Program Reviews

I embarked on this six-month placement in China with the aim of having a relatively 'productive' gap year, improving my Chinese language skills and forging connections which might prove useful in the future.

With regard to these aims, the experience was very valuable. My Chinese came on in leaps and bounds thanks to a mostly Chinese-speaking home environment and the best Chinese teaching I've ever received. I also had a really good relationship with my host family (with one caveat that will be outlined below), and will be sure to stay in contact with them for a long time to come. Despite the bulk of my placement overlapping with restrictions due to the pandemic, I was able to see lots of China, taste lots of its food and overall have many unique experiences. Highlights include cupping therapy (definitely an acquired taste!), tongue-numbing Sichuan hotpot and the spectacular scenery of Guilin.

If not for the virus situation, that would definitely be my last word on the programme. However, the fact that our host children weren't attending school meant that myself and most other au pairs were working double the hours stated in our contracts, and I felt that the agency could have stressed more to the families that this was unfair. However, I'm sure that Lopair would have happily facilitated a change of family had I requested one, and the fact that I didn't reflects just how well I got on with my family in all other respects.The fact that I stayed in China, far from family in the middle of a pandemic and working longer hours than anticipated also attests to how great the programme was for my Chinese. I was willing to make some sacrifices in order to reap the benefits of a truly amazing environment for language-learning.

Another nice bonus was making some life-long friendships while out there. I would definitely recommend the programme, though obviously it depends what your goals are at the outset.

When I arrived in China I was really happy but worried. How will the first days going?

But actually it was good. More than good. The other Aupairs (the german ones mostly) are my friends until now. Everyone was so nice and we had the greatest days at the orientation at Lopair.

The people from Lopair are so great. I love them all. Maybe someday I want to work for this kind of company. It seems great to me.
After we all went to our Host families I finally realize I was the only Aupair in Hangzhou. It was hard to know the other Aupairs who already where in Hangzhou for months because they’re already built groups and it’s difficult to fit in and get into it.

So my first weeks I’ve stayed with my family. Aiden and Alayne are my siblings. We’re not siblings by blood but I feel the connection between us. I love them. Really. My host parents are the most lovable parents that you can get. I‘m really lucky that I found a place that I can call home. I can’t never thank them enough to be such a kind and loving family.
I never had problems with my family, I heard from some of the other Aupairs that they changed families but I‘m really thankful that I‘ve been here.

The most I‘m thankful for is Yvonne and Jane. This two girls made me feel happy and helped me alot these days.

It started of well but after the first month me and almost every single other aupair had severe communication problems as they never did anything but send a WeChat message to the families if anything occurred always in their defence as the family pays 20,000¥ per month (£2000) and we only get paid 1,500¥ (£150) per month so if you sign up you are completely expendable to them.

I won't mention any of the other aupairs problems but in my situation my host family decided to move to a different part of China due to an ill family member endgame me 12 hours notice for me to decide if I wanted to come or not. If I left Lopair told me I wouldn't receive my language classes so I decided to switch families. When I told Lopair my decision they took a while to respond but they told didn't have a family for me and that I would have to wait for a new one.

What they failed to mention in their website is that they provide no accommodation or aid while I'm waiting for a new family. THEY LEFT ME HOMELESS IN BEIJING FOR OVER A WEEK! Due to our extremely low pay rate I had no money for an airbnb but I luckily met some people who said I could sleep in their apartment for a few nights. if that hadn't happened then I would've been sleeping on the streets.

If that wasn't enough they also charged me 300¥ because I left 3/4 through the month so I didn't complete that month of work which took away all of the money I had for food.

And of course THE WORST PART. I left at the and of January while the Corona virus was really bad. Because of this reason my host family didn't want to continue having me teach the children incase I gave them the virus so I contacted Lopair to get a new family, they said that they weren't accepting new families because of the virus and told me I HAD to fly home. I understood that so I asked when my flight left and they said that they wouldn't book my flight unless I paid them 3000¥ because they weren't accepting flights PLUS a number of different charges which weren't listed in our contract!!!

They did this to almost every single aupair and since it was 2 months of our salary none of us could afford it! A lot of my German friends got evacuated by their government and because the charges amounted to thousands of Yuan I begged my parents to buy me a flight home and I could pay them back for it when I start work again at home. Some of my friends from South America were stranded in China after I left trying to scrape together the money to get home.

This company does not provide any support to aupairs whatsoever and will only try to extort you for even more money. I would encourage you to look at other companies as a lot of them take excellent care of you but don't go with LoPair for your own safety, thank you

My expirience has been great as an au pair in China . It has thought me a lot and made me grow as a person.
the culture and everything is so different. The people and the manners too. You can deffenetly learn a lot.
To my surprise after six months in China, I dont want to go home yet.
If you are thinking about being an au pair in your gap year, I would say China is a different and exiting opportunity to choose. Besides the long, old culture you will also gain knowledge into the Chinese language.

My experience as an au pair in Shanghai was awesome! I'm about to complete my 6 months program and I will extend for 4 more. My host family is the best I could've wish for. They helped me settle in and they made me part of the family! I have a great relationship with my host kids and we always do something fun together.
The mandarin classes were really cool with an awesome teacher. I came here that I didn't know anything of the language and I have improved a lot through hard work.
Lo pair staff is also very friendly and they always answered all my questions very quickly.
I would totally recommend this experience, it's a great opportunity to explore a country and a culture that's so different from what we are used to and it allows you to grow a lot as a person.

I've been an Au Pair in Shanghai with Lo Pair for soon six month, I live a wonderful experience here. This is mainly due to the fact that my host family give me a lot of free time which enable me to meet a lot of friends and became fluent in Chinese ( I had a beginner level when I arrive and I can now speak normally). I think that the most important is that those six months really gave me an other vision of the world. The family part is important but it's thanks to my friends that I get to see what was the normal life of a young people here.

Spending 6 month in China was such a great experience. LoPair did a great job and the support was always good. Living in such a big city was a great experience and I’ll never forget that. Teaching a Chinese child is very interesting because you’ll always see the improvement after that time. Beside that I always enjoyed the Chinese lessons and I think that it was useful for me to learn such a different and interesting language. I’m very thankful for everything I’ve experienced and would always recommend the program. Thank you!

Of you want to learn about Chinese culture and language than this is your program! LoPair provides good families and a very good support to make this a great experience. You will learn about Chinese traditions, language, food, music, values and beliefs. In terms of helping with communication or cultural differences LoPair is always there to help!! Also they arrange cultural events every month which makes it very easy to connect with other people in China and at the same time you are learning more about Chinese culture. In addition you will have Chinese Language lessons to learn how to speak Chinese and learn about the Chinese characters so you will be able to gain Chinese language skills. Choose LoPair to make the most out of your time abroad.

Arriving in China from a western country is a big culture shock. LoPair are great in helping you in the first few days. You go though orientation and make firm friends with aupairs! I was unlucky with my first host family and had to leave for another (who were great!). My advice is choose wisely and be picky! Also keep up a constant contact before you fly out.
Once settled, I loved my time there! It's very interesting, living in a chinise home and eating their food and living their life firsthand! LoPair work hard to create a community and I made some great friends out there. We explored the city together and had chinise and cultural classes, this is a huge bonus and stops you feeling isolated. We could share our experiences and bond over how different life was. Overall, I'd recommend thoroughly!

I would say that my personal experience with this program in China was mainly just okay. Living with one host family for 6 weeks can get a little difficult sometimes. My host family had two daughters and the youngest daughter was definitely not easy to live with due to her behavior a lot of the times, which made it hard for me to enjoy being an au pair for the family. Additionally, due to how much time you are required to spend in the home and tutor English (and sometimes for children that are more on the defiant side), it can affect your enthusiasm and how much effort you put into tutoring really quickly. At least that was the case for me. Although, my host parents were very easy going and did not put too much pressure on me to rapidly improve their children's English which made my time in their home a little more bearable. They also covered all of my meals, room and board, etc. whenever I was with them (including when they took me along on their family trips) so I am really appreciative of that. I wasn't able to explore China as much as I had hoped but I'm still thankful for all that I did get to see and do. Overall, my experience with this program was okay although I wouldn't do it again. However, anyone interested in going to China can definitely give this program a try because everyone's experience is different.

Note: the lopair staff are extremely responsive and great at assisting you if you have any questions or concerns. Kerry is really helpful with giving you advice on English tutoring and our group's local coordinator Yvonne always tried her best to help you if you encountered any struggles with the family or anything.