"Becoming an au pair in the US was one of the best decisions in my life. First I wasn't sure if taking care of children would be helpful in my CV and further career as I studied something totally different, but there is so much more than that!"
"The reason why I am having the best time of my life so far is on the one hand the beautiful and awesome state of Colorado and the city of Fort Collins itself where we are living, because there is so much to do and to see. On every corner is another natural area with breathtaking landscape and each day offers different opportunities to entertain people of any age. The sun is shining for about 300 days per year and summer really means summer here with high temperatures and sunshine. I am from Germany and it is definitely different there! Also the people are so friendly and helpful. It is easy to start talking to someone and almost everyone likes Germany and my accent. On the other hand of what makes my life in the States so amazing, is my host family! I am taking care of two adorable kids: a 5 year old girl and 3 year old boy. This year they are not in kindergarten yet, so we can spend the whole day together and they get really attached to me. This is of course on both sides, as I can't imagine not seeing them almost every day anymore when it is time to say goodbye... My host parents are the best you could wish for. They're including me in everything they do, like taking me with them to dinner at a friends house, inviting me to family activities on the weekend (e.g. snowshoeing) and taking me with them to various road trips. We already drove to a friends' wedding in Idaho (about 9 hours away) and to Minnesota (about 14 hours and through 5 states) for celebrating Thanksgiving with their family. You could think this long time together in one car with two kids is annoying, but no way. It is a lot of fun and the children are very good travelers. I am really looking forward to our next trip to Arizona in March, because whether I'll play with the kids and take a nap with them in the back row or listening to my host parents about interesting stories to the places we pass by, the drive will be as much fun as the actual vacation. And if they don't have enough time to show me another part of the country, they give me the time to explore it on my own for long weekends. That's why I could already see so many great places like New Orleans or Las Vegas. Future planned trips will bring me to Miami and the Bahamas as well as Texas, New Mexico and Alaska. That is another great plus point for being an au pair in the US, no matter where you go there will be a different landscape, interesting history and more people to make friends with. Especially making new friends is a positive side effect of being an au pair. During my first 6 months here, I met other au pairs from Iceland, Switzerland, Mexico, Colombia and Czech republic. People I wouldn't have met while living in my home country. It is so great to learn about even more different cultures in addition to the American one and be able to visit your friends in their home countries once you are back home. If someone will ask me, if I can recommend going to the States as an au pair, the answer will be yes! You can make experiences here of which you can even tell your grandchildren about. No matter if it is about the new things I tried (painting, doing pottery, snowshoeing), the animals I could touch on my trips (wolf, alligator, dolphin), the already mentioned friends I made, or the unique places I visited so far (Wyoming, Idaho, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Louisiana, Nevada). This are memories that will last forever!"