Headaches and Laughs

So I guess I never updated people with my employment status. I've been working part-time since December and it's... interesting. It's a nannying/tutoring gig but for the sake of my resume and my ego I like to just say I'm tutoring.

Let me start off by saying that this family is phenomenal and completely bonkers all at once. The parents (who shall be referred to as Mr. and Mrs. S) are both very kind and easy to talk to. They also realize that they are running a zoo and have a good sense of humor about it. There are two boys in 2nd and 5th grade who have their very own manny (male nanny, for those of you unfamiliar with the term) named Bill. And yes, they do require their own separate chaperone because they are quite the handful. Meanwhile, I am in charge of two girls who are in preschool (4 years old) and kindergarten (5). I'll call them SS and AS, respectively. The girls are biological sisters who were adopted from Kazakhstan nearly 3 years ago. And boy, do they have issues!

SS is cute as a button but VERY high maintenance, always demanding your full attention. I think she's a bit young to be diagnosed just yet, but I would say she has severe ADHD with emphasis on the H. I mean, this girl is constantly on the move and she has countless amounts of energy. She just doesn't stop for one second! She is also underweight (wears a size 2), doubtlessly because she burns more calories than she consumes. Her constant energy is also an issue for her educational development because she just can't sit still or pay attention long enough to retain information. Getting her to count from 1-10 is a struggle and she has yet to learn her colors. She also wears a weighted vest to "help keep her grounded." She doesn't have full control of her body movements and the vest helps keep her from spazzing out-- it gives her better balance and slows down her movements a bit. It's difficult to explain really, but it definitely makes a difference! She is also in the ESE program (exceptional student education... she "rides the short bus") at her preschool and works with an occupational therapist twice a week.

AS is an even bigger handful, believe it or not. As opposed to her sister, she is overweight (though not by much) and would rather play board games than run around outside, which can get very boring. She is extremely uncooperative and is prone to throwing ridiculous fits. They sometimes literally last for hours. When she is at school she gets stressed out or something and often has accidents so she wears pull-ups to school. That's right-- she's 5 years old and wears diapers. So the first thing we do when we get home from school is go upstairs so she can change clothes. And that's when the trouble starts. If she's in the mood for it (and she often is), AS will start screaming bloody murder about hating panties or how she can't dress herself. For fear of going deaf or developing a migraine, every day I tell her the same thing: "Here are your clothes. Please put them on and once you are changed and have calmed down, you may come downstairs with the rest of us. We'll be waiting for you." Then I go downstairs with the other kids and Bill, closing two doors in the process and we are still able to hear her clearly. I've timed her a few times and the best time (that is, the shortest amount of time it has taken her to stop screaming and change clothes) is 26 minutes. The LEAST amount of time she has spent screaming and crying at the top of her lungs is 26 minutes. The worst so far? 1 hour and 17 minutes. And according to her parents, that is nowhere near the record. I have no clue how a child can sit in a room by herself and scream for that amount of time. Yes, she is seeing a therapist. And yes, of course I sometimes go in there and try to soothe her but that only makes her scream harder so I've found it to be a fruitless effort. I swear I've started finding gray hairs ever since I took this job.

Besides her emotional problems and appointments with a therapist, AS also sees the occupational therapist and a speech therapist. She is also in ESE and additional speech therapy at her school. Alongside all of this, she is working below level on most of the subjects at school. This is where I come in. My primary job is to work with AS and bring her up to speed in reading and math. Every afternoon we'll do blending and decoding exercises for beginning readers. There is a list of 100 words kids should know by the end of Kindergarten. So far AS knows 17 of them and the school year is halfway over. Regardless of all of the above, I am very proud to report that I (and more importantly her parents and teacher) have noticed considerable progress! So yay me! Now if only her principal would take notice and offer me a job...

Aside from the above, this job can be quite enjoyable! The house is spacious and gorgeous in a quiet and affluent neighborhood in South Tampa, and one set of grandparents live at the end of the street right on the water. They (the grandparents) have an enormous yard so I often take the kids there to play football or frisbee and play in the sand. When it's playtime the job is awesome. The girls (alright, mostly just SS) can be a lot of fun and say ridiculously funny things. One of the boys (who has his own set of issues) often comes out to play with us and we'll throw the football around and talk about our favorite teams. He's just old enough that I can use sarcasm and tease him without feeling bad about it.

So that's my employment status. Not ideal but at least it's somewhat related to my field of expertise. And it's certainly better than nothing! I'm still continuing my search for a full-time teaching gig though... Keep your fingers crossed!

Homelessness

I wrote the following in a "life update" email to a friend and decided to share it on here. Sorry kids, I didn't spruce it up for you. I've simply copy/pasted bc I am incredibly lazy, as evidenced by my blogging neglect. Enjoy my misery:

Whilst watching television, a message scrolled along the bottom of the screen asking people to phone in to the Homeless Hotline or whatever in the county bc they were trying to count the amount of homeless people. Ignoring the fact that they advertised this on TV (seriously, if someone is without a home how can they still have a TV? Furthermore, how can they also be expected to make said phone call?), according to their classifications of someone who is "homeless" I should have been making a phone call. I QUALIFY AS HOMELESS IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA. How incredibly depressing.

GPS Woes

A few days ago Jon and I were talking about me needing a GPS. He was for it, I am against. My argument is that I have gone through 10+ years of driving without ever using one (the few times in Switzerland don't count--> not my car, and the road signs are in German). Any time I've needed directions I simply ask, look them up on Google Maps/Mapquest, or even {gasp!} use an actual map. I'm pretty committed to these methods.
Of course as my life would have it, the very next day I had an interview at a fancy schmancy prep school. I did what I always do and got my directions off Google Maps and headed out in my cute teacher outfit feeling fairly confident. And then I got lost. But luckily I was able to find my way after only a few short minutes! And then I got lost again. Well, I guess not "lost", I mean I knew where I ended up--> on the 10-mile bridge to St. Petersburg. That's right, bridge. As in no exits or U-turns.
When I finally arrived on the other side I did a quick turn-around and sped back to Tampa. By this point I am in a near panic that I'm going to be late for this interview. I guess the stress about being late, my cursing the Google Maps directions, and karma for cutting someone off all combined to teach me a lesson because just as I started to find my way again... Oh yes, I got lost a third time. Now I found myself at the airport. The airport! Where you can't go faster than 30 and you have to circle around the entire thing to find the exit.
Long story short, I called the school and explained my situation and was asked to call again after the holidays to reschedule. I headed home totally defeated with the GPS conversation running through my head. Irony at its best.
I never found the school.

Appreciation Day

Reading my last entry about grocery stores and how ridiculously overstocked they are, I thought I sounded a bit anti-America :(  So I would like to clear the air and dedicate this post to the US and the reasons I love living here.

In no particular order...

-Grocery stores! Now that I'm getting used to them again I appreciate having so many choices and opportunities to find exactly what I'm looking for. Why settle for "extra butter" popcorn when I can have "movie-theater butter" popcorn?

-Doggie bags/boxes. The portions here are considerably larger, but even in Europe I sometimes had trouble finishing my meal. It's nice being able to take the left-overs home with me, even if I do accidentally end up leaving the box at the table or never touching it again once it's in my fridge (I have a tendency to do both... I'd say 90% of the time).

-Store hours. OK, if I had put everything in order this would most likely be #1. This is definitely something I took for granted before my stint in der Schweiz. I can go shopping after 6pm AND on a Sunday?! America really is beautiful.

-Air conditioning! Every building you walk into has central air and is usually set at a reasonable temperature. No more fanning, no more perspiring (doesn't that have such a nicer ring to it over sweating?), no more sleepless nights. Not only is A/C practically nonexistent in Switzerland, but God forbid you open a window to let in a breeze!
*I will admit, however, that I sometimes have trouble breathing now when the air/heat is on. Just have to get used to it is all! And I'll probably end up buying an air filtration system thingamajig.

-Entertainment. There is always something to do, somewhere to go, someone to see. And on the rare occasion that there isn't, well there's always something on TV!

That's enough for the list for now. I think it also goes without saying that my friends and family are the numero uno/zahl ein/number one reason I'm happy to be back in the Land of the Free. But I still love Switzerland! Both countries have their pros and cons and I wish I could combine the positives and create my perfect place to live in. For now I will just continue to be thankful for having the opportunity to experience both countries :)

Supersized

One thing I've noticed and have yet to get used to since I've been back is how incredibly overwhelming grocery stores are. I mean, there are aisles upon aisles of store- and brand-name products. I remember the days when I could be in and out of Publix with an entire weeks' worth of groceries in no time. Now it takes me ages to pick items as I stand and stare at the vast amount of choices.

Do I want regular, low-fat, reduced-fat, fat-free, or light salad dressing? How about regular, double-stuffed, chocolate, mint, or peanut butter Oreos? (Double-stuffed of course, this is only an example). And when you finally do make a flavor/health choice, it takes another 5 minutes to pick a brand. And oh goodness, WHAT SIZE?!

I can't take it, I just can't right now. My first few times shopping I felt completely lost. I literally stood in front of the massive shelves of cereal with my mouth hanging open. I've always been bad at making decisions as it is. How in the world can I do it when I have so many choices? I dread having to go grocery shopping now. Or just shopping in general really (don't even get me started on Walmart!). I'm sure the feeling will pass as I get more accustomed to being back in the land of the supersized, I just find it funny that it never bothered me before. It was just how things are and I guess I didn't know any different.

*One more thing... produce. Or for me specifically- apples. I bought a few Red Delicious and they are twice the size (but unfortunately half the flavor) of the apples in Switzerland. That would be thanks to all of the hormones and other drugs we love to pump into our foods...

Job Hunting Blows

Frustration central.  I have now been in Tampa for 2 weeks and still have no prospects.  I swear I've sent my resume to at least 20 schools in the area and have only scored one interview in the process.  It was completely last minute, too.  They called and woke me up, then asked if I could be there in 2 hours (1 1/2 really since it would take me 30 minutes to get there).  I haven't interviewed for a teaching position in the US in over two years, so it's safe to say that I was completely unprepared and blew it.  Jon's trying to cheer me up by saying at least it's an experience and now I have some practice under my belt.  But then I have others telling me that I don't stand a chance unless I have an in at a school already, which I don't really...

So.  Maybe I should nanny again?  It's not so bad and I actually kind of enjoy it when it's not mind-numbingly boring.  The pay is obviously nowhere near as good as what I made in Switzerland, but right now anything is better than nothing.

Being a teacher sucks sometimes.  There are a few openings right now because girls are getting knocked up, but it seems that the principals already have people in mind to step in as a replacement.  So the question is, how do I get in their good graces?  How does a person get their foot in the door if the door never opens to begin with?

Road Trip!

Roanoke, VA--> Woodstock (Atlanta), GA--> Gainesville, FL--> Riverview (Tampa), FL
Travel time: 31 1/2 hours.     Drive time: 15 hours

I convinced my bro to drive down with me so a- I wouldn't have to spend 15 hours in the car alone, b- I would have a backup driver while I "relearn" how to drive, and c- I could put him to work moving my stuff! The drive was pretty uninteresting... We played a lot of rounds of 20 questions and punched each other during the license plate game. One thing I noted was how the further south we travelled, the worse spelling mistakes got at the gas stations we stopped in. My favorite was one that promised they accepted "both debit and critid." Seriously?

We were lucky enough to break the drive into 2 days, with a one-night stopover in Woodstock, GA to visit my dear friend Kristen, who has- since the last time we saw each other- managed to get both engaged and knocked up! Glad I got to see her and meet this man of hers so I could approve (which I did!). Her mom also treated us to a delicious dinner. I love Southern hospitality :)

On day two, en route to Gainesville to reclaim my furniture from storage, the skies opened up and let loose like it hadn't rained all year. Too bad for Jeff I'd decided earlier that he should drive... We managed to make it to Gville unscathed and the rain mercifully stopped for just the 15 minutes it took to load the rented truck, then we got back on I-75 and made it to Tampa in good time. Too good, in fact, because we got to Jon's house before Jon was even off work. And of course he was then asked to stay late as well. After sitting in his driveway for nearly an hour, he did call to say he'd remembered the code for the garage door so we could at least wait inside the house. And here I am!