It has been six months since Iris Pinto Couto lived the famous American dream that many French people live, to live in the beautiful state of the United States of Maryland thanks to her new job as an au pair girl. Borned in Portugal but leaving most of her life in the west south of France, this young lady beforehand did her highschool years in Bordeaux, in Saint Vincent highschool before setting up on the other side of the Atlantic.
“At first, I wanted to do a ‘Bac L’ (literary high school degree), but a tiny little voice, actually my best friend”, she laughs, “told me about this highschool which her brother was in. There was this ‘Bac pro métier de la mode et des vêtements’ (professional high school degree of fashion and clothes) which I enjoyed immediately, so I gave it a try.
But later in highschool, Iris is lost. She doesn’t know what to do and understands she doesn’t want to go on in the fashion field anymore. She hasn't done anything for several months. Then, deciding to leave this situation, she starts working with her mother as a home help. This little time of reflection was really good for her.
“I knew at this moment I wanted to go live somewhere else but I did not feel really able to do well elsewhere”.
Since her teenage years, she began to have this idea to go to the United States as an au pair girl after she heard of it on TV. “When I heard of it, I looked for the first time in my life for a definition on the internet", she laughs. “It really was a chance : living with a new family from a different country to babysit in exchange for being roomed, boarded, and paid. It was a win-win”, she exclaims.
“Working with my mom let me earn some money, that’s when I decided to complete the procedure to become an au pair girl”.
But becoming an au pair girl is no easy thing, some conditions are to be fulfilled. You have to pass your driving license and validate babysitting hours. The determined Iris started to hold at the same time her home help job, her new job in a shop, and her required driving license lessons and babysitting. Let's say her determination has no limit.
However, in those days disrupted by the public health crisis, Iris is doubting : the leaving is not sure. Crossing her fingers, she continues to go part of the way anyway, hoping nothing would put off the fulfillment of her dream”.
“All the administrative was actually pretty simple : it’s kind of an internet website we have to fulfill with our information. The hardest part was to find a family”.
“But on a lovely day, I found a post on facebook of a family in Maryland which was looking for an au pair girl. I sent a message and… It worked !”, she smiles nostalgic. “I had talked to four or five families before that, but either there was not the feeling or the bedroom was way too close to the parents’ and I could have heard anything weird…”, with an escaping laugh she continues : “I had a first call on Skype with my host mother on monday, on the wednesday I had a second one with the whole family, and on the friday the mom announced me she had chosen me ! I don’t even work 25 hours per week, I earn $225 per week, and I have freetime to travel. As I said, it was a win-win !”
All starry-eyed, she talks about her many trips : New York, Florida, Washington DC, Georgia and passing through Virginia. “I plan a week in a minivan in another six states : Arizona, Nevada, California, Origin and Washington”, she adds.
Apart from all the trips she made, she precises this venture has enormously brought something to her and still does every day. “Of course it was a bit hard at first. I cried when I left France. And then, when I arrived in the US, there was a language barrier because I only had a ‘bac pro’ level ! There were also many apprehensions”, she underlines. “But now, if I had to come back to France, I think I would cry even more. Everything is different here ! To say hi we hug, everyone is so much more friendly and welcoming whereas in France everyone judges everyone and it’s such a pity. I have become more sociable, I am more self-confident and I finally understand the lyrics of my favorite English songs!”
She takes a deep breath and ends confidently :
“I finally became the person I always wanted to be”.