Diary of a German Au Pair
Hello readers! 
We have a special treat for you this week. One of our readers is a German au pair who first commented on a post regarding German au pairs and their driving abilities. I thanked her and welcomed her to continue to visit us and comment on our posts, as we enjoy hearing from the au pairs' perspective!
She asked if she could send in an account of her experience as an au pair and I was more than delighted to have her do so. After a few drafts and some weeks of editing, we finally published her account of her time spent with a host family in Virginia. You can read the full account under Today's News,
My American Life as a German Au Pair.
Ms. Steffen, the author of the article, discusses her experience from the application process to seeing her host family for the first time to saying goodbye a year later. She talks about the kids being tough and throwing tantrums, but she got through it because the host parents backed her up!
What a difference host parent support makes for these young girls as they struggle to fit in and take charge of the domestic scene. It is not an easy job most of the time, as Ms. Steffen's account makes clear!
We hope you enjoy reading her diary of American life as a German au pair.
To read more about German au pairs, please view our article on
Germany and the au pairs recruited from there now.
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Comments
love the diary!
I really enjoyed reading the au pair's diary. I think she was very anxious about coming to America and how her host family would treat her. Never thought about this side, as Matty says, how anxious and scared the au pairs must be. They always seem to put up a pretty good front!
Most au pairs seem overly concerned about other things, like getting a car, a cell, etc., but I can feel this girl's desire to be supported in order to do the best job she could.
Great story!
Error message?
I keep getting a page that says "you are not authorized to access this page" when I try to click through to this AP's article. Not sure if the problem is on my end or yours, but I thought I'd mention it!
I read it okay
Hi HostmomDP, maybe it is your computer. Try again, I just clicked it and read it. Very good diary account of what au pairs do! I didn't consider, but it really is a BIG deal for these girls.
Loved the Au Pair Diary!
I really enjoyed the diary by the German au pair! She really was able to take us through her year and her family sounded special.. I can tell you not all host families are that supportive and understanding. Most parents, who had a child throwing tantrums would NOT support the au pair in handling this bad behavior. Tantrums are usually a symptom of poor parenting where either the mom or dad (or both) are giving in to a young child's demands and spoiling them. In essence they are training the child to throw tantrums since the child is used to getting what they want. So, a stranger comes in and tells the child to drink all their milk and the child go ballistic.
In this family it sounds like a time limited problem or phase the child is going through and I think the parents show great restraint and wisdom in not only dealing with the child, but the au pair!
She was luck to have found them. Another twist that I loved is the coupling of a German au pair with a Jewish family. That could be a sequel article! Would love to read about that transition and what the family learned about German culture and what the au pair's experience was compared to her expectations!
Great example of a true cultural exchange. Thanks for sharing!