“Sara is a bright, responsible, and loving young woman who cares deeply about our children. She gets down on their level to play and show affection and exhibits such patience in challenging times. We feel very fortunate to have her in our lives as a part of our family and we have learned so much from our experience with her.” ~ Host family in Indiana about their Colombian au pair
You may already know the benefits of hosting an au pair, but with so many amazing candidates to choose from, you may want to consider the country and culture your potential au pair will bring to your family. In the latest installment of our “Country Spotlight” series, today, we focus on Colombia — birthplace of salsa dancing and producer of some of the world’s best coffee. Read on for perks of hosting an au pair from a country consistently ranked as one of the happiest nations in the world.
Here are 5 (of the many!) reasons to host a Colombian au pair:
1. Food
One of the best ways to share culture? Food! Your little chefs will love trying new tastes from their au pair’s home country, like bandeja paisa, Colombia’s national dish. This hearty feast combines steak, pork crackling and chorizo sausages served on a bed of rice and red beans. Buen provecho!
2. Language
By hosting an au pair from Colombia, you’ll expose your family to one of the top five languages spoken around the globe – español! Having a native speaker in your home is one of the best ways to boost a child’s second language skills.
Fun fact: while Spanish is their official language, Colombians boast a whopping 64 native tongues!
3. Cultural Exchange and Global Understanding
One of the most important parts of the au pair program is cultural exchange. Au pairs are encouraged to share their culture with their host family as well as their greater community. Daniela, a Colombian au pair in Colorado spent time teaching her host children’s preschool class all about her home country. Daniela gave each child a coloring sheet of the Colombian flag and taught some basic words and phrases in Spanish. Of this experience, Daniela says, “It was exciting to see how the kids were asking me to tell them some words in Spanish and repeating after me. It was a really good experience, that made me understand how important and difficult the work of a teacher is.”
4. Festivos!
Every au pair is excited to experience American holidays (Fourth of July and Halloween tend to be fan favorites!), but it’s also special and rewarding to incorporate an au pair’s holidays and celebrations from their county into yours. And Colombians love to celebrate! Colombia has more public holidays than most every country around the globe – 18 holidays, compared to 10 in the US. Ask your au pair about the Baranquilla’s Carnival, Latin America’s second largest carnival after Rio de Janeiro.
5. Get Happy!
Colombians are known as some of the happiest people on the planet. In fact, according to a recent Gallup poll, 87% of Colombians report that they are happy, exceeding the world average happiness (56%). So, what makes Colombians so happy? Is it the climate? The natural beauty? All those holidays? We don’t know for sure, but we do know that hosting Colombian au pairs makes our host families very happy too.
Interested in learning more about hosting a Colombian au pair?
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