Au Pair in Spain - Summer or Academic Year

I've been an au pair in Santiago de Compostela for 8 months. The day after I arrived, I went to the office of Destino Idiomas to introduce myself. Ana, from Destino Idiomas, told me a lot about the city and we had lunch together. My hostfamily was amazing, they showed me the city and made me feel at home. Ana was checking on me every once in a while. I didn't have any troubles, but it was nice to know that there was someone in case I needed help.

I've had an amazing time during my stay in Santiago de Compostela. I've visited lots of places, I've made new friends and I feel like my hostfamily became my second family.

Unfortunately, I had to leave Spain earlier than planned, because of a small accident. I've been in the hospital for a surgery and Ana from Destino Idiomas came to visit me. She supported me in my decision to go home earlier and she helped me with everything she could. I would've prefered to finish my gap year differently, but I still look back at it with a big smile.

I had a good time in Spain! To be honest it is hard to give a review because I was really lucky with my family. I have a sweet loving family and we get along very well, but it is never sure if it’ll be like that for someone else. I stayed in Ourense and I am glad i chose this city. There are not that many aupairs but there is a big English community here and the people here in Galicia are the kindest people i’ve ever met. The food here is good and it’s easy to travel around with for instance Blablacar or bus.
I feel like it will be really difficult for me to go back to my own life and leave my hostmother, children and friends here behind, but i am glad i will always have a home here in Spain if I decide to go back. Which I probably will. Groetjes Michelle

Although some parts of my experience proved to be difficult, I can hands down say that this was the best part of my life so far. I was able to meet so many different people from all over the world, learn so much about life, grow as a person, learn A LOT of spanish (I knew a few words at the start), find a second home and family and just generally live a life I loved. I would absolutely do it again and recommend it to anyone.
Ana was great in terms of checking up on you. She was in regular contact so you never would feel overwhelmed or alone, and helped talk to me about my issues, which I know other au pairs using different programs were not as lucky to have access to. She even organised a meet up for the fellow au pairs of Galicia that she had in her agency!

I would really recommend this program, as I have many great and warm memories about Spain and my host family. I was really lucky to get into this family as they treated me like a family member. I always had help and support.
Family alway took care about my interests and helped with social life.
Many interesting places were shown me, many interesting people were introduced to me.
I`m very grateful everyone!!

For future participants I can say that there is no doubs about this family. If they invited you, you shoud go :)

Some tips about Lara)) she is active, positive, likes chocolate, cartoons, painting, swimming pool and swings)))

I have had the absolute best 2 months of my life. In such a short time I have grown as a person and experienced so many new things. Although I have the upper hand because my family lives here, I have had an amazing time with my new host family as well.

Destino Idiomas and Ana specifically has been so helpful beginning with our first interaction with my curiosity about the program. Ana was able to match me with the perfect family that was also close to my family that lives here in Spain. Throughout my trip she also helped me resolve small issues that I had and also connected me with other Au Pairs in the area.

My host family were so welcoming and treated me as one of their own. The two children were so sweet and so eager to learn. I am still currently with the family and it pains me that this is our last week. The children are so loving and fun to be with. The family was also very flexible and I was flexible so we were a perfect match.

In my free time I had the luxury of going to the beach or adventuring the town each day. I met various people through social media apps and au pair groups. I have now met other people from all over the world and it was so easy and fun! I also was able to go on a trip to Porto, Portugal by train.

I highly recommend au pairing to everyone! This experience has been amazing and I will definitely be doing this in the future as well. I have also only spoken to people that have also had amazing experiences. DO IT and you will not regret it!!!!

I am an avid Ultimate frisbee player and wanted to be an Au Pair in a town where I could play with the local team. There are not a lot of ultimate frisbee teams in Spain but this program went out of their way to research the different ultimate frisbee teams and then see if they had families near by those towns. That is how I ended up in A Coruña and it was a perfect match.

The first family that this program found for me was an immediate match. They were so nice and when I got there, they welcomed me with open arms, my own room and bathroom, would buy me any food I wanted, and were very flexible and reasonable with working hours and time off. My main goal was to learn more Spanish and learn about a culture and this family was perfect for that. Even after two weeks, my Spanish abilities had improved so much and my perspective had broadened by being adopted into this culture.

I am so thankful to have found this program, they helped me find the place perfect for me and a great family.

Since March 2017, I'm living on the island Fuerteventura and working as an Au Pair. I have one word to describe the past 8 months; wonderful!.

The family I work with is amazing, I feel like a family member and the kids treat me like a big sister; which is also the reason that I decided to stay not for 6 months, but for 13 months!

When I applied at the company in the Netherlands, the told me about Destino Idiomas and about how they work. Every now and then I receive an email or phone call from them to check up on me!. I really appreciate that!.

Working here in Spain is wonderful and working with a organisation that is supportive and keeps contact during your stay makes it even better!

I chose to work with Destino Idiomas because I consider the director, Ana, straightforward, honest, and an Au Pair advocate, having been one herself. She was very supportive throughout my home-stay.

I strongly advise taking full advantage of the placement process. I was not completely satisfied with my placement; however I do take responsibility for this because for the most part, it was my lack of communication and specificity about what I wanted that resulted in my placement.

If you want to be within walking distance from grocery stores, cafes, and parks, I recommend clarifying that with the agency and host family. I requested a small town, thinking that it would be similar to where I am from in terms of layout and accessibility, however the family lived in a small neighborhood on the outskirts of a town, and a fifteen minute drive from any business establishments. I think its important to factor in what activities you will want to do in your free time when choosing a location. Also, I would suggest being flexible with your criteria— for example, although my host family lived in a more isolated area than I would have liked, this was was made up in part for by the fact that they had relatives and friends living nearby so the house was always full of guests and activity.

I also recommend thinking critically about the child care you can provide, and what type of family fits your expectations. I was placed with a child with challenging behaviors, thinking that I was prepared for the work because I had previous experience with children labeled difficult. However, I had worked with children with challenging behavior in the range of 3-4 years-old and 10-11 years-old, rather than 5-6 year-old, and the difference threw me off guard. That being said, I had no previous experience working with children 11-13 months, and I ended up having an amazing time bonding with host family’s baby, and thoroughly enjoyed watching her learn to speak and walk!

Finally, be specific about your expectations when talking with the family ahead of time, and find out theirs, in order to get a more realistic image. For example, over phone call or email, ask them what a typical work day will be like, and communicate what you have envisioned. That way, you can adjust your expectations before arriving.