Saying good bye when the year is over

So much preparation goes into getting ready to become an aupair, saying good bye to family, getting the visa, getting your things in order, fear of becoming homesick, what if the family does not like me? so many thoughts and preparations but we never really talk about the good bye after a successful aupair year.

I have had many aupairs ask me for advice on how to handle the departure, how to say good bye to the host children which have become like their own in many ways. How to say good bye to host parents that have become like a mother and father for them while in America. This is a very hard time for aupairs. This has been a life changing experience in many ways for the aupairs, new friends made, learning about a new culture, a new language learned. Many aupairs experience reverse culture shock upon returning home to their countries. They have adapted to the easy way of life here in America, driving everywhere, ordering take out for dinner, drive through food, large houses and most of all a year away from home and the realities of life.  Many of the aupairs have complained about being homesick for America and their host families. The first three months are the hardest. Your own country feels foreign to you, maybe you feel your friends have not changed at all but you have changed so much, you have experienced and met new challenges that have changed you. This means you have had a great year and can draw from these experiences for years to come. You will always have a family in America. So my advice to aupairs is: Departure is not a Good Bye but "So Long until next time we meet"

And my advice to host families saying good bye, is to make sure you tell your aupair how much he/she has meant to your family. How you and your children will treasure their friendship for years to come. Take them to the airport give them a proper send off, as their families did for them when they came one year ago to stay with you. You are now a part of their family as well.