Maarit’s year as an au pair in the US had finally come to an end…and what a year it had been! She had watched the two young children she had been looking after blossom as they learned new experiences and had enjoyed teaching them many new things. The little brother and sister had been a delight to look after and she knew she´d been lucky with her chosen host family in the US. Made to genuinely feel as part of their family, Maarit was sad to be leaving and knew she´d miss them terribly. She was glad to have so many memories to cherish and take away with her.

The end of the year wasn’t all sad news though, for Maarit. At the end of her contract with the au pair association, she was given an additional month, known as the ‘travel month’, within which she was free to travel around the US and do some sightseeing. During her year there, she’d continued with her English studies as per her visa regulations, and a number of other au pairs attended the same classes. They’d become friends over the last year and some of them had decided to travel together in a group rather than each heading their own separate way. They each had different places they wanted to visit and sights they had to see before going home, and with their different experiences so far in the US and their combined knowledge of the English language, they were confident it was going be an extremely memorable month.

The time had come to say goodbye and with tears and big hugs all around, Maarit waved sadly to the family she had become so fond of as she walked down their driveway for the last time. Leaving the children was awful but Maarit knew they´d had a good year and was confident that she´d put everything into being the best au pair to them that she could.

The time for tears was to be over as the excitement of the trip ahead took hold. A month of adventure lay ahead of her and Maarit intended to enjoy every bit of it. These final days would be the perfect end to a very special year!