My life working as an au pair in France in 1979 was especially challenging because of the language barrier with the children. From the beginning, four-year-old Antoine was far more forgiving then his seven-year-old sister, Colette. She thought less of me because I didn’t speak French and no matter how hard I tried, no matter how much my French improved, she never fully accepted me as her nanny. The garden scene below from French Illusions: My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley, gives the reader a clear picture of this complicated relationship.