梅丽莎来自德国，来华做互惠生之前是在读大学二年级，他在大学选修了中文，面试的时候我看到他卧室里面挂了个横幅“天道酬勤”，我就知道这个女孩稳了，这么喜欢中文，英语又很流利，肯定能匹配个彼此喜欢的家庭。
后续一些都很顺利，梅丽莎匹配到了金桥的一个家庭，一切都很顺利，互惠生经常跟我们分享她和接待家庭的趣事，家庭妈妈的朋友圈里经常发家庭和互惠生一起出行的实况图，点进去都能感受到家庭满意溢出来的那种感觉。梅丽莎还张罗着到处开证明，希望把互惠生经历和这边的中文课折算成她的大学学分。
第四个月的时候，梅丽莎在一次文化课后，聊了起来。梅丽莎说下次文化课要请假，家庭要一起去腾冲度假，她也要去。我跟梅丽莎说，你的家庭对你真好，**就没你这么幸运了，可能要提前结束项目。
梅丽莎不说话，脸上有点尴尬，过了一会，梅丽莎跟我说，Y，你知道吗，实际上家庭对我很好，但是我总觉得和我想的不一样！我感觉他们一直对我好，同时又排斥我。我赶忙问，怎么了。梅丽莎继续说，其实小朋友和我非常好，姐姐弟弟每次回家都只要我，因为家庭对我很好，我觉得作为额外的交换，我从来不计较时间表多出来的时间。但是，我总觉得家庭妈妈不喜欢我。我赶忙问为什么，梅丽莎继续说，上个星期，姐姐的课上老师布置作业是写一篇中文描述最喜欢的家人，姐姐的作文题目就是《我的姐姐梅丽莎》，梅丽莎非常高兴，但是梅丽莎看不懂，她就拿了手机拍下来自动识别翻译，但是有的地方没有翻译正确。这是我帮姐姐检测作业的时候发现的，姐姐（小朋友）和家庭妈妈都不知道，但妈妈是帮姐姐修改过作文的，所以我就在吃饭的时候问妈妈说，姐姐最近写的什么作文啊，妈妈说，她写了她的表姐。
我很确定，小朋友写的是我，但是妈妈不肯承认。梅丽莎说的时候非常肯定。
我笑了，想了下，我跟梅丽莎说，家庭妈妈不是圣人，你也不是，她可能希望小朋友写的是自己啊！是不是？梅丽莎听了笑了，点点头。
我接着说，也有可能家庭妈妈理解错了，说的是上次小朋友的作文啊，而你应该多关注自己的互惠生活，不是吗？你可以和别的互惠生一起周末出去，多探索下城市啊！你还有两个多月的时间！
梅丽莎继续笑，我知道她懂了我在说什么。
最后两个月，梅丽莎在上海很开心的度过。
梅丽莎走的时候跟我说，Y，谢谢你帮我匹配到这么好的家庭，我和家庭约定明年夏天德国见面！如果有机会你来汉堡，我也会给你做导游的！
Melissa came from Germany. Before coming to China as an au pair, she was a sophomore in university, where she had chosen Chinese as an elective. During the interview, I saw a banner in her bedroom that read “Tiān dào chóu qín” (Hard Work Pays Off), and I knew this girl was a perfect fit. With such a passion for Chinese and fluent English, she was sure to match with a host family that adored her.
Everything went smoothly afterward. Melissa was matched with a family in Jinqiao, and she often shared fun stories about her life with them. The host mother’s social media was filled with live photos of the family and Melissa traveling together, and you could practically feel the family’s satisfaction overflowing from the screen. Melissa even went out of her way to collect certificates, hoping to count her au pair experience and Chinese classes here toward her university credits.
In the fourth month, after a cultural class, Melissa opened up. She said she needed to skip the next cultural class because the family was going on a vacation to Tengchong, and she was invited along. I commented, “Your host family is so good to you,” adding, “Not everyone is as lucky; some might have to end the program early.”
Melissa fell silent, looking slightly awkward. After a pause, she said, “Y, the family is actually very kind to me, but it’s not quite what I expected. I feel like they’re nice to me while also keeping me at a distance.” I hurried to ask what was wrong. She continued, “The kids and I get along great. The older sister and younger brother only want me when they come home. Since the family treats me well, I never mind working extra hours beyond my schedule. But… I don’t think the host mother likes me.”
When I pressed her for why, she explained, “Last week, the older sister’s teacher assigned a Chinese essay about her favorite family member. The sister titled her essay My Sister Melissa, and I was thrilled. But since I couldn’t read Chinese, I took a photo with my phone and used auto-translation, though some parts were mistranslated. When I helped the sister check her homework, I noticed this. Neither the sister nor the host mother knew, but the mother had helped revise the essay. So during dinner, I asked the mother, ‘What essay did the sister write recently?’ She replied, ‘She wrote about her cousin.'”
“I’m sure the kid wrote about me, but the mother wouldn’t admit it,” Melissa said with certainty.
I smiled and replied, “The host mother isn’t perfect, and neither are you. Maybe she hopes the child would write about her own family, right?” Melissa laughed and nodded.
I added, “Maybe the host mother misunderstood which essay you were asking about. You should focus on your au pair life instead. Why not explore the city with other au pairs on weekends? You still have over two months here!”
Melissa kept smiling, and I knew she understood what I meant.
In the final two months, Melissa spent happy days in Shanghai.
When she left, she told me, “Y, thank you for matching me with such a wonderful host family. We’ve agreed to meet in Germany next summer! If you ever come to Hamburg, I’ll be your tour guide!”