Author Archives: Natasha Wrobel

About Natasha Wrobel

Welcome! My name is Natasha Wrobel and I am the senior community counselor for the greater Annapolis, Maryland area. I have been a community counselor with Au Pair in America since 2000. In college I had the opportunity to study the German language in Austria at the University of Graz. Prior to becoming a counselor I was an attorney with the United States Air Force and was on active duty for nine years. I will retire from the Air Force in July 2015 after 20 years of service. Having lived abroad and studied a foreign language has served me well in connecting with au pairs from around the world in my role as a community counselor. Having hosted an au pair in my home has given me an understanding of the program from a host family perspective. It has been a joy to help facilitate a cultural exchange with these young women and American families as they introduce their children to other cultures and traditions. It is a delight to witness our children gain a better appreciation of our world. So often host families stay in touch with their former au pairs for years, long after the au pair has returned to her home country, leaving our children with a greater understanding of community and family! This has been the most rewarding aspect for me to witness.

Beat the Post Holiday & Winter Blues Tips for Au Pair

After the decorations are put away, the celebrations are over, the New Year has begun: and the post holiday winter blues are starting to hit you and your host family.  What can you do to get through the long cold winter months happily?

  1. Get outside every day with the kids, bundle up and play outside.  Go to the park, take a walk, ride bikes; we have been having an unusually warm winter, so enjoy it!  If it snows, build a snowman, go sledding, have fun outside!
  2. Stay on routine with the kids; get up on time, have breakfast, get to the bus stop on time.  Make sure homework is done and everyone gets to their activities on time.  Bedtime routines are important, make sure everyone gets enough sleep and that includes YOU!
  3. Register for your classes, and get ready to start learning something new!
  4. Call a friend and meet for coffee and conversation if you feel housebound. 
  5. Set up a play date with another au pair and her host children (similar ages) and enjoy a day together! 
  6. Join a gym with another au pair!
  7. Use the library in your town.  Sign the kids up for free programs (talk to host parents about the programs!)  Join the English conversation group, improve your English and meet people!
  8. Prepare a Global Awareness presentation for one of your host kids’ classes, ask me for help!
  9. Volunteer at a local hospital, school, animal shelter, food bank if you have extra time on your hands and need to do something!  Doing for others is always an answer for the blues!!
  10. Come to our new Annapolis cluster group Coffee Klatch on Jan 19th and 30th at the new stand alone Starbucks in Severna Park on Rt 2 and Robinson Road to ask questions or just to chat from 9:30 am until 11:30 am. 

Au Pair in America Holiday Party and International Cookie Swap

Sunday December 11th was the International Holiday party for the Annapolis cluster of Au Pair in America.  Each au pair brought a cookie or sweet  from her home country to share and all girls went home with a bag of treats from all over the world!  Girls from Germany, Brazil, Ukraine and Thailand joined in the festivities.  Each au pair brought a wrapped gift for the gift exchange.  The gifts were placed under the tree as the au pairs arrived.  We learned about each others customs and traditions and got to know each other a bit more!   The Thai girls educated us on their New Year traditions as this is the big holiday that is celebrated in their home country.  Later we gathered around the tree for the gift exchange, numbers were drawn to determine who went 1, 2, 3 and so on.  Natasha Wrobel, Annapolis Community Counselor, handed out Christmas mugs for hot chocolate to keep warm over the upcoming winter months. 

  

We also had the pleasure and honor of having a Federal Marshall visit with us to give the au pairs a safety briefing and practical tips when they are out with their host families children, out on the town alone or out with friends.  It was very educational and informative. 

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!    

  

International Celebrations of Giving Thanks!

Thanksgiving in the United States is celebrated on the 4th Thursday in November.  It is often thought of as a particularly American holiday because of the story of the Pilgrims and the Indians.  You will find, however, that most cultures, religions, and/or countries have some kind of a holiday that involves giving thanks.  Many of them are associated with harvest time.  Some of them are still celebrated as separate holidays. 

In ancient times the Hebrews had a feast at which they gave thanks to God for their harvest.  It was called Sukkot and Jews still celebrate it today.  The ancient Greeks had a harvest festival in honor of Demeter, the goddess of the harvest.  They brought gifts of honey, fruit and grain to her shrines.  The Romans honored Ceres, the goddess who protected their crops.  They called it the festival of Cerelia, and that is where the word “cereal” is derived.  For hundreds of years the Chinese have celebrated a festival of the harvest moon.  This brightest moon of the year shines on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar.  The festival is called the Mid-Autumn Festival.  The Vietnamese call this festival Tet Trung Thu.  Koreans celebrate it as Chu-Sok.  People in Southern India celebrate at least 2 harvest festivals, Onam in the fall and Pongal in the midwinter.  Onam is a harvest festival associated with the legendary King Mahabalia.  Pongol is the celebration of the rice harvest, the biggest festival of the year.  In England, the thanksgiving celebration was called Harvest Home.  It took place when the last field was harvested and the crops were brought safely to the barns.  Thanksgiving has also been celebrated in Canada for a long time.  It probably began many years before the Pilgrims landed in America. 

So when the Pilgrims did land in their new home on December 21, 1620, they already knew about the ceremonies of thanksgiving.  They had, of course, come from England and were familiar with the custom of giving thanks after the harvest.  So, one year later, after a year of terrible hardship and frighteningly little success, Governor William Bradford proclaimed the first day of Thanksgiving in the Plymouth Colony.  This was the feast day that many think of when we hear “the first Thanksgiving.”  It was the one shared with the Indians, who had helped the Pilgrims and introduced them to the native foods and strange farming practices of the New World.

Changes to the Maryland Driver's Handbook

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From the MVA website:
Beginning October 2011, the knowledge test you must pass to get a non-commercial Class C learner’s permit will be based on information in the new Maryland Driver’s Manual. The new Manual includes basic knowledge on driver safety for new drivers, including: traffic laws of this State; highway signs regulating, warning & directing traffic; and safe driving practices.  The improved graphics, full-color design, and brief paragraphs provide an easy read of only 39 pages – packed with core driver safety facts.

I have updated the links (on the column to the right) to include the New Driver’s Handbook in English, Spanish and an audio version. Paper copies are available in MVA offices.

There is now one booklet instead of two. The yellow booklet that contains the information on who needs a driver’s license and who does not, which I have given out to be kept in the car, will probably not be available after September.

What to keep in the car for proof now?
I have obtained a copy of the Maryland Law regarding International Drivers. The information is copied directly from a booklet which all police officers have in their squad car. The idea is that it shows them where to look up the law and once they compare your paper to that section of their booklet, they should realize that au pairs are allowed to drive on their country license (for up to one year.) Sometimes, they will still choose to write you the ticket for not having a Maryland license. If that happens, don’t worry. You can go to court and the judge should drop the ticket, as long as you are in your first year and have a valid license from your home country in your possession.

I have uploaded this document on Google Docs. You may access it HERE and print a copy for each car the au pair drives.

Celebrating Rosh Hashanah

September 28-Rosh Hashanah – Happy New Year to all our host families, au pairs and friends.  Rosh Hashanah starts at sundown and is a solemn celebration of the beginning of the Jewish year.  Synagogue services are held on Rosh Hashanah. During the services, the shofar, a ram’s horn, is sounded.  During Rosh Hashanah special dishes are prepared. Many of the dishes contain honey which symbolizes the desire for a sweet year. The round-shaped bread served represents the fullness of the year.  If you would like some more information about this holiday please visit http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/rosh-hashana.

Baby Safety Month

photo by craftycars

photo by craftycars

There are many safety tips on the Au Pair in America website http://aupairinamerica.com/.  In honor of Baby Safety Month, here are some more specific baby tips: 

  • Check condition and sturdiness of toys. Discard any with sharp edges or are broken or falling apart.
  • Check children’s clothing for loose buttons and strings.
  • Is baby’s pacifier still in good condition? If not, toss it. Never use strings to attach the pacifier to baby’s clothes or crib.
  • Where do you set baby’s carrier when she’s in it? Not on the counter, or any high surface. Babies can wiggle and tip themselves over.
  • Walkers can be dangerous (especially old ones that don’t meet today’s safety standards), they allow baby to move very quickly and reach things they normally can’t. Never use around stairs.
  • Stroller check. If your stroller is collapsible, be sure latches are secure before putting baby in. Always check that your child’s arms are out of the way when reversing handle directions so they won’t get pinched. Be sure to use that safety strap. Don’t hang overloaded or heavy bags on the handle of the stroller; this may cause it to tip over.
  • Can you name the 12 most common choking foods for kids under five? Popcorn, hot dogs, chunks of meat, raisins, ice cubes, chunky peanut butter, nuts of any kind, hard candy, grapes, raw carrots, potato chips and corn chips. Don’t leave toddlers alone while eating; if they begin to choke you need to be nearby to assist.
  • Get a piggy bank: this is a great place to put coins so they don’t end up on the floor, in the couch cushions and then baby’s mouth.
  • Never leave your child unattended in the bathtub. If the phone rings, let the machine get it.

Remembering 9/11

Twin Towers by pingnews.com

Twin Towers by pingnews.com

September 11th: 

Take a moment to day to remember victims of the 2001 September 11 attacks, often referred to as 9/11 (pronounced nine-eleven) On this day, hijackers intentionally crashed two airplanes in to the World Trade Center in New York City causing them to collapse. Hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania, after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane.

 

 

Football season kicks off this month

Photo by Kevygee

Photo by Kevygee

American Football Simplified:

A football field is 100 yards long. There is a Goal Post at each end of the field, in the End Zone, one for each team.  A Football Game is made up of 60 minutes of play time. The 60 minutes is divided into four Quarters of 15 minutes each. At the end of two Quarters, there is a break called Half Time. On the Scoreboard you can see the minutes and seconds running out. The team with the most points at the end of four Quarters wins.  Each team has an Offense and a Defense. If the Offense has the ball and tries to score by getting it across the Goal Line – the line where the playing field and the End Zone meet. The Defense tries to stop them. The Offense gets four tries to move the ball 10 yards toward their own goal post. These are called Downs. If they make the 10 yards or more, they get another four tries to move the ball another 10 yards. If they don’t move the ball 10 yards in four tries, the ball goes to the other team, or the team “loses the ball.”  The Super Bowl is the final game of the Football season when two teams play each other for the championship. The game takes place in late January or early February. For some people the TV commercials are the best part of the Super Bowl.  For the full rules of American Football visit:  http://aupairinamerica.com/resources/life_in_the_us/football.asp