So, this is going to be my blog to record my time in Austria, which will begin this Wednesday when I arrive in Munich and am picked up by my host family. I’ll be spending a year working as an au pair, and possibly a second year doing something else. If I can find that something else before my residence permit runs out and the Austrian government kicks me out, that is.
I’m staying with a family that has three children: Lena (10), Hannah (4), and Killian (2). The mother, Anna, is going back to school and I’ll be looking after the kids when they get out of their respective schools/daycares and their father, Gerd, is at work. We’re living in a suburb of Saltzburg and the children speak only German, while Anna and Gerd speak pretty good English. I’ve only had three semesters of German in college, so I’m thinking that you’ll probably hear a lot of language bitching during the first few months.
Oh and to explain the title of my blog to those not already in on the joke:
1. Going to Austria to care for children automatically connects to the Sound of Music
2. I was obsessed with Sound of Music and Julie Andrews from the ages of 3 to 8, pretty much.
3. Salzburg is where that movie was filmed.
4. I have been informed multiple times that my newest hair cut is the same hair cut that Julie Andrews sports in the above photo.
5. All of these things have lined up with no conscious effort on my part. All connections have been realized after the fact. I am not actually so overconfident in my childcare and vocal abilities so as to think I’m Julie Andrews. I promise.
