4 Weeks

Well, here it is. As promised, a blog to track my big adventure, now less than 4 weeks away.

For my first blog, I apologize for the awkwardness, as I haven't done this in a while. So... let's start with some background.

Where am I going?

I am going to be living in a small town outside Geneva in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

I'll be living in Celingy in a little 1904 house which was just completely renovated last year, in my own room with private bathroom. It's a small town, built in the 17th Century and was the last home of Richard Burton (An Ex-ex-Mr. Elizabeth Taylor) who is buried there. It is also famous for its WINE. Shucks...

Who am I living with?

I'll be living with the Ruefenacht family. Daniel and Solveig (the parents) both work for large corporations full time and both have travel related with their work. Daniel used to be a politician for "Pro-Environmental" causes and now works as the VP of Corporate Sustainbility with a firm located in Geneva. Solveig works for a "Monster" (as she calls it, we'd consider it more a Mega) Corporation "Japan Tabacco"- at the moment I don't know exactly what her job entails but since we began communication in October, she's traveled to Japan, Korea & France. Both Daniel & Solveig speak English fluently, French fluently AND German fluently. I wouldn't be surprised if another language was on the table as well.

Perhaps even more interesting are the children. Benjamin (4) and Melchoir (also known as Kiki & Mel - we'll see what he wants me to call him) - Melchoir is 2.5. Both kids are either bilingual or beginning to be. (As bilingual as a child can be when learning language in general for the first time). My job will be to care for them (I'll go into a few more details as I have them in a second). Both boys attend school and enjoy playing games, indoors & out and "emptying the chocolate cupboard" as described in their Lettre de Noel this year. I am to speak to the children in English, to strengthen their skills (not sure I'll be the best demonstration of proper English!). Benjamin understands most English, but will only answer in French so it will be interesting to say the least. Melchoir has begun bilingual French/English kindergarten/pre-school and is being immersed in both languages simultaneously.

While I'll be in Switzerland, home of 4 national languages, it's own unique currency (despite being smack-dab inside the EU & therefore the Euro's domain) and some large international companies I'll be near Geneva, a city (and Canton, which is the Swiss version of a state/province or district) which is home to a LARGE expat community and full of English speakers, among other languages. According to one statistic I read nearly 42% of Geneva's population are non-Swiss.

A closer town (although I'm only about 30 minutes from Geneva) is Nyon. This is where I'll be taking language courses (in French) and likely to start really venturing on my own.

What am I doing there?

I'm going to be an Au-Pair (live-in nanny) and care for Ben & Kiki during the day. My routine is pretty structured and in a very friendly format. Every weekday morning, I'll get up around 7am to help get the boys dressed for school & fed breakfast. The parents drive the kids to school on their way to work so by 8:30 I'm alone in the house for a couple hours to do some "light" housework. (and by "light" I mean light - laundry, dishes, keeping the children's rooms tidy and in order, etc. - no toilets, no scrubbing.... for that a housekeeper comes twice a week to keep those in order). After a few hours of work in the morning, twice a week on Tues/Thurs I'll drive myself to Nyon (in my "own" car which I am able to use for personal use as well as while "on-duty") for language courses. Around 4, I'll pick the kids up from their respective schools and bring them home, where we'll play, have dinner and get ready for bed (bath & jammies). Parents are home usually by 7pm and after the kids get to bed, the three of us will sit & have a glass of wine & discuss the day. Tough huh? On Wednesdays the boys are off from school, so we'll have a full day of fun together. We can walk to the beach on Lake Geneva (which is only 3-4 minutes away by foot). Play outside in the open areas near their home or go on little mini-trips. Monday & Fridays I'll have free time between my chores & the children's return from school. Twice a week I may be asked to babysit while they go out. My weekends however are FREE. I'll be able to just go explore Geneva, go on weekend trips to Paris or Amsterdam, or if I choose (but should never feel obligated) join the family in their activities - including weekends at their flat in the Alps. Damn. Pretty terrible, huh? ;)

Not only will I be allowed to travel, but in fact my future family is encouraging me to do so. Along with room & board I will be receiving a generous stipend, allowing me to travel as I wish. With Paris only 3.5 hours away by train and Barcelona only 8 I will have plenty of places to go to. Along with that, the Swiss government requires I receive 4 weeks PAID vacation, these dates have been predetermined by the family but fall pretty evenly throughout my year commitment. Two weeks off begin August 1st which is the Swiss National Day (Independence day) when I'll be able to visit home and enjoy the best of Seattle (both weather-wise & people-wise).

My commitment is for 1 year, which is what my visa is valid for. I have a work-visa and will also have to pay Swiss taxes & into Swiss Social Security (but that means that I may get some money back from Switzerland when I turn 65 - and the chances of getting anything from US Social Security seems to be dwindling with ever baby-boomer who reaches that magical age - and there are a LOT of them! So I'll take every penny I can!)

So here I am. 27 days to go and the to-do list is ever growing. But here's one thing to mark off.

The goal of this blog will be to share my experiences with those I care about & those who care about me. It will bring you up to date on my adventures (in theory) and be a place for me to post pictures of the beauty that is western Europe.

I'm practicing my yodeling already and I'm fully prepared to break out with a giant horn and shout "Ricola" when I get there.

Feel free to email me if you feel like you want more specifics. During these next few weeks of procrastination, packing & turning 21 I'll do my best to get back to you.

Love & Best Wishes for 2010 -

Mattie

PS - the name of this blog comes from a couple people. Matticus was a nickname given to me in middle school and sort of stuck. And then I was known as Miss Matticus (or Miss Mattie) with much of my work with children. However, if it wasn't for a dear friend & neighbor of my parents John Cross, the Swiss Miss portion would have taken longer to come about. Swiss Miss hot chocolate was in my stocking this year - although I'm looking forward to some much better Swiss chocolate soon.

Nyon, Switzerland - where I will be attending French courses.