Dear Host Family,
My name is Natalia. I am nineteen years old and I come from Poland. This year I finished high school in Warsaw. I live 25km from Warsaw in town Błonie, with my mom and brother, near the centre. We also have a dog and a cat.
My mom has a grocery store. As she spend many hours working in shop I often look after my younger brother. His name is Witek and he's a 14-year-old middle school student. I sometimes think he knows everything about computers and the Internet.
I prepare meals for us, we often learn English together or go to the sport centre. My mother do not want Witek to play too much computer games, so I make sure that he doesn`t.It was a difficult but I managed to encourage him to take up some sports.
Now he likes swimming, voleyball and ride a bike. Whatever we do together we are having a good time. We have a very good relationship and we know we can rely on each other.
Our family tries to spend at least weekends together because on week days we all are very busy. We understand one another very well as we have much in common. We like being together and we often go on family holidays. I also have a few very close friends with which I like spending part of my free time and part of my holidays. Being in the mountains or at the seaside with them is always an unforgettable experience.
I have always been interested in sports and active life style. I go to ride a bike almost every day. I also swim and ride a horse. Moreover, I have my private horse, in stable 15km from home. I really love to ride my horse cause it makes me feel relaxed and free.
Besides, I must admit I love reading good books and watching good films very much. Psychological ones, detective films, detective stories or good comedies, that's something that does excite me.
As it comes to my childcare experience I think I get on very well with those small people. Perhaps that's because I am open, easy-going and I treat them as younger siblings. All children are different so they need individual treatment. Children have very original ideas and very mature thoughts. Adult people can learn a lot by watching and talking to them. I realise that childcare is not just a pleasure but also a huge responsibility which requires a watchful attention, lots of patience and understanding. However, you cannot be too indulgent. The rules must be set up, children must know them and realise that they must be respected.
I have experience with children aged from 3 to 16 years old. When I attended high school I led a scout group of girls aged 7-10 years old. Such small scouts are called "zuchy" in Poland. Our name was "Kolorowe motyle ", in English it is something like "The colorful butterflies ". I was helping in organised meetings once a week. Then we went for short or longer trips, sang together. In summer I took them for 2-week camps where we could experience the nature, ride horses, swim in the lakes and learn about various animals in real forests. I still have wonderful memories.
One and half year ago my neighbour asked me for help with his three years old daughter, so I started look after small Alice. At the beggining I was a little bit afraid, but quickly began to feel more comfortable. Alice was so sweet that nothing was too hard for me to do. We spend great time together, I played with Alice, talked and walked with her to playground. Sometimes I cooked food for her. Now Alice is almost 5, so we mostly play with dolls and talk about various things. This year, she went to kindergarten, and I look after her rare. I am very attached to her, she probably also, becouse whenever she sees me, she screams 'auntie' and runs to hug.
Besides, I looked after two boys, my cousins, Michał(5) and Filip(8), last summer for three weeks. My uncle asked me to organise their sons interesting holidays. I took them to my grandmother's place. It is not very far away from Warsaw but there are lakes, forests and... silence - it's like a paradise! We spent a lot of time swimming, singing ,playing, going for long trips, exploring the closer and the further areas. When was a rainy weather, I learned boys basic of English. It was a nice experience.
I would like to go as an Au Pair to another country, as it is a great opportunity of experiencing another culture, different habits and traditions, meeting new people and improving my English. I think my English is good but I still want to make it better. I think it will be also a great challenge for me. I like challenges and I would really like to take advantage of this programme. I know it will let me broaden my horizons.
Furthermore, I suppose that southern Europe is very beautiful and I would like to spend there a lot of time. In my opinion, can learn a lot by spending one year with your family.
I do believe that my stay with your family will be of a great value for us all. I also promise that I will be doing my best to meet your expectations as your au pair, and become a friend of yours. That would be really wonderful if you could accept me as your family member!
I hope that my letter has provided you with a lot of information. If you want to know more about me please contact me.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
Natalia