The au pair world is a little bit crazy because not everyone can understand what this really means.
Finding the right au pair could be tough, but finding a great host family is one of the scariest emotions that I’ve felt in my whole life.
I left home and all that I love in Ecuador to live this experience as a way to improve this new language. I was so overwhelmed with many host families profiles and different thoughts going on at that time, but from the very first time when my host mom (Julie) said “hello” I knew that this was the family that I had been waiting for.
From the very beginning, I had that weird feeling or connection with people who I didn’t even know they existed. My host mom was super kind and friendly from the first time that I spoke to her. Once I arrived in the USA and met my host dad and the kids in the car I had no idea what to say. They let me feel part of their family from the first second.
I have many memories with them, for example, my host dad making many calls to help me to get my paperwork back because I got in trouble at the Canadian border.
I remember my host mom giving me a hug when I talked to her a complicated story in my life.
My host kids don’t correct my English because they don’t want to hurt my feelings. I love when Nathe knocks my door to say goodnight or when Nick hugs me for making his food.
The best vacation ever was the time when we went to Canada and some unexpected things happened, but I really appreciated the fact when my host mom made a story up about the waitress’s makeup to ask her for my birthday cake. Believe it or not it was a surprise…
When my host mom took me to Starbucks to try my first coffee at that store or when my host dad called me in the very beginning to ask me what I want from Mcdonald’s. Nowadays he doesn’t ask that because I never order something from that restaurant lol…. it feels great to know that people who are not your family, who actually are your bosses care about you.
I absolutely love dinner time because my host family has let me be part of their family.
When Julie makes dinner and she is sooo patient to make everything according to everybody’s taste in the family means a lot to me. She knows that I like to eat healthy so she prepares my food differently. Honestly my mom wouldn’t do that.
I’m never going to forget when my host mom was involving the Christmas presents and she did for me as well. Honestly I wasn’t expecting that.
The au pair experience is not perfect at all and even though I’ve tried to do my best I’ve made mistakes.
My host family has showed how amazing they are even in those moments.
One of the scariest moment that I have lived in my entire life was a misunderstanding about the kid’s soccer practice. I didn’t know where my little host kid was for a few minutes. Even though I didn’t do it on purpose, it was still my fault. My host dad got super mad at me and it was completely understandable. They meditated about the whole situation and let me stay with them. After that they took me in a cruise to Bermuda for vacation. This was one of the experiences that has changed my life forever.
My whole host family respects me as a human being and my host parents have done an amazing job raising their kids. They teach their kids to be respectful with everybody. Every single day when I read au pair stories on Facebook the only thing that comes to my mind is “THANK GOD FOR THESE INCREDIBLE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE”
I’m not the most incredible au pair for my host family because I make mistakes and especially it has been really hard for me to show my real personality because of the language. I’m not the most affectionate person either, but I’m completely honest saying that I love my host family so so much. I respect my host family as much as I respect my real family. I love the kids with all my heart and I want to deserve all that these incredible people have brought to my life.
Thank you for having me as your au pair.