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California adventure

Adventures of a German Au Pair in the United States – Au Pair Orientation in New Jersey

February 17, 2016 by Anne-Kathrin Leave a Comment

KathrinNY

 Au Pair Orientation Week in New Jersey

Monday morning, 7 a.m. on August 18, 2008, my journey to a whole new life began!  I was on the way to Düsseldorf International Airport when it actually hit me that I would be on my own for an entire year, without any of my friends and family close by.

This feeling was exciting and scary at the same time, especially since I just had a horseback riding accident the day before my flight and was fighting a hip sprain.  Yes, it wasn’t the smartest idea to go horseback riding just the day before an eight-and-a-half-hour flight to Newark New Jersey after I haven’t sat on a horse for two years.  Since horseback riding was and still is one of my passions, I was just too excited to have a chance to sit in the saddle one last time before flying off that I ignored any potential risks that come with the sport.  Of course, something had to happen:  While I started to canter, I lost balance, fell down and landed right on my hip.  All I was thinking while laying on the ground was: “This is impossible! This cannot be happening right now! I am flying to the United States tomorrow!” And I stubbornly insisted that there was nothing that could prevent me from leaving this country.  Luckily, my dad who happened to be a doctor had the right medication and advice for me to help me endure the journey over the Atlantic Ocean towards my first stop New Jersey.

Saying goodbye to my closest friends and family was one of the hardest parts of my journey and perhaps my life.  I hadn’t expected it to be so difficult and emotionally taxing. But, in order to live my personal American Dream, I had to be brave. I needed to leave my old life behind and be on my own.  Ironically, I wasn’t on my own for very long.  As soon as I walked towards my departure gate, I heard a familiar voice approaching me: ”Hi, we had orientation together in Cologne. Remember me? I am so glad to meet someone I know.”  I was beyond relieved to see this girl with long blonde hair standing in front of me smiling.  We quickly bonded, and I was excited to start this trip with at least one familiar face.

Arriving In The U.S.

The flight to Newark seemed like an eternity, and the closer we got, the more nervous I became.  What if I can’t understand the language?  How is the orientation going to be? Who will I be sharing a hotel room with?  All these and more questions made my head spin.  Once we landed, my American adventure started right there at the airport: U.S. Customs and Border Control! If you have travelled to the U.S. before, you know what I am talking about. I quickly had to become familiar with the strict American airport security.  Going through U.S. Customs and Border Protection meant answering a bunch of questions:”How long are you going to stay?” “What is the purpose of your stay?” “Do you have any relatives living in the U.S.?”  Nervously I was hoping that I was answering all of them correctly. But I mastered the questions with a somewhat good level of English and to my relief I was soon released and could pick up my suitcase and go to the hotel where the au pair orientation was scheduled to take place.

The Au Pair Agency I signed up with really did not spare any cost to make all of us future au pairs feel comfortable.  In groups of three, we moved into our rooms at the Sheraton hotel before we had to check-in at the au pair orientation desk.  Approximately more than a hundred girls and a few guys from all different nations were present when we got greeted by one of the orientation leaders.  Once I saw all these other faces looking curiously around the room, I knew I wasn’t the only one with questions and concerns and finally started to relax.  That same night, a couple other German girls and I celebrated our first night in the United States with an American dinner at Chili’s restaurant!

The following four days consisted of an extensive orientation program where I was made familiar with such important topics as feeding, swaddling, and first aid.  Since I was about to start working for a family with a nine-month-old baby girl, I had to attend the Infant and Small Children Orientation, where only about twenty out of the hundreds of au pairs were placed in.  Our group had its own private room, which gave it a much more intimate, familiar feel.  I liked it a lot since we soon became our own little au pair trainee family throughout the week. We practiced on dolls how to change a diaper, how to swaddle an infant, and how to use CPR.  At the end of the orientation week, we received a CPR certificate and an informative brochure on specialized infant care.  All of us also earned an orientation certification.

Time flew by and Friday afternoon approached. Time to say goodbye to the remaining members of the group and my newly made friends.  One after one of us was getting picked up at the hotel and either driven to the airport to continue our journey to our guest families or we were directly picked up by them.  While I was sitting in the shuttle, I realized that from now on, I was a certified nanny, about to be immersed into a whole new culture and lifestyle.  I was excited and nervous at the same time, but couldn’t wait to step on the next airplane that would bring me to my new home- California!

To be continued…
(Next Wednesday: Read about Kathrin’s arrival in California and her first weekend with her host family.)
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Images: Copyright ©Anne-Kathrin Schulte 

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Anne-Kathrin Anne-Kathrin Schulte, is a contributor for CaliforniaGermans.com. She writes on her personal experience of the American Dream as well as on working as an au pair in CA. She was born and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, where she completed her degree as a state-approved Kindergarten teacher. After her au pair engagement in the US and a quick return to Germany she decided to attend university in California and moved back to the United States. She lives in Southern California since 2011.

If you would like to contact Anne-Kathrin, please send an email to californiagermans(at)gmail.com and place her name in the subject line.

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Filed Under: "Sprechen Sie Deutsch" - California Neighbors, Expat Stories Tagged With: Anne-Kathrin Schulte, Au Pair, Au pair in California, babysitting, California, California adventure, Expat, German expat

Adventures of a German Au Pair in the United States  – A Dream Come True

February 10, 2016 by Anne-Kathrin Leave a Comment

Anne-Kathrin 1

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The Application Process – A Dream Come True 

Seven years ago in August 2008, my journey to a whole new life began.  A life dedicated to new experiences, new friends, and a new culture.

I took on a very personal challenge when I decided to move thousands of miles away from friends and family in Düsseldorf, Germany, to live a totally different life in Walnut Creek, California.  I was ready for a change and wanted to explore a new culture.  A new culture that has always fascinated me ever since a family vacation we had taken along the west coast of the USA back in the summer of 1998.  After this trip, I knew I wanted to come back to the United States for longer than just a couple of weeks, but I was only 15-years-old and full of dreams. Little did I know that life had just that in mind for me!

With 25 years-of-age and a recently completed degree as a state-approved Kindergarten teacher, I decided it was time for a change.  One evening, I sat in front of my computer and reflected on the idea of going back to the US.  I asked myself, “What is the easiest way to combine my profession and my desire to move to the United States for a longer period of time?”  Suddenly, the term ‘au pair’ crossed my mind, and I typed these two words into the Google search bar.

As one can imagine, this term brought up a wealth of information on au pair agencies and their services worldwide. On the spur of a moment I decided to click on the first name that popped up to see what they had to offer …and yes, I liked it! I clicked on the link provided to order an informational booklet about the application process and as soon as it arrived in the mail, I devoured its content. I quickly made myself familiar with the program and decided to apply.  The application included a document with general information about me as well as my childcare experience.  I also needed to include at least two references I had worked for in the past.

It took about two weeks until my application was approved and interested American families could start calling me.  In the beginning, I was really nervous: What if the language barrier holds me back from finding the right family? Do they like what I have to say?  However, all the nervousness faded away once I talked to interested parents on the phone.  They were very welcoming and friendly and made me feel comfortable talking in a different language.

After all, I only talked to two families on the phone until I was matched with a wonderful family with three young children in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I couldn’t wait for my departure ticket to arrive, but it would take about two more months until I was able to fly out to the United States.  I had to attend an orientation in Cologne where I met other au pairs and actually made a great friend, who I soon would become very close with since we both were moving to the same area in northern California.

There was one more thing on my to-do list that I needed to check off before I could take off to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. I needed to visit the Consulate General of the United States Frankfurt to apply for my J-1 visa. This type of visa offers cultural and educational exchange opportunities and grants access to live in the U.S. for at least one year.  Since the Au Pair agency will not do the application for you, it is up to the future au pair to make it work and this was by far the scariest part of the application process.  If the people at the Consulate General would turn down my application it would be a most definite “no” and my chances to enter the states would equal zero, so I was told.  For that reason, I was very nervous on the day of my appointment.  After a short but nerve-racking wait my visa was finally approved. I was overfilled with joy and couldn’t believe it, “Yes, America here I come!” my mind seemed to scream.

I still remember how relieved I was when leaving the Consulate that day. All my tension had vanished and made room for an ever growing excitement about my soon to begin American adventure. My passport with my visa arrived at my front door about a week later and I realized I finally would be living my own American Dream!

To be continued…
(Next Thursday: Read about Kathrin’s arrival in New Jersey for a one-week au pair orientation program.)
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Image: Copyright ©Anne-Kathrin Schulte 

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Anne-Kathrin Anne-Kathrin Schulte, is a contributor for CaliforniaGermans.com. She writes on her personal experience of the American Dream as well as on working as an au pair in CA. She was born and grew up in Düsseldorf, Germany, where she completed her degree as a state-approved Kindergarten teacher. After her au pair engagement in the US and a quick return to Germany she decided to attend university in California and moved back to the United States. She lives in Southern California since 2011.

If you would like to contact Anne-Kathrin, please send an email to californiagermans(at)gmail.com and place her name in the subject line.

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Filed Under: "Sprechen Sie Deutsch" - California Neighbors, Expat Stories, Life in California Tagged With: Anne-Kathrin Schulte, Au Pair, Au pair in California, California adventure, Expat

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