Program Reviews

Aupairia was a good company to work with. Overall, most things involving the company went smoothly including arranging family placement, travel plans and required documents. The company arranged culture classes and language classes that were helpful for their intended purpose, and also were a nice opportunity to meet and spend time with other Au Pairs. I greatly enjoyed the opportunities I had on my day off each week to see the sites around Beijing and several other locations in China. I felt that the parents of my host family treated me very well in all aspects, including giving me a nice room to live in, good food, and bringing me along to family trips and other fun things.

Of course, the biggest part of being an Au Pair is spending time playing with and teaching the children of your host family. Overall, working with the kids wasn't too bad. I wasn't expected to be a super professional teacher or to provide an education for the child. Instead, the expectation of my host family was that I essentially provide an immersive language and culture environment for their host children. By and large, this wasn't too hard, and was sometimes enjoyable. However, especially on the weekends where I'd often be expected to spend more than eight hours a day with the host children, spending time with the host children could begin to feel very difficult because of communication difficulties (the host children in my family only have extremely basic English speaking and comprehension ability) and also because of trying to discipline and control children who are being raised very differently than I was, both in terms of culture and economics. I also struggled with finding any personal time- any time I was at home but not scheduled to work, I felt like I had to hide from the host children because if they saw me it was very hard to tell them "no, I'm not working right now."

Overall, I'd recommend this company, and I had a very good experience, but being with the kids could certainly be challenging at times. I'd recommend anyone considering this type of program remember that they'll be spending most of their time with the children and to reflect on how they'll feel about that.

This has been a pretty sick 6 months. However I don't think anything I read online could have truly made me understand what this experience looked like.

I felt a bit thrown into the deep end. I didn't fully understand what I would need to do on a day to day basis to care for this families children and to fit in, however things usually work out happily if you and the family both approach with an openness to compromise. The family who hosted me were so generous to me, and always sought to make my experience in China a happy one, I'm super thankful for the role they played in my time here. That said time with kids can really tire me out, it's not always easy. ^^

Apart from the family, the people who I met be it other au pairs or random connections that you begin to develop made this experience truly special. I'll never forget the people I got to experience this country with in my free time.

A lot of au pairs sympathize together, your free time with aupairia will never be as free as it could be. Because of this you sometimes feel a bit trapped with the range of things you might be able to do, especially depending on the remoteness of the host family. Despite the frequent desire for more freedom, I found the trade off worth while. As a first hand China visitor, the experience of being in a Chinese family's home was a privilege, and the chance to learn Mandarin and explore the city from a comfortable environment with the benefit of wisdom and administrative guidance from the company and family...I think it's a great way. Also as the company prides itself on, it's a mutually beneficial experience. You can have pride to see the ways your host kids grow up with you around as you have input into their lives.

Of course in the end it's the quality of your character, and also the character of the host family that may make or break this program for you. If you're patient and happy to interact with a diverse group of people, I think you'll have an okay time.

Aupairia gives you the opportunity of a lifetime to live in China for a relatively low price. They make an effort to match you with a host family that you will be able to learn and grow with. On top of ensuring a good home life, Aupairia provides many cultural activities and classes for aupairs to take part and learn about Chinese customs. They even take you to an amazing day trip where you will get to experience the beauty of the Great Wall of China.
You make friends from all around the world and have the unique pleasure of exploring Beijing in a group of awesome people with similar interests. You also get the opportunity to take Mandarin classes and can start from any level no matter your previous experience. Aupairia has built a great program with great people and experiences!

you should try 3 months and if you like it extend if not go home, for me it was hard to get use to some things and i think that for me 5 months were to long but i have try to take with me just the good things because whats the point on thinking in the bad ones, so i have met a lot of peple of different countries and i have been practicing my english so that reeally good for me. even though i think we do not have enough time or money to get to know more about china. i would be better if we get paid more or that the agency make some cultural activities in other towns near beijing to get to know a little more about them. also i think you as an agency that take us should try to get more serious when the aupairs have problems, try to give solutions.

It was an amazing experience. The host family was fabulous, very friendly and supportive. My favorite part was being able to travel with the host family, they took me all over China. I was able to get a lot of free time from the family so much so that I was able to train for an Ironman while I was on this incredible experience. The great part about this is it was practically free they paid for my flight over and they would've paid for my flight back, but I decided to do some more traveling. The staff at Aupairia are very kind and will help you if you ever have communication problems with the host family. I stayed with two family's while I was in China and Aupairia made the transition very smooth. Also the other aupairs you'll meet are very friendly.

I was very fortunate to have a fun and understanding family. The host mum was very considerate and opened with my experiences in Beijing, ensuring that I was given ample opportunity to explore and do what I wanted in the city. The duty schedule with the host child was organised between myself and the host child. However, this may differ among other families. We were set up with our main necessities - our mobile phone service and our transport ticket.

Furthermore my host mum also helped me setup my bank card which allowed to me use WeChat pay which made the transition into Beijing smoother. Overall, i would definitely recommend this program to anyone who would like to explore Beijing as a City, immerse themselves in the language of Mandarin and experience being part of a contemporary yet still have the traditional style of a Chinese family.

So having never traveled alone before, never having lived anywhere else except in my home country coming to stay in China as an Au pair for six months was quite a big leap for me. And it took me a while to settle in and feel comfortable as just the general culture shock just totally numbed me. But now that I am coming to the end it's been an absolutely incredible experience and I have gained so much experience and growth from it. I like to think I have changed in my way of thinking, my perspectives on the world and my life, and also I have learned so much about a different culture and a new language which I have managed to learned a lot in. It's a great experience as you get to explore a new city and travel but also get to live with a family who practice the traditions, who celebrate different festivals, who you can learn more about culture and lifestyle from. Overall, it's been just so amazing and I have no regrets getting involved.

The reason that I came to China was because I had nothing to do back home for 5 months and wanted to do something exciting, and that's exactly what I found. I had the opportunity to live with a local family, attend Chinese lessons, and do various activities with the company to learn more about the history and culture of China. This company has also been very proactive and is there to help every step of the way. Any time you have a question or need help, you can just message a staff member and they will get right back to you. The company also arranged for us to attend classes at the local university with students, which was an amazing opportunity to see how university is different in different countries. This was really a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm glad I chose this company.

Perhaps the highlight of my time here in China with Aupairia has been the astounding community feel that has come from being a group of students/young adults being thrown together in a largely unfamiliar country. All au pairs tend to get on very well, with lots of plans being made to visit one another in the years to come. Most of us also have good experiences with the company as well, with some good friendships forged between au pairs and staff (shoutout to Neil xoxo). Some characteristics of this programme, which I know to be at the very least rare among Chinese au pair agencies, which are particularly brilliant are the lessons in Mandarin Chinese at a well-known Chinese university in addition to cultural classes put on by both Aupairia and the university. Recent examples in April 2019 have included a trip to the Badaling section of the Great Wall as well as interestingly intense lessons in Chinese chess. These have all helped us au pairs to create closer community ties to one another as well as the company.

The company were very welcoming, and extremely helpful in helping to settle into China, and also with the preliminary application procedures. Candy was very helpful in the infamous Chinese visa application process - in fact, her help was invaluable. On arrival in China, we are well-cared for, with help setting up SIM cards etc. Then we are introduced in person to our host families.

My only complaint regarding Aupairia would likely be as a result of what I have heard from other au pair friends with Aupairia. Some have complained of unfairness when the company attempts to mediate between au pairs and families when disputes arise. However it must be noted that I myself have not encountered this, despite my host family deciding 5.5 months into a 6 month programme that my performance was unacceptable, and kicking me out. Quite the opposite in fact, Aupairia sorted me out a place to stay for the remaining two weeks at extremely short notice, and I ended up staying with the head of the company's (Tina's) delightful family.

Overall I have enjoyed my time in Beijing with Aupairia a lot, and I would recommend it looking to get some decent Chinese learning in! Just be careful which family you choose, of course, as you can never be too careful.

I had a really great experience with Aupairia! I lived with a Chinese family for 6 months and studied Mandarin. I really learned a lot about Beijing and China. I would love to do this program again!

I was worried about coming to China at first, but Candy and the other Aupairia staff made me feel welcomed and supported me through the process. My host family was also very welcoming and helped me feel at home. My host kids were very fun and a handful to deal with at first, but I got used to them shortly. The host mom was very easy going with my schedule and the grandma did everything to make my adjustment easier even though she didn't speak much English.

Studying Mandarin at BFSU was great! I especially enjoyed the cultural classes, where I learned a lot about Chinese ways and mannerisms. I learned a lot and made many friends through university. After class and during our free time we got to go out and explore the city as well as other parts of China. I got to visit major tourist sites as well as lesser known places. I came to know Beijing very well, and learned how to get around and communicate my needs.