Au Pair in France French Lessons Programs English Speakers Wanted!! Resources Useful Links

Testimonial - Au Pair in France

American in Montpellier

Rosalie Simonitch left Santa Rosa, California in the US at the end of August 2003 to embark on a new experience as an Au Pair in Montpellier. Rosalie spent 26 hours travelling in order to get to Montpellier and six of those hours were spent waiting for a connection in Houston, Texas. From there, she flew on to Paris and finally arrived in Montpellier.

She was met at Baggage Reclaim at Montpellier Airport by the family she has spent the last three months working for. Mum, Dad, two children and a visiting cousin. Rosalie's responsibilities have been as Nanny for the 11 year old daughter in the family, Mathilde. She has had to make sure that Mathilde's room was tidy and that her laundry was done as well as helping her with her homework and her English and picking her up from school. Rosalie also helped with meals and the tidying up afterwards as the whole family did.

We asked Rosalie what her worst and best times have been with her host family and here is what she said :

« I think the worst time would have to have been when I first arrived and was being shown round the house and having my areas of responsibility pointed out to me. I was still kind of culture shocked and was still trying to get to grips with the language so I missed some of the things that were being said to me and missed some of the instructions that were being given, so over the next few days, Madam would say, 'I thought I told you to do this or that' but when you are trying to take in so much at once it really is very confusing. »

« As for the best times, I think I would have to say Sundays. On Sundays, the family has an early dinner and then the kids plug microphones in to the radio and they sing and dance. The little boy plays the guitar and it is just a real family moment. »

We also asked Rosalie what she found the biggest differences were to her life at home :

« Cheese ! After every meal, the family has a cheese course, which we don't have in the States so when I arrived I was given an introduction to cheese and advised that to get the best from the flavour of the different cheeses and to be able to appreciate them better I should start with the lighter ones and work my way up to the stronger ones. That was an education ! »

Rosalie has been told about the Au Pair experience by a teacher of her's in school who had taken part in an Au Pair programme in Paris and who had really enjoyed it and recommended it to Rosalie. So Rosalie, interested in learning more about the French language and culture, got on the internet and started looking for information on being an Au Pair in France. Luckily for her she found the French American Center website and got the information she was looking for. The French American Center sent her all the information she needed, Rosalie filled out the forms, went along to the French Consulate and spent the day sorting out her Visa which was granted within half an hour and then started preparing to leave for France.

And now, three months later, it's all over and Rosalie is on her way home to California.

When asked to summarise her experience here in France and her plans for the future Rosalie said :

« It's been a great experience and I wish I could stay but I'm sure that I will come back because I really like the culture and the people. It's really great here! »

Says it all really!!

Other Testimonials