Au Pair

As I understand and share your post-erasmus depression, I will keep filling you in on ways to go and meet a foreign country. One of them is going to work as an Au Pair in a foreign country. One of my friends is actually working as an Au Pair in France, so I happen to know a lot about how it works and about the process. I can write some information down for you to learn more easily.

• What is an au pair?

“Au pair” is French and litterally means “by mutual agreement”. An au pair is a person (many think that only girls register to become au pairs, but this is inaccurate, as guys can also be au pairs) ages between 18-30. They move to a foreign country and move in with a family. The minimum stay is a month and it could last up to two years. Once you have moved with the family, you will take care of their children and usually help with the housework as well.

• What will be my particular tasks?

You will have some days off, but this depends on the family you'll be with – and, of course, they will let you know before you reach an agreement with them. My friend, for example, is in a family with two kids of 9 and 12 years of age. She has to wake them up in the morning and prepare them their breakfast. Then, she accompanies them to school (it's a 15 minute walk or so) and then she practically has the rest of the morning off, as the only thing she has to do is cook lunch. At 14:30, she picks the children up from school. She has lunch with them, as their parents come home from work later in the afternoon, and then the children do their homework. In the afternoon, once the children finish with their school work, my friend teaches English to the younger one by playing games with her and, twice a week, she gives an English lesson to the older one. At around 18:00, the children's mum is at home, so my friend has the rest of the day off. The father also comes back at around 19:00. Dinner is cooked by the mum, so my friend also gets to taste the french cuisine. She has the weekends off too, unless something comes up and the parents have to go out. This particular family doesn't ask for housework, apart from cooking, but this may vary depending on each family's needs. Before you choose a family, you can see in their profile and description what kind of housework they require (cooking, cleaning the children's room, driving them to extracurricular activites etc). On their profile, you can also see other details, for example whether or not they smoke or they accept a smoker as an au pair.

• What is the difference between an au pair and a nanny?

An au pair is neither a nanny nor a person hired to help with the housekeeping. This is why they don't get a salary (but I'll get to that). An au pair should be considered a member of the family, because this is the exact point of this intercultural experience. The au pair teaches the family things about his/her own culture and probably the language as well and the family also shares this type of knowledge with the au pair. My friend didn't speak French before she went to France as an au pair, because the family wanted an English speaker and didn't require a knowledge of French. However, every other weekend, the mother, who speaks fluent English, teaches her French and now, a few months after, she can communicate in French quite easily -and, of course, she is still learning. Well, in our case (Greek people) it is rather uncommon that a family wants their children to learn Greek. However, we can help with English and, apart from that, many foreign families want their children to learn some things about Greek mythology or even philosophy, depending on their age.

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• Will I receive a salary?

No. You don't get to receive a salary as an au pair, because it isn't considered a job -I have explained that in previous questions. However, you do get some pocket money on a weekly basis. This depends on which country you'll be and, probably, on the hours you'll be working. An average monthly allowance is that of 250 euros. Of course, you have more advantages, because you get free accomodation and meals. You will be living in the family's house, free of charge and you won't be paying for any meals -either the once you cook or the once that the family cooks. However, you will have to cover your own medical check expenses, the money spent for a VISA (when required) as well as the travel expenses. I have read, though, that some host families contribute to the travel expenses, as far as the return trip is concerned.

• How can I find a family to host me as an Au Pair?

There are many websites dedicated to this process. Search for them and choose the one that is easier for you to work on. They all have a matching system, based on each family's criteria for the au pair, but also on the other way round, based on the au pair's criteria. For example, how long the family wants/needs an au pair, what tasks they require the au pair to do, what languages they require the au pair to speak etc. You, on the other hand, can search according to your availability in months (starting month, ending month, minimum and maximum stay), the country or even a specific city you want to go to and whether you are willing to work at a big city or a small town. The more you specify your search, the more likely it will be for you to find a family that's right for you. You also get to right the ages of children that you're willing to work with. For example, if you have zero experience with children (which doesn't necessarily mean babysitting, it also includes having younger brothers or sisters and having helped raising them etc. ) it would be better considering families with children above 4 years old.

• What information should I include to my profile so that families can consider me to be their au pair?

Apart from basic information about your age, nationality and studies, I believe that it is good to include your photo -it always makes a profile seem safer to consider. Apart from that, you can write some information about your life right now, where you live, whether you're studying or working, maybe some likes and dislikes. Then, describe your relationship with children and, most importantly, what motivated you to apply as an au pair. The more detailed your description, the more likely it is to catch the interest of your potential host families.

• What happens if I find a family that I like and I want to contact them?

You should apply to become their au pair. The application process may vary depending on which website you are using. However, the application usually includes a personalised letter, so that you can have a first, more direct contact with the family. After seeing your application, the family will reply to you. They can reply in a positive or negative way automatically or, maybe, they will write you back, explaining their decision. This could also be on the other way round: a family can find your profile and like it, so they decide to contact you themselves and ask you to be their au pair. Make sure to reply to all of them, even if it's a negative reply. You want your applications to be answered and you should always treat people the way you want to be treated yourself.

I don't have much more to say on this program, because I don't have any personal experience. But, after my friend's impressions, who knows? I might as well try it once I have a break!

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