Written by Chris Davis, Assistant Editor
Friday, 14 May 2010 07:00

Malin Johansson, 20, comes from the small Swedish town of Nassjo, halfway between Stockholm and Gothenburg. She calls herself a sporty girl who likes to travel. And yes, that’s Johansson, spelled just like the actress Scarlet. “Half the people in Sweden are named Johansson,” she said with a smile.

An only child, she discovered a knack for managing kids by taking care of neighbors’ kids. When she graduated from high school, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to study in college but she did know that she wanted to improve her English so she went online and began looking for study abroad opportunities.

She thought about coming to the U.S. to study, but that was too expensive. She’ll study in Sweden later where it is free. “We only pay for the materials, books and things like that. But here you pay for everything. It’s a big difference.”

Malin went on the Internet and hooked up with Culture Care Au Pair, one of scores of organizations that screen, match and place young people in homes where they exchange child care chores for a cross-cultural experience.

She landed in Old Greenwich in a household of three kids with a mother who is originally from Sweden. Aside from Greenwich being beautiful, she finds the area is great for raising kids. People here, she says, are more open and friendly than in her home. “In Sweden you are in your own shell, and here you are so open. That’s what I like.”

And it’s a plus to be so close to New York City, where she loves to just walk around and look at everything.

In the nine months she has been here, she has adjusted. “I really do feel like I’m a new family member of a new family.” And more.

Malin is one of 10 of her colleagues in Connecticut nominated for the “Au Pair of the Year” award from the International Au Pair Association (IAPA), a global trade association for qualified au pair agencies and companies, actively engaged in the au pair industry. Founded in 1994 at the World Youth and Student Travel Conference in Vancouver, Canada, IAPA’s main role is to protect the rights of all au pairs and host families and at the same time establish internationally approved guidelines for au pair exchange programs in light of increasing demand for au pairs across the globe.

“With growth in the industry,” the IAPA’s Web site says, “comes the need for regulation at the international level. IAPA aims to meet this need by developing a system of self-regulation and by introducing professional standards.”

The IAPA has 159 member organizations that place au pairs with host families in 42 countries.

For Malin, the hardest part of the job is being away from her parents. In the nine months she has been here, she went home for a week at Christmas and had her parents visit in the spring.

She loves the day-to-day work of an au pair. “Of course you get tired, but it’s fun. There are new things to do every day,” she said.

So what’s the secret to being so good at au pair-ing that you get nominated for an international award?

She’s not sure. “I’m just being myself,” she said, “and when I’m working, I give all my time and attention to the kids. That’s what you have to do.”

What about a bond forming between her and the children, one that might make it difficult to leave? “Yeah,” she said. “I’m going to die when I leave them. I get so attached to the kids. I’m like, I don’t want another person to take care of them. They’re my kids.”

She said her family wants her to extend her time here, but she must return to Sweden to study.

When she said to the boys one day that they were like brothers to her, one of them responded, “We’re not like your brothers, you are our sister.”