Dear Childcare International- / iSt-Team,   I safely returned home and wanted to write to you to tell how my stay in Britain was. First of all - thank you for my great hostfamily! We must have been the best match you ever made? We really got along very well, especially me and my hostmother Tammy O'Brien, the children were a lot of work because of their ages but really great. I enjoyed spending a lot of my time with Zachary, the baby boy of the family. I learned a lot about families, children, my own childhood, and, of course, about London, America (my hostfamily was from NY) and, last but not least - about myself.   I did not have that much time to see a lot of England, but I definitely intend to do so in the future. I went on a weekend trip to Bath and had my best friend and my boyfriend over for a short period of time to visit me. I really enjoyed London with all its different kinds of people, food and culture. I liked the different shopping facilities, restaurants and museums. London definitely is a great place - unfortunately, it is quite expensive. But I worked during the week and so I could afford to go shopping or meet my friends, two other German au pairs, in the city.   I love the buildings in London - old and new. I like the idea of tradition meeting style and new design. London did not really change that much in me, it was more or less the children that taught me a lot. I learned how to take care of little Zacky and really enjoyed having him around. I realized how much work, love, patience and understanding you need to be a mother.   I understood that being a child is never easy, and being parent isn't, either. But I still want to have children of my own one day - but not as soon as I had planned before leaving for my au pair job. I know that taking care of a child means a lot of responsabilities, and since children are the future of the world, you should be sure that you can manage the whole situation - and manage it well so that your children can grow up to be good and happy people.   I thought a lot about the British school system and about education in England, too. Some things I learned are good to my mind - some I do not completely approve of. But that is the same here in Germany - a lot of changes need to be made in means of education.   I also thought a lot about life and what I want to do with mine. I always was interested in people, especially children. So I want to become an elementary school teacher and study education afterwards. I also found a job at an institute for children with learning disabilities and concentration problems. I will start working there in a few days and see how it goes.   My stay in Britain was a good decision. As it helped me to grow and gave me time to think.   Thank you again for the great people you gave me as a hostfamily. They are the best and we'll hopefully keep in touch. I miss the children a lot and think of them every day. It is funny how you can learn to love children and it is so easy.   London was a great experience and I hope to come back soon. Thank you and take care, good luck with all the other au pairs and families.   Best wishes from Germany, Julia Többen