August 20
As soon as the sun began to shine its bright light promisingly through the curtains, the rumor spread that the conditions at the school were deliberately so repulsive that people would look forward to their host family all the more and already feel grateful when the contents of the toilet stopped gushing towards them. This seemed to make sense, most of them could hardly wait to travel on to their new families.
The departure meeting took place at eight a.m., and we were given brochures for the month of travel, as well as a certificate that we had successfully completed the lessons at the school and had survived the hygienic conditions relatively unscathed.
We now knew that full diapers should not be thrown across the room, that babies should definitely not be shaken, and that criticism should only be given using the sandwich method. What else could go wrong? Girls from all over the world were brought together in the big school and trained to be obedient, efficient nannies so that they could be released into the host families of the American upper class. Always in their pockets was the valuable, heavy handbook to help them master any situation, no matter how difficult. Now the agency could say with a clear conscience: We have done our job, everything else is now up to the girls.
At nine a.m., we finally left for the airport. From there, it was just a short flight, and I would be facing my host family. Unfortunately, Amelie and Caro landed on a different bus, and I had to deal with my nervousness on my own for the time being until I started talking to a Finnish girl who would also be living in G.. We exchanged a few key details. We exchanged a few key details, but both of us were already too distracted thinking about what to expect. All too soon, it was one p.m. and time to board.
My seatmate turned out to be a nice older lady who at least made sure that we didn’t get bored during the flight. Where do I come from? From Germany? How nice! And what would I do in America? Nanny. That would be wonderful! Where? Near Chicago? Great. Her children and grandchildren would live there too! Could I give her the number of my host family? We could do something together!
As sorry as I was, I had to dampen Grandma’s enthusiasm a little and claim that I didn’t have my host family’s number with me. You never knew how they would react if you simply gave their details to strangers when you first met them, even if they were just nice older ladies.
After all, some nannies had already been sent home because they had carelessly given out their address or posted photos of the host family on Facebook.
After only an hour and a half, we touched down on the tarmac, and my stomach did quite a flip, less because of the landing than because of an incipient panic attack.
I tried to calm myself down and wondered if it would make sense to just hide under one of the many seats. No, unfortunately, it didn’t. I took another deep breath, then stepped into the bright Chicago sunlight and made my way to baggage reclaim.
And there they were, already waiting. Courtney, who looked much younger than in the photos, and the twins next to her. As soon as she recognized me, Courtney rushed up to me with a big smile and gave me a hug. Surprised and touched by so much warmth, I managed to overcome my nervousness to some extent and greeted the children, who sheepishly held up a self-painted welcome sign. The whole scene seemed so idyllic that I was immediately reminded of the beaming faces of happy nannies on the agency’s website. Maybe all the promises really were true. Maybe this really was going to be the best year of my life.
As soon as I had heaved my bulky suitcases off the luggage carousel, we made our way to the car together. The children were still very reserved, but Courtney was incredibly friendly, and we managed to keep the conversation going. The car turned out to be a real monster, the size of a one-room apartment. Well, you’ve heard a lot about Americans’ preference for big cars. What surprised me a little more was the fact that Courtney thoroughly disinfected the children’s hands as soon as they sat in the car. The training school had been right about that. We continued to talk during the journey, as our time in New York provided us with plenty to speak about. I didn’t really heed the advice to praise everything there to the skies, it seemed better to just be honest. Why should I tell fairy tales to someone with whom I hoped to build a good relationship based on trust?
Courtney was also suitably horrified by things like the little lodgers in the rooms, and even the children listened with interest. It was only the air conditioning that gave me a hard time again, as it kept me cold the whole way and made me freeze even in my smart AP sweater.
After a while, we stopped at a large supermarket, Target, and as we crossed the parking lot, Lily grabbed my hand trustingly. I was allowed to choose what I wanted to eat, but as I had no idea what was already in the family’s fridge and I didn’t want Courtney to spend a fortune on me on the first day, I held back. It was much more interesting to watch what things she put in the trolley anyway, as I hoped to get a better picture of her that way. I was pleased to see that Courtney mostly packed organic and healthy food. The family seemed to take great care of their diet. What fascinated me most, however, was the fact that all the food was immediately packed into bags by hard-working staff. In Germany, there were no helping hands.
After that, it wasn’t far to the family home, which, as Amelie’s host mother, Edith, had already raved about, was really beautiful. The rooms were bright and airy, the furnishings friendly and extremely tasteful. Not to mention, everything was much bigger and more equipped than four people could possibly use. There were three living rooms alone, including a normal living room and a family room. To this day, I don’t understand the difference. My realm extended over almost the entire basement, which included my own small kitchen, a huge TV room, a bathroom, and a bedroom. This was definitely not the chaotic student flat-share that many expected after graduation.
My future shower easily accommodated four people, and the bed with its two mattresses and countless pillows artfully draped over the comforter made me shiver with anticipation. As a welcome gift, a 20-dollar voucher for a café called Coffee Roast was waiting for me in a small paper bag. My excitement could not have been more complete.
The children seemed to warm up by now, jumping around wildly and shouting at each other. It could have been quite nice, but Henry chose this moment to give me my first unpleasant surprise.
Suddenly, his face contorted in anger, and he lunged at his unsuspecting sister for no apparent reason, raining down solid punches and kicks. He didn’t even bother to disguise his intentions, but shouted freely that he wanted to kill her. A little shocked, I stared first at what was happening and then at Courtney, curious to see how she would react and whether something like this might have happened before. It actually seemed to have.
Completely unfazed, Courtney turned to the crying Lily and, to my utter amazement, began to scold her. “Lily, this is your own fault now! I’ve told you so many times not to lie on the floor. It’ll only awaken the natural animal instinct in your brother.” It was the first time I had heard of such an instinct, but unfortunately, not the last. Henry gave an impressive demonstration of its manifestation by starting to lash out at his mother. And she hadn’t even laid down on the floor.
Courtney, however, just smiled stoically and explained to me, a little forcedly, that something was not quite right with Henry because the twins had been born prematurely. This rather important piece of information had unfortunately slipped her mind during our numerous emails and phone calls. Still a little perplexed, I stared at the six-year-old boy, who was violently beating his mother with his little fists and shouting loudly.
Courtney was now completely ignoring the outburst. But apparently, she decided to lay all her cards on the table and advised me not to get too close to the family’s small but extremely strong-willed dog, Stella. He would love to bite. I hadn’t really noticed the white mutt before. In the meantime, I eyed the animal in question a little worriedly, which began to growl and bare its teeth as soon as it felt my gaze. Wonderful. So there were already two with a pronounced tendency towards violence in this house.
The host father arrived around six, but the welcome was, as I had already suspected, rather stiff. I didn’t really know what to say to him, and felt a little disappointed that he didn’t even ask about my flight. Perhaps I could break the ice by finally pulling out all my pride and joy, the carefully selected gifts, from my suitcase. My big moment was almost a little embarrassing as I stared at all the things I had bought and decided to leave some of them in my luggage. They would serve their purpose by Christmas at the latest.
Most of the gifts for the host parents were actually very well received, especially the sweets. I wasn’t quite as successful with the presents for the children, however. Henry seemed less than enthusiastic about his Playmobil soccer player and the Germany cap, and instead snatched the Lillifee diary out of Lily’s hand. Courtney immediately put on a worried face and asked Henry very seriously what he was feeling. Jealousy, perhaps?
The host father arrived around six, but the welcome was, as I had already suspected, rather wooden. I didn’t really know what to say to him, and felt a little disappointed that he didn’t even ask about my flight. Perhaps I could break the ice a little by finally pulling out all my pride and joy, the carefully selected gifts from my suitcase. My big moment was almost a little embarrassing as I stared at all the things I had bought myself and decided to leave some of them in my luggage. They would serve their purpose by Christmas at the latest.
Most of the gifts for the host parents were actually very well received, especially the sweets. I wasn’t quite as successful with the presents for the children, however. Henry seemed less than enthusiastic about his Playmobil soccer player and the Germany cap, and instead snatched her Lillifee diary out of Lily’s hand. Courtney immediately put on a worried face and asked Henry very seriously what he was feeling. Jealousy, perhaps?
I had apparently already made the first mistake, perhaps it would have been smarter to give them both the same present. Courtney could probably tell that I was becoming increasingly worried, because she immediately assured me that Henry was otherwise a very nice and calm boy and was only getting a little overexcited because of me. However, I wouldn’t lie down on the floor for the time being; otherwise, I would probably run the risk of being attacked directly by both Henry and Stella, thanks to their strong instincts.
For dinner, we went to a restaurant called Flight, where I ate the best burger of my life with truffle oil, aioli, and caramelized onions. Any McDonald’s could pack up! I remembered all too well that the undisputed highlight of every trip for me as a child was when our car turned into the drive-through. For the first time, I experienced the benefits of the free refill myself and was able to drink as much as I wanted as I only paid for the first cup. The waiters were all very friendly, and even Andrew asked me, “Is soccer really that famous in Germany?” It didn’t matter that Courtney accidentally exposed herself for a moment and was suddenly sitting there in her bra, but she took it relatively calmly. After all, Henry’s fists turned their full attention to the burger and left us alone for a few hours.
Back at the flagship house, I was more than happy to sink into my clean bed dream and look forward to an unflooded shower just for me the next morning. So my first day with the host family was over.