i am a my size barbie

With only a week left here in Staranzano, I think that now's a good time to reach some sort of conclusion about this summer and my experiences as an au pair in Italy. First of all, this is the best job that I've ever had, but it's coming to an end at the right time. I had no idea coming into this what to expect. I knew nothing about this family or this region of Italy. I also didn't know if I had the patience to deal with kids for 30 hours a week or the ability to conduct effective English lessons. I have learned that I have a whole lot of patience. I also have reconfirmed that my heart is bigger than Texas- I don't know how I'm going to leave these girls. It's truly been an incredible experience to live and function as part of this family for the past 2 1/2 months.

Here's what I did wrong- I never established an ounce of discipline with these kids. My philosophy is always to just shower everyone with love, which works great when those getting showered are receptive. I'm not saying that these kids aren't loving, but they are kids and I've learned that kids tend to be selfish to the core. I wouldn't say that I've spent the whole summer being taken advantage of either, but what I am saying is that my job title would more appropriately be "My Size Barbie that can move and talk" rather than au pair, teacher, or babysitter. Sure, these kids have learned a lot this summer, but they don't realize that at all. They still think that I'm a shiny new toy that came all the way from America to do tricks and entertain them. Having arrived only a week before the family's new cat, Neve, I can greatly sympathize with the torture that she has endured. Neve has also learned patience.



Only a few weeks ago I was teaching Ginevra the differences between the many titles for females. In order to demonstrate two of these, I said, "You are a girl. I am a woman." Her reply was, "No, Whitney, you aren't a woman. You're a girl." "No, Ginevra, I am a woman." "OK, You're a big girl." But that leads to what I did right- I am Ginevra's friend. She's had some issues with the girls at school this past year... You know, that age when the queen bees arise to suck out the souls of the weak. I remember being targeted myself... I was in the 5th grade and, according to the "mean" girls, I had head lice and wore high-waters (only the latter was true). As a big sister and a former victim of the insecurities of other females, I've been able to relate to Gine and many of her current struggles. She tried to run away from home a few days ago just to see if Luce would get upset. I immediately recognized this and did my best to coax along the appropriate response from Luce. After Gine successfully fit into my suitcase and told Luce she was heading to America with me, Luce was in tears telling her that she was sorry for whatever she had done and that she loved her. The whole thing ended with Gine sitting on the stairs, Luce in her arms, both girls crying and holding onto one another with all of their might. After it was all over, Gine said to me, "Whitney, I wasn't really going to run away. I just wanted to see if Luce really loves me." I told her that I knew all along. She asked, "But how did you know?" "Because I have a little sister, too."



So here's a little summary of the progress that we've all made together these past 10 weeks. I'm sure there will be a few additions after our 11th and final week...

Things that Ginevra has learned:
Present continuous tense
Simple past tense and many irregular verbs
Expressing future intentions using “going to…”
Prepositions of place, movement, and time
How to write a friendly letter
Synonyms, antonyms, and homophones (she’s even beginning to pronounce these words correctly!)
Plural forms of irregular nouns
Comparative and superlative adjectives
Giving simple directions
Talking about daily routines, the weather, hobbies, etc…
Common occupations and job titles
Body parts
Idiomatic expressions (her favorite is “It’s raining cats and dogs!”
Marco Polo, Simon Says, and I Spy
“The Hokie Pokey,” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”

Things that Luce has learned/can say:
“It’s mine!!!”
“It’s my turn!”
“Stop!”
“Good morning,” “Good night”
“How are you?,” “Fine,” and “Thank you”
“I can do it”, “By myself”
“Help”
“Again”
“It’s ready”
Me, I, you, she, it (and sometimes she even uses them correctly!)
The verb “to be” (once again, sometimes she conjugates correctly!)
“Sooo cute!” (usually said in reference to Neve)
“Bad cat!” (once again, in reference to Neve)
Colors
Numbers 1-20
Letters (more or less, even though she screams her head off every time I try to sing the ABCs)
Body parts
Many basic nouns, including names of animals, toys, foods, places, and every day objects
The concept of “big” and “small”
Making comparisons using “bigger” and “smaller”
“Itsy, Bitsy, Spider,” “I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for Ice cream,” “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes”
Simon Says

Things that I’ve learned:
Patience
Understanding
Humility
A few words in the "Gradese" dialect (only spoken in Grado and in our home)
How to say "thank you" in German
More French than I probably realize
The many uses of tea tree oil
How to teach English (more or less)
How to effectively bribe children (it has come in handy many times)
How to practice yoga in a very non-Zen environment (i.e. amidst screaming children)
How to make paper flowers
How to get rid of lice naturally
How to explain to children that just because you have breasts does not mean that you’re lactating (thank God)
How to make rice milk and almond milk (though I haven’t tried either yet)
How to gulp down a bottled beer in one swallow (I only witnessed this, but would be happy to show anyone the technique)
How to properly use and appreciate a bidet
The Italian postal service is more inefficient than that of most third world countries
Buses are only on time when you’re running late
You can find School House Rock and Sesame Street episodes on YouTube! (Ginevra loves them)
The Italian version of “Rock, Paper, Scissors”
Couch surfing is the only way to travel
Where to find falafel anywhere and at anytime of the day