Cindy's Suffolk Au Pairs News Bulletin

The festival began to celebrate Brazil’s Independence Day. Since 1984, that small celebration has only grown, up to the point of attracting over1.5 million people in 2010, according to official information from NYPD.

People come from as close as Connecticut and as far as California. Perfectly bonding with the diverse population of New York City, people also come from Europe, Asia and Africa, to join in the festivities. Some travel in groups, they commute by bus, some fly in, and others simply drive hundreds of miles. No one wants to be left out of this party, which is now considered the world’s biggest Brazilian event outside Brazil and one of the greatest ethnic events in the Big Apple.

The organizers of Brazilian Day, The Brasilians Newspaper, The Brazilian-American Cultural Center (BACC) and TV Globo Internacional, are expecting a record number of participants for the 27th celebration.There are no precise estimates of how many Brazilians live nowadays in the United States. However, the Brazil Information Center (BIC), a non-profit poll organization based out of Washington, D.C., estimates that there are over a million Brazilians throughout the entire country. Of those, 300 thousand live in the three-state area of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. The NGO also estimates that 100 thousand alone live in the Borough of Queens, New York.

The Brazilian Day festival is not simply a party celebration; it has become an opportunity to reach out to the Brazilian community in the United States. On that day, Brazilians join each other from different parts of the world, many coming from Brazil just to attend the festival, show their pride, advertise their culture and live their nostalgic and anonymous feeling of being an immigrant away from home.

Summer is winding done here on Long Island.  Monday, September 5th is Labor Day which is the unofficial end of summer in our area.  Labor Day is the first Monday in September and was first celebrated in the United States on September 5, 1882 as a trade union holiday.   Most people in the USA celebrate the extended weekend with barbeques, picnics and sporting events.  In fashion, it is traditionally the last day white shoes, sandals or pants are worn until next year’s Memorial Day which is celebrated in May. 

School starts around Labor Day with some schools before and some right after.  Everyone is getting back into routine.  The September Cluster Meeting for the Au Pairs is on September 11 and is MANDATORY!  There is so much important info to go over and lots of new au pairs to meet.  Check your email for the time and location!

• Stay home with your host family during the storm and follow their advice and direction  
• Keep your own families at home informed about your location and personal status during/after the storm
• Talk to your host family about any travel plans you or they have for this weekend and cancel/reschedule
• If you have an emergency during the storm, please call our emergency service center number directly  973-413-1372

• Food and water
• flashlights and batteries
• a battery operated radio
• charge your cell phones before the storm
• cooler and ice for food to be stored
• hand wipes
• a first aide kit
• activities to occupy the children

School Registration is NOW!

Global Awareness Presentation by Bruna part of the UCLA Advantage Class course requirement.

August is lots of fun and it is easy to forget that September is quickly approaching.  On the right hand column of this blog there are links to all the education opportunities for au pairs in Suffolk County.  Make sure you register for your classes NOW!

Educare Au Pairs must take 12 credits or 160 hours of education at the college level for their year in America.  All other Au Pairs must take 6 credits or 80 hours of education at the college level for each year in America.  If you have questions, please email or call me!

Host families should assist their Au Pairs to make sure the classes fit into the schedule and works best for childcare and for your Au Pairs!

School is something that adds to the cultural exchange experience for the Au Pair and is a requirement of the Department of State for the program.

Some of the Long Island Au Pairs went to the Long Island Ducks Baseball game this past weekend.

What better way is there to spend a summer afternoon than watching the All American past time?  The Au Pairs got to experience the game up close at the family friendly Ducks Stadium.  The professional baseball team won the game, scored some home runs, and gave a great show to the au pairs for their first ever baseball game.  In between innings, there are silly contests with fans from the stands.  Sons tried to break water balloons over their dad’s heads, hot dog costumed people ran a race, a father and son placed bocce bowling, and even a karoke singer got a few cheers from the au pairs!

At the 4th Inning Au Pair in America’s name was displayed on the jumbo screen!

 Kristina (Germany) and Oral (Israel) wore their APIA baseball caps and enjoyed the experience of watching the game!

It was Bruna’s last cluster meeting, she had experienced baseball at the Yankee – Met game earlier this summer!