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| Life is desperately confusing. Every single time I think I have things even mildly figured out, something else pops up and basically knocks the wind out of every conclusion I've recently come to.
BUT...I can't complain, because even though it's confusing, it always seems to iron itself out if I just trust that it will and follow whatever hairbrained idea that comes along.
Basically, I've learned that I'm just along for the ride...and what an incredibly entertaining ride it is!
In other news...well...there isn't a whole lot of other news. I'm still a big bum in Greece...which is quite wonderful...but I know soon it will have to end and I'll have to start working and realizing that I can't put off real life forever.
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| So for those of you thinking I've given up on Greece...I haven't. I'll be using my return ticket back from the states after my sister's wedding to come back and give it a second go. This time I'll be living temporarily with a friend in Athens and I'll be looking for a job and trying to figure things out. I'm determined to make this work. I came too far and gave up too much to get here to admit defeat now.
If you're really interested in knowing what happened with the family, well, it's complicated, but it's not. They were a bit crazy and definitely using me. I was determined to stick it out and make it work, but one day the mom snapped and told me I had to go. Just go rent The Nanny Diaries. Seriously...it'll explain how my life has been the past few months.
I am now living at the Artemis with the HUG students (who are actually currently on their cruise for the weekend). I'm really happy to be here for the time being because it feels like home to me. Also, how often do you get an entire hotel to yourself?
I slept in until 1pm today...just shows how exhausted I've been from my work. I think I'll be spending some time at the beach this weekend. I'm so excited to finally get to relax for a bit!
Also, I submitted a photo to JPG to get it in the magazine, so if you're bored, click on over and vote for me!
http://www.jpgmag.com/photos/269551
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| Last night it was decided that I will no longer be living with and working with the family...effective almost immediately. I'm currently repacking my belongings and I'll be heading over to stay in the Artemis (with the HUG students) for a couple of weeks before heading back to the states for my sister's wedding.
Thankfully, I'll be using my return ticket on October 14 and I'll move in with a friend and begin searching for a new job.
Things are scary and messy right now.
The sad thing is, I'm starting to get used to that.
In other news....well, there is no other news. Things are confusing right now, but I know this is for the best. I'm not ready to give up on Greece quite yet though...I'm determined to find something new and better to do in the meantime.
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| Because I just don't believe I have enough to juggle between email, a Xanga, Facebook and two kids...I made a blog.
Yes, it's true, I sold out to the "adult world" of online journaling. Sorry.
I will probably still post more personal things on here, as the blog is mainly going to be my stories about my day-to-day nanny adventures, so never fear, I won't disappear from the Xanga world completely.
http://chelseaingreece.blogspot.com/
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| It's hard to believe it will have been a month since I left the States tomorrow. It feels like I've been here so much longer than that. I feel so completely at home and settled here that I rarely think about my old life. A lot of that is also due to the fact that I just don't have time to think about it.
Somehow, in the course of a month, my life went from being filled with hours of doing nothing at Midnight Oil, reading, talking with friends, watching movies and/or tv, and just existing in Searcy. Now, my days start at 7am and are filled to the brim with constant activity of some sort...and I'm in Greece, not Arkansas...haha.
Today, I went to Porto Rafti (where HUG is) and visited the Myhans and the staff at The Artemis. The new students get here tomorrow, so they are busy getting everything prepared. It will be nice to have the HUG group at church on Sundays, as the English-speaking congregation is quite small without them. It's so very strange to be on this side of the program...no longer a student, but a "friend" to the program nearby. I like being in that category.
While in Porto Rafti I also went to my favorite coffee shop on the water and sat and drank coffee while reading and writing in my journal. It was so nice to have the morning to collect my thoughts and relax for a while. I impressed myself by not getting lost once on the way there, however, I missed a turn on the way back and ended up going down a one-way road and realizing this not because of signs, but because of all the yelling Greeks coming at my car from the sidewalks. Oops.
I knew being a nanny would be an adventure, but I really had no idea what I was in for when I dove into this.
Yesterday, Alkistis (the little girl) was incredibly angry at me because I wouldn't let her drink milk from the jug and had taken it away and put it in the top shelf of the refrigerator. During her temper tantrum, I noticed that George had pooped (he never stops...) so I picked him up to take him to the nursery and change his diaper. Alkistis of course wanted my undivided attention while she was kicking and screaming so she moved her tantrum to my leg and attached herself quite effectively to my right foot and allowed me to drag her down the hall as George decided he'd like to join in the screaming and began to holler at the top of his lungs and beat his little fists on my chest. As soon as I got George onto the changing table with his diaper undone and baby wipes poised, he swiftly reached down and stuck his hand in his own excrement and then proceeded to attempt to launch himself off of the table. I caught him midair and wrestled his twisting little body back to the table and attempted to clean him up and finish the always unpleasant task of changing him. Just as I was gaining a bit of control back, I realized I'd been so distracted that I hadn't noticed the screaming at my feet had ceased and Alkistis was giggling with delight below me, pulling my jeans down to my ankles.
I did end up making it through the traumatic experience alive, but it took an extraordinary amount of patience and reassuring myself that it "would be over soon." I'm learning so much from this job...how to deal with kids especially. I will never ever be one of the people that thinks stay-at-home moms don't really work. Yeah right...this is the hardest job I've ever had...and it changes each and every day, so you never know what to expect!
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