It is lonely working as a Private Nanny, it is a career where you talk to children all day who sometimes don’t have the verbal capacity to communicate back, so you always seem to be having a conversation with yourself. Also, 9 times out of 10 you are not in your home country close to friends and family and so you do have to make the extra effort to go out and try and meet new people, join different groups and classes that are just a part of what comes with this job. It is not like an Aupair position where you can talk to your ‘host parents’, cook dinner together, watch tv shows you all enjoy, it’s very much employer and employee relationship rather than a part of the family.
You are alone, it is hard but that’s where I have really learnt how to enjoy my own company and how to deal with ‘boredom’. I find that when I do feel alone or feel down it is usually because I am bored so when this happens I go out and do something. I find something new to go and visit, whether that is visiting a historical or cultural building, going for a walk or doing a fun activity like paddle boarding or visiting a theme park.
You may think ‘who would want to go to a theme park alone?’ Well actually sometimes these are the things as a Nanny you have to go and do because otherwise you would never get out and have fun. After working for 3 days straight, I had the day off to go and do something and considering I was in Abu Dhabi for Formula 1 I decided to go and check out Ferrari World, home to the world’s fastest roller coaster. At first, I did feel a little out of place walking through the front doors by myself, seeing everyone else in groups with their friends or family laughing and having fun together, I thought I would walk around inside and check it all out before I decided on purchasing a ticket, I really didn’t know if I wanted to go and queue up for the rides by myself.
I love roller coasters, I am a real adrenalin junkie, I kept watching people getting on the rides and wanting to do it but not knowing if I should wait and come back and experience it with someone else. But then I also knew if I didn’t do it I would have regretted it and who knows when I’d be back to visit. So, I purchased my ticket, and to my surprise, being a single rider worked in my favour, I skipped most of the queue’s filling in the gaps for other people, I actually went on most of the rides twice all for the price of one standard ticket. Because the final for the Formula 1 Grand Prix was approaching people started leaving Ferrari World so a couple of the rides I was the only one riding! Ha! The staff operators couldn’t believe I was on my own and called me ‘a strong independent woman’ they just kept sending me around the track until more people turned up to ride it.
I went and rode the fastest roller coaster named Formula Rossa, it was such an adrenalin rush, we had to put goggles on to protect our eyes and it travels at a speed of 0-240km/h (150 mph) it was insane! Another attraction I really enjoyed was the 4D cinemas, they have awesome effects and I think I enjoyed it more than the children that were there. All in all, the afternoon spent there was worth it and I am so glad I went and did it, and it doesn’t matter that I was exploring alone because I now get to say I’ve ridden the fastest roller coaster in the world!!
