Encycl-au pair

Thanks to being an au pair, I've acquired a lot of random facts.
Little, especially, is insatiably curious (particularly when it allows her to ask random questions about whatever she's supposed to be studying instead of actually studying it).
My Google history serves as documented proof of the endless questions I get.
One day I sent my friend a link to a meme and she responds,
"That made me laugh, but why in the world does the link have 'do hamsters make noise' in the middle?!"
Because I'm an au pair and these are the things we have to Google,
that's why.

"What do you like better- your hair or your eyebrows?"
This was directed to her father, a propos of nothing, during lunch and I just about choked I was laughing so hard.

"Do you have strawberries in your country?"
She has trouble remember which one actually is 'my country,' so that's her safe term. Incidentally, she also refuses to even try strawberries because she thinks they look gross...

"How was Luke No-sé-que's hair?"
She meant Luke Skywalker.

"What's inside a lava lamp?"
It's primarily a mixture of salt water and the chemicals found in brake fluid and anti-freeze, in case you wanted to know.

"What was the first plant to have seeds?"
Ferns, which is why some types produce spores and other types produce seeds.

"What does lavendar look like?"

"Do hamsters make noise?"
Apparently they do. Middle won that argument.

"Do you celebrate Carnaval in your country?"

"What does ASAP mean?"
This was from Middle while we were reading one day, after already asking what BTW, OMG, NYC and RSVP meant. At which point she finally yelled, "You English people just don't like to talk, do you?!?"

"What do kangaroos eat?"
They're herbivorous grazers, similar to cows.

"Why do both twins have belly buttons?"

"Are fairies real?"
"Nope."
"But they must be real in the US..."
"Why in the US?"
"Because that's where the Tooth Fairy is! What about her?"
(The Spanish version of the Tooth Fairy is a mouse.) I had a deer-in-the-headlights moment over that one. I'm not a fan of lying or ignoring questions, but admitting the Tooth Fairy isn't real starts a domino effect I am not nearly prepared to take responsibility for. I reverted to the mumble-cough-suddenly-remember-something technique.

"What is your fifth favorite animal?"
She knows my first four by heart better than I do. I also get ambushed with personal questions such as my third favorite color and sixth favorite food in Spain.

The best (and occasionally worst...) part is Little retains the information I give her, whether it's the answer to one of her inquiries, a personal fact/story I told, or just an everyday conversation we've had.
In a moment of excessive frustration over some division problems that refused to behave, I told Little that sometimes it's ok to scream into a pillow if it helps you blow off steam so you can refocus. About a week later, I was dealing with a huge international banking nightmare while Little did homework on the other side of the screen that divides my bedroom from her playroom. Right at the moment I thought I might legitimately Hulk out, a sweet little voice floats pleasantly from the other side of the divider: "You can scream into a pillow if you need to, Kat. It's ok."

That means I try to stay really conscious of the things I say to her. In that sense, my job as an au pair is 24/7 because those little eyes and ears aren't going to care if I'm 'on duty' or not.
Last week Little received a BFF necklace (Another acronym. Middle might have a point...) from one of her classmates, and was worried about another professed best friend seeing it. She asked me if I thought she should take it off when she knew she was going to see the other girl. You can write it off as meaningless third grade drama, but I put my phone down, sat next to her, and gave it some thought. In my opinion it was actually a tricky situation, one that required her to consider how best to avoid hurting several people's feelings, while also trying to be honest and decide how she would deal with the hypothetical conflict. There isn't an answer that can be so easily Googled for that one.

I hope I'm teaching Little the right things during my time as her au pair. Whether it's a study trick, a fun fact or a life lesson, I never fail to be amazed by the moment a child independently uses something I had previously taught them. I think of it like leaving a fingerprint, and I want to be proud of the fingerprints I've left on this perceptive, hilarious, amazing little kid.

Of course, not every lesson sticks perfectly the first time...
I explained to Little that she needs to use hot water to wash the dishes to kill the germs, only to find her leaning over the soap scum two minutes later hollering, "Kat! What's in the sink? Are those the Germans?!"

And no matter what I say, she still belts out, "It's raining beds, Hallelujah!" every time it rains.