Contributed by Diane Wallace, Senior Community Counselor and Senior Field Representative for Au Pair in America.
On Saturday, May 5, au pairs from all over the world joined with Au Pair in America international partners from 19 countries to host a Cultural Fair in Leesburg, VA!
One of the highlights of the event was all of the amazing food the au pairs prepared for the attendees. If you like Thai food, this was the place to be! Attendees are still talking about the Thai Curry Chicken made by several Thai au pairs! Some of the international partners also brought goodies to the event from their countries, including candy that looked familiar but had a wrapper with a different language and candies that were not so familiar but tasted delicious. The South African au pairs even made the South African flag out of cupcakes!
The first half of the fair was focused on attendees visiting the country tables and the second half was for our performers. Everyone enjoyed performances by French, Australian, Austrian, German and Chinese au pairs. There was not a dry eye in the house as the songs that the performers sang about their countries were so moving! We also got to see an amusing skit about a German meeting an American and how a simple one-syllable word in English may be multiple syllables when translated to its German word. Lastly, the Chinese au pairs did a beautiful and moving dance – it too had everyone in tears!
When the fair was coming to an end, it was hard to get the attendees away from the au pairs, and the au pairs didn’t want them to leave! They were having just as much fun sharing their culture with all of us.
It was a magical day for everyone involved.
Is your family interested in cultural exchange? Learn more about the Au Pair in America program!
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