Au Pairing: Madrid Edition

What was my host family like? I looked after 2 children, a 10 year-old girl and a 6 year-old boy. The mum was pretty talkative and friendly whereas I never really talked much with the dad, except when he was giving me instructions about what to do with the kids. The little girl was outgoing, but the boy was quite shy and had tantrums often and I found it quite difficult to look after him. Lies  In regards to the tantrums and difficulties I had, I later found out that the family had failed to tell me that the little boy had special needs. This became a problem as I had specified on my profile when applying for jobs that I do not have experience in looking after children with special needs and this really impacted my stay in Spain. This was also unfair for him as I didn't have the knowledge to properly care for him. I felt cheated and had no idea why they would have hid that from me.  Tense family home The mum was mostly lovely when she spoke to me, however, as I ...

1. Choose a relevant country  It isn't actually necessary to know the language of the country that you want to au pair in as you can au pair only speaking English (if you choose an English-speaking country or choose a family who only speak English, albeit their second language). Do your research on: The cost of living  Things to do that interest you in the city/town/country that you want to go to 2. Use a website to find a host family  It's possible to use an agency to find a host family but it can cost a hefty sum for this when you could do it all for free yourself.  I used the most popular au pair websites worldwide, www.aupairworld.com . You set up a profile by adding your specifications and requirements for a family and a bit about yourself so a family can review you as well. You are given an extensive list of all the families who have signed up and you can browse to see which families catch your eye. 3. Interview process  After you've na...

A great location for trips Madrid was the perfect location for au pairing – it’s the capital so there is so much to do at ANY time of the day, which is perfect for when you finish work late afternoons/evenings. It’s also in the centre of Spain, so travelling to other places around the country is so accessible! The city itself is great for exploring, with hidden gems dotted around the place. When one of my best friends came to visit me for a weekend, we found a little hill, across from the Catedral de la Almudena, where we could watch the sunset whilst listening to the harpist and violinist perform down in the plaza (video below). Day trips There’s also a couple of great places to visit just outside the city. For example , Toledo , a World Heritage Site is a 30 minute train journey from Madrid (or 1 hour if you want to save some money by taking the bus). It’s the perfect day trip – you can walk from one side of the town to the other in 35 minutes! I spent around 4-5 hou...

Hey everyone – welcome to my blog! I’m a 3 rd year International Business with Marketing and Spanish student at the University of Strathclyde. A vital part of learning languages is to immerse yourself in the culture and language and this is why I decided to au pair in Madrid last summer. In this blog I will give you advice and recommendations about the au pairing process, where to go, stories from my experience in Madrid and much more. Background In summer 2018, I went to Madrid for 2 months to work as an au pair. My best friend (who also studies languages) and I decided to do this at the same time so that we could explore the city together during our time off work in the evenings and weekends – it turned out to be the best decision. Everyone’s au pairing experience is unique. I did encounter quite a few minor (and major) problems during my trip, which I will delve into later, but overall I really enjoyed it. What is au pairing? An au pair is someone who move...