It is common for Au Pairs from Russia to drive prior to their arrival in the U.S. In fact, all of our Russian Au Pairs currently in the country already had a driver’s license prior to their arrival.
Katherine has been a Host Mom with Go Au Pair since 2006. Her Au Pair from the Philippines, Carren, recently left her home after spending two years with her family.
"Maria assimilated very well into our home. From talking with her before she arrived, we learned that her family is similar to ours, meaning that her parent's parenting-style is similar to how we parent our children. Their household is similar to ours as well, in the sense that they each have chores to do around the house, they attend worship services regularly, they do not drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes, the parents are a dual-income family and are considered middle-class. We also learned that Russia is fairly Westernized and similar to the U.S., and Russian teenagers and young adults are a bit similar to those here in the U.S."
"We have not encountered many cultural differences. We’ve learned that some things are a little different in Russia than here, but not drastically so. For example, in Russia, clothing is very expensive where here, it may seem expensive but it is cheaper than what they would pay. Jobs are more difficult to find in Russia, and the pay is lower than what it is here in the U.S. Housing, in terms of actual single-family homes, is scarce and more expensive, so most people live in apartments. They do not rely on driving automobiles there like we do here in the U.S., they rely more on mass transportation like buses and trains. Education is different there in terms of how many grades they complete before beginning what we would consider to be college or University, and the amount of time spent in college or University is a little different than here."
"Yes, we would consider choosing another Au Pair from Russia, based on the following: 1. Maria’s English was very good (although this can vary between each person). 2. Russia in general is fairly Westernized, so there was not a lot of culture shock for her to adjust to. 3. If needing someone who can drive, Russia has similar driving rules as ours, and although they drive on the opposite side of the road, it is not a big adjustment for them to drive here in the U.S. and pass a driver’s exam."