Tag Archives: culture

Hints for Success – Overcoming Homesickness

Almost everyone experiences homesickness and culture shock to some degree, when they come to live in a completely new environment. So much is different and it takes time to adjust.

It is normal to miss your own family, at home. Try to remember that they support you and want you to make the most of this experience. They will enjoy learning more about the U.S., through your eyes, as you share your adventures with them.

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 the vast majority of them get through it, stay and have a successful year (some even extend for a second year!) 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.

Photo by:  Shimelle Laine (Flickr)

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Valentine’s Day

Globe Heart

Valentine’s Day is February 14th!

Au Pairs give loving care to their host families every day.  Au Pair in America has provided 27 years as the world’s most experienced intercultural  childcare program.

Au pairs become full-fledged family members, sharing a cultural exchange experience that often leads to a lasting relationship with the host family.

Au Pairs come to the USA for cultural exchange and to provide childcare to busy families.  They stay for one year and then have the option to extend for a second year.  Au Pairs are 18 to 26 years old when they arrive in the USA.  Please check out www.aupairinamerica.com for more information!

 

Au Pairs will be making Valentine cards with their host children.  Here’s how:

What you’ll need:

  • 8.5 x 11 construction paper or card stock in various colors and/or patterns easy-homemade-valentines-kaboose-craft-photo-350-fs-IMG_9049_rdax_65
  • Valentine and/or heart stickers
  • Scissors
  • Pinking shears (optional)
  • Glue stick or white craft or school glue
  • Glitter (pink, red, white)

How to make it:

  1. Begin by cutting a piece of construction paper or card stock into four equal pieces.
  2. Fold quartered paper in half to make a card.
  3. For the easiest version, appropriate for preschoolers, use stickers to decorate or cut out hearts from a different color of construction paper or card stock to glue onto your cards. Experiment with different patterns, florals look great contrasted with stripes on a solid background.
  4. Younger children love glitter! Use a bottle of glue to “draw” on a heart or phrase (such as “Be Mine”). Sprinkle glue generously with pink, red or white glitter and let dry over night. Tap off excess glitter when completely dry.
  5. For the older set, let them use pinking sheers to cut out heart shapes and glue onto cards. Again, use contrasting patterns and colors to create a charming design.
  6. Once glue is dry, cards may curl up a little. Place cards between the pages of a heavy cookbook or phone book and leave over night.

Valentine's Day

 

 

 

Halloween Safety Tips

halloween pic

Ghouls and goblins will take over the night. But even scary creatures need to be safe and celebrate Halloween right. Halloween’s greatest hazards aren’t vampires and villains, but falls, costume mishaps and automobile collisions. The Red Cross wantsyour family to have a safe Halloween so we’re providing these tips,

the Lucky 13:

  1. Map out the route that you plan to roam, so adults are assured you will find your way home!
  2. From the bravest of superheroes to the noblest of knights, everyone should remember to bring their flashlights!
  3. If you visit a house where a stranger resides, accept treats at the door and, please, don’t go inside.
  4. When you get ready to put on your disguise, use face paint instead of masks, which will cover your eyes.
  5. Always remember, before you embark, to wear light-colored clothing  to be seen in the dark! (And remember to use reflective tape, even on bikes, and brooms and the edges of your cape!)
  6. Whether you walk, slither or sneak, do it on the sidewalks and not in the street.
  7. As you roam through the neighborhood collecting your treats, please look both ways before crossing the street! (And speaking of streets, the corners are the place for trick or treaters to cross no matter their pace.)
  8. Wigs, capes and costumes are flammable attire, so avoid open flames to prevent a fire!
  9. Use a glow stick instead of a candle so your jack-o-lantern isn’t a  safety gamble!
  10. You may fly on a broom or a space ship from Mars, but please be on the lookout for drivers in cars! (Between parked cars is no  to hide, be sure that you’re seen whether you’re a clown or a bride.)
  11. Monsters and zombies should stay off the lawn, and only visit homes with their porch lights turned on!
  12. You may be dressed as a werewolf, a cat or a frog, but be cautious around strange animals, especially dogs.
  13. For additional information on how you and your family can be prepared for emergencies on Halloween or on any day of the year, please visit www.RedCross.org

First Steps to Becoming a Host Family

New to Au Pair in America?

Applying is fast and easy with Au Pair in America! First, create a free account at http://www.aupairinamerica.com/applying/  This will give you risk-free access search our pool of au pairs available now and start your application online. The first phase of the online application will only take approximately 15 minutes to complete. You can return at any time by logging into your personal account.

Already have an Au Pair in America account?

If you are currently hosting with Au Pair in America, or have hosted in the past, and wish to reapply, please login to your account at http://www.aupairinamerica.com/applying/

Choosing your au pair

Once your have registered, you will be matched with a personal Placement Coordinator who will help you select the best au pair for your family. You will also be able to browse au pair applications online!

Interview in your home with your Community Counselor

Once your have registered   Your Community Counselor will contact you to schedule an interview in your home.  The Counselor will ask and answer questions, discuss the program and how APIA can help you with your childcare needs, meet everyone in your immediate family, and see the room intended for the au pair.  It is the beginning of an important relationship that will continue throughout your time with APIA.

St. Patrick’s Day Parades in Suffolk County

62nd Annual Friends of St. Patrick Parade

Rocky Point, NY st pat

Sunday, March 11 at 1:00 PM.

Location
Route 25A Rocky Point, NY
Parade starts steps off at Harrison Avenue in Miller Place travels east on Route 25A to Broadway in Rocky Point, then north to Gracie’s Restaurant (Broadway and Prince Road), viewing stand at corner of Broadway and Route 25A.   2.5-mile-long parade route includes at least five marching bagpipe bands, fire departments from six surrounding communities, Stony Brook University marching band, cheerleaders and mascot Wolfie, Peconic Warpipes Bagpipe and Drums, Longwood and Rocky Point high school bands, Irish step dancers, 25 floats and nearly 50,000 spectators.
 

Sunday, March 11

Long Island’s oldest and largest parade of its kind, the 77th Annual Huntington St. Patrick’s Day Parade starts at 2 p.m., north of the Huntington Station along New York Avenue, then turns west onto Main Street, and ends at Saint Patrick’s Church.

 

Annual Westhampton St Patrick’s Day Parade   

Sunday, March 11 Noon
Westhampton Beach, NY
Phone: 631-560-6392
Website: http://whbstpats.com
 Steps off at intersection of Mill Road and Oneck Lane in Westhampton Beach, travels down Mill Road to Main Street, then west on Main Street, ends at corner of Sunset Lane and Main Street

Parade includes six pipe bands, Samba de Escola Boom, Irish step dancers, Wells Fargo Stage Coach, Rough Riders Calvary of the Nassau-Suffolk  Horsemen’s Association, Civil War re-enactment groups, floats and the ever-popular Coneheads satirical float.

A few more parades:

  • Huntington- Sunday March 11, 2012 @ 2pm
  • St. James- Saturday March 17, 2012 @ 1pm
  • Montauk – Sunday March 25, 2012 @ 10am – 5oth Annual Parade!

    • Au Pair in America Partners with AAA

    AAA

    The most trusted choice for live-in childcare, Au Pair in America has partnered with AAA, the nation’s most trusted name in driver safety and instruction, to offer a custom course specifically designed for au pairs. This course differs from those offered in your community, in that AAA has taken the best of several of their courses, adapted them to be the most accessible to the au pair population, with special focus on driver and child passenger safety.  Key components of the course include:

    • Driver Safety
    • Child passenger safety (car seats, communication, expectations)
    • Communication and traffic devices
    • Vehicle Awareness (understanding what your vehicle is “telling you.”)
    • Reducing Risks while Driving (includes defensive driving techniques, phone/texting issues, and drinking and driving awareness)

    kids-car-safety-toddler

    This  AAA course designed exclusively for Au Pair In America.  Course includes a combination of lecture, group exercises, video/other media to ensure the maximum understanding to speakers of other languages or newly arrived to the US participants.

     

      young-woman-driving

     

    All Host Families with au pairs arriving into the USA in 2011 will receive more information about this new course and how their au pair can be enrolled!

    Winter Fun For Au Pairs and Host Children

    winter is fun

    ABC’s of Winter Fun

    A is for Art – try drawing, painting or gluing
    B is for Baking – bake a dessert together for dinner
    C is for Clay – Use non-hardening clay or play dough to shape and mold
    D is for Dance – put on a lively tape
    E is for Exercise – be sure to get some everyday
    F is for Friends – invite some over
    G is for Greenhouse – find a local greenhouse to visit to enjoy the sights and smells
    H is for House – make a playhouse from a large appliance box
    I is for Ice skating – take the children to a local rink
    J is for Jigsaw puzzle – be sure to pick one that isn’t too difficult
    K is for Kitchen science – try a safe experiment

    tea partyL is for Library – borrow some new books
    M is for Movie – make one with a video camera, or watch one
    N is for Necklace – make one out of cereal or macaroni
    O is for Origami – learn to make simple paper creations
    P is for Puppets – socks make easy and fun puppets – put on a show!
    Q is for Quiet Time – everyone needs some of this
    R is for Reading aloud – choose a good book and a comfortable place to sit
    S is for Seeds and Suet – put out food for the birds and watch them eat
    T is for Tent – make one from old blankets and chairs
    U is for Unplugged – do a day with no TV
    V is for Variety – try something new everyday
    W is for Walk – take one in any weather (be sure to dress appropriately)
    winter playingX is for Xylophone – make your own with glasses, water and a metal spoon
    Y is for Year – make a calendar or scrapbook to remember the year
    Z is for Zoo – play zoo, pretend to be animals in the zoo, what noises do they make?

    indoor playtime

    What is an Au Pair?

    “Au pair” means “on par” or equal. Au are international visitors who travel to the United States on a J-1 Visitor Exchange Visa to acquire a better understanding and appreciation of American life while living with an American family and caring for their young children.

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    Hosting an au pair provides a rewarding experience to both the au pair and the family.  You and your children will learn first hand from an international visitor and you will share our culture with your au pair.  Give your children childcare “with a cultural flair.”  It is very affordable.  Take a look at our website at www.aupairinamerica.com for current fees and promotions!

    Holidays Around the World

    On Monday, December 20th au pairs from China, Brazil, Thailand, Guatemala and Brazil visited the HELP Suffolk Homeless Shelter’s daycare center.   They did a Global Awareness lesson called “Holidays Around the World” for the children.  The class of 3 – 5 year olds loved the passports and stickers.  There were stickers for each country with a greeting of Happy New Year or Merry Christmas in the language of the au pair.  The kids learned how to say the greetings.  Marie from Germany told the kids about the Christmas tree and how the tradition began in Germany.  Then the children decorated foam trees with colorful decorations.  We ended with a story about Santa Claus and a lively round of” O Tannebaum” (O Christmas Tree)!

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