Tag Archives: Massachusetts

2011 Cultural Fair

2010 Cultural Fair

2010 Cultural Fair

  • Where: 300 Congress St, Boston, MA 02210
  • Date: April 30, 2011
  • Time: 11:00am–2:00pm

  • Local Au Pairs to participate in an International Cultural Fair at Boston Children’s Museum on April 30th On Saturday, April, 30th, au pairs from local families will host an International Children’s Cultural Fair at the Boston Children’s Museum from 11am to 2pm.  The au pairs, who are a part of Au Pair in America live with local host families for a year and care for their children.    The fair will be a celebration of culture geared toward families and children.  The au pairs will share songs, traditional dances, crafts and facts about their countries.  Children will be given a ‘passport card’ to collect country flags as they visit the displays which have been put together by au pairs from the many different countries.    All are welcome to attend the event at Boston Children’s Museum at 300 Congress Street, Boston MA.   The cultural fair is a great opportunity to interact with these young women who come from many countries around the world.    Pictures of last year’s fair.

Au Pairs visit the Prudential Center Skywalk

In addition to monthly meetings offered by each counselor to her au pair group, Au Pair in America counselors in the Boston area organize a regional event once a month that is open to all Au Pair in America au pairs in the Boston area.   This month, 50 au pairs joined me and two other local counselors for the Prudential Center Skywalk

View of Boston

View of Boston

Blue, sunny skies made for breathtaking views from the 50th floor.  Au Pairs were able to do an audio tour and learn more about the city of Boston and its landmarks.  They all enjoyed getting to know the city they chose to come to a bit better.  A true cultural exchange experience!

To see more photos of our regional event, please go to Skywalk 2011 or Heike’s Pictures

Boston area au pairs go maple sugaring

In an effort to bring relevant cultural experiences to our au pairs, counselor Heike and I took our groups to a maple sugaring tour at the Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary in Belmont.    We were welcomed by two experienced nature guides who ventured out into the snowy landscape with us to teach us about about maple sugaring.

a walk in the woods

a walk in the woods

We talked about and visited several maple trees, among them a red maple, a striped maple and of course, the sugar maple which is used to make maple syrup.  We learned how to differentiate them by the way their leaves and buds look or how the branches come out of the trunk.

We ended up at a tapped sugar maple tree and observed the sap dripping into the bucket attached to the trunk.    We learned that it takes a set of perfect weather conditions to come together to make the sap that is stored in the roots in winter to start flowing up the trunk.   It is a combination of cold nights and warm days, conditions that can be found in the Northeastern US and Canada.  When we tasted the sap, we all expected it to taste a lot sweeter than it was.  It is the process of boiling down the sap that converts it into sweet syrup.

tapped maple tree

tapped maple tree

sugar shack

sugar shack

As part of the tour, we visited a fake sugar shack and the guides explained the process of how maple sap is boiled down to maple syrup.  We learned that it takes 40 cups of sugar maple sap to make one cup of maple syrup!  We got a chance to go into the kitchen and boil down some maple sap.   We also tasted “fake” maple syrup and the real deal and had to guess which is which.

taste test

taste test

At the end of the tour, a nice surprise was waiting for us:  vanilla ice cream with maple syrup, dried blueberries and cranberries.

Maple Sugaring Group

Maple Sugaring Group

For more pictures of our maple sugaring tour go to maple sugaring photos

Boston Area Au Pairs go snowtubing

This January, our cluster met other Boston area au pairs to go night time snowtubing in Nashoba Valley.   We have  au pairs that come from countries that usually don’t get snow and many of them are excited to participate in winter activities.  After enjoying a cup of hot chocolate and treats, au pairs braved the elements and headed for the slopes.

For more pictures please visit Snowtubing 2011

Boston area au pairs celebrate the holiday season

This week, five counselors from the Boston area organized a multi-cluster holiday party for their au pairs.   There was plenty of food (each attendee brought a contribution, many from different countries),  holiday singing, a visit from Santa and a fun gift exchange game.

German au pairs singing

German au pairs singing

This party truly represented the spirit of Au Pair in America’s cultural exchange program.  Au Pairs talked about their traditions, brought in food from their countries, listened to American holiday songs and sang songs in their own language.

For more photos of this party please go to Holiday Party 2010.                                                         Check out our holiday singing at   Au Pairs singing holiday songs

Au Pairs visit self defense class in Arlington

This month, our au pair group visited “Not-Me” in East Arlington, where owner Erik Kondo held a “Beyond Awareness – Physical Assertiveness for the Street”  self-defense class.  The class focused mainly on non-physical aspects of self-defense, like the decision not to be a victim, situational awareness, one’s attitudes and appearance,  assertiveness, body language, boundary setting, and steps on how to de-escalate an aggressive situation.   Erik and his assistants took us through potential aggressive situations and we got to practice strategies that we had discussed earlier.

This month’s meeting satisfies the State Department mandated quarterly childcare/safety meeting.   It also supports Au Pair in America’s high standard for safety.   Erik’s strategies can be applied to every day life and hopefully most of us will find ourselves remembering some of the things he taught us to keep ourselves and others safe.

We even made it onto the “Not-Me” blog.  Check it out at Not-Me.

For more pictures of our meeting please visit Au Pair Self Defense

Harvard Tour 2010

Harvard University

Harvard University

Each month, Au Pair in America offers a regional event to au pairs in the Boston area.  It is another opportunity for our au pairs to connect with others and to learn about American culture.   This month, we offered a free Harvard Tour, led by a Harvard sophomore, Todd.  On a sunny, warm fall day, more than 50 au pairs attended and seemed to enjoy themselves.  Many of the au pairs are attending Harvard Extension School for ESL or other topics, because it is one of the affordable options for au pairs to satisfy their educational requirement.

At the steps of Widener Library

At the steps of Widener Library

Todd did an amazing job.  His voice was clear and easy to hear, which is important for au pairs.

He made a sincere effort to keep everybody engaged.

Bettinas cluster

Bettina's cluster

For more photos, please go to Harvard Tour 2010

Au Pair and Host Family Picnic

Pumpkins

Pumpkins

a lively exchange

a lively exchange

Last Sunday, four Au Pair in America Community Counselors hosted an Au Pair and Host Family Picnic at Honey Pot Hill Orchard in Stow, MA.  This annual event offers au pairs and host families a chance to meet and connect with other families and au pairs in the program and to share a special New England fall tradition.

Our picnic satisfies the State Department requirement for Au Pair in America to offer at least one mandatory host family workshop a year.  This year, our focus was on International Day of Peace, which is today,  September 21.   As an au pair agency, we bring different cultures together, building a bridge of understanding so important in our world today.  Au pairs and host children had a chance to decorate peace rocks:

Peace Rocks
Peace Rocks

Au pairs and host families enjoyed this visit to the apple orchard and took advantage of what the farm had to offer: apple picking, hay wagon rides, farm animals, a hedge maze, apple cider and apple cider donuts.   For more photos please go to Au Pair and Host Family Picnic

Community Counselors

Community Counselors

Au Pairs visit Nantasket Beach

Nantasket Beach - partial group

Nantasket Beach - partial group

For our July meeting, we went to Nantasket Beach.  We got the chance to say good-bye to a few au pairs who are finished with their au pair year.   We celebrated their achievements in style with homemade crumb cake.

Some of the new au pairs had a chance to meet the rest of the au pair group and many new contacts were formed.   It is nice to see when my au pairs develop a peer support group as part of their adaptation process.    In addition to their relationship with the host family and with the counselor, it is an additional resource that they can rely on during their stay.

Good luck to all my departures and welcome new au pairs!

Au Pair Barbecue

Barbeque Group

Barbeque Group

This month, my au pairs joined me for a traditional American barbecue at my house.   Despite a threat of rain and cooler temperatures, we had fun barbecuing sausages, chicken, pork and steak.  Side dishes included chips with guacomole and salsa, smoky pasta salad, sweet potato salad, corn and grilled vegetables.  For dessert we enjoyed strawberry mousse and fruit salad.

The summer is a big transition time in the au pair world.  Our meetings give new au pairs the opportunity to meet other au pairs in my group, and it gives us a chance to say farewell to au pairs who will be leaving.

For more barbecue pictures please check out June Barbecue