My Aupair experience in Dublin

Cristina 23 years old from Valencia

It is known that speaking a good level of English is a very evaluate asset  in Spain. So once I finished my degree I decided to go to Dublin to learn English. Working as au pair is the easier way to go to Dubin as you don’t need to pay any rent and bill. Moreover, you receive a weekly pocket money which can be between €100 and €150. It depends on the family you work for. Firstly, I made a profile in Au pair world and I started lo looked for a nice family. I was interested in go to Dublin or London as these cities are capitals and the first language is English. Secondly, I started to speak with some families and I did a skype with an Irish family and they were friendly. They told me that I would work 4 days from 7am to 6pm. They have 4 kids but I would be just with the small girl during the day.  After speaking with their current au pair I decided to accept the job as she told me that they kids are very nice. I arrived in Dublin in January and the family came to the airport to collect me. They were pretty friendly and everything seemed okay. They showed me the room and was so small and so cold there but I didn’t complain about that. The first week I was working together with the other Aupair as she needed to show me everything. After that week she came back to her country and I was alone with the family. The family was not what I was expecting. One of the kids was extremely rude. He throws me thing when he was angry and he got so nervous just when I talked to him. He is a really difficult kid. Also, I was not feeling completely comfortable with the as because the mother told me that if I want dinner on weekends I have to be at home at 6pm. Otherwise, I couldn’t make my own food, just milk with cereals or a sandwich. Moreover, the family ate so unhealthy food. I had to work 10 h at day and the kids had so bad behavior. I was so tired by the end of the day. After one month the mother told me I needed to change the family because the small girl who I was spending most of the time need to go to the school in the morning so they preferred an au pair live out. I started to look for a family again in Gumtree ,Au pair world, Kangaroo and Rollercoaster. As I was living in Dublin I preferred to meet the families face to face. In my opinion, that is better as you can see if they are friendly if the house is nice and how are they kids if they are around. Also, you can ask if you can see the aupair’s room. Also, I very important aspect is where they live because if they live in a town may you will not have a chance to go to English Scholl. You always have to ask that. It is more important that the family is nice, friendly and they like to talk to you than they money they pay as you will feel more comfortable. Also, making an agreement is a good idea as you will make clear which are your duties and the conditions you have. By this way, you will make clear what are family’s expectations. I was very lucky because my second family was absolutely perfect. I had to take care of a baby and 2 kids. The baby  is lovely and so easy and she cries very few. The kids were very polite and friendly. Also, the parents were very nice with me and they liked to talk with me.  They paid me the same as my other host family but I had to work just 3 days and from 8.3am to 5pm and everything was easy. Also, the parents when they needed I do a babysitter they asked me in advance and in case I had a plan they could ask the grandmother. They were very flexible about that and also, they allowed me to invite friends to home if I asked before. Moreover, my room was better and I had more time for myself. I have had time to study English and I improved it a lot talking with my host family.  Finally, as I found another job I left my host family. It was so sad to say goodbye to my host family as I felt there like in my own home. I really recommend to being aupair if you want to improve your English. It can be the best way to start living in a new city if you don’t know very well the language. I advise people to look for carefully as they are a lot of families who want the aupair overworking. You have to know that be aupair is a respectful job as whatever job as you are taking care of the kids of somebody which is not an easy task sometimes. Don’t worry if you don’t feel comfortable or something is wrong you can move to another host families as it is easy to find a job as au pair and they are a lot of host families. Being an aupair can be a good choise for you if you like kids and you want to learn a new language and another culture!!!