My name is Andrea Martina, but everybody calls me “Marty”, I am 21 years old and I am from Córdoba, Argentina. My family is made up of my mom Viviana, my dad José, my two older brothers Mauro and Matias and my younger brother Máximo. I also have four beautiful nephews named Mikeas, Santino, Benjamín and Benicio. When I was 12 years old my parents got divorced and since then I live with my mother and my younger brother. My mom is a nurse and works a lot; Therefore, I am responsible for most of the household chores, such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, tidying up, and helping my brother with his homework. When I was 13 years old, my first nephew Mikeas was born and since then I have taken care of him, since his parents work a lot. I had the opportunity to bottle-feed him, change his diapers, and play with him. Three years later his brother, Santino, was born. When Santi was just 1 year old, he was diagnosed with cancer in both kidneys. This was very hard for me and my family, but it made us stronger and united us even more. Luckily, Santino is now a 5 years old boy and has recently had a kidney transplant. I really enjoy spending time with my nephews, they are very important to me! I’m currently studying to become an English teacher because, thanks to having completed the Au Pair program in the United States, I was able to discover that I love languages and would like to learn many more. That is why I chose the Netherlands as my host country since I’m very interested in its culture and learning Dutch, in addition to perfecting my English. In my free time I really enjoy doing Zumba since I like to dance, as well as sing and act. I studied musical comedy a few years ago and it’s something that really fascinates me! Also, I like to travel, explore other horizons, take bike rides, have picnics, play board games, watch movies and spend time with my family and friends. I meet once a week with my friends, since we participate in a youth group in a Church. I was always very restless and committed, when I was 15 years old I made the decision to join the team of Montianos animators at my school, where I guided the religious gatherings of the elementary school students. These meetings were held in an outdoor place where a group of around ten children, between 5 and 12 years old, was in charge. In each gathering, different themes were discussed with the aim of strengthening the relationship with others, with God and with oneself, through various activities, such as dynamic talks, plays, puppets and games. Later, when I was 17 years old, I was invited to teach classes to children who were going to make their first communion. I led a group of children between 9 and 12 years old for three years. I loved sharing that time together because I learned a lot, even though I was their teacher, they were the ones who taught me new things day after day. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic began and we had to start teaching online, this was quite a challenge, but luckily we were then able to return to in-person classes and continue accompanying the children until the day of their first communion. Currently, I work as a nanny taking care of three children, two 7-year-old twins, Valentino and Agustín, and her 2-year-old brother Facundo. My responsibilities with the twins are to prepare breakfast, help them get dressed, do their homework, and get them ready for school. Meanwhile, my activities with little Facundo are dressing him, giving him a bottle, changing his diaper, and feeding him. It is important to stimulate motor, emotional and intellectual development. I’ve worked with them for almost 3 years, I started in 2021 when little Facundo was only 4 months old. Then, I went for a year to the United States as an Au Pair and currently I returned and continued taking care of them. Watching them grow is something great, they are already part of my family! Since I was little I dreamed of discovering new cultures, that’s why when I was 18 I decided to do the Au Pair program in the United States for 1 year. I lived there with 2 host families. The first family consisted of the 2 parents and 3 children, 2 9-year-old twins named Josh and Jack and their 2-year-old little brother named Jeremiah. My experience with this family was very rewarding and my routine was exactly the same as with the children I took care of in Argentina, with the exception that I had to take them to and pick them up from school. They were very patient and kind to me since my level of English at that time was not very good. Unfortunately I was only able to stay with them for 4 months since the father was transferred to Canada for his job and my Au Pair visa was only valid for the United States, so we went to a Friendly Rematch. Luckily I was able to find a beautiful new host family that I lived with for 8 months, in Louisiana. This new host family consisted of the 2 parents and a beautiful 18 month old baby named Walter. I spent a lot of time with him since his parents worked a lot. I had to dress him, feed him breakfast and take him to daycare and then pick him up and take him to his swimming lessons. When we returned home he would give her a small snack and we would play until dinner time. I taught him Spanish and by the end of my year Walter already spoke a lot in both languages. Then he gave him dinner and put him to sleep. With this host family things went excellent and the truth is that they were exceptional with me, since at times I missed my home and they were my support in the United States! At the end of my year as an Au Pair I returned home very happy and pleased with the incredible adventure I had been able to experience! Being an Au Pair gave me the opportunity to grow, to strengthen myself, to fulfill dreams, to love another culture, and another language. Now, I would like to experience this incredible adventure in the Netherlands again since I consider that the Au Pair program is the best opportunity to perfect my English, discover new places, get to know Dutch culture in depth through sharing everyday life with a host family and spending time with children, which is something I really love. The Netherlands seems to me to be a wonderful, romantic and colorful country. I would love to explore its cities surrounded by windmills, visit its colorful tulip fields, navigate its canals, observe the varied architecture, take bike rides through different cities, celebrate festivities like King’s Day dressed in orange. I know that culturally they are very different from the United States and that is what I am looking for in this opportunity! I wish that we can enjoy many experiences together, be able to learn from your culture, from you and live exciting adventures with your children, always full of love, care and happiness. I say goodbye and I hope to see you very soon! Marty