OM MIG

Namn: Elin Borgström

Ålder: 19 år gammal, född 16 november 1990

Bor: Än så länge i Timmele, men den 5 maj bär det av till London!

Familj: Mamma, pappa, lillasyster och en liten dvärgschnauzer

Intressen: Fotografering, musik, läsa, bloggar, tv-serier, film

INFORMATION OM AU PAIR

Varför åkte du iväg som au pair? Jag har haft en dröm om att åka som au pair sen jag var 10 år typ. Jag har alltid älskat barn, och vill även testa att bo i ett annat land vilket gör au pair perfekt för mig. Jag tycker det verkar väldigt intressant att arbeta hos en familj, samtidigt som man bor hos dem. Sen har jag även haft perioder då jag känt att jag inte skulle våga åka iväg, men efter många nattliga funderingar i höstas så kände jag att jag måste prova, jag vill inte ångra mig om 10 år att jag inte åkte. Går det inte så går det inte, då får jag åka hem igen helt enkelt! Men då har jag i alla fall provat.

Varför just London? Det är främst eftersom det ligger hyfsat nära Sverige. Först funderade jag på USA, men det är så fruktansvärt långt bort, och då hade jag behövt vara borta i ett helt år, och när jag sedan började fundera så kom jag fram till att London lockade mer. Dels avståndet då, och dels att London alltid har fascinerat mig! Och nu har jag möjligheten att kunna flyga hem en helg om jag vill, utan att det kostar flera tusen! Och familj och vänner kan komma och hälsa på mig, vilket jag hoppas de kommer göra.

Åker du via en förmedling eller privat? Jag hade tänkt att åka via en förmedling, eftersom det känns säkrare och man har någon att vända sig till om det är något som inte fungerar. Dock hittade jag min familj genom en hemsida, och därför kommer jag istället att åka privat! Dock har jag bra kontakt med hon säger äger förmedlingen jag skulle åkt med, så jag tvivlar inte på att höra av mig till henne om jag får problem!

Vad ingår i dina uppgifter? Min främsta uppgift är naturligtvis att ta hand om barnen, men även att ta hand om hemmet i viss mån. Jag tvättar barnens kläder, stryker dem och lägger in dem i garderoben. Städar lite lätt och ser till så att barnens rum är i ordning! Sen ska jag även laga mat till barnen på kvällarna, mån-fre!

Hur mycket får du i betalt? Andra förmåner? Jag har £75 i veckan, i dagsläget (2010-04-11) så är det 829 kr! Jag har även ett Oyster card som jag lånat av familjen, och en mobiltelefon. Det betalar jag dock själv, men får korten (både Oyster och telefonen) påfyllda av mamman ibland eftersom hon anser att jag inte ska behöva betala resor med barnen och sånt själv :)

My name is Elin Borgström and I’m 19 years old. My birthday is in November, so I just turned 19 a couple of months ago.
Since I was born, I have lived in a little village near Gothenburg called Timmele. I live with my family, which consists of parents, my younger sister and our dog called Bella. My father is called Lars-Erik, and he is 50 years old. He works as a truck driver, and he has his own business. He took his driver’s licence while he did his military duty here in Sweden, and since then he has worked as a truck driver, except for a little while when he worked as a carpenter. My mother is called Anna-Karin, and she is 43 years old. She works as an executive producer in a textile factory. In her spare time she sings in a choir, which I’m also a part of, and she is also the president of the church court here in Timmele. But religion is not something we practice at home, we usually just go to church on Christmas Eve to listen to the children sing. My sister Linnea, is 16 years old and loves horses. She has her own horse which she takes care of every day. She has been interested in horses since she was about 7 years old, and she was thrilled when mum and dad bought a horse for her a couple of years ago.

The village I live in, Timmele is not large. The population is 1,500. I think living in a small village like this, has made me very calm and reliable, and also open and very social.

I have actually never been to England, but it has always fascinated me. I think that the English language is important to know, and even though we have studied it in school, I don’t think I have learned it enough. I want to live in an English speaking country so I can develop a better understanding. One of my best friends here in Sweden is actually from England, she used to live in Rugby, Warwickshire until they moved here when she was about 12 years old.

Children have always intrigued me, both because they are very honest and not afraid of asking things, and also because they can do very unexpected things at any time. When we had work experience in school, I went to a nursery for one week, and I had so much fun! I love to play with children, and read stories to them and sing with them. Besides the nursery I have also been babysitting for relatives and neighbours a lot. So I have been alone with children, and even if it can be hard sometimes it has gone quite well. I have dressed children, changed nappies, fed them, played with them, been out for a walk with them and so on. I love children, and I get along with them very well.
Except for babysitting and all that goes with it, I’m willing to help you with grocery shopping, baking and eventually some cooking, laundry and light housecleaning.

In my spare time I love to practice music. I sing a lot, both solo and in a choir, and also play both the piano and the flute, and some guitar, but I not that good yet. Music has always been my biggest interest, and when I went to upper secondary school I chose to go to a program which included a lot of music. But I don’t just love to practice music myself, I have also arranged three benefit concerts where youths could participate in singing, dancing, playing an instrument or other stuff that was needed for the concert. No adults were participating during the concert, they just sat in the audience, but everything like light and sound and so on were taken care of by youths.
Except for this I has also been trainer for a Lucia parade for a couple of years. If you haven’t heard of a Lucia parade, you can think of it as a little choir where all were white dresses and one of them has a tiara with candles, and they sing songs about Christmas, and special Lucia songs.
Other things I like to do in my spare time are, for example read novels of all kinds, write my own stories and watch TV-series and movies. My favourite series are Glee, Grey’s anatomy, One Tree Hill, Smallville and 90210. I’m not sure why I’m such a fanatic for TV-series, but I think I love when you get to meet the same people week after week for a long time. You get to know them very well, and you’re also allowed to see in their lives and what happens to them.
I also love to bake, especially muffins! I experiment a lot with the recipes, and if I’m not satisfied with the result I try to figure out what difference I need to make the next time to get them perfect.
Oh, I almost forgot! I love photography! I have my own digital system camera which I use often. This autumn I have taken a photography class to learn more about my camera and how to use it in different kinds of situations. I have learned plenty!

In the future I’m not sure what I want to do. I love children, and I have considered being a teacher. I’m pedagogical, because I have always had it kind of easy in school in some subjects, like maths for example, and I have helped my friends with it and received many compliments from them because I have explained it in an easy, but correct way for them. I’m not sure if teaching is “my thing”. I enjoyed arranging my concerts very much, so I’m thinking of maybe working with something like that. I have found an education here in Sweden called Event management which I’m considering. I’m also interested in economy, so I’m thinking about that too. As you see, I haven’t decided yet, but I think I will know what to do when the time is right. Maybe I’ll end up as a photographer, only time will tell!

My goal with being an au pair is of course to help you with your children and to learn the English language, but also improve as a person. I want to become more independent and I think living with another family in another country will do that.
And why I want to be an au pair in London is just because the city fascinates me! I have always wanted to go there, and when I started to think about being an au pair London was the only city I wanted to go to.

I hope my skills and commitment will help you in some way and my greatest ambition during my stay is to make you, family, satisfied and I hope my effort will live up to your expectations.

Your sincerely,
Elin Borgström