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The Magazine for Working Abroad and Taking a Gap Year
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BACK
ISSUES
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An
Au Pair in the USA
by Christiana Souza |
In
the beginning I wasn't sure if what I was doing was the
right thing for me because it would be my first experience
working abroad and I hadn't had contact with anyone who
had gone through the same experience before. But then, I
thought "hey, why not?" and I came. Now, looking back, I
see that it was one of the best choices I could ever have
made.
I've been living in the USA as an au pair for over a year
and I have always lived with my host family. I have to admit
that sometimes the lack of privacy is a minus in this job
but, on the other hand, if one is lucky enough to find a
nice host family, you will be friends forever.
If traveling is what you like to do, coming to the US as
an au pair may be a nice way to get to know this country.
Even though traveling around is fairly expensive, if you
live on a budget (US$140,00/week), there's always the Greyhound
bus to take you everywhere and plenty of hostels around.
I've traveled around with friends - mostly by bus and staying
at hostels - and we had a great deal of fun. I've made contact
with people from all over the world and that's what I think
makes this whole experience worthwhile. I've learnt a lot
not just from the local culture but also about other places
such as Slovakia or Turkey. One certainly ends up making
friends from all over, not just from here.
Taking care of kids is not always easy, sometimes the opposite:
it is a very demanding job. But being abroad makes it a
lot more interesting, because everything is new for us.
I recommend it to everyone I know and I certainly would
do it again. Of course there's a chance that something may
go wrong, but that's nothing compared to all the fun and
excitement you can find in another place. |
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