How can I au pair in France?

Anyone ever been an Au Pair in France?

• I'm thinking of becoming an Au Pair in France over this summer. I can speak only a little french but would like to improve it. I am hoping for anyone who has done it before to let ...show more

• Answer:

  It very much depends on where you go and what kind of person you are. The first thing is that you should go through a reliable agency so that if things go pear shape you have some back up. You must also be realistic and know that this is not a paid holiday. I was an au pair myself and was placed in a family where there was just one child, a little boy. My tasks consisted of getting him up in the morning taking him to school, running a few errands for his mother, do a little housework such as vacuuming and dusting, or a bit of ironing. I had to fetch him back from school, give him a light snack, supervise his homework, prepare things for the evening meal whilst my employer cooked dinner, load the dishwasher. I had plenty of time to study and was free to do what I pleased at the week-ends, either joining in family activities or doing my own thing.The family was friendly and pleasant and I stayed in touch with them for years afterwards. I learnt a lot of things and not just the language. I was part of a large family so I did not mind having to do a bit of housework as I was used to helping out at home, but another girl who came to evening classes had very serious problems because she thought that housework was demeaning and refused to hoover or do the washing up for her family. She did not like the food, which was very different to what she was used to, and spent a lot of time window shopping or meeting friends who spoke English, bringing them to the house whilst her employers were absent . She did not participate in family activities, not because she was not invited to but because she did not want to, and spent a lot of time in her room. She did not learn very much. When her employers discovered that she had invited friends into their house who had smoked and drunk alcohol, they asked the agency to replace her. So make sure that you go to a family that is suited to you and where you will fit in, and do not treat their house as a hotel or act as if it was your own house. Respect their home and do not abuse their hospitality. Muck in as much as you can and you really will make progress with the language.