Becoming a Cultural Care meeting leader

I've been attending lots of CC info meetings in my hometown since I got back to Germany to talk about my time as an Au Pair. Recently, I got asked if I was interested in leading those kind of meetings, too. To me, this is a great opportunity to share my experience and inform young women and men about Cultural Care and the Au Pair program.

x Jfree

Back home

I arrived back home in Germany on September 14th. My friends and family had organized a surprise party for me, which was really sweet. I was very happy to see them again and sleep in my own bed at night. This euphoria didn't last very long though... The first few months after I got back were really depressing. I didn't have a job, most of my friends moved to different cities while I was gone and I felt incredibly "homesick". The last four weeks I spent in the states had been so amazing that I couldn't stand being back in cold Germany. I missed (and still miss) my host family a lot and just felt like booking the next flight to go back. Now that I'm back here for two and a half months, I have to face reality and try to enjoy my life as much as possible.

x Jfree

Travel Month

During my travel month, I got to see many amazing places such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Hawai'i. My favorite was definitely Hawai'i! It's just so beautiful. Also I'd like to recommend our lovely hosts Tom and Adriane, who we found on AirBnB. They live in Waikoloa Village on the Big Island and if you consider going on vacation to Hawai'i do yourself a favor and stay with them! They're the best!

I also went to Venice Beach, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, which are also very beautiful places. Of course, I also went to the Universal Studios Hollywood! The Harry Potter World there is not as big as in Orlando, but I really loved other attractions they only have in Hollywood, like the Studio Tour and an Animal Actors Show. I really had such a great time and I'm really sad I have to leave. But of course I'm also super excited to get back to my friends and family in Germany.

x Jfree

One week left?!?!

I can't believe my last week started and I'm gonna be heading to the west coast soon! I will miss my host family so so much! Thinking about leaving them makes me very sad! On the other hand, I'm very excited to travel to Los Angeles and start my 4 weeks of vacation! I can't wait to meet my best friend in LA and spend time with her.

Looking back at my year as an au pair, I can only say it was the best decision I've ever made and I'm so thankful and beyond happy to be here. I've experienced so much love and respect on my journey, which makes me wanna return as soon as possible!

x Jfree

Vans Warped Tour

This was definitely one of my favorite days since I'm here in the US: I got to go to Vans Warped Tour in Scranton, PA. I was mostly interested in seeing Falling in Reverse, Assuming We Survive, Sum 41 and Coldrain - and I was able to see all of them! The best thing was that I got to spend time with both FIR and AWS and was able to take some photos with them. It was so much fun and I'm very sad that it lasted only one day...

Adrian, singer of AWS, literally made my day by being so sweet and kind! I already fell in love with him and his band @Supervillainstour in November 2015, but after this day I love them even more! If you don't know Assuming We Survive yet, go check them out! I love their new album All Roads Lead Home! I really miss them already and I'm gonna miss going to Warped Tour very badly, too.

x Jfree

Niagara Falls

There's not much to say about Niagara Falls but that it's an incredibly stunning place! I wasn't sure if I'd be so excited about it, but as soon as I got there I was speechless! It's soooo beautiful!! Don't ever miss to go there when you get the chance!

x Jfree

Back home for 2 weeks!

I was so happy to come back home for at least a short amount of time! I got to see most of my friends and family. It wasn't as hard to say goodbye this time because I knew I'd be back in a few months. Now, it's only about 45 days to go until my travel month starts! So crazy how time flies! Also, I went to the rock music festival Rock am Ring! It was awesome, although it was cancelled on the second day due to heavy thunderstorms and pouring rain. I wasn't that disappointed because I got to see my favorite band Bullet for my Valentine! We're hoping for better weather next year!

I just bought tickets for Vans Warped Tour! They're coming to Montage Mountain in two weeks and I'm very excited!

x Jfree

I fell in love...

Even though the area around Scranton, PA is not known for a huge amount of shopping malls or popular landmarks, it's still an absolutely harmonic and peaceful place. I walked around Lake Scranton yesterday and it was truly a magical place: So quiet and beautiful. I'm looking forward to the weather getting warmer an spending more time outside!

I'm feeling so at home in my new host family and I am so excited to spend the whole summer with them! They are so adorable and nice. At the moment, I'm planning my travel month and my vacay trip to Germany in less than two weeks! There's a lot coming up and time flies!!! My return flight to Germany is already booked and I was asked to fill out a program completion form by Cultural Care. Three months to go!!!

x Jfree

My new host family!

On May 2nd I moved into my new host family's home! They are the most adorable and kind family in the whole world! I'm already so in love with them! It's so great to be able to spend the rest of my au pair year in this truly amazing family! I wrote about my rematch and transition process here. It was the best decision I could've made and I feel so blessed to be a part of this beautiful family now. I'm taking care of two wonderful girls and I really adore them! They are so precious! I can't wait to spend the summer with them.

x Jfree

Beautiful spring

Today, I went to D.C. with one of my close au pair friends to see the cherry blossoms... Too bad, most of them were already gone! Maybe we just didn't go to the right places. Instead, we saw  very pretty tulips and enjoyed the view on the Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument. We had a good time! D.C. is sooo pretty! I'm gonna be very sad to leave this beautiful city in August, but I'm sure I'm gonna be back soon! I'll miss the cloudless blue sky for sure!

x Jfree

New York City

Next stop: NYC! For the third time I was able to see beautiful New York and enjoy very sunny weather with my family. I finally got to see the John Lennon Memorial in the Central Park, which my dad also wanted to see very badly! A woman laid down sunflowers on it, which made it look very nice. She said: "It's always been on my bucket list to do this one day."

We saw lots of other interesting places like the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, 9/11 Memorial and the World Trade Center. New York is truly beautiful, but I prefer the calmer places (like Florida haha)!

x Jfree

Back to Universal ®
The Universal Studios in Florida are the most beautiful place I've seen so far! I was lucky to visit them for the second time last week and I'm still soooo in love! The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is so awesome! I could literally stay there forever. This time, I went there with my parents and my brother and it was a lot of fun (at least for me haha)! I hope I get to go there again at some point because it was really hard to leave this amazing place!

x Jfree

My favorite girl

Hello goys. This goes out to my favorite girl in the world: Jbee. Who dis is? Let me tell you. Jbee has been my best friend for 16 years now and we're still gonna be best friends even when we're 30 billion years old. For real. This  h o e  has always been by my side and we made it through crazy times together. From Kindergarten to Prom, she was always there. A girl has so many friends in her life, but only one best friend! And that's always gonna be you! There's nobody else I'd rather share my secrets with and laugh about stupid jokes all night long. Actually, our jokes are not stupid cause we're the best tho. I could tell so many stories about us, but that would take around 16 years. We always had fun, even if we were just ridin' dirty in your car, going to McDonald's in dresses and high heels or staring up to the night sky to see shooting stars. Just coming over in the middle of the night to watch Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings together was the best thing ever. We are the perfect match for sure (I mean, even our zodiac signs match so well). That can't be a coincidence. Who needs anyone else, if you got a Jbee by your side??? I don't. I told you I could write a book about you and that's true. But both of us know that I'm too lazy to write a f*ckin book... Like for real who got time for that!?! Oh, well... Mmmh, yass gurl, we've had good times and even better times will follow. I can't wait to come back to you my girl and do all these things again. I'm gonna see you soon, my queen.

x Jfree

Great Falls

The Great Falls Park is always a fun place to go. Luckily, we picked a sunny day to go there, so we took a couple of awesome photos. After that, we went to Georgetown to get us some of the famous Georgetown Cupcakes! They were delicious! We also got to see a NBA game between the Washington Wizards and the Atlanta Hawks, which was also very cool. The Verizon Center in D.C. is pretty big and I had never seen a NBA game before.

x Jfree

Philadelphia

Last Monday, my parents, my brother and I rented a car and went to Philly. It was lots of fun and we got to see some amazing places! We climbed the Rocky Steps, took a picture with Rocky himself and saw the Liberty Bell. Philadelphia is a very beautiful city. It took us about three hours to get there by car, but it was totally worth it! Some of the trees were already blooming and the weather was awesome, too. In three days, we're gonna head to Florida to see the Universal Studios again. After that, we're gonna fly up to NYC and spend some days there. I can't wait!

x Jfree

My biggest dream became reality

After almost 10 years of waiting, I finally met my absolute favorite band of all time Bullet for my Valentine! Moose is currently not on tour with them cause his wife is expecting their first child! They were so sweet and nice and they signed my drawings! It was totally worth all the money. I also managed it to get in the front row! The concert was rad as usual! I can't believe I finally achieved this long-term goal! I saw them performing live four times in the past and the fifth time was absolutely incredible! I never thought I would get to give them a hug one day. But I did and I'm so excited about it! I hope I get to meet them again at some point and I can't wait to see them at Rock am Ring in June!!!

x Jfree

100 DAYS UNTIL ROCK AM RING

I went to the German rockmusic festival Rock am Ring for the first time in 2015 and I was overwhelmed!!! More than 90.000 metal heads and awesome bands like A Day To Remember, Slipknot, Rise Against and Slash! The moment I heard Bullet For My Valentine would play @ RAR in 2016 I was extremely disappointed because I knew I would be in America at that time. Luckily, I found a cheap flight to Germany, so that I can still go to RAR this year! I'm so stoked!!! I can't wait to see BFMV, Billy Talent, Korn, Trivium, etc.

x Jfree

Metro Station

Last Friday I came out to see Metro Station @ The Fillmore in Silver Spring, MD. It was awesome! I almost didn't go because I didn't find anyone who had time to come with me. In the end, I decided to go alone, but it was really worth it! I got to hang out with Trace and Mason and take photos with them! Their show was also dope as always! I'm very happy about their comeback after being seperated for 5 years! I didn't expect I would like so many of their songs so much! The only song most people knew was "Shake it", but now they released a new album Savior and I'd really advise you to check it out! I hope I'm gonna get to see them live again soon.

x Jfree

Happy Valentine's Day!

I spent my Valentine's Day with two of my best au pair girlfriends. We watched the movie Clueless together, had a sleepover at my friend's house and treated ourselves right, as you can see in the picture! We had a great time. I'm very happy to have found so many awesome friends over here! I can't believe it's been almost 6 months since I left Germany and came to the US. It's a crazy lifestyle over here, but I love it. Spoiling myself doesn't seem like a bad thing to me haha! I love America, but at the same time I can't wait to come back to Germany and spend time with my family and friends back home.

x Jfree

Thinking about going home

The last few months have been crazy. Everyone has to deal with homesickness at some point. I had some problems with my host family lately, so we cancelled the extension. It has been a very difficult time for me, especially because I'm missing my friends and family so much right now. Not being able to celebrate my birthday with them and not having them by my side is driving me crazy. I can't wait to come home in June for two weeks and completely go back to Germany in September. I wasn't ready to go home a few months ago, but now I am.

x Jfree

Schools will open again!

Every au pair was super relieved when we got the information that schools will open again on Monday. One and a half week of snow were enough!

This random picture was taken in Madame Tussaud's in Washington D.C. a few months ago. It's not as big as the Madame Tussaud's in London for example, but it's also not that expensive. You should consider going, if you're around the area.

x Jfree

Blizzard Jonas

Last Friday, snowstorm "Jonas" hit the east coast and we're totally covered in snow and ice. Everyone's going crazy: Numerous accidents on the streets, empty shelves in the stores, packed pantries. At least for the kids it's loads of fun to play in the snow. For everyone else it's just annoying. I like snow, but I like it just as much when it's gone again. I hope it won't last too long. The boys probably won't have to go to school for the whole week. Good for them! Not that good for all the desperate au pairs staying at home and hoping for this to end soon. I spent the weekend in my room, trying to escape from the cold weather outside, but during next week I'm gonna have to play outside with the kids and work ten hours a day... Yay. I hope these will be the only snow days for this year.

x Jfree

Sarasota, Florida

My hostfamily took me to Florida to visit my hostdad's sister. It wasn't that warm because a tornado hit the coast on Sunday. At least, we were able to swim in the ocean on Saturday. It was a lot of fun and the sunsets were incredible! I would spend any vacation of my life in Florida, if I had the chance to!

I spent my 19th birthday on the airplane, which was not that pleasant.

x Jfree

Happy New Year!

2015 has been great and I hope 2016 will be as well. It was actually pretty difficult to find NYE events in D.C. because they're all for ages 21+... We thought about going to Alexandria and watch the fireworks near the Potomac River, but we got a last minute invitation to a house party in Downtown and went there. It was awesome! We had a blast last night and we can't wait for all the amazing places we're gonna see in 2016!

x Jfree

Christmas 2015

The first Christmas I spent far away from home... I'd say it was "different". It was mostly very nice, we celebrated Dec 25th with my hostfamily's friends, who are incredibly sweet. Still, I had to deal with homesickness for the first time. I missed spending time with my family a lot. I can't wait to spend Christmas at home again next year! I still had a very nice Christmas with my lovely host family.

x Jfree

Luray Caverns

As a special vacation before Christmas, my hostfamily invited me to join their trip to the Luray Caverns near Shenandoah National Park. We were so lucky to enjoy a private tour through the cave because we arrived pretty early. As you can see, it looked stunning!! We had lots of fun during our 2-day-trip!

I can't wait for Christmas!!!

x Jfree

It's Christmas time!

We're all so excited to celebrate our first Christmas in the U.S.! Almost every house and every shop in the mall is decorated, Christmas songs are played by every radio station and it's getting colder outside. It's not very cold yet, but the snowy weather will come soon.

It's gonna be a tough time though because I'll be missing my friends and family during the holidays. But I'm sure I'm gonna have an amazing Christmas over here.

xJfree

Back in NYC!

I went to New York City for the weekend with three other au pairs and it was a lot of fun. We took a Greyhound bus from Washington D.C. to NYC and spent the night in a hostel in Brooklyn. The hostel was awful, but it was only for one night, so what. We saw the Times Square, Statue of Liberty, World Trade Center, Ground Zero, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, the big Christmas Tree and a lot of other amazing places. The Christmas decoration was beautiful and the Central Park was probably my favorite place to go! New York City is awesome, but I couldn't stay longer than two days... Too loud, too many people, too busy! But it was amazing to be back and we had a very good time!

x Jfree

Baltimore

On Black Friday, when everyone else went shopping, I went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore with my host family. It's a really interesting and beautiful place! We had lunch at the Hard Rock Café in Baltimore, which was amazing. I'm so happy to get to see all those awesome places! I'm so happy to be here!

x Jfree

My first Thanksgiving!

I was so excited to celebrate Thanksgiving for the first time! We met with my host parent's friends and had some typical Thanksgiving dishes!

We had a lot of delicious food and nice conversations. It was so much fun!

I am thankful for all my friends and my family, being able to live my dream and of course my beautiful host family who gives me the opportunity to experience all of that.

x Jfree

Meet & Greet w/ Falling In Reverse

On November 25th I went to a Falling In Reverse concert in Silver Springs, MD. The Meet & Greet was more like a Photo & bye, but it was still cool in the end. We had to survive three opening acts before finally Ronnie, Ryan, Zakk, Derek and Christian entered the stage. The first opening act Assuming We Survive was pretty awesome! I like their songs Down and 18 Days a lot! The second opening act Metro Station was very cool (as expected). Attila, the last opening act, was (at least to me) unnecessary. After the concert I talked to the singer of Assuming We Survive! He's such a nice guy! I hope I get to see them again soon.

x Jfree

3 months in the USA!

The first quarter is over and it feels like I just arrived... I'm so happy to be here! Becoming an aupair was the best decision I've ever made in my life. Every day is special and I can't wait to visit all those awesome places in the next 10 months! I really feel at home here and sometimes I wish I could stay...

x Jfree

National Gallery of Art

Today I went to the National Gallery of Art in D.C. with a friend.

It was very interesting to see artworks of Van Gogh, Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Rodin and a lot of other well-known artists. Among other statuettes, you'll find miniature models of "The Thinker" and "The Kiss" by Auguste Rodin (see photos below).

Even though it's already November, the weather is still very sunny. I'm sure the winter will come soon enough though.

x Jfree

Bye-bye Florida!

My 4-day-trip to Orlando was absolutely amazing. I'd recommend it to everyone who's thinking about going there. The Universal Studios are so much fun, especially for Harry Potter fans like me! It was my first trip all alone, so I'm kinda proud I survived.

I'm gonna miss Florida a lot, but I'll be back in January to visit my hostdad's sister!

It's already November, so Christmas is getting closer! I can't wait for my trip to NYC in December.

x Jfree

Universal Studios - Day 2

Today I went to the main part of the Universal Studios. It was so much fun! I went straight to the Harry Potter Dragon Alley, which is really awesome! There were faithful reproductions of Ollivanders, Flourish and Blotts, Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, Borgin and Burkes and a lot more. I couldn't resist and bought Tom Riddle's diary, a quill and dark red ink. I also bought a chocolate frog! It was such an amazing weekend for me and I'm so happy I came here!

I'm going to leave the hotel tomorrow morning and head to the airport. To be honest, I'm really looking forward to spending time with my hostfamily again.

x Jfree

Universal Studios Orlando

Other than most of my friends, I didn't celebrate Halloween the traditional way. I went on a trip to Orlando, Florida. I got there on Saturday night and I'm going to leave on Tuesday.

My hotel is the Doubletree by Hilton at the entrance to the Universal Studios. My hotelroom looks really nice and it's pretty big for one person. Actually four people could sleep in here... I paid about 200€ for 3 nights. The pool is nice, too. It's really close to the Universal Studios (15min walk).

I bought a 2-day-ticket for the Universal Studios in advance at Best-of-Orlando for about 140$. Today I went to the Islands of Adventure, where the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is located. It was soooooo awesome! I went straight to the Forbidden Ride when the doors opened, so I didn't have to wait too long. This was the best thing I ever did in my life! It was so cool!

Tomorrow, I'm going to see the other part of the Universal Studios.

x Jfree

Shenandoah National Park

Today we went on a trip to the Shenandoah National Park. The view is stunning, but I'd still like to go there again when it's a little warmer.

I've been in the U.S. for two months now and it was the best decision I've ever made to come here. My hostfamily is amazing and I'm having a lot of fun with my new friends over here!

x Jfree

Virginia Beach

 Three of my aupair friends and me went on a weekend trip to Virginia Beach. It was awesome! Unfortunately, the weather wasn't as good as expected, so we couldn't swim in the ocean, but it was still a beautiful place to go. The view from our hotelroom was amazing! I would definitely go there again!

x Jfree

Cox Farms

Today, I went to the Fall Festival at Cox Farms with my boys for they had no school. We had a lot of fun! The boys enjoyed lots of fun activities like big slides, a hayride, petting animals and different playgrounds! It's definitely a nice place to spend a day with your (host)kids!

I'm almost here for two months and I really love it. There are so many cool things I'm going to do. Tomorrow I'll go to Virginia Beach with some friends! It's gonna be so amazing to see the ocean again!!

x Jfree

Natural History Museum

A few days ago, I went to the Natural History Museum in D.C. It was awesome and very interesting! If you're interested in evolution and geology, you should definitely go there. I liked it a lot.

I can't wait for the Cherry Blossom Festival to start next year! I'm sure it's gonna be so beautiful!

I booked a flight to Florida over Halloween! So I'll spend Halloween at the Universal Studios in Orlando!

x Jfree

Family life

There are several videos on Youtube, in which au pairs complain about not feeling as a "family member". I can absolutely not relate to that. I'm feeling very comfortable in my host family and it definitely feels like I'm a family member. My host parents talk to me like to a friend (sometimes I feel a little bit like their child because I'm underage in the US) and the host kids respect me and listen to what I'm telling them. I couldn't feel better!

So, if you see those negative videos on Youtube... Don't worry! It always depends on your host family and of course on YOU and your attitude.

x Jfree

Great Falls National Park

Today I went to beautiful Great Falls Park with my host family. It was so much fun!

I will definitely go there again! I'm so happy that my host family gives me the opportunity to see such beautiful places!

Tonight, I'll go to the movies with some friends. We'll watch Maze Runner - The Scorch Trials. It's gonna be so cool for sure!

x Jfree

Birthday breakfast

Today we celebrated the birthday of our dear friend Laura, who is an au pair for almost one year and she will stay for another nine months. We went to IHOP today, which seems to be kinda cool. The waiters and waitresses even sang a happy birthday song to Laura!

Today I'm in the US for one month and it already feels like home! Well, sometimes more like a very nice vacation... I'm actually living a very good life over here!

x Jfree

Huntsman Park

There are so many interesting places in my area; just like the Huntsman Lake and the hiking trails around it. It's a beautiful place to spend my freetime and it takes just a 10min walk from my house to get there. To the people here it's normal, but I'm always excited seeing so many squirrels in the trees.

This Saturday I'll probably go to Great Falls with a friend to take pictures of the beautiful landscape!

From rags to riches?

Not yet, but I'm earning a lot of money (unfortunately, I'm spending a lot of money as well). It's quite difficult to keep track of how much money you're actually spending... Living in the US is not that different from living in Germany. Except for a few things:

In the US ...

-they got USA flags EVERYWHERE

-everyone drives a truck (or at least a VERY big car)

-when you look at a pricetag the taxes are not included

-in the restaurants you get a free refill of the drink you paid for

-the cheese tastes like plastic

-people are sometimes suspiciously friendly

-the bread is *uehhghghghhh*

-the grass along the pedestrian paths is always nicely mowed

There are still a lot of things that are very cool over here! The landscape is amazing, there are so many beautiful buildings and strange animals. I love it. I don't think I would extend my year, but at the moment it's not that absurd to think about it anymore. I love my host family, my new home, my neighborhood and all the new friends I made. It still feels unreal to live here for 13 months, but the first month is almost over! Right now, I'm so happy to be here and I'm glad I picked up courage to go so far away.

x Jfree

FUN DAYS

On Friday night, we went to Nando's PERi-PERi at the Springfield Mall. I had a Chicken Caesar Wrap with Garlic Bread. It was very good! After that, we went to the Regal 12 Cinema and watched "Trainwreck" (german title: Dating Queen) and it was awesome! You should definitely watch it, this movie is hilarious! The Regal Cinema seats are so cool. You can place back the armchairs, so you're actually lying in front of the screen. It's soooo comfortable!

So, my weekend started extremely nice!

The baseball game on Saturday was also very cool! I think I'll go there more often because it's so much fun! The ticket was only 25$ and we had nice seats from where we could see everything! Baseball is actually very cool! GO NATS!

School finally starts next Tuesday...

x Jfree

POOL TIME

I'm in love with Springfield! The weather is always so sunny and warm and the whole area is full of beautiful places to go. Yesterday, I went to an outdoor pool with my host kids and some other au pairs. I already made a few new friends and enjoyed my time with the boys. My first week was very busy and I didn't have a lot of free time, but now I'm off for the weekend and I'll go to Washington D.C. with some friends. Perhaps we'll watch a baseball game or go to the movies... I'm very happy that I already know some very nice people, so fortunately I'm not all alone!

At the training school I was pretty sure I would extend my year, but at the moment I would rather not stay longer than 13 months... It's great over here, but I still miss my German friends a lot.

x Jfree

MY NEW HOME

I'm absolutely happy with my host family and my room. The neighborhood is calm and child-friendly. There's a playground right next to our house! I have to work a lot this week because school didn't start yet and both of my host parents already have to work. So, this is gonna be a very busy week! It's still weird to know that I won't come home like next week or next month...

At least the children are very cute. My younger boy couldn't wait for me to get up on my first day at my new home, so he drew pictures and slipped them under my door, which you can see on the photo.

...I get tons of those pictures almost everyday... but it's still cute and I'm happy to be here.

x Jfree

New York City Trip

On August 20th we went on a trip to NYC! The bus left the training school by 14:30 and we arrived in NYC by 16:00. At first we enjoyed a guided tour on the bus and later we had the possibility to get onto the "Top of the Rock". The ticket was 25$, but I would really recommend it to everyone who hasn't been in NYC yet. The view is amazing! After visiting the Rockefeller Center, we had about two hours of free time in the city!

Some of the girls who arrived on Tuesday because of flight organization problems weren't allowed to go on the trip to NYC, so they were obviously very upset... So, don't even think about skipping classes at the training school - you'll have to make up leeway.

x Jfree

Training School at St. John's University

Let's go!

Tomorrow I'll leave my frikin sweet home to visit some relatives in Frankfurt, where my parents and I will stay the night. On Monday morning we'll leave their house by 5 o'clock and drive to the airport by car. My two big suitcases weigh 23kg each and my hand baggage weighs 7kg! The backpack is allowed as a handbag because it's not bigger than 40x30x10cm.

To be honest, I'm not feeling very comfortable by leaving my home, but I know I'll have a very good time abroad.

x Jfree

5 DAYS LEFT

Yesterday, I took the spontaneous decision to take two big suitcases and the cabin baggage with me, so that I can take a winter coat and my big teddy with me! :-) One big suitcase would also have been enough, but the second big suitcase is free, so why not! I almost finished packing my suitcases and I'm very very excited.

x Jfree

AU PAIR GET-TOGETHER

On August 3rd some of the au pairs who will fly from Frankfurt met in Muenster! Two weeks before our flight we all were very excited and talked a lot. Later we had dinner at Pasta e Basta's, which is an absolutely recommendable restaurant at the harbor. This is where we took the photo btw.

It felt very strange to say "See you in two weeks at the airport!". It's such a short time till we get off... Nevertheless, I'm very happy to know a lot of girls who will fly with me.

x Jfree

CABIN BAGGAGE

My Flight Information

I finally got my flight information today! I'll fly about 8h30, so there'll be enough time to fill in all the boring questions in my Travel Kit.

I'll fly with Singapore Airlines which are considered as quite cool. I'll also fly with a few girls I already know, which is pretty relieving. I'm so excited rn and there are only 17 days left!

x Jfree

My own car!

This is gonna be my own car in the US! It's a Chevrolet Aveo T200! Obviously, it's not very pretty or cool, but I'm very happy to have an own car at all!

Holi Festival

I've never been to a Holi festival before, therefore I was really excited to visit one on Saturday. Holi is an ancient Hindu religious festival which has become popular with non-Hindus in many parts of South Asia, as well as people of other communities outside Asia. Meanwhile, the number of Holi festivals in Germany increases as well. The history of origins of Holi is very interesting (you can read it here).

36 days are left until my au pair year and I'm still waiting for my flight information. My departure airport has changed from Düsseldorf to Frankfurt and I'm not sure when I'll get more information about time and airline...

x Jfree

50 days left!

Wow, I really start becoming more and more excited about my au pair year!

I can't imagine how it will be to live in a completely different country for 13 months! It's crazy! I'm definitely looking forward to it, but it will be so hard to leave my friends and family... In a few weeks I'll probably get my flight dates!

So excited!!!

x Jfree

Lloret de Mar

Our group was located in a hotel called Festa Brava which was pretty cool (all inclusive, Pool and stuff), but the cleaning service stole a lot of money out of our bags and suitcases. Nevertheless, the beach was very pretty and we had a really good time! I enjoyed my last vacation before my au pair year a lot and can't wait to see the ocean from the other side of the world!

x Jfree

Here we go!!!

My Visa arrived on June 4th and I'm so glad that everything's alright with it! The embassy sent the Visa, my passport and the DS-2019 document and now everything's prepared for my year in the US! Can't wait for the departure!

x Jfree

Visa appointment

On May 29th at 9:15am I had my Visa appointment at the American consulate in Berlin. I was there by 9 o'clock and after the security check I had to hand my documents to a friendly, english-speaking man at a counter. He told me to take a seat (there where about 50 chairs, where others were already waiting). Then, I had to wait for about 30 minutes to be paged to identify my fingerprints. Afterwards, I had to wait for another 30 minutes and was finally paged to the interview counter, where a german-speaking man asked me three questions:

1. "What would you like to do in the USA?"

2. "Where will you live?"

3. "Have you ever been in the USA?"

I was pretty relieved as he said that my Visa was accepted and will be sent to me in a few days. By 10 o'clock I could finally leave the consulate!

x Jfree

Hi everyone!

Finally, my own blog is online!

I'll tell you all about my au pair year in the US and about all the things you need to do to become an au pair.

I hope you enjoy my blog!

x Jfree