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Program rules for Holiday and Vacation for Host Families and Au pairs.

“Rest and be thankful.” – William Wordsworth

Holidays and vacations are a great opportunity to rest, recharge and explore the U.S.

Spring break is a busy travel season for host families. Here are some reminders about program rules regarding holidays and vacations.

Holidays

  • Host families are not required to give au pairs any specific holidays.
  • Each host family will make different arrangements on holidays, some au pairs will be off and others will be required to work.
  • Au pairs should not make plans for holidays without checking with your host family first.

Vacations

  • Au pairs earns 2 weeks of paid vacation during the course of her year.
  • Vacation time should be mutually agreed upon.
  • All vacation should be preplanned (at least 4-12 weeks in advance.) This can allow time to coordinate the au pair’s weekend off for the month that she will also travel.
  • All au pair’s friends and/or family visits/vacations should be pre-approved prior to purchasing tickets. Some host families will not be comfortable with your guest visiting during your work hours. You may need to coordinate your vacation with your guest’s plans.
  • If an au pair travels with her host family, it should be discussed in advance whether this is the au pair’s vacation or if she is working.
  • If an au pair travels with the host family to work, the host family is required to pay for her transportation, lodging and meals. Her Lodging should ensure her privacy.

Important: If an au pair is traveling outside of the U.S., she must have her DS2019 signed (travel validation) PRIOR to her departure from the US. A visitor’s visa may also be needed for the country you are visiting.  More information about this may be found here on the Au Pair in America website.

Live Your Dream!

It is normal for an Au Pair to feel a little bit homesick, especially after the holidays have ended. Our long rainy, wet winter has all of us singing the blues! Here are some tips for making it through the roughest days. 

  Here are some things to do if you are feeling a little blue:

 

  • Be a tourist, get to know where you live, visit the local sights and explore just as you would if on vacation.  Start a list of favorite places.
  • Plan a trip with a friend, a day trip or a weekend, get excited about doing something new with a new friend and before you know it you will be excited and chatting about the trip instead of talking about what you are missing at home. 
  • Go to your cluster meeting, This will definitely help you.
  • Not everything has to change.  If you loved jogging at home, do it here.  There are some habits you love that you can keep.
  • Create a routine.  Having a routine will help  you feel at home and settle into life here.
  • Do not stay home.  Get out and about, go to the gym, the park, a coffee shop, a movie, staying home alone will not help homesickness.
  • Ask your counselor to connect you with another au pair who was also homesick, there’s nothing better than talking to someone who has been in your shoes.
  • Start planning a digital memory book. Collect pictures and mementos from your year in a special online folder. Online sites like Shutter Fly and  Social Print Studios offer great deals on photo books.It will give you something to work on when you  have quiet time alone and as your year progresses you will be able to see what an amazing experience you are having.  You’ll have a wonderful keepsake to take home with you.  You’ll feel so proud of your memory book! 
  • Most importantly, talk to someone, if you feel sad or homesick.  Being part of a cluster enables us to help and support each other. 

A little inspiration from a former au pair… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3IBmRWGnwA

 

Have a great year, this is your dream, make the most of it! 

 

 

 

 

 

Exciting New Educational Class For Au Pairs!

Au Pair –  New Place, New Culture, Now What?

This class is for the Au Pairs or students of other cultures who already speak English quite well and want learn more about the place in which they have chosen to live, The United States.  There will be in depth discussions about adjusting to live in the United States and the stages of cultural adjustment. What are the popular holidays and how do we celebrate them? Learn new vocabulary, idioms and maybe even some of our good ole North American humor and slang. Students will keep journals of different experiences for discussion in class.

March 4 – May 20

No Class:

March 11: Professional Development Day

April 1-5: Spring Break

Alpharetta and Gwinnett Campus

Mondays & Wednesdays

9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

10 weeks

7.2 CEU’s

72 hours

Early Registration deadline: February 27

Early Registration fee $500

Regular Price: $530

To Register: https://aceweb.gwinnetttech.edu/wconnect/CourseStatus.awp?&course=193CED9072

Au pairs must finish all educational classes one MONTH BEFORE their year end. The State Department will deny any request to extend your au pair term, if your education is not finished by the 11th month. 

CEUs, Semester Credits, Continuing Education Credits are all different ways of measuring time in a class. Every au pair will need 72 classroom hours of education. For example: In order to have 72 hours of class time an Au pair must have 7.2 ceus. Count the number of hours you have attended class to add up to 72 hours. 

 

Options for medical care. Where to go

Options for care- What an au pair needs to know!

Au pairs can go to mini clinics for a number or illnesses:

Colds, flu, Cold sores, ear infections

Coughs, headaches, migraines, insect bites, head lice

Urinary tract infections, Sinus infections, rash, Ringworm,

Upper respiratory infections, Pink eye, skin irritations

Stomach aches, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting

Seasonal Allergies

Some examples of mini clinics are:

Urgent Care Center

Walk in clinic

CVS Minute Clinics

Walgreens Take Care Clinics

Primary Care Physician office (This is will require an appointment and might not be available on the same day or after hours)

Mini clinics are open after hours and late hours and do not require an appointment. When visiting these clinics or physicians office please direct receptionist to look on back of card for details of your net work. You are a part of the First Health Network.

To Search for a doctor or clinic in your immediate area go to use the U.S Search Provider Tool.

 

Au Pairs should avoid using the Emergency Room if the condition is not life threatening.

Three Reasons you should avoid using the Hospital emergency Room for non-threatening illnesses:

  1. A 500.00 deductible will be added to your charge ( by the insurance company) for an emergency room visit for a non-emergency-related illness.
  2. Typically the wait for treatment in an emergency room will be long.
  3. Hospital emergency rooms are for those with true life-threatening injuries or illnesses. It is important to keep medical coverage available for those who need this care.

Of course, if you are experiencing a true, life threatening emergency, treatment should be sought in an emergency room!

Information was obtained at 
www.culturalinsurance.com

 

 

Ideas To Prevent Winter Blues!

5_ways_to_overcome_the_winter_bluesAfter 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. Ask your host mom to help 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 or other social service agency, 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 meeting in, January 23rd to meet new friends and make plans. 

Appeared first on Cindy Garruba’s Long Island Blog.

Thanksgiving in the USA

Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”  Thanksgiving, a uniquely American holiday, dates back to the first European settlers in North America.  After much hardship, illness and hard work, the Pilgrims were finally able to celebrate a successful harvest which they shared with their Native American friends who had helped them through their difficult beginning in America.  Today this day is set aside to feast and to give thanks. This is something we can all share, as we too celebrate our cross-cultural friendships. Enjoy the turkey and all the trimmings!

                                                                                                                                               The early settlers at Thanksgiving:Thanksgiving

 

The most recognized American Thanksgiving by Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving

 

 

 

 

A modern day Thanksgiving. Modern Day Thanksgiving

 

Some activities to share with the children :

Maple-Nut-Berry Popcorn Balls ( for children ages 3 and older): Add some chopped walnuts and raspberries, blueberries or blackberries. Add enough melted butter to lightly coat popcorn. Stir. Pour maple syrup over the warm popcorn and stir until all the corn, nuts and berries are covered. Shape the sticky corn into balls and place on a plate to refrigerate until the syrup hardens

Looking For A Low Cost Halloween Costume?

Have fun on Halloween or at your Halloween party. Dress in a low cost costume!

Consider some of these ideas:

Use a black make-up pencil and draw cat whiskers and a black cat nose.

cat makeup for Halloween

Pin socks on an all white outfit and goes as dryer lint

Halloween makeup can be purchased at most stores like Target, Walmart and drug stores. Use the makeup to look like a scary creature dressed in black. halloween witch makeup

Read on for more great ideas from   http://www.essortment.com/halloween-costume-ideas-50-funny-ideas-52248.html

Looking for a cheap, easy, fast, funny costume this Halloween? Try one of these ideas, sure to be a hit when trick-or-treating or at parties.

1) Dress up as you normally do. If someone asks what you are, tell them you’re a werewolf. If they ask why you have no hair or fangs, explain that it’s not a full moon.

2) Get a bag of white balloons and a box. Put the box over your head and cut out holes for your arms. Paint the box a bright color and the word “soap” across it. Then tape the bubbles to the top of the box around your shoulders and head.

3) Tape a bunch of green or purple balloons all over yourself (wear green or brown clothing underneath). Go as a bunch of grapes.

4) Wear brown clothes. Get a package of fall silk leaves for decorating (you can get 50 in a pack for about a dollar at craft stores). Tape them all over your arms and on a hat. Get a stuffed bird and perch it on your head. Go as a tree.

5) Wrap yourself in a roll of orange felt. Cut armholes and put an orange ski cap on your head. Go as a carrot stick.

6) Safety-pin a bunch of cheap watches and costume jewelry on the inside of your coat. Go as a con man.

7) Get a large box and paint it white, green or tan. Make a hole at the top for your head and armholes. Glue on some magnets and some post-it notes with shopping lists and phone numbers. Go as a refrigerator.

8) Get a roll of orange yarn and a few bags of roasted pumpkin seeds. Glue them all over a cheap orange sweat suit. Go as pumpkin guts.

9) Wear a t-shirt displaying your favorite brand of soda. Get a foil pie plate, punch two holes in it at either end, and run string through it. Put it on your head like a hat and tie it. You’re a bottle of your favorite drink.

10) Glue some (clean) garbage all over a sweat suit. Go as a trash heap.

11) Throw a white sheet over your head, and cut a hole for your head to come through. Wear a yellow hat and paint your face yellow with make up. Go as a fried egg.

12) Get a poster board, make up a funny advertisement and paint it on. Hang it around your neck and go as a billboard.

13) Put on your rattiest clothes and get a toy shopping cart. Fill it with junk. Go as a shopping cart/bag lady.

14) Dress like a mailman. Get a stuffed dog and sew it’s mouth to your pant leg.

15) Get an gorilla costume. Get one of those headbands with the springs on it, but remove the silver balls from the end and glue on tiny toy air planes. Carry a little Barbie doll in an evening gown and you’re King Kong.

16) Get a large box. Cut a hole for your head and arms. Wrap it with gift wrapping paper and put a big bow on your head. Make a large gift tag out of construction paper that says, “To: Women, From: God.” This year, you can honestly say you’re God’s gift to women.

17) Wear all black and a pair of dark sunglasses, or glasses with a rubber nose. Get a strip of fabric you can fashion into a sash (like a beauty queens) and use fabric paint markers to write, “Bless you,” across it. You’re a blessing in disguise.

18) Get a box and paint it white. Make holes for your head and arms. Paint or draw black spots on it and go as a die. If you have a partner, make two and go as a pair of dice.

19) Get an old black sweat suit. Get yellow fabric paint and paint a double-line down the middle, vertically, front and back. Glue some tiny toy cars up and down your front and back and go as a highway.

20) Get a clear plastic bag, and a bag of assorted colored balloons. Step into the bag and make leg holes and arm holes. Fill it with balloons half-blown up, while you’re still in it. Tie it off at the neck. Get a piece of paper as a label and write,”Jellybeans” across the front. You’re a bag of jellybeans.

21) Get a bunch of Barbie dolls and a black sweat suit. Attach the dolls randomly all over the sweat suit. You’re a babe magnet.

22) Get a medium sized box. Cut a hole at the bottom for your head, and a large, square opening in the front. Put pipe cleaners as antennas and glue soda bottle caps on as knobs. Put it over your head and wear all black. You’re a TV announcer.

23) Wear a black sweat suit and randomly attach single socks all over your clothes. You’re the sock thief from the drier.

24) Get some yellow yarn and brown pom-poms. Glue them all over an old sweat suit. Put an old colander over your head as a hat. Go as spaghetti and meat balls.

25) Wear a clown costume top and paint your face. Get a large box and paint it a bright color. Make a hole for your waist and put it on as if the bottom of a skirt. Go as a jack-in-the-box.



26) Glue a bunch of newspapers to old clothes. Go as paper mache in progress.

27) Get a bunch of small, single-serving sized cereal boxes. Glue them all over some old clothes and bring a big, rubber knife. Go as a cereal killer.

28) Get a box, cut arm holes and a hole for your head. Wrap it in pretty patterned gift paper. Stick a bunch of tissues coming out of the neck, and put on a hat covered with tissues glued all over it. Go as a box of tissues.

29) If you’re very pregnant, paint your belly with orange face paint and draw a pumpkin face on the front. Wear a shirt that opens in front and just fasten it above the belly so the pumpkin protrudes. When you put your arms down around your belly, you’ll look like you’re carrying a jack-o-lantern.

30) Paint your car or bicycle tires with black paint. Lay old clothes front-down on the street and drive over them. Let them dry, put them on and go as road kill.

31) Tie a sneaker to the top of your head, wear all pink and paint your face pink. Go as a piece of gum.

32) Get two large pieces of foam and strap them to your shoulders so one hangs in front, the other in back. Stuff some lettuce leaves coming out of them (or green felt), and on the underside of one glue a big, round, red or brown piece of felt that sticks out of the sides. Go as a sandwich.

33) Get a round piece of cardboard and cut a hole in the center of it. Get a large foil tray and cut a hole in it, as well as a table cloth with a hole in it. Put the cardboard over your head, then the table cloth so it hangs over your body, then the tray. Place lettuce leaves coming out from around the neck hole. You’re a head on a platter.

34) Wear a raggedy old pair of shorts and t-shirt, and go unshaven if your a man. Mess your hair up. Get a garden tiki torch from the party supply store. Go as a recent loser from Survivor.

35) Dress as a dog and put a cardboard cone around your neck to keep you from scratching for fleas.

36) .

37) Glue cotton all over a light blue outfit and carry a water gun to squirt people. You’re a rain cloud.

38) Get a pair of angle wings and put them on your back, dressed in your pajamas, fuzzy slippers and bathrobe. Carry around a coffee cup. Your the “Angel Of The Morning.”

39) Cut out a cardboard shape like a surf board and cover it with fake spider webs. You’re a web surfer.

40) Dress in a business suit and carry around a big jar filled half way up with thumb tacks. Go as the “tacks collector.”

41) Get a devil costume and throw over it the ugliest thrift-store blue dress you can find. Be the, “Devil In A Blue Dress.”

42) Tape a bunch of white colored balloons to a a skin-colored body suit. Wear a shower cap and carry a scrub brush.

43) Wrap your body in aluminum foil and top your head with a beret. You’re a french kiss.

44) Get a rubber pig’s nose and wrap yourself in a blanket. Go as a pig in a blanket.

45) Make a green pumpkin shape out of felt and hang it over yourself. Paint a face on it. Go as Jack O’ Lantern.

46) Get a bag of moss from the craft store’s floral isle. Glue it all over some old clothes and hat and go as a chia pet.

47) Pin underwear to your torso and go as a chest of drawers.

48) Dress like a cat; carry a black bag stuffed with fake jewels overflowing. You’re a cat burglar.

49)Attach gum wrappers, small pieces of pink clay to represent gum, soda cups and popcorn bags and a few kernels of popcorn to a black sweat suit, and go as a theater floor.

Plaster yourself with name tags, using a different name on each, and go as a someone having an identity crisis.

Halloween in the USA!

Halloween in the USA!            Happy_halloween_design_background

Halloween, the last day of October, has a special significance for children, who dress in funny or ghostly costumes and knock on neighborhood doors shouting “Trick or Treat!” Pirates and princesses, ghosts and witches all hold bags open to catch the candy or other goodies that the neighbors drop in.

Since the 800’s November 1st is a religious holiday known as All Saints’ Day. The Mass that was said on this day was called Allhallowmas. The evening before became known as All Hallow e’en, or Halloween. Like some other American celebrations, its origins lie in both pre-Christian and Christian customs.

Today school dances and neighborhood parties called “block parties” are popular among young and old alike. More and more adults celebrate Halloween. They dress up as historical or political figures and go to masquerade parties. In larger cities, costumed children and their parents gather at shopping malls early in the evening. Stores and businesses give parties with games and treats for the children. Teenagers enjoy costume dances at their schools and the more outrageous the costume the better! Certain pranks such as soaping car windows and tipping over garbage cans are expected. But partying and pranks are not the only things that Halloweeners enjoy doing. Some collect money to buy food and medicine for needy children around the world.

Symbols of Halloween

Halloween originated as a celebration connected with evil spirits. Witches flying on broomsticks with black cats, ghosts, goblins and skeletons have all evolved as symbols of Halloween. They are popular trick-or-treat costumes and decorations for greeting cards and windows. Black is one of the traditional Halloween colors, probably because Halloween festivals and traditions took place at night. In the weeks before October 31, Americans decorate windows of houses and schools with silhouettes of witches and black cats.

 

Pumpkins are also a symbol of Halloween. The pumpkin is an orange-colored squash, and orange has become the other traditional Halloween color. Carving pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns is a Halloween custom also dating back to Ireland. A legend grew up about a man named Jack who was so stingy that he was not allowed into heaven when he died, because he was a miser. He couldn’t enter hell either because he had played jokes on the devil. As a result, Jack had to walk the earth with his lantern until Judgment Day. The Irish people carved scary faces out of turnips, beets or potatoes representing “Jack of the Lantern,” or jack-o’-lantern. When the Irish brought their customs to the United States, they carved faces on pumpkins because in the autumn they were more plentiful than turnips. Today jack-o’-lanterns in the windows of a house on Halloween night let costumed children know that there are

goodies waiting if they knock and say “Trick or Treat!”   halloween buckets        

Information obtained: http://usa.usembassy.de/holidays-halloween.htm

Safe Driving Tips For Au Pairs.

 

These issues are ones that often happen for Au pairs. Use caution and don’t let it happen to you!

Driving late at night is dangerous because of drunk drivers on the road. In Georgia, after 3am for every five cars that pass you, three of those five drivers have been drinking alcohol. Host families often have car curfews because of this reason.

If you have one beer or one glass of wine or one mixed liquor drink and you drive within one hour—you will test positive for alcohol and can be charged for a DUI (driving under the influence of alcohol). Age 21 is the legal age to drink alcohol in the USA. If you do drink alcohol while out, use Lyft or Uber to safely return home.

Driving in the rain or on wet streets increases your likelihood of having an accident.

Make a system for checking behind the car before backing up. Use the rear view mirrors, but also look behind the car before getting in. When in a driveway, look for children, dogs, shrubs or toys. Most Au pair accidents involve backing up.

When entering a busy street or highway from a parking lot, look for the nearest exit with a traffic light and go there to enter the street. Trying to cross a busy street with no signal is dangerous.

At intersections, look twice before pulling out.

If someone is yelling or honking at you to enter a busy street or intersection, ignore them and wait until you are confident. Accidents happen when you are pressured to move when you are not ready.

Parking a big American car in a small American space is difficult. Practice parking in small spaces outside your host family home with trash cans. Your host family will respect your efforts to be responsible.

Do not hold/talk with your cell phone while driving. This is a law in Georgia. Do not listen to earphones to hear music from your cell phone while driving.

Traffic along busy shopping malls requires special caution. Go slower and do not try to change lanes. Avoid these areas at holiday times.

If you realize you are about to miss your turn, let it pass by. You can safely turn around and go back, but trying to make a last minute maneuver will cause an accident.

Never turn your head to speak to another person in the car. Children will cry and misbehave, but you must keep your eyes on the road ahead.

If your car runs off the road, don’t panic. Turning the steering wheel sharply to get back on the road will cause the car to turn over or cross into the on-coming traffic. Instead, slow down and travel off the road until you can safely and slowly return back to the road.

While traveling in a neighborhood, use caution and go very slowly. Dogs and children can quickly dart in front of you.

Never let the gas get lower than half a tank. Running out of gas can put you and your host family children in danger. Use your own money and give the receipt to the host family.

Many intersections now have automatic cameras that take pictures of everyone going through the light. If you enter the intersection on a yellow light, and it turns red while you are beneath it, you will be ticketed. Never slam on brakes when approaching the yellow light. Slow down and use caution to stop appropriately.

Be mindful of school zones. The fine for speeding here is very high.

Be mindful of school buses. When you see the yellow flashing light, prepare to stop.

When you see that a police car is pulled over on the side of the road. Merge into the other lane or slow down to make sure the police officer is safe. This is called the “Move Over Law”.