So I experienced “culture shock” right from the start and noticed that things are more relaxed in South America than in Germany and that people deal with punctuality and appointments with ease. People are just more relaxed than in Europe and I quickly got used to it.
I spent four weeks as a volunteer in a school for children with special needs and supported a teacher teaching children aged eight to ten. I took the bus from my host family to school every morning and worked from half past seven to half past three, choosing how long I wanted to work.
I came to Costa Rica for the first time in my life and I can only recommend it. The country offers a lot of nature and a very diverse animal kingdom. The people do not own much but they would share everything with you. There are neighborhoods that you should evade but that is just like in any other city in the world.
There are currently 10 volunteers staying here, from all around the world. My first day was spent meeting all the animals, learning how to clean the cages, feed the animals etc.
My au pair stay with South America Inside was fantastic. From the fast and reliable placement process to my stay itself, everything went smoothly.
After graduating from high school, it was clear to me that I would like to go abroad. Best to South America to consolidate my Spanish. After receiving a confirmation of an apprenticeship in January, I wanted to go abroad as soon as possible.
Since I am studying English and Spanish as a teacher and I have already studied both languages for one semester abroad, I wanted to try something completely different. So I used my last semester break to not only get to know a new country and a new culture, but above all to give back to society!
Since I have a very boring job in administration and wanted to do something meaningful once in my life, I took a two-month break from my work to do volunteer work in South America.
My experience as an au pair has been fantastic so far. But let me start at the beginning. When I started organizing everything and getting information, I was immediately impressed by the great support from Chile Inside. My contact person always answered questions immediately, no matter how trivial they seemed …
Hola. My name is Marlene, I’m 18 years old and I’ve been an au pair in Chile for almost 3 months. My host family consists of mom, dad, a 2 year old girl and two boys, 4 and 5 years old. We live here in Chicureo, about 20 km outside of Santiago …