Au pairing is a great opportunity

I spent just over a month au-pairing with a family in Münster in North of Germany. Although I didn’t au-pair for a long time, I really enjoyed my time with the family and learnt a lot in terms of the German culture and language.

My experience was very positive

My particular experience was very positive and was spent looking after a four year old girl called Julia. My daily routine would begin by getting up fairly early to eat breakfast with Julia and her parents before they went to work. After making sure she had cleaned her teeth and was ready to go, I prepared Julia's school bag with things she needed to take to Kindergarten.

The family lent me their bike with a child’s seat on the back, which I used to take Julia to and from Kindergarten. (This took a bit of getting used to as the bike was even bigger than me! See attached photo!) Some days I would chose to stay and help out at the Kindergarten for a couple of hours and on other days I would go back to the house to tidy up. I would then prepare lunch for Julia and I as well as for Julia's mother, who would come home from work in the early afternoon. The afternoons were usually fairly relaxed and fun as the three of us would often go on trips or Julia would have friends around to play.

I joined in with activites the family undertook

We had a lovely hot summer in Germany and so most days were spent at the outdoor swimming pool; it barely felt like work! I didn’t officially have to look after Julia on weekends but often joined in with any activities the family undertook such as swimming or going for walks in the countryside, which was a good way for me to feel a part of the family. Au-pairing is a great opportunity for young people who want to experience living with a family and gain experience working with children, all whilst honing the language skills of the country. I would definitely recommend it!