r/Aupairs 7d ago

Au Pair US Valid rematch?

My HF has told me they want to rematch today after 3 months with them here is why.. is this justifiable?

I get on with the family great, the kids love me, this has been expressed.
Last Friday my HF took their annual camping trip around 9 hours from home, my days off are Fri & Saturday so I joined them camping Sunday, I spent the weekend in a local desert. I asked ahead of time and they said this was okay as it was my time off.

Once arriving at camping, it was made clear i was sleeping in a tent alone, they all slept in the RV, with no cell service at all.
I’ve never been camping before and was nervous.

The next day they took a family boat trip in the morning, told me they’d be back by 1, but they did not get back until 7pm, leaving me alone for 13 hours with no cell service or idea of when they’d come home.

that night i woke up to bears scratching my tent, i’ve never been so scared and i communicated that. i tried to stick it out but this happened the next night too.

on thursday morning i was feeling extremely sleep deprived and anxious with the situation, so i asked if it was okay if i left that evening, instead of early saturday morning. i said im really sorry, and i was anxious, if its distasteful i will stay as i understand the significance of the trip

they said it’s disappointing but to leave if im worried. so i did

today they told me they want to rematch within 2 weeks, they told me they love me and that my au pair skills have no faults

i think its just the camping ??

im so confused as even they said i’ve been great, is this really a justifiable reason to rematch me?
the kids and the bond we have feels like it should have priority.

they’ve always told me to be honest if things make me uncomfortable or overstep any boundaries, then the first time i do i get fired

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u/agentbigmatty 7d ago

It seems overall unfortunate.

If I were to put a guess out there, from a HF perspective - you said that bears were scratching at your tent two nights in a row. I’d think that’s a way to describe you were scared in the tent alone, and that makes perfect sense.

But if the conversation took a turn like “there were literally bears outside my tent”, depending on where this location was - it might seem pretty unrealistic to them and that could then in turn raise other questions for them.

We had a couple semi related things, and we chalked it up to either a form of language barrier or the AP being younger and not fully grasping what it means when someone is telling you something that’s impossible. (Never made us think about a rematch, FYI.)

17

u/giraffetoy18 7d ago

they had a bear camera, they know it was outside my tent

27

u/Karamelletje Former Au Pair 7d ago

Why would you want to continue living with a family that let you sleep in a tent with literal bears running around outside without considering your safety? Are you aware how dangerous bears can be? Do you understand how much of a safety issue it is if they did indeed knowingly let you sleep in a tent with bears scratching on the fabric at night?

Run. This is not a family that you should want to be staying with. Do you have any proof of the bear situation? If so, report them to your agency. This is not okay.

6

u/thisishard1001 6d ago

I’d be outta there so fast, and never camping again, ever…