Going to Australia

Coming from Austria and going to Australia as an Au Pair
By Nancy Conmitto
 
When I was little, all I wanted to do was go to Australia. It really seemed like an amazing country that I became obsessed about visiting. All I would talk about to my friends was about one day going to Australia and getting to see kangaroos up close and personal so it really was a chance for me to see the other side of the world when an Au Pair job came along in Australia. I had never really thought about too much becoming an Au Pair, as I wasn't the biggest fan of children. But thinking about the fact that I would get to see the country of my dreams, as well as living in a house for free while I was there was sort of an offer that I really could not refuse. A lot of people would think that me wanting to go to Australia had something to do with me being from Austria as the countries sound the same. It's even funny because in Austria there were t-shirts saying "there are no kangaroos in Austria". I would used to laugh every time I saw this t-shirt and my mother even bought me one for Christmas one year which was good. But I don’t know why I liked Australia so much but I was just so glad that I could then go across there and look after children and get to stay for free. I found a family in Adelaide who were just about to welcome triplets into their lives and wanted somebody to come along and help them out. They also had a couple of dogs and needed a bit of cleaning done around the home, none of which bothered me at all. So I soon applied and got accepted and was on a plane to Australia, and I was crying because not only was I happy that I finally got to visit the country of my dreams but also sad because I would be away from home for so long. I soon got it together and found myself arriving in Australia. It was amazing.
 
The family I was staying with picked my up at the airport and took me to their house. It was a very big house, so big I could not believe! They had an amazingly beautiful garden in their home and even had a pool which was great to relax in as it was quite hot in Adelaide at the time of year I was there. They then took me to my room which was right next to the room where the triplets were so that I would always be close to the triplets when they needed assistance. They were all young girls and they were all so cute and I knew that I would have no trouble in helping them out. They also introduced me to their dogs who were also pretty cute, and I soon felt pretty comfortable and at home staying in their place which was a great thing. Their dogs were probably the hardest thing to look after, more so than even their children! Why do you think that was? Well they were very loud and hard to keep quiet, but they were quite naughty and got up to a lot of trouble, so I had to keep them in check. The babies though were really well behaved, and you could never imagine they were newborn triplets! I really honestly thought they would be a big handful to look after but they were all so sweet and quiet and really easy to change their nappies. It was also a breeze when it came to feeding time as they were always very quiet in their own demeanour which made it very easy for me to get their bottles and feed them all at once. I got pretty good at it I must admit and this coming from somebody who doesn't like children remember?! I found myself working around 4-5 hours a day which really wasn't too bad and I would sometimes find myself with a bit of free time which was good as it gave me a chance to see some parts of Australia and explore the country I had been dreaming about! I would go to the zoo in Adelaide and go to other places in the city and I would meet lots of Australian's which I really liked. I also tried a lot of Australian food which I also liked too, and I really did like Vegemite, I really did! So many people told me I wouldn't like it but I did! I think even the triplets were surprised I like it, so I did laugh at that!
 
Some of the most interesting things I found when I was an Au Pair in Australia is just how nice the people were and how relatively easy the jobs were that I had to do. I realise that different Au Pair jobs would bring with them different responsibilities and different families would no doubt ask you to do different things when you are there. I think the things I found most difficult were when I had to do things like gardening or help clean things like the oven. I had no idea how to clean an oven, or water a flower, so I eventually learned but it was still very interesting I have to say! I learnt about all different types of fertilisers and cleaning products and given that English isn't my first language I had to always make sure I read certain labels at certain points so that I didn't become too confused with things when I used them to clean! I didn't want to clean the oven with fertiliser and fertilise the garden with oven cleaner did I?! I did find it amazing though to finally visit my country of my dreams and certainly appreciated all that my host family did for me. We managed to take a bit of a road trip one weekend and I got to see Kangaroo Island and some other amazing parts of Adelaide. I mentioned so much about how it was a dream come true and it really was, I still do keep smiling about my experience every time I think about it. And it's something that even know I am looking at doing again, because I miss my host family and I certainly miss Australia as I loved it so much. I really do think that if you want a great experience that can take you to the other side of the world and give you a free place to stay with free food, then you really can't go wrong with becoming an Au Pair. It sounds like something everyone would say, but I mean if I can do it then there is no doubting that you can do it too! Just remember that next time you are thinking about doing something that you aren't to sure about it and I know you will be fine! Really I do!