Cassandra Moscos 2nd Update

Posted by on 23 January 2010 | 0 Comments

I’ve had a bit of an unusual first week compared to the other Au Pairs I’ve spoken to. I’m Au Pairing for a divorced family so time is split, like the kids, between mum and dad. This weekend, my first weekend in Arlington, the kids were away with their dad so I didn’t have to work straight away. This has been a blessing because it’s given me a chance to unpack, settle in, practice driving on the other side of the road and get my bearings. Arlington looks like a great city and I’m excited about exploring the area this year.

I’m lucky because my house is 3 blocks from the Metro and only 3 miles from the heart of DC. The city of Arlington is really safe and not as busy as other cities in the USA, which is great considering I have to drive on a lot of main roads to get the kids to all their after school activities.

I had my first real driving experience today. I am getting a lot more comfortable driving on the right side of the road, I’ve stopped trying to shift gears with my left hand and I am a lot more conscious of the fact that there is a lot of ‘car’ to the right of me. My host mum made me drive around today so I could get used to the routes I will be taking to pick up the kids, go to the grocery store, go to their dad’s house, etc. I felt like I was taking my driving test again. Luckily I passed!

I’ve already been out with a couple of the Au Pairs in my area and they’re going to be great support. It’s really good to know that you are not alone over here. We had our first monthly meeting over the weekend with our cluster of Au Pairs and our coordinator. The original plan was for us to go ice skating on the outdoor rink in the Sculpture Gardens in Washington DC. Unfortunately it was raining so we ended up meeting at a local mall and ‘hanging out’. I was pretty disappointed because I was hoping to get some great photos and footage of all the uncoordinated Au Pairs “attempting to skate” (myself included). Don’t worry though, we are planning to go ice skating next month instead.

I've included a couple of photos from my lovely room for you!

Cassandra