My life changing experience in New York City and great tips.
What “Au Pair” means?
The Au Pair program is a cultural exchange that enables you to reside with a family in another country for one or two years while tending to their children. You have to be between 18 and 27 years old. You receive weekly compensation, with free housing and meals. Additionally, you enjoyed some time off and two weeks of vacation, that allow you to travel and visit other parts of the country. The main objective of this experience is to share traditions and cultures with your hosts while enhancing language skills.
Perhaps one of the greatest means to achieve global peace and harmony is cultural exchange.
Preeth Nambiar, The Voyage to Eternity
The process
- FIND an au pair agency that offers the program in your desired country.
- SIGN UP and initiate the application process.
- CREATE and validate your au pair profile. This will serve as your presentation on the agency’s platform for families to familiarize themselves with you and your motivations. You’ll be required to provide a self-description, details about your experiences with children or infants, share some pictures, and explain why you wish to participate in the program.
- CONNECT with families who reach out to you via email and engage in virtual meetings to get to know them. Pose questions that are crucial to you, discuss daily schedules, their approach to child education, arrangements for holidays based on previous au pair experiences, use of a car, and grocery responsibilities. Utilize Facebook au pair groups for additional guidance and feel free to reach out to me for advice.
- MATCH with a family with whom you share a strong connection and a similar vision for the au pair experience.
- MEETING with a representative of the agency in your country or city for a straightforward assessment: The purpose is to ensure you possess the necessary language skills and have a basic understanding of childcare.
- VISA PROCESS: Schedule an appointment at the embassy of the USA in Paris (for the au pair experience in America) to obtain your J1 Visa.
- PACK: With the visa secured, it’s time to pack and leave!
My feedback
Each au pair undergoes a unique journey shaped by their personality, interests, and goals.
For me, it was a life-changing experience that altered my perspectives on many things in general. It opened my mind, helped me deconstruct my beliefs, made me much more independent and self-confident, and allowed me to meet diverse people from all around the world.
I am still close to my host family, which I often visit in New York. I am so thankful for this relationship that we built all long these two years, living and travelling together. During the experience, there were times when I felt lonely, homesick, and sad, but it is what makes you grow, learn to deal with your emotions and know yourself deeply. It allowed me to understand and acknowledge my sensitivity and weaknesses, be mentally stronger, and adapt more easily to uncomfortable life situations.
