Friday, October 26, 2012

Being an Au Pair

Before one becomes an au pair, one should consider carefully the demands of the job and whether one is suited for the lifestyle.  I've been thinking about this in the past week because Emi is about to leave for home and a new French au pair is about to arrive.  I am quite content after almost two months of living here, but both Emi and the other girl I worked with before have said they were quite ready to leave after one month.  I don't know how the next girl will be, but I myself really don't feel that way!  I feel happy and, honestly, lucky to be here.  I've been pondering what the differences could be between those girls and myself, and the following are my thoughts in stream-of-consciousness form.  If anything is confusing, leave a comment and I'd be happy to clarify.

1) Temperament.   I actually enjoy being with kids for moderate periods of time. I think of them as less-mature equals (is that possible?) meaning that I take their games seriously, I try to talk to them as other human beings rather than little angels or little devils, and I seriously try to understand what they are thinking.  Now, this may come as a surprise, but not all au pairs I've encountered like to play with children.  That presents some difficulties, no?  Our particular family is rather protective of the children, meaning we stay at home a lot.  Besides the trip home from school, swimming lessons, and the weekly trip to the children's museum, we don't go out a lot.  That leaves lots of one-on-one time between us and the kids, and as I might have mentioned before, they don't have very long attention spans.  I take this as a fun challenge to create new games and teach them new things.  While it can be exhausting at times, the moments of genuine enjoyment, for me, outweigh any drudgery.

2) Attitude.  I only work five hours every day, so no matter what the kids (and occasionally the parents) throw at me, I have nineteen more hours to eat and play and sleep and forget about all the negatives.  And I do!  Seldom do I truly feel bummed about my situation.  I can think of one or two times it's happened.  Once was when we took the kids to school in the morning.  I was a little down in the first place, because I had just learned that we would be doing this once or twice a week.  That wasn't in my original work agreement, so the idea took some getting used to.  Adding insult (literally) to injury, the boys were very, very, very naughty on the tram.  They talked in loud voices, they nearly jostled other passengers out of their seats, and they pointed rudely and laughed at an old man.  They wouldn't listen to Emi and me when we asked them to stop.  I was just depressed over how bad they were!  When we left them at school it was not on good terms, and the situation weighed on me the whole day.  The only other scenario in which I get bad feelings about the job is when someone (either my fellow au pair or another girl who knows the family) brings up the struggles of the job and how difficult it can be.  I just don't like to dwell on it, thank you very much!

3) Expectations.  I've already mentioned this, but I only have to work five hours every day.  Sure, I work Saturdays, but then again Sundays are completely free.  Completely!  And seriously, it's only five hours a day.  As a teacher, I may be in front of my students for five to six hours every day, but then there's one or two hours of prep, at least two hours of grading, plus after-school activities and the time it takes to communicate with parents and students.  Lesson planning and grading seriously encroach on the weekends.  So this job, it's a luxury!  Good hours and low stress.  Well, low stress in my free time (remember that part about forgetting about the problems).    Despite being entrusted with two little lives every day, I feel less of a burden of responsibility as an au pair than as a teacher.  I don't know exactly why, but I do.  When I think about the demands of adult life, I think I've got a pretty sweet deal here.  I'm sacrificing some things, like steady month-to-month savings and an apartment of my own.  But, then again, I don't have to pay rent and I don't have to cook.  For one school year and a chance to live in a foreign country, it's an unbeatable opportunity.

In short, if you have some real life experience which can serve to provide you with accurate expectations, yet still feel able to adapt to different living and work situations, and -- let's not forget the most important thing -- like to be with kids, I highly recommend becoming an au pair!

No comments:

Friday, October 26, 2012

Being an Au Pair

Before one becomes an au pair, one should consider carefully the demands of the job and whether one is suited for the lifestyle.  I've been thinking about this in the past week because Emi is about to leave for home and a new French au pair is about to arrive.  I am quite content after almost two months of living here, but both Emi and the other girl I worked with before have said they were quite ready to leave after one month.  I don't know how the next girl will be, but I myself really don't feel that way!  I feel happy and, honestly, lucky to be here.  I've been pondering what the differences could be between those girls and myself, and the following are my thoughts in stream-of-consciousness form.  If anything is confusing, leave a comment and I'd be happy to clarify.

1) Temperament.   I actually enjoy being with kids for moderate periods of time. I think of them as less-mature equals (is that possible?) meaning that I take their games seriously, I try to talk to them as other human beings rather than little angels or little devils, and I seriously try to understand what they are thinking.  Now, this may come as a surprise, but not all au pairs I've encountered like to play with children.  That presents some difficulties, no?  Our particular family is rather protective of the children, meaning we stay at home a lot.  Besides the trip home from school, swimming lessons, and the weekly trip to the children's museum, we don't go out a lot.  That leaves lots of one-on-one time between us and the kids, and as I might have mentioned before, they don't have very long attention spans.  I take this as a fun challenge to create new games and teach them new things.  While it can be exhausting at times, the moments of genuine enjoyment, for me, outweigh any drudgery.

2) Attitude.  I only work five hours every day, so no matter what the kids (and occasionally the parents) throw at me, I have nineteen more hours to eat and play and sleep and forget about all the negatives.  And I do!  Seldom do I truly feel bummed about my situation.  I can think of one or two times it's happened.  Once was when we took the kids to school in the morning.  I was a little down in the first place, because I had just learned that we would be doing this once or twice a week.  That wasn't in my original work agreement, so the idea took some getting used to.  Adding insult (literally) to injury, the boys were very, very, very naughty on the tram.  They talked in loud voices, they nearly jostled other passengers out of their seats, and they pointed rudely and laughed at an old man.  They wouldn't listen to Emi and me when we asked them to stop.  I was just depressed over how bad they were!  When we left them at school it was not on good terms, and the situation weighed on me the whole day.  The only other scenario in which I get bad feelings about the job is when someone (either my fellow au pair or another girl who knows the family) brings up the struggles of the job and how difficult it can be.  I just don't like to dwell on it, thank you very much!

3) Expectations.  I've already mentioned this, but I only have to work five hours every day.  Sure, I work Saturdays, but then again Sundays are completely free.  Completely!  And seriously, it's only five hours a day.  As a teacher, I may be in front of my students for five to six hours every day, but then there's one or two hours of prep, at least two hours of grading, plus after-school activities and the time it takes to communicate with parents and students.  Lesson planning and grading seriously encroach on the weekends.  So this job, it's a luxury!  Good hours and low stress.  Well, low stress in my free time (remember that part about forgetting about the problems).    Despite being entrusted with two little lives every day, I feel less of a burden of responsibility as an au pair than as a teacher.  I don't know exactly why, but I do.  When I think about the demands of adult life, I think I've got a pretty sweet deal here.  I'm sacrificing some things, like steady month-to-month savings and an apartment of my own.  But, then again, I don't have to pay rent and I don't have to cook.  For one school year and a chance to live in a foreign country, it's an unbeatable opportunity.

In short, if you have some real life experience which can serve to provide you with accurate expectations, yet still feel able to adapt to different living and work situations, and -- let's not forget the most important thing -- like to be with kids, I highly recommend becoming an au pair!

No comments: