Bettina Velona's Au Pair Blog

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.

On April 30, Au Pair in America sponsored a day of cultural education and fun at the Boston Children’s Museum.   With the help of local community counselors who each oversees a group of au pairs during their stay in the US, au pairs  came prepared to represent their countries from around the world.    Over the course of the afternoon, hundreds of enthusiastic children and parents toured the exhibition.   They collected country stickers to put in a passport handed out to them,  received earth and skin friendly tattoos, had their faces painted with country flags, and chatted with au pairs.

Traditional dance in authentic costume highlighted the presentation by Thailand while the German au pairs entertained visitors with traditional German spring egg craft and painting.  South African au pairs proudly painted their country’s flag on smiling faces, while a  colorful and tempting piñata dangled over the Mexico booth.  The colorful Costa Rican booth among other things offered Costa Rican expressions in glitter that visitors could practice with the help of  au pairs.  Au pairs from many other countries served as international teachers of the culture and beauty of their homelands as well.  Photos of this great event are available on our cultural fair link below.

Pictures from the fair

2010 Cultural Fair

• Where: 300 Congress St, Boston, MA 02210
• Date: April 30, 2011
• Time: 11:00am–2:00pm

• Local Au Pairs to participate in an International Cultural Fair at Boston Children’s Museum on April 30th On Saturday, April, 30th, au pairs from local families will host an International Children’s Cultural Fair at the Boston Children’s Museum from 11am to 2pm.  The au pairs, who are a part of Au Pair in America live with local host families for a year and care for their children.    The fair will be a celebration of culture geared toward families and children.  The au pairs will share songs, traditional dances, crafts and facts about their countries.  Children will be given a ‘passport card’ to collect country flags as they visit the displays which have been put together by au pairs from the many different countries.    All are welcome to attend the event at Boston Children’s Museum at 300 Congress Street, Boston MA.   The cultural fair is a great opportunity to interact with these young women who come from many countries around the world.    Pictures of last year’s fair.

Mexican Table

Chinese Table

On Sunday, March 21, Au Pair in America brought the world to the Boston Children’s Museum.   Boston area counselors organized a Cultural Fair, open to their host families and to the public.

Au pairs from all over the world did an amazing job putting together information about their countries and presenting it at country tables.  They seemed very excited to share their culture with others. Parents and children talked to au pairs, played games, enjoyed crafts, danced, watched performances and learned words from different languages.   Children received passports and collected country stickers at each table.

Ukrainian Table

This event provided an entertaining and educational afternoon for children and adults.  It also satisfied the State Department requirement that counselors offer annual host family workshops for their host families.  Au Pair in America prides itself in providing an excellent cultural exchange opportunity for host families and au pairs in addition to offering affordable and flexible child care.

Brazilian Dancing

FrenchTable

For more Cultural Fair photos, please visit Cultural Fair Photos and Heidi’s Photos