I was an au pair in Madrid for two months in the summer of 2019. I have been a nanny throughout high school and college so becoming an au pair seemed like a great fit for me. My host family was amazing! I got very close to them all.

Every au pair has a different schedule depending on the needs of the family. The agency ensures you have time off, including evenings and weekends. I worked about 20 hours a week. On days I was working, I was taking care of the children and teaching them English. We would play games, go swimming, read books, and more. During my free time I hung out with other au pairs in the area. On the weekends, we would travel together to other parts of Spain. I ended up visiting 8 cities in Spain throughout the summer!

Being an au pair is really a cultural exchange, so take advantage of it! Soak in the Spanish culture while also sharing your own. Be open to speaking Spanish, even if that means making mistakes. Since many au pairs in Spain were from the United States, it would have been very easy for me to only make friends with other Americans. I really pushed myself to connect with people from different cultures and I ended up making friends from all over the world.

There are ways to become an au pair without an agency, but I am so glad I went through Au Pair In Spain. They made sure I was safe, comfortable and paid well. The family and I both signed a contract. The agency also put me in touch with other au pairs so I made friends from all over the world. I met other au pairs in Spain who did not go through an agency who had problems with being underpaid, working too many hours, or even getting kicked out with nowhere to go. I am so glad I chose to go through Au Pair In Spain.