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Tag Archives: Boston cluster
Coffee meeting in downtown Boston
We met today with a group of aupairs in our cluster to talk about education questions, extension question and to chat. We welcomed Julia from Germany who arrived two days ago in our cluster to start her extension year in Boston as an Educare aupair. She qualified to extend with getting also all 12 credits during her first year in the Philadelphia area. She will continue her education now at local famous colleges here in Boston 😉
Julia received her education certificate for completion of her 12 credits as an Educare aupair
Julia heard the story of the famous Boston childrens book"Make Way for Ducklings"
Marie from France and Ana from Spain both received their education of completion certificate today
Great Halloween pumpkins in Boston
Dear aupair,
Please send me your carved pumpkin pictures. I would like to start a Boston cluster competition today for the most original pumpkin carving. Winner will be announced at the cluster meeting on Sunday.Deadline to send it in will be Saturday, Nov 2.
1’st prize: I Love Boston T-Shirt
Hints for Success – Homesickness/Culture Shock
Almost everyone experiences culture shock when they come to a completely new environment. Everything is different: the language, the food, and the people.
Here are my Top 5 Tips for
Dealing with Homesickness
1. Make Friends – Don’t wait for other au pairs to reach out to you, reach out to them. There are other lots of new au pairs who are feeling the same way you are right now. Set a goal to reach out to a few of them each day. Some will respond and some will not. Don’t let that discourage you. No one will ever be mad at you for sending them a message to say hello or ask if they want to do something together. Make friends from various countries and you will also get a chance to practice your English skills together.
2. Stay in touch with your home country, but not too much. Skyping or talking on the phone every day with your family and/or friends back home normally makes homesickness worse. Try emailing instead and reduce the Skype and phone calls to once a week, until you feel stronger. It’s much harder seeing the faces and hearing the voices of those you miss.
3. Get out of the house (or your room specifically) – Go to cluster meetings, have coffee or movies with other au pairs, join a gym, go to the library, go for a walk, visit the mall, get a manicure, visit a museum. If someone invites you out, say “yes.” Also, don’t be afraid to do the inviting. If your host family invites you to do things with them, say “yes.” This will help you get to know each other and contribute to your overall happiness.
4. Realize that it definitely gets better – All au pairs experience homesickness and nearly all of them stay and have a successful year (some stay for two years.) So, it must get better, right? Once you get past the initial homesickness, most au pairs report how quickly the year goes by.
5. Make Plans – Create your own Au Pair Bucket List (places you want to go, new foods to try, new things to experience during your year in the U.S.) and start doing them now. Post on our cluster Facebook group to find others who may want to join you on your adventures.
Contest: Au pairs in my cluster, make your Au Pair Bucket List and send me a file, link or picture of it for a chance to win a $20 Starbucks gift card. Entries must be received by October 1’st. Winner will be announced at the October 6 cluster meeting.
Hostfamily event at the Gillette stadium in Boston area
Last weekend we met with host families and their au pairs at the Foxboro stadium for a tailgating party before the soccer revolution game started.
Many local community counselors from the greater Boston area were present to offer this opportunity for host families to get together to share information. All host families are required to participate in at least one event for hostfamilies as part of being in the aupair exchange program.
All participating community counselors with Blair Weinberg, our Community Relations Manager from Stamford
Some host families brought their aupair to the event and many of them went to the soccer revolution game after the get together
Manuela (left) from Germany who just moved into the Boston area to care for three children in Sharon
Meeting at the Vapiano restaurant in Boston downtown
Yesterday we met with many of our cluster at a local downtown restaurant Vapiano for an Italian night together. We had many whose aupair year will come to an end soon in the summer and everybody who has finished all the credits for the education requirement got a certificate to take home. Our Educare aupairs needed to get 12 credits at a college or university and the standart and extraordinaire program requires 6 credits during the first year as an aupair in the US.
Theresa, Anita, Katja, Isabell and Kristina. All from Germany received their certificate last night
Monike from Brazil also received her certificate for fullfilling the requirements of the aupair education program
Judith G from Germany received today her price for winning the third place in the snowman contest.
Enjoying to share information and experiences is part of our cluster meetings
For all pictures please go to : Aupair Italian night at the Vapiano restaurant
Memorial Day on Monday, May 27
At the Boston Common
What do people do?
It is traditional to fly the flag of the United States at half mast from dawn until noon. Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries. Memorial Day is combined with Jefferson Davis’ Birthday in Mississippi.
Memorial Day has become less of an occasion of remembrance. Many people choose to hold picnics, sports events and family gatherings on this weekend. This day is traditionally seen as the start of the summer season for cultural events. For the fashion conscious, it is seen as acceptable to wear white clothing, particularly shoes from Memorial Day until Labor Day. However, fewer and fewer people follow this rule and many wear white clothing throughout the year.
Public life
Memorial Day is a federal holiday. All non-essential Government offices are closed, as are schools, businesses and other organizations. Most public transit systems do not run on their regular schedule. Many people see Memorial Day weekend as an opportunity to go on a short vacation or visit family or friends. This can cause some congestion on highways and at airports.
Background
Memorial Day started as an event to honor Union soldiers, who had died during the American Civil War. It was inspired by the way people in the Southern states honored their dead. After World War I, it was extended to include all men and women, who died in any war or military action.
Events for Memorial Day in Boston this weekend: Memorial Day 2013
Crafts ideas with kids for Memorial day: Kids art and crafts