The Chicago Area Blog

Impacting lives of young people through cultural exchange is vital to the mission of APIA, so we love to hear back from our au pairs.  The following email came to a staff person in our Stamford, CT headquarters:

Hi Mary, I hope all is well with you…I really appreciate you and all of the AuPair in America staff. Yesterday 9 years ago I entered the US for the very first time in my life not knowing what wonderful things were ahead of me. It all started with orientation and I still have such vivid memories from those very first few days in this country like it was just last month. Now I am a doctor in this country and just feel so very blessed. I have truly gained a second family in my host family and we are still in such close contact and I can’t wait for my first vacation so I can go see them again. Without you and the organization I would not be the person who I am today and that is what I want to thank you for today! Thank you for all you do for all the au pairs!  Love, Melanie

With Fourth of July coming soon, I wanted to remind everyone about program rules on holidays and vacations.

Holidays

• Host families are NOT REQUIRED to give au pairs any specific holidays.
• Each host family will make different arrangements on holidays, some au pairs will be off and others will be required to work.
• Au pairs should NOT make plans for holidays without checking with your host family FIRST.

Vacation

• Au pair earns 2 weeks of paid vacation during the course of her year.
• The host family can pick a week and the au pair can pick a week, if an agreement is not reached.
• All vacation should be preplanned (at least 4 weeks in advance.)
• All au pair’s friends and/or family visits/vacations should be pre-approved prior to purchasing a ticket.
• If an au pair travels with their host family, it should be discussed UP FRONT whether this is the au pair’s vacation or if she is working.
• If an au pair travels with the host family to work, the host family is required to pay for her transportation, lodging and meals.

Important: An au pair MUST have her DS2019 signed PRIOR to her departure from the US. More info. about this can be found on the right side of this page under “Travel Links for Au Pairs.”

Children are often “professional dawdlers,” – taking forever to complete simple tasks.  Some jobs are more fun if you set a timer or play a favorite song and see how much you can get done before it’s over.  ”Let’s see how many legos we can get in the box in 3 minutes!” (You’d be surprised!)  Set a stop watch on your phone to see how fast they can get dressed.  Once a task becomes fun, the power struggle is over and you eventually won’t need a timer.

Father’s Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June in many countries, but can be celebrated on other days around the world.  The idea for Father’s Day came from Sonora Dodd in 1910 who wanted to honor her father, a Civil War veteran who raised six kids as a single parent.  After hearing a Mother’s Day sermon at church, she told her pastor that father’s needed to be honored, too!  To honor the father in your host family, work with the children to make a special picture or homemade gift.

Winter is upon us here in Chicago, and some of you may be lured downtown to Millenieum Park to go Ice Skating.   You need special insurance to cover you in case you injure yourself while Ice Skating or doing any number of sports ( see partial list below) .  If you do not have the Sports insurance and get injured doing one of these sports, insurance will NOT pay the hospital bill, you will be responsible for it.  If you do not know what type of insurance you have, call your counselor and she can tell you.

The Sports Insurance Package was available pre-departure and may also be purchased at any time during your year. It takes effect within 48 hours of your enrollment and it is good for the remainder of the year. The cost will be the same whether you have one month left or your whole year ahead of you.   Below is a partial list of sports that are only covered with the sports insurance package:
Football, Rugby, Scuba diving, Wakeboarding, Skydiving, Parachuting, Rock climbing, Zip line, Skate boarding, Rollerblading, Roller skating, Ice Skating, Skiing, Snowboarding, Snowmobiles & Snowshoeing.

Au Pair in America has partnered with AAA, the nation’s most trusted name in driver safety and instruction to offer a custom classroom course specifically designed for au pairs. Exclusive to Au Pair in America, the AAA driving course is one of a kind, tailored to the needs of the international driver and specific to the safety needs of driving children in a car.

 Schedule of Events

Dyeing the Chicago River: 10:45am

It is  best viewed from the east side of the Michigan Avenue bridge, the West side of the Columbus Drive bridge or upper and lower Wacker Drive between Michigan Avenue and Columbus Drive.

 Downtown Chicago Parade: 12:00 noon

The parade starts at Balbo and Columbus and proceeds north on Columbus Drive to Monroe.

Taking Public Transportation  is Highly Recommended!

2011 kicked off with a trip to Disney for 36 lucky au pairs and 2 community counsellors.  Here they are in front of Cinderella’s Castle.