Olá meninas,

Hoje irei falar da minha letter, que eu sei que é uma das coisas mais difíceis na hora de preencher application.

Pra quem não tem muita facilidade na língua, eu sei que é muito mais difícil, mas vai fazendo aos poucos e traduzindo aos poucos e depois peça pra alguém que fale bem corrigir pra você. Mas uma coisa importante, não force muito coisas que você não sabe. A família vai acabar ficando interessada pensando que você fala bem e dai se decepcionar na hora do vamo-vê.
Procure ser simples e bastante honesta. Fale sobre sua vida, sua família e amigos, seus interesses, suas experiências com crianças e porque você quer ser uma au pair. A maioria das agências você tem que escrever no mínimo 600 palavras, já a minha letter acabou tendo 1049 palavras! sim eu me empolguei. Eu comecei a escrever e foi aparecendo um monte de coisa pra falar. Eu sei que a minha carta não está perfeita, mas pelo menos as famílias já elogiaram e gostaram, então não deve estar estar tão ruim assim! xD

Outra coisa muito importante. Lembrem-se que TODAS as informações que vocês colocarem na carta sobre as experiências tem que estar totalmente alinhadas com o que você escrever nos formulários de referência e no vídeo. Exemplo, se você colocou que cuidou de uma criança durante 3 anos, uma vez por semana, então a mesma informação vai ter que estar nos outros documentos. 

Eu vou colocar a minha carta pra vocês se INSPIRAREM. Mas por favor, NÃO COPIEM. Não esqueçam que a família que vai conversar com você vai querer saber SOBRE VOCÊ, então sejam sempre honestas.

"Dear host family,

My name is Camila and I would like to try to describe a little bit about myself in this letter. I'm Brazilian and I'm currently living in a small city called Araras in São Paulo with my mom, Anatalia, my dad, Marcos, my older brother, Danilo, and my two lovely cats, Tom and Jerry. I've been living here with my family for about 7 years and we all get along very well. 

My dad is 57 and he's retired now, but he used to be a toolmaker. He's very funny, helpful and caring with his family. My mom is 56 and she is very friendly and talkative. She's an artist who manufactures rag dolls for weddings, birthdays and bedroom decoration and I honestly think her work is quite brilliant and adorable. I'll always be thankful for all of the life lessons they have given me. They've taught me to be polite, respectful and always work hard to achieve my dreams and I would also describe myself as kind, easy-going, open-minded, creative and funny. In addition to that, my parents are also role models to me in that after more than 30 years they're still married and madly in love.

Before I finished High School, I did a technical course in graphic design for one year and half. I really enjoyed it and for me it is very relaxing to work with art because I can always develop my creativity. I have much experience with arts and crafts and this is an activity I would love to try with your children.

In my free time I enjoy staying at home reading or watching movies/TV series and I also have a big collection of books and DVDs in my bedroom. I also love cooking. My mom has taught me many different recipes and I love trying different things. I'm also really keen on hanging out with my best friends on the weekends. We enjoy going to various places such as shopping malls, parks and restaurants. Apart from that I enjoy spending some quality time with my parents at home and we love playing with our cats. 

In addition, I am particularly interested in languages. I've been learning English since I was 14 and I've never stopped since then. In fact I actually became an English teacher at a school at which I have been working for the past three years. Another one of my favorite hobbies is traveling. I love visiting other countries and being able to communicate with people that grew up in a different culture and reality from mine. I've already had one experience abroad; when I was 17 I went to London to do an exchange program for one month and I've dealt with many different situations that shaped me into a more mature and independent woman.

Another passion I have is driving. My father taught me how to drive when I was 18 and I got my license when I turned 19. Ever since, I've been driving to work every day and I'm really careful and responsible. I've driven on the highway and in the big city and I've never been in a car accident. I also feel very comfortable to drive other people with me. 

In relation to my childcare experiences, the first child I helped take care of was Beatriz. I've known her since she was a baby, but I only started taking care of her when she was 10 years old. Today she has a younger brother named Paulo. He's super sweet and adorable. I've helped to take care of him since he was about 8 months old by changing his diapers, bathing and feeding him. When he stays in my house, he loves playing games with me and I always have different and creative activities for him. For example, one of his favorites is painting with me. 

Besides that, I've also had experiences with my little cousin, Alice since she was a newborn. Whenever I go to São Paulo to visit my family, we always stay together and I take care of her so her mother can do other things. I play with her, feed her and I also bathe her. She's a very active and happy child and it's always a pleasure for me to keep her entertained.

As I previously mentioned, I'm currently working as a private English teacher in Araras. I've been doing this for the past 3 years and I've taught people of all ages including children, teenagers, adults and even seniors. I would say my experience in teaching all kinds of different people has given me a lot of confidence and helped me to improve my interpersonal skills because I have learned how to deal with various people who all have different opinions and personalities.

I teach about 15 children, from 7 to 14 years old and children are by far my favorite age to work with. They're always so lively and willing to learn and it is gratifying to see their happy face when you teach them something new. Their ability to learn things so fast never ceases to amaze me. By teaching children I've become very patient and also a better human being. They are positive and innocent and they also teach you how to look at the world from a better point of view.

That is the reason why I've decided to be an Au Pair. I love children and I feel that this is the perfect chance for me to grow and live a unique experience within the American culture. I strongly believe that living in a different country and getting outside of my comfort zone is a challenge that will force me to deal with any situation and it will make me even more independent and responsible. Not only that but I will also improve my English and as a result, when I come back to Brazil, I hope to find better job opportunities where I can continue working as a Teacher.

Thank you for spending a little bit of your time by reading this. I promise to take good care of your children and be like a big sister to them. 

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,