My First year as an official au pair started in April 20th when I took a flight from New york to Dallas, Texas. There, I lived for a year with a family of four; a mother, father, and two girls ages 5 and 2. The host dad, who was 42 years old at the time, had an important position as a vice president for an oil company in the city, so he was usually out of town once a month for 2 to 4 days. The host mom was 40 years old and she worked more than her husband. she worked for a financial company by checking in and contacting people who kept accounts with her company. The oldest daughter was going to first grade at an elementary school close to home. She also went to swimming lessons and soccer practice. The baby went to daycare while the oldest one was at school, so I was free every morning from 7.40 am until 2:40 pm. Then I would return to work once the kids got out from school.The house was located in a suburban area, the neighborhood looked nice and fancy yet terrifyingly lonely. In the year that I was there, I only met 4 or 5 neighbors. My room was on the second floor. It was large and comfortable with a queen bed, desk, closet and a private bathroom. Honestly, it was really nice. This family had 3 cars; each parent had their own vehicle and I used a Nissan SUV with 5 seats to transport the children. The Nissan was also used by the grandparents when they were traveling. I wasn’t allowed to use this car to travel.
My experience with this family was good. We got along well and our relationship was always respectful. I was free every weekend and I usually woke up at 10 or 11 in the morning. I didn't like to go to the kitchen and have breakfast with the family on the weekend since I was there all day during the week. I enjoyed having my weekends free to have some alone time or to hang out with my friends. I found an amazing Colombian group and joined them while I was in Dallas. They were the most fun part of my au pair year. I made a best friend, who was also an au pair and Colombian too! We shared many moments together, we traveled and hung out with the group almost every weekend. We usually organized barbecues and dance parties. I was never interested in having a boyfriend so my time was dedicated to myself, travel, and friendships.
For my second year, I changed families. I moved to California!!! I arrived in Sacramento and this host family was completely different than the first, I mean literally night and day. It’s a family of 6. A dad, mom, a 15 year old teenager, 11 year old twins (a boy and girl), and a 9 year old. I was responsible for the 3 youngest kids. The host dad was 52 years old and ran his own family business selling houses. He was always very busy. The mom was 50 years old. She was an immigration lawyer but she didn't work while I was there. She had OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder, but this isn’t why she did not work. In fact she was taking care of her eldest daughter who had ADHD, so they were usually at doctor’s appointments, shopping or at therapy sessions. I had a good relationship with my host mom. She was lenient, comprehensive and helped me meet my goals. How couldn’t I love her! I never had a good communication with my host dad because he was always busy and wasn’t interested in talking about children. The teenager was in 9th grade. Sometimes I would pick her up and bring her home or I would take her to appointments when her mom was busy. The twins, a girl and a boy were so cute. They were blonde and in 5th grade. He liked soccer and playing with legos (he was really good at building legos), and the girl loved drawing and music. The youngest boy was in 3rd grade. He was into sports and liked soccer, football and basketball. These children were more difficult to take care than the girls in Texas, but there were still advantages working with the second family. I had my own apartment next to their house. It was a pool house, so I had my own independent space. It was completely amazing, with a queen size bed, closet, tv, dining room, sofa-bed, fridge, microwave and a private bathroom. I was really happy living there for a year. It was a pretty house with a pool. Since it was in the city, I was close to everything. I didn't have curfew, my friends were able to spend time with me at the pool house, and my parents even came to visit me for a month. They stayed there in the pool house with me. Also the host family had 3 cars. The car I usually drove was a Suburban SUV, a big one with 7 seats. If I wanted to take a car for weekend, they would lend me a old Mercedes.
I had a strong relationship with my host mom, we were very close. Sadly, I can't say the same about my host dad. He was away all time and we were never close. I had more privacy and independence the second year, not as many friends as my first year. I got a boyfriend and spent almost all of my free time with him, but our relationship ended two months before a I left. I went many times to San Francisco, the bahia area, and many parks in California. Also, the second year I was able to work extra hours, not just with my host family, but also with other families, so I was able to make extra money . Another positive thing is that my host mom was at home, so if one of the children didn't go to school I didn't have to change my plans to take care of them, she usually did. Also, I found several nearby adult education centers where I study english for free every day. The educational level of these programs seem great to me!
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