Italy

First, I went to Tuscany with the family for a week. The place really reminded me of home: the hills, the vegetation, the houses and the smells of food, flowers and fruit. It was a “work” week – playing with the children, relaxing by the pool and eating delicious food.

After that, my friend (my host dad’s sister’s Au Pair) and I went to Florence, Rome and Venice. The weather was beautiful, the cities are incredibly charming and needless to say, the food was amazing! Oh, and GELATOS!

We met a solo traveler from the US and toured Florence together.

We joined a couple of friends from Belgium who were also in Rome. We threw our coins in the Fontana di Trevi, saw the Coliseum and lots of other ruins and museums, drank water from the fountains, visited Vatican City.

We didn’t go on a gondola ride in Venice, but we got a free ferry ride + free entrance to the Casino where there was a live singer and piano player and they served us champagne and strawberries.

I could understand a bit of Italian and I loved being called “bella”. Oh, Italy! 

London

As an English graduate, I always dreamed of going to London. I wanted to be where all those writers had been inspired. I wanted to see where the royal family lived. And of course I wanted to see Platform 9 3/4!

It was the first time I surfed someone’s couch via Couchsurfing. It was amazing – he showed us around during the weekend and we had great conversations!

We went to the Nothing Hill fair, rode the London Eye, went on a boat ride on the Thames, saw the Parliament, the Abbey, the Palace and the change of guards, Piccadilly, rode the red double deck bus, went to pubs and had a great time watching people on the street (it was Halloween). 

Porto

Oh, the joy of warm weather in February + speaking my own language! I don’t know if that’s what made Porto one of my favorite cities in the world or if it’s just one of the factors.

Porto has a lot to offer: river, beach, historical city center, modern city center. The food is simply fantastic and cheap (once we got a full meal – salad, stew, potatoes, a drink, dessert and coffee - for 6,50 Euros!).

We visited one of the caves and tasted red and white Porto + we went to a wine festival where there were hundreds of producers’ stands.

The hostel we stayed was THE best I’ve been – nice house, clean, comfortable bedrooms, yummy breakfast and super nice people. We all dressed up and went to the Carnaval parties together!

You can read this and more on Live the Dream and Love the Journey, an ebook about living abroad as an Au Pair. Subscribe and get one in your inbox!

Around this time of the year in 2009 I was getting ready to leave home for the first time. 

Life as I'd always known would be changed forever. 

As I celebrate this date and all that I lived after that I'd like to share my top 3 trips in the US of A, the country that sparkled my wanderlust and was my home and playground for a year and a half. 

Disneyland

It was my first American trip and it was a “must do”. Five days of incredible, magic, fun, dreamy stuff. Everything looked so unreal, I couldn’t stop smiling and thinking “Oh my God, I’m really here”. We would walk around all day and pass out on our beds at night.

We were even invited to participate in the opening ceremony of Hollywood Studios. What a blast! That was my favorite day. Plus, we got the first ride on Rock ‘n Rollercoaster. Alone. Before everyone was allowed in. Teehee! We also got fast passes for the Tower of Terror and rode it twice. Fun, fun, fun! 

Miami

Beach. Party. Beach. Repeat!

We stayed at a cheap hostel a couple of blocks from South Beach. It was beeeeautiful!

We made new friends and drove with them to Key West.

We missed our flight to NJ because of that.

Just another adventure on a fun-filled week.

West Coast

Oooh, yeah! Ca.li.for.nia, baby.

Someone should have told me – in time – that San Francisco was much nicer than L.A. I only spent one day there and I was all by myself, but IT – WAS – AWESOME. The city is beautiful, the piers, Alcatraz, the hills, the bridge. It FEELS good to be there.

L.A is overrated. I found it dirty and a bit boring. I visited the Hollywood sign, Santa Monica beach, the Walk of Fame. The most fun was on my last night there, on West Hollywood (gay dancing clubs, Woohoo!). Maybe my expectations were too high. Or my judgment was clouded by San Francisco + Vegas + The Grand Canyon.

I took a bus tour to the Grand Canyon. It is still THE most amazing thing of nature I have seen in my life. It’s ridonkulously gigantic and gorgeous. It made me feel so small and my problems disappeared. I sat there for a long time reflecting on that and feeling good and light.

We spent two nights in the Sin City. It’s a shame that I was alone, so I didn’t gamble or party. I didn’t really feel like it, though. Vegas is such an absurd city. So bright and colorful and fake.

All in all it was a fantastic time :)

I met Taíra in 2010 at the school where we both taught English as a second language. I had just returned from the USA and she had just come back from the Netherlands. We both shared dreams of traveling: I ended up in Belgium and she went to Mexico. Today she's back in our town, blogging and working with what she trully loves: fashion!

Here's an interview with a girl who's living her dreams: 

Ana: What inspired you to live abroad?

Taíra: I always loved traveling, meeting people, cultures and I already had this desire to know other countries, so it was easy for me to make this decision.

Ana: Where did you live and what did you do?

Taíra: I lived in Amsterdam for 1 year. I was an au pair, so I took care of 3 beautiful kids and I also studied English during 6 months. Living in Amsterdam was wonderful! The city is perfect and very ready to receive foreigners. I had the amazing opportunity to go to museums, restaurants, parks, parties, know the culture, language, food... everything possible!

Besides that I knew a lot of Brazilian au pairs and they were part of this dream, during all the year we had a lot of fun. In my free time I was always traveling with them. I made a plan: know a country per month, and I did it. It was an amazing experience!

And then I lived in Mexico for 2 years, working as a model. Over there I traveled a lot too. I know a lot of cities in Mexico, and also in the Caribbean and the USA. Living in Mexico was a great experience as well because it is totally different from Europe. Life in Mexico is not that easy. The city is too big and life is a rush. But it was also an amazing opportunity!

Ana: What did you love most about it?

Taíra: I loved living the culture in general: language, people, food and habits. But the most important for me was the experience of living alone, and also knowing a lot of countries.

Ana: What was the most difficult part of your experience?

Taíra: It was very difficult to be so far away from my family and friends. I missed them a lot.

Ana: How has living abroad changed you? What important things have you learned?

Taíra: Today I can say that living abroad changed me 100%. I am a better person. I know how to deal with the difficulties of life and I know how family and friends are important in our lives.

Ana: Do you think that the experience still influences your decisions and what you do today?

Taíra: For sure! When I arrived in Brazil, after 1 year of living abroad, I was sure I would like to travel more. I had an opportunity to go to Mexico and work as a model, so I did it and loved it a lot. It was perfect!

Ana: How was your re-entry in Brazil?

Taíra: It’s always very difficult to get used to living in Brazil again, especially in my city, which is smaller.  I was used to being free, to traveling when I wanted and in my city it is very difficult to get a good and cheap air plane ticket, and there are few flights. Besides that, everything here is more expensive. In Amsterdam and in Mexico I had a better life (thinking about money, traveling or shopping) than here in Brazil.

Also a very important point is living with the family again. I lived alone for 3 years, and now I am living with mom, dad and brothers, I need to get used to it again. When I arrived everybody was very happy! They missed me as I missed them. Nothing was changed! They were here waiting for me.

It was difficult to decide not to travel anymore. I decided to be in Brazil because of my family, friends and mainly to have a stable life. But it is hard! I am always thinking about traveling again.

Ana: Tell us about the work you do now.

Taíra: I’ve always worked as a model, since I was 13. I did it in Mexico for 2 years and now I am back in Brazil, working as a Fashion Consultant and Fashion Blogger and I am loving it. I am always in fashion events; I do interviews for TV, talking about fashion and I also teach fashion to saleswomen in clothing stores. In my city this is very important! It’s big! Now I see that I am working and studying hard to get where I want, I am in the middle of that!

I studied Portuguese in college, and I also taught English for many years. I loved the experience, but I prefer working with Fashion.

Ana: Any advice for those who dream of living abroad or following their dream career?

Taíra: Just do it! It’s worth it!

You can find Taíra on her blog: Também é Moda, Facebook and Twitter. 

As I write this I can see myself freaking out in front of the computer, more than 5 years ago, when I decided to go to the USA as an Au Pair even though I didn’t know much about it. 

I spent a buttload of time doing "research". I wanted to know everything that I needed in order to make that work. I read every blog, joined groups on Orkut (!) and befriended girls who were going through the process at the time. I was all over the place and it was too much. Most times I felt lost and overwhelmed and I wish someone had done this for me.

The truth is, you don’t need to know everything or read every testimonial. That will make you crazy. You only need to know the right places to find the right information.

Here is something I hope will help you kick start you search:

Agencies – If you go to the USA, it’s mandatory. Check if they have an office near you.

Cultural Care Au Pair 

Au Pair in America

Au Pair Care

Matching websites – If you go to Europe, you can find a family and work out the documents yourself. If you would feel safer, you can also hire an agency. I found my Belgian family on Au Pair World and things worked out perfectly.

Great Au Pair 

Au Pair World

Practical – Regulations, contract, insurance, requirements, etc.

http://www.aupair-world.net/index.php/au_pair_program/

Blogs – They are fun to read and full of useful information and resources!

Au Pair Mom

La jeune fille Au Pair (in English)

Blog das 30 Au Pairs (in Portuguese)

Au Pair Neurótica (in Portuguese)

Facebook Groups – You can connect with people who are in the same boat, share information, ask questions.

Nannies, Babysitters and Au Pairs in Europe

Au Pair in America

Just for fun! :)

Things Au Pairs don’t say

As you make the decision of where to go you should think about what language you want to learn, the lifestyle and culture on that particular country, how much you’ll be paid and the cost of life. Keep your mind and heart open! It's better to choose a good family in a place you haven't yet considered living than to be miserable in the oh-so-dreamy Paris (or whatever city inhabits your fantasies). Of course the contrary is also possible. 

Anywaysies... 

Voilà! The above are the best/most popular and useful links I’ve found during the years. I hope it will help you focus your search.

Follow your intuition and have an amazing adventure!

Have any question, suggestion or advice? Pop it in the comments bellow! Know anyone who would be interested in this post? Share it! Let's connect.

xo, 

Ana