Au Pair in Spain - Summer or Academic Year

At first I was scared about taking a gap year and what I would find to fill my free time but it was by far the best decision I’ve ever made for myself. Choosing to be an au pair in a small town in Spain was such an amazing experience I would do anything to do it all over again. I met so many incredible people and visited amazing places. My host parents were incredibly welcoming and spending time with their children was so special. Three months flew by and I already can’t wait to come back and revisit :)

Thinking of doing a gap year but are worried it’s “irresponsible?” I’m here to say it is the most responsible/wisest decision you will make.
In high school and college, I was always the “over-achiever.” I had my course schedule jam-packed every semester, took honors classes, and wore many hats with extracurriculars. Before applying to law school, I knew I needed a break. I only knew school, so I wanted to see the world and travel before getting into more studies and then a career. While I did have some hesitancies prior, I am so thankful I chose to be an au pair. The love of a family and community I experienced is something I cannot put into words. I was nervous last October because I had no idea what the town/family would be like. Yet, like always, God had wonderful surprises in store. I was blessed with the most loving and fun family I have ever seen. My parents acted like newly weds, even though they had been married for fourteen years, and took me in as a daughter. I even have Spanish grandparents 😊.
Not only that, but my little town of Casasimarro was extremely supportive. Despite cultural and language differences, I gained intentional friendships I hope can withstand the thousands of miles in distance. I joined a “stay-at-home mom” walking group, who always had my back. One even introduced me to their daughter, who is now my best friend. We celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Gal-entine’s Day together. They shared their language and advice with me, and in exchange I shared my traditions. I also was part of an English class (don’t worry, the teacher spoke Spanish with me so I was learning, too). Together, we baked treats, shared countless laughs, and even entered musical competitions. Even though Casasimarro was small, I encountered a world full of blessings. “Casasimarro devino; pan, chorizo y…” donde vivo ❤️.
As well as fostering connections, I also experienced self-growth. I grew in both my confidence and faith in this journey. I learned that I am weird, and I am totally okay with that. Rather than complaining about being stuck in a situation or not able to travel, I am determined to do things. When you get creative and refuse to let barriers stop you, you can travel anywhere you want, and for pretty cheap! I visited over 20 cities in Spain, plus small towns the locals shared. I also traveled to Morocco, Portugal, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Because of the connections I made, I made friends and fellow travel gurus. I also traveled with my violin- playing in the streets and with locals. Sure lugging the violin was a hassle, but it opened so many doors. From playing in a friend’s holiday band, to meeting Scottish fiddlers, I was overjoyed I could live out this musical dream. My town was small, but I still took advantage of every opportunity to learn and meet someone new. Everyone has a story, so talk to them! Locals love sharing their food and homes with a foreigner who wants to learn about their life. Because of this year, I have no fear in asking for help. When you travel, you have to rely on strangers. You have to shed the self-pride and feel okay with really being helpless navigating somewhere new.
My advice for anyone considering a gap year: do it, just be smart. In my free time I did continue studying for the LSAT, so I would not be behind with graduate school. As long as you plan your time, you can have a fun and wise time off.
Don’t be afraid to talk to strangers and be open minded about stories you hear. If someone who has never traveled tries to get you to not board the plane/stay in a hostel, listen to people who have adventured and loved it. So, for my review I give Destino Idiomas a 100,000,000/10. Ana was extremely helpful and encouraging. I was never charged any fees to be an au pair; I only had to buy a plane ticket. Whenever I had questions, I knew she was there to help. She even put me in contact with the former au pair, who is now a sister to me. If you’re still questioning, just please go au pair; go abroad to gain a new family and perspective of yourself and the world.

I look back to the month I spent in Santiago de Compostela last July with immense fondness. Santiago dC is an absolutely gorgeous city, full of history, which was exactly what I was looking for. I was living about a 10 minute walk away from the zona vieja. I would visit the old town regularly, losing myself down its many idyllic callejones. Galicia, too, is beautiful - lusciously green from all the wet weather during the winter time, when summer rolls around this green splendour is kissed by scorching temperatures from 25-40 degrees depending on where you find yourself. Geographically diverse and historically rich, Galicia ticked all the boxed for me. What I soon realised, however, was that you have to make the most of that once you are there…

The kids were away for the first week, so this gave me an ideal opportunity to ease myself into my surroundings. The parents were keen to introduce me to family friends, who they would visit in neighbouring towns and sometimes on the coast near the Rias Baxas. What a refreshing beginning, introduced to incredibly chatty, interested 30 and 40 year olds while sipping Estrella. I was a little nervous at first having to speak Spanish all the time (given the kids were away, and I’d asked for only Spanish), but found that putting myself in a situation where I *had* to speak Spanish was the best way to gain more confidence. I soon developed a love for Galicia, its gorgeous green, temperate climate, and especially the beauty of Santiago dC. Once the kids arrived, however, I went more into au pair mode, which was troubling at first given I had never au paired before. It took a few days to earn respect with the kids, which I imagine was partly due to their age, both 13 when I arrived. Despite the fact the two were practically teenagers, I still found the experience different having to look after them - I hadn’t ever au paired before. But you learn quickly, and my au pairing hours were pretty minimal.

About halfway through, I began to feel a little lonely. I found my routine slightly monotonous, and felt isolated in the time I had to myself even though I was keen to have time to myself. Given this was my first time travelling outside of home, it's not a surprise I started to feel a little isolated. I wanted to have my own space a lot of the time, and the family was very happy to give me lots of my own space, but I found that in this time to myself I began to feel rather lonely. In the final week, however, I learned to appreciate how to make the most of this space I had been granted. I began to plan how I would use my free time (far better than twiddling my thumbs); I booked myself onto tours of sites that were more hidden away in the city, I booked a tour to Fisterra and Muxia (would recommend!), I booked myself into local museums. Moreover, I realised I needed to make some friends in the area. A decent amount of my lonliness came from being away from my friends, not socialising as frequently as I would do. Being in my late teens, as much as I appreciated time with the family and to myself, I wanted something more. My first strategy was meeting other au pairs in the region (Ana was very helpful in trying to link us together), but more fortunately I managed to meet a great group of lads living in Vilagarcia who were visiting Santiago for a night. Making friends with locals your age is a difficult task - best advice would be to go to public social events where you might find people your age. You'll be amazed by how much Spanish teens are interested in foreigners, especially Brits! They invited me to a party one night in Vilagarcia, which was just the kind of break that I needed. Your own space and your own opportunties to socialise are really important, even when you are au pairing.

What I was most impressed by was the ease with which I was paired with a family in Spain. Having spent a while struggling to find potential summer job opportunities in Spain, I found Ana's service - Destino Idiomas - simple, easy, and friendly. All it took was a chat with Ana, and the completion of a few documents. After that, Ana did all the hard work trying to find a compatible family. She puts a lot of effort into this process and made sure I was comfortable with the family she managed to find for me. It was amazingly simple - in a matter of weeks I had gone from searching the internet for ideas to arriving in Santiago.

Regardless, I would offer a few recommendations for anyone planning to au pair in Spain, especially if they haven't before:
- Socialising, family life, and culture - will you meet new friends? how good are you living away from your friends, family, and your culture? I loved working my way through a new culture, a new social scene, a different family life; but I still found myself missing bits of home, missing being around people my age. You might want to think about ways you can bridge these gaps.
- Space - how much space do you want from your host family? You’ll need to communicate this well, and find different activities to fill your free time (you can get bored and lonely quite quickly otherwise).
- Make sure to establish responsibilities from the start. I ran into some minor difficulties when my responsibilities had not been properly communicated. This is why I would recommend also checking in with the parents once every week - my host family wanted a bit more space, but didn't communicate this until much later.

Au pairing was an unforgettable life experience. It might feel like a step into the unknown, but there's plenty of help available, and hey... its all part of the fun.

I went to Cordoba for 2 months during the summer as an au pair. It was an amazing experience, Ana was so helpful and kind before and I was so lucky to have been given an amazing host family with great parents and kids who I enjoyed hanging out with even on my off days! I made some great friends in Cordoba but also throughout Andalousia, the majority being other au pairs I met thanks to the au pair directly Ana gave us. I always felt safe and I had a great time! I highly recommend it if you want to travel 😃

I had a wonderful time au pairing in Madrid over the summer with a lovely family. It was a great way to improve my Spanish and have a more authentic cultural exchange. The family I stayed with were very welcoming and Ana was very supportive and regularly made sure I was doing well. I had plenty of time off from childcare to explore the city and travelled a bit around Spain when the family were on vacation. If you like kids and want to improve your Spanish this is a great affordable way to do that!

Overall, I enjoyed my time living in A Coruña and getting to experience the culture and language. I got to meet other Au Pairs, meet native Spanish speakers, and explore the country. This opportunity made it so that I could experience everything I've learned about in my university. It was the perfect way to spend two months. I recommend especially for Americans who want to find an inexpensive way to leave the country and experience a way of life completely different than our own. In general, this was a really good experience.

This was an experience that I will remember forever! Ana was super helpful and patient with me during the onboarding process. It was quick to match with a family and the one that I was paired with really made my experience valuable. I wanted to travel during my gap year, but in a way that was not as temporary as visiting for a week or so. Being able to form my own little life in my town in Spain for an extended period of time is something that makes saying goodbye so hard! I have gained new family, friends, and a deep appreciation for people who seek new experiences and languages. This has inspired to continue learning Spanish, not only for my own benefit, but so that when I return, I can have more conversations with people here that mean so much to me now!

I had never been an Au Pair before nor travelled alone outside the UK. Thanks to Ana at Destino Idiomas I knew I was in safe hands and that if anything were to go wrong, I would be able to trust her throughout the process. She ensured that everything ran smoothly from the offset and during my stay by regularly checking up on both me and the host family.

I was so lucky with the family I was matched with, since I had applied so late for the summer season (around June) and I am still in contact with them months later! My host family were so kind and made sure I had experienced every depth of Galicia, from the food to the cities (Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Pontevedra) to the traditions and values. To supplement my day-to-day learning I also undertook spanish lessons 3x a week which I found to be very helpful in building my confidence and which also helped with the structure of my day.

It was a life changing experience and has helped my CV thanks to learned qualities such as independence, responsibility and emotional intelligence - not to mention the improvement in my confidence in speaking spanish. I would urge anyone who is thinking about applying to do it, however to also be prepared to overcome the inevitable challenges the experience brings with it.