An au pair and a millionaire

1

Lisa was slim, with long, light, wavy hair and unusual blue eyes. Many people called her a princess. She thought of herself a bit of a Cinderella, while she ironed T-shirts for her host family.

Being an au pair wasn‘t a dream job, especially for a young girl of twenty-two years, just having graduated from university with a degree as a teacher of foreign languages. Lisa could easily find a job in her quiet, little home town, but the soul of a naive romantic craved something other than certainty and routine.

Lisa was not raised with a silver spoon. She lived in a modest apartment with a loving family. She was deprived of her happiness and carefree childhood when she was six-years-old. To help pay off her family‘s debts, she and her little brother had to sell products at the local market from their parents’ factory as well as vegetables and fruits grown in their summer garden. The factory her parents worked in went bankrupt and instead of getting a salary, they received flour as payment. However in her spare time from selling apples, Lisa studied very hard and finished from one of the best schools in her small town. Having successfully passed the exams for entering the university, she received a scholarship at the age of eighteen, and became almost independent from her parents.

Now, she was twenty-two with a teaching diploma in foreign languages. Her life seemed to have been laid out for her in advance. After university, she would take a low-paying teaching job with naughty children at school or kindergarten, or she could work in a small company in her provincial town. Then she could start her own family and a vacation once a year at the nearest lake. Everyone in her small town lived like this. It was an endless circle from which it was impossible to escape, the circle of routine, more routine, and a simple provincial life.

The world seemed so enormous, interesting, unknown, alluring and frightening to Lisa. Studying foreign languages and looking at exciting pictures of distant countries left her dreaming of adventures and journeys to distant lands.

The dream of travelling solidified within her more with every passing year. She eagerly learned foreign languages at school. Like many other young people of her age, full of energy, enthusiasm and illusions of youth.

But how could it be possible to undertake such a journey for a young graduate with no money or connections?

The dreams would have remained dreams, except on one ordinary day, Lisa stood in the hallway near the office waiting for the next seminar in her university. Accidentally distracted from her homework, which, as a good student, she had been painstakingly writing all night long, Lisa saw a small ad hanging on the wall among other advertisements and schedules. According to the ad, young people with an education could try their luck and submit a resume to spend a year helping families with childcare and housework.

The name of this service was a beautiful and romantic French name: au pair, which meant equal.

Lisa read the following definition of au pairs: "An au pair is an unmarried young adult aged eighteen to thirty years, who has no children and travels to a foreign country for a defined period of time to live with a host family. The au pair is considered as a full member of the family during the entire stay. As such, he or she helps the family with childcare and can be asked to assume some light household tasks. In return, the host family provides free board and lodging, as well as pocket money. However, the au pair is neither a housekeeper, nor a nanny.

The main purpose of this placement program is a cultural exchange, which gives the au pair an opportunity to improve his or her language skills. For this reason, child minding in your own country doesn't count as an au pair stay. The au pair should also attend a language course in the host country. He or she should, however, have some basic language skills beforehand. Whether it is the au pair or the host family who pays for the language course depends on the prevailing practice of the relevant host country. The same applies to the cost of travel and insurance".

Sound great, Lisa thought.

Thinking about travelling to distant countries made Lisa‘s heart beat faster. It seemed like a fairy tale, the place where wishes can come true, where people have everything except for problems, where people are always happy, or perhaps where a Prince Charming was living. It was so far away and mysterious, that she certainly wanted to spend a year in this fabulous place, and improve and practice her knowledge of a foreign language. Even though she was a teacher of foreign languages, according to her diploma, for which she spent dozens of sleepless nights, attending lectures and writing hundreds of thousands of pages of term sheets, living with a host family seemed to be the smartest and cheapest way of travelling abroad.

After reading the ad, Lisa decided to try her luck and send her resume for the job of a babysitter. It was quite easy to apply as an au pair. She simply had to register on a website and fill out a questionnaire and upload a photo. Her friends at the university said:

Don’t put a pretty picture of you. Otherwise your host family will think that you want to get married.

Lisa found a photo that was taken during a walk in the forest. Her hair was slightly disheveled, and there was no makeup on her face. With this, she certainly would not attract anyone:

Then Lisa wrote a short application:

Dear host family,

My name is Lisa. I am twenty-two years old. I am a language teacher and I have a lot of experience in international communication. I love working with children. I can give your children a lot of new knowledge (teaching foreign languages, playing the piano, etc.). I also think that I can help you with your household. I like cooking.

In participating in this program, I see a chance for me to improve my foreign language skills.

I hope that I will be a good au pair  for your family.

Kind regards,

Lisa

––––––––

She filled out the questionnaire on her skills:

Have you ever been an au pair abroad? No.

Do you have experience in childcare? Yes.

Do you have experience with babies? Some.

Have you attended a first aid course? Yes.

Do you have a driver's license? No.

Do you have experience in your household? Yes.

Can you cook? Yes.

Can you brush? Yes.

Can you iron? Yes.

Can you sew? A bit.

Are you into sports? A bit.

Can you ride a bike? Yes.

Can you ride? A bit.

Can you swim? A bit.

Do you play an instrument? Yes.

After some time, Lisa received an e-mail from one family. Lisa read the questionnaire that the host family had answered:  

Name: Dr.M.,

First Name: Clara. Married, with 4 children in the household.

The age group of the four children was 0-1, 2-5, 6-10, 10+.

The hobbies that were in the family were dancing, sports and playing music.

The host mother has no religious affiliation. She is employed full time. She is a dentist and an entrepreneur. The host father is also employed full time. He is the CEO of a well-known company. The family lives in a town house. The only pet in the home is a hamster. The family lives in 70km from major cities. There is a train every hour to travel into town. The next language school is a city. It is 0km from the home.

The host family has never had an au pair. They are expecting childcare from their au pair. They are also expecting help with domestic chores and cooking. The au pair will have a private room available for the duration of their stay. The description of the room is unknown, as it hasn't been put together yet. The room may possibly be a small apartment. The room could also be in the home, which is 25 m². The au pair will receive $260 a month in the USD currency. The travel expenses of the au pair may be reimbursed. It was a family of dentists with four children, with a tiny picture attached to the e-mail showing a beautiful couple with their four kids. The e-mail was as follows:

From: Family M.

To: Lisa

Subject: An Au Pair

Our future au pair girl,

We are a young family with four kids. We live in a big house near one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Our family lives in a little town of 12,000 people that is situated directly in the suburbs of the city. The responsibilities you‘ll have as an au pair include helping with the kids, some easy housework (iron, cook, and shop at the supermarket). As your host family, we will pay for your language courses and will always take you with us when we travel somewhere. Your pocket money will be 300 dollars per month. You will have your own room and your own shower.

We are looking forward to welcoming a new nanny as soon as possible, who will be a member of our family and become like our children's older sister.

Family M.

And there was continuous correspondence with her future host family.

From: Lisa

To: Family M.

Subject: An au pair

Dear family,

Thank you for your message. Working with children brings me a lot of joy (since I have a teacher‘s education). Also, I can do housework and cooking. I hope to be a good helper to your family.

With kind regards

Lisa

According to this contract, Lisa, as an au pair, could expect:

Duties: child care, domestic help, cooking

Does the au pair have a private room available? Yes

Brief Description of the room: a room in our house, about 25 m²

Reimbursement of travel expenses: maybe

Assumption of costs for language courses: Yes, up to 2 courses

Takeover of travel expenses to the school: yes

Payment is made for monthly tickets: yes

Entrainment of au pairs in the holidays: yes

Soon Lisa received the following e-mail.

From: Family M.

To: Lisa

Subject: An Au Pair

Dear Lisa,

Many thanks for your quick response. July would fit in very well. As of August, my children have school holidays for six weeks. That would be a very good opportunity to meet and get used to each other’s company.

Our children, especially the big ones, would be very pleased if you could assist them in completing their homework. Very good English language skills would be super. While taking care of the children, you will receive the support of our dear grandmother in the afternoon. In case of occasional trips to a city, we also have an apartment available.

Of course, we have the Internet. We have broadband both in my medical office where you could spend time with the kids during the day, as well as wireless internet at home. It is also possible to make free calls over the Internet because we have a flat rate.

My eldest daughter attends high school. It would be important to me if you could practice some piano lessons with her. Nick, our nine-year-old son is in 3rd class. Nataly, is six-years-old, and will go to first class in September. You will need to give her a little support learning the letters. The youngest, Luca, will be starting kindergarten in September.

Therefore, in the morning, all children are taken care of and you have time to study or do other things. In the afternoon, you would help my mom take care of the children. She is looking forward very much to your help.

We look forward to meeting you soon.

Many greetings

Clara, Christian, Luca, Nick, Nataly and Julia.

Lisa was given a contract that explained all her rights and responsibilities. Under the contractual agreement, the family had to get insurance to pay for her accommodations, as well as her meals and language courses. She was entitled to a private room with a private shower. She was expected to spend four days educating the children, and would have one day off per week.

She was satisfied with her future arrangements. The host family seemed so nice. She had been corresponding with the host mother, Clara. She was confident that this family suited her needs. She was also confident that she would be able to suit theirs. Lisa was the most excited about being taken on their family vacations. She was also going to get $300 a month in pocket money. She could save up this money or take the train into town. She would get to travel and explore the city. She could shop in the local stores and try the food at the local diners. She would only be half an hour away from the nearest large city. This was going to be a paradise.

Lisa signed the contract with her agency. She was going to travel and be an au pair for this family for exactly one year. After she signed the contract, she collected a great deal of paperwork. Shortly after, she received her Visa in the post. She started getting excited about the journey she was about to go on. This was the happiest Lisa had been. She had been studying for four years and she was looking forward to the change of scenery.

According to the conditions, Lisa would receive a great opportunity for learning the culture, communicating with her host family and the children, a modest little room, food as well as a salary that was so little that many referred to it as pocket money for ice cream or pins.

Of course in exchange for all that, Lisa had to take care of someone else’s children. Not everyone would have enough courage and determination to leave their adjusted quiet life in a small town, as well as their beloved family and friends to go to a new country, where they had nobody, and didn’t speak the language. But Lisa‘s soul, so young and naive, certainly wanted to fly to some mysterious and beautiful country.

2

After the contract was signed, Lisa had to collect a necessary mountain of documents before the trip. It seemed to be almost impossible to fill in the numerous in the questionnaires, tests, and have an interview at the embassy, but the obstacles were overcome, and all the documents were ready. Soon, the economy class flight ticket "Lovely small provincial town – Big City was in her fragile hands. Checking the tickets, money, Lisa found it  was impossible to sleep the night before the flight, but there was something exciting and unusual in the air.

At 23:00 the night before the trip, Lisa lay on her bed in her room. She was nervous about the trip. She was going to be far away from her family for a full year, without any friends or connections. She was also going to be away from her loving cat. Lisa was going to miss the sound of her purring. She heard a growl from beside her, where her cat was. After tonight, all that remained between her and her new job was a nights' stay in the hotel.

Before she could fall asleep, Lisa looked around her room. She had the feeling she was forgetting something important. Maybe it was just her books. She wasn't used to being without them after four years. Now, she no longer needed them. She wasn't sure how to feel.

She was getting to travel quite the distance. Her excitement only grew.

The following day at 9.31 a.m., Lisa was waiting at the train station. She climbed into the cabin of the long, dark train. After she found her seat and settled in, she rested her head against the window. She needed to take a nap. She had tossed and turned all night and she was exhausted.

At 2:00 p.m., Lisa was at the airport. She had just gone through the security check before walking through the terminal. This was the first time she wanted to cry. She was excited and nervous. Her best friend had come along to see her off. She hugged her tightly. They both had moist eyes but held back their tears.

Her loving parents told Lisa