Nearly 5 months have passed since my initial post about life as an au pair. I am happy to say au pair life has improved immensely since then. In fact, I'd say it's about as good as it can get. Yes, the initial transition felt impossible, overwhelming, and just plain tiring. I felt like there was no way I could last 9 months-- I even considered just giving up at one point.
Luckily, I am stubborn to a fault and stuck it out... and I am really glad I did.
About a month in, I had already reached a breaking point. After hours of sobbing speaking to both my parents and questioning my decision, they both finally convinced me to explain myself to the parents. When I finally went to speak with them, I swear I lasted two seconds before bursting into tears in front of them.
In the end, this was a good thing because I am pretty good at putting on a happy face, but after this they were able to see how much I was struggling. We discussed how isolated I had been feeling, how stressful it was to wake up to a screaming/hitting/kicking 2-year-old each morning, and how I just didn't want to feel like this stressed for the rest of my time abroad.
Honestly? In many ways, I've come to realize I hit the au pair family jackpot.
