Introduction

Silvy has always wanted to do things different from the ones the people around her do. Her wish of going beyond and getting something more of what she already got, has been the strength that keeps her in the place she is at.  Very early in her life, when Silvy was just finishing school, she wanted to go to a high school, different from the ones the rest of the kids in her town used to go. Her family supported her and five years later she graduated from that high school.

When everybody else decided to go and study at universities in the capital of the country, she decided to stay in her hometown; anybody else could convince her to follow the rest of the people because she had a different idea on mind. Three years later, she got a degree in her career in the university she chose, but during the last year of university, she felt she was missing something in her life, besides she felt the necessity to keep on exploring and doing new, different things. It was in that moment when she came with the idea of being part of an interchange program.  Just five months have gone since she began living in the USA.

Background

Silvy was raised in a country side area, in a small town called San José, located in the canton of San Carlos which belongs to the Alajuela province of the small Central American country of Costa Rica.

The third of the family, with a twelve-year older sister and an eight- year older brother, yes, big age difference, in fact, she was not planned but fortunately she was accepted and has been loved and supported in every situation of her life. Her parents: two humble people owners of a farm, no millionaires but no in-need either, with strong religious beliefs, a very conservative mindset and a very strict way of being. They were always over protecting their kids, afraid of letting them alone, however, Silvy wanted to go alone and to do things by herself, things no one else in her family or around her had done before.

Silvy was always a shy and calm girl but secure of what she wanted to get; a few-words girl but with plenty of ideas and objectives in mind. At school, she got the best degrees of her class every year. She graduated from school and left home at the age of 13 to go to live with her sister. At high school, she found a world of opportunities and extracurricular activities to do. She found a musical band, a soccer team and a boyfriend; things that made her low her scores, however, she got an award to be the third better score between two thousand students in the high school. With the musical band, in 2006 at the age of 17 she boarded a plane by the first time to go to a Central American musical band festival taking place in Guatemala. She also traveled to many places around Costa Rica and participated in important musical festivals in her country, experiencing unforgettable moments in her life. Silvy graduated from high school and decided to study to be an English Teacher, since she loves teaching and loves the language itself. In the last year of university, she performed her professional practice at the same high school where she graduated from.

University was a little bit difficult for her because she was also working at a full time job in a business, now owned by their siblings. In this business she worked as secretary but also helped in many administrative tasks and decisions, since it was a familiar business. At university time, Silvy also found her second boyfriend, a young but mature man who has helped and supported her in every situation of her life. He got to be not only Silvy’s boyfriend but her best friend. Right after finishing university, Silvy decided to flight to the United States in February 2010, to join the Au Pair in America program and live a new experience in her life.    

Professional challenge

Silvy took risks and decisions since she just finished school. She wanted to go out of her hometown, she wanted new and more opportunities she knew she did not have at the schools in her town. Silvy had to fight against people’s negative comments about the high school she was going to go, against the fear of going from a small, country side town to the city and against living without her parents at the short age of 13 years.  It was a hard decision but she wanted opportunities for her professional life. Finally, she went to the high school she wanted and it was a great challenge for her. She had to take musical classes without having taken anyone before, she had to take English classes without having an idea of what the teacher was talking about as well as other classes that the rest of the students had taken at school but she did not because just schools from the city area did. However, she was so excited to learn that she did not have time to worry about it. She was one of the best students in the English class, with the best scores on her group. About the music classes, she wanted more and then she decided to be part of the musical band of the high school and learned how to play two musical instruments.

The second professional challenge Silvy had was at the end of high school. She had the dilemma that she had to go to university but she did not want just to study, she wanted to work. She wanted to be able to have her own money to get what she wanted by herself and also to gain some experience. She wished to see herself in a business with a uniform, interacting with important people, facing a computer doing work issues, getting involved in a work situation, driving: working.  This complicated girl, for many people, was afraid because she knew was going to be difficult, however, she decided to go ahead and do it. She worked at a familiar business owned by her siblings. It was a hard, busy time for her and now she was living alone. She worked full time in the business and then went to university at night. At work, she had the opportunity to take administrative tasks and decisions, and to interact with people from a very important company in Costa Rica, yes, she did what she wanted! And at university, she got always good scores and got a degree on English Teaching, her career. At the end, successfully, she was able to do two things at a time: work and study.

Personal challenge

Even though this girl lived alone and without her parents since she was 13, in her busy life she was always over protected by her parents. They were always pendent of her, of what she was doing, of where she was at, of her boyfriends, her social life, her studies, her scores, her health, everything. Then, when she was really alone, even for a short while, she felt a big necessity of having her parents or siblings to help her. Silvy felt she was going a step back; she felt she was not actually living alone, by herself. By then, she realized about an interchange program called Au Pair in America which she loved from the very beginning, but she was not sure if she was ready, she was extremely afraid to do it but she knew that was the opportunity of her life. Initially, she was supported only by her boyfriend, then she started trying to convince the rest of her family about the idea of leaving the country alone, yes, this time was really alone! It was not easy to make her family believe in the program, in fact, she was in the plane and her brother did not believe yet. In February 2010 she flew directly to the USA for a year abroad, her goal: personal growth, independence, maturity. Today, just five months have gone since she is there but she is incredibly proud of herself, they have been five months living really by her own. She has meet great people who have taught her invaluable things, she has got terrific experiences and learned so many things from everything. She misses her family a lot but she is happy because she is reaching another goal in her life. This has been Silvy’s biggest personal challenge, but this is not the end, she wants more challenges that help her keep on growing and learning for the rest of her life.