Bettina Velona's Au Pair Blog

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.

In addition to monthly meetings offered by each counselor to her au pair group, Au Pair in America counselors in the Boston area organize a regional event once a month that is open to all Au Pair in America au pairs in the Boston area.   This month, 50 au pairs joined me and two other local counselors for the Prudential Center Skywalk

View of Boston

Blue, sunny skies made for breathtaking views from the 50th floor.  Au Pairs were able to do an audio tour and learn more about the city of Boston and its landmarks.  They all enjoyed getting to know the city they chose to come to a bit better.  A true cultural exchange experience!

To see more photos of our regional event, please go to Skywalk 2011 or Heike’s Pictures

In an effort to bring relevant cultural experiences to our au pairs, counselor Heike and I took our groups to a maple sugaring tour at the Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary in Belmont.    We were welcomed by two experienced nature guides who ventured out into the snowy landscape with us to teach us about about maple sugaring.

a walk in the woods

We talked about and visited several maple trees, among them a red maple, a striped maple and of course, the sugar maple which is used to make maple syrup.  We learned how to differentiate them by the way their leaves and buds look or how the branches come out of the trunk.

We ended up at a tapped sugar maple tree and observed the sap dripping into the bucket attached to the trunk.    We learned that it takes a set of perfect weather conditions to come together to make the sap that is stored in the roots in winter to start flowing up the trunk.   It is a combination of cold nights and warm days, conditions that can be found in the Northeastern US and Canada.  When we tasted the sap, we all expected it to taste a lot sweeter than it was.  It is the process of boiling down the sap that converts it into sweet syrup.

tapped maple tree

sugar shack

As part of the tour, we visited a fake sugar shack and the guides explained the process of how maple sap is boiled down to maple syrup.  We learned that it takes 40 cups of sugar maple sap to make one cup of maple syrup!  We got a chance to go into the kitchen and boil down some maple sap.   We also tasted “fake” maple syrup and the real deal and had to guess which is which.

taste test

At the end of the tour, a nice surprise was waiting for us:  vanilla ice cream with maple syrup, dried blueberries and cranberries.

Maple Sugaring Group

For more pictures of our maple sugaring tour go to maple sugaring photos

Valentine’s Day may not be celebrated in countries that my au pairs come from.  However, they are part of an American family now and sharing American customs provides an important cultural learning experience for them.   At our Valentine meeting it was all about hearts: eating heart-shaped cake, cookies, pancakes and candy and making heart necklaces.   We had so much fun together and au pairs shared their experiences with and feelings about Valentine’s Day.

We also said good-bye to Pearly from Thailand who has been an outstanding au pair with her current host family in Belmont for the last two years.  She leaves having gained another family and many valued friends.

For more picture of our February meeting please go to Valentine Meeting

This January, our cluster met other Boston area au pairs to go night time snowtubing in Nashoba Valley.   We have  au pairs that come from countries that usually don’t get snow and many of them are excited to participate in winter activities.  After enjoying a cup of hot chocolate and treats, au pairs braved the elements and headed for the slopes.

For more pictures please visit Snowtubing 2011

This week, five counselors from the Boston area organized a multi-cluster holiday party for their au pairs.   There was plenty of food (each attendee brought a contribution, many from different countries),  holiday singing, a visit from Santa and a fun gift exchange game.

German au pairs singing

This party truly represented the spirit of Au Pair in America’s cultural exchange program.  Au Pairs talked about their traditions, brought in food from their countries, listened to American holiday songs and sang songs in their own language.

For more photos of this party please go to Holiday Party 2010.                                                         Check out our holiday singing at   Au Pairs singing holiday songs

Cold and Flu Season

The greatest number of children develops colds during the fall and winter months.  It is a virus that is spread from person to person, either by direct contact or by contact with the virus in the environment. Colds are most contagious during the first two to four days. 

Prevention- Simple hygiene measures can help to prevent infection with viruses. These measures include:

Hand washing is an essential and highly effective way to prevent the spread of infection. Hands should be wet with water and plain soap, and rubbed together for 15 to 30 seconds. It is not necessary to use antibacterial hand soap. Teach children to wash their hands before and after eating and after coughing or sneezing.  Make a fun game out of it.

Alcohol-based hand rubs are a good alternative for disinfecting hands if a sink is not available. Hand rubs should be spread over the entire surface of hands, fingers, and wrists until dry, and may be used several times. These rubs can be used repeatedly without skin irritation or loss of effectiveness.  Bring them with you wherever you go.

It may be difficult or impossible to completely avoid persons who are ill, although parents should try to limit direct contact. In addition, infants or children who are sick should not be sent to day care or school as this can potentially cause others to become ill.

Using a household cleaner that kills viruses (such as phenol/alcohol) may help to reduce viral transmission.  However, don’t overuse.

To boost your immune system, use supplements that contain Echinacea and Vitamin C.  Plus, get as much fresh air as you can and a good night’s sleep.

Flu Shots

Many au pairs and host families are looking for places to get flu shots this time of year. This year’s flu vaccine will protect against H1N1 (swine) flu, as well as other strains of seasonal flu.  Au Pair insurance does not cover immunizations, but there are lots of places to get flu shots for $30 or less.  If the host family is insisting that an au pair get a seasonal flu shot and she agrees to get it, the host family would be responsible for the expense.

If you are planning to get the seasonal flu vaccine, it is recommended that you get it as early as possible.

Check out the Massachusetts site at http://flu.gov/

Flu Shot locator:  http://www.findaflushot.com/

CVS Pharmacy and Minute Clinic: http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/promoContent/promoLandingTemplate.jsp?promoLandingId=1033&WT.ac=flushots_learn

Walgreens Pharmacy: http://www.walgreens.com/topic/health-shops/flu.jsp

Target Pharmacy and Clinic: http://sites.target.com/site/en/spot/flushot_locator.jsp

This month, our au pair group visited “Not-Me” in East Arlington, where owner Erik Kondo held a “Beyond Awareness – Physical Assertiveness for the Street”  self-defense class.  The class focused mainly on non-physical aspects of self-defense, like the decision not to be a victim, situational awareness, one’s attitudes and appearance,  assertiveness, body language, boundary setting, and steps on how to de-escalate an aggressive situation.   Erik and his assistants took us through potential aggressive situations and we got to practice strategies that we had discussed earlier.

This month’s meeting satisfies the State Department mandated quarterly childcare/safety meeting.   It also supports Au Pair in America’s high standard for safety.   Erik’s strategies can be applied to every day life and hopefully most of us will find ourselves remembering some of the things he taught us to keep ourselves and others safe.

We even made it onto the “Not-Me” blog.  Check it out at Not-Me.

For more pictures of our meeting please visit Au Pair Self Defense

Harvard University

Each month, Au Pair in America offers a regional event to au pairs in the Boston area.  It is another opportunity for our au pairs to connect with others and to learn about American culture.   This month, we offered a free Harvard Tour, led by a Harvard sophomore, Todd.  On a sunny, warm fall day, more than 50 au pairs attended and seemed to enjoy themselves.  Many of the au pairs are attending Harvard Extension School for ESL or other topics, because it is one of the affordable options for au pairs to satisfy their educational requirement.

At the steps of Widener Library

Todd did an amazing job.  His voice was clear and easy to hear, which is important for au pairs.

He made a sincere effort to keep everybody engaged.

Bettina's cluster

For more photos, please go to Harvard Tour 2010