My host-family visiting

A couple of weeks ago I attended my host-family’s au pair reunion. After having hosted 11 au pairs, most of them from Sweden, it was time for them to come visit us.

They had organized a huge party with the former au pairs + all of our husbands and children. It ended up being a party of close to 40 people. I was their last au pair, and that was almost 10 years ago. So for some of the girls it had been several years, and our lives have of course changed a lot.

The 3 host-children are obviously no longer children but young adults, older than most of the women and men that are currently traveling from the Nordic countries to become an au pair.

It was fantastic to meet them again, and even if we have kept in touch via Facebook, emails and post cards, it has been a few years since I visited them. I was nervous to meet them again, but was relieved to feel that there is still a bond. It made me proud to see how the girls have become independent, intelligent young women with both integrity and great social skills. They are just in the beginning of their careers and it warms my heart to see how successful they are.

After the big reunion my host-family spent a week in Sweden and spent time with each of the former au pairs, including me. I think it’s such a wonderful thing that they organized their trip and spent their valuable family vacation with visiting all the au pairs around Sweden.  They had even prepared personal gifts for each one of us.

I am so thankful for my time in their family, and to have that connection on the other side of the world. It’s also a pleasure to know that I get to help others get the same experience by working for Cultural Care Au Pair. When I say the au pair year changed my life – it’s really true. One thing leads to another, and I would not be where I am today, with the experiences I have gained over the years if I hadn’t been lucky enough to have the privilege to spend a year in their family.

/Victoria

Feelings of being back

It has been four years since I moved out of the house and away from my  host family on the other side of the Atlantic. The family I used to be an au pair for is big – six people, three cats, two snakes, fish tank and a dog who I still hold very near and dear.

The family and I became very close and I try to go back to visit them as often as I can, but it had been almost two years ago since I saw them last.  Before I left the last time the youngest of the four children was shorter than my shoulders. Now, two years later, both younger children are well over a head taller than me. For the first time I could no longer tell my host mom Karen that I will take the “small kids” (referring to both their size and their age) for ice cream.

 In the time since I last saw them, the kids had swapped their favorite Mountain Dew soft drink for coffee and traded riding Ripsticks for cars. The funny thing is that despite all these changes, seeing my family again was as if no time passed. We picked up right where we left off. The sweet greeting extended to the always happy but now also much older dog. The black Labrador had a matching set of white gray hair to the white beard around his mouth.

As soon as I walk up the driveway I know it’s only seconds until I have my American family back in my arms. That feeling of having a second family makes me feel so rich, having a family that loves me, open up their house and who welcomes me to stay there as long as I want.

I feel truly blessed to have found my second family in the USA.