Thinking about being an Au Pair in America?
After working as an Au Pair for the last eighteen months in America, I have put together 5 reasons why you should do the same thing:
When you're looking into becoming an Au Pair in America, you get told that you'll have a second family, and for the most part that's true. But your host parents are still your bosses, and when you've had a bad day, it's nice to be able to complain about your bosses to someone who understands what it's like.
I also know I have a place to stay in countries all around the world, and one day when I actually have a house, I'll have a couch ready for my awesome foreign friends.
America is a big country, and it's not really made for backpacker tourism, with far more hotels than youth hostels, average bus routes, and not many trains. Consequently, most tourist tend to visit a few cities on the East or West coast, and not much else, which is a shame because this country is so diverse and there's so much to see.
By living here we have the chance to explore much more of the country than most people. Each state is so different and in the weekend we can take roadtrips to other states and cities. I've been here for eighteen months and when I leave I will have traveled through 15 states including a few from 2007. We also get to see much more of the cities we live in, and not just the tourist spots.
Sometimes Au Pairs spend more time with their kids than the host parents do, so it's ineveitable that we're going to bond with the kids, and even if the host parents parents are horrible, the kids make up for it.
We're there when the kids lose their first tooth, get potty trained or finally out of pull-ups, ride their bikes without training wheels, hit their first home run, the first day of kindergarten, and for all of the birthdays and holidays. I completely underestimated how attatched I'd get to the kids, but at least I'll be able to skype them when I leave.
Let's be honest-we all have stereotypes about Americans, and this program gives us the chance to see which ones are true. A lot of people just make it to LA or New York, and I wouldn't say that the people who live in LA are a good representation of most Americans. I've found Americans to be very welcoming and friendly, and they're always interested in finding out where we're from.
By living here you get to go to house parties (yes they really do drink from those red cups), play beer pong, make friends with American girls, date American guys, as well as celebrating thanksgiving; Halloween; St Patricks day, and the 4th of July. I really feel that when we travel through a country we're only seeing one layer of the people. And it's not until you spend some time in line at the post office, hanging out in starbucks, watching sport and the news, and experiencing the holidays that you get to see more of the American culture.
Living here has helped me to understand so much more about politics, religion, the war, and Americans in general and I'm extremely grateful for the opportunites I've been given here. And let's face it: living in America has also given me a greater appreciation for New Zealand and its public healthcare, lack of homeless people, and much more reasonable college costs (with interest-free student loans).
This experience has taught me so much about who I am, and I've learned that I'm much stronger than I thought. It takes guts to talk to people on the phone and then decide to move to the other side of the world and live with them. The reality of this program is that if you want to be treated like an adult you have to stand up for yourself. Living here has forced me to be even more independant than when I was living alone-you can't borrow $20 from mum three days before pay day, and you have to look after myself when you're sick.
Being an Au Pair also forces you to be far more social. I've always found it easy to make friends, but when I moved from Chicago to San Diego I was in for a shock-there are hardly any Au Pairs here and they already had their group and weren't interested in meeting anyone else. So I made friends with new Au Pairs that arrived, but it was still a tough few months, especially compared to Chicago where I was welcomed and had friends after a week. If you get here and don't make an effort to meet people, then you're in for a lonely year.
If you're thinking about doing the program, you should definitely go for it. Like anything there are good and bad points, and if you're looking for more information, check out my website.
The incredible friends you make.
When you're looking into becoming an Au Pair in America, you get told that you'll have a second family, and for the most part that's true. But your host parents are still your bosses, and when you've had a bad day, it's nice to be able to complain about your bosses to someone who understands what it's like.
I also know I have a place to stay in countries all around the world, and one day when I actually have a house, I'll have a couch ready for my awesome foreign friends.
The chance to travel in North America
America is a big country, and it's not really made for backpacker tourism, with far more hotels than youth hostels, average bus routes, and not many trains. Consequently, most tourist tend to visit a few cities on the East or West coast, and not much else, which is a shame because this country is so diverse and there's so much to see.
By living here we have the chance to explore much more of the country than most people. Each state is so different and in the weekend we can take roadtrips to other states and cities. I've been here for eighteen months and when I leave I will have traveled through 15 states including a few from 2007. We also get to see much more of the cities we live in, and not just the tourist spots.
The kids
Sometimes Au Pairs spend more time with their kids than the host parents do, so it's ineveitable that we're going to bond with the kids, and even if the host parents parents are horrible, the kids make up for it.
We're there when the kids lose their first tooth, get potty trained or finally out of pull-ups, ride their bikes without training wheels, hit their first home run, the first day of kindergarten, and for all of the birthdays and holidays. I completely underestimated how attatched I'd get to the kids, but at least I'll be able to skype them when I leave.
Actually living in America
Let's be honest-we all have stereotypes about Americans, and this program gives us the chance to see which ones are true. A lot of people just make it to LA or New York, and I wouldn't say that the people who live in LA are a good representation of most Americans. I've found Americans to be very welcoming and friendly, and they're always interested in finding out where we're from.
By living here you get to go to house parties (yes they really do drink from those red cups), play beer pong, make friends with American girls, date American guys, as well as celebrating thanksgiving; Halloween; St Patricks day, and the 4th of July. I really feel that when we travel through a country we're only seeing one layer of the people. And it's not until you spend some time in line at the post office, hanging out in starbucks, watching sport and the news, and experiencing the holidays that you get to see more of the American culture.
Living here has helped me to understand so much more about politics, religion, the war, and Americans in general and I'm extremely grateful for the opportunites I've been given here. And let's face it: living in America has also given me a greater appreciation for New Zealand and its public healthcare, lack of homeless people, and much more reasonable college costs (with interest-free student loans).
The opportunity to really grow as a person
This experience has taught me so much about who I am, and I've learned that I'm much stronger than I thought. It takes guts to talk to people on the phone and then decide to move to the other side of the world and live with them. The reality of this program is that if you want to be treated like an adult you have to stand up for yourself. Living here has forced me to be even more independant than when I was living alone-you can't borrow $20 from mum three days before pay day, and you have to look after myself when you're sick.
Being an Au Pair also forces you to be far more social. I've always found it easy to make friends, but when I moved from Chicago to San Diego I was in for a shock-there are hardly any Au Pairs here and they already had their group and weren't interested in meeting anyone else. So I made friends with new Au Pairs that arrived, but it was still a tough few months, especially compared to Chicago where I was welcomed and had friends after a week. If you get here and don't make an effort to meet people, then you're in for a lonely year.
If you're thinking about doing the program, you should definitely go for it. Like anything there are good and bad points, and if you're looking for more information, check out my website.
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