Yearly Archives: 2015

Outdoor Movies in DC Area

17724871620_62f5c46ae0_zIf you are looking to enjoy a movie outdoors this summer, there are lots of local options to consider.

DC Outdoor Films website offers a very comprehensive list which includes locations in DC, Maryland and Virginia.

 

Here are a few popular ones:

Golden Cinema Series
Golden Triange BID offers outdoor movies Friday nights through July.

Movies on the Potomac
National Harbor offers movies on Sunday nights through September 27.

Screen on the Green 
Outdoor movies on the National Mall in DC

Drive-In Movie 
Don’t forget about Bengie’s Drive-in Movie Theater in the Baltimore area. It’s a good hour drive from most of our cluster, but well worth it for the experience if you’ve never been to a drive-in movie. Check out my blog post about Bengie’s Drive-in.

 

 

Dealing with Problems or Poor Service

name tagI recently received a suggestion from a host mom whose au pair had encountered numerous problems at the MVA.  The mom suggested that I share some tips with au pairs on how to deal with problems like these.

Places like the MVA and Social Security office can be challenging for Americans, so I can understand how difficult it could be for an au pair to run into problems there.

If you encounter a problem in one of these situations or at other places like college enrollment,  a store, bank, etc, here are some tips:

  • Remain calm and polite, even if the person you are dealing with doesn’t. You don’t want to be viewed as being unreasonable or out of control, because that will not help your situation.
  • Ask to speak with a supervisor, if you are being told something that goes against the procedure you have been told (by your counselor, host parent, Au Pair in America, or a previous encounter with the office you are visiting.)
  • Ask for the name of the person you are dealing with. It is a reasonable question and can help if you need to reference this conversation later. It also adds some accountability for the person giving you the answer.

If the supervisor is still unable to help you, please discuss the problem with your host parents and/or your community counselor. Maybe there has been a change in the procedure. If there has not been a change and you just got unlucky with the person with which you were dealing, you may find success going back another day.

Drive-In Movie Theater

Have you ever been to a drive-in movie? Drive-in movies are outdoor theaters where the movie is projected on a large screen and you watch from your car. There were once over 4,000 drive-in theaters in the U.S., now only a few hundred remain.

One of those still operating is right here in Maryland, in the Baltimore area.  Bengies Drive-In has been in business since 1956.  It is about an hour drive from most parts of our cluster, but since they are the only one left in the entire state of Maryland, that doesn’t sound so far.

Bengies

Click here to visit the website

I have been taking my kids to drive-in movies at Bengie’s for the past few years and we love it.

The drive-in is only open Spring-Fall.

Drive-In Movie Tips for First Timers:

  1. You pay one price whether you stay for 1, 2 or all 3 movies. *Cash only for admission*
  2. You may stay in your car or bring chairs to sit in in front of your parking space.
  3. If you go in the summer and plan to sit outside, bring insect repellent spray or bug bracelets.
  4. If you go in the fall when the weather is cool, bring blankets.
  5. You cannot bring in outside food or drinks, unless you purchase an outside food permit. I recommend you buy your snacks there. They have some interesting options that you don’t see at a regular movie concession stand and that’s part of the full experience.
  6. Before you go, read the information on their website about headlights. You need to know how to disable your headlights when you are inside the movie.
  7. You also need to figure out how to turn your vehicle to the “accessory setting” with your key. This will allow you to listen to the movie without draining your battery. VERY IMPORTANT
  8. There is a note on their website about how to enter their address with GPS.  There address is listed as “Middle River”not Baltimore on GPS.

If you give it a try, let me know how you like it!

Holiday & Vacation Reminders

With Memorial Day almost here, I wanted to remind everyone about program rules on holidays and vacations.

Holidays

  • Host families are NOT REQUIRED to give au pairs any specific holidays.
  • Each host family will make different arrangements on holidays, some au pairs will be off and others will be required to work.
  • Au pairs should NOT make plans for holidays without checking with your host family FIRST.

luggage maliasVacation

  • Au pair earns 2 weeks of paid vacation during the course of her year.
  • The host family can pick a week and the au pair can pick a week, if an agreement is not reached.
  • All vacation should be preplanned (at least 4 weeks in advance.)
  • All au pair’s friends and/or family visits/vacations should be pre-approved prior to purchasing a ticket.
  • If an au pair travels with their host family, it should be discussed UP FRONT whether this is the au pair’s vacation or if she is working.
  • If an au pair travels with the host family to work, the host family is required to pay for her transportation, lodging and meals.

Important: An au pair MUST have her DS2019 signed PRIOR to her departure from the US. More information about this can be found by selecting the Resources tab on the top of this page and looking under “Travel Links for Au Pairs.”

Privacy, Personal Information & The Internet

Just a reminder about how important it is to respect your host family’s privacy and not share personal details and information.  This applies to all kinds of situations, including: personal conversations, email and social websites.

For your own safety, it is a good idea to be careful what personal information you share about yourself as well. You should not be giving out information like your telephone number and address to people you don’t know.

Once you post something on the internet (even if you later delete it), it can show up elsewhere.  Unless you have specific permission from the host family, you should not post pictures of them, their children or their home on the internet.

If you have a blog or website where you post in your native language, remember there is translation software.  So, even if you say it in your native language, be sure it is not something you will regret.

Free Italian Ice on the 1st Day of Spring

IceCollageOn Friday, March 20, noon-9pm, all Rita’s Italian Ice locations will give each customer a FREE regular size Italian Ice. What a sweet way to start the season!

What is Italian Ice?
From the Rita’s website:
“Rita’s signature product is our Italian Ice, which is much smoother than a snow cone and combines ice with real fresh fruit; made fresh daily at each location and served within 36-hours of mixing. Trans-Fat Free and made fresh daily in dozens of deliciously refreshing flavors.”

There are Rita’s locations in Silver Spring, College Park, Bowie, Crofton, Annapolis & more. Check here on their website to find the nearest one for you.

**Contest** – The first au pair in our cluster to send Christine or Lisa a message (email or Facebook) telling us their favorite flavor of Italian Ice will win a gift card for a sweet treat.


Tax Information for Au Pairs

taxes-pic

We have been talking about taxes at our Coffee Meetings since January and the deadline for filing is approaching.

Here are some of the basic questions:

Who is supposed to file taxes? – All au pairs who made $3950 or more in the calendar year (Jan 1 – Dec 31.) Au pairs who made less than $3950, are not required to file a tax return for 2014.

Will all au pairs have to pay something? – No, it depends on when you arrived and how much money you earned last year.

When are 2014 taxes due? – April 15, 2015

Where can I get the tax form? –  1040NR-EZ Form

Where can I get the instruction booklet? – 1040NR-EZ Booklet

Where can I get detailed information and see a sample au pair tax form? – APIA Tax Info for Au Pairs *Important note – This tax info document contains a very helpful sample filled out tax form. It will open properly in all browsers except Firefox. I suggest you open this in Chrome, Safari or IE*

Where should I mail my tax return form?
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 1303
Charlotte, NC 28201-1303

How do I write a check or money order? – Check here

How do I address an envelope? – Check here

How to Write a Check or Money Order

This question comes up from time to time and with the tax deadline approaching, I thought I would post a link with a great step by step tutorial.  Click on the image of a check below to go to the tutorial on About.com.

write_a_check_step5_sign_memo

Remember: Use pen and don’t leave extra blank space where someone can make changes.

If you don’t have a checking account and need to make a payment by check, you have two other options: money order or cashier’s check (bank check.) Money orders are available for purchase at your bank, the post office or the customer service desk of some retail stores (CVS, Safeway, WalMart.) You will be charged a small fee, $1.50-$5.  Money orders need to be paid for with cash (not credit cards.) You will fill out the money order similarly to a check and keep your receipt portion for your records.

If you are paying your taxes:

  • Make check or money order payable to “United States Treasury.”
  • Write this info somewhere on the check:
    • Your full name
    • Your address and phone number
    • Your Social Security Number
    • 2015 Form 1040 NR-EZ
  • Mail your tax forms (keep copies for your records) and payment to:

Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 1303
Charlotte, NC 28201–1303
U.S.A.

How to Address an Envelope

This is another common question, since the way people address mail around the world varies.  Here is an image of where to put the information when you are sending mail in the United States.

How to Address a Letter from the US Postal Service

How to Address a Letter from the US Postal Service

Here is the address to mail your tax return to:
Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 1303
Charlotte, NC 28201–1303
U.S.A.