COMING HOME...

After a few months I am back to share my experience after-Au Pair (not easy). I spent two wonderful years in USA and came back to my home country (Brazil) six months ago. Since I came back everything seem so weird and non sense. I've trying to get back to my routine, my life style but nothing brings me back to the same life I used to have before.

I started working as soon as I got back and it helped a lot. If I have free time, I feel down instead of enjoy it. I've been acting like a teen and behaving badly. That's the way I found to run away from myself. My friends are not the same anymore and I realized that all the real friends I have I met when I was travelling. You only know who you can really trust when you are in a complicated situation. While I was away from my family I felt really lonely but those people who came to my life during this time, will be unforgetable. They were there with me when I really needed. Now all I have here are people who wants to party and american gifts. You might think I am being mean when I say that but that how I feel.

I gave myself  six months to decide if I wanna stay or leave. I don't have plans to be an Au Pair again, it's not worthy. This is the kind of experience you must have once and after that seek for your professional career, unless you wanna retire as an Au Pair lol

There is something else that I want to point, the family thing. I have a very small family and we are not very close, only my mom and my grandma. We three are attached!!! But after three months all the fights started over again so...I felt like didnt make much difference to be back for them. Besides their lives are all settled. To sum up I want to give you girls an advice, prepare yourselves to be back home. It's not like heaven, not like be back to the mom's lap, it's harder than that...tip for you!!!

be back soon with news about my future plans...

xoxo Tata

Leaving your boyfriend? your family? your friends?

I might not be the best person to talk about this subject because I'm a very selffish spoiled only child. When I decided to be an Au Pair I had to fight against my mom and grandma's opnion. I couldn't leave college in the middle of my course so I waited until I was graduated to start filling the application. My grandma never accepted the fact I was leaving her to live with a new family. She felt like she was been betrayed. After I graduated all I wanted was match with a family as soon as possible. By this time my mom was supporting me with everything, not my grandma. We are responsible to create the relationship with our relatives. If you let them guide your life and your choices you'll always be under their wings. If you make a choice and show them you want to grow and make your own path, they will let you fly with your wings. They are older than you and have their lives all set. Not you! It's time to wake up and think about yourself. After your time abroad you'll come back and see that nothing has changed, only you!!! Cut the strings and go, go travel, go learn, go study, go work, go live!!! I've known so many girls who refused to do an exchange program because of parents and boyfriends. What a waste of time! Don't let people burn your dreams, you are a grown up! I met a girl who went to USA to be an Au Pair and didn't do anything for the first six months because she didn't want to ''upset'' her boyfriend showing him she was having a great time. Well, if he loves her, he should be really happy for her amazing experience. After six months without travelling and exploring she found out he was cheatting on her, then she started acting like crazy to revenge. What an imature actitude! On the other hand, my best friend from Sao Paulo who went to be an Au Pair and left her boyfriend in Brazil, had a very mature distance relationship. She was having a great time, travelling, learning and living a new culture while her boyfriend was in Brazil praising for her and waiting for her ''new'' girlfriend to go back to him. Can you see that you are responsable to make your relationships? It depends how mature you are to make the right choice. One year goes super fast when you're living an adventure. Don't miss it!!! Remember that things will be the same when you come back home. Everybody will have lost of love to give you and they will be so caring and happy to have you back with an amazing experience to tell them. Well, that's my very personal opnion. You may agree or disagree! It all depends how far you want to fly...wish you good luck on your choice! 

The first interview!!!

I am getting a lot of messages from future Au Pairs asking me about the first interview with the host family. Based on my personal experience I will give you some tips about questions you should give and questions you should expect from the family. I didn't have a chance to use the Skype when I matched with my first family. We just talked on the phone. On my second family I used the Skype and it was great to see the kids and the parents. First of all, pick a very quite place and don't let all your family be around you during the interview. It just makes you even more nervous. Make sure your webcam and your microphone is working well and if there is enough light in the room so they can see you. Have a note with you with the questions you should expect from them and the questions you wanna ask as well. Let me list some tips that might be helpfull:

- smile during the interview, even tough you're freaking nervous, show the family you're a happy person.

- if you don't understand, ask them to repeat and dont't pretend you understood

- show them you're interested to know about the kids, ask about the kids before asking about any other subject.

- don't go ahead and throw questions about car, vacation, payment, curfew, wait for the third interview.

- be carefull with the videos you make, don't be too revealing! pick the right outfit and a nice song.

- be carefull with your webpages like facebook, bloggs etc. Don't post pictures of you at the club or drinking and don't post anything that describe you as a bad person.

- ask them about their birthdates and try to surprise them with a call or a message even if you didn't match yet.

That's all for now and I wish you girls good luck and please contact me if you would like to talk about something else.

Kisses and Hugs!!!

The best of being an Au Pair!!!

Well, I should know all the girls know all about it but I still think we need to point the goods of being an Au Pair to encourage the girls who didn't start this amazing experience yet. First of all, you gotta know that this is gonna be the time of your life. This is an unique oportunity that will be unforgetable. Besides you have the chance to really live the american culture and learn lots of responsibilities, it opens your mind and you'll never be the same after this. It all depends of you and the choices you make to yourself. Think you've got everything on your hand. Your level of english, your ability to solve problems and your skills to make everything work just right, it all depends of you! Let's start talking about the life with your hostfamily. It's very easy to put effort to make everything work well for both parts. You must know you're living with them and they feel responsable for you during your stay in their house. So, its nice of you to let them know about your social life, your friends and places you like to go. It doesn't mean they are nosy or curious about your private life, they just want to make sure you're safe and in good company. Another thing that I would like to mention is that since you live in the same house, you also have house duties to do. It's not your obligation but it's nice to be helpful and contribute to keep the house organized and clean. The comunication is the best thing between Au Pair and Host Family. On your year as an Au Pair make plans to do things you havent done before. Save your money and do weekend trips. Go to places, explore the city, take a new class, start a new sport, live it!!! Talk to the host family about your days off and vacation as soon as they can plan it, so you know where you wanna go and you have time plan a fun vacation for yourself!!! Don't forget to find other Au Pairs in your area, contact all of them before you plan a trip. Maybe you find some good company! You'll have an amazing time if you want it!!! Improve your english, take classes, have fun with the kids you work with, travel as much as you can, share your culture with the americans and let them teach you about their culture. I also wants to mention about the salary. I know I've heard a lot of complains about the ammount of money we make BUT remember you don't have any bills to pay and if you were a nanny and have to be responsable for all the bills, you would have the same life. I'm not the best person to talk about saving, but I know you girls can do it! :)

Well, that's my first message for you girls who are current Au Pairs and for you who wants to be an Au Pair. Wish you all good luck and hope you have a wonderful time!!!

Tata