Today we had a great au pair cluster meeting and the current au pairs were really inspired by Patty Bak’s story. While Patty was an au pair with Au Pair in America in 2009 and 2010, she never had a wasted moment. She worked with a great host family whose oldest child was a teenage boy with autism. Patty loved her host family and they loved her. While the kids were in school, Patty wanted to be productive. She volunteered at the local hospital, Southampton Fresh Air Camp and a local newspaper. She also did the volunteering to learn more about what she wanted to do with her future.
Patty Bak participated in an Au Pair in America program, called Global Awareness. She went into local classrooms and did age appropriate presentations on both of her home countries, she was born in Poland and then moved to Germany where she spent half her life. Here is a link to that program: http://www.globalawareness.com/
Patty went home after spending 1 year and 6 months as an au pair, and then an additional travel month where she traveled all over the USA. She got a Greyhound Bus pass for a month and went all over the USA. Then she went home and worked. She taught pre-school, taught English to adults and worked at a local newspaper. Again never a wasted moment. After a year, she quit it all and decided to visit the friends she made as an au pair in their home countries. She visited her best au pair friends in Thailand and New Zealand. 
Through all these life experiences, she decided she really wanted to teach children and come back to the USA again for an extended period of time. She found a program where she can be in the USA and teach for up to 3 years. She has been teaching in a German immersion pre-school in Brooklyn, NY since September of 2012.All the au pairs really enjoyed Patty’s story! They asked lots of questions and are staying in contact with her. The young women who become au pairs with Au Pair in America are from 60 countries all over the world. They are bright, energetic women who are ready to experience a new culture and learn about the USA by living with an American family. They are well educated and many go back to their home countries and earn advance degrees. They use their English skills and cultural awareness in their new careers.