Hola a todos! I just joined today. I have decided to pursue my dream of becoming fluent in Spanish and my first MAJOR step on this journey is a 3-month stint in Madrid (starting in early July...6 weeks away!!). Considering my goals and my financial constraints, I have opted for the Au Pair route which places me with a family in Madrid (I'm a 25-year-old female by the way) I help with the children (babysitting, their English-speaking skills, day-to-day activities) for approximately 25 hours per week (5 hours each weekday). Included with the fee I pay are full room & board, two weeks of language courses (further studies are at my additional expense), and I receive a stipend. If anyone has any advice on this sort of arrangement (similar experiences, advice/tips,...HORROR STORIES!! ) please feel free to share. Thanks a bunch.

Wait a minute. You PAY *and* you work? Wow. I have to admit, I have no experience with au pairs in Spain, but is the tuition so expensive (room and board does add up, I guess) that it works out in the end? Just wondering...

Hey Picara...I know, it may seem fishy that I pay and I work. But according to my calculations, it works out ok (I think). When I factor in the money I pay, the room and board, the classes I'll be taking and the stipend I get, in the end, I'm paying a net of about US $440 plus my time with the kids and getting 3 months room and board and the two weeks immersion classes. I must admit it's a sweet deal for the agency that I pay, but I figure it's not too bad a deal for me too, I think I would have needed to shell out a lot more cash any other way. I spoke with the girl that Au Paired with the same family last year and she said they are wonderful people and very flexible, so I'm hoping for the best. Thanks for your response. Let me know if you have any other ideas/questions/suggestions. I'll be in Madrid on July 4th!!!!!!

Hiya again! It sounds like it works out, which is great; thanks for explaining the situation a bit. I'm interested in part b/c I have a 2 yr old (we've been in Madrid for a year) and, since we're returning to New Mexico in July, we had tried to find someone who would come back with us, act as au pair, speak even more Spanish to the little guy. We didn't search through all possible venues, so it didn't work out. Guess we'll have to be the ones who use Spanish at home! That's ok with me. It's my hubby who's nervous about it.

About Madrid. Most of all, it will be HOT when you get here, so be prepared for it. You will love the nightlife and the people. It's a terrific city.

And here's a totally unsolicited teacher-like suggestion (I plead guilty--I teach Spanish at our local university): use Spanish as much as possible while you're here. Don't be afraid. People will not laugh, mock, or point. They will be happy you're trying. And the kids you take care of will get a big kick out of your errors. When little kids learn language, they take the errors and make them into jokes (example: my kid walks into the room and says, "mamita guapa!" I said, of course, "gracias" and then he turns around says, "nooooo. mamita guapo!" and bursts out laughing.). OK, enough of the teacher hat. Just have fun.

hasta pronto,
picara

Thanks so much for your advice. I know...it will take some self-confidence but I will try to dig right into my Spanish. Even now when I am speaking with my spanish-speaking friends, most times they speak in Spanish and I respond in English (except for some Spanish phrases) because I am so unsure of my grammar etc. But I'm hoping that I'm forced to overcome that. As for the heat...quite frankly, I'm getting a little scared I've been warned so many times about this "unbearable" heat. At first I shrugged it off boasting that I was raised in el Caribe but my blood must've been thinned out by 1 too many Canadian winters because these days, 30 degrees celsius can be too much for me!! I'll be fine...my goal is to find myself at the beach (however time-consuming that may be) as often as humanly possible. I hope to visit Barcelona a lot as I've heard such wonderful things. I know that that's a long trip....can you suggest any bodies of water that are closer to Madrid?

Good luck with your move back to the U.S. (how soon?) Here's to a smooth transition for myself and your family

Bodies of water near Madrid... hmmmm. How about the lake in the Retiro???

No, seriously, I'm not the best person to ask; we haven't travelled around half as much as we'd like to cause of the enano. I couldn't even tell you what the closest beach is, although the Valencia beaches are very nice. Unfortunately Barcelona isn't on an AVE line yet (high speed train), so it's a long trip from Madrid (6 hours I think).

you know what? it's not so much that Madrid is hot. It's that most apartments don't have air conditioning. So, 40 degrees starts to wear on you.

We go back to NM the 20th of July. Sigh. I don't even want to think about it.

picara

Hello Trini, I don't know what you mean exactly with bodies of water.
There are some council pools all around the city, where you can spend the whole day by 3€ or something like that. Then you have some natural pools made on the rivers in the mountains. The closest one I think is in la Pedriza, 30 minutes by car from Madrid

I guess I'm still in denial about the fact that I'm going to be so far from the ocean so I was 'grasping at straws' by asking about the nearest bodies of water. I've never been a big "pool" person, so I guess I'm going to have to make the 6 hour train ride to Barcelona as often as my budget and schedule will allow. Miguelito...the natural pools sound nice enough...thanks, I'll look into that. Well, I'll be in Spain for at least 3 months, so I can make an adventure out of trying to find as many lovely beaches as I can. Which other cities besides Barcelona should I get to (without having to travel all day) to find nice beaches?

Oops...just realized that this is in the "Working" section of the Message Board. Speaks volumes about where my head is really at that I start off asking about Au Pairing and end up talking about beaches!!!

Barcelona is a fine city, but if you are looking for the nearest beach remember Valencia. I think in the fast train (I can´t remember the name) the trip between Madrid and Valencia is about 3.5 Hours. You´ll save a few hours, even by bus I believe it is nearly 2 hours closer than Barcelona. When in Valenica, be sure to try some Cava Valenciana with your paella. Yummy!!