My first weeks in Australia

November 2024

I’ve been in Australia for 40 days now. The first few weeks have been hard. It took time to adjust; I was completely overwhelmed at the end of every day. Being around people all the time, looking after children, jetlag, constantly going outside of my comfort zone, meeting new people, being outgoing and on top of that having such unnecessary high expectations of myself, was a lot to adjust to. Mama has received multiple crying calls where I completely broke down because of exhaustion. But honestly the crying was good. It was a way to wind down and relax for a bit. 
At the same time, I could see that, once I’d have settled down here, this would be the perfect place for me. Emma and Henry are lovely humans. They are kind, supportive and loving. They inspired me to be more gentle towards myself. They don’t have expectations, they are happy with anything I can offer, which allows me to practice with giving myself the space to make mistakes and taking the time I need without feeling bad about it. 
Now six weeks in, I feel at home here. I like the lifestyle, the weather, the church I go to and the friends I’ve made. Every wednesday and saturday evening I go line dancing at a local bar here with some other au-pairs and it’s one of the highlights of my week! Church is another highlight, every sunday I go to the morning and evening service and I spend the hours in between on the beautiful campus of the University of WA. I’ve met so many people and found some beautiful like-minded souls among them. I get it now when people say 5 months will fly by. 
I’m getting more used to the children as well. We know each other a lot better now and I’m actually enjoying spending time with them. Coming here to help look after them was a big leap into the deep, as I’d never watched kids before and I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t know how I’d behave around children, I didn’t know how they act, I didn’t know whether I could handle them and all the emotions that come with them. But luckily my fears were all in vain. Of course it took some time to adjust, to figure out my ways and every day has moments that challenge me, but I don’t feel anxiety and insecurity anymore at the start of my day.