Canada to Spain: Ayélé’s Working Holiday in Barcelona

Ayélé is an African-Canadian who grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 2023, she was finishing the final year of her undergraduate degree at Dalhousie University when she first connected with the A-Way to Work team.

At the time, Ayélé was studying International Development, and her original plan after graduation was simple: backpack through Latin America until she ran out of money, then return home and pursue a master’s degree. But life had other plans. “I was (and still am) very curious about the world,” Ayélé says. “I wanted to travel as much as I could before really starting my career. I love adventure and meeting new people.” That curiosity eventually led her to Spain and to her very first experience living abroad in Europe.

Discovering Au Pairing Abroad

Ayélé first learned about becoming an au pair through A-Way to Work while exploring different opportunities to work abroad. “They wanted to have options outside of agriculture,” she explains. “Au pairing was just something new and different.” Although she had heard negative stories about au pairing, she decided to keep an open mind. “I wanted to give it a shot, because what’s the worst that could happen? I go somewhere, I don’t like it, and then I just come back home.” Luckily, that wasn’t her experience at all. Instead, she found a host family in Spain that she connected deeply with so much so that after staying for an entire year as an au pair, she later returned to live with them again while studying her Master’s degree in Barcelona.

Why Spain?

When deciding where to go, Ayélé narrowed it down to Spain or Italy. “It was between Spain and Italy, and I just thought Spain would be interesting because I have always been interested in learning Spanish.” For Ayélé, the experience wasn’t just about work. She loves travelling, she wanted to learn Spanish, taste new foods, meet new people, travel across Europe and gain inspiration for grad school. And since it was her first time in Europe, everything felt exciting and new. “A-Way To Work just kind of popped up at the perfect time for me!” she said.

Living as an Au Pair Near Barcelona

Ayélé arrived in Barcelona in August 2023 and stayed until August 2024. She lived in a small village about 45 minutes outside the city. “It was a very quiet place, with a lot of old people and young families,” she says. “I took public transportation to get into the city, and that took me about an hour and a half, but I didn’t mind because I love taking public transport!”

First Impressions of Spain

“Barcelona was so hot when I arrived,” Ayélé remembers. Coming from Halifax, the heat and drought conditions in Spain were a huge adjustment. “They were in a drought where it hadn’t rained sufficiently in a few years so it was incredibly dry.” Her first 48 hours in Spain were filled with: meeting the family, sleeping a lot and trying paella for the first time. And one cultural habit still catches her off guard to this day. “The two kisses people do to greet each other. It felt so awkward and even after being around the culture for two years, I am still not used to it.”

Adjusting to Life Abroad

One of the biggest adjustments for Ayélé was the slower pace of life in Spain. “I feel like Canada is very fast-paced, but here everything is slower — literally from people walking on the streets to institutions being slow and having very small working hour windows.” She laughs remembering how surprised she was that many banks and government services only operated from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. When homesickness hit, Ayélé handled it in a simple but effective way: “I went back home for a visit! I visited home twice while I was away, and that was very helpful for me.”

Building Community Abroad

Ayélé built friendships through her Spanish language school and during weekend trips staying in hostels. But the people who truly made Spain feel like home were her host family and the friends she met in her Spanish classes. “We are all united through food and music,” she says. “I love food, and so do most other people, so that is always a way to connect with people.” Even now, she still keeps in touch with many of the people she met abroad. “I love having friends all over the world.”

Learning Confidence, Patience, and Independence

Living abroad changed Ayélé in ways she didn’t expect. “I improved my Spanish a lot,” she says. “And I learned to be patient and go with the flow more because sometimes, you just can’t control the way things go or their outcome.” But what she’s most proud of is simply taking the leap in the first place. “I know it is a privilege to be able to do something like this. But even just the number of people who live in fear and end up missing out on great opportunities like this. I am proud that I took the leap.”

Her working holiday experience abroad also helped shape her future. She had always dreamed of completing her Master’s degree in Europe but wasn’t sure where. “The experience helped me decide to study in Barcelona and what to study.” In September 2025, Ayélé returned to Barcelona to begin her Master’s program and her au pair family welcomed her back to stay with them once again.

 

“I Would Do It All Again, In Every Lifetime”

When asked what she would say to someone nervous about going abroad, Ayélé doesn’t hesitate. “DO IT! The worst that can happen is you don’t like the experience and you go home earlier than you were planning. The world is so big and small at the same time. Do not let fear stop you from doing anything, especially when it comes to traveling and living abroad.”

 

And if she had to sum up her Spain working holiday experience in one final line? “I would do it all again, in every lifetime.”

Your adventure starts here…check out our different Programs at awaytowork.ca