A great experience I would like to repeat!

In 2005 I was looking for a job in Spain, I didn't find anything, so someone told me about going as au pair to some English speaking country because I love English and I wanted to improve my level of that language. So I looked in the website and found "AuPairWorld".

Difficult to choose the most suitable family

I left my place and the following day I had got, at least, seven emails. All the families I found looked really nice, so it was difficult for me to choose the most suitable for me, but I knew (and I still know) I did the best decision ever. At the beginning, I wasn't sure about going to a different place with people you have never met, but the different e-ails and conversations I had with the family made me to feel I would be perfectly well.

I arrived on St. Patrick's Day

I remember those first emails: My English was so bad, and I couldn't find a good and cheap day to go over Ireland (I finally chose an Irish family), so almost everyday, I said a different day to the family, until I found the cheapest day and I gave them the final answer: The 17th of March (St. Patrick's Day). It is funny to think that day was the cheapest one around, but it was. I didn't know it was the Ireland's greatest day. I bought a fantastic information book about Ireland, and I found it out then.

One month later, I was in Ireland with what I call my second family: They were very nice to me, they heard and listened all my likes and dislikes. I took care of the children, but they also took a good care of me. At the beginning, my own Spanish family wasn't very happy with the idea of me going to a foreign country (I'm the youngest in my family, and I was only 22 years old by then), but they found soon I was with a good family, and they knew I had made a good choice, so they felt quiet about that.

My host family allowed me to study

The first flight was quite long, as I had to fly from my city to London, and then, the following day, from London to Dublin, and then, the family picked me up in the airport to their house; but they let me to rest, which was really good. The next day, the lady explained me the routines, and I it was quite difficult for me to understand some of them (my level of English was really bad), but she was patient and she explained me until I had understood. I didn't have to do so many things: basically, to take care of the baby and the girls when they came from school and some light housework. I was studying and the Lady always said I could study, that I didn't have to work so much.

I like discovering Dublin

During the rest of my free time (on weekends), I usually went out to meet friends, or I went to Dublin to know the city. I come from a very small village, and although Dublin is a small and easy to know city, it took me a long time to know it, it was really funny every time I had to take the bus, I expended a long time looking for the bus station; very funny once I was living in Dublin and I walked through it almost everyday! I went out sometimes with the familiy, everytime they went out, but they were a very busy family and they never had time for themselves.

As I have already said, my level of English was quite poor and I couldn't effort paying for English Language classes, so we both (the family and me) hat to make a big effort to be able to make be understood by each other; they were really patient with me. Fortunately, I improved my English level a lot thanks to them, and then, I was able to be hired in a job in Dublin.

I stayed in Ireland for two and a half years

I loved my time with the baby and the girls, they were really funny, and the baby was so lovely and taught me so many things. It wasn't easy, of course, because it is very hard. But children are like that, you might be angry with them because they don't want to do something, and one second later, you are kissing and loving them because they smile to you for anything. I love working with all kind of children, but those children will be always so special. During my time in Ireland (I was two years and a half finally), I visited them many times, (once of them I went with my parents), and we are still in touch, I love them.

One of the greatest experiences in my life!

Now, as I am in the exactly same situation as I was 6 years ago (looking for a job) and as it was one of the greatest experiences in my life. I want to repeat it again, I want to go to live and work with a lovely family and lovely kids, I know they will fill me with lots of smiles.