BootsnAll Travel Network



City of SIN

March 13th, 2007

Jeez. Okay. 200 hours of babysitting experience is usually required. If I can’t manage that before applying, this whole thing falls apart?

At least I have Vegas.

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Au Pair in Paris, oui?

March 11th, 2007

(for reference, this is the au pair site I plan on going through)

I’ve been really getting into the idea of becoming an au pair. It’s exactly what I need. I can go to France for a long period of time and actually get paid to be there. And have it be legal! Logically, being an au pair in France (and being required by French visa/labor laws to take language classes) for 9-12 months I’ll come out with such amazing knowledge of the language than I could from just 4 weeks somewhere. You don’t even start to get really good at speaking the language until a few months pass anyways. And I’d be living with a family so I’d have more than enough practice. It’ll be tough at first, which makes me nervous, but I’m determined.

Then the real worrying sets in. I know, how predictable of me.

I’ve babysat before. Not a lot and not extremely, but I’ve taken care of kids before. Impressions I’ve got from previous au pairs is that they didn’t have MAJOR experience beforehand, but it’s implied on the site I’m hopefully going to go through that after I submit an initial application (with a non-refundable $75, eesh!) and I get my bigger, detailed application, I may have to return it with some…letters of recommendation? Which, while not ENTIRELY impossible, doesn’t sound doable, unless I don’t mind makng an idiot of myself.

I mean, I’ve babysat for my dad’s friend Jeff one night for nearly 6 hours and I did a great job, but it was a one-time thing. And I’ve babysat for another friend in the same scenario. And it was over a year ago. So it would be very awkward to call them up and be like, “Hey, remember when I babysat for you that one time when you had to do the thing? You don’t? Well, I babysat for you one time when you had to do the thing and it went well, and I’m applying for this au pair position in France so can you write me a letter of recommendation saying how awesome I was with the whole keeping your kid alive thing? THANKS!”

So the part about submitting the initial application with a NON-REFUNDABLE $75 deposit kind of bugs me becuase what if I get the bigger, detailed application and find out that I’m not even close to ever being qualified to babysit anyone’s foreign kids EVER? Ahhhh. I’m a poor teenager, I don’t have that kind of money!

It’s the personal recommendations part that bugs me because I have faith in myself to be good with kids. I like them as much as everyone likes them. I can get annoyed, but so can everyone; I have the patience and I love stupid childish games so that’ll work out well also. And the light cleaning is something I can do as well. Deep, professional cleaning? Hell no. But light cleaning? Hell yes. And the language barrier will only be a problem at first (I’ll learn highly neccesary phrases before going, obviously) since I’ll be taking required classes.

My mom pointed out that I don’t have a license but I have a feeling that since it’s in Paris I don’t think I’ll be taking a car. And, you know, I’m not applying to one specific family, so I’ll make sure to put on my application that I do NOT have a license. Some might not like that and won’t hire me, some might not care. No biggie, right? I hear you get a Carte Orange (metro pass) when you’re hired. As long as I get the kids to school on time and safely–and back home on time and safely–then I don’t see the problem.

So, really, when it comes down to it: the only thing really making me sweat about this is the letters of recommendation. I can see why parents would do that, I see why its reasonable, but I hope the personal essay that I may have to write will be convincing enough that I”m very passionate about this and that I’m not some crazy psycho or idiot who doesn’t know an oven from a hamper.

Annnnnnnnd I need to catch my breath and give my fingers a rest.

Somebody hug me, I feel like I’m turning into a neurotic mess.

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