Learning through Living Together – LoPair Au Pair China

I applied for a scholarship with Lopair For May 10th 2017 and was accepted. I get to China and the orientation in Hangzhou is fine and the staff seems friendly (except for the the owner. Seemed a bit like a jerk...) after my host family decided to get a new aupair after two weeks i had to stay in their home for a few weeks. I had a hard time contacting the coordinator about what happens next and when i asked the company i just got attitude. I ended up in a hostel i had to pay for and once again no support for the company or coordinator. I ended up going to a new host family in Hangzhou. When i arrived at the train station the coordinator wasn't their to meet them and i had to wait 3hrs to find and open wifi signal because i had to give my working phone back to the other family. Finally i get to the second family and everything seems fine until the kids starts hitting me. She hit me with a pool stick and a wooden pole. She would scratch me and dig her nails into me, stomp on my arm, punch me in the face, choke me, threaten to kill me, tried to push me down an escalator , tried to touch my privates, make racist comments ect. And she was only 6 so there wasn't much i could do but put my hand up to protect myself. I told the coordinator and was told to tell the mother, so i did (she and the kid could speak english very well). The mother didn't take it seriously and only thought of it as playing. And when it got worse i told the coordinator and mother again but they blamed me. I tried everything at this point so i decided i need to go to a new family or go home. I was told that if i leave those family i will have to go home because no families are available. Then all of a sudden the mother decided to end the contract after i asked multiple times to. So it put the blame on me and i had to pay compensation and had to go to shanghai alone for 18 days until my flight that my family had to pay for. Once again i was left alone by this company in a foreign country I've never been to. I also have a friend who was lied to about the living situation of the family she was sent to and had to leave because of the situation. She was basically tricked into a meeting with the owner, who then proceeded to basically make fun of her for crying. Then they wouldn't let her leave until she paid her compensation. This company is only good until things become difficult. They will be quick to throw you to the sharks to get you out of their hair in a rough situation or if you finish the program. I wouldn't recommend anyone taking the chance. There are other smaller companies but all my friends in the smaller companies had a lot less problems. Proceed with Lopair at your own risk.

Being an Au Pair in China has been the most amazing experience of my entire life! My Host Family has twins, two girls of 9 years old. Everyday we had so much fun, we usually woke up together, had breakfast and then prepared to go to school. During school time I had enough free time to enjoy the city, sometimes meet other au pairs, and have Chinese classes. My host mum was an housewife so many days she spent time with me and let me see so many different typical Chinese spots, China is definitely a fascinating country. After school we went to the Grandmother's house to have dinner. After dinner and their homework we had the 'English Time', we did role-plays, read books, sang songs, saw movies; I truly believe that learning by having fun is the most effective way for a child to pick up a new language. On weekends it was always a surprise! We did so many different trips, I am really thankful for everything that they did for me. They treated me like a family member, little by little the girls opened their hearts to me, they really became my little sisters, they were lovely and really sweet. Now that I'm back in my country I really miss them, we use Wechat to see each other and keep in touch. If you love children, have an open mind and are ready to discover an entire new world; being an au pair is perfect for you!

Actually I cannot believe, that I'm living in China for already 10 months now and sadly... I just have 1 month left in Ningbo with my amazing host family! Time can pass by very, very fast when you feel welcomed and comfortable. I really enjoy my Chinese life and can't imagine how it will be back in Germany, during my stay with a Chinese family and living in a Chinese city, learning more and more about culture and people and trying to improve my Chinese skills I must say, my attitude about different lifestyles and dealing with unfamiliar people changed a lot. I became more open and improved my self confidence! I'm really, really thankful to my host family for letting me become a part of their family and showing me how it is to live the Chinese way of life. For me living in Ningbo became very convenient, although the city isn't that big as usual Chinese cities are I'm still making some small adventures and exploring new places with my friends. Finding Chinese friends was also one of the best experiences I've made during my stay in China. Chinese people are most of the time very friendly and gentle and they're caring a lot about their friends to make sure they feel comfortable and happy. My Chinese friends showed me many fantastic places in and around Ningbo and KTV will always be a great memory for me, I'm pretty sure that after my Au pair time we will keep in touch and I will definitely go on with learning Chinese! To become an Au Pair in China was one of the best experiences I've made so far, it is always good to travel to unknown places and meeting new people, trying different food and learning a foreign language. The key for spending an unforgettable time in China was for me having much communication with my host family and learning how to deal with different attitudes and lifestyles and accepting them.