Annie (18), estadounidense, Marketing actualmente en Estados Unidos quiere ser Au Pair en Francia, Italia, Japón, España & Turquía

It means a lot to open up your home and your children to a virtual stranger; I feel the same way, only the other way around in a country foreign to me. I'm so excited to get to know you and help relieve your worries! I'll start off by sharing three things that are most central to who I am.

1. I come from an immigrant family. My parents are immigrants from China (my dad rural and my mom from Beijing), but they were actually Canadians before becoming American citizens. Though my family has mostly assimilated to more Northeastern and Pacific Coast American culture (think liberal beliefs, hockey, immense cultural diversity and acceptance), I have lived in the American South for almost all my life (think American football, farmlands, incredibly friendly people, and family barbecue cookouts). All of these worlds are so different, yet I have found myself to become intrigued by each and find ways to thrive in diversity, becoming proficient in accepting new perspectives. I even speak three languages fluently: Mandarin, Spanish, and English, but I only yearn to learn more through immersive Au Pair experiences. Furthermore, I hope to acquire new cultural norms, especially of your family's. I'd like to think that there is no one I can't be friends with, a result of my open-minded character.

2. I have always lived to be open minded and try new things. Last September, I ran my first marathon. I spent about a year dedicated to training for it, putting in hours daily, and changing my habits to prepare my body and my mind. It was something I never believed I could do, yet, I found a way to make it happen. I think that this demonstrates my personality in many aspects: relentless, determined, but also adaptable and forgiving to myself and others upon mistakes. There is a lot of trust to be built when it comes to trusting someone else with your children, and I hope to live up to that trust. I'm patient and adaptable (I have coached years of beach volleyball to boys and girls ages 8-18), and put care and dedicated attention to every commitment I make.

3. I've always been the student that sits in the front of the classroom, attentive, and stays up all night to study, earning perfect scores on Advanced Placement exams. I yearn to overachieve, taking extra night classes at our local university with students four years older than me. Mostly, I am just curious and want to learn. I still am that girl, but I now yearn to learn different ways of life and be immersed in foreign countries in an authentic way. Especially as I follow global politics, current events, and such polarized viewpoints, I'm beginning to believe that there are more impactful ways to learn that though books: I need to learn about others' lives firsthand, hopefully with you and your beautiful family as part of my journey! Though it's incredibly scary to take a year off my studies to pursue a gap year, I am fully convinced that it'll be an invaluable experience for me. I aim to have some fun, bond with your kids, find my motivations and goals, and, by gaining new perspectives, be able to serve you and my future communities better.