Doug had hired a nanny so that upon our arrival we would have help with the babies and the chance to rest a bit. The nanny, Kristina, seemed nice but shy and introverted. I didn't see much of her since we arrived at around three, unpacked the car frantically and started to put things away, and she left at 4:30. She was supposed to be back the following morning at 8:30.
On Tuesday morning she called and cancelled, saying that her mother was in the hospital with cardiac problems. Little you can do about that - I was not happy but could sympathise. I must say that deep down in my black soul I had some doubts about this tale. I don't yet have the most positive experiences with the Romanians in general. She also didn't answer her cell phone during the entire day.
Tuesday evening she called us at ten pm and let us know she'd be there the next morning.
Wednesday morning her sister called and cancelled again. And again, no answer on the cell phone.
Wednesday evening she called herself, apologized and said she would now come for sure the next morning, and those two days the only she'd ever miss.
Thursday morning we waited in vain. No nanny, no call, no answer on the cell.
Oh, and she still had our house keys - she'd walked out with them on Monday when she left. I was quite upset. Not so much about her not showing at all but about her telling us she'd come and then ditching us again and again. I was also a bit paranoid about her running around with our keys and it being very easy to have duplicates made here in Bucharest.
Well, on Thursday then we decided to hire someone else. We need someone reliable which doesn't mean that we can't have somebody who misses some days but we can't have somebody who simply ditches us.
The new nanny will begin work tomorrow, her name is Valerica and she seems very nice. I interviewed her on Thursday and she fell totally for both Alan and David which is a pretty good start in my eyes. She seems competent and is old enough (early thirties) to have some experience and to lead Alan a bit instead of the other way around.
On Friday morning, btw, Kristina came and turned in our keys as we had demanded it and we paid her for her day of work. I was still quite mad at her but felt like an ass when she broke down on me and cried because her mother was so sick. She's been staying at her mother's side pretty much without a break since Monday night.
I tipped her generously and told her to call us any time she needed help in any way. [Sigh] There are always two sides to a story and I felt quite horrible that I so misjudged her side.
Posted by claudia at August 24, 2003 08:18 AM