I have always wanted to travel and get to know other cultures, when I finished the Cycle of Infant Education I decided to leave, it wasn´t something easy since I had never traveled outside of Spain and much less alone. When I left I was 21 years old, I also didn´t know what was waiting for me, since I could leave a good or bad family so I took a risk. I started the search and it wasn't easy but I was lucky enough to find a great family in County Kildare in the village of Leixlip. The family consisted of three children, Erick 8 years old, Anna 9 years old and Cristina 11 years old, their parents Robert (Irish) and Miriam (Spanish).
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| The Irish family and me when we visited Santa´s house. |
I made friends quickly there, in the end we finished a group of three girls (Carmen, Maria and me), who shared our experiences, we were like a family.
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| María, me and Carmen in St Patrick`s Day. |
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| Carmen, María and me in Guinness Store House. |
During my stay in Ireland I have been able to travel to London, Edinburgh, Belfast and some towns in wonderful Ireland.
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| Me with a Scottish in Edinburgh. |
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| Me in Edinburgh Castle. |
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| Me in The Giant´s Causeway, Northern Ireland |
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| Me and María in The Giant´s Causeway |
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In Belfast with the famous big fish.
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The Guinness Lake, Wicklo, Ireland.
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The Cliff of Moher, Liscannor, Co. Clare, Ireland.
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| London |
It can also fulfill my mother's dream which was to go and see me and meet the family I lived with and the environment I was in. It was a short but intense trip in which we were able to enjoy ourselves and I especially gained strength to continue the months I had left in Ireland, my mother enjoyed herself as a child and fell in love with Ireland and its people. For me this has undoubtedly been one of the best things that has happened to me during my stay in Ireland.
My au pair experience has been great, I have been treated like one of the family. I liked the education I received in Ireland, they were autonomous children, I also liked the school education, they worked on projects and only had thirty minutes of homework a day, except on days with good weather they didn't send homework so they could enjoy the day playing outside.
The culture is similar to that of Galicia so it didn't take me long to get used to it, the only thing was the food and the climate (in one day we could go through all four seasons) and
I also liked the Irish people a lot because they are sociable, very nice people and above all if you need something they are always there. On one tour we were told to stop with the map open anywhere and see how quickly someone helped us, we did and it was true, this doesn´t happen everywhere.
No doubt I would repeat it again and I recommend it because besides learning another language you learn many other things and above all you value much more, since you have to find your life in an unknown environment for you, for me it has been the best thing that has happened.
Ireland will always be present in my life, what better way than with a tattoo of an Irish cloverleaf.
Marian! That's an amazing experience! It looks like you had a lot of fun and had such a good time and also that you learned a lot! All in one!
ReplyDeleteSince I learned what an au pair was I've always wanted to do it! And after reading your experience I just can't wait!
That’s great, I’m glad you had such a wonderful, life-changing experience – I think living abroad is something we should all do at least once in our lives, don’t you?
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