Mimi Ruiz, a 24-year-old Costa Rican woman, is in the middle of a life-changing experience in Sacramento.

With dreams of being a translator, she knew she had to improve her English, but flying from the small city of Cartago in Central America to plop down in the United States for 18 months while she got a feel for the language just wasn’t an option.

But then friends of hers told her she could work as an au pair – a foreign nanny – and get the sort of cultural and linguistic immersion she sought. She arrived Feb. 28 and found an added benefit.

“Going to another country will help you mature,” Ruiz said. “When I came here, I had no family or friends here.”

She did, however, have a home.

Ruiz moved to Midtown Sacramento and began spending 45 hours per week caring for 19-month-old Colder, whom she affectionately calls her “little man.”

Despite living with a host family she described as being very nice, Ruiz missed her biological family. A lot.

“The first two months were really hard,” she said. “I cried a lot. I am very close with my family, and I miss them. Having Skype helps, since I can call them every day.”

As the days passed, Ruiz said she bonded more with her host family, and she managed to make American friends who have taken her under their wings and helped make sure she makes the most of her time here.

“Last week we were playing golf, then we were in Great America, then dancing in a bar in Berkeley, and we went to San Francisco too,” she said. “One month ago, I did skydiving. It was the most exciting experience of my life.”

Once a month, Ruiz joins the 12 other au pairs in the Sacramento area who currently work here through the international company Cultural Care Au Pair, which has been placing au pairs for 20 years and is headquartered in Boston.

“We do a cultural event once a month,” said Maru Fernandez, a local childcare coordinator for the company. “In October we take them and the kids to a pumpkin patch, and in December we build gingerbread houses with them – all the traditional American things.”

But it’s not just the foreign au pairs – mostly college students – who benefit.

“The host families get a great deal on childcare,” Fernandez said. “It costs them about $340 per week for 45 hours of childcare per family – not per kid – and it’s a person who becomes part of your family and helps you and your kids learn about another culture.”

Fernandez said local rates can be about double the cost for the same service and still not provide the hours the families need.

Au pairs currently living in Sacramento on the Culture Care Au Pair program hail from Germany, Australia, Costa Rica, South Korea, China, Chile and Sweden.

In addition to childcare, Fernandez said the au pairs are expected to perform household chores and do everything with the children for up to 45 hours per week on a flexible schedule the family can set.

When applying for an au pair, families can either place their trust in the local childcare coordinators like Fernandez or meet with the entire pool of au pairs to choose their own.

All of the au pairs must speak conversational English, possess an international driver’s license – which allows them to get a California driver license – and they are all here legally on two-year visas.

Ruiz took three years of English in school, and it was a grueling four- or five-hour class five days per week. She had some troubles when she arrived, but she found an unexpected reprieve.

“I didn’t expect so many people here to speak Spanish,” she said. “Sometimes I am happy, because I miss speaking my own language, but I’m here to work on my English.”

That’s a plan that has already been paying off.

“I feel a lot more comfortable in the States than I thought I would,” Ruiz said. “I feel even better now that my English is better and I know my way around (Sacramento).”

Spending time skydiving and traveling around California has its benefits, but Ruiz said she most enjoys spending time with her 19-month-old charge.

“I like to be with Colder,” she said. “We like to laugh a lot. I laugh so hard my tummy hurts. He’s my little man.”

To find out more about Cultural Care Au Pair and hosting an au pair, visit culturalcareaupair.com or call Maru Fernandez at 787-340-5371.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.