Program Reviews

This is my first time going abroad on my own. In addition it is for 3 months, and I am a month in already. I met some great new people and made new friends as well. Future participants will get a unique experience no one will have the same exact experience.
So far my favourite experience is when my friends and I went to explore a shop. We had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs.
I believe this is a great opportunity to see and experience a different language and culture. This program offers a chance to meet people and make new lifelong friends.

It has been a great experience. I always wanted to go to Asia and thanks to lopair I could make it. It’s the easiest, cheapest and funniest way to stay longer, to study Chinese and to get connected to this different and special culture. I totally recommend it, in particular cause lopair staff is really helpful and supports you every time you need. I also got very lucky with my family— I was a family member for them and I travel a lot with them.

I really liked my six months in Beijing as an Au Pair. It was a great experience that made me grow as a person and I became much more independent and sure of my choices. I had a lot of fun with my host children and there are several moments that made me extremely happy and grateful but if course there were also very challenging days that requires a lot of self assurance. I really enjoyed learning Chinese and getting to know the Chinese Culture

My experience as an aupair in China was great! My host family was extremely nice to me and took me on trips with them. We went to Sanya, Beijing, their hometown, etc. I spent 6 months in the amazing city of Shanghai and met so many people from all over the world. My host kid was super well behaved and so sweet. I also loved the family dog! With this agency you are required to work 30 hours a week and you're supposed to get 1 day and a half off. You're also supposed to get one weekend off every month. Those things are written on the contract and you are entitled to it. If you do not remind your host family of those things, they will ignore it. Know your contract, and also make sure that you make it clear with your host family that you want a schedule or not you'll end up working odd hours and being called in on your day off. Lucky for me my family respected the contract. I do recommend this agency because compared to other agencies in China it's top notch.

The last six months of my life has been a truly momentous experience. The Lopair program provides the opportunity to travel, be truly submerged into the Chinese culture and make unique, life long connections and memories. Living with a host family allows a experience that can't be replicated in a hotel. And living with them for six months, most surely makes them family. The program also provides additional opportunities, like the fact that you learn Mandarin at an official language school.

My personal experience with LoPair has been okay. But the fact that I already knew the Italian family that I have been staying with here in Shanghai means that I have not been using the support system that LoPair offers you and therefore do not feel like I can review it.

As an au pair you are signed up at a mandarin school where you take language classes, that are mandatory, and you are also supposed to have cultural classes. Unfortunately I have not been able to attend the cultural classes sense we didn’t get more then one weeks notice about when these would be held. I gave this feedback to the company so hopefully it will change.

One thing to keep in mind if you want to come to China for an exchange is that usually it’s a big cultural difference between the au pair and the Chinese family so don’t be afraid to ask if you can be put in contact with one or two people that has already been here so you can get a better insight.

I spent 6 months in Shanghai starting in November. It has honestly been one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. The family I got matched with have been absolutely fantastic. Obviously there have been some huge differences between our cultures but they were fantastic and enjoying hearing the differences in culture and expectations. The mandarin has been difficult to learn but my teacher was wonderful and helped every step of the way. I've heard other people have had bad experiences but nothing of my time here has been anything less than great. (Also the family took me with them on their holidays so I got to travel beyond Shanghai, beyond the tourist facade)

Excellent! A very fun and inclusive way to really experience a different culture. Hangzhou is a beautiful city and lots of interesting touristy things to do on days off. West lake at sunset is a must! The food is great and my family have been good at introducing me to a wide range of cuisine. The culture class is a great oppurtinity to meet up with the other au pairs and enjoy chinese culture together. Travelling in China is also relatively easy and cheap with high speed rail links between most major cities.

As I started I didn`t know what i should expect. A new country, a new culture, a new family, a new home. I had to take care of 2 boys in the age of 3 and 5. As soon as I arrived in Shanghai, I was a part of the family. They often took me to different places, showed me the city and intruduced me to the chinese lifestyle. If there were any problems, I could easily talk to my Host-parents or my Local Coordinator about it. Especially the first oriantation days were really helpfull to get a view on how my life looks like for the next 6 months. The most important thing with chinese kids is to be patient! If you are patient enough and get through the first month, you will also easily get through the rest.
I can totally recommend this programm to everybody who wants to learn more about the chinese culture, the language, the food and likes to play and work with children!

If you are child-loving, eager to experience a different culture and are interested in learning China, this program is excactely the right one for you. As every other aupair I also had some cultural shocks at the beginning even though I was already aware of cultural differences! However the cultural differences are sometime quite helpful to experience Chinese lifestyle.... From my point of view I can just say that it was a wonderful time and I enjoyed myself a lot. I had a wonderful time with my second host family - they were just the perfect fit! Playing games with children, read books to them and simply teach them English - that’s basically what aupairing in Chinese families is about... Of course you will also experience Chinese lifestyle, food and culture when living together with your family ;). But you should now that being an aupair is a “serious job” and it’s not about partying! If you’re looking for this, then this is the wrong choice to make... But I guess you already know that! Just be open-minded and try to integrate into the Chinese family, then the experience might be the best one of your life!!! Looking back I cannot say I regret my decision to come to Shanghai: It’s a great town for sightseeing, for learning Mandarin at Mandarin House (especially learning this unique language made my aupair in China a fantastic experience) , meeting new friends (Chinese and expats) and meeting a fabulous host family!!! I will definitely miss mine and really hope they will visit me some day in Germany ✈️!!! That’s what your aupair is about: Taking a new family/ home into your heart and building up a lifelong lasting relationship with them❤️.