Being an au pair in the U.S. can mean being thousands of miles away from your home, family, friends, and everything you know. The good news is, with technology, you can maintain close connections and frequent communication fairly easily during your time away. Here are some ways Au Pair USA au pairs have been able to stay in touch with family and friends in their home countries during their time on the au pair program in a safe and cost effective way.
Video Calling Platforms
Perhaps the best way to feel as though you’re in the same room as someone you love when you’re far away is through a video chat. Not only are you speaking in real time, but you’re seeing them on your screen as well. With high speed internet connections, these calls can often be conducted from home as well as on the go via a mobile device. There are many free options to choose from when it comes to having video calls: WhatsApp, Messenger, Skype, and Zoom to name a few. Video calls using free apps can eliminate the high cost of international phone calls and make it easy and convenient to stay connected to your loved ones.
Messaging Apps and Services
According to Statista, texting has become the leading method for personal communication. It makes sense! It’s quick, easy, and convenient. Thankfully, just because you may find yourself on another continent, doesn’t mean you can’t continue to communicate via text. Although it may make more sense to text through different platforms since you will likely be using an American cellphone carrier and don’t want to incur international texting fees. Services like WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and Telegram make international texting easy as ever and don’t cost anything to use. As long as you have an internet connection, you can text away!
Managing Time Zones and Schedules
It can be tricky to find the right time to stay connected with your friends and family at home, especially if your time zones feel like they’re opposite. A great suggestion is to schedule video or phone chats in advance and utilize a website like TimeandDate.com to ensure your times are syncing up. It can also be helpful to block these times on your electronic calendar so you can easily remember when you plan to connect and join your video call quickly and easily at the appropriate time.
Social Media, Blogs, and Vlogs
Some au pairs choose to share about their au pair adventures on social media or on blogs/vlogs. These can be fantastic ways to keep your family and friends in the know about your travels and daily life in the U.S. Be sure to adjust your privacy settings if you’re not looking to share your content with a wider audience and always ask your host family permission if you’d like to share anything about their family or home life. Privacy is important and should be taken into consideration when sharing on public social platforms.
Virtual Celebrations
Celebrating holidays and birthdays away from home can feel different, but that doesn’t mean these milestone events need to feel lonely. Create a new tradition during your time as an au pair via a virtual celebration. You can send an invitation to family and friends and cut your birthday cake with them or open Christmas presents together over a video chat. These may end up being some of your most memorable holidays and birthdays over the years!
Staying connected to your loved ones during your au pair program year is important, especially since you may experience homesickness at some point during your experience. Additionally, it’s a great way to grow accustomed to maintaining relationships from a distance, which you will likely want to do with your host family once you return to your home country. Decide which platform(s) you’ll use to keep in touch with your loved ones at home and ensure you’re all set up for success by downloading them in advance and doing a practice call or message before you leave. Your au pair year is about growing and learning, and having long distance relationships is one of the ways you’ll evolve as a person.
If you’re ready to begin your au pair adventure, apply today! Au Pair USA has been welcoming au pairs from around the world for over 35 years. We match you with a carefully screened American host family and support you throughout your cultural exchange experience. We look forward to meeting you soon!
