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[atotalblamblam]

Remember that entry where I talked about how I'd decided to grow my hair super ultra extreme long? Remember "But I'm really bored with my style so I've got to do something about it soon or I'm gonna end up chopping it all off into a shaggy wild child 'do."?

Weeell. Yesterday I chopped it all off into a shaggy wild child 'do. I have a very long ponytail of hair in a ziplock bag that I haven't decided what to do with yet. I feel free but also naked. I miss my hair like a little pet or a stuffed animal. But I can't wait to experiment with my hair now. This cut has a lot of options.

And then there's the au pair news. Suddenly I've got eight different families pounding on my door, and I'd love to work for every one of them. So I'm scrambling to answer all their e-mails, which keep coming, and argh! But also ahh, a sigh of relief.

I'm really freaked and frightened about the antichrist being reelected, but I'm not thinking about it yet.

Comments

[zheer.livejournal.com]

How exciting with all the au pair families! Where are they from?

[atotalblamblam.livejournal.com]

Very very! They are all from Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Many of the families live in the country, some with farm animals!

[trekster.livejournal.com]

Oi! I have like 3 au pair families all wanting to know more about me / call me / etc...is it normal to get completely freaked out at the idea of explaining to family why the hell you're wanting to be something they call "a low - paid slave"? I guess my family is just odd...we never saw the need for a nanny or an au pair, and so the idea of having one for anyone I know sounded odd, but it really sounds good to be / to do. But I'm freaking out all of a sudden because I started applying to schools and got my letter of rec's and doing the applications...and now I'm pondering moving away? I mean, gah! I'm fucked up!

Ok, not going to wig out in your journal anymore. I guess, back to my original question. Is it normal to be scared all of a sudden at the idea of moving somewhere to join a family you've never met?

[atotalblamblam.livejournal.com]

Feel free to wig out in my journal all you want! I totally respect the wigging. That's so awesome that families already are contacting you! And wanting to call you on the phone--that's a good sign! Where are the families from? Hopefully they wouldn't treat you like a low-paid slave. It's more like a cultural exchange/language immersion kind of program, and in exchange for that plus room and board and living expenses, you care for their children anywhere from 25 to 40 hours a week, usually no more than 35. Out of all the different ways I've searched for to live abroad longer than a few months, being an au pair is one of the best ways I've found.

Yeah, it's normal. I think I will be more scared about that part when a family finally hires me. For now, my biggest fear is that I will offend a family or come across as really immature and creepy.

As far as the school vs. au pairing goes, if I were in your situation I would just toss all the info and worries and stuff aside and ask myself which would I be more happy doing at this time in my life? College can totally wait if you want to go have an adventure now, and conversely, there will always be more families looking for au pairs if you would rather finish your education.

My e-mail address is atotalblamblam at yahoo dot com if you have any more questions about all this. Good luck! :)

[trekster.livejournal.com]

Well, one is from New Zealand - although it kinda seems like a bit of looking for a maid as well (do a couple hours of housework a day, please?) but the other two are from other parts of the US - one in Sarasota, FL (they sound so great, but do I want to be that close to my icky dad??) and one in St. Louis, MO (family sounds really nice, but location = kinda out in the boonies, too) :)

Yeah, the big school vs. au pair thing is a issue. I just now started the app process, too! ugh! great time to consider moving away, isn't it? I'm psycho, but I just can't let these great opportunities slip away!

So you're totally into the abroad thing. Wow. Kudos for that. I don't know if I can do that - I'm concerned about being so far away from home territory and then gettting terribly homesick and losing it. :-\ Not a good thing to do.

So how do your families seem? Would you be doing housework, or just watching the kids?

[atotalblamblam.livejournal.com]

Oh, I forgot. Usually you do light housework, too. But this is not your primary duty. There should be no hours of ironing or anything. Your red flag should go up if they talk way more about housework than kids, or if they don't want to tell you how many hours/days you work +/or how much your pay is.

And though it seems like all these families want an answer now now now, keep in mind that you have the time to make a well-thought out decision. There will always be more great families. The need for childcare will always exist. Whether you decide to go on with school or be an au pair, it's not like if you do one thing you can't do the other. You have plenty of time to do whatever you want with your life, even if some of the things you do turn out to be mistakes.

My families all seem nice! I like them all! They're all in places where I would love to be, and four of them live way out in the country, major plus. All of the families want housework, although some expect more than others.

[trekster.livejournal.com]

Thats great! Good luck. I've decided to postpose any au pairing until after at least another year of school. :)

Well, the housework thing is sometimes optional or you can get extra money for it, so if you choose on who wants more housework than "standard" , make sure you get paid well!

:)

Thanks for all your help!