Trek America gave a presentation to the Suffolk County Au Pair in America au pairs on Sunday, Feb 28. The au pairs learned about the great trips they offer for their vacations and their travel month. All au pairs who complete their 1 to 2 years in the program successfully can travel for one month in the USA before they return home to their country. Clayton, a tour guide with Trek America, gave a lively presentation with a great slide show. He asked and answered questions, too.
After the Trek Presentation, Cindy Garruba, Community Counselor for Au Pair in America talked about playground and bike safety. Each quarter the au pairs are taught a safety lesson.
The meeting included a chance for the au pairs to make friends and mingle. We welcomed new au pairs who just arrived in the USA for a year in America and said good bye to a few going home.
Corrina Moore from South Africa, Cindy Garruba Senior Community Counselor, Kristi Halpern Community Counselor, Karolina Vitt from Germany
Taxes aren’t much fun, but they have to be done, even by au pairs. On Sunday, March 18th, Cindy Garruba Senior Community Counselor in Suffolk County for Au Pair in America helped the au pairs prepare their tax returns. Cindy handed out the forms, directions and provided the steps to complete the returns provided by Au Pair in America’s Stamford office. Taxes done, they will mail them in on or before the April 17th deadline date!
Since Spring has sprung early here on Long Island, we reviewed playground safety. Tips on safety can be found on the APIA website 
We also shared how important friendship is in the Au Pair program. “Strangers are just friends waiting to happen.” Lifelong friendships are formed as au pairs. We exchanged friendship bracelets to remember to reach out to each other when we need a friend!