DEBORAH, 28 ÅR

I’m Deborah, a 23 years old girl currently living in Brazil (I went back from Ireland in the end of August). I’m a really easy going person, I love to learn new things and cultures. In 2015 I graduated in a nursing school, the course took 2 years and after that I started to work in a oncology hospital. For a lot of reasons I didn’t like the experience so I quit. Then I started taking care of a baby when she was only 4 months and I was still unsure of what to do in a professional manner, so I was also volunteering in the public school that my sister used to be a teacher. She had two classes of 3 and 7 years old, and spending time with them made me realize that I had to have a job that involved kids. So I started looking for an au pair experience, to get me closer to kids and also to have an experience abroad. And it was the best decision that I could ever take. I worked for 15 months with an Irish family that it was really like a second family for me.
The first time I thought about living abroad I had a lot of hesitations and fear. I didn’t know what to expect. I did a profile here on Au Pair World and was willing to move pretty much to any country in Europe, when I found this family in Ireland. We decided to have a match and I had the best time of my life. By the time I arrived the kids were 4 and 8 years old. The previous au pair stayed with me for 2 days to show me around and the routine with the kids. The parents were always welcoming and we bonded since day 1. We always get along really well, and I’m sure that the reason why is because we had an open communication about everything. If they liked something, they would say. If they think that something could do in a different way, they would politely say it too. And vice versa. The family was used to have au pairs, so they were always conscient about my free time: if I was off and the kids wanted to play, they would explain to them that it wasn’t the time to play (although when I wasn’t going out or anything I was keen to play with them). And at the same time, when I was in my time off I didn’t want to stay around too much, so they could also have a proper family time. My duties with this family included walking the dog, preparing lunch and dinner for the kids, keeping the house clean and tidy, and walking the kids to their school or playdates. They had a limited time of TV each day, so we usually play board games, went to the park to play football, to the trampoline at our backyard or we get creative with arts and crafts in the house on the rainy days.
I would like to work as an au pair again because it was such an positive experience and it really changed my life and the way that I see things. I learned so much with the kids that I took care and I know that I still have a lot more to learn. Also, I want to learn a different culture, place and maybe even a new language. I have two older sisters, the one that I mention before is currently living in Ireland with her fiancée and the other one is living in The Netherlands with her husband and son. Since I lived for a while in Dublin, for me it would be great to meet a difference country and at the same time be in Europe, where my sisters are too.