What is your overall
impression on your time as an au pair?
I have a very positive overall impression on my time as an au pair and I am very gladly involved in working for Cultural Care Au Pair with inspiring others to apply to the program. I believe that working as an au pair in a foreign country is one of the most beneficial jobs that you can take on as a young adult. Not only to you gain practice in meeting cultural differences, you also learn a lot about who you are. It is first when you engage with people that are different than yourself that you have a reference on who you truly are and what is important to you. It is a very important life lesson that will come in handy in many future situations in your life. Furthermore, it is an amazing and precious opportunity to be responsible for a child's/children's self-development. You are given to chance to experience moments that you thought were only possible to experience the day you become a parent yourself. The mutual learning that takes place between you and your host children will be something that you can feel very proud of and you grow twice yourself as you can recognize the appreciation in your host parents! In addition to the obvious positive self-development that the au pair program offers you develop your language skills, problem solving skills and social skills. You gain all this knowledge meanwhile living in an amazing country with tremendous opportunities!
I have a very positive overall impression on my time as an au pair and I am very gladly involved in working for Cultural Care Au Pair with inspiring others to apply to the program. I believe that working as an au pair in a foreign country is one of the most beneficial jobs that you can take on as a young adult. Not only to you gain practice in meeting cultural differences, you also learn a lot about who you are. It is first when you engage with people that are different than yourself that you have a reference on who you truly are and what is important to you. It is a very important life lesson that will come in handy in many future situations in your life. Furthermore, it is an amazing and precious opportunity to be responsible for a child's/children's self-development. You are given to chance to experience moments that you thought were only possible to experience the day you become a parent yourself. The mutual learning that takes place between you and your host children will be something that you can feel very proud of and you grow twice yourself as you can recognize the appreciation in your host parents! In addition to the obvious positive self-development that the au pair program offers you develop your language skills, problem solving skills and social skills. You gain all this knowledge meanwhile living in an amazing country with tremendous opportunities!
Who would you
recommend the au pair program to and why?
I would recommend the program to any young adult who has had prior positive experiences from working with or being engaged in any childcare activities. To anyone who can recognize the joy from working with children and who wants to take the chance to experience this joy on a truly personal level! You are being offered a unique chance to work with childcare on a more personal and emotional level than in many other job situations. In addition to the fundamentals of having an interest for childcare, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to have an abroad experience while at the same time having the safety pins of a host family and Cultural Care Au Pair staff to assist and support during challenging situations as well as for anyone who is interested in cultural exchange, languages and traveling!
I would recommend the program to any young adult who has had prior positive experiences from working with or being engaged in any childcare activities. To anyone who can recognize the joy from working with children and who wants to take the chance to experience this joy on a truly personal level! You are being offered a unique chance to work with childcare on a more personal and emotional level than in many other job situations. In addition to the fundamentals of having an interest for childcare, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to have an abroad experience while at the same time having the safety pins of a host family and Cultural Care Au Pair staff to assist and support during challenging situations as well as for anyone who is interested in cultural exchange, languages and traveling!
Staying in touch
It will be 3 years this summer since I returned back to Sweden after my au pair experience. This June was the second time that I saw my much loved and missed host family again. As the course of life continues it has become unrealistic to expect contact on a day to day basis obviously, but I can gladly say that me and my host mom stay in contact at least on a monthly basis. I truly believe that the special relationship that you build with your host family during your time as an au pair is a relationship that has all the possibilities to last for life - with some effort of course! Other than my host family I have had the opportunity to visit 4 friends from four different European countries, this on a regular basis. Hence, it has given me bigger reasons to travel around Europe. I also stay in touch with au pair friends that are further away in South America and Australia - and I know for a fact that when the opportunity is given I will most certainly see them again. The fact that I today have friends and contacts throughout big parts of the world became evident when I spent an abroad semester in Munich, Germany this gone fall. I was on my feet traveling to Hungary (among other places) and on chance I contacted an old au pair friend in Budapest, in whom I had not had a lot of contact with since we both left America. It was so great and I was given a great time in Budapest seeing the city from a native's perspective while at the same time catching up on old memories!
It will be 3 years this summer since I returned back to Sweden after my au pair experience. This June was the second time that I saw my much loved and missed host family again. As the course of life continues it has become unrealistic to expect contact on a day to day basis obviously, but I can gladly say that me and my host mom stay in contact at least on a monthly basis. I truly believe that the special relationship that you build with your host family during your time as an au pair is a relationship that has all the possibilities to last for life - with some effort of course! Other than my host family I have had the opportunity to visit 4 friends from four different European countries, this on a regular basis. Hence, it has given me bigger reasons to travel around Europe. I also stay in touch with au pair friends that are further away in South America and Australia - and I know for a fact that when the opportunity is given I will most certainly see them again. The fact that I today have friends and contacts throughout big parts of the world became evident when I spent an abroad semester in Munich, Germany this gone fall. I was on my feet traveling to Hungary (among other places) and on chance I contacted an old au pair friend in Budapest, in whom I had not had a lot of contact with since we both left America. It was so great and I was given a great time in Budapest seeing the city from a native's perspective while at the same time catching up on old memories!
What has been the
impact of the au pair experience on me and my personality?
Where to start? I think that my dearest would in particular say that my self-confidence has developed in a positive way and I am more secure in myself, letting myself embrace things that earlier would scare me - such as change. I am more at ease with new situations and socially, there are few situations where I would feel uncomfortable. Because I have lived, seen and been in places where many of my Swedish friends have not I have a broader reference point in which I can relate things to. My first six months as an au pair, I took care of an autistic child. Today, 4 years later I feel secure in admitting that these 6 months changed my life to the better. "I'm open-minded" is probably one of the most common self-attribute someone would ascribe themselves with - so did I during my application process. Looking back, I wasn't really as open-minded as I thought, but I became during this experience and I am forever grateful.
Where to start? I think that my dearest would in particular say that my self-confidence has developed in a positive way and I am more secure in myself, letting myself embrace things that earlier would scare me - such as change. I am more at ease with new situations and socially, there are few situations where I would feel uncomfortable. Because I have lived, seen and been in places where many of my Swedish friends have not I have a broader reference point in which I can relate things to. My first six months as an au pair, I took care of an autistic child. Today, 4 years later I feel secure in admitting that these 6 months changed my life to the better. "I'm open-minded" is probably one of the most common self-attribute someone would ascribe themselves with - so did I during my application process. Looking back, I wasn't really as open-minded as I thought, but I became during this experience and I am forever grateful.
