Allison's Wonderland

I normally try and shy away from drama.  While growing up my girlfriends and I were never really on the dramatic side.  I was always involved in theater, so I had drama in that aspect, but as to life, I relatively tried to stay drama free.  With that being the case, sometimes drama just finds you and you have to push through it no matter how awkward and dramatic it might be.  That's how my exit from England played out.

Cliffs of Cornwall

I was on my way back from a lovely vacation in Cornwall. I had spent several days there and was just on a nice peaceful vacation high.  You know the kind I'm talking about. As I got closer and closer to Gerrard's Cross I started to feel more and more uneasy about going back to the house where I worked and lived.    The family was getting back that morning and I was suppose to be ready to work early the next day which was Monday.  My uneasiness started to get worse, and that's when I got a text message.  It was 9:00 at night on Sunday and I had been traveling for about 4 1/2 hours.  Cornwall was about a 5 hour drive from Gerrard's Cross if not more, so I only had a little ways left to go.  The text message I received was from my host day telling me that they had been talking and said if I wanted to go ahead and extend my vacation I was more than welcome to, they just needed me that Friday night (which was the night before I left) to babysit their girls.  My first reaction was, "well they don't want me at the house.  They just don't want to pay me for the week."  Which was probably true since the day after I was suppose to babysit the girls I was leaving the country to go home  So what exactly would I need 70 extra pounds for?  Now I may have been wrong, but that's what I assumed.  I also did NOT want to spend my last night in England babysitting.  My host Mom even told me that they wouldn't be able to take me to the airport the next day so I would have to take a taxi, which I more than likely would have had to pay for.  Whenever they had gigs they normally got home at around 2 in the morning and were always a little tipsy from the evening's happenings.  Meaning they were not going to wake up at 6:30 in the morning to get me to the airport.  After my vacation in Cornwall I was drained of money so extending my vacation wasn't an option.  I didn't even have the money to pay for a taxi to get me to the airport.  I felt sick about the whole thing.  I felt so uncomfortable in the house after many events that had happened during the summer and I did not want to spend my last week living in it.  That's when I called up my friend Tayla.

Tayla's host family was gone for two weeks, so I called her up and asked if I could stay for a night.  She agreed and that's where I slept.  After discussing with Tayla and Margot the next morning about what I should do, I was determined to go to the house, pack up my bags, and come back to Tayla's.  She said I was more than welcome to stay.  I gave myself a deadline of when I was going to go to the house.  Tayla's house was only about 20 houses up the road from where my host family lived so I would be able to lug all my luggage back up the hill to her place pretty easily. My deadline was 1:00 pm.  I rehearsed what I was going to say over and over in my mind.  I'm the kind of person that if I don't rehearse it all just turns into a splotchaty old mess.  I had made up a lie in my head which went something along the lines of my Dad wasn't able to pick me up from the airport on Saturday due to being out of town, so he was going to pay the extra money to change my ticket so he could pick me up on Tuesday morning.  It was a lie, and I knew it was wrong, but I didn't want to hurt anybody's feelings in the process of leaving.  Little did I know I would do just that.

I marched myself down the road and got that panicky stomach in throat feeling on the walk down.  I hate that feeling although I don't know anybody who actually likes it.  As I stepped up to the front door my heart started beating faster and faster in my chest.  I sat there for a moment, took a deep breath in and opened the door.  The first person I came across was my host Mom.  I smiled and acted all fake and terrible like I would normally do just to keep the peace in the house.  The first thing she asked was,

"Did you get Phil's (my host dad) text message?"

 I replied with, "Yes I did, but I wasn't able to respond back because I was out of credit.  Sorry about that." 

She smiled sweetly and then said, "You could've extended your vacation.  We just really needed you for Friday night."

"Actually I need to talk to you about that.  I think I'm going to grab my stuff, and stay with a friend tonight because I switched my flight to Tuesday morning."

"You what?"

I couldn't lie.  I just couldn't.  I'm such a bad liar.  "I switched my flight to Tuesday because I just feel like I really need to go home."

While talking this over my host Mom and I were standing on the stairs.  After I said I was leaving early I hear my host Dad say, "Hi Allison," all awkwardly from the office.  He asked me what was going on.  I then repeated everything I had just said to my host Mom Mindy.  I told them I was leaving early without letting the cat out of the bag that I absolutely did not like living there.  It wasn't until my host Dad asked me why I was leaving early that the diarrhea of the mouth happened.  I wanted to keep everything nice and simple without anyone having hurt or hard feelings, but it just seemed like that wasn't going to happen.  So I just started to spill . . .

"Phil, to be honest I don't like it here.  I never have.  I feel very uncomfortable in the house and I feel like you guys don't like me at all."

"What makes you think that?" Mindy interjected.

"Well the fact that you told me I was the worst Au Pair you've had . . ."

"Oh, you're not the worst au pair."

"and the fact that the one night I came home early from London you were talking about me.  After you guys came back from Egypt you seemed very angry with me about how I cleaned and I just get the impression that I'm not what you wanted in an au pair."

"Well we had to tell you we weren't satisfied with your cleaning after Egypt.  We left you for 10 days and it looked like you didn't do anything." ~Phil

(That was the week they left me for 10 days with a list of 2 pages of chores starting with cleaning out the oven and fridge to wiping down all the floorboards and washing windows inside and out.  I worked for about 4 1/2 hours every day.  Read my previous blog entitled "Boiling Point" to get a better idea. :))

"I understand you were not satisfied, but that's exactly what I'm saying.  I think it would just be better if I left early.  Since you needed me Friday and it's only Monday I wanted to give you a little bit of notice so you could find someone else to babysit for you Friday night."

"Well you better get started Mindy.  You need to make phone calls so we can get it covered.  When did you start feeling this way Allison?"

"I've felt this way for awhile now.  I'm just the kind of person that likes to keep the peace and not really complain so that's what I did.  I did what you asked me to do but I was very uncomfortable and very unhappy."

Just a running for the door

Meanwhile, while were having this extremely awkward conversation where I wanted to crawl in a hole and die, the 10 year old runs up the stairs and gives me a huge hug and says, "ALLISON we missed you!"  Dagger in the heart.  I had a hard time getting to be friends with the girls in the beginning but towards the end of my stay I really felt like we were getting along and that they started to respect me.  So it did make me sad.  Her Mom piped up and told her that I would be leaving and not staying anymore.  That's when the 10 year old asked me if I didn't like them and why I was leaving, making it even more difficult.  Mindy even said how they were all looking forward to having me home.  Which I find not really true since I would only be there that Friday night babysitting for them which wouldn't give me that much time.  It was a completely awkward situation. 

I said, "Well I guess I'll go pack up my stuff now."

Silence.  You could hear the crickets chirping.  My host Mom than said with that crazy look in her eye she would get, "You must have been talking about this with other people getting yourself all riled up.  This didn't just happen.  You've been talking.  I can tell"

I just looked at her and said,"  No I really haven't been.  I've just been unhappy for awhile now."

"How come you didn't say anything?  Maybe if we would've talked about it things would've been different." said my host Dad.

What would I have said that we could have talked about to make things different, I thought to myself?  "Oh hello I hate living in this house because I feel like a slave.  You're children don't respect me, you come home drunk and talk bad about me."  I mean seriously how would that have helped?  They thought I was so happy being there, and I guess I could see how I gave them that impression.  When I was in the house I was always smiling and had a good attitude, but that just means I'm a good actress. :) 

Packing up my room

I went into my room and started throwing things in my suitcase as fast as I could.  I just wanted to get the heck out of there.  It took me about 30 minutes to pack everything up.  While I was doing that my host Mom started to make small talk.  I just wanted to leave and did NOT want to talk anymore.  The 10 year old came in and started talking to me as well which I didn't mind as much.  After I hauled all two of my huge suitcases down the stairs my host Dad offered to drive me somewhere.  He then asked me what they could do better for the next Au Pair.  I was just honest and told him that I felt like a hired on cheap maid that just babysat on the side.  I said if you want a maid you should advertise for a maid and not an Au Pair. He said they would take that into consideration.  I didn't even get to say goodbye to my host Mom because she went to take the dogs for a walk.  Probably best though because I could see how angry she was at me while I was packing up my stuff.  Scary! 

I awkwardly lugged my huge suitcases out the stone driveway while Phil and the two girls waved goodbye.  It had to of been the most awkward thing I think I've ever done in my life.  Did I make the right choice?  I don't know.  I often thing about them and if I did do the right thing.  I don't regret it and I'm glad they finally know how I felt the whole time I was in the house, but I do wish things could have ended on a better note.  The next day I got a message from my host Dad saying how confused they were about the whole thing, but I didn't know exactly what was so confusing.  I mean I was flat out told that I was the worst Au Pair they ever had, so why would it be so confusing?  I wouldn't change anything.  If I had to do it all over again I would because the people I have met in my experience in England and the places I've seen were priceless.  I just wish my exit wouldn't have been so dramatic.

Thanks to everyone who helped!  Tayla, Margot, Anna, and especially David - Taking me to the airport and helping out a little lost soul! :) 






 

Royal Shakespeare Company

shows on Broadway and now several on the West End, and I honestly don’t know which is better.  The West End is cheaper so that’s a plus, but I just don’t know.  A couple weekends ago I had the opportunity to visit Stratford-upon-Avon to see a production done by the Royal Shakespeare Company of "The Tempest."  Obviously being Shakespeare's birth place I thought it wouldbe good. I only paid 5 pounds for the tickets since I was 16-25.  Woot woot! I thought, “Hey for five pounds I'll sit through anything.”  I like

The Tempest

Shakespearebut I'm not a crazy fan or anything.  The show was absolutely phenomenal.  I went by myself so I didn't have anyone to pass judgments withand critique, but If I’m honest, it was the best Shakespeare I've ever seen. The actors were spot on and everything was just genius. That was before I saw a production of “The Taming of the Shrew” at Shakespeare's Globe Theater in London.

Shakespeare's Globe Theater

My Pin :)

British Museum

wasn't impressed.  It was off to the Globe Theater for me after perusing Egyptian, Nubian, Greek and Roman sculptures and artifacts.  I had purchased five pound tickets again to stand in the yard, as they call it, for two and a half hours.  Now I was excited because it was at the Globe Theater, but if I’m honest, I was just kind of eh about it as I was seeing the musical “Blood Brothers” that evening as well which I was more excited for.  It was my little theater “me day” in London.  Once I got to the Globe, I headed straight to the gift shop to find a pin. The pin I found was absolutely gorgeous! Love it! I’m a little obsessed with my pin collection.  After my spectacular find I made my way into the yard. Lucky for me I got a spot right in the center which was right next to the ramp where the actors would exit and enter.  I was also around a bunch of short people. Love me some short people when I have to stand!  I also talked to a nice couple from New Zealand who let me read their 4 pound program. People are just so nice sometimes. :) The play started off with a little band playing old timey

Inside the Theater

instruments as all Shakespeare shows normally do. Love that bit. Then this drunk guy sporting an England football hat and face paint starts making his way through the crowd being totally obnoxious. He was shouting and pushing people.  He then started shouting, “Get off me!” while being followed by a security guard and steward.  We were all thinking to ourselves " oh great". He ended up coming on stage followed by a security guard. He started to take a pee on stage and once the security guard grabbed him he peed on one of the poor people who had paid to watch the show on the front row, he then barfed on stage and passed out.  Meanwhile we're all thinking it was real.   People were gasping and wondering what the heck was going on!  It wasn't until the other actors dressed in their Shakespearean garb came out and started interacting with him, that we realized it was all part of the show. It really was genius though. I stood there with my mouth agape at how great these actors and actresses were.

Petruchio (Simon Day)

Katherine & Petruchio

After the Globe Theater, I was off to the Phoenix Theater to see the Musical, “Blood Brothers.”  I knew absolutely nothing about the show, other than it was about a pair of separated twins.  I had never heard the music, never read about it.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Although it’s one of the shows that gives away the ending at the beginning.  Both brothers start the show off dead, so I knew it wasn’t going to be a happy ending.  I’m a happy ending kind of girl.  Needless to say at the end I’m sitting in the theater bawling my eyes out.  The only downfall of the show was the narrator.  It was supposed to be a very serious moment in the show and he would come in and break out into song in his little Men In Black skinny tie and suit.  He just reminded me of David Hasselhoff, so I would start to snicker  myself.  He had an amazing voice, but I couldn’t get past his David Hasselhoff look alikeness.  At intermission I was a little freaked out because I went outside with all the smokers to get some fresh air and to try and get internet on my phone.  This scary black dude just comes up and starts randomly talking to me.  I

David H Look alikw

tried to look very busy on my phone but he wouldn’t get the hint.  Finally I just walked inside.  YIKES!  Creepers every day!  The Phoenix theater wasn’t really located in the nice part of the West End either.  It was like in the corner by a bunch of weird sex shops.  Despite the sex shops and weird scary black men, my day and night at the theater was a huge success.  I think that’s one of the major reasons I’m going to miss London is for the fact that there’s quality theater right at my fingertips.  I get a weird high from going to the theater.  I’m hoping I’ll be able to see one more show before I leave!  Wish me luck! 

You know those moments in life where you become so excited you feel like an 8 year old child all over again?  This was one of those moments for me.  The moment consisted of visiting the Harry Potter Studios in Watford, England.   Now I know for some there are mixed feelings about all things Harry Potter, but after reading the books I fell in love.  I use to be an anti-Harry Potter enthusiasts who had nothing to do with the books and nothing to do with the movies.  Not due to the fact that there was witchcraft and wiazardry involved, it was due to the fact that everyone was hyped up about it and I don't like to go with the crowd.  It
wasn't until my friend Josh DeVries had started making wands for all of my friends that I wanted to see what all the Harry Potter hype was about.  Now I know this sounds absolutely stupid, but these wands were

The Wands: Mine is the Bolt at the top

seriously legit and I wanted one. So Josh said the only way I could get a wand was if I read all 7 books.  Not just one, but all 7.  So I buckled down, swallowed my pride and read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  After that I was hooked.  Wand or no wand, I could not get enough of the books.  After I read each individual book I would watch the corresponding movie.  When I heard that they were opening up the new WB Harry Potter Studios in London in the spring of 2012 I knew that if I was in London for the summer, it would be on my list of places to see.

My friend Tayla and I shared the same birthday which was August 5th.  She was turning 20 and I was turning 25 so we decided to give ourselves the birthday gift of the Harry Potter Studio Tour.  She was just as into it as I was.  It cost us about 45 pounds a piece which was more than half of my wages for a week's work, but it was sooo worth it. Tayla and I called up Taxi Tom, who is a taxi driver, but not really.  He drive's his own car around and isn't actually licensed.  We've decided that he does it just because he's lonely and wants someone to talk to, because he will  talk your ear off.  He is a very interesting character and I wish I had a picture to show you but I don't.  Oh well.  He only charged us 26 pounds for the round trip which was a price we would have never gotten from a regular taxi driver.

So excited!!!

We pulled into the parking lot of the studios and were already blown away.  Our tickets were for 6:30 and we arrived around 5:45 just to be on the safe side. Had our Starbucks coffee beforehand, checked

Harry's Room under the stairs

out the gift shop, then stepped in line to have our Harry Potter experience.The anticipation wasseriously killer.  While in line we were able to view Harry's little bedroom under the stairs.  I'm not exactly sure how they filmed in there as it was such a tiny space, but I guess they did.  Upon
entering the huge double doors we were taken into a theater.  Tayla

Jumping for Joy!

and I were squealing with delight and we made some lady and her three kids smile.  She said she wanted to walk around the studios with us if that's how excited we were going to be about simply

The Great Hall

sitting in a theater.  My favorite part of the whole tour was after the film ended.  A lady walked out in front of the screen and said, "Welcome to Hogwart's".  The screen lifted and we were left standing in front of the doors to Hogwart's.  It was so very cool.  We were practically jumping up and down for joy.  Once the doors opened we were in the Great Hall of Hogwart's where the children ate their dinner, the sorting hat ceremony was preformed and lots of other epic scenes from the movies were filmed.

"Welcome to Hogwart's"

Gryffindor Common Room

As we walked around we saw the Gryffindor Common Room, the potions classroom, Dumbledore's Office (which was one of my favorites), all of the Horcruxes, Hagrid's Hut, The Ministry of Magic, Voldemort's Costumes, and much much more.  I was in Harry Potter heaven.  Like for real.  We learned so much about movie making and what the actors had to go through.  I loved it.  We then walked out to the back lot where we saw #4 Privet Drive (the residence of Harry Potter) the Knight Bus, and the little car that they drove in the second film.  After sitting down and relaxing a bit, (as walking in the footsteps of Daniel Radcliffe can be exhausting) we went to the makeup section.  This was pretty cool as well.  They had several different wax figures of Dobby and other character's throughout the movie.  We were able to walk

Hagrid's Hut

right through Diagon Alley which was "set ready" as they said.  Meaning they were able to just pick up and film right then and there.  So cool.  The last little surprise was a complete huge replica of Hogwart's.  It was a model, but it was what the film makers used while filming Harry Potter.  They would film the characters on green screens and then miniaturize them and put them wherever they needed on this huge model.  It was, for a lack of better words, impressive.  We had to of course get our pictures in front of the huge structure.  Upon leaving the Studio tour there were wand boxes of every single person who was involved in the film making.  I had to find my favorite actor's which were Snape (Alan Rickman) and Emma Watson (Hermione).

Snape's Wand

We had such a great time looking at all the Harry Potter stuff.  I did feel like such a nerd, but whatever.  YOLO.  :)  We met up with Taxi Tom at around 9:30 and that's when he started saying some really weird stuff.  Oh Tom.  What a nut.   I'd tell you, but it'd be too long to write and this post is already long enough....:)

The Ministry of Magic

Driving on the Back Lot

The Knight Bus

#4 Privet Drive

Dobby!

Diagon Alley

Hogwart's HUUGGEE Model

Shows ya Just How Huge

Waiting for our Taxi

Dumbledore's Office

The Horcruxes

Potions Classroom

This is a long one, so bear with me.  I wasn't going to write this post.  But I just had to.  If anything, it's  for me to look back upon and be thankful for the circumstance that I'm in.  Bottom line is this...I like England, but I extremely dislike the family that I work for.  London is amazing, the people I've met are amazing, but I have gotten in a family that treats me like a maid and not a human being.  Let's start from the beginning.

I won't actually go back to the very beginning, because that would put me back in May, but I will go back to the point where things just started to get really hot and the pot started to boil.  Tuesday night is what set it off.  My host parents went off to London for their wedding anniversary and since it's the girl's summer break I allowed them to stay up to watch a movie.  They were having a sleepover with a neighbor friend and normally 11:45 for a sleep over for a 12 and 10 year old isn't that awful.  Well, when the parents came home the girls were just getting into their beds and boy did I hear about it.  The eldest and her Mom were pretty much screaming at each other on the landing and I'm just standing there in the doorway of my room watching it all unfold.  I don't deal well with confrontation anyway, so I just wanted to shut the door and bury my head in my pillow.  It wasn't till the screaming match turned and focused on me that I really wanted to run and hide.  "ALLISON WHAT MAKES YOU THINK IT IS OKAY FOR THEM TO STAY UP TO MIDNIGHT!?!?!"  Yikes!  I stood there in the door and stammered out an, "I don't know" that was reciprocated with an eye roll and my host Mom stomping down the stairs.  I slowly closed my door while my host Dad retreated into his room, the eldest went to her room and the Storm went downstairs to the kitchen.  The next morning I did not want to get up and face them.  I sometimes just hide myself in my room as long as possible, but I can't stay in there forever.  So I groveled.  I really could understand the frustration, but I didn't think I did anything too wrong to get screamed at.  I don't think I've ever been talked to that way ever, so that's why I was so taken aback.  I apologized to my host Dad profusely the next morning and didn't see my host Mom that morning because I was off to London and she was sleeping in.

This bring us to Wednesday, the following day, where the pot started to boil a little hotter.   I had asked Wendy if it would be alright for me to go into London early as a friend and I were seeing Swan Lake that night.  London is 1/2 an hour train ride and it's 10 pound 50 in, so I wanted to make the most of my money since I earn so little here.  She said yes that was fine, so I was ready to go and get away, especially after the events of the previous night.  We had an amazing time in London.  Went to St. Paul's Cathedral, saw the Olympic Torch Relay, went into Hyde Park and then ended the night with Swan Lake in Piccadilly.  While eating dinner I receive a text from my host Mom at like 6:30 asking me when I was to be home.  I simply reminded her that I was in London for the evening and wouldn't be back till the show was over.  I got really nervous about it, because I had cleared it all first with her but figured she had changed her mind and it wasn't okay.  I started to get that feeling where your stomach goes up into your throat.  One thing you'll have to know about me is I'm a people pleaser through ad through and don't like when others are upset with me.  I enjoyed Swan Lake, but the whole night I was thinking that my host family was pissed at me for who knows what?

We ended up getting back earlier than expected which was around 10:45 and I walked quietly into the house so as to not wake up anybody who might have been sleeping.  This is when I overheard my host parents talking about me.  Talk about awkward.  Maybe I should've made my presence known a little better, but I wanted to hear what they thought of me.  The family was going away to Egypt for 10 days starting from July 30th thru August 8th.  I was to be the guardian of the dogs and watch the house.  This was the basic conversation - Host Mom:  "I'm so worried about the dogs.  She's going to up and leave for hours at a time and leave them here by themselves.  They won't be able to tell me if anything is wrong either, because they're dogs and can't talk."  Host Dad:  "She's just going to think it is a vacation isn't she?  We leave and she'll just do nothing.  That's what she's going to do."  That's when I piped in and said, "I'm right here."  Maybe that was wrong of me to say, but I was pissed.  I understand they need to discuss things with one another, but I had just been fed up with them anyway with the text messages and not listening to the fact that I wasn't going to be there that day.  Whenever I do something out of the ordinary I would always clear it first with my host Mom.  I would never just go off.  It was so awkward in the house and then I got this fake, "Oh Hi Allison, how was your night?" I didn't even want to reply.  I just wanted to go to my room and forget I heard anything.  But I responded.  And that's when my host Dad said, "Well, your host mom is just worried about the dogs.  She treats them like children."  I tried to reassure them that everything would be fine with the dogs.  Seriously what was she worried about?  The fact that I might try and kill them?  I just didn't understand why there was a big deal being made out of nothing. 

After that night things were just weird and awkward more than normal.  I always try to give them their space and let them just do their own thing because I want to do mine, but the tension was just bad.  Before they left for Egypt I got strict orders about the dogs.  I couldn't leave them for more than 4 hours.  Milo had to be fed three times a day, Poppy had to be fed two.  I had to walk them once in the morning, once in the evening.  Then I got a list of about 20 things to do at the house which consisted of anything from vacuuming to washing windows, to getting rid of all the cob webs and washing the floor boards.  I didn't know what kind of vacation my host Dad was thinking of when I overheard him that night, but this was not my idea of a vacation. 

Milo the Crazy One

So, Monday morning they left early in the morning.  I spent the whole day with the dogs, didn't even leave the house.  Just left of course to take them for a walk, but other than that it was me and doggy time.  Which was fine.  No complaints, but Tuesday rolled around and it was the same thing.  I was starting to get cabin fever.  A guy I had met the Friday before asked me out for a drink Tuesday night so I had said yes.  I NEEDED to get out of the house.  I had been gone for maybe two hours having a really great time, when I look down at my phone and see two missed phone calls from my host Dad.  Then I get a text message asking me where I am and if I can give him a call when I get home.  Well I didn't have any credit on my phone to call back, so I waited for them to call me.  That's when the phone rang again for the third time and it was Wendy in a panic.  "Where are you?", she asked.  I told her that I was at the pub and had been gone for only about two hours.  I asked her if there was a problem.  "The neighbors called and said the dogs have been barking all evening.  How long have you been gone?  We tried reaching you at 1:00, and 3:00 at

Poppy My Love

home and no answer."  I replied with, "Wendy I've been at home all day.  The only time I left was to take the dogs for a walk, so maybe that's when you called.  I'll be home within the next hour so you can tell the neighbors there's nothing to worry about."  I went back inside to the pub, finished a wonderful night with David and than got home around 9:30 and the dogs were . . . drum roll please . . . absolutely fine.  I also double checked the caller ID just to make sure I did not miss a phone call from them and there was also nothing.  I was beginning to feel like I was being lied to. 

The next morning, Wednesday, the door bell rings at 9:00.  I mean for you folks reading at home, 9 is probably sleeping in, but while the family was away I had been sleeping in to like 10, 10:30.  I threw some clothes on and headed down to the door where the dogs were barking away.  They always do that when people come to the door.  Once I got there, a woman was walking away from the door.  So I was like, okay whatever.  Went back to my bed and the dogs followed suit.  9:30 rolls around and the doorbell rings again.  This time I'm seriously pissed.  I go downstairs to find that same woman standing there.  I have never seen her before and asked her if I could help her.  This was the dialogue that transpired -

"Is everything okay?" she asked. "I heard the dogs barking and wanted to come check."

"Yes, everything is fine here.  The dogs just started barking when you came to the door, but we're all fine.  May I ask who you are?"

"I'm Anne from next door.  I heard the dogs barking all night last night and we had to even call the police."

"You what?  Called the police cause the dogs were barking?  The dogs bark all the time.  How long have you guys lived next to my host family?"

"Well, they were barking more than usual so we had to.  They came by to make sure everything was okay.  Where were you last night and how long did you stay out?  Did you take the dogs out this morning?  It's getting late and I didn't see them come out in the garden."

Just Happy as a Clam - the Dogs are FINE

This woman was all up in my business and I was not happy.  First she woke me up, secondly she interrogated me, and thirdly she called the police cause DOGS WERE BARKING!?!?!  I tried to put on my politest fake English face like everyone seems to do around here and assured her that everything was fine, I took the dogs out in the garden at 7:30 this morning when they woke me up and the world would keep turning even though dogs were barking.  There was some awkward silences but she finally started to walk away.  Seriously I was mad.

The Windows - All Separate Panes

This was only the beginning of my week to myself at the house.  I honestly was looking forward to having the house to myself.  I thought I would be able to get some stuff done on my computer, find a job for later, and maybe get some reading done.  Didn't happen.  I spent most of my time cleaning up after the dogs, and I slowly but surely made my way through the long list of honey do chores.  I vacuumed, cleaned, mopped, ironed, washed, scraped, dusted, you name it.  I did it.  Not a great vacation.  I spent 4 1/2 hours cleaning windows.  I have never cleaned outside windows before, so I called Bill to ask what they use and how it was done.  I didn't get any reply the first day so I texted the

My CobWeb Swiper

second day to find out how they wanted it done.  He texted back and told me to just use water and a rag.  So I did.  The windows were smeary, but I didn't have anything really good to use so I did them the best I could with the supplies I had to work with.   Remember as well I get 70 pounds a week.  Maybe it's a you get what you pay for kind of thing, even though I pretty much busted my butt to make sure the house was looking good when they got home.  I didn't go to a friends house that night who had a surprise cake for me because Sunday had been my birthday, because I didn't want them to come home and find me not there.  They would've thought I abandoned the poor dogs or something like that. Speaking of my birthday on Sunday, I made sure I was only gone 4 hours so the neighbors wouldn't "call the police" again.  I seriously thought that had to be a lie as well.  David took me into London and we did some sightseeing in a whirl wind.  It was fun, but I was paranoid about the silly dogs. 

Baseboards through the whole house I dusted

This is when the pot boiled over and went all over the stove.  They got home at about midnight on Wednesday night.  I woke up and was looking forward to seeing how their holiday was, etc.  I found my host Mom at the fridge and we had a small chit chat.  I could feel the tension in the air though and suddenly was like oh crap what did I do?  There is something wrong.  I think they must be mad at me.  Which was true.  After about a two minute awkward conversation my host Mom was like, "Allison did you clean at all while we were gone?"  I just thought, "Oh great here we go."  "because it doesn't look like you did.  Did you think cleaning the fridge was just cleaning out the food or did you actually clean it?  The windows are streaky and smeary, the glass in the bathroom looks awful.  Seriously we have come back from vacation 10 or 11 times with Au

My Hoover used on the daily

Pairs and this is the worst we have ever seen the house.  It just looks like you didn't do anything at all.  I will tell you Allison that you are the worst cleaner we have ever had.  I don't know if our idea of clean is different than yours, but you are just not good at cleaning."  My jaw was on the floor.  Not a thank you, not a how was your week, not an anything.  Just a critical very rude examination of all the work I had done throughout the week.  All my HARD work.  I was so mad.  I explained to her everything that I had done and how I had done it.  I told her about the windows and the hard time that I had with them, but she wasn't having any of it.  She told me that my host Dad would go through everything with me.  Then my host Mom said all she really cared about was the fact that the dogs were happy and fed.  Yeah I don't believe that for two seconds.  I was seriously so annoyed.  All that hard work for absolutely nothing. 

"Glass" Shower Curtain

I went up to my room and cried.  Not to sound like the damsel in distress here, but it was the only thing I could do.  I should've just not done anything at all.  Sat on my butt and just did absolutely nothing because that was the exact treatment I got.  Now unfortunately for me I'm a total people pleaser. I wanted to make things right.  I really did, so I went into the shower and started scrubbing crusty lime stuff off the shower "glass".  I say glass in quotes because it's not glass at all it's plastic, but they believe in their delusion that it's glass.  That was the boiling point for me.  I just wanted to go home, I felt like a failure and what am I doing all this hard work for?  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  Not one freakin thank you!

I then began to think myself...My host Mom watches one dog for 25 pounds a day.  If the dog spends the night that's another 35 pounds.  I was watching two dogs for 10 days.  Do you know how much a dog walker would've charged for walking the dogs for an entire week and staying with them?  Definitely not 70 pounds.  I worked it out and the amount of money I should've earned in regards to JUST the dogs would have been 700 pounds by my host Mom's accounting.  A kennel would've also been WAAAY more than that.  I really kind of started to feel used. Not only did I walk, feed, play, and sleep with the dogs, I was cleaning the house. 

One night I had 4 other of the Au Pairs over and they took a look at the list I had to go through and were like seriously?  "When my host family leaves I don't have to do anything and they pay me anyway."   Nice.  What family did I get myself into?  One that hates me and thinks I'm absolute rubbish.  Maybe I am.  Whatever.

Baseboards Upstairs

The icing on the cake to me was this.  The day after they got back, I reminded my host Mom that I had tickets to Harry Potter Studios for my birthday.  She was like, "Oh it was your birthday?  Well Happy late birthday."  Thanks.  I could really feel the genuineness behind that one.  Anyway, my host Mom purchases absolutely everything from Charity shops.  Gerrards Cross is one of the smallest little towns I've seen, but there are 3 charity shops.  It's crazy.  They're like classier Goodwill's.  I once started to think that my Host mom was bipolar just because of her crazy mood swings, yelling sprees, and her compulsive buying habits.  Friday morning after I got yelled at for my terrible cleaning skills, I was ironing all their vacation washing which took me about 1hr 1/2.  I hear my host Mom whisper something to the girls who then presented me with a birthday card and a gift.  I honestly wasn't

Cleaned in between each post

looking for them to even acknowledge my birthday.  It really wasn't necessary.  I turned 25, big whoop.  Whatever.  But once I opened my gift, I had to stifle a laugh.  First of all, the card was a card I had seen in the cupboard after putting a bunch of stuff away.  Secondly it was wrapped in Christmas paper turned inside out.  Thirdly, once I opened the gift I was presented with a used leather purse that was definitely a recent charity shop purchase.   It looked like something my grandmother would carry.  No offense Grammy.  I didn't know how to react because I'm the kind of person that wears my feelings on my sleeve.  You can know what I'm feeling just from my face.  It's a curse.  What can I say?  I smiled and said thank you for the gift.  It was really nice of them to do that, but still it was just funny.

After I finished up all my ironing I went into the kitchen and found all the wrapping paper all over the table.  Yep, I had to put away all the stuff that was use to wrap my birthday gift.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY to me!!  After that I went up stairs, shut my door and laughed to myself.  Only 21 days left!  Who's counting with me?