How do au pairs meet other au pairs?!

[CoffeeAndCarrotCake]

We've got a lovely German au pair coming over in February, and I wanted to help her make friends with other au pairs in the local area. I've looked on Gumtree.com, but there don't seem to be many au pairs looking for friends. Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

They usually meet at English lessons.

Ah - that brings me on to my next question.... how do you find a good place for English lessons?!

facebook was how mine linked up with others local

there is a german facebook

That's how mine made friends

English lessons and the german version of facebook.
Which area are you in?

Good place for English lessons - that's a tricky one. I did lots of googling and found some cheap(ish) private courses in a nearby town, and gave au pair info on the ones which didn't clash with work time. Also looked up local education authority and searched for ESOL classes.
AP then decided that she would rather have one ESOL class a week (cost = £200 for 1 year), than 3 hours a week private class (cost £25 or £35 per week) so that's what she did.

English classes where we live (E Herts) can be very over-subscribed - it seems to depend on the standard of their English. My German au pair arrived in August and managed to get on a course only because her English was already excellent so she went into an advanced class. My previous (Romanian) AP who wasn't as fluent struggled to find a local class and was on the waiting list at our local FE college for about 4 months before getting a place.

My AP has made loads of friends locally. Some from the college, some from a list sent from the agency she came through and some through websites.

Apparently there are 2 good websites: www.aupair2aupair.com and www.studivz.net (which is a sort of facebook for German students).

I have it on good authority from both families and au pairs that au pairs don't just want to meet other au pairs... they want to meet their future husbands . Introduce them to as many eligible bachelors as possible.