Feelings of excitement, nervousness, curiosity, gratefulness, and uncertainty bombarded me when I at first applied to become an Au Pair. The list of mixed emotions just got longer when I heard that I matched with a family in the Netherlands. All the emotions got stronger while I packed my bags to move to a different country for a year but the one emotion that was the strongest was excitement.
I couldn’t wait anymore, up until the day that I arrived at the airport. I didn’t think that saying goodbye for the second time would be that difficult. I was trying not to shed a tear while my mom is sobbing and my father tries to hide his tears saying goodbye, as my new adventure awaits me with open arms.
While I hoped I would get a sunny day when I arrived in Amsterdam at Schiphol Airport, I got a rainy day and as we walked out the airport, I just felt a gush of cold wind on my face. “Welcome to the Netherlands where you can get all four seasons in one day” ringed in my ears, yet it still didn’t stop me from being excited. I couldn’t wait to meet the rest of my host family.
As I walked through the streets of Utrecht I could smell the fresh flowers, ice cream and sweetness in the air. Sounds of laughter of people on their boats, canoes and kayaks lilted through the breeze. People were singing at the top of their lungs and you could hear friendly people saying “hoi” to each other. At that moment it finally hit me, I am in a different country and it gave me a big smile.
My first day as an Au Pair was very overwhelming! On my way to school with my host-kid, I forgot on what side of the bicycle road we should cycle. Luckily with the help of my host kids, as well as the angry bypassing cyclists ringing their bells - I got used to cycling on the right side of the road. I realized that my 6-year-old host kid is going to teach me more about cycling in the Netherlands than all the YouTube videos in the world could not prepare me for.
When standing in a huge pair of clogs, seeing the most popular places in The Netherlands through a wink of an eye on my tour, I came to the conclusion that “This is Holland”. I met other Au Pairs from all around the world. All of us speak different languages but we are excited to learn more about the different cultures. We are going on new adventures and traveling with new faces that are becoming family.
New memories are being made such as three South Africans running to catch the train but ending up jumping on the wrong one and making an adventure of the day, from taking the wrong train, going on a mill tour “De Windhond”, getting soaking wet, shopping for hockey clothes, to preparing a lovely dinner with friends that became family are memories that I will forever cherish.
It was also a dream come true to play field hockey in a different country and to be cycling to hockey practice late at night.
The sun started to come up later than it did 4 weeks ago, I started noticing that the colors of the leaves are starting to change, the mornings are chillier and I can feel the cold wind on my face while we cycle to school. The smell of pumpkin spice and strong coffee is travelling through the air. I am very excited because the seasons are changing and I can’t wait to experience winter in another country and learn more about the Dutch traditions. I can’t wait to see what my home away from home has in store for me for the next 10 months of adventures.
To be continued on my Voyage …
Groetjies uit Nederland!
Author: Inge Botha (currently an Au Pair in The Netherlands)
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