** Redação meia boca que fiz pra aula de English 28 **
On July of 2006 I made the most important decision of my life, which I am still not sure if I did the right thing. I decided to be an Au Pair.
One night I was in Spanish class for Ecological Guide course. I loved all the class this course offered to me, but this one, Spanish class, was the worst one. The only foreign language I have learned was English, and trying to speak in Spanish was simply impossible. I actually could understand my teacher speaking, and that was all I could take from this class. I used to get bored easily, and to keep myself awake, I used to read random things I could find. My friend, Juliana, another English language lover – or maybe, another Hollywood movies and boy bands lover – was trying to find some interesting English course in the United States and so far she had lots of advertisements papers of exchange agencies, and it was these papers I used to read more. After checking the expenses to study abroad, one exchange program caught my attention, for being the cheapest one and for giving girls the opportunity to study English for one year. Actually what most caught my attention was those small pictures of happy girls in their twenties playing with children, all looking so happy. Probably everybody who does this program were happy.
The program is cultural exchanging called Au Pair, and by analyzing all the information the folder was offering, I got the conclusion that it will be worth full for me one day after have my college done. Juliana and I used to spend hours talking about what is good or not of taking care of others children in the United States in order to study English, as we would live with an American family for one year. In the following days, I kept in my head the idea of how it would be living in the US, learning so many things, a new culture, people, behaviors, and how it would be going to school and studying the real English. I could not think about anything else.
I decided to tell my parents about this program. I wanted them to be ready what they will expect from me to do one day. So I went to the agency to get as much information I could. I was so excited that I started asking the agent so many questions about the program, what do I need to have, what would be my rights, and my responsibilities. The agent explained me all the basis things, that I would be responsible for taking care of children and having their mother's role, to not say babysitter, and that I must go to school. It was perfect for me. At the same day, I met 2 girls who had just finished their Au Pair program and they were at the Agency to show their pictures and to tell their histories. I was there, watching them and getting the real experience of living abroad. For both of them everything was worth full. I was amazed about their stories that I could not even breath of such attention I was giving them. I saw myself also playing American football with the kids, driving the kids to school and having that weird breakfast with bacon and eggs. But an Au Pair's life is not only happiness and good things as they also said. I saw myself getting problems of adaptation in the USA too. The missing of mom's food, the talking with friends, the cultural shock for sure would be fatal for me, and how could I live there for one year if I had never spent more than 4 days out of home? These many negative things made me think 4 times more if I was willing to do it. My head was just spinning and spinning. And at the end of the day, I told my parents everything. Surprisingly, they supported me, with their heart in their hand, they supported me. They said I was responsible for my own choices.
Passed some days, I was getting worse at work. My job was just horrible. I worked in an accountant company for 4 years and it was so stressful. Each time I used to seat on the chair, turn on my computer and see those numbers was giving me health problems. I did not have time for myself. The problems to be solved was so much that I used to work ten hours per day then go straight to college at night. The only reason I worked there for so long was to get money to pay my college and to save money for some future studies outside. And I could not even quit it because it is not easy to get a good job when you are still at school, and I had so many goals to be accomplished. I was still not sure about the Au Pair program, but I could not see myself not being one. That was so weird.
At the same day, at school, I asked my friends for some advices. They told me if they had the chance of studying abroad, they would, but after graduation. I thought myself about college. I had taken a year to decided what to do at college, and I chose Tourism because I did not know the reason actually. I was tired of choosing a major and see that nothing was good for me. I just picked a course and after one year I gave up. For the next year I took another totally different course and then I decided to take back Tourism course. I was totally lost about my college life. If I really wanted to be an Au Pair, I would need to wait for one more year to graduate in college.
I did not need more reasons to feel like going away at the same time. My job belonged to a totally different area of what I was studying for, and I was not happy in any way. Probably, going to the United States would give me the opportunity not only to learn English, to know a new culture and to work as a babysitter. After thinking so much about my current life at that time, I saw that coming to the United States would also offer me way more: the development of my maturity. Then I took my most important decision of my life. I decided to abandon college, to quit my job, and to be an Au Pair. I did not even wait for 2 months more. I was ready to face all the challenges that this my new life was getting and when I come back to Brazil, my life would be practically restarted.
Now I am here, in California, living with an American family, taking classes at a college, hanging out with few friends I made, and even though I'm getting to learn and know about myself more and more, I still don't feel like this is the place I want to stay in for so long. The missing of my family, friends, and activies I used to do are hurting me so bad.
THE END HUAHUAHUA
Postado por Yumi :: 02:30