Working As An Au Pair Q &A

Working as an Au Pair can be a wonderful way to experience a country and culture. I personally had an amazing experience due to a welcoming and supportive family who treated me as essentially a “cultural exchange” student rather than an employee. Here is a bit of info regarding my experience working as an Au Pair for those of you who may be interested:

1. What is your daily schedule like?

Your schedule working as an Au Pair can vary, you generally agree upon your hours with a family prior to meeting them. I personally worked from 8:30-2:30 Monday to Friday and the occasional weekday or weekend evening.

2. What sort of duties do you have as an Au Pair?

Once again, this can vary depending on your family, but personally, my primary duty was to teach the two girls (ages 2 and 4) within my care English. Other duties included getting them breakfast, putting them to bed, reading to them, etc. Generally, we spent our days going to the park, going to the outdoor pool that was in the apartment complex and playing games.

3. What sort of compensation do you receive?

In return for your work as an Au Pair, you receive a weekly stipend of around 70 euros a week plus full room and board.

4. What are some of the highlights of being an Au Pair?

First of all, I loved the family and girls I took care of. As I was 18 at the time and it was my first travel experience, I wish I could go back and do it all over again knowing what I know now as I appreciate the experience all the more looking back on it.

One of the things I loved most about being an Au Pair was the opportunity to learn Spanish. The girls I took care of did not really speak any English, which was initially challenging, but gave me the opportunity to hone my Spanish speaking skills (well…present tense at least!).

I was also lucky enough to have an opportunity to travel with the family I stayed with. We travelled to many towns and villages in the North of Spain, which I am positive I never would have heard of or found, had it not been for the family I was with. One of my favourite places I visited was called Cudilleros, a coastal town in northern Spain with all the coloured houses built like an amphitheatre in a cove. It was seriously one of the most beautiful places I have ever been (though you may not be able to tell by the grey skies below) and had AMAZING seafood :)! 

Also, with the amount of free time whilst working as an Au Pair, I really did have a lot of opportunity to really explore Madrid and other parts of Spain.

5. What are some of the challenges of being an Au Pair?

Of course, it is challenging to be in a country where you are initially unfamiliar with the language. It can be frustrating trying to communicate with people and getting lost and being unable to ask for help for directions IS THE WORST.

I love kids, and the girls I took care of were lovely, but taking care of children can be exhausting and definitely not for everyone. So, your ability to enjoy and connect with children is something to consider prior to deciding to be an Au Pair.

These are just some bits of info that came to mind when thinking about what one may wonder about when considering whether or not to be an Au Pair. I fully recommend this experience for a first time traveller who loves kids would like a real bit of insight into a country and culture. As mentioned in my previous post, the Canadian agency I went through to work as an Au Pair is called Scotia Personnel Ltd. and their website address is http://www.scotia-personnel-ltd.com/. If you have any other questions for me, please feel free to ask!  🙂

How I Got The Travel Bug

Ever since I was little I dreamed of exploring the world. I devoured books filled with tales of pirates, different countries and cultures. So, when I graduated from high school in 2006, I was determined to see the world and everything in it. No, I didn’t want to just hop on a plane for a two week backpacking jaunt around Europe as many do, I wanted to fully immerse myself in a culture and experience it. So, I got it in my head that I wanted to work as an Au Pair.

What might an Au Pair be do you ask? Well it is basically a fancy term for a nanny for a family. A family provides room and board with a small weekly salary in exchange for taking care of their children for a set number of hours a week. Though this might not seem desirable to some, I love kids and the idea of living with a local family and experiencing a culture in this way seemed amazing to me. (And my hunch about this being an awesome experience was correct!:) )

Going back to my childhood reading addiction (that still remains today) I first heard about being an Au Pair from the Sweet Valley High series. Remember those? Well there was a spin off series in which the two American twin protagonists go to work in Europe as Au Pairs. Up until this point, I had never heard of anyone doing anything similar and didn’t even had any idea of how to pursue this idea…so I went to the trusty ol internet and went to work researching. I discovered and emailed countless Au Pair agencies online without much luck. As I was 18 at the time, the thought of me travelling abroad on my own through an online agency seemed sketchy ( at best) to my caring and protective family. I finally stumbled upon a Canadian Agency based out of Nova Scotia called Scotia Personnel.  You can read more about them here http://www.scotia-personnel-ltd.com/. I emailed them requesting info on becoming an Au Pair and they promptly responded and told me they were, coincidentally, interviewing individuals in Ottawa (my hometown) for Au Pair positions, and would I be interested? And of course I enthusiastically agreed.

The interview went well, and the agencies reliability and in depth screening of families, which they place Au Pairs with, alleviated my parent’s worries regarding my security while travelling abroad for the first time alone. ( I should add, I had not only not travelled abroad on my own before, but I had never even been outside of North America at this point.) The next step in the process was choosing where I wanted to work as an Au Pair. The agency places Au Pairs within a variety of countries around Europe and other areas of the world. Initially, I was toying with the ideas of Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. Finally, I decided on Spain. I had heard wonderful things about Spanish food and culture, plus my parents had backpacked around Spain and Portugal for their honeymoon and loved it, so that was it! The process from then on was quite easy, as I would only spending three months in Spain (I would be going the summer following my first year in University) I did not require a visa, and I paid the agency a placement fee and they placed me with a family.  The agencies screening process of Au Pair applicants and potential families is comprehensive, and provides both parties with an opportunity to decide if they will be a good fit with each other. I was able to get in contact with the family and see pictures. The family looked (and were as ill tell you later) lovely. They lived outside of Madrid and I would take care of two little girls ages 2 and   4. I happily agreed to work with them, and all that was left for me to do was book my plane ticket :).