I was going to go into great detail about all the jobs Korean H does around the house, but as I was editing these photos I thought that's too boring.
Having an au pair, is not really about getting the kids breakfast every morning, or walking them to and from school.
It's about having the opportunity to keep Martha at home with someone who likes being with her, and having someone at home if one of the other children are sick.
It's about having a fresh face in the family and someone who can act like a big sister when we need one.
She has a patience I don't have.
Her Dad likes soccer, and her Mother likes natural medicine.
She had a hedgehog as a pet, but it smelled funny and made too much noise at night.
She does whatever she wants on the weekend. Sometimes she hangs with us, sometimes she takes herself into the City to see her friends.
In South Korea it's rude to ever call your parents or grandparents by their first names, so she's grown up never knowing the names of her grandmothers.
She shares her family with us and she's happily become part of ours. We're not allowed to send her older sister Tim Tams for Christmas because her older sister is 'too fat'.
She laughs at our jokes, and doesn't complain about Martha's toilet-training failures.
She does the kids' washing and cleans Martha's room.
We regularly buy her nail polish and she paints her nails different colours.
And, she's scared of mice, so she sometimes sleeps in Martha's bed.
Here's a set of shelves I painted earlier.
I need a Korean H at my house.
ReplyDeleteI know. I feel very grateful to have her here. She's lucky I'm not into hugging, otherwise I would cling to her like some sort of Australian marsupial.
DeleteI need a Korean H at my house, too. Quickly.
ReplyDeleteI'll send her to Germany in January. How's that? You know, Finnish K said Brisbane had an over-supply of German au pairs!
DeleteShe taught the lot to make sushi? Wow. I'd never want her to leave.
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightful post. I loved every one of the photos. And I'll be laughing about your marsupial comment for the rest of the day!
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't think she could have found a better Australian family to call her own. I thought those sticks in the first photo were some type of Korean lolly ... realising later probably not.
ReplyDeleteShe sounds amazing. What a great addition to your family - if only for a short while. Great pics (and shelf!).x
ReplyDeleteTell her I want to marry her.
ReplyDeleteCan you do something sneaky to her passport and offer to let her stay for the several months it takes to fix it?
ReplyDeleteIf we got a Korean K she would have to sleep in the chook shed because she would be scared of the children.
I like the big sister role, everyone loves a big sis but I don't believe your not a hugger, cause I'm hugging you right now and I
ReplyDeleteKnow you want one!
sounds fabulous indeed!
ReplyDeleteinteresting facts there too, like about not calling parents and grandparents by their names. and the hedgehog pet! slightly jealous!
Send her down here please.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your blog post title a little voice in my head, with a Winston Churchill accent, was saying "Ask not what you can do for your au pair but what your au pair can do for you." ... or was it JFK???
ReplyDeleteI would love to have an au pair... I think it's terrible that she can't stay. Maybe we could trade her back and forth???
ReplyDelete