So here's the deal, i'm going to dedicate this page for any au pairs or future au pairs. the purpose of this page is so that if you want to know anything about what being an au pair is like, write me a comment. if you have questions about the flight here, the job responsibilities, the good and the bad, or even just the weather, here's where to seek advice. every fortnight or so i will post a piece on a different topic, maybe weather, dealing with death of family back home while you're overseas, driving, and anything else you wanna know about. sometimes i will also interview my au pair friends so you can get other viewpoints.
Please comment on this post if you think what I am doing is a good idea or not. Thanks,
much love
xx
heyy if u wanna interview me im in! :D like ur blog!
ReplyDeleteHi, everthing you mentioned above i want to knw about! Haha. Did u know beforehand who u wil be on a flight with? What are the good & bad? The weather? Whats it like? What do u need to pack? Do u take your cellphone with from SA? I know u buy most things in the us when u arrive but what about shampoo and stuff? Whats it like driving there? Dont u get confused? Are the kids difficult? Isnt it easier to care for just 1 kid? Well thats all for now! Thanx..
ReplyDeletehey there, i will answer the questions as you asked them in that order...
DeleteYes, the agency usually send you the names and email addresses of the girls you fly with, but you meet so many on the plane anyways! the group of au pairs is usually large and you all go to the same orientation
the good things is you grow as a person like crazy, you learn to do things most people your age would never learn, and working with kids is tough and challenging but rewarding in ways only you for yourself can experience. the bad, sometimes you don't wanna work but you can never really just miss work cuz you live at your job, sometimes your view and your host families view are different, but with any work or living together situation, there's always bad and good and you'll find that as you go along how to deal with each of them.
the weather is different throughout the whole of america, but for me it gets very hot and humid, and in winter months very very cold. the weather also changes from raining to blazing hot in one day! coming to jersey i would pack dresses and cardigans and leggings and t shirts. no big hoodies or closed shoes really.
overseas phones don't usually work here, cuz the networks are obviously all different...i didn't bring mine, but ask your family, they might have what we like to call the au pair phone. its like a cheapish phone they give you for the year.
bring what you need for a few days in little bottles (check what you can take on the plane) and then when you get your first pay check, or maybe your host family can take you, go shopping for what you dont have.
driving is tough, it takes a lot of hard concentration but you get used to it quickly.
it is of course always easier to manage one kid at a time, but if you try get them to work as a team and together you can use the more than one kid thing to your advantage!
please feel free to ask away :)
hey guys and gals, here's an interview with one of my au pair friends, her name is Janina :) hope it helps
ReplyDeleteQ: Hey Janina! Thanks so much for doing this interview love, Tell us more about yourself, where you come from, your interests, and a little about your life here in America.
A: Hey Naomi and everybody else Well, I am almost 20 years old (!!) and I come from Finland. I speak swedish as my first language and finnish as my second (we have 2 official languages in Finland, people find it hard to believe). And yeah, english is my third language even tho I think my english is more fluent than my finnish, haha. I also speak a little german, and I know the basics in french and spanish, like how to say "I don't speak french" in french, and "how many legs does the animals have?" in spanish. I love languages!
At home I used to be a cheerleading coach so that's what I am going to get back to. I am also going to start cheerleading again since I miss it like crazy! I finished upper secondery level / high school / whatevs before I got here, but I want to work as a DJ and as a supply teacher for 1 year before I get back to my studies (International Business).
My life in America is.. normal I guess? Work on the days, live for the weekends. I go to the mall, out for lunch and when I'm not too lazy I go to the gym.
Q: So, a little more about your life here, why did you want to become an au pair, and how do you feel now that you did it?
A: I just wanted to go to California, one way or another. I wanted to improve my english and just get out of my town. This is the best thing I've ever done! I feel like I grew so much here.
Q: Is America a lot different from your home? if so, how?
A: It's a lot bigger and the distances are crazy! The climate is kinda the same tho it's just a little bit colder at home. Finland is actually not as cold as you think it is. Sure some winter nights it can be -30°C (rarely) but in the summer we easily ave +30°C. It's also a loooot cheaper, and the gas is more than the half cheaper! Feels like the houses here are made of paper tho. Too cold in the winter. People here are more open and call strangers for "sweetie" "honey" and so on. Then there's a lot more people here, in Finland there's 5 million people in the whole country. We use our bikes and LEGS more in finland, people here are too comfortable with their cars:( They would never walk 2k..
Q: Do you miss home ever? what do you do to help cope with homesickness?
A: I don't really miss it. It's crazy, I know! All I miss is my bed and my dog. But I speak to my family and my friends pretty much every day on skype and I read their blogs so it's a good connection and good to talk with them to conquer homesickness.
Q: What are some of the strangest things you've seen or done in America?
A: People driving 50meters to the bus stop to leave their kids there.
Q: Do you find it easy to make friends here?
A: YES :) Easier than at home even!
Q: what one piece of advice would you give to a girl who is moving to the states to au pair?
A: Just do it! You won't know if you never try! A boy can do it too
thanx for answering the questions, it helps a lot! Have u met any celebs yet? U have probably met the jersey shore cast? How was orientation & where did u stay? Its 5 days in new york right? Was the food atleast good at orientation? Lol
ReplyDeletenope haven't met any celebs yet.... haha and not the jersey sore cast either.... i guess you could if you really tried, celebs do walk around new york city but they keep such a low profile you wouldn't even notice them....orientation is long and boring but its also really cool cuz u learn a lot of stuff that you need to know, and also meet hundreds of other au pair and make contacts and stuff you know?
Deletewe stay like 30 or maybe 20 mins from new york city, like you can see it from the hotel windows. and yes the food was awesome at the hotel :)
feel free to keep asking
hi i have a few questions aswell.
ReplyDeleteQ. not sure if im getting the wrong info so if so skip the question lol, but was it hard to leave your bf in SA and how are you coping with it im planning to do it but to minded because of it.
Q. when the kids were well naughty did you find you had to speak to the parents about punishment eg. no toys or would you leave them and the parents deal with the disipline. im just scared i get really naughty child and well wont know how exactly to handle it.
Q. do you and your host parents get along well and when you first got there were things akward like did you have to straight away find out schedules etc.
thank yu Xx
ok yes it is pretty tough to leave my boyfriend in SA obviously, but he is my best friend and i believe our love is strong. it depends on you personally. some of my friends have come here and they broke up with their bf back home after four months, but i think my boyfriend and i can do this! i think if you really love the person, it will of course be extremely difficult, but i believe love knows no distance :)
Delete(p.s. you can check out this site which helps people with long distance relationships-http://www.lovingfromadistance.com/)
you and the parents both discipline the kids, if they get naughty and you dont know what to do, then talk to the parents about it, but because we are with them all day everyday, the first discipline comes from us, then the parents...make sense? also speak to ur host family about that while you are interviewing each other, so they can tell you what to expect.
my host parents and i get along really well, i love them! we just have a great connection, and i think a lot of that is choice. if you want a good relationship with them, its yours, but if you want to keep the relationship strictly business, then thats what you get. some of my au pair friends hate their host families, but you know it just depends on what type of person you are.
things are awkward in the begining, but you know you get straight to work and then its fine, the families are usually very warm and open because they get that you come from another country you know?
hope it helps, keep asking :)
Hey Naomi! Love your blog,thanx for the video. Ur an amazing person! Im glad u mentioned that u dont come from a wealthy family (no offence), cause my family is not wealthy at all! And i thought this whole time, all the girls who does the au pair thing in America are rich and dont have a worry.! So im glad to hear that, rich girls tend to be stuck up, thats why i was worried! Lol
ReplyDeletewell thats why i started my blog, to show that even if you dont have a lot of money, you can still follow your dreams :) xx
DeleteHey your fan club is growing! I was wondering what gifts I should get for the host family & kids? Do u get unlimited internet access? How big is the house u are staying in & what car do u drive?
ReplyDeletein my opinion if the family can afford you, they should be able to afford unlimited wifi and have a big house. i live in a really nice big house, and i drive a lexus truck, but some friends have a smaller house or car that they drive it just depends.
Deleteah gifts, just get something from ur home, like that you wouldnt be able to get here....but dont stress about it too much, its really not that big of a deal, its more important how well you work than what gifts your bring i think personally...
Hi there! Weren't you scared going to live with a completely strange family? I mean, like especially the host dad that he might try something? That is my worsty fear eva!!!
ReplyDeletewell you see thats the thing with ydp and the other agencies, you have to get to know them properly first before you move in, so you're not really complete strangers....the dad wont try anything, if he does, you have a million people there to go to for help and report him, but the agency also like tests or interview the host family to make sure they are good enough for the program. i have never heard of that happening, so dont worry dear :)
DeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteI've been following your blog & noticed that you have never mentioned your parents? Sorry if this is a sensitive subject, I was just curious.
Btw, so sorry to hear about your Oupa.
How did you cope with his passing being in America? :-)
hey there, thats ok, its not too sensitive, i just dont really have them, they both left when i was little so my boyfriends family is kinda my family.
ReplyDeletewith my grandfather, it was very sore and sad but the kids help take your mind off it because your attention needs to be on them every day so that helped, but also just breaking down every now and then, phoning my granny every week....i dont know, somehow im just coping, by the grace of God.
you gave me a good idea for a post :) xx
Wow sorry to hear. You really are an inspiration!
DeleteIm glad you get to talk to your granny every week.
Glad I gave you an idea for a post, can't wait for it! :-)
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteI am considering going to the usa to au pair, but I am scared that I won't be able to stay for a whole year & miss home too much. Ive never been away from home so this is all new.Im also scared that I might not like it there, like it wont be everything I expected it to be. That I might be dissapointed. Im also scared to drive there, I hate driving in traffic. And Im scared that I wont make friends as easy. Please help! :(((((
heya :)
Deletelook, i'm scared i wont be able to make it the whole year either, and that i will miss my boyfriend and home too much! i have never been away from home either, and before i left i was definitely scared i was exciting myself too much and would be disappointed when i got here. but let me tell you, it is wroth every little bit to face up to those fears and take the risk! life is too short to live in fear and when you die, you regret the things you didnt do more than the things you did. i have loved my time here so far, and its been almost 5 months! yes i miss home too much to explain, but i love it here. you make america your home while you're here, you own your life and make it what you want it to be. ans it's all an awesome adventure :D
don't worry about driving or friends, just worry about getting your butt here! :) all those things will sort themselves out i promise!
Hi I have a few questions: *Did you have trouble getting to know how the money works there, like the change of currency ?
ReplyDelete*Regarding the driving, do you ever get confused & drive in the left lane?
*Whats the best thing about New York?
*What do you do when the friends youve made go home?
*Did you ever have a fight with your host parents?
hey love,
Delete*nope, you just check the exchange rate online and then for the first few days/weeks convert everything on your cell phone or in your head, and go shopping with friends who have been in america already, they will tell you if something is overpriced or not
*i did get confused a bit in the begining but you just always say to yourself, keep right keep right, its not that bad.
*best thing about new york is the night life and central park, and that you see things from the movies and can say hey i went there, i saw that :)
*well my one friend actually just went home and it sucks but you just make friends with the new au pair, and the whole ting teaches you how to appreciate your time with your friends :)
*no, we don't fight but if i do something they dont like they will tell me and its a bit awkward afterwards but then its fine, they shouldn't be rude to you or fight as such.
xxx