That being said, allow me to begin. I will assume that because you are reading this, you know the basics about me. So I will skip to the specifics. Starting September 10th, I will begin an exciting new adventure as an au-pair (although I think bro-pair sounds a bit better) in southern Germany. For those of you who do not know or might be unsure as to what an au-pair is, let me explain. An au-pair is, for lack of a better term, a live-in nanny. Depending on the family, an au-pair can have various duties.
My duties are fairly simple. I need to help the kids get up and make sure they are off to school on-time. The kids are 8 and 14, so I do not think that part will be difficult. However, once they are out the door, I have the rest of the morning and early afternoon to myself. During this time, I will almost certainly be exploring and taking a part-time German class (note: I don't really speak German, so this will be fun). Occasionally, I will use this time to make sure the house isn't a mess. I am then responsible for picking the kids up from school via car (I have been learning how to drive stick). I think need to ensure that the kids are safe, entertained, and try to get them to do their homework. Once the parents return home, I am off-duty. I will also get all of my weekends off and two vacation days a month--which is fantastic.
My other job is to share my culture and language with the family. As I stated, I don't speak German. And the kids apparently "barely speak English," so I will see what that means soon enough. The family has had many au-pairs before. They have had male and female au-pairs. However, I am the first one from the US. And because of that, it has been a fun game with me and mom (with whom my contact has been with primarily) trying to sort out exactly what paperwork and documentation we both need since I am not a resident of the EU.
And to break up all the prose, LET'S DO A FAQ!
As "FAQ" implies (Frequently Asked Questions), these are questions my friends and family have asked me, so here they are!
Q: Where exactly are you going?
A: Southern Germany. I will be living in the twin city of Ulm/Neu-Ulm. This is in Bavaria.
Q: How long will you be there?
A: My plane leaves September 10th. Technically, my contract with the family is until the end of July. However, they have made it abundantly clear that I will be able to leave as early as May if I need to return to the States in order to pursue a teaching career (interviews and such).
Q: Wait, so you don't speak German and the kids don't speak English?
A: Bingo.
Q: What do the parents do?
A: The parents have requested that I do not provide any information on this blog that could easily identify them. So all I can say for now is that they are both journalists. Between them, they do some freelance journalism, publish a magazine, and court translations, among other things. They both speak English (not natively).
Q: Why are you doing this?
A: Well, for various reasons. I have always been interested in foreign cultures and seeing a bit of the world. My fear was that I would graduate from college, get a teaching job, get cozy, then get stuck. I am still relatively young and have few attachments holding me back, so I knew that I had to grab this opportunity. It is a great way to see the world, learn a language and culture, and have a support system and family to help me and guide me.
Q: How does this all work our financially?
A: There are a few elements to this situation. The first situation involves my student loans. I have enough money in savings to leave for my parents to pay off my monthly loan payments while I am in Germany. I have also saved up a little money (not much) from my birthday and subbing at the schools for some pocket money when I land. However, the family will pay me a monthly stipend of 260 Euros (~$343) for spending money. Now, that is not enough to live on, but consider my expenses (or lack thereof). I live with the family, will have most of my meals payed for, and do not need to spend money on gas. This stipend money will be for traveling, food and drink if I want to go out somewhere, and whatever else.
Q: What does your family think about this?
A: If you know my family, this answer will be obvious. My dad and brother are all for it. They think it is a great way to go out and see the world now while I am still young and fairly unattached. My mom, however, is having a hard time letting me go. And I can't say I blame her. I will be gone quite awhile, and I am her baby. She knows how much it means to me, so she gave me the green light to go (and even used frequent flier points to buy my ticket to Germany!). I assured her that I will help her set up Skype on her computer and we can talk and see each other plenty. Brownie remains stoic and indifferent.
Q: Are you afraid of being homesick?
A: Frankly, yes. I have never done anything remotely close to this. I do not see my extended family very often at all, so growing up, it was the four of us together. Though it might not seem like it on the surface, I am very close to my family. However, with Skype and Facebook and the internet in general, the world has become a smaller place. We'll survive.
I figure this is a good place to stop. If you made it this far, great! Thanks for reading. I have covered quite a bit and will update this blog periodically. Please feel free to contact me on Facebook if you have any questions or whatever--I dunno. I going to try to end every blog post with a (hopefully inspiring) quote that is related to the post. Because I am not a great writer, so someone has said it better than me.
