Let´s go!

After I got excited about studying or going abroad I requested several catalogues from international schools in Europe. The more I got excited to attend one of those (expensive) international schools, the less excited my father got when he found out the school fees and accommodation costs… In other words, those schools were for not for my family´s budget so I had to find other ways to start my dream abroad.

Wondering how anyone could plan to study or travel abroad without Google or Yahoo in the 90´s? It was normal to check the newspapers for advertisements. In those days the (Dutch) newspapers on Saturday were packed with ads from universities, jobs, airlines and other services. You requested catalogues by phone and later you got very happy when you received them in your (real) mailbox!

There were of course several options to go abroad and maintain oneself, but as I wrote in my previous post, my mother had been an au-pair in different countries. You are now asking what is an au-pair and whether it is the same as a nanny? An au-pair is young (male or female), interested to learn the local language and culture and stays temporarily with the family. A nanny has more child care skills, may stay for years and receives a higher salary.

Furthermore an au-pair is not supposed to clean nor cook for the family. Of course, this is the perfect description in the catalogues and from the agencies, the reality is normally very different… The stories from my (au-pair) friends range from “hell” to “fantastic experience” and everything in between.

Of course my mother could have warned me as she knew already, but she did not want to spoil my enthusiasm. It was not until 15 years later that I heart the real stories of her adventures abroad, which were not all sunshine and happiness as I always thought, but actually similar to mine.

As I had been babysitting since I was 14 years old I knew I could handle little kids, at least that was what I thought then. Several families later I learnt that only taking care of kids was not enough to be an au-pair, maybe be more patient would have been even better!

I selected an au-pair agency and told them my most important requirement regarding my first family abroad: a sunny and warm destination, anywhere…

So, my mission to stay abroad to learn languages and cultures was approaching. The smell of the adventure was coming close. I was going to be an au-pair abroad soon, very soon….. But where?