Smaller Earth: Au Pair in Italy

My time in Italy was one I will never forget. I lived with a family and took care of their adorable little girls for just over two months during the summer. I lived in Rimini, a small town with big personality, right on the Adriatic Sea. Living directly with a family allowed me to fully immerse myself in the culture, especially since the mother treated me like one of her own children. I was brought to family parties, encouraged to meet all of their friends and even went on vacation with them. Working with the girls I was able to learn about different cultural parenting styles and began to speak in decent Italian. Occasionally I would even venture to work with the mother learning about business culture abroad.
I was able to quickly find English speaking friends who were also Au Pairing in Rimini. We quickly bonded and they became my best friends and amazing travel buddies as we explored the country on weekends. The five of us were from all walks of life and committed to keeping in contact. I even have plans to visit one of them in Finland during the next year!
In addition to being all around a fun and exciting trip, I also learned a lot about responsibility and being on my own. This trip was the first time I had traveled to another country alone and thanks to the support I received from Smaller Earth and my host family I feel I am better prepared for life because of it. Now I want to travel all of the time! I could never really sum up all my amazing experiences in just a few paragraphs so you need to just try a trip for yourself, I promise it will be worth it!