Finally, Lisa was allowed to use the family computer for twenty minutes a day. It was the only time she was able to get on the internet. After the holidays, Lisa spoke to the agency overseeing her stay. They agreed to publish an ad on her behalf, seeking another host family. Over the next few days, Lisa got varied responses. There were four that stood out to her the most.
Family 1:
Four children. Tasks: cooking, ironing, looking after children, cleaning, washing.
Lisa wondered how much time she would ever get to herself. It wasn't that she had a lot of time where she was, but that was something she was hoping to change. She wanted to be able to go sight-seeing, and learn the local language. She wanted to experience the rich culture that was so vastly different from her own. With all the tasks she had been given, she hardly had the chance to even finish her language book.
Family 2:
A nature-loving family. Besides three children they had two horses, cows, pigs, goats, two dogs, three cats, and a rabbit.
There, her duties included taking care of all of the farm animals. She would also get to work in the garden, and out in the field. There, she would be keeping care of the flowers and home grown vegetables. Lisa enjoyed the outdoors very much, and strongly considered this a good choice. Even though it would be a lot of work.
Family 3:
Eight children. But Lisa had to worry about only three of them.
Now, Lisa had her doubts about that. The three she would be responsible for were younger, the other five old enough to care for themselves. She was a generous person, and she knew if any of the children asked her for something, she'd want to answer to them. That might get complicated with that many people to look after. She couldn't begin to imagine the chores she might be tasked with. The dishes alone would be overwhelming.
Family 4:
A single father who works as a farmer in the village and three boys. Tasks: cooking and taking care of the three kids.
This single father needed the kind of help that a mother would provide. Along with housework, she might have to help the boys with other things, such as homework, even though she knew very little herself. She knew that farming was long, and hard. He would likely want dinner on the table when he got home, and the house in spotless condition. The boys bathed, and ready for bed by a certain time. She felt she was too young to be taking on the responsibilities of someone's mother.
Lisa shook her head, closing down the computer. Now that she had read through the responses completely, she felt discouraged. She softly started crying. Was this the best she was going to get? Was she going to be stuck in this house, with this family, for the rest of her stay? How was she going to keep living like this? She wiped her eyes on the back of her hand, and picked up the phone. She called the man from the agency for the second time this week. They made small talk, at first. He asked if things had been any better. He was sad to hear that they weren't. She wasn't settling in, and she knew she wasn't going to.
“I'd like to live with a family from a big city.” She requested, halfway through their conversation.
“It's hardly possible,” he dismissed, without even a second for considering her request.
“Why?” she questioned. She could hear him sigh on the other end of the phone.
“The people in bigger cities are more, sophisticated. I doubt they would want someone, like you.”
Lisa didn't understand. What did he mean by “like you”? Did he think she wasn't good enough? Wasn't sophisticated herself? What did he know about sophistication?
“I don't know if I can live like this anymore,” she answered, continuing to cry. There was another sigh.
“We will keep looking for a more suitableing family,” he assured.
She shook her head.
“How long is it going to take?” she whined.
“Lisa, please be patient, “ the man answered, hanging up the phone. Lisa put the phone back on the receiver, and crossed her arms on the desk. She gently dropped her head down on her arms, and looked to the side. She could see Nick in the yard, playing with his friends. She didn't know how long she could be hopeful for. All she knew was she couldn't keep living with these unbearable conditions.
Suddenly on Friday, Lisa got a request from a new host family.
Dear au pair,
We are a young family with our 5-year-old son Ben. We live in a big house with a garden in the city, which is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The city centre is only a few kilometers away.
As our au pair, you would bring Ben to kindergarten in the morning. In the afternoon he would be picked up again. The supermarket is only 200 meters from us. Possibly a dinner for Ben must be prepared. You have free time from 9 to about 4 o’clock in the evening and after about 7 o’clock (when we are at home). On weekends, you are also free.
You would help us with washing, ironing, and cooking, but overall you will work only 20-25 hrs. a week. We like to do sports, excursions, or meet friends.
The subway is about a 10-minute walk from here, and it takes you 15 minutes to get to the center of the city.
You have a private room and an en suite bathroom that even has its own entrance, if desired! Books (including English), TV, radio, etc. are available. We travel a lot and would be pleased to be able to welcome a nice new “family member” as soon as possible, one who goes well with little Ben.
If you are interested, write us back.
Greetings,
Angelica, Marc, Ben
The man from the agency called Lisa and advised her about this host family. “In this big city, people are definitely tolerant of foreigners like you, as they are in the small towns,” he said.
“Thank you very much!” Lisa was very grateful.
Lisa could not wait to see her new host family. After two months in prison, she would finally see civilization.
That night during dinner, the host family discussed Lisa's ingratitude. She understood everything that the host family had been doing to her. She understood that her friend had been correct. She also understood that she needed to get out of the situation as quickly as possible.
“That girl is so ungrateful. Why does she want to leave our family? We give her bread and apples. She doesn't have to eat any insects like she would back in her home land. She should be pleased that we brought her to our village. She should be grateful that she was given this opportunity to live and work in our mansion.” She overhead the children saying to one another. She was fed up with the mistreatment she had been enduring. She was fed up with this so-called family.
22
Once the host family learned that Lisa was unhappy, they arranged to get a new au pair. They were going to find a more obedient one from Thailand. This was the conversation they were having at the breakfast table.
“Our new au pair will be less demanding than the current one, I'm sure,” the host father explained.
“She must know her place. She will follow every order with a silent obedience and not question our hospitality. She will not speak our language and will not understand the contract,” Clara added, sipping at her tea.
“I think she should be timid,” the host father added to the conversation.
“Plus, our new au pair won't need any food. In Thailand, you can eat fried bugs. She can just grab a few from the garden and cook them in some oil,” Clara added, giggling. It seemed the more she spoke of the idea, the more excited she was to be replacing Lisa. There was no sound at the table other than knives and forks scrapping against glass.