LoPair Au Pair China: Learn. Care. Explore.

I've been in Beijing for a little over 5 months now and my 6 month stay will soon come to an end. I don't want to leave yet because there is still so much I want to do. I have enjoyed my new lifestyle and daily routine that I have perfected. I've been lucky to have been placed with a host family in Beijing. The city really has a lot to offer, it is beautiful, and such a great place to make friends. My stay with a host family where I teach their four year old boy has really been a new and enriching experience for me. It gave me the opportunity to build such a great relationship with my host kid as I taught and played with him. About 9 months ago, I looked into this program and thought it would be the best way for me to travel, learn a language and culture. The process was very quick and easy that before I knew it I was having interviews with host families and then all of a sudden I found myself on a plane flying to China. I've gone a long way in a short period of time and I'm glad that I went through LoPair because it is great program! They provided us with orientation from the first day of our arrival which was a very helpful transition into being an au pair. My local coordinator was absolutely amazing, easy to talk to, and so much help. Also, I gained amazing memories and friendships that I will forever cherish. From this experience I also learned more about myself and developed as a person. By being part of such a unique culture, immersing myself, learning the language, and teaching a language has made me realize that China, specially Beijing will be a place that I will find myself coming back to....very soon.

I am for 6 months in China. My boys are 1 and 5 years old. And the beginn of my half year in China they were shy and didn't want to do anything with me. But after some weeks they realize I am not their teacher. I am their sister. And it is amazing to become a part of a new family. I see the boys how they grow up and learn a new language. They can communicate with me.
In the evening we watch tv and it feels like a real brother-sister relationship.

My best moment was when the one year old boy his first English word said. "Purple".

Living in China is an adventure! Everything is completely different from home! I am so happy to have chosen this program, it is great, I think all the family are chose really good and really accurately by lopair ! All the stuff help you step by step, the orientation is a good beginning for understanding the life here in China and to let us know more about chinese people! Lopair program gives you the opportunity to get close to the china culture! I learnt so much about China, the food is amazing, the people are always super nice and having the opportunity to learn chinese is always fun and interesting!! I really suggest this project!! Just do it don't be afraid China has so much to give to foreigners!!!

I had been aupair in China from January 2016 till July2017. I loved every single day of my stay. I had been completely happy with my experience and I was extremely sad when it came to a end.
Being in China helped me not only to learn more about an amazing culture, but also to lore more about my self. I did incredible things and had amazing adventures. I saw beautiful places and meet people that I can call friends for all my life on.
I had a great time with my host family, with whom I still talk at least once per week, and I miss a lot my little monkeys, my two little host brothers. They really made me feel part of their family and I am really thankful for all the good things they shared with me. It had been an honor to be their aupair, and they still make me fell really loved when they say that is so hard for them to had an aupair after me because we were really the best match both of us could ask for.
I learned a lot about Chinese culture and Chinese language during school lessons, I had a great and funny teacher that pushed me in the right way and make me learn the most in my short stay, and I am so happy because now when I meet a Chinese person I can have a basic conversation with them and I am still studying the language because she made me love it.
I really hope to able to come back to Beijing one day, see my wonderful host family and all the friends I left behind.
As I said leaving had been really hard for me, I was really sad. That's why when LoPair offered me the job as OR I Italy I couldn't believe my luck. I miss be in China, but be here to help people have an adventure as good as the one I had make me really happy. I start to be happy in China and I am still as happy heling people go there as aupairs.
Thank you LoPair to let my happiness never end.
BE an aupair in China is not easy, is not for everybody, but if you have a big heart and you are open-minded, China can give you so much. It is worthed every second, and you will never forget your time there.

I was an au pair with LoPair from January-July 2014 and my experience changed my life. I gained perspective on a whole new level through my experiences in China, all thanks to LoPair and their amazing staff. They became like family. I made an incredible bond with my former host family and still continue to be in contact with them until today. We visit each other every year and the children will forever be my little brother and sister. Now, I am happily recruiting my other classmates and friends who are interested in a once-in-a-lifetime journey, like au pairing in China. Highly recommended!!

My host family are amazing! They've made things so convenient for me. We recently went ziplining and mountain climbing, and that was so significant for me, cause it helped me confront my fear of heights. I've had loads of fun, and really bonded with them, and I'm dreading to leave. China is Amazing. The beauty of its lakes and mountains always seem to leave me in awe. An amazing opportunity. I would definitely do it again.

I've always wanted to go to China. Since I was a little child I've been interested in China, it's culture and history. So becoming an Au Pair, living with a host family, was the best decision I've ever made.

China is complete diffrent from any western countries. But the people here are so friendly and I am happy that I matched with my wonderful hostfamiles.

I spent the first 6 months in Hangzhou. My host sisters were adorable children although, especially the little one in the very beginnging, were sometimes naughty. And I wished her older sister would have been more motivated learning English. She hated Englis and couldn't speak any English words although she had learned it for two years at school. But they both learned while having fun. At least words hey liked like puppy, cute and beautiful. We had lots of fun and many things in common.
Alice, 12 years old, also loved to draw, so we often drew on her blackboard. I loved it when she told her 'dog stories'. She gestured all of the time because she didn't know how to express herself. In the end of the 6 months she tried to speak as much English as she could and even translated for her grandma (But she still said: 'Grandma shuō' instead of 'grandma said') and didn't hate English any more.
Connie, 4 years old, was the more active learner and loved to Play 'puppy' and bulding tents with the curtains. She also loved to draw and write her name in English (always in the wrong order, no matter how often I corrected her) and simple words like 'cat'. We sang a lot of Disney songs like 'Let it Go' and 'Be A Man'.
My host parents and I got very well along. My host mum and I chatted a lot and she always had to translate for her husband and her parents.

When I look now at the photos they make me cry and laugh (especially our selfies) at the same time because I miss them so much. They became a second family

I loved to Explorer Hangzhou and the nearby cities with my friends and my host family.

I extended 6 more months with another family in Shenzhen. Form the very beginnging I wanted to extend nd I'm glad that it worked.

My current host family has two Boys. Both speak very good English although they're still in primary School. When I arrvied at Shenzhen Airport my host brothers welcomed me with Posters they wrote and they even wrote it in German, my mother tongue. The first Thing they told me in the car was that they fight often. And they do. They even fought about who can show me which room of their flat first.
Henry, 8 years old, always thinks he has to correct my pronunciation because he learns American English at School and I speak British English. He can be very stubborn and whe he's in a bad mood he avoids me. But when he's in a good mood he is so funny, likes to Play games with English words, Ludo and creating Power Point presentations.
Terry, 6 years old, loves to planes, Lego (currently we build about one new Lego set per week) and he loves to ride his bike very fast. He often daydreams and writes Chinese characters in the air when he actually should eat his meals or listen to what the adults saying.
Terry loves to teach me Chinese words and Henry's always surpised when I understand them talking in Chinese. When Henry and I Walking in the park we often have good talks.
All of my host family members are very nice. I played badminton with my host mum and often try to speak with the Ayi in Chinese.

I have now three months left but already know that I will also miss them very much. Especially the kids hugs.
And I hope I can keep in touch with them for a very long time.

When I arrived to China as an au pair, it wasn’t my first time in the country. I had been a student there for a semester already (although in a different city) and I felt like I hadn’t established…a real relationship with the country, if you know what I mean. As a foreign languages student, I also wanted to improve my language skills, which I wasn’t very satisfied with. Mandarin students out there, I’m writing this for you: towards the end of my program, Chinese people I met for the first time would ask me how many years I had been in China! Lopair’s program helped me develop not only much better language skills (my Chinese teacher was just AWESOME, one of the best teachers I ever had!), but also the skills to talk to Chinese people. I understood so much more about Chinese culture and society and, combining that with the language, I feel like I achieved a much more complete knowledge of China. My host family helped me a lot with that: every one of them, from my Chinese mom to the family nanny, was patient enough to answer my many, many questions (“What’s in that dish? What’s that guy doing exactly? Is that a traditional character? Can you SERIOUSLY buy all that stuff on Taobao?”) and they never missed a chance to point interesting things out for me. We also travelled together to parts of China that I would have never seen by myself, which was amazing.
Obviously, this doesn’t mean that everything’s going to come super easy. Chinese culture is very different from Western cultures, and it does require an open mind and a lot of flexibility and patience. What they say about Chinese children being spoiled is true most of the time, so expect to be baffled by parent’s and relatives’ behavior sometimes, and just bear in mind that you were raised in a different education system. Chinese people also tend to make decisions very quickly and to give you very little notice for either eating out that night or taking a two week trip to Korea the next day, which can be unsettling, but just until you get used to it. China has made me a much, much more flexible person and I also have to say, Lopair did a great job at preparing me and fellow au pairs for these and other situations at the arrival orientation camp. They have a good perspective of what Westerners find strange and they really give you priceless tips to handle your family life, your host kids’ tantrums and potential culture shocks at your best. For example, having minor control issues (before my program!), I found it very reassuring to get a detailed explanation of how culture shock works, so that when it happened, I knew it was just a phase and didn’t freak out.
My time in China really made me a better person, not even mentioning how nice it looks on my resume. I would most definitely recommend this experience, and if you’re undecided about which agency to choose (as I was, because of the aforementioned control issues), I’d definitely say go with Lopair. They take their job and your safety seriously, and if I had the option to go back, I’d do the same thing for sure!