Several dozen au pairs living in New Canaan, Darien and Norwalk gathered at Bayley Beach in Rowayton to participate in the very American tradition of carving pumpkins for Halloween! The girls are all with Au Pair in America, representing countries around the world.
Never pass a stopped school bus regardless of whether you are driving behind the bus or driving towards it. When the bus stops to let children get on or off, you will see flashing lights and stop signs that come out from the sides of the bus. Expect children to be in the area. Wait until the bus begins to move, and then proceed with caution as children may still be along the roadside.
Despite the pandemic, Au Pair in America au pairs in New Canaan found ways to help those less fortunate among us and give back to the community that has welcomed them so warmly.
In September, Staying Put in New Canaan asked for help decorating face masks to be included in food baskets being delivered as part of it’s Celebration of Generations virtual luncheon. Au pairs in New Canaan volunteered to decorate 60 of the white cotton masks. An international group from Brazil, the Czech Republic, Peru, New Zealand, Germany, Colombia, Latvia, South Africa and Poland participated.
During the month of November, the group participated in an individual Turkey Trot 5K and raised $310 which was donated to the CT Food Bank. We celebrated doing good for others while promoting healthy habits.
To add cheer to the holidays for New Canaan’s elderly residents, au pairs decorated dozens of hand made cards that were distributed along with poinsettias and cookies to Staying Put in New Canaan clients. During virtual meetings in December, the girls shared holiday traditions and recipes from their home countries, promoting the cultural exchange which is the heart of the au pair program.
If the snow &/or ice is heavy or threatening to become heavy, don’t go out. It is not worth the risk. Cancel, change plans, make due. If you must go out, keep the trip as short as possible, and follow these guidelines.
When there is snow &/or ice on the street:
1. If your car has been outside, warm up the car and clean the snow & ice off all windows, windshields, and hood using a brush & scraper (make sure your headlights and brake lights are snow free). Do not warm up a car in a closed garage.
2. Go more slowly than usual, and leave more time than you normally would to get where you’re going.
3. Keep a safe distance between you and the vehicle(s) ahead of you. Safe distance in snow is double the normal distance.
4. Turn your headlights on if it is snowing (and any time you use your windshield wipers). In heavy snow, fog lights might also be helpful (but not all cars have them).
5. Don’t make sudden or jerky movements with steering, and don’t accelerate or brake forcefully. This can cause you to slide and lose control.
6. If you start to slide or skid, take your foot off the gas pedal and keep steering & looking where you want to go. When you are headed the right way again and feel some traction, accelerate slowly (or brake slowly). If your wheels start to spin, take your foot off the gas pedal until you feel the tires grab again.
7. When you break, push the break gently. If you have anti-lock brakes, you will hear a thumping sound which is normal (it is the way the car prevents the brakes from locking up and making the situation worse). If you have regular brakes, pump them slowly, keeping your heel on the floor and the ball of your foot on the brake pedal (this helps you to be gentler because you are using only your foot, not your whole leg).
8. If you need to get out of a parking space with a lot of snow, you might need to “rock” the car, going forward a little, then back a little, over and over. Keep the wheels fairly straight, with only slight movements left or right. It is really difficult to get over snow when the wheels are turned hard to the left or right. If that doesn’t work, you may need to either shovel the snow out of the way or put down sand, kitty litter or gravel to get traction (some families keep a bag of this in the trunk).
9. Keep your gas tank at least ¼ full so that the gas line doesn’t freeze (if extra moisture gets in the line), and keep your windshield wiper fluid 1/2 full or more. You don’t want to run out of wiper fluid in the middle of the road with trucks spewing dirty slush onto your windshield.
10. Never use the cruise control in snow, ice or rain. It can cause the car to hydroplane and you could lose control.
When Staying Put in New Canaan asked for help decorating face masks to be included in food baskets being delivered as part of it’s Celebration of Generations virtual luncheon, Au Pair in America au pairs in New Canaan volunteered to decorate 60 of the white cotton masks. An international group from Brazil, the Czech Republic, Peru, New Zealand, Germany, Colombia, Latvia, South Africa and Poland enjoyed doing something good for the community that has welcomed them so warmly.
It’s important to have effective morning routines so children get off to school without stress. Older children can help plan their routines.
Here are some specific ideas for minimizing morning madness on school days:
Currently, it can take weeks to obtain a license in CT so please give yourself time to complete the process. Read this whole document– it’s complicated 🙁
Here is the DMV website detailing the process and the documents required.
Note: Au Pairs with German, French or Canadian licenses can transfer their licenses (treated as “out of state” transfer) at the Norwalk Department of Motor Vehicles. You only have to fill out an application and take the vision test. You do not have to do the 8-hour safety course. You will need the same documents listed below under #4.
First obtain a Social Security Number. To apply for a restricted working social security card, you must go in person to the Social Security office at: 2 Landmark Square, Suite 105, Stamford CT 06901 (866-770-1881) with these documents:
– Valid passport with J-1 visa stamp inside
– DS-2019 form
– I-94 card print out from the Customs and Border Control website
– Proof of identification that is at least one year old (e.g. passport, driver’s license, birth certificate)
Required preparation for Connecticut driver’s license:
1) Schedule an appointment online to take the written “rules of the road” knowledge test at the Norwalk Dept of Motor Vehicles (540 Main Ave. Norwalk CT).
2) Study for your knowledge test. You can download the manual to study (available in English or Spanish) as well as an app with practice questions for your iPhone/iPad or Android (also in English and Spanish).
3) Email your counselor two weeks before your written test and ask her to mail you a participation letter to prove your residency and that you are a current au pair.
4) Take the written knowledge test and vision tests (bring your glasses if you wear them) at the Norwalk DMV:
You must bring with you documents from this list for “non-US born” applicants:
5) Take the required 8-hour Safe Driver course at a driving school and get a CS-1 completion certificate required for taking the road test. All driving schools offer this. There are two in New Canaan:
– Lewis School of Driving—28 Cross Street, New Canaan, (203) 972-0242 – cost $150 but mention APIA for a discount– click here for info– the class is currently online
– Fresh Green Light – 111 Cherry Street, New Canaan, (203) 861-1188 – cost $150 – click here for course info – currently online
6) When you have passed your written and vision test and scheduled your 8 hour safe driving course, you can schedule your driving test online here. You should schedule your driving test at the Bridgeport DMV – please DO NOT schedule it at the Danbury location as we have had issues with foreign licenses there. Remember, your test must take place AFTER you have completed your Safe Driving course.
7) Take your road test– review documents and the road test here
Make sure you have with you:
8) Once you pass your road test, your license will be valid for 5 ½ – 7 years depending on your date of birth.
You will receive your driver’s license through the mail to your home address. You can track the delivery of your license here. Good luck!
Independence Day, or July 4th, commemorates the day the American colonies declared independence from Great Britain in 1776. It is a day of celebration, relaxation and hopefully safe times with family and friends. Often, this day is focused on BBQs and fireworks. To learn more about the historical context, read on.
Abraham Lincoln: https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/declaration.htm
Now, my countrymen, if you have been taught doctrines conflicting with the great landmarks of the Declaration of Independence; if you have listened to suggestions which would take away from its grandeur, and mutilate the fair symmetry of its proportions; if you have been inclined to believe that all men are not created equal in those inalienable rights enumerated by our chart of liberty, let me entreat you to come back. Return to the fountain whose waters spring close by the blood of the Revolution. Think nothing of me – take no thought for the political fate of any man whomsoever – but come back to the truths that are in the Declaration of Independence. You may do anything with me you choose, if you will but heed these sacred principles. You may not only defeat me for the Senate, but you may take me and put me to death. While pretending no indifference to earthly honors, I do claim to be actuated in this contest by something higher than an anxiety for office. I charge you to drop every paltry and insignificant thought for any man’s success. It is nothing; I am nothing; Judge Douglas is nothing. But do not destroy that immortal emblem of Humanity – the Declaration of American Independence.
Frederick Douglass –Frederick Douglass was a fiery orator and his speeches were often published in various abolitionist (anti-slavery) newspapers. His well-known speech presented in Rochester, New York, on July 5, 1852, is often studied in literature classes today. Douglass moved to Rochester in 1847, when he became the publisher of The North Star, an abolitionist weekly. There were approximately 500 attendees who heard him speak, each paying twelve and a half cents.
The links below include transcripts of the speech, a live version read by James Earl Jones and a virtual free class on it being offered over the next few days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0baE_CtU08
https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july/
https://stbarts.org/event/1829422-2020-07-01-frederick-douglass-fourth-of-july-oration/
President Harry S. Truman , July 4 1951:
The principles of the Declaration of Independence are the right principles. They are sound enough to guide us through this crisis as they have guided us through other crises of the past. Freedom can overcome tyranny in the 20th century as surely as it overcame the tyrants of the 18th century. There is a text inscribed on the Liberty Bell, the bell that rang out a hundred and seventy-five years ago to announce the signing of the Declaration of Independence. When the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly ordered that bell for the statehouse in Philadelphia, they directed that it should bear certain words, “well-shaped in large letters.” You remember what those words were: “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” We should write these words again today. We should write them in everything we do in this country—”well-shaped in large letters”—by every deed and act, so that the whole world can read them.
Emma Lazarus, “The New Colossus” (1883) – Written to raise funds for the base of the Statue of Liberty, this famous poem is engraved on it for all to see. The lines “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” speak volumes to the nation of immigrants. Emma Lazarus was an American author of poetry, prose, and translations, as well as an activist for Jewish causes. She wrote the sonnet “The New Colossus” in 1883. Its lines appear inscribed on a bronze plaque, installed in 1903, on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. https://poets.org/poem/new-colossus?gclid=CjwKCAjwi_b3BRAGEiwAemPNU5p8KNMlkalKwZA7Dl3rY8BZMLinfQVoU6N1Tv_6_mV62I7P7IAaVhoCIbYQAvD_BwE
Claude McKay, “America” (1921) – A love sonnet written by a leader of the Harlem Rennaissance, “America” portrays the poet’s adoration for the country while, at the same time, confronting the troubles he has seen in his community. https://shenandoahliterary.org/blog/2014/03/america-by-claude-mckay-1921/
With freedom comes responsibility. Eleanor Roosevelt
Dozens of New Canaan au pairs with Au Pair in America gathered to learn about, cook, and share Brazilian food one recent Sunday. Feijoada, the long-cooking pork and black bean stew which is the national dish of Brazil, was the main course, with rice, salad, pao de queijo (cheese bread) and brigadeiro (fudge balls) rounding out the menu.
