{"id":2969,"date":"2017-12-01T13:59:48","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T13:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/2017\/12\/01\/avoiding-homesickness-holiday-season\/"},"modified":"2019-03-07T17:35:32","modified_gmt":"2019-03-07T17:35:32","slug":"avoiding-homesickness-holiday-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/2017\/12\/01\/avoiding-homesickness-holiday-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoiding Homesickness this Holiday Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Homesickness can be a problem during the holidays, even if it hasn’t been at any other time of the year. Au pairs often miss their friends and family, familiar places and their own traditions and customs. The holiday activities in the United States seem, and may actually be, different just at a time when an au pair would welcome something familiar.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is common for au pairs’ emotions to be close to the surface during the holidays. Her highs are higher, her lows are lower. The enormity of what she has done\u2013actually living in another country (which is an amazing thing when you think about it!)\u2013hits her and throws her into a self-protective mode. <\/span><\/p>\n

Host parents can help her through this unfamiliar territory by talking to her about what your specific family activities will be (gifts, meals, visitors, religious services, in-home traditions, or none of these, as the case may be.) In the spirit of cultural exchange, ask her if she has any favorite holiday traditions or foods that you might be able to incorporate into your family’s celebration of the season. Let her know what you will be doing, when you will be doing it, and what she can expect. Talk to her about what has to be accomplished and get her involved and interested. Don’t expect her to just “know” what needs to be done. Give her some clear, agreed upon assignments. Make her feel a part of things. And, let her know her contribution is needed and appreciated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo: Sheila Sund (Flickr)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Homesickness can be a problem during the holidays, even if it hasn’t been at any other time of the year. Au pairs often miss their friends and family, familiar places and their own traditions and customs. The holiday activities in the United States seem, and may actually be, different just at a time when an Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,4,5],"tags":[41,157,161,271,274,662,548],"class_list":["post-2969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-au-pair-tips","category-fun-things-we-do","category-host-family-tips","category-kids","tag-au-pair","tag-cultural-exchange","tag-culture-shock","tag-holidays","tag-homesickness","tag-traditions","tag-winter"],"yoast_head":"\nAvoiding Homesickness this Holiday Season - ABC Blog (Annapolis, Baltimore & Columbia, MD)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Avoiding Homesickness this Holiday Season - ABC Blog (Annapolis, Baltimore & Columbia, MD)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Homesickness can be a problem during the holidays, even if it hasn’t been at any other time of the year. Au pairs often miss their friends and family, familiar places and their own traditions and customs. The holiday activities in the United States seem, and may actually be, different just at a time when an Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/2017\/12\/01\/avoiding-homesickness-holiday-season\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ABC Blog (Annapolis, Baltimore & Columbia, MD)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-12-01T13:59:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-03-07T17:35:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/mdf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/11\/Sheila-Sund-ornament-300x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Natasha Wrobel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Natasha Wrobel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/2017\/12\/01\/avoiding-homesickness-holiday-season\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/2017\/12\/01\/avoiding-homesickness-holiday-season\/\",\"name\":\"Avoiding Homesickness this Holiday Season - ABC Blog (Annapolis, Baltimore & Columbia, MD)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/2017\/12\/01\/avoiding-homesickness-holiday-season\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/2017\/12\/01\/avoiding-homesickness-holiday-season\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/mdf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/11\/Sheila-Sund-ornament-300x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-12-01T13:59:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-07T17:35:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/#\/schema\/person\/1f6a49cbbaccbdd9a5ca7b8cbe591972\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/2017\/12\/01\/avoiding-homesickness-holiday-season\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/2017\/12\/01\/avoiding-homesickness-holiday-season\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/2017\/12\/01\/avoiding-homesickness-holiday-season\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/mdf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/11\/Sheila-Sund-ornament-300x300.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/mdf\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/11\/Sheila-Sund-ornament-300x300.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/2017\/12\/01\/avoiding-homesickness-holiday-season\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Avoiding Homesickness this Holiday Season\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/\",\"name\":\"ABC Blog (Annapolis, Baltimore & Columbia, MD)\",\"description\":\"The place to find out about Au Pair in America in Annapolis, Baltimore & Columbia, Maryland and the nearby areas.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/#\/schema\/person\/1f6a49cbbaccbdd9a5ca7b8cbe591972\",\"name\":\"Natasha Wrobel\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/abc\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0c5e115dfc32f9775982c1c006cc04803b1e965f411deacd19a99c9e7c876dba?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0c5e115dfc32f9775982c1c006cc04803b1e965f411deacd19a99c9e7c876dba?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Natasha Wrobel\"},\"description\":\"Welcome! 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