An Experience of a Lifetime!

My experience as an Au Pair in China has completely changed my life in terms of academics and personal growth. The full immersion into Chinese culture cannot be understood until it is experienced and has provided me with the insight useful for my career goals. As an international business student, the Chinese economy is extremely appealing at the moment and now I have the extra knowledge most of my fellow peers do not. I spent most of my days teaching the children basic words and action words, playing games and creating games that would help them learn English without realizing they were learning. The mandarin classes were very helpful in getting around the country when traveling on my own. I got the chance to travel all over the country and my host family even took me to Malaysia. Since doing this exchange I have returned to Hong Kong to study and I have kept in touch with my host family. I will go and visit them very soon and I know I have made friends for life. I did go through culture shock, but I learned to embrace it and learn from it. Many people struggle with the overwhelming amount of culture shock associated with the au pairing experience, however, it is important to continue on because it gets much better and you end up with an experience that changes the way you see the world. I would recommend and exchange like this to any student looking to learn more about asian culture and seeking a character building experience.