It’s crazy how busy life can get without you even realising. It wasn’t until I sat down just now and had time to unwind that I realised how long it has been since I’ve taken time to simply sit down and write a blog post. Truthfully, prior to these past few weeks, life wasn’t all that exciting. However on June 31st I flew out to Italy where I am staying for a month as an au pair. It’s been such an incredible experience so far and I can’t wait to share it with you all.
This morning I was able to wake up to the beautiful sea view that has been the view from my bedroom window for the past two and a half weeks, tutor the neighbour’s daughter in English for an hour and then dive into the swimming pool to cool off – just in time for my two girls to arrive back at the house. I will never know what compelled me to decide to spend time this summer as an au pair but I do believe in things happening for a reason. Around December time – when I was probably feeling pretty fed up with the winter weather and suffering from a few bad decisions – I signed up to an agency that helps families abroad to find an au pair and vice versa (shout me if you want further details!). The idea of travelling on my own has always been a daunting one, and I would have never considered flying alone (or even with someone else if it could be avoided!), to go and live with a family whom I had never met before and whose main language is not the same as mine, was a foreign concept to me and completely out of my comfort zone. And yet here I am, seven months later having the time of my life in Italy, living with an Italian family, having flown over on my own, and I have grown so much as a person from this experience. I know it sounds cliché *rolls eyes* but whatever compelled me to take this leap of faith, it couldn’t have worked out better for me.
Choosing a family to au pair with was difficult but this one just clicked with me. I didn’t actually come across them through the agency but rather I was referred to them by best friends’ of theirs that I had been talking to through the agency. It’s quite a complicated story and so I’ll spare you all from the details but long story short, I facetimed this family and we seemed to be looking for exactly the same thing. We kept in touch over the six months or so before I arrived and so upon arrival, I felt like I was simply meeting someone I already knew rather than complete strangers.
I have gained myself a whole new family over here in Italy - grandparents and all! – and words cannot express what a wonderful feeling that is. I chose only to come over for a month because I still need to spend some of my summer working at home to get me through university but as I come closer to the end of my time here, it has made me reflect on my experience a lot.
Being an au pair isn’t always easy and its never plain sailing, but what I can promise you is that it is an experience worth having. I feel I have been very lucky with my experience – I have a family where both parents are very similar to my own and are fairly fluent in English, and their two girls who are aged 9 and 11 both have a good knowledge of English with one of them attending an international school. All this family request of me is that I speak in English with the girls and just generally be part of their family. As they have an Italian babysitter in the morning who then makes lunch for everyone, my mornings are completely my own which has allowed me to do additional tutoring on the side. I’ve built up such a good relationship with the family that they’ve asked me to come back next year but have also extended that invitation to any other time during the year as a holiday if I desire. They have always said they wanted this experience to be like a holiday for me and it has certainly been that. I have met several other au pairs here and made friends I’d like to think I will remain in contact with.
As soon as I find myself with more time, I will follow this post up with further updates. But for now, the girls are back for lunch and I am starving.
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