Au Pair Spotlight: 3 questions with au pairs in Hangzhou

1-Why did you choose to come to China as an au pair?

Nadja,from Fermany and stay in China has been in Hangzhou for nearly one year now. She told:" I was an au pair in the US before and I wanted to do again,but this time in a very different culture country,so I searched on Ins what kind of contry can I go to.I saw it's possible to do it in China. After I saw the videos and pictures,I really really wanted to come here and learn more about the culture and everything like through Ins I found."

2-What expectation did you have before coming to China and what's the difference after you are living here?

The USA aupair who living in Hangzhou 5 months, Cosette: "I definitely had quite a few expectations,because I've been to China as a tourist.but I found that coming to China as a tourist versus living here,even temporarily,is quite different.Specifically in with English,I think I expected a lot more people to speak English,because as a tourist,you're kind of surrounded by people who are trying to help you and they speak a lot of English. Whereas daily life here really not much and so it's been a very good challenge I think to try to really pick up the language and being able to use the things I couldn't use last time like 外卖 like delivering food Taobao（淘宝），all kinds of things. It just makes my experience so much more convenient,so much more fun.

3-Is there anything memorable or interesting moments about your interactions with your family?

Cosette：“ I've actually had an incredible time here.The past few months with my host family,they have been so kind so welcoming. My host kid,my little 小朋友 is very smart.She's very clever. And a funny memorable experience I had is over the Labor Day.I got to go to my host mom's hometown and she booked us on a fishing boat to go I thought to go look at fish.But turns out we were fishing with other crabs,I got to go down with all the fishermen and my host kid and my host mom and go through and sort through the fish and the crabs and the ship to figure out what we were going to eat for dinner that night. It was actually such a unique experience that I don't think I'm ever going to forget."

Wai, from Venezuela has been with her host family for six months now. She told ：”I'm so proud of my girl（my host kid）. Once, when she went out to attend an English event, someone asked her, "Are you a foreign child?" She replied, "No, I'm Chinese." The person continued, "Then are your parents British or American?" She said, "No, both my parents are Chinese." The person was shocked and asked, "Then why is your English so good at such a young age?" She confidently answered, "Because of my sister,Wai!" Wow! I was truly happy,I felt like I had witnessed her growth. When I leave, I'll miss her so much. I opened my phone and saw it filled with videos of us together; I know I'll watch them often."