sunday: back to bakio.
i met a few more member's of C's family. we ate a delicious lunch. i walked along the rocky coastline, but that was the extent of my beach trip. it was a little too chilly for me. we weren't there that long either. at least it was a change in scenery. i also found out that house on a cliff is actually an old church. if i were to ever build a church, i don't think i could fathom a better place.
you're probably bored already because my life is boring. but i promise these next few days get interesting (for lack of a better word, but for all intensive purposes it works) and while these may be sarcastic at times, there is no exaggerating.
monday: day one with family X.
i arrived at their apartment at 4 pm as planned. (btw. they live in a fancy apartment. with a fancy couch that you feel like you can't sit on because you will mess up the fluffy cushions.) M arrived home soon after i got there with the housekeeper. she ate her snack and i watched wonderful spanish cartoons with her for a bit. (in spain their after school snacks are called meriendas and are what i would consider a decent sized lunch.) so then we start her homework. (M is an adopted russian--this should explain a few things--she's been in spain about 4 years and goes to the american school so all of her homework is in english.) we did some math and vocab sentences for 2 hours. so we go to watch some tv and the housekeeper tells her she needs to take a bath. here begins the very long part of my afternoon and a tiny taste of what is to come. long story short, this girl is completely stubborn and refuses, no, does everything in her will NOT to follow your directions. i am hopeless awaiting for the mom to return because she up and leaves and i honestly have no idea when i am supposed to leave. thankfully she arrived soon after 8. off the top of my head i don't know the last time i was so relieved to leave a place.
tuesday: all hell breaks loose.
my morning was spent baking chocolate chip cookies. even all that baking couldn't relieve the pit in my stomach. oh not to mention, i didn't sleep at all the night before. i've had quite a bout of insomnia since friday when i committed to this family. but more about that later. so at 4 once again i walk the dreaded 5 minutes to the apartment where time stands still. again M has her merienda and watches tv. ps when she watches tv she doesn't eat. so an hour after she has started her sandwich it still isn't finished. so i ask her to turn off the tv. once. twice. three times. not having it anymore so we fight over the remote until the tv gets turned off. now M is fully in bitch mode. she yells at me and blatantly walks into her room with her yogurt after i specifically asked her not to take it into her room . i reprimand her and tell her we won't start her homework until her attitude changes and she feels she can listen, oh and apologize. this doesn't happen until 45 minutes later after M has called her mother and the gracious housekeeper helps straighten this girl out. homework was less than fun, but bearable, and quick. so then we watch some tv. after an hour i ask her to turn off the tv. i'm on pins and needles because i am prepared for another battle. i was utterly shocked when she turned it off! we even played for a bit and she got in the bath without a battle. success?!
wednesday: i am fighting a losing battle.
(in case you can't already tell, each day keeps getting better and better.) today began like every other day. at 4:30 i give M fair warning that the tv is going off at 5. 5 comes and i ask her to turn off the tv. big surprise, she refuses to turn it off. to avoid another remote battle i just unplug the damn thing. end of discussion. so she finishes her sandwich and we go to her room to start her homework. there is reading, math, and going over spelling words. i ask M what she wants to do first. rather than a response i just get disgruntled i don't have to read and i don't need to go over spelling. so i tell her she has 4 options. 1-reading, 2-math, 3-spelling, 4-sitting there until 8 when her mom gets home and i will explain to her why M didn't do any of her homework (the lovely child chimes in and goes you don't know how. damn she's kind of right because the mom speaks zero english. i really wanted to smack her right about then.) all 4 had to happen and she could do as she pleased. after a few minutes of not doing anything she decides to start with math. it was fine until we get to the last problem and she keeps saying she doesn't understand. after explaining it to her 7 times without her listening i tell her she can do it without my help. so i whip out my book until she's ready. (yes, i can play passive aggressive and stubborn too) afterwards she refuses to do option 1 and 3 so i read for a solid 30 minutes waiting for her to pick one. she then chooses spelling. we attempt a few words. guess what? the tude, hate eyes, and screaming all come back to haunt me. somehow and some indefinite amount of time later we go through half the words and she is actually cooperating. this is obviously too good to be true and the bipolar attitude comes back and she refuses to finish. we get in another fight. and another. and another. finally, when i ask her to sit in her seat and stop playing with her toys and we get into a tug of war over a stupid ugly pony toy. as i reprimand her, for the thousandth time of the day, i just get the hate eyes and leave my house. (you don't have to tell me twice.) i am so furious i just leave the room. the housekeeper, aka lifesaver, comes in and acts as the buffer. oh not to mention it's almost 8 and we haven't even finished half of her homework. so mom comes home and i explain the situation. thankfully mom isn't clueless and can sympathize. i know monday i said i had never been so thankful to leave a place. but today takes the cake. i don't think i've ever walked home so quickly.
obviously i have problems with this child. she is singlehandedly the worst child i have ever dealt with out of every child i have ever babysat, had at camp, etc. and i'd like to think i have worked with my fair share of difficult children. (if any of you heard stories about camp this summer, you know what i was dealing with.) before these blissful three day, i was already uneasy about my supposed one year commitment. over the weekend i came to the realization i do NOT want to be an au pair for a year, especially for this family. the dad smokes and lit one up at dinner. i was not amused. and the apartment reeks of smoke. the mom speaks zero english. while it would be good for my spanish, it's challenging when you are trying to explain what is going on with M and get directions, etc. not to mention when she is the one i am primarily dealing with it doesn't help the whole comfort level and getting to know each other thing. also, the apartment is like a museum. oh and crazy thing, the housekeeper comes everyday from 7:30 to 8 everyday (well 8:30 because the mom is always late.) i mean why the hell on earth do you need a housekeeper for 13 hours a day?!?! but i am grateful she is there while i am. it makes life more bearable when you can make faces to each other behind the child's back. the family has quite a few things to do with it, but honestly i am over the whole idea. i like my independence. and if i am forced to live in someone else's house it is going to be my parents where i am comfortable. also the whole living at work thing. not cool. i need to leave work when i clock out.
all that being said, i think i will be stateside sooner rather than later. i'm looking into traveling and once again staying in the good graces of the few friends i have in europe. if any of you unemployed or restless are looking for an adventure, come join! (and i know you're thinking i don't have money, i don't have the money for this either. this has been one expensive life lesson) i am slightly tempted to stick this job out for a few weeks so i can make some money. i don't think it's really worth it. but money is money. i've got a limited number of days before i have to make up my mind. i hate making decisions. that's what i've learned.
also, if you're still with me, thanks for reading!
oh i forgot the best part of my day today...i met this lovely british girl who is studying abroad in bilbao for the year. we had lunch. extra points if you guess what we had. yes, pizza! we went on a search for patatas bravas, but surprisingly didn't see it on the menu of every restaurant where we stopped. that was the first time in 2 weeks i've socialized with someone within 10 years of my age. she uses words such as bloody, and bugger, and so on and so forth. immediate cool points.
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