working in the family. Within the first week, I experienced one extremely overwhelming evening alone with the kids and turned to my Mom for advice. After talking about the ordeal, she gave me the simplest, but best advice, “Let them love you.” From this point on, this was my motto which guided me in choosing my battles more wisely. Once school was over, I was alone with the kids from the time they woke up to the time they went to sleep. It was not clear in the interview that this would be my schedule, but I understood and went with the flow as the Mother was taking her masters degree and their Father worked all day. Their Grandmother was a sweetheart and would host the kids, their cousins, and I, for a typical Spanish lunch everyday which was a huge stress reliever. The kids grew to respect my authority and we had a blast together whether we were building sandcastles at the beach or goofing around on the teeter-totter at the park. Their curiosity was endearing and their full belly laughs were contagious. I really enjoyed watching them learn everyday concepts, improve their English, and, most of all, become more open and affection- ate towards me. My weekends were my saving grace! As much as I loved the kids, at the end of the week, I took a well-deserved break from the madness. I would explore Madrid or make a day trip to a close city like Salamanca, Aranjuez, or Segovia. I loved meeting up with other au pairs or locals to enjoy tapas and drinks and explore new places. In July, my host family unexpectedly gave me a week off so, of course, I travelled! I packed a backpack, bought tickets, planned a little itinerary and I was off to Valencia, Barcelona, and Amsterdam! After my first experience travelling alone, I have to admit that it was thrilling and, in ways, liberating. Soon after I came back, my host family and I travelled to the North of Spain, through Borgos to a quaint village near Bilbao in the Basque Country, where they had a vacation home. We planned to stay in this fairytale village with unfor- gettable beauty and atmosphere for three weeks. I truly felt like a child again as there were limitless adventures and everything outside of the present moment, and the people surrounding me, disappeared. We spent the vast majority of everyday outside whether it be hiking the mountains, swimming at the beach, or playing in the garden. After twelve consecutive days of working, I was complete- ly worn out and counting down the hours until I could fall asleep and let the good Lord wake me. On Saturday morning, I woke up well-rested and heard the normal hustle and bustle around the house, but I stayed in my room to work on a project for university. The host Mom knocked on my door to let me know that she needed me so I quickly got up and dressed to discover that she expected me to work the weekend. As politely as I could, I expressed that I was under the impression that it was the weekend and therefore my time to relax. I am not sure how or when this conver- sation went sideways, but within the next two minutes, my
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2018
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