Category Archives: Uncategorized

Smithsonian Folklife Festival

The Folklife Festival will take place June 27-July 1 and July 4-8. 

The annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival is an international exhibition of living cultural heritage. Attracting more than one million visitors yearly, the two-week long celebration is the largest annual cultural event in the United States.

The Festival is held outdoors on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between the Smithsonian museums. There is no admission charge. Visitors should dress for hot and humid weather. Parking around the Mall is extremely limited, so visitors are advised to use public transportation. L’Enfant Plaza is the closest Metro station to the Festival site. National Archives, Smithsonian, and Federal Center stations are within a half-mile. For assistance planning how to get around, visit www.goDCgo.com. For general Smithsonian visitor information, http://www.si.edu/Visit or call 202.633.1000 (voice).

Festival hours are 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with special events taking place most evenings beginning at 6:30 p.m. View the schedule here.

I highly recommend that you visit their website to plan your visit http://www.festival.si.edu/

Options for those Last Few Education Hours

How many total classroom hours do you need?

  • Standard au pairs must complete 72 hours or 6 credits or 7.2 CEUs.
  • Educare companions must complete 144 hours or 12 credits or 14.4 CEUs.

Certain combinations of classes can leave you just a few hours short of the requirement.

Here are several options for completing those last few hours. Prices listed are correct as of February 10, 2017 and are subject to change. Consult the university websites for full information.

Virginia International University Saturday Museum Classes
5 hours (.5 CEUs) for $40 (+$20 reg. fee)
Held almost every Saturday morning (10:30am) in DC. Metro accessible locations.
Students will spend a day at a different museum each week and participate in an interactive, themed museum tour facilitated by an ESL instructors.

University of Virgin Islands Experience America through Art Galleries & Museums
5 hours (.5 CEUs) for $40
Held once per month on a Saturday (10 am or 1:30pm) in DC. Metro accessible locations.
Students self guide through a local museum over a 3 hour period and complete an outside assignment. The assignment is creating a detailed pictorial report of the visit, due within 7 days of the course.

University of Virgin Islands Fitness Fridays
2 hours (.2 CEUs) for $20
Held once per month on a Friday evening (8 pm) in DC. Metro accessible location.
A fitness class where students will stretch, move and exercise. Register early, space is limited.

Local Community Colleges
Check on our Resource Page under Education Options for links to local community colleges. In the Non-Credit or Continuing Education Catalogs, they will have a variety of small courses in a variety of subjects.

Au Pair in America enjoys watching the Navy football game win!

International Education Week (Nov 14-18) began in 2000 and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the U.S. Department of Education. This important week is observed all across the United States and in more than 100 countries overseas. IEW is an opportunity for exchange students worldwide to share with their host communities their cultures and highlight the benefits of international educational exchange programs. This past Saturday, Nov 12th, over 160 au pairs from 7 different clusters across MD and VA attended a Navy Football game. It was great fun to introduce these girls to an American pastime favorite and for many girls it was their first football game in the USA!

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Au Pairs enjoy charming downtown Annapolis

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With so many new au pairs with Au Pair in America having arrived over the summer months, we wanted to introduce them to our lovely charming city of Annapolis. Last Sunday we enjoyed ice cream downtown at the Annapolis Ice Cream Company located on Main Street. Afterwards walked down to Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre to see a very funny musical, The Producers . It was a great evening!  For more information about hosting an au pair in your home to meet your childcare needs visit our updated and revised website at www.aupairinamerica.com

DC Metro Area Cultural Fair – Mega Success!

1915609_10207257219523657_139700687365704839_nIt may have been grey and rainy outside in DC on Sunday, May 1 but it was bright and lively inside the Nats Stadium clubhouse as Au Pairs from the MD/DC/VA region showcased their countries to enthusiastic host families and other visitors. APIA’s director, Ruth Ferry and VP Jean Quinn came and joined us, as well as a couple State Department representatives.Host children enjoyed getting their passports stamped and their faces painted, while host families enjoyed interacting with all the various country representatives and sampling delicious foods. The Jamaica table’s food was particularly popular. While it required some travel for many host families and counselors, it was definitely worth the drive! #aupair30 #aupairinamericaBrazilCultural Fair2

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Cultural Fair ~ Au Pair in America May 1st

german-aupairJoin Au Pair in America for a Trip Around the World! Sunday, May 1, 2016 | 1–4pm at the Nationals Park, Norfolk Southern Club 1500 South Capitol Street, SE | Washington, DC
Help us celebrate 30 years of Au Pair in America and the U.S. Department of State’s au pair program! You’re invited to a fun afternoon of educational country displays, performances by au pairs, a photo op, face painting, and other fun activities for children. Au Pair in America staff, host families and au pairs from over 30 countries will be in attendance. Come learn about the au pair program and enjoy a fun and educational afternoon! To learn more click on this link and RSVP if interested in attending:  http://www.aupairinamerica.com/culturalfair/.  #‎aupairnats‬

Light City Baltimore in the Inner Harbor

On the evening of April 2 the Annapolis and Baltimore clusters met up in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor to walk around the display called Light City Baltimore. The light festival was just what the city needed after last year’s stresses, to remind everyone that Baltimore is a vibrant and historic city beloved by many. It was so crowded that it was challenging to stay together as a group but we know that new connections were made and older ones deepened as our Au pairs spent the evening out and about.image image image image image image

Au Pairs Experience Snow Tubing at Ski Liberty

DSC_0877The Annapolis, Baltimore and Columbia clusters had a fantastic outing on Saturday February 27. We went snow tubing at Ski Liberty, located just over the Pennsylvania line. There were several host families along for the fun, and our group totaled 50 happy tubers!
Events like this one serve the purpose of introducing those au pairs from parts of the globe that don’t have snow to the fun sports we entertain ourselves with during the winter months, as well as bringing everyone together to meet new friends. Camaraderie during ones au pair year cannot be underestimated.

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For anyone who would like to experience snow tubing while it still is offered, we can highly recommend Ski Liberty. http://www.libertymountainresort.com/winter-sports-liberty/tubing/tubing-boulder-ridge

Celebrating President’s Day Feb 15th

Presidents DayPresidents’ Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, it is still officially called “Washington’s Birthday” by the federal government. Traditionally celebrated on February 22 ~ Washington’s actual day of birth ~ the holiday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for American workers. While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other figures, Presidents’ Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents past and present.
To see a listing of all U.S. presidents go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents. Click on each president to find out who they were and what they achieved during their presidency. This is a great site to go through with your children to test their knowledge and your own!