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Au Pairing

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Did you have any experience with german before you did it? If so, did you find that your language had drastically improved after it?

Reply 21

manchesterunited15

Original post by xmarilynx

Well spotted, I meant the other way around! :facepalm:

It's been a long day...

Thought so :tongue:

Reply 22

-raisa

Original post by Scratchyjam

Did you have any experience with german before you did it? If so, did you find that your language had drastically improved after it?

I knew very, very basic German before I went, and this made my first few days/weeks really difficult since the children didn't speak any English at all! (Thus lots of communication problems!) But because of this 'full immersion', my German improved A LOT. Even though I was only there for the summer, I went from not being able to speak in German at all, to having no problems with speaking/understanding German (i.e. I felt quite at ease with normal, everyday conversation!)

Original post by Colpejafort

260€ a month in Germany? really? :eek:

That's ridiculous :confused:

Original post by xmarilynx

May just be a coincidence but I've noticed the typical "language learning" countries have the lowest pay. Au pairing in Belgium to learn French or Austria to learn German actually pays better :wink:

You can also negotiate higher than the minimum wage, as generally the number of families looking outweighs au pairs. Personally I wouldn't settle for less than €100/week for 30 hours/week.

I was paid €280/month, which isn't a lot I know for 30 hours/week, but I didn't feel cheated at all. Like I said, I felt my family was quite generous – I really felt like a member of the family and when we would go out for meals, to museums/festivals, etc. they paid for my meals, entry tickets, etc. Whenever I needed/wanted anything (I forgot to bring sunscreen from home, I ran out of hand lotion, I wanted to eat a certain type of cereal), they bought it all for me. In my contract initially, my host family was supposed to pay for a German language course during my stay, but as I was there in the summer and living in the middle-of-nowhere, that didn't quite work out as there weren't any language classes nearby to attend.

Personally if I were to au pair again, I'd definitely want to do it in a large city (Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, etc.) where there are other au pairs to meet and lots to do. I wouldn't settle for less than €280/month including transport pass AND language course all paid for (assuming this is a large city where there are language courses in the summer!)

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 23

alice269

I'm going to Italy in September on a 9 month contract :-) I met my family through Au Pair World too, like most people on here and I have to admit half the reason I picked my family was that yes they seem really lovely and down to earth (and i've spoken to their current au pair who reiterated that) but also that their salary is really good in comparison to what others offered me (€100/week for 20-25hours, my own apartment on the floor above theirs, an italian phone and contract paid for, language lessons paid for and an annual bus pass) but i am sure i'm pretty alone in how lucky i am with a contract like this...

i think it also depends on the cost of living... like if you live in a main city, it will be more expensive in say Madrid or Rome, in comparison to the lesser known places, so you might find families are willing to pay more. :-)

Reply 24

caralouable

Original post by stargirl_

Well I just used the website they all said about above: www.aupair-world.net and I found a family that I think will be great in Barcelona in about two weeks (it was a stressful two weeks of emailing and Skype 'interviews' though lol)

I'm going for the whole summer but several families just wanted people for a month or two.

Hope this helps :smile:

Thats great helped a lot

I set up a profile on Au Pair World and got confirmed with my family last night, flight booked for heading over 19th July :biggrin:

Was just wondering does anyone know whats the easiest way (and safest) to find if any other au pairs are going to be in Madrid that may want to meet?

Just want to get the most out of the experience while I'm there :smile:

Also if anyone has any tips n advice about where to go, things to see etc in Madrid I'd be extra grateful :wink:

Thanks

Reply 25

Colpejafort

Original post by caralouable

Thats great helped a lot

I set up a profile on Au Pair World and got confirmed with my family last night, flight booked for heading over 19th July :biggrin:

Also if anyone has any tips n advice about where to go, things to see etc in Madrid I'd be extra grateful :wink:

Thanks

Well im from madrid myself so I'll be here for the summer!If u ever want to meet just let me know! :biggrin:

an irish friend of mine is gonna work here as an aupair during the whole summer too so I could introduce you to her as well! Where abouts are you staying? :biggrin:

edit: I forgot to say you could also join this group on fb https://www.facebook.com/groups/443694629026313/

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 26

caralouable

Original post by Colpejafort

Well im from madrid myself so I'll be here for the summer!If u ever want to meet just let me know! :biggrin:

an irish friend of mine is gonna work here as an aupair during the whole summer too so I could introduce you to her as well! Where abouts are you staying? :biggrin:

edit: I forgot to say you could also join this group on fb https://www.facebook.com/groups/443694629026313/

oh really that'd be nice :smile:

I don't know exactly, I was told its about 15mins from the airport??
And one stop outside Madrid city centre ..

I requested to join that group, just waiting on an acceptance.

super excited :smile:

Reply 27

Colpejafort

Original post by caralouable

oh really that'd be nice :smile:

I don't know exactly, I was told its about 15mins from the airport??
And one stop outside Madrid city centre ..

I requested to join that group, just waiting on an acceptance.

super excited :smile:

Cool, I'm sure they'll accept u in the next couple of days.
Do you know the metro stop? I live kinda close to the airport.

How long are you staying here for? Im sure you're going to have a great time :biggrin:

Reply 28

caralouable

Original post by Colpejafort

Yep on it now, there's loads of people on it :redface:

nope dont know the metro stop, I will ask them.

Be about 5 weeks I'm there for .. I cant wait now!!

You on that group on facebook? Is your irish friend on it as well?

:smile:

Reply 29

stargirl_

caralouable, congratulations :smile:

I'm going to Barcelona on 17th June!

Are you excited/nervous/both?

What's your family like?

Reply 30

caralouable

Original post by stargirl_

caralouable, congratulations :smile:

I'm going to Barcelona on 17th June!

Are you excited/nervous/both?

What's your family like?

Barcelona will be fab! Congrats to you too :wink:

I am a little bit of everything haha mainly excited cant wait just to get over and see what everything is like! you?

I was on skype to them and they seem lovely, the children are so cute!

Have you seen your family? What do you think?

Reply 31

Colpejafort

Original post by caralouable

Yep on it now, there's loads of people on it :redface:

nope dont know the metro stop, I will ask them.

Be about 5 weeks I'm there for .. I cant wait now!!

You on that group on facebook? Is your irish friend on it as well?

:smile:

I've just accepted your friend request! :biggrin:

Yeah there's loads of people on the group, it's a really good way to make friends even before you are there :smile:

I met quite a few girls back in september and still talk to a few but they're going back to England at the beginning of June :frown:

.

Cool let me know once you find out where they live! :biggrin:

Reply 32

stargirl_

Original post by caralouable

Barcelona will be fab! Congrats to you too :wink:

I'm so excited! But a little nervous.

My family seem great, two cute little girls and the family had an au pair at the minute who I spoke to and she loved them.

They are taking me on holiday with them in August to Costa Brava!!

Do yours speak English well?

Reply 33

hollo

From my experience I would definitely just go through au pair world.

In terms of choosing a family, just be smart. If they sound irritating or spoilt or needy on their profile, the odds are you won't want to live with them for months. Make sure it is clear how much work they will expect you to do and whether you will have time to attend language classes if that is what you're looking to do - I knew some au pairs who constantly had to miss class to look after the kids so it's important that the family is aware of your reasons.

Personally I think it is better to go with a family who have minimal English skills because it really forces you to pick up the language. I was more like a tutor and spoke English to the kids all the time so I missed out compared to a lot of au pairs.

I would also recommend finding out if the family have connections to other young people, either family friends with an au pair or cousins etc. It's good to have people that you can hang out with, at least at first.

Reply 34

Jadiedk

Original post by xmarilynx

I've au paired with 4 families in Paris, France. Good and bad experiences! Any questions, shoot :smile:

Where are you from country wise? I am trying to land an aupair job anywhere in Europe or US and am really struggling. I prefer children under 5 years but older okay. Any agency or a specific method you followed to land these jobs. I am based in South Africa, but was in London aupairing previously for a year.