was just fine with long jeans.

In the afternoon, we went to a street mall, where the parents got some supplies for the house and some things for school, since summer vacation was going to be over in one month. When we stopped at the grocery store, Lindsay started to say she wasn’t feeling well and her stomach was upset. We had just been to an arts and crafts place where she got materials for her scrapbooking and she seemed just fine to me. She said she wanted to go home.

Leigh Ann didn’t truly believe her, and for the first time, I saw her kind of yelling at the girl.

“Listen to me, kiddo. We’re going to the store to get just some of the things we need. After that, we’re going home. But you better don’t get there and say that you’re feeling all better. Do you understand me?”

She nodded.

Lindsay, Spencer, and Jen stayed in the car and my host parents and I went quickly to the store. Leigh Ann was showing me what they would normally get and what brand. In less than ten minutes, we had bought whatever it was that they really needed.

Back at the house for no longer than 30 minutes, Lindsay was feeling great again, but she swore it was true about her stomach ache.

On Sunday evening, there was a couple at the house, the parents’ friends. They were really nice people and according to Lindsay, that was a “Welcome Party” for me. However, she only said that to me when the “party” was over.

I had brought to the Weaver family some gifts from Brazil. I was planning on giving them to them on that Sunday, but I don’t know why I didn’t feel like handing them to them. I told my mom I couldn’t find the right time to do it, but that was kind of a lie. Truth was that I wasn’t feeling at home yet. I liked the family, and they were being very nice to me, but something that I couldn’t figure out was bothering me.

I met a Brazilian Au Pair once, who told me her story about her experience in the United States. I remembered her saying we should only give the gifts once we were sure we would stay for the entire year with the family.

Remembering her words, I decided to keep the gifts with me and only give it to them when I didn’t have anything bothering me. I waited, hoping the next week would be better and that I could get settled at the house.

Monday, July 26, 2010

First day of work. I think it wasn’t so bad, after all. I forgot some things, like what time I should turn the dishwasher on. With the kids, everything was okay, too. We played and we went to their club, where they had swimming lessons.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

So far everything was going well. The grandmother was still at the house helping me out with everything. She was the nicest person in the house, following Spencer. I already liked that kid a lot. During the first days, we would take the kids to swimming classes for one hour in the morning, and, in the meantime, the kids were in the water, Jen and I would talk.

It looked like she knew me for years, not someone she didn’t even know for more than five days. She was telling me all about my host family’s story. She told me about the teenage years of Leigh Ann, and some stories about Mike. Some of those concerned me a little bit.

I realized Lindsay was always a subject. I had never seen anyone saying that she was an easy-going kid or well-behaved. Some even said to me she was a handful. In the beginning, she was just like any other kid. I wasn’t expecting her to listen to me 100% of the time, but I wasn’t expecting some of those tantrums. It seemed to me she was like three years old, and not nine.

Jen told me that Lindsay usually had a medicine called patch. They would put it on her belly so she could focus more on school and have a better behavior. Sometimes, Jen said, they would put it during vacation, too, to be easier to deal with.

She also said that since Lindsay was little, she couldn’t pay attention and focus well to do something, and the doctors couldn’t find out what the problem was. The girl had a hard time swallowing pills and that was when the patch took place.

When she finished the subject of the patch, I brought the question I had since April, the first time I spoke to the family. Why the kids were in different schools. They weren’t too long apart in years, and Lindsay would go to a school that was far from the house. The answer was that she needed a school that would help her more than the ordinary ones.

The kids came out from the pool after their classes. We waited for them to shower and then we went to have lunch. Like all the days before, we didn’t come back to the house. We went to a fast-food restaurant.

That night, Leigh Ann and I went out in the car. She wanted me to drive with her first, so she could see if I was a good driver or not. Like I said before, I wasn’t the best driver, but I could get my way around without any problems. The difference was that they had an automatic car, which I loved. And they had a minivan, which I hated.

The cars I used to drive in Brazil were way smaller than minivans. There were no roads like those back home. While holding tight to the grab-handles, Leigh said my driving was okay, but I could see on her face that she got a little bit nervous when I was almost hitting all the mailboxes on one of the roads. She also had a scared face when I was passing too close to the cars on the other lane.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Spencer and I were invited by one of the neighbors and her son to go to a nearby farm. It was a place where they could get some vegetables and fruit, and afterwards, the kids could have ice cream. We went with them, while Lindsay was with her mom on a project with the girls’ scout.

I was feeling a little bit relieved that Lindsay didn’t go with us that day. Spencer seemed to be a better listener when he was without his sister. On the other hand, the girl was probably having fun with her mother. Knowing that Leigh Ann barely spent much time with her daughter, I thought it was a great treat to Lindsay.

After Spencer and I were back to the house from the farm, Leigh Ann called me asking if we wanted to go to a fair, where Lindsay was having her “whatever she was having” with the other girls. We wanted to. I had never been to a fair like that and I was curious.

We went to this town near Crimson Oak. The fair looked exactly like what I had seen in the movies. With all the rides, games, and prizes. Leigh gave money to the kids and explained that they could spend it on whatever they wanted, but when it was over, it was over.

“I won’t give you any more money than that. And here, Spence, hold Nadia’s hand. Nadia, don’t lose him, hold his hand at all times.”

Both children went on some rides and played some games. Spencer’s money was over, and Lindsay could only choose one ride or one more game with the money she had left. Spencer saw one where he could get a real goldfish if he threw a little ball inside of one of the buckets. He really wanted the fish and I really didn’t want him to have it.

Spencer begged his sister for her last ticket and she finally gave in, realizing the fish was a good prize. I had my fingers crossed. I didn’t have problems with fish, but I was concerned with who was going to take care of it. I already had that little dog, Dove, to keep an eye on.

So, with Lindsay’s money, Spencer paid for the balls. I thought the lady from the game was going to give him something like three to five balls. Instead, she gave him about twenty. Twenty. When I saw that, I crossed the fingers from my other hand as well.

He started throwing it. Lucky me, Spencer wasn’t even close to getting the ball into any of the buckets. I felt sorry for wanting him to lose, but I didn’t want the fish at all. I know they die fast, but then, if the fish dies, the kid cries, and I didn’t want the kids to feel bad for it.

Lindsay asked if she could try once.

“No,” Spencer said, not even looking at her.

“Just one, Spencer,” her voice was annoying.

“No! I picked this game.”

“But I paid for it... With my money,” Lindsay said with a more annoying voice.

Getting a little distracted with the conversation, Spencer dropped a ball on the ground, and Lindsay, as fast as she could, got the ball from the floor and tossed it. She got it in.

Maybe no one saw it…

Of all the other balls Spencer tried, he missed them all. He missed them ALL. The only one Lindsay tried she got. I couldn’t believe my eyes. When the balls were over, the lady walked towards us and asked for the prize.

“The goldfish,” both said together.

We went to the house, and of course, I was carrying the goldfish bag. Leigh Ann had asked if I minded because she was afraid one of the kids would fall and rip the bag open.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Lindsay’s birthday! She was very happy and excited. She wasn’t going to have any birthday parties. She got some presents from her parents and from her grandmother. The most wanted present was her bedroom reformed. She had her walls painted pink a few weeks before, and was getting new lamps, linens, and rugs. I got her a present from Brazil, which I think she really liked.

At night, we went out to have dinner in a place Lindsay chose. There I met the kids’ half-brother. The dad’s son, which was very nice. We ate and came back to the house to sing the American Happy Birthday.

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Leigh Ann and I went to pick Lupe up at her house. Leigh and I said hello to her host mom, and Lupe got in the car with us. We talked a bit about adapting to the new house. The Peruvian girl told me she was going in a rematch and she was a bit upset.

A rematch is when the Au Pair and the host family have issues. Sometimes the problems can be just a matter of relationship, driving skills, or a hard time for the Au Pair understanding English. Then, the Au Pair needs to look for another host family to live with, and the host family needs another Au Pair.

When we got to the house, Lupe and I went for a walk around the development I lived in. She told me why she was going to rematch. Her family thought she wasn’t a good driver, and they didn’t want to put the kids in the car with her. Where she was living, she needed the car for everything, just like me.

I was saying she was going to find another family, and even better than her first. But still, she was scared. If she couldn’t find a family in two weeks, she would have to go back to her home country. Her English was very good and she could take care of babies, so we were really positive that she would find someone. We also had our hopes up to be somewhere near where we were.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Lupe and I went to the swimming club with my host family in the afternoon. It started raining and thundering, so we left the pool and had lunch. When the thunders got louder, I saw Spencer crying for the first time.

He was scared but he didn’t want to tell us why he was crying. He was holding the napkin with all his might and putting it in his mouth. His eyes were already red and filled with tears. I hugged him.

“I am NOT crying,” he said. “It’s the thing that they put in the pool... That makes my eyes red.”

Yes, right.

Lupe’s host family went to pick her up at the club in midafternoon and I came back to the house. I went straight to my room. I didn’t like to stay with the family because I felt really uncomfortable. They used to stare at me and it felt like they were checking my moves.

One hour passed, and then Augusta, or Guta, how she would call herself, called me. She was an Au Pair from Portugal and had been living in Crimson Oak for nine months. Leigh Ann had met some other girls because her former Au Pair had friends around and she gave her my phone. We had talked through messages and Guta invited me to go out with her.

“Yes!” I said fast for the fact I really wanted to.

We hung out for about one hour, and it was great. Guta told me all she had done in the past months. I told her how I was doing so far with my host family. She hated the fact I had a curfew at 10:30 p.m. even more than I did.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Lindsay’s friend went over to the house to play with her. I had the feeling Lindsay lived in her own world and only a few people could get into it. Apparently, this girl had a world of her own as well and they seemed to play nicely together.

The girls decided to give Dove a bath and asked Jen if that was okay. Grandma said it was fine but told them to get all the things they needed before and told them not to make a mess.

I could see them getting shampoo, conditioner, a brush, and three towels. They were happily walking around the kitchen when Lindsay grabbed Dove and put her into the sink.

“Lindsay, what are you doing? Take her out from there,” I said in astonishment.

“Nadia, we are going to bathe Dove.”

“In the sink? For real life? In the sink?”

“Yep,” and she kept going.

Jen was passing by and told me that it was fine and that Lindsay used to do that in summertime. I was shocked. The bath took about 30 minutes and I was still shocked. They didn’t leave a mess, but I couldn’t think of anything except the image of the eight-pound dog into the sink and soaked wet.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Jen left in the morning. She was going back to her house in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The rest of the family and I were getting ready for a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia. I already missed Grandma. I had no clue what I was going to do once we were back, on August 9th.

The day before I had given Jen a mug, with Brazil’s flag on it as a souvenir for helping me so much the past days.

“Thank you!”

She was way taller than I, so she was looking down at me.

“You listen to me, Nadia. I know you’re shy, but you have to stick up for yourself. You don’t let Leigh Ann or Mike treat you the way they want to and you make sure you have everything written down. If they pay you and if you work more than what you are allowed to.”

“Like keep track of it?”

“Yes. Leigh Ann is big on paper. Everything you do, make sure you write it down. Count how many hours you work a day and keep it in your bedroom. You don’t have to tell anyone about it. Better, don’t tell anyone about it, but make sure you have it. You will probably need it.”

I thought it was very weird a mother saying something like that about her own daughter.

DESTINATION – Williamsburg, Virginia

Our trip started. We had six hours on the road. I had my iTouch with me, some papers, and a book about driving in Pennsylvania because I needed to get my driver’s license. Leigh Ann, who was sitting next to me on the back seat, was watching a movie with headphones on. Mike had his iTouch with him while driving and had headphones on as well. Lindsay and Spencer were in the back-back seat doing I don’t know what, but quietly.

We got to Williamsburg, a very cool and small city, but nicely organized. All five of us were going to stay in one hotel room. And for sure, I didn’t feel very well or comfortable at all with the situation. I was sharing a king-size bed with Lindsay, and Spencer was sleeping on an air mattress in the middle of the two beds.

It was awkward when we had to take a shower, too. I would take all my stuff to the bathroom and change myself in there. It was annoying when I forgot my brush in my backpack and had to go with my hair all messy into the room. However, it was even more awkward when Mike or Leigh took showers. Sometimes they would come out from the bathroom as if I wasn’t even there.

Friday, August 6, 2010

The days in Williamsburg were going well. Lindsay was giving me a bit of a hard time, but the rest was fine. We walked around to see the Colonial places, a historic area, and some museums. We then started our trip to Hammington. The parents were friends with a couple, and they were paying them a visit. The couple had four little boys.

DESTINATION – Hammington, Virginia

We got to these friends’ house in the afternoon. The house was fascinating from the outside and it was amazingly big. It had three floors, plus the basement, and the pool outside. Each kid had his own bedroom with queen size beds. Their bedrooms’ walls had their names written with colorful wooden letters and were painted differently, according to each boy’s favorite color. There was also a big garage and the driveway was very long and often the kids would rollerblade there.