The three months in Mexico passed much too quickly. The B. family in Puebla is a really lovely host family. From the first day of my stay I had the feeling that we have known each other for ages and in the first mails and skypes it was very congenial. As the mother Sonja is German, little Sofia already speaks German quite well and during my stay she was able to expand her vocabulary quite a bit.
Due to my placement as Granny Aupair, Sonja was able to work more and took over a six week German course. My duties were clear: I made breakfast in the morning and lunch boxes for mother and child. In the mornings I often went in the nearby leisure club, swam there, ran, took part in yoga or just let myself be spoilt by the sun and read a book on a lounger.
Then fetch Sofia from nursery school, eat a snack, do homework (in Mexico the children already get home work in Kindergarten and learn reading and writing) and plan the afternoon activities. On Wednesdays a similar aged child came and I gave the two an hour of German lesson.
In the evening Sonja had private scholars and I got Sofia ready for bed: Cleaning teeth, reading aloud, watching Sandman and sleeping.
In the second half of my stay I had more free time. Sonja and I always arranged ourselves very well and divided the tasks among us. Fetching Sofia, making lunch or dinner etc. Sometimes we went to town or the park together. Sofia is also a good translator. When we were around and about together and I couldn’t really understand with my minimal knowledge of Spanish, she helped me master the language barrier.
We were both a good team! On the football field as well. As football is her passion and the jerseys of the German and Mexican team are changed daily.
We also practiced swimming intensively and the rather timid Sofia became more and more daring. Papa Javier is Mexican, originally from Mexico City, which is two hours away and where the Grandparents life, who immediately showed their hospitality and welcomed me as a family member, spoiling me with delicious Mexican food. Very nice were also the trips to the surroundings of Puebla, be it to magical flower villages, magical places, as well as stone landscapes and pyramids. My granny time here in Mexico also took me to the Mexican Caribbean together with the family.
Puebla itself is a beautiful colonial town with many colourful houses and a lot of churches. Culturally Puebla has also quite a lot to offer. Right at the beginning was the traditional nearly month long town fiesta, which offered a broad program, with fantastic concerts, even a ballet on ice.
In my free time I also liked walking around as there were always new things to discover. The beautiful colonial courtyards, parks, restaurants, cafes, museums, shops up to the lovely market place. In the beginning I still was a bit afraid to move around so freely, due to the negative headlines of crime in Mexico. But I quickly dropped this fear, as one can move around as safely as in other towns. One should just follow the natives’ advice.
On the other hand the traffic is very Mediterranean and chaotic! Everyone thinks he has the right of way and basically disregards the pedestrian Manystreets are one-way streets here, but it should not be relied on because not everyone keeps to the rules. So always walk with a especially if you have a child with you.
Summarizing I can say that it was a very nice and positive experience in my life. Getting to know Mexico and the family closer and more intensively than a tourist was great. I thank the entire family wholeheartedly for the wonderful time and there will certainly be a reunion, maybe even in Germany.
Hasta luego!
