Bags Bags Bags

Okay, I have come to terms with the fact that I will have to take two suitcases as well as a carry on which causes a problem with logistics. So two big pull along cases, two hands and a pull along carry on is not going to go well. So I had to look for a new bag to take with me on the flight. I do have several over-the-shoulder bags which I want to take with me but none of them are really big enough for me to fit in everything I would want to take on a long flight. It is also recommended to take a spare pair of clothes in case my luggage were to get lost so I had to accommodate for that too.

We went looking for a bag to take of any kind and we did not find anything in the conventional shopping centers. We did find one lovely bag that was actually a nappy bag and would have fitted a tonne of stuff in! Although the £99 price tag wasn't so lovely for a bag I might not use so much once I arrived State side. We had a look in a department store called John Lewis and I found myself in the luggage section where we found several backpacks. Now that really made sense. I would definitely use it on day hikes and bike rides with the children and the price range was much more reasonable. Most of the rucksacks in John Lewis were aimed for men though so we decided to go to Cheshire Oaks at a later date which is full of outlet stock and so it is usually cheaper and there are several outdoorsy shops.

Once we made it to Cheshire Oaks we went in pretty much every single shop we could see sold bags and actually found a suitcase shop which sold backpacks. They were ideal as I knew they were the right size to fit in the restricted carry-on space on the plane and they were reasonably nice. So ta-dahh,

Preparation

It still hadn't hit me that I was actually going but I thought it would probably be a good idea to start and think about what I want to take with me. As I'm planning on saving as much money as I can in order to travel after I have completed the program I don't want to pack really light and just expect to buy a lot of the things I need whilst I'm over there and although I really really wish I could fit everything in one case I don't think that's going to fly considering I've already filled about half my case just with gifts for my family! I admit I may have gone slightly over board...

 

I have already started to separate clothes up into 'Definitely', 'Maybe' and 'Definitely not' piles and it's a system that's been working well as I have my brother's old room to use as a packing area so I have taken pretty much all my clothes out of my room so I can see what I have (I was surprised how many items I had forgotten about). The 'Definitely' pile includes clothes that I really wear on a day to day basis, favorite pieces and bits that I couldn't live without. The 'Maybe' pile is for clothes that I could buy whilst I am there and would take up too much room to take (big jumpers etc.), clothes that I only wear every now and then, that I'm not sure fit really well or have holes in (I'm looking at a MASSIVE mound of tights to check through!) and do I really need to take 12 pairs of pyjamas?!... Probably not, thinking about it.

I still have plenty to think about like make-up and shampoo etc, but having kept in constant contact with my future Host Family I know that after I arrive on the Thursday my family is free the whole weekend to take me to the supermarket, show me the area and take me out driving. I cannot say how important frequent communication helps! I know that I only have to bring about a weeks supply of shower products which will save me a decent amount of weight.

PLACEDDDDD!

SO EXCITED!

I know that had I chosen the first family who spoke to me I would have had a good year, but I am so glad that I did not get placed with them. I know that my year with this family will be GREAT. So if you're about to be placed with a family which seem alright, hold out for the perfect family, they are out there! 

Once I had recieved the email saying my placement was confirmed I was informed that within 10 days I would get my placement pack. Until then I now had access to much more information about my host family such as their address so I was able to research more about the area they live in. Although my family will provide a car for me to use I still searched into things like public transport, local parks, nearby footpaths, and of course local horse riding centers. 

My host family have two children, a boy and a girl, aged 9 and 7 respectively. They are very active and have four acres of land with their house so plenty of space to play out together and they like going on hikes and bike rides so I know we can do plenty of activities and fun stuff together and I am already collecting ideas on things to do with the help of Pinterest! It's a really good resource for lots of ideas!

As both the children are school aged my schedule obviously shows that I have my days free and work in the evenings. If you were to get placed with a family who have children not in school your schedule will look very different.

My family and I are still in contact with frequent emails and the occasional Skype and I think that's important. I've been able to ask advice about that to bring and my host mom told me about a friend of hers who has horses that I will be able to go and help out and have a ride whilst the kids are at school. Again, that confirms how much they want me to feel at home with them and I can't sing their praises enough!!!

Au Pair in America have also provided me with information on the area I am about to move to, which airport I will be flying from and on what dates (although you don't find out all your flight details until 10 days before your departure), a map of where my new home is and who my Community Councillor is.

I am literally counting down the days!!!

Choosing a Host Family

Whilst I was waiting for the Connecticut family to make their decision I heard from two more families who said they were interested. One in Long Island and the other near Chicago. The Chicago family were obviously not for me, they didn't mention any pets in their home life and they mentioned in their letter that they would want their Au Pair to help them discipline their 3 children where I honestly wanted a family where I would be able to look after the children like they were my own little siblings and leave discipline to the parents. In order to let the family know they weren't for me I sent them an email so they were not hanging on.

The Long Island family did really seem lovely, they had two dogs, chickens and both the children went horse riding. I let them know that I was waiting for a decision from another family but I would let them know if I was still available. Then all I could do was wait for an email from the Connecticut family.

When the email came I was surprised at how long it was. They had decided to go with the other Au Pair who had lived in America before and was older than I was. The email was basically explaining why they didn't chose me. Although that may sound harsh it wasn't, it was really lovely as they said if they could have two Au Pairs she would and that there was nothing 'wrong' with me... good to know!

As soon as I found out their decision I was able to email the Long Island family and let them know I was still available and we set up a time and date to Skype and it really paid off that I am a night owl due to the time difference and I wanted our conversations to be more convenient for them. After a few initial technical difficulties we chatted and decided to have another talk. Over the next couple of days we Skype'd again and I was able to tour their house, talk to the children and speak the their current Au Pair and a previous Au Pair who had come to visit.

Within a week of speaking, Susan (the host mom), said that they would be honoured for me to become their Au Pair and I was glad to accept! I felt much less pressured into talking to this family and I know that they are the right ones for me!

A HOST FAMILY IS INTERESTED

Possibly the most exciting morning for as long as I can remember.

I woke up to an email from a lovely family in Connecticut. I was in shock as I didn't even think my application was available for families to see. They had just one little girl who was 8 years old and their letter seemed lovely however I received the email early that morning and I had to rush off to feed the horses and so I decided I would reply that evening once I could sit in front of my laptop and have a good think about what I would say in reply.

Later that day I received another email off the same family asking if I had received the first email (thank goodness for smartphones so I was able to receive the messages!). It was now I decided to write an email saying I had received her messages but wasn't able to send a thorough reply as I was not at home. When I was sending this reply my phone started ringing with an area code which was definitely not from the UK. It was the Au pair representative for the Connecticut cluster asking if I had received the emails as this family was "very interested"! I told her I was currently in the process of replying and that was that.

After a couple of messages back and forth we arranged to Skype that night at 5pm their time (10pm my time). To be honest, looking back I'm not particularly impressed with how quick things had gone as I felt rushed into everything but I did really like them, we spoke for about an hour and got on really well, they had two dogs and their little girl used to have riding lessons but hadn't been for some time (animals are very important to me this was a big aspect of choosing a family... I don't think I would be able to go to a family without any pets). We arranged to speak again the day after next and that went really well again, the Mum said that they had been speaking to another Au Pair and would have made their decision as to who they were going to chose by the end of the next day.

Host Family Letter Example

As mentioned, my letter. It did honestly take me ages to write as I nit-picked it for weeks, but I honestly think it paid off.

"Hi! My name's A********, although I usually go by Alie, I'm 19 and come from a large town in the North West of England. I live with my Mum, *****, who works at a High School with children aged 11-14, my Dad, *****, who used to be a Geography teacher but is now a bid writer and my older brother, ******, when he is at home but he is currently at University training to become a Chemistry Teacher, and our two cats. I've recently finished college after studying History, Biology and Psychology and so it seems to perfect time to see the world whilst I can.

The most recent bulk of my childcare experience has come from helping to look after a little pony called Spike who belongs to a 9 year old girl named S*****. S** and I quickly became friends and I would often help her tack up Spike so we could go for rides together or give her guidance when she was riding in the school. Unfortunately in around late July S** collapsed and developed a limp. It was later discovered that she had Perthes disease and it was heartbreaking to see such an active young girl unable to continue running around, dancing and riding as she used to. Following an operation and a lot of time by the end of November she has finally been able to get around without her crutches that she’s been using for the past several months. Although it’s still early she’s finally been able to sit back on Spike and I’ve walked with them both around the yard, taking it slow to begin with. It’s lovely to have been invited into the family where I have often baby sat for S** and her 1 year old sister E***. S** has undoubtedly become one of my best friends and I love her like a little sister. Although I’ll undoubtedly miss them both I’d like to be able to build a similar relationship with the children I’d be looking after.

My other childcare experience includes helping out at a local Rainbows group which I really enjoyed, especially when I could get involved in setting up and playing the games and helping out with crafts. I was there for about two years and during that time at school I completed my Junior Sports Leader Award (JSLA) where I learned about running sport activities for children and we would go to a nearby primary school and run activities for the kids in their P.E. classes. Lately I have been babysitting for several children varying between ages 1-13 and I have really been enjoying it, as well as helping out at a Sunday school for children aged 3-7 where I love getting messy with the craft activity of the day. I believe it’s really important for kids to be active and I think it’s really beneficial for them to get out of the house and enjoy the world around them. I’m definitely hands on and energetic in my attitude to childcare.

My main hobby is horse riding which I have been doing since I was three years old. I currently have 4 horses and have still been having lessons which I adore although I have to admit there’s nothing quite like a simple long ride out down the tracks by the stables. Riding has taught me a lot about discipline, patience and caring for others and it’s a hobby I would like to have the opportunity to still be able to continue. I also love to hike and have completed the Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award which includes 6 months of a physical activity, 3 months of working on a skill, 6 months of volunteer work and a 3 day expedition which included hiking and camping. As well as this I’ve completed the Cheshire Hike twice (a two day hike ran by the Boy Scouts) when I was part of the Girl Guides which covered around 26 miles over two days where we had to navigate our way though the countryside. I also enjoy going for long bike rides, taking dogs for walks, going on road trips to new places with my friends, reading and baking when I have the time.

I hope to use this experience as a chance to see how other families live, how children learn and play in a different culture and to make friends for a life time.

Looking forwards to hearing from you,
Alie"

Remember, you letter should be personal to YOU. Au Pair in America can only match you with families which seem suitable so lying in any part of your application  may get you placed with a family you're not happy with.

Application: Stage 1

The application is very straight forward - it really is just a case of filling out simple forms.

The categories are:

• Personal (Name, Age...)
• Contact (Address, Phone numbers, Skype...)
• Travel and Program (Select your program, Answer about previous visas...)
• Hobbies and Interests (As it says on the tin! Remember they will use these interests to help match with a similar family)
• Driving (How long you've driven for, How often, What kind of roads...)
• Childcare (Experience and willingness to look after what kind of children e.g. special needs and ages...)
• Education (Previous schools...)
• Work experience (Previous jobs...)
• Medical and Health (Allergies, Dietary requirements...)
• Return (Have you had a J1 visa before?)

Nothing difficult at all!

Once that's all done you need to fill out a more detailed form about your childcare experience, but again nothing impossible and once that's done you can write your host family letter. The host family letter, for me, had to be perfect. I saw it as my first chance to make an impression on my future host family and so I really wanted it to come across well written  and reflect my personality. It was tricky to explain a lot about my self so the family know what kind of person would be living in their home and looking after their kids without sounding completely self centered. I found that a quick intro and then explaining about my history of childcare and why I want to become an au pair first showed that my main interest was working with children. I'll link my letter here if you'd like a nosey.