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I met Helga in 2014, on Halloween (like all witches do). I was an au pair in Atlanta at that time, and the kids and I used to hang out at Candler Park a lot. That summer, a mom had told me they were getting a new au pair, and that I should meet her and show her around. Fast forward 2 months and I'm freezing, working my last hours of a Friday afternoon at the park, and counting the minutes until 5.30 so I can take the kids home, shower, and think about a really cozy and warm outfit to wear at the Halloween party that night. I see a car parked by mine, which three kids jump out of before racing to the playground while the most Nordic girl I've seen in Georgia follows them.

Here, I start to do what most au pairs/nannies/moms/dads/grandmas/grandpas do at the park (or at least I like to think we are all in this game together): I play the "guess who it is" game. Her kids talk to her and ask her questions-- there's no physical contact, so she is definitely not the mom, and she doesn't sound very confident, like she is trying to figure out the rules with them, and I detect a slight accent... and I've got it: she is a very rare specimen of au pair. A freshly arrived one.

I walk towards her: "Hello, you are an aupair, right? I'm Estel." She looks at me and waits a second before she answers (yup, she totally thinks I'm a creep stalker). "I'm an aupair too."

The look. That look of instant sisterhood. Yes, you are safe with me. Yes, I understand you. Yes, grits have a weird texture the first time you taste them but then they grow on you. Yes, I also think it's weird it was very hot yesterday but now we are freezing. Welcome to Atlanta.

We start talking and unloading in a quick 10 minute therapy session. Without hesitating, I invite her to join the Halloween party my friends are having down the street and we even schedule pizza (Fellini's) before that. Could she be a murderer or the meanest girl on earth? Yes, she could. But no au pair gets left behind, not on my watch.

That night we ate, we talked for hours, we danced, we drank, we walked, we laughed, we dressed up in costumes,... and we kept the sisterhood going non-stop until the next October when, like Mary Poppins, Helga packed her things and flew away (on an airplane, in her case).

She fit in right away with our little au pair gang (which I'll talk about in another post because this starts to sound like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants)-- she was one of my bridesmaids, she listened to hours of venting, she prepared the best movie night dates at home, she dragged my b-u-t-t to the gym and made sure I was properly fed. I miss her a little bit, if you can't tell.

Now Helga works for WOW (Icelandic Airlines) and since she has benefits, she was able to come and see me as soon as I put my feet on European land (I like to think that the beautiful and amazing city of Barcelona had nothing to do with her trip, only me). She came with her boyfriend Steinar (girlfriend approved btw) and we had a great time. We started by eating paella at the best restaurant by the harbor, and although dinner was a tough act to follow, we walked around the city as the sun was going down and had a great night out in Gracia (a really cool, young, and bohemian neighborhood north of the old district). It was great to catch up and show them around. The day after that, we took a train to Sitges, a beach town a bit south of Barcelona down the Mediterranean coast. There we had a legit beach day, with a cooler full of drinks and snacks and everything.

Soon afterwards, they had to leave Barcelona and go back to their average waterfalls and boring Northern Lights. If the budget allows us to, we would love to visit them in Iceland soon. Meanwhile, if you fly with WOW and see a beautiful blonde girl with blue eyes and kind smile, take a picture with her-- it's Helga, she is my friend!

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