JustJess
The idea of becoming an Au-pair was actually my friend’s. She has lived in England for almost 10 years now and she had started there as an Au-pair when she was 20. I’ve never thought this could be my way. I had too many hobbies and I wasn’t ready to give them up. But given my new life situation, everything has changed. There was nothing to hold me back in the country anymore, except for the family and my band, of course. But luckily, my family’s always supported me in everything I do and my band is a group of amazing boys who have understanding for my eccentricities. So the time of searching came. Searching for a new country and a host family.
Like many other Au-pairs before me, I created an account at aupairworld.com and waited for what was going to happen. As you could probably guess from my earlier article, I wanted to go to France and learn French. It’s been my dream for more than 10 years. But I also chose Italy and Great Britain as countries I would like to go to. I was open to opportunities and to be honest, I wasn’t expecting much.
So I experienced a shock when I got like… 8 host family applications within the first day.
Suddenly, I was spending hours and hours reading through profiles of families and looking at localities on Google Maps. Out of nowhere I had so many options that I really didn’t know what to do and who to choose. There was a family from Rome, two from Paris, from Lyon and within a few days, many more. I felt like a fairytale princess with many suitors falling to my feet. But how to choose the right one? That was the question.
I had voice and video calls with a few families and I realised that I was able to sort them out pretty quickly. Although everyone wanted me (yes, I have a big ego), I just crossed out some of the families on my list very soon. My instinct was telling me it wouldn’t work out with them. I don’t like people who manipulate others and try to control everyone’s lives. Some of my friends might be laughing right now because I am exactly the same. A perfectionist obsessed with control. But I am trying to get better! I really am! I am trying to let other people have their space… Well, anyway, so I’ve crossed all the manipulative parents from my list and I was left with 3 families. And these families managed to find someone else in the meantime. So basically, I’ve been thinking about things for too much and for far too long.
Then, out of nowhere, something happened that I didn’t see coming at all: I got two job offers at home (in Czechia), within two days. Both jobs in my field (photography and video). It was a test from above, I guess, to find out if au-pairing was really the way I wanted to go. I must admit, I hesitated. I even deactivated my profile on aupairworld.com and decided to try out one of the offers. But the whole decision only lasted for like… 24 hours because I felt so bad about it, that I quickly went back to my original plan.
To put it simply: Once you have decided to do something, it’s hard to change it. At least that’s how it works with me. Plus… a part of me was already looking forward to exploring new places.
So I reactivated the profile and went through the list of families I marked as ‘interesting’ earlier. In the end I wrote to a family living in a french speaking part of Switzerland – by Lake Geneva. At the beginning of my search I was not thinking about Switzerland as a possibility. It was simply not on my list of ‘dream countries’ or countries that ‘would make sense’ for my future career. Nothing against Switzerland, of course – it is a beautiful country. I have been there before. My mum used to live in Switzerland for 3 years and I had visited a few times. The landscape is breathtaking. I don’t really know why, but I felt like this country is better to visit as a tourist than to live there. Probably because the mountains there are giving off this strange feeling of calm and peace that is calling to you and forces you to think and leave everything mundane behind, which for me personally, is more of a holiday thing… Maybe I was worried that a long term stay might spoil this atmosphere for me.
The family from Switzerland wrote me back within a few hours and the next day we had a video call. It seemed alright. The parents looked nice, there were three very active kids with an interest in music and I would have my own separate studio… among other benefits. What could I want more? Well… less cooking? That was the only thing I was really scared of. Not that I can’t cook, I can but… what do you cook for foreign children, in foreign country, with different tastes and like… 8 times a week? No, really, that’s what they told me. Cooking lunch and dinner for the kids approximately 4 times a week. I must admit… I started to back off. Although it seemed that the family would take me in immediately, I took the time to think it through, because the cooking thing was scaring me to death!
So I spoke about this situation with… well everyone? My family, friends… I wanted to hear all of their opinions because it was a big decision and a step into the unknown. My mother was the one to calm me the most, because she told me that in Switzerland, people are mostly cooking from partially-cooked products so cooking doesn’t take as much time as in the Czech Republic. So… no sauces, no tenderloin and no dancing in the kitchen for an hour… or longer. Was it really calming? Yes… and no… because I admit I am able to relax completely while cooking but on the other hand… doing it daily? It would soon lose its appeal.
Anyway, back to the topic. The big decision was in the end, mine to take. I had another video call with the family to make sure we are on the same page with expectations and that I would have enough free time for myself. I was pretty sceptical really – I was not able to imagine how it all worked.
In the end, what helped me the most to make the decision, were Google photos from the locality. The place looked just amazing: the lake, mountains, promenades, architecture and… a train station. That’s actually very important to me – it means I can get anywhere from there. And also that I can admire Swiss trains. (Yes, I have a soft spot for train transportation.) So after I extended the time to answer the family for another four days, and I thought everything through, I finally said, ‘yes.’
Well and because the family also said yes to me, it became clear that I was moving to Switzerland… in 3 weeks!
