Hayride into the Orchard
Our annual Host Family Event was held at Carver Hill Orchards in Stow, MA. Counselors were ready to greet and meet families with fresh apple cider and doughnuts, crafts for the kids, and information about au pairs cultural adaptation! Great Day!
Taste Testing!
Macoun, Macintosh, Granny Smith. What are they? They’re all tasty and all picked by many of the au pairs attending Patti and Melinda’s October cluster meeting! Under sunny skies and a very brisk wind, au pairs enjoyed cider and apple cider donuts together while we greeted several new au pairs. We then said goodbye to Alicia Cornellisen and Franzi Goerisch who shared their advice about having a great experience this year.
Then it was into the apple orchards for those who wanted to try their hands at picking. And pick they did, as you can see from the photos! Bites were taken and bags were filled to overflowing with the apples that they had reached high for! Some au pairs decided to skip the orchard and they retreated inside to enjoy the gift shop and various samples. As both activities were wrapping up, a huge rain cloud overhead burst, the winds began to blow harder, and we all ran for cover.
Luckily, the apple picking was pretty much done! Now the pie baking begins!
Launching
On a beautiful and warm September day, a large group of energetic au pairs rowed on the Concord River to the historic North Bridge. Most boats showed excellent technique, with only a few going around in circles and hitting the first stone bridge on the way before getting under it successfully. One of our au pairs biked over 8 miles to get to the meeting and then biked from the boathouse up to the North Bridge for the meeting. Everyone arrived safely and tying up at the dock, the boaters were admired by the tourists from around the world who were watching from the North Bridge.
After enjoying an energy snack of brownies and lemonade in a beautiful and peaceful field, we remembered 9-11 and its significance in our lives regardless of where we are from. Although many au pairs did not remember the specifics of the day, others had vivid memories of hearing the news.
Soon it was time to get back into the boats and fight a very strong current to get back to the boathouse. It was not easy and there were some panicky moments as one or two of the boats were pulled backwards, actually hitting the stately North Bridge or gliding uncontrollably into the woods on the riverside! Finally, all boats rounded the oxbow in the river with only one signaling distress. Eventually, Kevin of the Boat House took the rescue boat out to rescue these paddlers. It was quite exciting and as these tired au pairs motored back to the boathouse with their canoe in tow, it was clear that they had enjoyed the whole adventure! They joined the other au pairs who had already returned to the boathouse to share a few more minutes together before getting ready to start the week of a busy au pair.
At the batting cage!
Our end of summer cluster meeting was held at Kimballs Farm. It was a perfect evening for ice cream and a perfect time to discuss classes and fall plans. The meeting was to include practice (or try for the first time) golf, but a distant rumble of thunder and lightning changed the venue to the batting cages. Amazing how many balls connected to the bats!!! Way to go girls!
More pictures here -> Cluster Pics
Farewells
On a perfect summer evening, au pairs from our clusters enjoyed an evening full of American traditions. Starting the evening off with a typical prebaseball dinner, we greeted several new au pairs who were just beginning their years here. Celebrating two birthdays, and enjoying cake and watermelon, we said farewell to members of the clusters who have successfully completed their year here in the USA. Also, attending our meeting were two former au pairs visiting their families for the summer and offering encouraging words to the group.
Moving on to the baseball field, it was clear that the au pairs were ready to play ball! Luckily, we had heavy hitters and speedy outfielders, power pitchers, and speedy base-women to keep the game in constant suspense. After those few confusing moments about what to do once the ball is actually hit with the bat, runners began to take advantage of momentary outfield confusion to score heavily. The final scores were too high to keep track! More importantly, each au pair showed her talent at home plate and while warming up, had her photo taken for valuable future baseball cards. The Red Sox talent scouts will be calling soon!
click here for more pics -> Baseball Pics
May 1st was a day of cultural education and fun, sponsored by Au Pair in America at the Boston Children’s Museum. Over the course of the afternoon, hundreds of enthusiastic children and parents toured the exhibition, received earth and skin friendly tattoos, had their faces painted with country flags, and chatted with au pairs representing countries from around the world.
The Au Pair in America Cultural Fair was truly a multi-modal event.
Traditional dance in authentic costume highlighted the presentation by Thailand while the German au pairs entertained visitors with traditional German spring egg craft and painting. South African au pairs proudly painted their country’s flag on little and big smiling faces alike, while a colorful and tempting piñata dangled overt the Mexico booth. Au pairs from many other countries served as international teachers of the culture and beauty of their homelands as well. Photos of this great event are available on our cluster photos link below.
Farewell Hilda!
Monday night we gathered at my home to welcome in Spring!!
This was Hilda’s last meeting after being a part of our group for two years. We were so fortunate that her mother was visiting and was able to join us! After introductions we settled down to the business of the up coming cultural fair, au pair marketing and the Boston Walk for Hunger. It was a good time to talk about spring activities for the children and I was able to take them to the APIA site and show them the seasonal calender and Kids Corner, many of the girls did not know that these resources were so available to them! A short discussion on disciplining children took place and an informative sheet was passed out with some additional info. We then sang Happy Birthday to May and some said tearful good-byes to Hilda.
Princess Warrior battles Harvard "nerd"
To end the evening the girls were given a choice of two games to play, Au Pair Bingo or using aluminum foil to design a dress (thank you counselors from our FACEBOOK page for the idea). The costumes that were created were so inventive and the girls had so much fun!
Nashoba Valley Snow Tubing
On a cold and dark January night, several local clusters gathered to snow tube down Nashoba Mountain. Six clusters met in the toasty lodge for winter treats and hot drinks provided by their counselors before beginning an evening on the slopes. After group tickets were bought, the fun began! With old friends and new, au pairs bundled up and picked out their tubes. The music was loud; the squeals of delight were as well! Everyone had a wonderful time and most were already planning a repeat visit as they drove off.
Santa's visit
For more pictures click -> Holiday Pictures
The evening started with the potluck dinner that reflected the diversity of au pairs that attended. We had appetizers from South Africa, India and Italy, salads from Italy and Colombia, desserts from Germany and Thailand, just to name a few. The community counselors came through with delicious roast ham, lasagnas, and potato casseroles, and our famous Au Pair Punch!
Our special guest, Santa, arrived to circulate and hear what is on our au pairs’ wish lists this year. Peals of laughter and lots of photo opportunities were a part of his extended visit. Then, it was on to the Yankee Swap during which we found out a lot that we did not know about each other, in addition to swapping gifts! It was all in good fun though.
One of the nicest parts of our traditional party is the holiday singing that ends the evening. Each of our many countries’ languages was represented on stage as au pairs gathered together to sing their favorite holiday songs in their native languages to us. This is a wonderful tradition that you can experience now in our YouTube video here on the blog.
Then, after all the festivities, it was time to say, “Happy Holidays to all and to all a good night” as au pairs bundled up and made their way out into the starry December night.
Welcome Au Pairs!!!
On a cold autumn evening last weekend, two clusters and our many guests enjoyed an evening of good old-fashioned line dancing with Cowgirl Mary Rinker at the Bay Path Barn. Although the barn was cold when we arrived, it soon heated up with the tunes of American country western favorites. Au pairs, many in their boots and cowgirl clothing, seemed to get into the spirit immediately and the fun began when we tried out the first dances that Mary had taught us.
After 2 straight hours of line dancing, the au pairs were heated up and ready for a break! We used the time to catch up with each other, to welcome our many new au pairs, and to say farewell to those that had finished their year in the USA! All in all, we had a great time. It was the perfect way to spend time together before heading out into the darkness.
Line dancing is particularly well suited for our gathering because all interested participants can learn the steps quickly and it requires no partner. The best part is that the steps can be adapted to all sorts of music and it is great exercise. Language is optional as we just follow the demonstrations. Everyone lines up, (that’s why we call it line dancing!) and the fun begins. So, as we like to say at line dancing, “Yee Haw, Cowgirl!”
view photo album -> Country Line Dancing
