Emails, Skypes and Phone Calls

Its all becoming REAL!!

So the past 6 days host families have been getting hold of me, and we are chatting away! It is so exciting meeting everyone on that side of the world and researching all the towns that these families come from. Some families already told me they have matched with other aupairs, and some have set up our 2nd or 3rd chat!

I must say, I had a completely different view of the families that would be contacting me, just because I kept comparing to my old host family, but I'v realized that this is a completely different experience and adventure that I am going to, and I need to completely empty my mind of preconceptions!  I was convinced I wanted to be on the east coast-but it seems I have a very large chance of being on the west coast!

Some questions that I ask them that are important to me include:

Does the family consider their au pair a part of their family? (this is really important to me! I want to feel wanted, accepted and supported by both parents)

Do I have access to a car, and how far is public transport. (This makes a HUGE difference as it gives you a bit more independence and freedom during your time off.)

My Free Time, If I'm allowed friends over, If family can visit from home etc etc.

Its important to ask the family as much as you can, so that you know exactly who you are going to, and what they are like!

I'm sure I'm going to match soon-so watch this space!!
Exciting stuff!!

Roxy

Lets travel the world

HI There

So this is an AMAZING video, I get goose-bumbs every time I watch it, and makes me want to travel the world more than ever!
I hope it inspires you to :)

If its not clear enough, take a look at it on - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwe-pA6TaZk - its worth it!!

Enjoy!

Roxy

Whoop Whoop I'm online!

Officially online and waiting for families to contact me!!

We were at a get together yesterday evening and my phone beeped with an email. I saw it was from none other that Au Pair in America and my heart instantly went hot!

Dear Roxanne,

You have been accepted onto the Au Pair Extraordinaire program.

Please log into the Au Pair in America website regularly to view any updates about your application. You will also find lots of useful information about matching with a host family and life in the US.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions and we hope to find you a great host family soon.

Kind regards,
Au Pair in America

So now at least I'm online-even though the waiting game starts AGAIN!! This waiting game is a bit more exciting than before as at least I know I'm accepted and the hard part is over! I know now ill be sure to jump at every email received as it could be from my future host family!  SO- to my future host family-Please could hurry a little and pop me an email, I cant WAIT to meet you!




Roxy

Excitement Begins

And so the excitement begins!  My application is with the Au pair head office waiting to be submitted online for all the families to view! Iv been checking my emails more than once an hour, just to check if it has been submitted yet....but all in good time!

Iv been waiting the whole week to see if its been verified yet, and not until this morning did i get an email from them saying that it's almost on its way-there were just a few changes that had to be made etc.

Now all the questions are popping in my head--what city will I be in, what's my family going to be like, my schedule, my new friends and and and.!!!

Join in my excitement and hopefulness of only good things to come :)

Until I'm officially online..
Roxy

2010

So, this will be my last post about the past, but it is a piece of my story, so i need to share it.

I arrived in the States on the 7th Dec 2009, with 0 travel experience.  My first trip was to NYC on about the  15th Dec with a friend staying in CT. WE(as COMPLETE novices) decided to go to the city, when we KNEW there was a snow storm on the way! face palm! The first 12 hours were complete magic in the snow, times square lights and all, but the next 12 turned into a nightmare as all transport came to a complete halt.  This resulting in crying, yelling negotiating and a whopping $150 to get home !

Its good to be able to look back now and be able to laugh! But i tell you, every trip I planned after that-i made SURE to check the weather!

My travels thereafter included countless trips to NYC, a weekend in DC and to the Naval Ball, A cruise to the Bahamas, Disney Land, San Fran, Vegas, the Grand Canyon,Yosemite, LA and Hollywood and then many trips into Boston (My other home<3)
I went on these trips with my friends from the au pair program and a huge shout out goes to Livia, Becca, Sandra, Peta and Roxy! My trips will be forever in my heart and you made them so much more worth it! xx

Some of the places above will def be re visited this year, and i will most certainly be adding a lot more to the list!

below are a couple photos...enjoy!

Yours in Travel
Roxy

All About Au Pair in America

So, the thing that started me off as a traveler :)

Right after high school I left for an amazing family in Natick MA to be their Au Pair for a year. I went through a company called 'Au Pair in America'.  They place au pairs from all over the world with families in the USA. At the point when I applied, I never knew that there were quite a few companies that do this, but turns out there are! I still think that Au Pair in America is the best to go through though due to many reasons!

If you decide to go - this is the process.
1-You find an au pair representative in your area and she will send you all the application forms. These included child care ref forms, character ref forms, medical forms etc etc.  You need to get together a couple of photos of you and some kiddies and all the forms and then you go for your 'interview'.  After you pay your app fee, you will be online ready for families to view your profile!
2-Host families who are interested in you, will contact you via email telling you about their family and asking if you want to speak to them. If you do, you will make a time and date to chat and you will get to learn more about them, hear their voices and ask them questions.
3-Once you find a family that you want to match with, you or the family will notify Au Pair in America about the match and then your representative will send you all your visa application forms. You fill these out, give them back to her and she will make you a visa interview app at a US consulate.
4-You go for your interview, and wait for the arrival of your visa. Once this is all complete, you can buy some dollars, pack your bag and say your goodbyes!
5-Au Pain in America will organize your flight, and send you all the details-so its one less thing to stress about! and you are on your way!

When you arrive at JFK (that's where all the au pairs fly into) you will be picked up at the air port by a shuttle and taken to a hotel in Stanford CT. This is where you stay for 3 nights and 4 days with all the other au pairs who arrive the same time as you. (about 150 when i went).  This is your orientation week, where you meet other au pairs and go through training such as American culture and Red cross. On the Wednesday eve, you get the opportunity to go on a NYC tour which is unbelievable! Then on the Thursday afternoon, you pack up and head out to your host family.  I took the train up north to MA and they collected me from the station.  Your host family organizes your travel arrangements from Stanford, so you also do not need to stress about this.

I arrived on Thursday night ready for the year of my life!!

I took care of 2 little girls, 5 and 7, and they were an absolute PLEASURE to care for, I miss them every single day!

3 months before your year is up, Au Pair in america will send you an email asking if you want to extend your stay for another year, or if you want to go home. If you opt for an extension-you can stay with your family, or match with a new one. I opted to come home, so they sent me a couple of flight dates, and I told them which one to book, then they sent me my ticket.
During the year, you have a 'Community Councillor  who is basically your support base during your stay.  She 'manages' all the au pairs in her area and organizes a meet up with everyone once a month. So you get to meet all the other au pairs in your area. Its really fun to catch up with all the girls, and a lot of your friends will come out of this group!

And thats about it-I had an AMAZING year making the best friends, a second family and traveling just about the whole country! Au Pain in America really looked after me well, and that's why I recommend it to just about anyone!

If you are interested in the program and live in SA click here www.aupairinamerica.co.za if you live somewhere else click here www.aupairinamerica.com

Yours is Travel
Roxy

So my name is Roxy, and I have been bitten HARD by the nasty but amazing TRaveL BuG! My first big trip was to Australia and Dubai in 2004 when i was still in primary school, but the bug really got me good in 2009-2010 when I went to the USA to Au pair   Whilst in the States I traveled all over the east and west coasts, went on a cruise, visited the Bahamas and other places...but more on that later.  I returned home to South Africa on the 8th of December 2010, and since that date, I have wanted to spread my wings and fly again! The opportunity to go and Au pair has come around again, and I haven't just grabbed it with both hands, I have dive tackled it! 

In this blog, I plan to share all my au pair experiences tied in with all my travel experiences as well! 

This time around I don't plan to return home so quickly though-I want to work in the Caribbean, teach English in Dubai walk on the great wall of China, take a train through India and scuba through the Great Barrier Reef! My Au pair year is just the beginning of it all and I can NOT wait to get it all started!

I have just applied to the program, so I am waiting for families to call.  I will explain in my next post about how the program works.  So the next 2-3 weeks are really going to be the start of it all for me!

Yours in travel

Roxy