With the start of this school year, ASL teacher Lindsey Graney needed an extra set of hands around to help her and her husband care for their children when they are not around. Rather than hiring childcare in a more traditional method, Graney chose to apply for an au pair, or a live-in nanny from a foreign country.
The family matched with Daniela Gutierrez, a 21-year-old from Colombia. Gutierrez is tasked with taking care of Graney’s children when their parents are not around.
“Anything that’s connected to the children is kind of her responsibility. She gets them up in the morning, she gets them dressed, she feeds them, she helps them clean their rooms, she does their laundry – anything that’s tied to taking care of the kids during the day,” Graney said.
Gutierrez was surprised by some of the differences between America and her home country.
She also said that Americans eat dinner very early in the day compared to Colombia’s usual late night suppers, and Colombians tend to eat healthier.
“Americans consume a lot of processed food. In my country, people tend to avoid it to be healthy. A lot of things we consume are crops that farmers grow,” Gutierrez said.
One of the biggest changes Gutierrez has experienced is the seasons in Colombia compared to in America.
“We could go out any time we want (in Colombia), but it is different here because of winter,” Gutierrez said.
Colombia experiences a much more tropical climate, with generally warm temperatures year-round, so Gutierrez is not used to making plans around weather patterns such as snow.
“We had to find different activities to do, like go to the mall,” Gutierrez said.
Graney and Gutierrez have had plenty of cultural differences to work around, but they find resolutions easily through open communication and willingness to understand each other. This is shown in their participation in each other’s cultural rituals.
“There was a holiday (Día de las Velitas, or Day of the Little Candles) that was right before Christmas,” Graney said. “We went outside with the whole family, lit candles, and talked about things that we were thankful for.”
Gutierrez said Día de las Velitas is a very important holiday in her culture.
“Every candle has an intention – even if it is something you’re grateful for, or if you want to ask for something from God or whoever you believe in,” Gutierrez said.
A misconception that Gutierrez believes many Colombians have about Americans is that Americans are not emotionally open.
“People tend to say that Americans are not expressive. However, I have found lovely people who express love and everything they feel really well,” she said.
When Gutierrez has free time she enjoys going out around town and exploring.
“I go for a walk or ride my bike and visit different places,” Gutierrez said. “I go to the library, malls, restaurants, (and) downtown.”
She has also made some friends throughout her time in Pittsburgh. Some of these are other au pairs, and others she met at the gym.
Gutierrez recently spoke to AP Spanish students at Baldwin about her experiences and some of the cultural differences she’s seen.
“This was a chance for students to not only test their language skills and grow in confidence in their ability to use these skills after nearly five years of learning Spanish here in our school district, but also for them to gain insight into the products, practices, and perspectives of someone from another culture,” Spanish teacher William Dodds said.
Part of the class discussion focused on music.
“We learned that she likes ‘música del pueblo,’ which means ‘music of the town.’ We weren’t really sure what this was. We wondered if maybe it was a genre, just like we have country music – they have town music,” Dodds said, “We asked her the next day and we learned that our suspicions were right.”
Senior Spencer Maist liked the discussion about lingo used in English and Spanish.
“Every country has its own lingo that looks different when you translate it, so she taught us some,” Maist said.
Gutierrez’s stay in the United States has been a positive and educational experience, Graney said.
“It’s been fun having another person in the house and getting to see her interact with the kids and experience a lot of things that we do for the first time,” Graney said.
In August, Gutierrez will be moving to stay with another family in the United States.
