Day 3 - Le début des travaux (Starting work)

This morning, I woke up at 7am ready to be Isabel’s shadow. She got Zoe up, showered and dressed - apparently it takes a while… After we’d taken Zoe to the bus stop I had to resist the urge to nap for 4 hours before picking her back up at lunch time.  After lunch, I decided to take a walk, Isabel recommended going the opposite way to which I’d gone yesterday, to Lutry. I took a path off the road and walked along the lake. Although it was public, it felt really secluded. The lake was choppy and I kept getting splashed, but it was so pretty!
At one point, I came upon a small park and I sat on the swing looking at the stunning view in front of me. It compelled me to draw - now anyone who knows me, knows art isn't exactly my forté - I can’t draw for shit!  But I just sat there, lost for about 45 minutes. Every so often I’d look down and there’d be sparrows everywhere - they’re far more ballsy here than in the UK. There’d be about 8 -12 of them at a time, circling my feet, jumping on my bag and chirping incessantly. It was really calming  sat there, and I think I may have found my favourite place for now…

I need to get a camera...

I walked onto Lutry which (as far as I saw) was pretty small, but with a few shops - far more than Cully anyway. I was on the hunt for a notebook, so went into a children’s shop which was full of the most beautiful arts and crafts. Switzerland is just so expensive though, it’s hard to make the most of it when on a budget! I visited a book shop too; no plain notebooks, but I did buy a cute postcard!
I walked home and met Isabel ready to pick up Zoe from the bus stop. She asked me how much I was being paid, and it turn out I'm on a lot about 3 times more that her. I figured this is partly due to the fact that they’re not paying for my health insurance or French classes, but Isabel is on a lot less generally, especially as I mentioned earlier, the cost of living here is so expensive. It also turns out that Isabel did some babysitting for the family, (which we’re told we get paid extra for), but when she confronted Valerie yesterday, they claimed they had paid her a mere sum of 6FR an hour (babysitters are normally paid 15FR p/h minimum.) When the family are evidently so rich, it all seems a bit odd.
When we got back to the house, Zoe tidied her room under my watch, and made Isabel a thank you card as she's leaving tomorrow afternoon. Zoe’s such a sweet child, and her message made Isabel cry! I also did some reading with Zoe, which was a really nice bonding experience. She’s not the strongest reader, but then again, I haven’t dealt much with her age range, so I'm not really sure what to expect…
When Valerie arrived home from work, we had a couple of glasses of wine (which made my Welsh accent come out…) and a nice dinner, to say goodbye to Isabel. It’s such a shame she’s leaving as we got on so well today. Soon, I’ll be on my own and the real work will begin!