Au Pair of the Year 2011

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Talya

Trophy
The IAPA recently announced this year’s Au Pair of the Year. Cool, huh? This year’s award goes to Luna Vazquez de la Rosa, a twenty-year-old au pair from Spain working in the UK as an au pair. The two runners-up for the award were Germans (IAPA).

So how does the Au Pair of the Year award work? Au pair agencies who are members of the Interational Au Pair Association ask their host families for nominations. To nominate their au pair, they have to submit an essay detailing how great their au pair is and how they couldn’t imagine life without her (or him – the au pair of the year for 2009 was a guy). The IAPA reviews the host families’ essays and selects finalists from those families. Au pair finalists are then requested to write an essay themselves, detailing their experience as an au pair. A winner is then chosen based on those essays.

Honestly, I wish that award had existed when I worked as an au pair (as far as I know, it didn’t). I would have loved to have been awarded for all my hard work! But to be really honest, I am not sure that I would have actually won – or even been nominated for the award. I worked really hard, and I know my family loved me (and hopefully still does!), but I did some stupid things, which I’ll tell you more about in another post (don’t worry, I will spill the beans!). But I guess no au pair is perfect, right?

So what do you think about Au Pair of the Year award? Would you like to win it? Do you deserve to win? Are you like me, and a bit jealous you weren’t publicly recognized for your hard work as an au pair? Or is it not really all that important? I’d love to hear your thoughts …

And for host families interested in nominating an amazing au pair for the award, please visit the IAPA’s website for details. The deadline for essay submissions is January 15, 2012. If your au pair deserves the award, be sure to submit yours as soon as possible!

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Getting sick on the job

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Talya

medicine(photo by dreamstime)

Just like the rest of us, au pairs sometimes get sick. It isn’t fun for the host family who might have to find substitute childcare while their au pair is really under the weather, which can be a hassle. It is also un-fun for au pairs, who would probably rather be healthy and working and sick and not (working, that is!).

Making things even more difficult for au pairs who become ill is the fact that they are already out of their element. Being sick is a particularly rough time for au pairs, as their usual support group – family, friends, their usual doctor, medicines, etc. – is missing. They may even feel guilty for being sick, feeling as though they are putting their host family off by being unable to work or by needing any extra attention.

My advice? For au pairs, it would be to take good care of yourself in the first place to avoid being sick as much as possible. Your family needs someone who is healthy and fit most of the time, and your time abroad will be much better enjoyed – and remembered – if you are healthy.

When you do get sick, take time off to get well. And don’t feel guilty about not working if you are truly sick. Your host family will survive while you are sick, so don’t kill yourself. I nearly did – instead of taking time off and visiting a doctor during the week while sick, I waited until I was in unbearable pain over the weekend – when doctors in Germany are all closed – and wound up having to visit the emergency room to get meds for a horrid sinus infection. Not something I would recommend!

Also, sick days also don’t count against vacation days, so there is no need to fear losing precious days off when ill. And if you are contagious, believe me – your host family would rather you lay low than infect the entire family!

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Au pairs in America – Stay and travel!

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Talya

girls on beach (photo courtesy of dreamstime)

Did you know that au pairs working the USA get to stay and travel even after their au pair job has ended? Yes, they actually do! America is a major au pair destination, and as it is such a giant country, au pairs often don’t get to see everything they want to see during their time as an au pair. Thankfully, the U.S. Department of State lets people in the U.S. on a J1 visa (for students and au pairs) stay and travel for up to thirty days once they have completed their au pair job.

Get the most out of your thirty days of travel by getting organized and having a plan. Now I admit, I don’t really like to plan, and when I worked as an au pair I liked planning things out even less than I do now. But by getting your ducks in a row before your contract is over, you will be able to see and do a lot more than by simply running off once you have finished your job without having planned at least a basic plan. You don’t have to have an outrageously detailed vacation schedule, but know where you would like to go and decide what you can afford to spend on the trip, and you will be that much ahead.

Depending on which agency you went with as an au pair, you may be able to get special travel arrangements during your post-work journeys. Go Au Pair has
a Bed and Breakfast program for their au pairs. Au pairs with their agency can travel and stay with host families around the U.S. for free. Other au pair agencies offer help to their au pairs, so be sure to find out what is available.

Consider traveling with other au pairs to cut cost and increase the fun factor. If you have made friends with other au pairs during your work, think about traveling together during some (or all) of your travel time. You will be able to save money on hotels, food, and rental cars, and you won’t run the risk of being lonely during your travels.

What about you? If you are an au pair, will you be traveling once your job is over? Where to?

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