Tag Archives: MA

Au Pairs Celebrate the Holidays at ArtLounge in Arlington, MA

 

In December, we joined another local au pair cluster and celebrated the holiday season at ArtLounge in Arlington.

Au Pairs had a chance to mingle, listen to holiday music and enjoy refreshments.  They also participated in a fun Yankee Swap.

Half way through the evening, an artist came in to lead those who chose to paint through the steps of creating their own painting.  It was interesting to observe how each au pair put her personal touch to the painting.

 

 

 

 

 

For more photos of our celebration, go to Holiday Party.

Au Pairs go Mini Golfing

Our August meeting took place at McGolf in Dedham for a nice round of mini golfing.    We had a smaller group, as August is a big month for transitions and vacations in the au pair world.    The afternoon was beautiful and we had a fun game.

The group consisted mostly of newly arrived au pairs.  It was nice to watch them make new connections and starting to build their life here in the US.  They also had the chance to talk to an au pair who has been here for a while and who can be a good resource for them as they are adapting.

 

 

 

ice cream after the game!

ice cream after the game!

 

 

 

 

 

for more pictures of our meeting, please go to mini golf.

Au Pairs from Boston area canoe in Concord

Canoeing group

Canoeing group

Our June cluster meeting last weekend in historic Concord was so much fun!  It  was such a beautiful summer day.  We joined two other clusters and over 30 au pairs participated.   We met at the South Bridge in Concord to rent canoes and kayaks.  Au pairs then rowed to the Old North Bridge where counselors welcomed them for a picnic.

The German crew

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the historic Old Manse, we gathered for our meeting.  At first, we held our childcare/safety meeting that we are required per State Department to have once every three months.   We talked about summer safety, which included sun exposure related safety, water safety rules and wearing the right protective gear for biking, skateboarding and rollerblading. 

 

We then broke off into our individual clusters.    Our group said good-bye to Stella, Cirstin and Sina, who are at the end of their au pair year and are going home to Germany soon.   They had a lot of advice for the newer arrivals.    We welcomed Camilla from Brazil who attended her first meeting.   

Enjoying cake, cookies and some fruit

Enjoying cake, cookies and some fruit

Bettinas group

Bettina's group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more photos of this meeting, please visit Canoeing 2012.

Boston area au pairs join Walk For Hunger

Au Pair in America Team

Au Pair in America Team

On Sunday, May 6,  Team Au Pair in America was among the estimated 41,000 walkers that joined the annual Walk for Hunger in Boston to help raise money for the hungry  in Massachusetts.

We met at Park Street Station.    From there, the group dispersed into smaller groups.   We walked various distances, and  many on the team proudly finished 20 miles.

Congratulations to all of you au pairs who contributed to this fantastic event!

For more photos go to Walk for Hunger and Walk for Hunger 1

Maple Sugaring Tour

Au Pairs with Guides

Au Pairs with Guides

Last weekend, Au Pair in America offered a Maple Sugaring Tour at the Belmont Habitat for their Boston area au pairs.   In addition to monthly cluster meetings, these monthly regional events give au pairs the chance to participate in culturally relevant activities.  Maple Sugaring is an experience very unique to this area, and au pairs in the area are very lucky to be able to experience this as part of their cultural exchange.

Examining the sugar maple

Examining the sugar maple

Two experienced Habitat guides,  Ann and Sandy, gave us a wonderful tour.    Au Pairs learned about the characteristics of a sugar maple in order to differentiate it from other trees and other types of maples.    (branching pattern, leaf pattern, shape and color of buds)   We visited a tapped maple tree and learned that the flow of sap is very close to the outer bark of the tree and its flow gets activated every year in the early months for about 6 weeks, when starch that is stored in the roots converts back to sugar that gets transported up the tree in order to feed the buds.    This is brought about by cold nights and warmer days.

Taste Test

Taste Test

We tasted the sap right from the tree, and experienced the transformation of the very slightly sweetened liquid into a syrup that is much sweeter by boiling it in the Habitat’s kitchen.   The ration of boiling sap into syrup is 40:1!  We also compared that natural syrup to the Aunt Jemima kind and noticed how different the two taste.    Upon reading the ingredient list of Aunt Jemima, we concluded that there is nothing natural about the product and has nothing to do with the maple sap.  Our tour guides also spoke about the different grades of maple syrup and we found out that the darker the syrup, the later in the season it was harvested and the more maple taste it will have.

Tasting our own syrup

Tasting our own syrup

The Habitat also has a sugar shack that is not in use any more.   This is where the maple sap traditionally gets converted into syrup.   Our tour guides showed us the evaporator machine that the farmer used when it was still functional.

In the sugar shack

In the sugar shack

At the end of the tour, au pairs answered questions to a quiz to see if they remembered what they learned throughout the tour.   We were then rewarded by ice-cream that we covered with Maple Syrup, cranberries and maple cookies.

Yummy!

Yummy!

For more photos of our maple sugaring tour please visit maple sugaring 2012

Boston Area Au Pairs Celebrate The Holidays

Bettinas au pair group

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

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

Boston Area Au Pairs Go Country Linedancing

Our Au Pair Cluster

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

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

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

Au Pair in America Apple Orchard Picnic

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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!

The outing that wasn't

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

Boston Area Au Pairs go snowtubing

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