12 months shrinks down to 2

For an adventurous person like me, there's a vast range of opportunities to travel and see what's out there. I was looking for one when my senior year in high school started. And I found one.

I had never been to the States before, always wanted to go, so a year as an Au Pair seemed like a perfect thing for me. I liked being with kids and I wanted to explore America. Right on! 

It's relatively cheap to go to be an au pair. The application process may not be the easiest one, but it's ok. You have to get a background check, go see a doctor who'll see that you're fit to go, fill in the papers (lots of them -including making a photo album of yourself and your life (that was the fun part)), do some personality tests (I know...), get an international driver's license... I hope I didn't forget anything. Anyway, after all of that you wait for the organization (which ever you use) to find you a host family. In my case, it was family number 22 or 23 that first contacted me, and after graduating high school I set out to go on what was supposed to be the greatest year of my life. 

Things didn't really work out, though. 

After two months the family let me go. The policy is, that when things don't work out, the family is obligated to keep the au pair for two weeks, while the organization works on finding a new family. The current family can decide whether or not to let the au pair work during this time. If the au pair works, they are of course entitled to get paid for the entire week. Four years ago the pay was something like 150-160 dollars a week, I think by now it's more like 200/week. I didn't work anymore. I didn't see much of the kids anymore either, which was a shame, because I'd gotten attached to them, especially to the little 2-year-old. 

You're probably wondering what went wrong. 

It was a communication problem. There was no problem with the language, as my English is fluent, but  I wasn't always aware of everything I was supposed to be doing, what were my responsibilities. I was hoping for more instructions, and the family wasn't happy with me. I'm not blaming everything on them. I was insanely home sick and I know it affected on my working, so there was fault on both sides. Still, I wish the family had realized I wasn't a mind reader. After two weeks I went to stay with a friend for a couple of more days and then I flew back home. 

It's been four years, and I haven't had any contact with the family since. It wasn't a nice good bye. In fact, they didn't even say good bye. Oh well. I was mad at them for a while after coming back home, but now I'm just hoping they're doing well. I hope the kids are all right, and I wonder what they've grown up to be like. Sometimes I wish I would run into them, when I visit my friends in the States, so that I could just have five minutes to talk to them, and make sure there are no bad feelings anymore. I actually wish I would see the dad, since he was always fair to me. 

I have absolutely no regrets. I didn't get the greatest year of my life, and the two months wasn't the easiest period of my life, either. But I'm so, so, so very happy that I went there. I met such great people there, and I made friends for life. I was so blessed to have found friends who took me in and took care of me when I really needed someone to be there for me, when my own family was only on my computer screen. If I hadn't left, I probably wouldn't be going back in the fall. I wouldn't have all the great experiences from my vacations afterwards. 

I've heard all kinds of au pair -stories. Some bad, some great. Don't be afraid to go, just because it didn't work for me. I worked out for a lot of people, and you can really have the greatest year (or two, if you want to extend!!) of your life. If you have any questions about this, don't hesitate to ask. 

Any other au pairs out there who would like to share their stories? I'm more than willing to post your stories here! Just say the word :) 

Have a happy July everyone! <3