Nanny? World Traveler? Athlete? Student?  All those descriptions fit Steinbach’s Shayli Patrick.  Shayli, a former high school English student of mine at the Steinbach Regional, is working as a nanny for a family in Collaroy Australia, just outside of Sydney. My husband Dave was Shayli’s baseball coach. Although teachers aren’t supposed to have favorite students, Shayli’s warm engaging personality certainly endeared her to both of us. When we found out Shayli was living and working not far from the bed and breakfast we’d reserved for our recent holiday in New South Wales, we contacted her and arranged to get together. We spent a great evening catching up on the interesting life Shayli’s led since leaving high school.

    Summer jobs at the Steinbach Cultural Arts Centre and the local Video Max earned Shayli the travel funds she needed to set off on an extended back packing adventure several months after her high school graduation. Together with a friend she made her way through Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Spain. A school trip to Italy and France her senior year of high school whet her appetite for seeing more of the world and she could hardly wait to head back to Europe.  Listening to the excitement in Shayli’s voice as she talks about seeing the Coliseum in Rome, the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and Michelangelo’s David in Florence its easy to see that she’s been bit by the ‘travel bug’. “I only went back home to Steinbach because I’d run out of money”, she says.

       Shayli spent the next year studying at the University of Manitoba. She enjoyed her classes and did well, but wasn’t sure what field of future study she wanted to pursue. Two of her friends had found jobs as nannies in England and Belgium respectively by using a web site called Au Pare. Com. Shayli decided to post a personal profile on the site and see if there was a couple that would want to hire her to care for their children. A family trip to Australia when she was thirteen had piqued her interest in the country and so she advertised for a position there. Darren and Sarah Peters who work for a large pharmaceutical company in Sydney were looking for someone to help them care for their five-year-old twin daughters during summer holidays and before and after school. A phone interview with Shayli clinched the deal and she was off!

     Shayli told us she loves her job and the family she lives with is warm and accepting. One of the first things Shayli had to learn was how to drive ‘on the other side of the road’ since she is expected to chauffer her young charges to play dates, lessons, their private school and the beach. She says initially it required lots of concentration but she’s comfortable at the wheel by now.

        Shayli might be best known in Steinbach for her baseball talents. She was a member of the SRSS Sabres women’s baseball team and played for the Steinbach Storm and Smitty’s Open in the senior women’s softball league.  She’s already found a fast pitch team to play for in Australia and has asked her parents to send the ball glove she left in Manitoba.

      Shayli loves the warm weather and the friendly people in Australia. She especially enjoys living so near the ocean and has already taken her first surfing lesson. She admits she still checks her covers before crawling into bed at night because Australia does have dangerous spiders a plenty, and when she’s swimming in the ocean thoughts of sharks and poisonous blue jelly fish do cross her mind.

     She’s still getting used to Australian words like ‘arvo’ for afternoon, ‘mossies’ for mosquitoes and the familiar greeting ‘How are you going?’ The Australian habit of ‘tea time’ was another change. Her host family eats five meals a day. Teatime in the morning and afternoon are a must.

     Shayli misses home, but phones her family often. Her parents, Brian and Cindy, have been very supportive and encouraging about her decision to work in Australia.

       Shayli has a one- year work visa. Her employers let her travel on weekends and holidays when they are home to care for their children. Shayli spent time in Brisbane with relatives over Christmas and hopes to see the Great Barrier Reef and Ayers Rock before she leaves Australia.

      Shayli says her travels have really helped her gain independence. “When you grow up in Steinbach and you’ve known almost everyone in the community your whole life it’s a bit of a challenge to leave your comfort zone and set off to new places where you are forced to meet new people and make new friends.”

       Shayli will no doubt be back in Steinbach next fall when her contract in Australia ends, but something tells me it may not be long before she heads off on another international adventure.