Kayleigh hails from South Africa and has been an au pair in Maryland for almost two years now! She shared some reflections on the impact of her time in the United States.

“I’ve grown a lot since the beginning of my adventure I’ve grown spiritually, physically and emotionally so I guess that’s what I’m taking with me when I’m done.

The skunk experience was my funniest experience! I have never smelled skunk before so it was interesting. Now whenever I drive and the skunk smell enters I’m like,  it’s awful but if it wasn’t for America I’d still be nose blind to the smell of Skunk.

The strangest thing might be that people here interact differently most people don’t talk to people they don’t know which in most cases is sad because it’s hard to start a friendship with someone who won’t talk to you. This has impacted me in so many ways; before this I had just lost my grandmother so I was dealing with life without her so I wasn’t sure I’d ever overcome it, but being here I’ve learnt to appreciate the time I had with her rather then mourn the loss of her.

It has shaped my future, yes, given me the strength to do something I’ve always wanted to do which is travel the world, be a better person and let people know that there is still good in this world. Social Working has always been where my heart has been, but until this adventure I wasn’t sure if I would actually do it so until now I’ve been on the fence with it. Teaching has always been a big part of who I am and I’m so glad I could teach my host family and my American friends more about me and my home country.