Hey, I'm Dominique Graaff...29 year old born and raised in South Africa. I came to America in 2011 "after a bad breakup" as a Au Pair...for those who don't know, It's like a live in Nanny. Africa had nothing left to offer me...other than its beauty and my friends and family...it felt like the right time to move on.
"So, My now hubby told me about this new website, so I am still trying to figure out this seemit.com ...please be patient -_- LOL!"
The Plane ride was something else... 18 hours of no sleep, checking the map...Watching 4-5 different movies. Now, you can imagine the emotions I felt prior to arriving here in the United states... Not sure what to expect. I only knew what I've seen on television and movies. New York City... concrete jungle, the city that never sleeps, the Big Apple and sex and the City. I was amazed!!! It was snowing the time we arrived here. By we, I'm referring to the group of girls that came over for the Au Pair in America program. Everything about New York City took my breath away... I even did a snow angel on the side walk of NYC, being my first time seeing snow and all! Everything being more advanced... cars zooming by, bumper to bumper yellow cabs...Time Square, OMG! Orientation, one week of training was a priority before we all went our separate ways... starting our new adventures with our new families. The train ride to New Jersey right before meeting the family was nerve wrecking...not knowing what to expect, if they will take a liking in me or not...if we will get along? It took me about 4-6 months to truly find my feet... getting used to the new surroundings. Being Jetlagged, culture shock...seeing residential homes with no high walls...some leaving their homes and cars unlocked. I mean where I grew up, we could never do that without having your home broken in to or your car/personal belongings stolen. The hardest I thought would be the driving, steering being on the opposite side of the vehicle and also driving on the opposite side of the road. But, surprisingly I fell right into it with no problem at all...
I met my now husband in 2012 through Facebook (thank you Mark Zuckerberg). Through one post and some mutual friends, I was able to see the post and liked it. He friend requested me, and we started messaging. It all snowballed from there... in a good way :) We got our little fur baby from a Amish family in Christiana, Pennsylvania...Yes, he is the one in the profile picture. Jack Russell terrier...my little terror. Currently I am going through the green card and residency process... what a headache! All in the name of Love... Feel free to follow me and my furr baby on Instagram: @pluto_jrt and @fit_dgraaff.
I am looking forward to sharing my experiences here with you, and hoping you would all take a liking in my adventures.
Till the next time...
Dominique
