Bettina Velona's Au Pair Blog

Au Pair in America brings the world together.  We bring au pairs from over 60 countries to US families who receive quality child care.  Au pairs also share their culture with their host families and people who come in contact with them.    We also offer a program called Global Awareness, and it gives au pairs the opportunity to share their culture in public settings like libraries or schools.

This week, my Swedish au pair Emma and my South African au pair Tracey came to St. Agnes School in Arlington center to present their country to kids in the classroom.  Emma went to the 5th grade, and Tracey to the 7th.    They both did an outstanding job and the kids learned a lot about Sweden and South Africa.

Emma presenting Sweden in the 5th grade

Tracey presenting South Africa in the 7th grade

GREAT JOB, EMMA AND TRACEY!

Both au pairs receive a Global Awareness Certificate as well as a

Starbucks gift card.

For more photos please visit Global Awareness

Bettina's au pair group

Boston area community counselors

On Sunday, we celebrated the holidays with other Boston area au pair clusters at the Scout House in Concord.  Over 150 au pairs participated in the au pair holiday gala.

Counselors supplied holiday music, decorations, main dishes like ham, turkey, lasagna, as well as a holiday punch.  Each au pair was asked to bring food to share from her country.

Au pairs also participated in a gift swap game during which they were asked questions like “Who has visited the Grand Canyon,” or “Who has an American boyfriend?” As you can imagine, there was a lot of laughter involved.

Gift Exchange Game

As a conclusion to a fun evening, au pairs also split up into country groups to sing traditional holiday songs from their country.   Here are a few samples:

At the end of the evening, the au pairs got together with their counselors and received a gift.

For more photos and videos of our holiday party please go to Holiday Party 2011 and Au Pair Holiday Party 2011

Our Au Pair Cluster

This month, our au pair cluster joined three others and ventured out to Boylston, MA for  country linedancing at Bay Path Barn.

Learning the steps

Au Pairs lined up in a big hall and followed owner Mary Rinker’s dance step instructions.  Mary first walked everybody through a dance without the music and then we got to practice with music.    It took a little while getting used to the different steps, but it became easier to follow along as time went on.  Dances we learned included the Cotton Eyed Joe, the Mama Maria and the Kick Step.

practicing the steps

Also part of our meeting this month was a talk about winter driving and cold/flu prevention.   This satisfies the State Department requirement of an quarterly child development/safety meeting.  We also welcomed our newest arrivals who had a chance to connect with the group.

Check out these two videos of au pairs first learning the steps, and then practicing them with a song:

For more photos and videos of our meeting, please go to Country Linedancing

This week, my au pairs came to my house for a pumpkin carving party.   We enjoyed pumpkin puff pastry, pumpkin tortilla roll-ups, devilish eggs, bloody (hot dog) fingers,  fall-shaped cookies, apple crisp, Halloween candy and a cider punch.

Au pairs had a great time socializing and inspiring each other while carving their pumpkins.

This was a very creative group of au pairs, as you can see from the pumpkin line-up:

At the meeting, the new au pairs had a chance to be welcomed by the others and make connections.   We also said good-bye to Siu from Malaysia who ends her extension year next month.  She was able to share her experience with some of the newer au pairs.

Au pairs had great conversations around the table about their au pair experience and about the existence or non-existence of Halloween in their country.

For more photos from this meeting, please go to Pumpkin Carving.

Last Sunday, three Boston area au pair clusters met at Carver Hill Orchard in Stow, MA for our annual host family/au pair picnic.    Host families and au pairs enjoyed apple cider and cider donuts provided by the counselors and the kids participated in fall themed cookie decorating.  Families and au pairs also went apple picking and enjoyed a hayride through the orchard.

As per State Department regulation, as an au pair agency, we need to offer our host families an informational host family workshop each year during which host families can also meet each other and get to know the cluster better.    The Cultural Fair in April was one of them, and we always like to offer this apple picking venue as well since it offers the cultural experience that is so much part of our au pair program.   Host families had a choice of informational handouts relating to the host family – au pair relationship.

For more pictures go to  Apple Orchard and Apple Orchard1

Each September, Au Pair in America organizes a group tour at Harvard University for its Boston area au pairs.  Yesterday, over 60 au pairs participated on a lovely sunny day.    We split up into two groups, led by Harvard students.

Aside from Harvard’s history, we always learn interesting facts from the tour leaders.  Yesterday we learned that Harvard is the only university which is “needs blind” which means that they will accept students based on their scholarly value no matter how much money they have to contribute to their education.  Harvard will then supplement the rest,  even if it means paying 100%.  We also learned that each dorm on campus reflects the total makeup of the Harvard student population.  So if Harvard has 20% international students, each dorm will have 20% international students.  A true tribute to diversity!

For more photos of our tour go to Harvard Tour or Harvard Tour 1

Join us for

Apple Picking

For Au Pairs and Host Families at as well as families interested in our program

Carver Hill Orchard in Stow, MA

Come meet au pairs and host families from three Boston area clusters

http://www.carverhill.com/

Date:  Saturday, September 24, 2011

Time: 3-5pm

Where:  Brookside Ave, Stow, MA

We will offer organized activities for the kids as well as informational material.

We have the covered picnic tables reserved.  If you would like, you can bring blankets or chairs and food for a picnic.  We will supply water as well as apple cider and apple cider donuts.

In addition to apple picking, Carver Hill Orchard offers the following activities for added fun:

Hiking Trails

Hayrides

Children’s Activity in the Orchard

Farm Stand

Hot Dog Stand

Host families:  this satisfies your requirement to attend an annual host family workshop

Au Pairs:  this is our monthly meeting for September

Please RSVP by Monday, September 19.

We hope you can join us!

Last week we met at my house for a relaxing summer barbecue.    Summer is a busy time in the au pair world with many new arrivals, good-byes, and summer vacation.    We welcomed Laetitia from France and Sina from Germany to our cluster.   We said good-bye to Julia who will return to Germany the beginning of September.   It was nice for the new arrivals to mingle with the more seasoned au pairs and get helpful tips from them.  That is one of the advantages of being part of an au pair cluster that meets each month.

Our get-togethers always provide an opportunity for cultural exchange.  While au pairs enjoyed traditional American barbecue dishes, they also shared food from their own country: Chinese salami and grilled vegetables as well as Thai desserts and specialties.  Around the table, we had a vivid discussion about the university experience in different countries.   Taking courses is an integral part of the au pair cultural experience.  Au pairs are required to take 6 credits or 80 hours in the classroom.   The new au pairs had a chance to talk with the more seasoned au pairs about educational possibilities in the Boston area.

For more photos from our meeting please visit barbecue photos

This month I teamed up with two other local counselors and we planned a trip to Concord, MA.  The au pairs were going to start canoeing at the South Bridge and make their way to the North Bridge.  There, we were going to welcome them with a prepared picnic.    Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate that day and on the next day, which was the rain date.

We made the best of it and I met my group of au pairs for an inside picnic at my house.   We sat around my table and had good conversations.    These meetings are a chance for au pairs to talk about their experience as an au pair and bring up topics to discuss with the group.  It is often very helpful for them to hear others talk about an issue that they might experience.

We also got a chance to say good-bye to Nadege who will be going home to France after 2 years.   We welcomed two new au pairs, Mai and Meilikano to our group.   I always have the departing au pair say a few words about her experience and suggest sharing anything she finds helpful with the newer au pairs.

For more photos please go to June Meeting

Yoga Group (missing participant: Sune)

This month, I taught a yoga class to my pair cluster, which took place at The Arlington Center Yoga Studio in East Arlington.  For some au pairs, it was their first exposure to yoga.   Everybody seemed to enjoy the experience.

After the class, we enjoyed a good-bye cake for Saskia and Alicia who will be leaving us in June.    I congratulated them for their accomplishments, and they talked to the other au pairs about their experience as an au pair.  We also welcomed new au pair Evelina to our cluster.   Having access to a group of other au pairs who are sharing their experience and who might be a good resource for them has been a very valuable for my au pairs.

In an effort to ensure the best possible childcare for our host families, Au Pair in America counselors are required to hold a childcare/safety meeting with their au pair groups.  This month’s meeting included a discussion about spring and summer safety.  You can find the document under “Au Pair Info.”

To access the yoga group photo, please visit Yoga Group