1) I researched what the best websites were for connecting families with au pairs.
I ultimately decided not to go with an agency because, while it is a secure option, I didn't want to have to pay a fee to join an agency and I wanted to be able to choose my own family. I have a pretty good gut instinct when it comes to people, and I wanted to make sure that I had more control over who I would be living with.
Over all of the options that I came across in my search, I ended up going with the website Great AuPair, which I highly recommend. It is super easy to use, is recommended by many different sources as a good self-serve website, and you can do pretty detailed searches when looking for families. I like that you can favorite families and they can favorite you back so you know who is interested, and vice-versa.
2) I figured out where I wanted to be an au pair and created a profile.
You can literally be an au pair anywhere in the world. As someone who has a very small list of places that I don't want to visit, narrowing down the areas where I want to work was difficult at first. I knew I wanted to live in Europe for sure, so at least I could narrow down the continent. Narrowing down the countries was the real challenge.
I speak French passably well, so I figured France would be a natural choice in the beginning. But I didn't want to limit my options, so I opened myself up to other areas as well. I know that for grad school, I will have to know two languages in addition to English, and German is highly desirable in my field, so Germany became a top contender as well. And I have always wanted to visit Italy, so I figured that country into my search as a minor option. As a bonus, all of these countries figure into my ethnic heritage, so I would be exploring my (long past) roots no matter where I went. So France, Germany, and Italy became my countries of preference on my profile.
In the end, I focused on Germany because the best families that expressed mutual interest were German families. This ended up working out really well for me because not only will I be learning a third language (so cool!) that is directly applicable to my future career, but the family that I will be working for also speaks French and Dutch (in addition to English and German), so I will have the opportunity to work on my French and possibly learn a bit of Dutch as well. Germany is also pretty centrally located in Europe, so I could travel nearly anywhere in Europe fairly easily and cheaply from my location. As an added bonus, the guy I am seeing lives in Germany, and the closer proximity makes me a very happy woman!
As far as the profile went, I just presented myself honestly and enthusiastically. I really want to get along with my host family, so it was important to me that we are truly compatible. The process was a bit long, but fairly easy.
3) I found a family that I am excited to join.
Finding a family is the hardest part, though it's definitely worth it. It involves a lot of back-and-forth communication, exploration, and thought. I went through families that I ultimately decided against and narrowed it down to a few families in Germany and one in France. When I video chatted with the family I will be staying with, however, I knew that I had found exactly what I was looking for. Thankfully they felt the same way!
I am so excited to meet and get to know my host family. They seem so warm and friendly, and I have a good feeling about them. And, like I said, I tend to be right about my gut feelings. It will definitely be a big change from living with my family in the US, but I'm up for the challenge and I know that I will really enjoy myself and have a great time with my host family. I'm actually really excited about hanging out with the kids, too. They seem super cute and fun, I can tell we are going to have a great time together! I'm currently trying to find them small presents that I can bring with me from California. I want to make a good first impression after all! And I love giving people gifts.
I know I will miss my family back home, though. I'll be gone for nearly a year, and the longest I've been away from home is two weeks. Despite our differences, I really do love them and they love me. The excitement and joy with living in a new place will keep me pretty occupied though, and I'll be able to video chat with them, which will definitely make me feel better. Thankfully, while they will miss me too, they are all very supportive of my decision, so I think I'll be leaving in a good place with them. Now I just have to finish my thesis and graduate so that I can focus on getting to Germany! I probably won't be able to write for about a week because of thesis work actually, but I'll be back soon!
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