Once at
New York airport, somebody greeted us. She helped me to get my lost suitcase and she brought us to a van which
drove us to a luxurious hotel where the orientation was.
During 3 days, you are going to have a training, learn and understand how it will be with your family. You are going to
talk about your rights, the insurance, the vacation, what your family wants you to do and you are going to have a
little CPR course, anyway everything you should know. Of course everything is in English ! (quite easy to understand cause
it’s a formal english).
You are going to meet hundreds of au pairs from all over the world, every continents, every countries, from the South to
the North and the East to the West. In your room, you will be with au pairs from the same area (cluster) as you.
However, most of the girls who have the same nationality stay with each other. You must contain yourself, leave your timidity
away and speak to the other girls (I know it’s difficult especially if you are bad in english !).
Orientation’s results : I though it was too long and we learn nothing (or almost) more than before. However, it’s a good way
to be reassured and it’s interesting to meet other girls. I saw some au pairs crying leaving the girls they met at the
end of those 3 days. A year full of emotions that begins!
Then, comes the moment when the parents get their au pair at the hotel. It’s very stressful but very exciting at the same
time. You can see families coming with their kids holding balloons or big signs “Welcome” or some au pairs leaving in
a limousine!
In my case, the father came to get me. The kids were in school and the mother in business trip. Everything went well,
we spoke all along the way.
I got there in the beginning of September 2001, just before the World Trade Center’s tragedy. The September 11th,
I was sitting on the couch watching the news. I wasn’t scared at all. I think I didn’t realize especially cause on
TV I had lots of difficulties to understand what was going on. I just remember that all American were choked and
American flags were all over the place (on the car, on the windows…). A very emotional moment.
Before coming,
my family had asked me my favorite colors for my room, my towels, my sheets and told me that they had bought a car for me!!
A Mercedes of 1987! I imagined the rich family with a huge house and a pool, anyway I was dreaming. What a deception when
I got there!! It was a small ugly house in nowhere. The car : an antiquity ! And a station wagon by the way. What a shame
to drive with that! But it was a luxurious antiquity with AC (it didn’t work very well), electric windows and
leather.
With the au pairs,
it was great. I wasn’t even arrived yet that one of the girls had phoned me already. Every au pair has everybody’s phone
number. It’s like a community. They were very very nice with me. I was relieved that I wasn’t alone.
Regarding
the food, it wasn’t great. Most of the au pairs gain between 5 and 15 kg. I was lucky, cause my family was trying to
eat healthy. So I just gain 5 kg! But careful cause it’s so easy to gain weight, most of the food is just fat or sweet
(they have a weird behavior with food). You stay home most of the time and it is so easy to open a cupboard’s door!