Aupair Conversations with Devon

Devon was an Aupair from Britain and I actually met her the night we picked her up for a road trip to Niagara falls ha! She is lovely and was always my soup buddy when I wanted to get soup at an absurd hour! She lived near me in Pearl River and I loved every moment of being her friend.

Tell us a little about the reason why you decided to Au Pair

My main reason for wanting to become an Au Pair was to experience another way of living in a new country and to explore whilst making new friends along the way.

What agency did you go through?

I used Au Pair in America as a girl I used to work with had just gone through the entire process with this agency and was already in America making memories.

How did the process go for you? Was it easy and did you enjoy your process?

The process had its ups and downs. I applied in February and after completing the application form, including all my childcare experience and visiting a lovely lady from the agency my profile went live to all the families in America. Before I went on my holiday, I wanted to make sure I had a family so I wouldn’t be stressed on holiday. I would say I rushed into it and should have taken more time. I had interest from families from New York, Texas, California, and more. It was a crazy and scary process because it was an important decision that would affect a year or more of my life

How long did it take to get a family?

It took me a few weeks to get a family as I wanted to have everything sorted before I went on my week holiday to Rome, Budapest, and Prague. I chose the first family that showed interest when my profile went live.

What did you learn at orientation?

I had a few setbacks with not getting my visa in time so the agency kept changing my flight. When I eventually arrived at JFK airport I was greeted by a lovely man who drove me to where the orientation was taking place. I missed two days of orientation and this was when everyone had made friends and friendship groups. It was difficult at first but I picked myself up and spoke to a few girls from Germany and Brazil.

The orientation itself was very dull and did not prepare you for the realities of Aupair life. The first aid part was interesting but not exciting. I went on the New York night tour which some Au Pairs said that the families paid. If you’re like me then it’s you that pays. I wouldn’t recommend the tour because I went many times to New York and explored on foot which is so much better as you see more of the city rather than just the main landmarks by bus.

What do you regret packing and what do you wish you packed?

I was told to pack light and because America is so cheap it’s a great excuse to go shopping. In my opinion, it’s an expensive place. Whilst I was out there I bought so many clothes and shoes. I would recommend packing for four seasons with a variety of clothes or if you have money then take as less as possible and go on a shopping spree once you arrive.

Do you think that getting $195,75 is enough money per week?

The money per week is a ridiculously low amount for what the week involves. I worked Monday to Friday and had most weekends off. I used this time off to go out with friends or to go for a wander by myself. Eating and drinking out is a lot especially with the tipping. It is difficult to save money for the two weeks’ holiday we are given and also the travel month in the end.

When did you Au Pair? And where?

I was an Aupair in May 2016 with a family of five children just out of New York.

What has been the highlight of being an Au Pair?

The highlight of being an Au Pair is experiencing how another family lives for an entire year and what they celebrate and don’t celebrate compared to my life at home. It was a tough and challenging year but something I would never change.

What was one negative thing about being an Au Pair?

My main negative point of being an Au Pair was not being able to use the family car. All the other Au Pairs I met were allowed to drive. I’ve been driving for many years and love to drive. It was difficult relying on the friends I’d made to drive me around.

Do you recommend being an Au Pair?

I do recommend being an Au Pair. It is definitely more challenging than I ever could have imagined. At some parts, you’ll question why are you doing this but then moments, where you see their faces light up when you get them each a Halloween trick or treat bag filled with sweets and toys, will make you realize why you decided to be an Au Pair.

Can you give a small summary of your week? When you worked etc

The days I mainly worked were Monday to Friday. I woke up and got ready to start at 7:30 am. I needed to clean the kitchen worktops and placemats before the children came downstairs demanding breakfast. We only had breakfast if they were fully dressed.

Breakfast

This was a choice of toast or cereal on a school day. Then they brushed their teeth, some of them realized they had homework and only a limited amount of time to complete it until the bus came so we had tears and arguments most mornings. Around 8:30 am we waited at the bottom of the path for the school bus to arrive. Once the children were at school I needed to wash up, turn the dishwasher on, make the beds or wash the bedding depending on what day of the week it was, do the laundry and make sure everywhere was tidy from the morning antics.

School and break

Around 11 am I was off and could do what I wanted which usually involved going out for breakfast or to the supermarket. Then at 2:30 pm I was back to work deciding what to make for dinner. The eldest child came home around 3 pm and would go to his room and do everything except what he should be doing which is his homework.

after school

Then at 3:30 pm I waited across the road for the school bus. The children were all hungry straight after school so that was ready for when they walked in. Obviously having five children was not going to be easy. Every day involved one child commenting on the food. After that, I cleaned up again. Usually, it was a quick eat because we needed to take one or more to their sport activity or religion which involved tears and fights because homework had not been completed. It was usually an evening of driving around and dropping off and picking back up again. I usually finished around 7:30 sometimes 9 if it was the day the eldest had religion. By the end of the day, I was exhausted so I would either lie on my bed watching tv or reading or I used to meet up with friends just to get out of the madhouse. I worked every bank holiday and did late nights if the mum and dad had a date night.

Final thoughts on Au Pairing in America

I  hope I’ve given an insight into what Au Pair is like. In orientation, they describe it in a way you’ll be looking after the darling children. Playing games with them and doing activities.

The reality is Au Pair is a collective term for taxi driver, chef, cleaner, mum, and dad because there is so much to do on a daily basis. I would say make sure you are doing it for the right reasons because it’s no holiday and you are going to have to work more than have time off. Also, make sure you have lots of experience with children rather than just a couple of babysitting shifts. Take your time when choosing a family and make sure you ask lots of questions about what you will be doing, what hours you will be working when your days off are. Most importantly have the year of your life and make many memories

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Aupair Conversations with Danielle

Danielle was an Aupair in Colorado. She actually went to school with me! She is a lovely human and I thought she would be perfect to start off the series with. I hope you enjoy this Aupair Conversation with Danielle.

What agency did you go through?

I went through an agency called YDP.

How did the process go for you? Was it easy and did you enjoy your process?

The process was long. I felt like when making the video it would never end! Lol. It was easy though, and I learnt a lot along the way. Even though it took about 6 months to complete all the documents, it was all
worth it.

How long did it take to get a family?

It took about a year or so. I had a family that I was interested in it and unfortunately, it didn’t work out.
After that, it took about another 6 months to find the next family.

What did you learn at orientation?

Honestly, I didn’t learn much as I had already done the first aid course. It felt like a repeat of what I had learnt. It was good meeting other Au Pairs and exploring New York City.

What do you regret packing and what do you wish you packed?

I don’t regret packing anything, however, I do wish I packed more of the clothes I had bought instead of leaving it behind.

Do you think that getting $195,75 is enough money per week?

No.

When did you Au Pair? And where?

I Au Paired in April 2015 to October 2016. I Au Paired in Denver, Colorado.

What has been the highlight of being an Au Pair?

There were a few highlights of being an Au pair. A big highlight was having front row seats to Taylor Swift and nearly being able to touch her. It was incredible! When my one-year-old (Libby) kid learnt to walk. It was the most joyous sightseeing her face glow up because she has learnt something new. When
my three-year-old (Avery) learnt how to write her name. So many highlights with the girls and the family to look back on. I went to a football game and it was such a wonderful experience. It started snowing during the game. It was awesome! Another highlight would be travelling to so many States.

What was one negative thing about being an Au Pair?

Uhm, I am trying to think of one and I guess one negative thing about being an Au Pair is that sometimes the family takes advantage of you. You feel obligated or want to help and go above and beyond and end up putting yourself in a situation where you feel obliged to do it.

Do you recommend being an Au Pair?

I do recommend being an Au Pair. It is a wonderful way to learn about yourself and grow up. It encourages you to do things you haven’t done before. One thing that I do recommend being an Au Pair is that you need A LOT of patience. You need to have a love for children and spend every moment with them. Being there with them to learn and grow.

Can you give a small summary of your week? When you worked etc

My week was a little crazy. Most days I worked from 7 am to about 5 pm, however, some days changed. I would do the breakfast, lunch and dinner thing.

Every Tuesday and Thursday was bath day for both kids.
Yes, they bath every second day due to the weather in Colorado is dry and in winter being too cold.
Babies skin is sensitive. Mondays were music class for Avery and Libby and I would spend that 30 mins at the park down the road. Tuesdays were dance and Libby and I would chill in the car or watch Avery.

Wednesdays were art classes. During art classes, myself and Libby would swim. Avery was very active
and enjoyed all her activities.

Obviously, Libby was younger, so she couldn’t partake in many of the things Avery did. We would go to the park during the day if we didn’t want to spend time at home. We would have snacks or lunch in the park. We would go to the zoo or to the children’s museum. We spent a lot of time together, 45 hours per week. Libby napped in the mornings that’s why I had time to spend with Avery and do educational school work with her. After lunch, both kids would go nap and I would catch up on dishes, cleaning and washing of clothes. After nap time was over we would hang out together and go play outside or play with friends. We did a lot of playdates, making pizza, cupcakes,
cookies, arts and crafts and just playing at one another’s houses.

Final thoughts on Au Pairing in America?

It was a fantastic opportunity. I learnt so much. I certainly came out of my shells and did things I wouldn’t. I travelled so much by myself and with others. I met so many other Au Pairs and gained life long friends. Most of my friends were Au Pairs. If I had the chance to be an Au Pair again I would certainly take it! I would love to do an older age group as I have experienced the younger age group. I would also Au Pair in a different State.

 

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Financial Obligations your Host family has

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Legal Agencies – Aupair in America

Today we talk about agencies. There are roughly 11 legal Au Pair agencies in the world. I will obviously only talk about the ones I have had experience with (yes, there were multiple) and whom I recommend. Here are some I know about:

  1. Au Pair in America
  2. Culture Care
  3. Au Pair Care
  4. Easy Au Pair
  5. Au Pair International
  6. Inter-exchange

In South Africa, you can go through YDP, OVC and Carla’s AuPair’s which all work through a partner agency. Basically they are the partners for Au Pair Care and Au Pair International.

As a point, a male can also be an Au Pair and they are often wanted when the family has all boys. Culture Care and Inter-exchange both take male Au pairs.

Personally I would highly recommend Au Pair in America for a number of reasons.

  1. They really are such a great agency and will always help you out when you need it.
  2. They are very proactive and always make sure the Au Pairs are okay and happy in their families. Obviously there are different stories and not everyone will agree with me, but that really just is the experience I personally had.

Another agency I will recommend is Carla’s AuPair’s. I have actually never worked with them but I recently reached out to Carla specifically about an issue I had in Holland (she sends Au Pairs out all over the world) and was so helpful and amazing even though I personally am not under her.

With regards to agencies in South Africa- I do not recommend OVC at all. They were so unhelpful and just rude to me the entire process. I applied with them as they were the cheapest at the time and were at my career day BUT they were not so nice once I handed over my money.

Basically OVC goes through two au pair agencies in America. One is Au Pair Care and the other is Au Pair International. I was not allowed to sign up with Au Pair Care because at the time I had recently been put on medication for high insulin and they said they cannot accept me so OVC went with the other agency.

Now, if you are on chronic medication, you are actually allowed to be signed up to an agency as long as the medication does not affect you. I could have fought them on this point but at the time I had not done my research or anything, I instead believed these people because they were ‘adults’.

I was with this agency for about 7 months with not a single-family interested in me. They always gave me the excuse that I was either too young, not experienced enough, or that I had not had my license for that long. Let’s just have some facts for a second. At 18 I had about 5 000 hours worth of childcare. Yes, 5 000 hours. That’s a lot, I know. The minimum is 200 hours so that was an obvious excuse on their part.

Most American’s have Au pairs that are around 18/19 years old, so again, another excuse. The only thing they could put on me was the fact that I just had my license. I eventually signed up with Au pair in America while I was still with this agency and when I emailed them stating I had found another family, they did not even have the decency to say good luck or anything. So rude.

That leaves YDP. I never did approach them when I went through the American program, but I did go through them with my Holland program. It was honestly the WORST experience I have ever had. The agent I went through was incompetent and caused more trouble for me than I needed. She mad errors on her part and blamed me. It got so bad that their partner agency here in Holland called her up and told me to treat me like a person (yes, it was that bad!) I will get more into that when I talk about my Holland experience.

That’s basically my experience with the different agencies in South Africa! I have had friends that went with the above-mentioned agencies and had great experiences. I think it all comes down to your interviewer and how they treat you.

In my next post I will talk about the application as a whole. From start to finish. Although it is a very long application, it is a relatively easy application.

Until then.

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Dealing with conflict with your host family

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Introduction & Facts

Hi and welcome to Weirdlife of an Aupair. Today I will introduce you to being an Aupair and some facts about being an Aupair in America. Many people know that I was an Aupair in America. I left South Africa when I was 19 to pursue this amazing adventure which has changed my life in so many different ways. I’ve always recommended people who don’t know what to do, to do this program. You get paid and have no overheads (such as paying rent and buy food etc). You get to travel and you get to flipping go to America. What more do you want?

I am always being asked questions about the whole process of being an Au Pair, so I thought I would do a blog on it. That way anyone looking for information can get it and I don’t have to repeat myself and forget very important information like I often do. It’s a problem! 

Here are some facts about the American program:

  1. There are around 11 different official agencies that you can go through
  2. It is a government-regulated program meaning the government sets the rules for your year or 2 in the States
  3. There is a 3-day orientation that happens close to Manhattan. 
  4. You are only allowed to work up to 45 hours a week and allowed 1,5 days off a week as a regular Aupair and 30 hours as an Educare Au Pair, 
  5. You typically only get $195,75 a week which isn’t a lot but it can get you far if you save
  6. There are plenty of Aupairs around you from other countries that you can meet.
  7. You can get some really bad families, but you can also get really good families
  8. If you are not happy, speak to someone!

Most of all, being an Au Pair can be fun! There are ups and downs which I will speak about, but I loved it so much!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or leave a comment! Be sure to follow me on my journey on Instagram

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READ MORE:

What to pack for a year of Aupairing

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