 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
Sharon
Sharon is a housewife who works nights as an auxiliary nurse. She is married to Andy – a supervisor in a pallet-making company. They live together with children Jodie (8), Morgan (4) and Jade (15).
Q: Why did you want to be on Wife Swap?
A: I was out with a friend when I saw a poster asking for applications. I thought it would be exciting; a bit of fun. When I got home and told Andy, he reckoned I wouldn't do it.
Q: How did you find doing the swap?
A: Overall I enjoyed it – it was good to see how other people live their lives.
Q: What bits of the swap did you enjoy?
A: The kids were really nice. I got on really well with Lotti – we talked a lot and I helped her out with things. She said she was happy to have met me which I thought was nice. Julius opened up after a little while and we played sports together.
Q: What bits of the swap did you find hardest?
A: It was difficult when they didn't speak English as I don't know any German. There were times when I would sit there in silence when they were talking in German, which I thought was a bit rude. There were occasional battles over which TV channel we would watch too. I wanted to watch music channels as I could understand them but a lot of the time the kids controlled the TV. I tried to teach them that they should share the time.
I found that Gerhard would shut himself in his office a lot. When I first arrived, they'd have dinner and then all go off their separate ways. After a while I managed to get the kids to watch TV together with me after dinner.
Q: How did your family cope with the swap?
A: Morgan found it quite difficult I think, as he's the youngest. Andy found Anna-Christina boring – she didn't share any of the things that we enjoy. The family found her a lot stricter than me and she didn't get as involved as I do – she banned the kids from having chocolates and soft drinks, which they really didn't like. I think they were mainly bewildered by it all.
Q: Do you relate to your family differently? Do you do anything differenly now?
A: I share the work more with Andy now – it's more of a 50/50 relationship. I cook a lot more than I did and that's something I enjoy doing. We also never really went out a lot before. We make the effort now to get a babysitter and spend time together by going out. I'm more considerate towards the family too – especially to Andy. One thing I'm not going to change is making sure that I look good – I still feel that's important as a lot of people let it slip when they are in a relationship.
Q: Would you do it again?
A: Absolutely! It was really good fun and it really opened my eyes. It was difficult for me as Anna-Christina's house was a lot stricter than mine and I don't speak German but they were a really nice family. You realise things about yourself and your own family and that's a good thing I think.
^ Top
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Anna-Christina
Anna-Christina is a housewife and helps husband, Gerhard, with his office-work. Gerhard runs his own business from home, selling steel. Their children are Sophie-Charlotte (17), Julius-Maximilian (15) and Viktoria-Luise (9)
Q: Why did you want to be on Wife Swap?
A: I have always been somebody who is curious about things – especially about other cultures and ways of life. British culture has always interested me. I wanted to find out if it was the same as I had read about in books here in Germany. Also, I believe that the purpose of life is to try new experiences, whether they are good or bad. You should enjoy good experiences and learn from the bad ones.
Q: How did you find doing the swap?
A: Overall, I enjoyed the experience. There were high and low points, as there are with everything, but if you learn from the experience then it is a good thing.
Q: What bits of the swap did you enjoy?
A: I really loved the kids. It was especially fun with four-year-old Morgan – he is so young that he is open to different things, but it was also strange for him as he had to accept being told that I was his 'new mum'. I also enjoyed showing them all that there are other ways to live life.
Q: What bits of the swap did you find hardest?
A: I missed my family, which is quite normal I think. I found it hard to see Sharon's kids doing things that I thought were wrong, and not compare them to how my own kids would do things. I found introducing my rules to the family difficult as I was quite nervous. It's easier to point out negatives to people you don't know than it is to friends, but enforcing my rules was hard as I don't like to judge people. I found the change to my life hard too – I like watch the news, and read newspapers and books, but they didn't do anything like that.
Q: How did your family cope with the swap?
A: They enjoyed it at the time – they had a lot more freedom from responsibilities than when I am at home as I'm stricter. But they like having it back the way it was. Having fun is a good thing, but if you have too much of it, it can get boring. We all need rules and responsibilities, otherwise things don't get done.
Q: Do you relate to your family differently?
A: We do relate differently since doing the swap. I don't need to ask again and again to get my kids to do things – they appreciate and respect me more. I also learned a lot of things from Sharon, from living her life for a while. I'm more able to say, "No, I don't like that" and do more things for myself. I used to tell my kids to tidy their rooms all the time. Now I just close the door – their rooms are their areas and they must do what they wish in them. Gerhard asks me what I would like to do now, and the family all appreciate me and pay me more compliments.
Q: Would you do it again?
A: Definitely. In fact, I would very much like to swap with a British family again.
^ Top
|
|
|
|
