Oamaru

The drive from Christchurch to Oamaru gave me an opportunity to see some of the New Zealand country side. It was a very beautiful drive and it was great to chat with Louise and Stuart and listen to some great music. I arrived at my host family's house and got to meet the children. The kids were quite shy at first but eventually showed me around the house and took me to see the rabbits and chickens. I said my goodbyes to Louise and Stuart and started to get to know the family.

The family lived on a dairy farm about 20-30 minutes outside of Oamaru. The three children, Isla, Archie and Emily were adorable. Emily stole my heart right away. Emily is 2 and has the kindest, gentlest most loving soul and a joyful smile. I spent most of my time with her, especially during the week that she was home sick from day care. Isla is 5 and had just started school so I didn't get to spend too much time with her. She is a very clever girl who is very creative and curious. Archie is 4 and the typical little boy. Likes to rock the boat and tease his sisters but loved to cuddle too.

My first day with Archie, he took me to the milking shed to see the cows. They had just finished milking so I didn't get to see the process but I did make it down on a day off to take pictures and see it all. Quite the process! It amazes me that the cows know what to do. After the milking shed we went to see all the calves. They were so cute! Archie loved just climbing in with them and chasing them. He loved being out on the farm and he loved helping his parents. He really liked riding in the tractor to get the silage for the cows. When inside, he would play with his tractors and cows and mimic the farm life. I would be floored by the terms and stories that he and Isla would come up with. He would sometimes pick flowers for me. He loved making things for his mom and dad.

Emily loved reading books, playing with Lego and helping cook and clean. She would always push a chair up to the counter and loved to help wash the dishes or "cut" veggies. I would usually give her a butter knife and some veggie to work on so she could help. She would even try and do the dishes all by herself. She amazed me with her will level and independence for a 2 year old. She liked doing as much as she could by herself. She is extremely smart and surprised me on a regular basis. During the week she was sick, we got really close since the only time she would nap was when I would hold her. My favourite afternoon was laying on the couch with her while she slept on my chest. Se gave the best snuggles and would come to me when she was upset quite often. She would always greet me with a big smile every morning. She would come and grab my hand to show me something or to ask for something. She always knew what she wanted.

Isla was quite fiery and a very good organizer. She would usually come up with ideas for games to play and pretend scenarios they were in. She loved pretending to be a family with Archie as the father and Emily as the baby. One night she was pretending Archie was the pregnant woman and she was the doctor feeling the pregnant belly. I remember laughing at her questions and concern for her "patient". Isla was very aware of her environment and what was going on and often repeated this in her play. She also loved drawing and painting and aching creative. She had a good eye for colour too.

We kept busy with day care, play center and au pair outings. I also got to know some of the other au pairs and became good friends with Brittney from Canada, Alice from Dunedin NZ and Amy from England.