How important is your food?

This one is a big one for me and I didn’t give it one thought. I love healthy food and eat mainly just fruit and veggies. When being an Au pair Canada do we have to quit our favourite food?

I have dairy and meat maybe once a week at the most. Fruit is my main food during the day. I never gave this a second thought because it was my lifestyle and nothing ever interrupted it. I used to do the grocery shopping for me and my mom and I did the cooking. Moving into a new family as Au pair Canada, they do the cooking and the shopping and don’t eat nearly as many fruit and veggies as I do. The family tried to be accommodating to me and increased the amount of fruit they bought but it still wasn’t enough for me. The important thing here to realise is that, your host family will try their best to be accommodating to you but, don’t take complete advantage of that and don’t be ungrateful. I was very happy that my family increased the amount of fruit they bought, but it wasn’t enough to live on all day every day. Which is completely understandable as they prefer to eat meat and bread during the day. If I could go back I would have stated that I was a vegetarian because I was essentially more of a veggie than a normal eater, but as I said, this never crossed my mind. Take a long, hard look at your eating habits. Most people are not quite as food conscious as I am but this is a good warning for those of you who are. Also, consider what they eat in the area you move to. Denmark really like bread and dairy. In a way it was cool because they have all sorts of fancy different kinds of these foods, but eventually you want your good ole’ normal stuff, which you won’t be able to find.

Smokers?

If you smoke, try get a family that has a smoker in it. This for me was a must. If you hate smoking, don’t pick smokers, they might smoke inside the house or in the car with you. Another point I must mention is, if you smoke, don’t lie and say that you don’t. Even if your hoping you will be able to quit by being surrounded by non-smokers.

If you smoke at the current time, list yourself as a smoker. We will speak about this more when I get into the topic of making your profile and finding your family.

Alcohol?

Now this one is very tough to source out but not impossible. I personally have no problem at all if people want to polish a bottle of wine every night or if they only have a quiet sip on a special occasion. Remember that these are parents so are very likely responsible people and probably won’t be getting smashed every weekend. So if you’re cool with a little bit of booze going on in the house, I would ignore this point completely. This point is more for the folks who are against it. If you are uncomfortable with a family that drinks, then you need to voice that before you make any commitments to them. During your interview, bring it up. Simply ask if they drink occasionally. Upon their answer you can further the conversation to find out just how much they drink. Trust your gut and if you’re not comfortable, don’t go there. I do understand that some people have had bad experiences with alcoholics and some people have religious reasons. Respect yourself if you have these fears and find a family that will accommodate this. Don’t do anything you’re uncomfortable with. No one will hold it against you.

Religion

Most families will say their religion and the ones that don’t usually aren’t religious. This one I think is quite important to consider. If you are very religious, it would work out well for you to go to a family that shares your feelings. If you are not religious at all, it may cause you to feel uncomfortable to live in a very religious home. Think about how important this is to you before you make any decisions.