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...
When you’re an au pair living in a foreign country, it’s important to be familiar with what type of emergencies you could be faced with and how to respond, just in case you find yourself in a dangerous situation. Asking your host family questions about...
As an au pair, you’re at a prime age to be thinking about your future career. You may have plans after the au pair program to return home and begin (or continue) university studies. You may already be a university graduate while on the au...
Finding the right host family is crucial for any au pair's success. For Marianna, like many others, the prospect of moving to a new country brought considerable anxiety. "Before being an au pair, I was so scared to come to the USA and find a family that wasn't good," she recalls. "I was scared to go into a rematch and change (my) family or go back home."
This post was originally published in September 2019 and revised in October 2024 by other contributors. We bet you’ve been looking forward to trick-or-treating with your host kids! Trick-or-treating is an American tradition straight out of the movies, and we’re thrilled that you get to...
As part of the Department of State’s Au Pair Program regulations, au pairs are required to complete at least six semester hours of credit at an accredited post-secondary institution during their program year.
Drinking alcohol and then driving a car is taken very seriously in the United States. Not only is it against the law, but it’s frowned upon in American society, not to mention extremely dangerous. Au Pair USA wants everyone to be safe and has a...
Most au pairs decide to join the program for a number of reasons: they want to improve their English, they are excited to live in a new country and learn about a new culture, and they enjoy taking care of kids. When Layla graduated college...
During her first year as an au pair, Galu was sure she would extend her au pair experience for another year. After spending 12 incredible months in California, she was excited to find a new location to call home in the U.S. She began interviewing...
This post was originally published in November 2020 and revised in July 2024 by other contributors Sharing your native language with your host kids can be one of the most rewarding aspects of being an au pair! Did you know that, aside from your bubbly...