When we first spoke to Claire via Skype, her intelligence, kindness, and openness were immediately apparent. Little did we know that she would become such a huge asset to our lives and cherished part of our family. Right when she arrived, she made our kids feel safe and loved and jumped into our life routine with courtesy and grace and skill. She is incredibly gifted at reading emotional cues from our kids, and she figured out how to be caring and supportive while also taking our lead and setting boundaries when appropriate. Though her own upbringing and cultural norms are different from ours, she adapted effortlessly into our routine and our way of doing things, while bringing her own French flair into our lives. She is happy to cook family meals multiple times a week if we are not able to do so. Claire has extensive experience as a camp counselor in France, so not a minute goes by when she is not thinking of an activity in which to engage the kids. She creates incredible art projects with them, including making lifelike figures out of branches and flowers they find in the forest, or creating Christmas ornaments from paper towel rolls.
Submitted by Pierre de Gaillande, host dad in New York