Swedish au pair Isabelle has certainly made the most of her time as an Au Pair in America so far. She tells us why she decided to become an au pair and how her life has changed over the last two months!
Hello there future au pair!
My name is Isabelle and I’m a 19-year-old girl from Sweden. I have been in the States for more than two months now and I can’t believe how quickly time is passing by. I take care of two wonderful girls, aged six and eight, in a gorgeous suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. I would say that I am currently living the American dream. I love the girls I am taking care of and I have found wonderful friends in the area who I spend all my weekends with! Usually we go to downtown Boston, go shopping, relax in one of the countless parks or explore the city together.
I have seen so much of the States already and there are even more trips to come! So far, I’ve explored Downtown Boston, several beautiful towns and suburbs around the Boston area, Niagara Falls, the island of Nantucket and New York City. I can assure you that becoming an au pair in America is the best decision I have made in my entire life! You will meet so many friends from all around the world and you will grow so much as a person. You are suddenly in charge of your own life and you will really get a glimpse of the real adult life. Not only will you learn so much about the American culture, but you will also start to appreciate everything you’ve left behind back home in a way you would have never imagined.
For those of you who are interested in finding out more about a typical day in an au pair’s life, here’s what I can tell you:
I wake up around the same time as my host kids do. Once they’ve made it out of bed, I make their beds and prepare their lunchboxes. After having breakfast together and while the girls are getting ready, I clean up in the kitchen and put their laundry in the washing machine. Afterwards I drop them off at school and then I don’t have to collect them until the afternoon, which gives me a few hours to do whatever it is that I want to do with my morning.. Twice a week I do the groceries for the kids and me or sometimes I meet my friends instead. I also enjoy going to the gym, on other days I prefer relaxing in my room. In the afternoon I usually prepare snacks and we play together or have playdates. My host kids are into all sorts of activities such as gymnastics, tennis and piano. I am also in charge of preparing dinner and getting the kids ready for bed. We usually read a bed time story together and then I usually have free time when my host parents come home in the evening, as well as on the weekends.
I’ve come to realise that I hadn’t seen my country the way I do now before I came to America. Everything you see and everything you experience whilst in America will help you so much in the future. No one will ever be able to take this incredible journey away from you. This is an adventure of a lifetime. You will find friends for life, a family for life and most importantly- memories for life. I would like to address specifically those of you, who are hesitating to make this big step:
Life in America will not only allow you to tick off a few more places on your bucket list, but also change your feelings about your native country. Most importantly – you will learn so much about yourself.
It might sound like a cliché, but it is too true not to mention it at least – life is too short not to live it to its fullest.
