Nearing the End & Approaching a New Beginning

At the time of my last post, I had just settled into life in Vaucluse with my great new host family - Rob, Danika, Bella, & Charlie. Lots has happened since then, so I'll try to briefly fill you in on what I've been up to in my final 3 months on my Work and Holiday visa - but read ahead for my exciting plan to return to Australia !

My birthday in Australia was a smashing success - cementing some new friendships with my closest au pair friends & mixing Al's & my friend groups, which led to a regular group of guys & girls to go out together on the weekends. In addition to dinner out, I went to the Darling Harbour fireworks then to watch a German soccer game, then spent a Sunday afternoon at a trampoline park & brewery - it was a weekend well-spent.

Passport Pandora charm that Mama mailed me for my birthday !

Thai food & BYO - the weekend standard

Great friends made my birthday amazing - Quentin, Al, Guy, Anna, Kieran, Jenny, Maddy, Maggie, & Anna (+ more not pictured)!

Sleeping on the train...thankfully Al made sure I got off okay !

Fireworks at Darling Harbour during Vivid 

Hanging out with 18 Germans to watch the Hamburg soccer game

Pub snacks & beer flights at Rocks Brewery

Exploring Graffiti Tunnel on Sydney Uni's campus

Vivid at Sydney Uni with Tan !

The last weekend in May was one for cashing in on Christmas presents, as Al & I went to the Ben Howard concert (his pressie to me) & also climbed the Harbour Bridge during Vivid Festival (Christmas pressie to us from Irene, Georgette, & Shara) !

Ben Howard !!

Fun concert - not as much old stuff but still an amazing artist !

Thanks Irene, Georgette, & Shara for our awesome gift !!

Silly at the tallest point on the Harbour Bridge, overlooking the Opera House during Vivid !

Going into the Australian winter, I settled into a familiar routine with my friends as well as Bella & Charlie. The group of my mates & Al's quickly settled into a routine of going out together on the weekends, & I have had free time during school hours to meet up with girlfriends during the week.

Thai food in Newtown with the crew

Swinging over the Opera House/Harbour Bridge !

O Bar drinks with the girls & a Harbour Bridge view

Beach Road Hotel for the first State of Origin game

Morning run with Jenny & Bear down to The Gap

Vivid display in the CBD !

Nielsen Park lunch with the girls

Hermitage Foreshore Walk

CBD from Vaucluse

Lovely little Milk Beach

Pregaming in Kieran's office

Good times on Oxford St

Al's footy match

Sunday Funday when Monday's the Queen's birthday !

Silly Anna hahah

The Office Crew

Sunset at Rose Bay ferry wharf

I also have been after as much extra work as possible, as I have spent all of my money in Australia & didn't need to come home bone-dry. I have begun babysitting regularly for a couple families, doing odd jobs for a single mother a few suburbs away, & doing some extra hours ironing & babysitting for my current host family.

With Bella & Charlie, we have all become closer, & I am really enjoying spending time with them. I've learned a lot in a short time, & I see them liking me & looking to me as a "big sister" more & more, which is great. Some of my favorite moments (& when I feel most appreciated) are when Charlie asks to play handball with me or asks if we can play a game (even when it's a time he's technically allowed electronics...that, to me, is success!!) or when Bella loops her arm through mine & wants to chat about boys or friends at school (becoming more frequent as she trusts & likes me more). Over school holidays, we got to do all sorts of fun things like go to the park, have playdates with friends, have a picnic on the beach, eat frozen yogurt, bake, & more. For the last week of school holidays, the family vacationed in northern Queensland, so I had the week free to pick up extra work (& ended up working long hours every day & saving heaps).

Additionally, several weeks ago, my host dad offered to help me get situated to come back to Oz on a student visa (taking a business course for three hours on Saturday mornings) if I can continue to au pair for them for a year or so. I was absolutely floored, flattered, & excited, as I hadn't thought coming back so soon would be an option. There have been a lot of details to iron out but I was keen to accept because I am really happy with the Southwells, in Sydney, & in Australia. I didn't have an immediate plan for when I come home, & I am coming home with very little money to get me started on any path at all (& all in Australian dollars now, at that!). By coming back to Australia, I will be able to continue my care for Bella & Charlie & be a constant for them (rather than getting accustomed to new au pairs every few months), spend summertime (& every season of the next year & more) in Sydney with the Southwells, & try to earn extra money during my free hours, as much as I can under the terms of my visa. Rob even offered to help me to try to find some part-time work in his accounting office, hopefully doing some marketing/PR work. I of course wanted to make sure Sadie was taken care of for the next year & first looked into bringing her to join me in Australia, as Rob had said she was welcome to stay. As it turns out, air fare is nothing compared to the cost of a 10-day quarantine upon arrival plus a process of vet check-ups in the U.S., some of which must be done six months prior to arrival in Australia. My mom has offered to continue to watch Sadie, however, so we have agreed that Sadie will stay in the U.S. with her; I know my three-week visit will be far too short with her & the rest of my family.

So that said, I am down to under two days left in Oz for this visa but with plans to spend a three-week holiday at home in August (part of which will be in Utah/Arizona with Olivia & Nate!!) before returning to my au pair job here in Sydney, with the addition of a business course & on a student visa. Since my time will be so sort, I will try to see as many friends & family members as possible & will be eating my body weight in Mexican food & Chick Fil A. My kids are excited that I'll be able to bring some Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans back to them as well as some obnoxiously American foods/toys.

I am really excited to come back to Australia, & I hope to use my time here to make back some of the money I've spent so that I'll be better-situated to start "a real job" when that day comes. I can't wait to relax at home with my family & get recharged before heading off again to the adventure of the next year & a half.

Thanks to ALL of my friends & family for your love & support during my last year abroad, & I hope to see as many of you as possible while I am home, before returning to Sydney at the end of August !

Until next time,
Alli Hogan

Home Sweet Sydney

My return to Sydney didn't begin on the best note but I was fortunate to have friends nearby & family on the phone to help me through my first rough patch. Unfortunately, the family that I began working for was not the right match for me, & due to differences in parenting styles & expectations, I realized I could not stay with them for three months. It was a trying few days, & I stressed myself out to the point of (many) tears because I pride myself on being hardworking & capable, & I never wanted to be an au pair who left a family; it made me feel like a quitter. But in the end, I gave one week's notice on my fourth day with the first family, because I knew the situation would not get better.

Beautiful fall colors on my walks in northern Sydney

I think everything happens for a reason though, & I was so incredibly fortunate that on the very day I gave my first family notice (with no idea what I would do for work or housing once I left), I got a text from a Canberran friend, Carys, asking if I knew any girls in Sydney looking for a host family. Her host mum's sister lives in Sydney, & their next au pair had fallen through. They were desperate to find someone available to start in a week & a half. Carys had texted me - not knowing that I was unhappy or leaving my first family -  to see if I had any friends looking for work. As it happened, I was able to tell Carys my situation, pass along my contact information, & spoke with the mum, Danika, within minutes. We agreed to meet on the coming Friday night to see if I would be a good fit for their family (& them for me). It was actually relieving to feel like I was at rock bottom because I wasn't trying to impress anyone, as I normally might have for an "interview," & was rather asking every question I could, coming fresh from the burn of knowing of what didn't work with the first family. Because I was leaving a bad situation I never expected to encounter, I was more cautious & unwilling to jump from one family to another unless the second family would be right for me. If it wasn't a good fit upon meeting them, I would try to find other work in Sydney. But I had a really good feeling after speaking with Danika on the phone, & we agreed to meet on a Friday evening; I joined the family for pizza dinner & met the parents & kids. I immediately had a good feeling when I was offered wine or beer & Danika & Rob reminisced on college with me. I felt comfortable with the family, in the same way that the Jeppesens made me feel at home for my months in Canberra.

I really loved the Southwell family & was relieved to find Bella (9) & Charlie (7) "normal"...or as normal as kids can be! Rob & Danika are funny & fun-loving & have a great relationship with their kids as well as a great social life with & without their kids. They also are very healthy/fitness-oriented & have a beautiful, clean home in a great location; we live on a peninsula between Sydney Harbour & the Pacific Ocean (more specifically, Australia's most famous beach, Bondi Beach). Harbour & ocean views are everywhere, & Rob even pulled over for me to take a touristy shot of the absolutely stunning sunset over the harbour on our ride to the house. At the end of dinner & after a fun evening with the family, I committed to begin with them on the following Thursday.

View of the CBD/Harbour Bridge, 2 minutes from my new house!

After getting through the stress of giving notice to my first family & nearly immediately finding a much better situation, I treated myself to a hair appointment & mani/pedi on my Friday off as well as some puppy cuddles at a pet store then enjoyed a dinner date on Saturday night with an awesome guy I met in Queenstown, Tan. I even got word that several of my friends would be in Sydney over the weekend for me to catch up with...truly, everything turned 180 degrees.

Highlight of my day was playing with this beagle puppy!

View of the harbour after dinner with Tan

Exploring the CBD with Carys & Kiana

Although I had planned to still work for my first host family on the Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday before I left, they arranged a babysitter for Saturday & a family member to watch the kids during the week. Understandably, they didn't want the boys to become more attached to me (nor did I), so I was free to leave on Sunday, 10 May. I was planning to start with my new family on Thursday, 14 May, so in the meantime, I headed to Al's with all of my luggage (again haha) & even got to say hello to his mum, Irene, on Mother's Day ! I am so so lucky to have had the support of the Parsons during my time here & was relieved to have a familiar place to stay during my transition time. They are the absolute best hosts & have been so kind/open to me any time that I needed, which is an incredible gift when I'm on the other side of the world from my family & closest friends. 

I spent my next days off enjoying classes at a yoga studio I bought a pass for (I'm totally new to yoga but a big fan already!) & went out to the movies with Tan; we even caught the red carpet premier of Mad Max in Australia (although we saw the new Avengers film), with paparazzi & everything!

In love with my hippie yoga studio

Someone famous?

An Australian model whose name I don't recall

One week ago on Thursday, I was picked up from Edgecliff Station by my new host dad, Rob, & arrived at my new home. Because the old au pair was still here, I spent a few nights in Charlie's room before moving into the au pair room across the hall. On Friday, the old au pair gave me the run-down on her routine during the day, & I got to know the kids' schedule. On Saturday, I met a large group of other au pairs in the area at Bondi Beach for lunch & drinks then played poker with Rob & Danika & their friends Saturday night. It was fun to drink & play & cut loose with my host parents & mad me miss my poker group from uni!! On Sunday, Tan & I took the ferry to Manly Beach for the day & had such a great time! We walked around on a coastal walk & got fish & chips, which we ate on a picnic blanket by the water. We got to chat & watch surfers as the sun went down then got gelato on our way to the ferry back to Circular Quay. I was a big fan of Manly & wish I'd gotten to spend some time there in summer !

Bondi Beach with new au pair friends !

Manly Beach with Tan

As the old au pair left this weekend, I began Monday morning solo with Bella & Charlie. It has been lots of fun & also lots of learning on my part (good learning, not bad learning!). Because my most recent experience has been with younger children (Andrew, Annabel, & Emily were 5, 3, & 18 months, respectively) & I have never been with older children in quite the same role as I am now, I am learning their likes & dislikes & the best ways to keep them happy & having fun while also healthy & well-behaved. It's a challenge but a totally solvable & being the overachiever that I am, I am eager to be the best possible au pair for them ! It's also funny because they are the same age apart as Patrick & myself (2 years), so I find some of their playful bickering & games & interactions to be similar (& usually nicer) than mine & Patrick's. I have had fun reminiscing with Mom about our childhood & telling her stories about Bella & Charlie.

Bella being silly in my ENO 

I am currently trying to walk a line of winning their trust by being someone they like, as the new au pair, & keeping them healthy (& parents happy!) by encouraging outside play & games...but there are so many differences I've realized between younger kids & Bella & Charlie's ages that I am adapting to now. For instance, when I try & brainstorm some activities for us, I remember doing nature walks & silly games with my younger ones but many of those quite simply won't fly with the older kids because they are at an age where they can deem something lame & simply not do it. With younger ones, it's easier to convince them an activity or a game will be fun but older kids are a little disenchanted. They have to want to do something. I've also realized that technology totally changes the game. I haven't really seen it close up because again, with younger kids, the adult can totally control it. With older ones, things like iPads & video games can be really fun tools for learning & growing as well as socializing with friends because let's face it - all the kids have it now...but it also doesn't expend energy or provide quite the fulfillment/health benefits of spending time outdoors. 

New host kitty, Mimi

Rob & Danika (& I) know that time spent outside is best for the kids & want to encourage parks & walks & fun activities, & I am getting in the swing of the best way to do it & not just bring the kids home to be bored or try & get on electronics! I've discovered that Bella & Charlie will usually complain about going to a park after school, no matter what. However, once we are there, they flip totally around & being a normal kid takes over, & they love playing on the slides & play equipment as well as playing card games with me & coming up with inventive games. They're really great kids ! However, again, with bigger ones, I can't trick them into liking something as easily; they have to genuinely like it. I even did some online homework of my own on tween behaviors & some of the best activities that tweens will like. I've got a giant list of potential activities to keep us busy & that the kids will hopefully enjoy, & I can't wait to get to know Bella & Charlie & spend more time with them in the coming weeks! 

Tomorrow is my 23rd birthday (in Australia), so I am making crêpes for myself & the kids in the morning (thanks Louise for my delicious French recipe!) then will use my free time during school to do some birthday shopping. Tomorrow night, I plan to go out in the city with some au pairs/friends & on Saturday, I will watch a German soccer game with my German girls here in the city. On Sunday, Tan & I plan to either visit the Hunter Valley for wine tasting or check out a brewery & maybe indoor trampoline park...either way, my first real weekend back in the city is shaping up to be a good one!!

On another note: I can't believe that my time left in Australia is (relatively) short. I leave the country in approximately 11 weeks. WHAT?!!!?! Where did the time go?! To be honest, I have gotten progressively more homesick as I near the end of my visa...mostly just eager to see my mom in person & give Sadie all of the love I've needed her for over this past year. But I will be heartbroken, I know, to leave this beautiful country. I really believe I'm meant to live here, so I'll be working toward that goal & others when I arrive back in the States. For now, I just plan to enjoy the remainder of my time & make all of the memories I can!

Till next time, 
Alli