After completing my undergrad and before continuing my education in September, I really wanted to explore Europe for a few months. I decided that the best option for me was to move to France as an au pair. Being an au pair essentially means that you live with a local family and participate in their daily life. You help them with childcare for a few hours per day, and in return they provide accommodation, meals, pocket money, and free weekends to travel. Being an au pair provided me with a good balance of independence and support for my European adventure. I chose France because I wanted lots of time to visit Paris, practice my French, and I also liked how well connected it was to other European cities.
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| Chateau in Les Mesnuls |
From April until July I am living just outside of Paris with a bilingual family. I live in a little village called Les Mesnuls (800 people), and the closest town is Monfort L'Amaury. It takes about 20 minutes to reach Versailles and 40 minutes to get into central Paris. I chose this area because I thought it would be a unique cultural experience to live in a little French village, and it would be easy to explore Paris too.
