1.       Do a manicure or pedicure

2.       Dye your hair

3.       Shave your legs

4.       Do your eybrows

5.       Do a face or body peeling

6.       Take a bath

7.       Read a book

8.       Read about a topic that interests you

9.       Learn new things like a new language or an instrument

10.   Clean your room/ house/apartment

11.   Rearrange your room

12.   Paint walls

13.   Do some woodworking

14.   Learn how to sew

15.   Start to paint or draw

16.   Watch movies / TV Shows you wanted to watch for a long time

17.   Listen to Podcasts

18.   Do a picnic in your backyard

19.   Take nature photographs

20.   Clean out your closet

21.   Try out new outfit combinations and have a fashion show

22.   Call your friends on your phone or have a video chat

23.   Go for a walk in the nature

24.   Lay in the grass and enjoy the sun

25.   Go for a run outside

26.   Ride your bike

27.   Learn how to skate

28.   Meditate

29.   Learn how to do yoga

30.   Workout at home inside or outside

31.   Help older people who can’t get their own groceries

32.   Take your dog for a walk

33.   Get a new pet (animals won’t get the virus and animal shelters are full with pets who need an owner)

34.   Cook a new recipe

35.   Bake a cake, cupcakes, muffins, cake pops,..

36.   Make home made popcorn

37.   Play a computer game

38.   Sing songs

39.   Create a soul space for you at home (art studio, photography studio, creative corner,…)

40.   Sort out your make up

41.   Try out new make up looks

42.   Get inspired on youtube

43.   Learn a dance

44.   Do a Tik Tok

45.   Get together with family members who live with you

46.   Write a book

47.   Start a podcast

48.   Start a blog

49.   Start a youtube channel

50.   Listen to music and see what’s new

51.   Create a wall full of photos of your friends and you

52.   Start an online class (for example open university)

53.   Learn new skills (for example on skillshare)

54.   Renovate a room or your house

55.   Clean your car

56.   Take virtual tours through museums, watch free online concerts

57.   Write poems, storys, articles,…

58.   Do some crafts

59.   Do an indoor picnic with your family

60.   Have a BBQ in your backyard

61.   Do a theatre play with your siblings

62.   Play an instrument or learn a new one

63.   Play board games

64.   Make soap, showergel, shampoo,… yourself

65.   Make a present for your friends and send it tot hem

66.   Send postcards or letters

67.   Take care of your garden

68.   Plant flowers, trees

69.   Make a travel bucket list

70.   Do a crossword puzzle

71.   Have a scavenger hunt or easter egg hunt (indoors or outdoors)

72.   Build a birdhouse

73.   Start your own business

74.   Fix broken things

75.   Clean up the mess your computer / arrange your pictures and documents

76.   Sort out old things you no longer need

77.   Learn how to bring old supplies back to life

78.   Go grocery shopping with caution and buy yourself a treat

79.   Help out in hostpitals (brave people only)

80.   Get in your car and do a little roadtrip and discover how your area looks when it’s empty

81.   Have a pillow fight

82.   Do your laundry

83.   Paint or make new furniture yourself

84.   Set up an online store and sell your projects or things you have at home

85.   Fly a kite outside

86.   Look up some jokes to keep you entertained

87.   Do a crazy challenge with your family member (look up youtube challenges)

88.   Try food you haven’t tried before

89.   Take a nap or lay down and listen to music and enjoy

90.   Change your look

91.   Have a party at home

92.   Do a puzzle

93.   Shop online

94.   Support local business by getting take away food

95.   Create a cocktail or a beverage yourself

96.   Clean windows

97.   Go outside and watch birds or other animals in your neighborhood

98.   Write down the things you wanna do when this is over

99.   Stay positive and learn what positive sides this situation has for you and for the world

100.  Look at old pictures, videos,...

101. Create an obstacle course

 

Here are some helpful links:

 

Free online classes by edX

Learn something new by taking online classes at the open university

 Learn new skills via skillshare

Start an online shop

Read books for free at the open library

Watch otters for free at the Seattle Aquarium

Listen to Podcasts or start one yourself

Check out my youtube videos ;)

 

 

 

 

How is it to come back home after almost 2 years?

Not many au pairs talk about it but I think it's still an important topic so I would like to share my experience in this post.

 

After 22 months in the United States it was time to go back. Back to Austria, back into my old life.

I was not ready but there was no other choice. So I said goodbye to my hostfamily and got into the plane. The sooner I got to my hometown, the more I realised that it's over. The best time of my life, just over forever and it will never be like this again. Back then, I had no idea how much I would really miss the sweetest little twinboys I ever met (my baby boys ;)) and the life in the US!

 

It took me like 2 days to travel home. When I arrived in Munich after almost 13 hours of flying I was lucky that I had booked a hotel room there for a night so I was able to sleep, shower and realise that I'm back. Also I felt quite dizzy and a little nautious I must confess.

 

As soon as I left the plane I realised all the differences. People were complaining about everything, everything happens in a different speed like for exemple everyone walks so slow, everyone talks german again and the friendly and positive americans were suddenly gone.

I already missed it when I arrived in Munich. The first few hours were really hard for me and I just wanted to go back. If i was rich, I would but that's not the case so I gotta stay and make the best out of it.

 

After one night in Munich I took the bus to Austria and my mom and my brother picked me up from the train station. I was happy to see them and was very entertained about how small things are. From the car to the cups, the toaster - everything is so small compared to the United States which made me giggle a lot!

It feels like being Alice in Wonderland when she took the magic pill and shrank. Also it feels so much like living in middle age, seriously.

 

Americans are so much further when it comes to technology. Thought I would get an uber from the airport in Munich to my hotel, but it was not possible. No Wi-Fi that was working and of course no uber around my area at home. No aircondition anywhere, and it was way too hot - yep spoiled au pair problems!

 

Anyways, when I came home my mom cooked a meal that I really missed (Leberkäse with potato salad and Laugenbrot).

It was nice to be home again, where I grew up and lived for 22 (!!!) long years. Being back in my "childhood" room, having all my clothes again,... and then in the evening we were sitting outside in the garden and suddenly I heard some cars honking and driving up to our house.

 

It was like 5 cars and in there - my friends! They put signs on their cars that said "Welcome back, we missed you!", "Welcome home",... It was like a whole parade! They are just the best ;)

It was so amazing to see almost all of them again and I had to cry a little bit. We had very good snacks that my friends prepared - all the things I missed because they asked me about it when I was in the US and very long and funny conversations. It was so good to see them again! Definitely one of the best pasts of coming back home.

 

After a day or so my culture shock was over, well it might still be here a little bit. But now I'm counting the days until I will start my next adventure and I'm so excited!

Austria, I'm not gonna stay, I'm very sorry but adventures are calling! :)

 

 

First I wanna start off with some thoughts about my current situation, the thing I am doing at the moment - my life at the moment.

 

As you may have read, I'm an au pair in the United States, Seattle. It took me such a long time to be brave enough to start this for me, huge adventure.

And let's be honest, it takes a lot of courage for each au pair. If not - please comment! ;)

However, in September 2016 I finally made the big step and started to live my dream.

It felt good from the first step on! I really like to describe myself as "the frog that swam across the big sea". In the beginning, I was scared...or let's say unsure about if it is the right thing for me but then I started to step into the ice cold water and swam away. Still, I'm swimming but I do it with joy and I love it and I don't wanna stop.

 

And here comes the problem, I have to stop. Because as an au pair you get the J1 visa which allows you to stay in the US for maximum 25 months (including 1 month of traveling).

My oh so stupid decision was, to extend for 9 more months instead of 12...

Why did I do this? Just because, if I had extended for 12 more months my time would have been over in October. So I would come home somewhere in the middle of the year, most of the jobs in Austria start in September so this seemed like a stupid decision unless I wanted to waste another year of my life.

That's why I decided to extend for 9 months, which means, I will go back to Austria in July. And that makes it so much easier to find a job.

Now, I regret it and I wish I would have used all the time that I have left here, in this awesome life, that couldn't be any better.

 

Ok, it's not perfect - nobody's life is perfect! But it is a pretty great life.

I can't imagine to leave "my american life"... the life that I've been living for more than a year now and that I loved from the first second on. There are always ups and down's and there will always be ups and down's, no matter where life leads us. Still, what I love so much about this life is to talk english every day, to get to know a new culture, to discover the United States that are so impressive to me and have so much to offer. Each state is so different, sometimes it was like suddenly being in a different country. I'm just so impressed!

All the trips that I did were just amazing, all the friends that I made, my hostfamily, to see how american life really is, living the easy way of life. This is exactly what I was looking for, probably since a very long time. Since I was little, I was curious about the United States of America and then I came here and fell so desperately in love.

 

There's no doubt that I will come back one day. I just can't say how long because getting a visa is getting so much harder now (let's not talk about politics please!). So we'll see how my plans will work out and how my way back will look like.

 

Hit me up if you're an US lover or fell in love with a country as much as I did and let's connect :)

 

Thanks for reading,

Mary

Soon I'm gonna turn 25. It's like the number when you start to get closer to 30 and not 20 anymore. At least for me it feels like that. When I was younger I always thought I would move out with like 16, live together with my boyfriend in a little flat, have my own "real job" but nothing of this actually happened.

So at the moment it looks more like that: I'm living my travel life with an easy job, not very well paid though in the US. No boyfriend, no own flat, nothing.

It sounds worse than it is because on the other side 25 is still young but many people just have the idea of how life should look like when you're 25. You have your own apartment and a boyfriend or even a house and a husband and already kids? Well, for me it doesn't fit into my life right now. I don't even look like 25 and also I don't feel like 25 at all. If I would be as old as I feel I would be more like 19. So 19 would be pretty early to already have a "real" life. Means, there is no reason to worry because you are as old as you feel!

But still, the thoughts are there because some of your friends already moved out, have a job, their own flat, their own car, maybe even kids and a husband!

Stop! No, not here. I decided that I still have time for all of that. Old mom's are pretty cool and I would love to be an "old" mom and get babies when I'm like 35. That's still early enough and there is still time for getting a real job, in the best case also well paid to save for the future with the baby or babies.

The things I wanna focus on now are a little bit different! Which would for example be: traveling, exploring the world, meeting people from all over the world, learning languages, be young wild and free - still, with 25!

 

Turning 25 is not actually about changing yourself, unless you wanna change something then go ahead. But all in all people are way to stressed about their age. Age is only a number and it should always only be a number and not the most important thing to worry about in life. Because life has so many things to offer!