You say that your real friends and family will be there
through everything. When I left the US after my time as an au pair, there were
a lot of tears and mixed feelings. When leaving Sweden I knew my family and
friends still would be there waiting when I got back. Leaving the US was not
quite the same. I didn’t know if I would see them again and for sure not when I
would see them again.
Now, almost five years later I went to visit them. I was
worried. Would the children remember me (they had 3 au pairs after me and one
who extended)? Would my host parents welcome me or would I be someone in the
way of their Halloween? Did they really want me to come and stay with them in
their house?When my very best friend in the US came out from the car at the train station waiting for me, all of above worries disappeared. She drove me to what used to be my home for a year. When getting out of the car I saw a big banner above the front door (next to all Halloween decorations). It said “Welcome back Jenny”. It was made by the family and contained a lot of drawings, and for me; that meant everything.
The whole weekend was great. The children I got to know once
again and my host parents and my friends, well, it felt like I was there
yesterday. I can't even describe the feeling. It was not the same. It was a
weird feeling. Many of my American friends is now out of college and no longer
in the neighborhood, and the dog that I loved got sick a while ago and passed
away. I felt sad I didn’t get to meet everyone, but it also made me feel so
thankful. That I got to know all of them and how they have made me love my time
as an au pair more than I could ever have realized.
