Monica´s Testimonial as Au Pair in the UK

We can unfortunately no longer accept further applications at the moment. You can find a list of Au Pair agencies in Spain at www.agenciasaupairaepa.es who will be happy to help you.

Hello!! How is life back hom ein Spain? Following I will send you a little update on my experience as au pair here in Kettering... I arrived 2 months ago and wouldn´t have expected to learn so much in such a short timeAu Pair Monica en UK. At the beginning I hardly understood any English and by now I can actually maintain and understand a whole conversation! Of course there is still heaps to learn... but with every day that passes I realize how important the English language will be for my life at a long-term basis. That is why I really make a huge effort to learn as much as I can. I have the nicest host-family of England. I really was so lucky! From the very first day on they made me feel welcome as part of their family. The parents are young and we get along greatly. The kids are very sweet. It surely is a lot of work to look after three, but they are very nice and I learn so much from them. My day starts at 7 in the morning, when I get up and help my host-mother to prepare breakfast for the children and get their lunch ready to leave for school. I usually acompany the parents to get the kid to school, but whenever they can´t do the school run, I will do it on my own. I was lucky enough to receive driving instructions from my host parents to learn to drive on the other side of the road. I get along really well with the car and now always look on the right side! Meanwhile the kids are at school, I tidy a little bit the house, hang up the washing, put on and clear dishwasher etc. To be honest it doesn´t suppose any effort to me to do my household duties, as these are tasks I am very used to do at home in Spain as well. It´s normal things which I do as any other adult part of the family. After finishing with the house, I have some free time, which I usually use to practise English, watching series and listening to music to broaden my vocabulary. In the afternoons I go to pick up the children from school and prepare them a snack once we get home and try to convince them to get int o the shower! Sometime I prepare dinner, but mostly the parents are in charge of that. I have 3 free days per week and am very happy with my host family. Once a week I attend a language course for three hours. I would love to do more, but as we live in a village, there is no better offer for a course. Nevertheless this course has helped me a lot to improve my language skills. The only thing which is a bit hard for me sometimes, is to get to know other young people and make friends. I miss having friends. But slowly I am getting to know new people. The fact that I have spent all my time during the last 2 months with native poeple, I have improved so much my speaking. Au Pair Monica en InglaterraBy now I can participate in any conversation and I am used to the sound of the language. I have to work hard on my pronunciation, but am sure that with the time, all will work out well. Until now I have not had a chance to travel much, but am hoping to do so in the future. As a tip for future au pairs I would like to add that it is important not only to focus on the host family, but also take a look on the location where they live and the surrounding. It does make a difference if you live in a village or a town. I would always recommend something in the middle, but definatly a place where you can meet other people and make friends easily. I like to see things from a positive point of view so I am very happy with my experience and with the fast way in which I am improving my English! And the friends I am looking for...will hopefully come up soon. Thanks a lot for your back-up and support. I will keep you posted on how I am going. Best wishes, Mónica