FAQ

Well, we're down to the last few days in the States! Last night was my going away party and I got to see most of the people I wanted to see before I left. I was asked the same questions approximately 30 different times, so I thought I'd write a post answering these very important Frequently Asked Questions.

What exactly is an au pair?

au pair

ˌō ˈper/

noun

1. a young foreign person, typically a woman, who helps with housework or child care in exchange for room and board.
2. 
   

When do you leave?
I leave on Thursday, August 6 for Frankfurt. I fly Huntsville --> Atlanta --> JFK --> Frankfurt.

What are your plans for the three weeks before you start work?
I'll be spending a long weekend in Frankfurt with Matt. I leave Frankfurt on August 11 for London, where I'll spend one night with Wesley, a friend and fellow MSU grad. On August 12 I leave London for Birmingham, where I'll spend a few days with Marcella. On August 14 Marcella and I leave for Oxford to spend the weekend (in a hostel!!) with Clare. Matt, Marcella, Clare and I hung out frequently in Mainz. The are all English, and they all went to the same university in Birmingham. They all also studied German (Matt also studied Italian, Marcella also studied Spanish and Portuguese, and Clare also studied French -- we are clearly some of the biggest language nerds you may ever meet). They are definitely the closest friends I made during my study abroad in Mainz and we have kept in close contact since we left Mainz. Anyways, after the weekend in Oxford, I head back to Birmingham for one night and then depart for London August 17 where I'll be reunited with Wesley. At this point, my plans become blurry. I was originally supposed to head to Ireland August 21 with Wesley and others, but all of the others have backed out, so I'm not sure what I'll be doing. The only thing I know for certain is that my flight back to Frankfurt is on August 29. Perhaps I'll still go to Ireland. My German friend Kalle will be in Ireland and we have tentative plans to meet up. Perhaps I'll head to other parts of England, or maybe Scotland or Northern Ireland. Traveling within European countries is relatively cheap, so I'm not too worried about it yet. I'll be in Frankfurt again August 29 through September 1. I'll be taking a bus from Frankfurt to Nürnberg where my host family will meet me at the bus station!

What's your host family like?
Both my host parents work full time; my host dad as an engineer and my host mom as an investment banker. I have two host kids, both boys, one age 4 and the other age 1. Both the kids attend a German-English bilingual school, so I will be speaking to the children in English (and German with my host parents). In the interest of privacy, I won't be listing their names or posting pictures of them.

What are your working hours?
I work the opposite hours of most people. I work in the mornings from around 7am to 9am, and then again in the late afternoon and evenings anywhere from 4:30pm to 10pm, depending on the day. I'll work some Saturday mornings, but not all, and I get Sunday off. I have to have 1.5 consecutive days off per week. In the morning I'll mostly be doing stuff like helping to get the kids up, fed, and ready for school; at night I have the same duties in reverse: helping to feed the kids dinner, getting them ready for bed, and putting them to sleep. Some days I'll take them to swim class or other afternoon activities (in fact, they listed swimming as a necessary skill for their au pair to have).

What are your other duties?
My host family has a cleaning person, so I won't have to do heavy cleaning, just the normal daily things like clearing the kitchen table, doing dishes, putting toys away, etc.  I'll also be responsible for helping to prepare meals, doing laundry, and vacuuming when needed.

Where exactly will you be?
My host family is from Berlin but resides in Nürnberg (Nuremberg in English). They live in a three-story house with a garden. Nürnberg is a large city in northern Bavaria, population approximately 517, 498. It's the fourteenth largest city in Germany. Most people are familiar with Nürnberg because of WW2 and the Nuremberg trials when German officials were charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

What are your benefits?
In addition to getting 1.5 consecutive days off per week, I cannot work more than 30 hours per week (excluding mealtimes). I get 4 weeks paid vacation throughout the year, which to my knowledge does not include bank holidays that I will also get off. My host parents pay for my health, accident, and liability insurance. On top of all this, I get paid on a monthly basis. It's not much, but considering that I don't pay for any living expenses, it's straight pocket money.  My host parents will also reimburse me for my flight cost to and from Germany upon the completion of my contract.

How long will you be there?
My contract is from September 1, 2015 through August 31, 2016. Ideally, I'd like to live in Europe for 3-5 years in order to become fluent in both German and French.

Do you plan on coming home?
Barring any unfortunate circumstances, I won't be coming home in the next year. It's quite expensive and I want to enjoy my time there as much as possible.

Are you excited?!
Without a shadow of a doubt!

I think I covered all my bases! If I missed anything, leave a comment and I'll be sure to answer it.