work ethic, motives, and character had been questioned and insulted. While trembling and struggling to remain calm, I politely interpreted to excuse myself from this one sided rant that had taken place in front of the kids and the Grandfather. My heart is pounding even thinking about it. At this point, even with two weeks left, I knew these two minutes had completely destroyed our relationship and I could no longer live or work in the household. Within hours, after speaking with my family, it was clear that I was leaving so, I packed my bags and waited for the next bus to Bilbao. The most heartbreaking moment was writing notes on the back of Canadian postcards for each of the kids and saying goodbye. During the three hour bus ride, I managed to reignite my fire. I registered at a hostel, met some amazing ladies, went out for supper, and tried my best to relax. The next day, I took time to recenter myself and appreciate what Bilbao had to offer before jumping on a plane to return home. In hindsight, I am proud of my strength to stand up for myself. I am very thankful to have been raised by two incredibly loving parents in an environment where confi- dence, independence, and a true sense of self-worth, were instilled in me from a very young age. All of that being said, many unforgettable moments made me realize that I would never wish to have spent my summer any other way. Every weeknight, I took the four year old boy in my host family to bed except for one night when the kids were sleeping over at their cousin’s house. When it came time to go to bed, the little boy began to cry because he
wanted nobody but me to lay in bed with him and hold his hand until he fell asleep. Another day, I was with the nine year old girl in my room eating the Canadian maple cookies I brought from home when she expressed that I am like a sister to her. Precious moments like these will always make my heart flutter. A bit of logistical information on how to plan your time abroad is to start on aupairworld.com. They have ample information for you to begin your research checklist and a platform to connect with potential host families. There are many important contributing factors that come into play while choosing a host family; you must seriously consider which country and culture you want to live in, how many children and which ages you can handle, whether or not you are comfortable working for a single parent or with a disabled child, and the list goes on. As a timeline refer- ence, I began this process one year before I planned to fly abroad and had solidified a position eight months later. The next few steps are signing a contract, booking flights, and keeping in touch with the family. I have two major tips, the first is to sign a basic contract out- lining your responsibilities, your schedule, and your pay. I asked for a contract on several occasions, but it never came to fruition so, I naively let it slide. My second is to meet up with other au pairs who live in the same city as you or while you travel because I met people from all over the world and we connected on such a deep level. Au pairs are exposed to a unique little universe and witness strangely hilarious moments that outsiders would never understand.
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SEPTEMBER 2018 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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