When I was first figuring out my plans for summer, I had two goals: work with kids and be as close to the beach as possible. And given that I don’t live anywhere near a beach, I knew that it wouldn’t be easy to find a flexible childcare job that happened to be located by the beach.
Until I discovered au pairing.
An au pair is someone who lives with a host family in a foreign country and provides childcare in exchange for free housing and a weekly stipend. Immediately, I began searching through various au pair websites, eventually committing to a family of two kids in Santander, Spain. Their children, Gracie*, 9, and Grayson*, 6, were adorable and knew English as well, despite living in a Spanish-speaking country.
With the beach visible from their apartment, they truly seemed like my dream family — especially after having several video calls with them. So, I booked a ticket to Spain and prepared to spend my entire summer in Europe. I wasn’t quite sure what my schedule would look like — I knew I had to walk the kids to school in the mornings, then I’d have free time until picking them up in the early afternoon, but I had no idea what my days would look like when the kids were out of school.
But, this past week, summer break began, and TBH? Being an au pair might’ve been the best decision I’ve ever made. Here’s what my day-to-day life as an American au pair during the summer in Spain looks like.
9 A.M.: Wake Up & Get Ready
With the kids being out of school and officially on summer break, my hours start between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., depending on when they wake up. I went about my morning routine as usual, picking out shorts and a tank top as my outfit.
9:30 A.M.: Eat Breakfast
When I left my room, I realized that the kids were already awake and quietly playing games, so they finished their game and we ate breakfast. Most days, I’ll help my host mom out by prepping breakfast for the kids, which usually just consists of biscuits and toast.
Today, however, was an exception, as my host mom had already prepped the kids’ breakfast by the time she left. For me, I kept it simple with a bowl of cereal.
We ate breakfast together while listening to Olivia Rodrigo’s new album, and afterward, I did the dishes. While I’m not expected to do the dishes (or even asked to, TBH), I do them anyway — it’s therapeutic to me!
9:45 A.M: Play Games
Lately, our obsession has been constantly playing Uno, so we obviously had to play a few rounds after breakfast. I’ve played Uno with my family ever since I was a toddler, so it really warms my heart and reminds me of home anytime I play with my host family.
10 A.M.: Reading & English Work
We have the same routine everyday: Each kid reads two books and completes their English vocab worksheets. Today, however, Gracie only read one book while I read a book to Grayson as he told me about the plot afterward.
While both kids can fully understand me, and are able to speak English pretty well, we make sure to read and complete vocabulary worksheets everyday so they can strengthen their English skills. Within a few minutes, both kids had finished their vocab worksheets and insisted on going to the pool.
10:15 A.M.: Pool Time
Ever since their apartment complex’s pool opened up about a week ago, my kids have been insisting on going any possible day they can. And despite living within walking distance from the beach, they prefer the pool every time. I quickly changed into a bathing suit and coverup and doused myself in sunscreen before we all headed out.
At the pool, we spent hours playing Uno, having soccer (or fútbol) matches and water gun fights, tanning, reading, and swimming. Eventually, the kids decided to go back to the apartment, ready for lunch.
1:45 P.M.: Eat Lunch
After getting home, we all hung out while my host mom made lunch. My host mom always cooks me lunch and dinner, ensuring that my meals are vegetarian since I don’t eat meat (which is a primary reason I choose to help out with the dishes).
My host mom made baked pasta with plant-based sausage for lunch, which we all devoured. Gracie has recently been asking me to tell her the storylines of books and movies I’ve seen, so I spent part of my lunch giving her the plots of my favorite books and movies.
2:15 P.M.: Play
With Gracie off to her gymnastics exhibition, Grayson and I played soccer, hide and seek, and he eventually left me to read my book while he played independently until his dad got home.
2:45 P.M.: Go To The Beach
With my host dad being home, I was officially off the clock — meaning I could spend the rest of the day however I pleased. My free time is always spent differently. Some days I’ll take a nap; others I’ll shop around with friends or attend my weekly Spanish class. But today? Today was a beach day.
I grabbed my beach bag and immediately set off for the beach, spending hours tanning, reading, and relistening to you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. Unfortunately, I had to cut my beach visit short with my sunscreen bottle empty and phone battery near-dead, so I eventually headed back home.
6 P.M.: Snack & Shower
Once I got home, I ate an apple and a spoonful of Nutella (balance!) as a quick snack before hopping in the shower to wash all of the sand off of me. TBH, my eyes were feeling super sensitive to the light, to the point where I had to shower with my eyes closed the entire time — even though the bathroom lights were off.
7 P.M.: Rest & Read
With my eyes still bothering me, I decided to sit in my room with my blinds closed and lights off and close my eyes for a bit. After my eyes felt better, I read a book for a while.
8 P.M.: Get Ready
Being an au pair, I’ve made quite a few other au pair friends. And since we’re all free in the evenings, that means that we go out to bars and clubs every weekend. So, around 8 p.m., I started to get ready to go out — blow-drying my hair, doing a light face of makeup, and picking out an outfit before heading out to meet my friends.
While getting ready, my host mom gave me my weekly stipend: 80 euros, or around $92. With my rent, meals, and groceries being covered by my host family, this money is for things like shopping or getting drinks in town. Most of my friends make 70 euros a week while a few others make 90 euros a week; I’ve learned that the average is anywhere from 70 to 90 euros weekly, so I’m right in the middle.
10 P.M.: Pizza Pit Stop
In Spain, dinner is usually anytime between 9 and 10 p.m., which I’ve actually gotten pretty used to. So, my friend and I split a pizza and drank some wine before meeting our other friends.
11 P.M.: Go Out
My friends and I hung out for a while, and finally hit the clubs around 1:30 a.m. I’ll admit it, I still haven’t gotten fully used to going out so late and being expected to stay out until the early morning hours, especially after drinking for hours beforehand, but I manage.
I hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep the night before, so I called it quits a little past 3 a.m. while my friends stayed out.
3:30 A.M: Sleep!
After a quick walk home (and a break to sit at the beach so I could watch the stars and listen to the waves), I was in bed and ready to sleep. I got in my jammies, plugged in my phone, and went to sleep after a long, yet eventful, day!