Au Pair in France
Agnieszka, Polish
My trip as an Au Pair to France was one of the most spontaneous and unexpected decisions in my life and, as it turned out, also one of the ❱❱
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My trip as an Au Pair to France was one of the most spontaneous and unexpected decisions in my life and, as it turned out, also one of the best.
I never dreamed of visiting France, and I never learned French, until the day after opening an account on AuPair.com, a half-Polish family from the small Breton town of La Vraie Croix wrote to me. A quick exchange of messages, two video calls with a detailed exchange of information about myself and mutual expectations, and the decision was made that at the beginning of the holidays I would come to France for 3 months to take care of a 2.5-year-old child during his summer break at the nursery.
Each of our days followed a set ritual, i.e. after breakfast there was time for independent play, then together we engaged in more developing activities - artistic or physical. At 12, my host's father and I sat down for a meal, after which my little pupil took a nap. At that time, I did minor housework, such as washing up, vacuuming, ironing or washing windows, or I had time for myself. In the afternoon we returned to play together, usually until 4-5 p.m., when the parents returned from work. I had the evenings at my disposal, but the very good contact with the host family meant that we usually spent them together. Just like the weekends during which we sailed around the Bay of Morbihan and spent whole days on the beach. I also went on holiday with my host family twice, and I spent one week on my "vacation" visiting France.
When I left, I didn't know French and it wasn't necessary because my host father spoke Polish and I could talk to my host mother in English. After three months of stay, I became familiar with the language a bit and already understood basic phrases and words as well as the meaning of conversations held in French, despite that I did not attend a language course and all my knowledge came from everyday life and self-learning.
My story, due to the fact that I was abroad only for 3 months and also during the holidays, is slightly different from a standard trip as an Au Pair, but it does not mean that my experience is poorer because of it. I learned about the French lifestyle and language attitudes. I became more confident, independent and brave. I visited the northern part of France and Paris at a low cost. Finally, I met many wonderful people, especially the host family, i.e. two laid-back, funny and inspiring parents, their wonderful son, a polite, curious about the world, a sensitive and simply loved boy, and warm grandparents.
Going abroad for the holidays was a great decision that I certainly do not regret, and I will remember the time spent in beautiful Brittany with my great host family very well.
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