GRETCHEN FAITH, 33 YEARS

I'm Gretchen Faith Lasola Mansing, I'll be turning 25 later this year. I was born and raised in Dumaguete City Negros Oriental, Philippines. I have one older sister who is also currently an Au Pair in Denmark, my Mom is just a plain housewife while my late Father was a public servant before he passed away last year. I took up Psychology and also Information Technology in college but sadly I was not able to finish it because my Dad's medication is very expensive and he was confined in the hospital all the time. So our family doesn't have enough money to send me to school anymore. I like being at school because it's a fun learning experience and you get to meet new people. In my free time, I volunteer teaching kids in our church and spend time playing with them. I love being around kids because they bring smile and laughter. I like to cook and experiment or try new dishes, I'm especially good in cooking traditional Filipino food. I often check some new recipes in the internet and would eventually try it the next day. That's also the main reason why I'm very much interested in the Au Pair program because it's an eye-opening experience learning about the culture and the food of people from the other side of the globe. I'm down to earth and outgoing kind of person, when meeting people for the first time I'm usually the one who initiates a conversation or will just simply say hello. I'm also a homebody, if I'm not hanging out with friends on weekends I'm just staying at home watching movies or chatting with some other friends online. I enjoy simple things in life, I also like the outdoors and nature tripping, I personally think it brings peace and serenity. If I were to describe my clothing style, it's casual and comfy, I'm low maintenance kind of girl. I'm also a family oriented person, family comes first no matter what because at the end of the day no matter how many people likes or hates you, the people who knows you from the inside out are your family and they always got your back. I value faith, respect, trust and loyalty. I would like to meet new friends who shares the same values as I do. Since I'm a homebody type, I'm often doing household chores as well, from washing dishes to mopping the floors, cleaning the window pane and all of the above. I think it's also a good form of exercise since you're moving and you're using your muscles too.

The only time I was away from my family was when I went for a short vacation for 2 months at another province. And it was a good experience for me even for a short time because I was more independent and disciplined. I learned a lot of things just being away from my comfort zone and it taught me to become a better and stronger individual. I got excited when my sister told me about this Au Pair program because it is surely an opportunity that I shouldn't pass. I'm very much interested in learning and being immersed in another culture, and this will also be my first time being abroad so it adds up to the excitement. Ever since I was in high school, I've always been fascinated with Europe. I would really love to see castles and how people live back in the day. I'm also looking forward to wearing winter clothes, it's definitely something new because I'm used to the tropical weather in the Philippines where the sun is always up in most days of the year. As I've previously mentioned I like being around kids, so it's also a good opportunity for me to interact with kids from another country and I know I'll get some benefit from it in the near future when I have my own. I like playing outdoor games with the children or sing and dance with them or go biking, I'm sure it will be a lot of fun. I also like reading books to kids and find it cute when they fell asleep listening.
I hope that my one year stay with the family will be fruitful, fun and relax. I earnestly hope I'll find a good match, a family who is loving, understanding, respectful and fun to be around. A family who won't judge me because of my appearance, background or race and who will not take advantage of my goodness. In return I will definitely be good, trustworthy, responsible and hard working au pair. I'll make sure that I'm able to meet up with the family's expectation of me. In case if some misunderstanding arises, I'll make sure to work things out with the family by having an honest and open communication with them.

My biggest strength is being loving and grateful be it for work, people or my surrounding. I think it's always a reflection of ones self regardless of the things that's happening around you it will always comes down on how you look at it. I'm also a positive thinker, despite of the ups and downs in life I know that everything has a purpose and there's hope in everything.

My weakest point is I'm too sensitive at times and a little bit emotional. But I don't let that get in my way, I always bounce back from bad situations and end my day with a smile knowing that there are more people who are having worse problems than I do.

I'm looking forward in meeting you all very soon. Thank You.

Sincerely,
Gretchen Faith L. Mansing