First impressions...
First a bit of background from me; I´m Carolyn and am currently taking a gap year before I start university in Sept. I´m going to be studying German and Spanish, and having already spent 4 months in Germany this year I thought I´d better do something to help my Spanish (which is currently non-existant.)
So yesterday I packed up my bag (really struggling to get the weight down to the 20kg that the airport demands), and upped and left. Arriving in Alicante at 15.25 to be met by the mother of the family that I will be staying with for the next 2 months. Now before you think I´m throwing myself in at the deep end let me explain. The family that I´m staying with is by and large bilingual. The mother is English (and knows my mum from about 30 years ago), the husband Spanish. Between them they have 5 children, ageing from 5-14. All of the children speak some English though Danny (who was born in England) and David both attend a European school and therefore are much more comfortable using English.
While I´m here I´m going to be trying to pick up any Spanish I can, and helping the family with their English. While the children are on holiday I´ll entertain them as best I can by taking them down to the pool or the beach (which is convenietly just down the end of the road). I´m also going to be looking after one of David´s friends from school every afternoon and evening. I like to keep busy!
While the money with aupairing is not great, it has to be remembered that the main reason for doing it is not to make mega-bucks, but to pick up a language, enjoy the work you´re doing and to experience something new for a while.
Anyway, on with what I got up to yesterday...
Having been introduced to everyone I was given a grand tour of the 2 houses that the family own and the surrounding area. The main initial shock was the weather,having left gloomy England where it was grey and damp, I arrived to a very bright 32 degrees of Spanish sunshine. Not a bad change it has to be said.
Conversation was a little awkward at first with the boys but as the afternoon went on things relaxed. The boys and I took the dog, Luna, down to the beach and they enjoyed teaching me a few Spanish necessities such as "nose", "plant", "ball" and "dog". I started mentioning a few words in German that David (5) particularly enjoyed trying to pick up.
In the evening we all shared a meal together and conversation was fast and in Spanish. I of course sat there looking lost, trying to catch odd words. But was very grateful for the translation I got from the boys and their mum.
Getting up this morning I went down to breakfast at 7.30, put a shopping list together with Becky (the mum), ate with the boys and then got them ready for school. Julia is a lady in her 20s who comes everyday to clean the house, do the washing and she often drops the boys off at school and does some shopping for the family.
This morning, I went with her. Julia does not speak English(!) Although I thought it might be a bit daunting at first it´s good to realise how far a smile or a bit of sign language can go!
A few differences I´ve noticed between Spain and England are; how amazingly friendly everyone is. You´re bound to be greeted by your new family with a broad smile and a kiss on each cheek rather than a very British handshake! Tap water is generally not drunk. It is very clean but it´s full of chlorine. Cups of tea are made with mineral water. Milk is always pasteurised because otherwise it just goes off too quickly in this climate.
So that´s about it so far. This afternoon I´m going to meet the little boy that I´m going to be looking after. A little apprehensive about that but I´m sure it´ll be fine.
I was worried about coming here as well, it´s not that I mind being away from home but having spent a lot of time with close friends this year it´s going to be difficult being away from them, especially if I have down days here. But I think I´m going to have more than enough going on here to keep me preoccupied!
So yesterday I packed up my bag (really struggling to get the weight down to the 20kg that the airport demands), and upped and left. Arriving in Alicante at 15.25 to be met by the mother of the family that I will be staying with for the next 2 months. Now before you think I´m throwing myself in at the deep end let me explain. The family that I´m staying with is by and large bilingual. The mother is English (and knows my mum from about 30 years ago), the husband Spanish. Between them they have 5 children, ageing from 5-14. All of the children speak some English though Danny (who was born in England) and David both attend a European school and therefore are much more comfortable using English.
While I´m here I´m going to be trying to pick up any Spanish I can, and helping the family with their English. While the children are on holiday I´ll entertain them as best I can by taking them down to the pool or the beach (which is convenietly just down the end of the road). I´m also going to be looking after one of David´s friends from school every afternoon and evening. I like to keep busy!
While the money with aupairing is not great, it has to be remembered that the main reason for doing it is not to make mega-bucks, but to pick up a language, enjoy the work you´re doing and to experience something new for a while.
Anyway, on with what I got up to yesterday...
Having been introduced to everyone I was given a grand tour of the 2 houses that the family own and the surrounding area. The main initial shock was the weather,having left gloomy England where it was grey and damp, I arrived to a very bright 32 degrees of Spanish sunshine. Not a bad change it has to be said.
Conversation was a little awkward at first with the boys but as the afternoon went on things relaxed. The boys and I took the dog, Luna, down to the beach and they enjoyed teaching me a few Spanish necessities such as "nose", "plant", "ball" and "dog". I started mentioning a few words in German that David (5) particularly enjoyed trying to pick up.
In the evening we all shared a meal together and conversation was fast and in Spanish. I of course sat there looking lost, trying to catch odd words. But was very grateful for the translation I got from the boys and their mum.
Getting up this morning I went down to breakfast at 7.30, put a shopping list together with Becky (the mum), ate with the boys and then got them ready for school. Julia is a lady in her 20s who comes everyday to clean the house, do the washing and she often drops the boys off at school and does some shopping for the family.
This morning, I went with her. Julia does not speak English(!) Although I thought it might be a bit daunting at first it´s good to realise how far a smile or a bit of sign language can go!
A few differences I´ve noticed between Spain and England are; how amazingly friendly everyone is. You´re bound to be greeted by your new family with a broad smile and a kiss on each cheek rather than a very British handshake! Tap water is generally not drunk. It is very clean but it´s full of chlorine. Cups of tea are made with mineral water. Milk is always pasteurised because otherwise it just goes off too quickly in this climate.
So that´s about it so far. This afternoon I´m going to meet the little boy that I´m going to be looking after. A little apprehensive about that but I´m sure it´ll be fine.
I was worried about coming here as well, it´s not that I mind being away from home but having spent a lot of time with close friends this year it´s going to be difficult being away from them, especially if I have down days here. But I think I´m going to have more than enough going on here to keep me preoccupied!
3 Comments:
At 12:46 PM, Anonymous said…
'ello ! So alas you have fled the countrie again ! Will I ever see you in our home town again ! glad you've sorted your self out ok out there ! Take care and keep topping up the tan !
love ya !
At 10:51 AM, Anonymous said…
Hi Carolyn! I was wondering about going to Spain to aupair next year but I'm not sure how to choose an aupair agency or what to expect because a friend of mine went to Madrid 2 years ago after finding a family through an agency in London. She had a terrible experience and had to leave after 3 months instead of staying for a year. She was treated like a servant, and had to clean aswell as look after a pre-school child and a baby. She didn't have time to go to a language school or to make any friends. I want to go to France or Spain, would prefer Spain but am worried by her experience. Do you know any other aupairs in Spain? Do you know any good agencies? Thanks.
At 10:41 AM, Aupair in Spain said…
Hi Anonymous,
I have to admit I don´t have any experience of finding work through agencies as my Mum has links with the family I am staying with in Spain. While it is true that some people have bad experiences, I think the problem can lie with the family as much as the agency. If you don´t get on with someone you just don´t. Anyway, for more info you could try www.aupair-world.net, www.sunnyaupairs.com, or www.internationalaupair.com. Another good thing to do is to try and get hold of contacts in European schools in Spain. There is a very good one in Alicante. Although it´s not how I found my family here, there are 2 other girls from England coming over this summer for a while to aupair and there is still demand. Hope I helped. Carolyn.
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