My name is Aghistya. I’m 23 years old and from Indonesia. First of all, thank you for taking the time to read my letter, I hope that this letter could help you get the gist of what kind of person I am so you can see whether or not I’m a good fit for your family. A lot of people around me assumed that I’m an extrovert because of how social and outgoing I am, they’re surprised when I tell them that I’m not an extrovert. I’m an introverted girl who loves exploring things and is curious by nature. I love having small talk with a stranger, I love getting to know people’s name and background when I’m at a social event. Even though I would need some quiet time to recharge my energy, I feel like making connections with people helps me a lot to discover and learn new things. Last year, I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning. I really enjoy learning how cities are built and used, one of the big parts that shapes a city is the people, the culture. So, to experience living with a host family, getting to know how daily life looks like in their house or neighborhood, and learning traditions in another culture would be an amazing opportunity for me, which is why I want to be an au pair. Another reason why I want to be an au pair is because I love spending time with children. It brings me so much joy seeing them learning and processing new knowledge, asking so many questions, or just be a kid who loves to have fun. Although I dont have professional childcare experience, I’m regularly taking care of my niece (6) and my nephew (4). I have an older sister, we’re very close with each other. We were raised by our mom, who is a single mother. She taught us how to be respectful, responsible, and always help each other however we can. When my niece and my nephew were born, I lived with my sister for a few months because she needed support with a newborn. I regularly spend time with my niece and nephew, sometimes when I’m working from home I would pick up my niece from kindergarten and take care of her until my sister came to pick her up. And if my sister have to work on weekend, the kids are with me from 7 am until 7 pm. When they are with me I’m responsible for their daily routine such as feeding them, bathing them, and keeping them engaged. Recently, I’ve been teaching them English while we’re spending time. Usually we spend time playing, my niece and my nephew really love imaginative play so we often play pretend like playing house/restaurant or create scenes to act around. We also love doing simple arts and crafts, my niece and I love coloring so much and lately we’ve been learning how to make origami. They prefer to spend time indoor rather than outdoor, but when we do we usually go for a swim, go to a mall or playground, or just in the front yard collecting flowers and looking for insects. I always try to create a fun and safe environment where children can feel comfortable being themselves. I believe every child deserves to be treated with love, care, and respect even on the hard days because just like adults, every child has different personality and ways of expressing themselves, which is why I always try to understand them before expecting them to behave a certain way. In my free time, I love to watch movies, read books, doing puzzles, hangout with my friends, or just drive around the city and blasting my playlist in the car. I also really love cooking and baking, I discover this hobby when the pandemic hit. I’m confident I can cook/bake many things as long as there is a recipe and the ingredients. I love trying out new recipe and experiment with the ingredients to adjust the taste to my liking. If you’re interested, I would be more than happy to cook you Indonesian food. I understand that living together with people from different backgrounds won’t always be perfect, but I’m someone who values open communication and mutual respect. I also understand that sharing a house means sharing the responsibilities to take care of it too, so I dont mind doing household chores. I’m always willing to learn, take responsibility, and accept feedback. I believe that other than being a cultural exchange experience, this program couldalso be a learning experience for me to become more independent, so that I can learn how to adapt in unfamiliar situations and how to manage responsibilities on my own better. These experiences would be important lessons for me to continue building my life. After being an au pair, I’m planning to pursue a Master’s degree. I want use the knowledge and the experience that I will gain from the au pair program because I think it could help me to get a lot of opportunities in both the career world and my personal life. Last but not least, I just hope that I can become someone your children trust and someone your family feels comfortable having around. Thank you again for reading my letter. I look forward to hear from you so we can get to know each other better! Warm regards, Aghistya.