When we first interviewed Tati, she was concerned about her level of English. So much so, that she made it a point to note to us that she knew it was an issue and wanted to be sure that we were aware of it, but she also felt that she could improve quickly with the opportunity. For me, that said a lot about her right up front. I would think that many people in her situation would try to hide that deficiency as best as possible in the early interviewing process because it would likely dissuade a lot of potential host families. However, it was more important to her to be upfront and honest. I really found that to be an admirable quality, and I felt that said a lot about the quality of her character, which has proven to be true. I also knew from experience that language skills can be improved with practice; personality and character generally cannot. Tati certainly displayed then and continues to show now, her exceptional character.
When Tati first arrived, and we picked her up at the airport after she had endured a full day of travel with several connections and layovers, she appeared at the gate with the same smile that she wears just about every single day. From the start, our oldest daughter (6), not surprisingly, was immediately taken with Tati. We did warn Tati that this would likely happen, and she said that that was fine, that she would be quite comfortable with that. That has held true, Tati has a very open-door policy with both of our daughters as well as with us. Our oldest daughter will routinely go to see Tati when she is not “on duty,” and Tati is always receptive to her. Tati has quickly become a genuine friend and member of our family, and I think that is one of the greatest things about having an Au Pair: having that real person to person connection.
I have not even started talking about Tati from the point of view of a host family needing reliable childcare. Tati is a very dedicated worker, and very dependable. She has a very adaptable/flexible personality and view on her role as a caretaker for our children. She has been teaching our children Spanish; our youngest (18 months) can now count the steps as she goes up and down the stairs in both English and Spanish. We try to keep to a schedule as best we can, but inevitably, things often come up that require us to change things on the fly, or some other plan arises midweek for which we must accommodate, and in all cases, Tati has always been there for us when those changes arise, and always with the same wonderful attitude about things.
The most striking thing about Tati is that she is just a wonderful, kind person. She is a joy to be around, and she truly loves our children. Her general way of being has made it so that we are very comfortable with her with our children, and we always know that she is there for our family. We consider her to be a member of our family, and we are so fortunate to have found her.
