My experience as an au pair in Madrid, Spain was one I  will never forget. I had some of the highest moments of my life there and of course, some challenges but overall it was too good to be true! My journey to Madrid began in June and ended in August giving me seven amazing weeks to explore, learn Spanish, meet tons of people, and simply be emerged in the culture. I au paired for a family with two goofy, bi lingual, talented kids that I absolutely adore. My host family made me feel so welcomed and they seemed so happy to have me. During my working hours I would enjoy playing with the kids, eating delicious food, swimming and usually losing at uno. On my off hours I had just as much fun with the whole family as I did with just the kids. My host parents and I got along extremely well and we could laugh all day. They loved teaching me about Spanish traditions and I loved leaning about it. I feel so fortunate to have landed in a home with such a great family. Days after my arrival I attended an orientation with the au pair agency where I met a group of four other girls who were also working as au pairs for the summer. We all immediately took down each others phone numbers and ended up becoming great friends. I am from California and they were all from other parts of the world, so not only did I get to learn about the Spanish culture but also their cultures from their home countries. We had so much fun together; we would eat tapas, go to clubs, travel to near by city’s, but most of our fun was in Madrids city center.  We went to Batalla Naval (basically a 30,000 person water fight in the streets of Madrid), we shopped at El Rastro (Madrids outdoor clothing market), boated at El Retiro Park, and so much more. One of our weekend trips was to Salamanca. We walked the town discovering all its beauty and history, took tours, looked and finally found a lucky frog, ate yummy food and took long siestas. Since I am from California, where the drinking age is 21, drinking alcohol in Spain is a pretty big deal for me, so we decided to get me the most drunk I have ever been. After two cocktails I was sloshed. Turns out I am an extreme light weight when it comes to drinking! Anyways I was so lucky to have been with my new friends because we had a fantastic time and made so many memories. Halfway through our trip I decided I wanted to make a little video of our adventure in Salamanca, so I began to take tons of photos and videos (I might have gotten a little annoying with my camera in everyone’s faces) and asked my film making brother to put together a little something for us to keep of our weekend together as a momento. My experience in Spain has changed my world. I have grown, been given a bigger perspective, met so many great people and wouldn’t trade it for the world. My au pair friends and I are extremely excited to hold reunions in years to come and to always stay in touch. I hope my host family will come to California and see me one day, but if not I have no problem going to Madrid for a visit.