Malaysia      The Star Education 06/02/2005

Nanny away from home

“I MISS the hugs and kisses from the kids!” said Lei Sook Mei, 24, when asked what she missed most about being an au pair the United States. 

Lei, an advertising and promotions executive, had the experience of a lifetime when she spent a year taking care of the Stouppe children – Isabella, 8, Carter, 5, and Payton, 3, in Sammamish, a suburb of Seattle two years ago. 

Lei had just graduated from her graphics design course when she read an advertisement for the “Au Pairs in America” programme in The Star. Being at a loose end, she decided to join the programme as it was a chance for her to gain exposure to a new culture. 

Although she had taught art to primary school children on a part-time basis during college and had experience babysitting for relatives, Lei felt that she still needed more experience caring for children. With that in mind, she became a kindergarten teacher for four months before applying for the programme. 

Christmas with the Stouppe family.

After submitting her application, Lei received calls from four families interested in hiring her. However, it was Deanna Garcia Stouppe, an AT&T Wireless director, who obtained her services in the end. 

“We just clicked, and she kept on calling me. She also sounded really nice,” said Lei. Describing Garcia Stouppe and her engineer husband Andrew Stouppe as very warm and nice people, she said, “They really wanted to know how to make me comfortable. For example, before I left for the States, they asked what colour I wanted for my bed sheets and blanket. Deanna went out of her way to help me make friends, and they even threw me a welcome party!” 

The children though had various reactions to Lei’s arrival. Isabella, the eldest, welcomed her and was quite interested in getting to know her. 

Payton, the youngest boy, was no problem as he was only seven months old when she arrived at their home. 

However, Carter, the older son, initially did not accept her and ignored her attempts to get to know him. “He refused to listen to my instructions and ignored me whenever I tried to speak to him. It was quite frustrating. 

Luckily, the family had another nanny who came in once a week to help me out, and he would listen to her. But in the end, we got very close and he would kiss and hug me every day and tell me that he loves me,” Lei said. 

When asked whether it was more difficult to care for American children, she said, “I don’t think so. It’s actually easier to handle American kids. The only thing is you have to compliment them a lot to build their confidence. Even if they do something easy, you have to tell them good job’ or ‘that’s awesome’.” 

Although Lei was homesick during her first week there, she quickly got over it with the support of her fellow au pairs and her community counsellor. 

“We met once a month to discuss our problems and gossip as well as plan trips on our weekends off. My community counsellor was quite supportive, but she also encouraged us to be independent and try to settle our own problems first as we were all adults,” she said. 

Describing her weekends off, she said, “The family would invite me to family reunions and weekend trips but it was never compulsory. They always gave me the freedom to choose what I wanted to do during my free time.” 

Lei also took good advantage of her study time there by taking computer graphics courses at the local college to complement her undergraduate degree. Her study allowance of US$500 covered 50% of the tuition fees, while she paid the remainder with her own money. 

After completing her year with the Stouppes, she went travelling around the US with her au pair friends. 

“I made a lot of friends from other countries and after I finished my year, we took a month to travel to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and Portland. We even drove up to Vancouver, Canada,” she said. 

Lei, who still keeps in contact with the Stouppe family, said, “I would tell anyone who is interested in this programme to go ahead and do it. You will definitely have no regrets.”

BY TAN SHIOW CHIN

ARE you young and keen to experience living abroad? Afraid you cannot afford it? Do you think family vacations are your only alternative?  

Well, just to let you know, your options are not that limited. 

There are quite a few cultural exchange programmes open to Malaysian students. Some involve working and receiving an allowance to support your travel while others entail staying with a host family who will provide you with board and lodgings, and be an integral part of your overseas experience. 

Programmes are available for students of various ages – from Form Three, right up to young adults aged 30. All require some initial financial outlay, but the experience that you get in return definitely cannot be bought with money. 

Malaysian summer camp counsellor Ng Jin Shinn with his Latin American co-counsellor and campers having fun at the lakeside at Homeward Bound Camp, New York, a camp for homeless children.

One of the oldest student exchange programmes in Malaysia, ABM or AFS Malaysia as it was formerly known, has been sending Malaysian students abroad for 47 years. 

The AFS programme places students aged 15 to 18 with host families in its member countries to live and study for two months, six months or a year. 

Students are treated as members of their host family. They will do chores, go on family vacations, and attend secondary school as local students do.  

This programme offers students the chance to truly immerse themselves in another culture and way of life in the hope that from this kind of intercultural learning experience, young people will develop the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to create a more peaceful world. 

ABM currently runs three programmes for secondary school students – the Year Programme, Semester Programme and Intensive Programme. 

The Year Programme, lasting about 11 months, is ideal for those wanting to take a gap year after Form 5. Students leave between January and March after the SPM, for various destinations.  

Although they have completed secondary school here, they still attend the local high school of the host country as the experience of being a part of the local community, not academic knowledge, is the primary objective of the programme.  

Malaysian summer camp counsellor Alice Lim Hui Zoo, having a hair-braiding session with her campers at Camp Ledgewood, Ohio.

The Semester Programme is essentially the same as the Year Programme, except that it runs for six months and is only available for exchange with the US. Students depart in January after the SPM. 

Younger students can opt for the Intensive Programme which lasts around two months. Catering for students from Form Three to Form Five, this programme focuses more on language acquisition and community activities as well as local family life.  

Participants in this programme depart in December, June, August and September, depending on their destination. 

Countries that are available for this programme are France, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, China, Finland, Japan, South Africa, Australia and Hungary.  

The programme fees range from RM19,000 to RM21,000 depending on the country you go to. This fee includes flight tickets, orientation camps and other activities in Malaysia and the host country, international insurance and 24-hour emergency support in the host country. Scholarships are available for certain countries and programmes. 

ABM accepts applications between February and May for the following year’s programmes. 

Au Pair In America 

Calling all females aged 18 to 26 years old who are patient, tolerant, love children, have some childcare experience and want to spend a year in the United States. 

The “Au Pair in America” programme is an educational and cultural exchange with a strong childcare component run by the American Institute of Foreign Affairs (AIFS).  

This programme places young women with a host family in the US as an au pair to care for the family's children. Au pairs are expected to provide up to 45 hours of responsible and loving childcare a week, working no more than 10 hours a day and five and a half days a week. 

In return, the host family provides a private room, three meals daily, a weekly allowance and a tuition allowance of US$500 (RM1,900). Au pairs are also entitled to two weeks’ paid vacation and a weekend off every month. 

A benefit of this programme is the educational component. Au pairs are expected to complete at least 12 semester hours of academic credit at the local college or university. They can study any course they wish, or even work towards an on-campus Bachelor's or Master's degree. Host families provide a tuition allowance and assist in arranging transportation to classes.  

AIFS does its best to match participants with a compatible host family. Potential host families will contact applicants for a phone interview before confirming their placement. Applicants may choose to accept or decline the family's offer. 

Medical and personal liability insurance is provided by AIFS. The institute also conducts four days of orientation for all participants upon arrival in the US. In addition, au pairs are assigned a community counsellor who lives near their host family. The counsellor arranges social activities for all the au pairs under her care, orientate host families and visit the au pairs regularly. 

Au pairs will also have the option of travelling around the US on their own for up to a month after they have completed their year.  

The fee for this programme, which includes a good faith deposit, placement fee, visa fee, and insurance contribution, comes up to about RM4,125. Participants only pay after they have received a confirmation of their position, but all payments must be made before leaving for the US. Expected remuneration, including the cost of board and lodging, weekly allowance, tuition allowance and flight subsidy, comes up to US$13,427 (RM51,023) for the entire year. 

Applications are open throughout the year, and the programme has participants arriving in the US every month. Applicants should apply at least three months before they plan to depart. The exact departure date will depend on your availability and the requirements of your host family. 

International Camp Counsellor Programme 

The International Camp Counsellor Programme (ICCP) is run by the International Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), which is based in New York. Established In 1959, this programme recruits young adults aged 19 to 30 years old from all over the world and places them at summer camps throughout the United States. 

AFS exchange students at Szekesfeherver, Hungary. From left: Tata (Ecuador), Kay (Germany), Chloe(UK), Ban (Thailand), Mary (US), Nurina (Malaysia), Mori (Japan). Back: Chris (Holland), Inga (Iceland) and Leila (Spain).

Being a camp staff member means hard work and long hours as you will be living on site with campers. However, you will have the opportunity to share your culture, learn new skills and become an important part of an American child's summer experience. 

Participants in this programme must be able to commit to 10 weeks in the United States, as that is the average length of the summer camp season. A range of departure dates beginning in early May up to the middle of June is available.  

Participants usually work as programme leaders in areas like arts and crafts, challenge course and sports, or counsellors who stay with the campers and care for them.  

Some highly sought after job skills include swimming, first aid, guitar playing and organising group games. You do not have to be professionally qualified. Any experience in these activities is welcome. Joining a camp is also a good opportunity to gain new skills as you will be participating in camp activities alongside the campers. 

Participants should have a good command of English and enjoy working with children. They will have a pre-departure orientation in Malaysia as well as an orientation by the YMCA upon arrival in the US. YMCA will also arrange for participants to be picked up from the airport upon arrival, and assist with transportation to camp. 

They will also have the assurance of 24-hour support from the YMCA in case of emergencies. 

Just like the “Au Pair In America” programme, ICCP participants will have the chance to travel on their own around the US for up to a month after their camp has ended. 

The fee for the ICCP is about RM4,150, which includes confirmation and placement fees, visa fee, police background check and estimated cost of the flight ticket. Participants will receive a minimum of US$1,160 (RM4,408) as payment and flight subsidy from their camps. 

Applications are open from October of the previous year to February of the same year for the camp.  

Interested 

Students interested in ABM's exchange programme can call 03-7722 4866 / 03-7725 4966, or check out afs.org.my 

For those keen on “Au Pair In America” and the ICCP, contact Aceglobal Holdings Sdn Bhd at 03-5621 8300 / 9300 or visit www.aceglobal.org 

BY TAN SHIOW CHIN

AFTER studying for 19 years straight, I finally decided to do something different to break the routine of my boring life.  

No, I did not dye my hair purple or take up sky-diving. I decided to apply for a job. But not just any job. I wanted to work in a summer camp in the United States. 

I figured a chance to earn some money, meet new people, get some overseas experience (which would look great on my otherwise empty resume) and travel was too good to pass up. After all, if K. Pravin who only has half a lung and a semi-paralysed left hand could do it, then so can I.  

It was an article in The Star about Pravin’s experience as a summer camp counsellor in the US that opened my eyes to the possibility of working three months in a summer camp overseas. 

Research into the matter led me to the International Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) which runs the International Camp Counselor’s Programme (ICCP). Although there are a few other organisations that hire foreigners for summer camps in the US, the ICCP is the only summer camp programme that recruits in Malaysia. 

Staff members all dressed up for Carnival Week at Camp Pecometh.

“Can you sing? Do you know any games? You don’t have to be an expert, as long as you can play it, that’s good enough,” said Aceglobal staff member Alvin Tan. Luckily I can swim and had attended a first aid course recently, two highly sought after skills by camp directors.  

I was eventually offered the position of pool manager at Camp Pecometh, a Christian resident camp in Maryland where water activities featured prominently as the camp was located right next to the Chester River. Programme director Augie Lankford informed me that I would be the first Malaysian at Camp Pecometh. 

I was responsible for supervising the lifeguards under my charge and maintaining the pool, and helped out in evening activities like music sessions, campfire and games. I was also responsible for helping to plan and organise activities, and ensuring the rules were obeyed by both campers and staff members. 

It was not an easy task for someone who had never held a job before, and was also new to the country, the culture and the camp. No television show or movie can really prepare you for living and working in another country. As they say, experience is everything. 

I had my ups and downs, especially since I not only had to deal with campers who had conveniently short attention spans but also teenaged lifeguards who were subject to the mood swings and rebellious streaks that characterise that age.  

I really needed lots of patience, along with tolerance and an open mind. Luckily, my colleagues at camp were very supportive – we helped one another and truly created our own little community right there at camp. 

A favourite part of my job was watching the campers go down the slide at the pool. Many felt that that was the most enjoyable aspect of the swimming pool. They would even have competitions to see who could yell the loudest or make the funniest sound while going down. Some even competed to see who could slide down the most number of times. 

We also had quite a few organised trips including a trip to Washington DC, a baseball game, a visit to a theme park and a day at the beach. A few of my American colleagues were also kind enough to invite me back to their homes, which really helped to relieve my homesickness. 

I also made friends with people from around the world – staff members from South Africa, Russia, Romania, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and South Korea. 

But the most rewarding part of my job was getting an invitation to come back the following summer to work, as well as this comment by my programme director, “You did a great job, and really represented your country well.” 

So, to those thinking of joining this programme, I will tell you this: you will have to work hard, but what you get out of this experience will be far more than what you put in.