National Harbor is home to amazing shopping, dining and entertainment opportunities! Their Winter Wonderland events will draw crowds from near and far! You’ll want to take the time to stop and check it out if you are nearby! Upcoming events include – the Holiday Market, the Ugly Sweater Run, movie showings of classics such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Frosty the Snowman, and so much more.
Photo by F Delventhal
This time of year, many au pairs ask about what to do for the holidays for their host family! Holiday gifts do not need to be expensive to be appreciated. A handmade gift, especially if the children help you, can mean more than something purchased in a store. Check these links to find inspiration for gift giving!
Gift ideas for host parents from au pairs:
Gift ideas for au pairs from host families:
At Thanksgiving, we pause and express gratitude to others. This year I want to thank all my au pairs and host families for the love and support they give each other every day. I also thank each au pair for sharing with me and my family about their culture, for demonstrating their bravery for coming from far away places and giving so much to their host families and their friends in America. I appreciate the uniqueness of each of you. Your spirits, sense of humor, enthusiasm. It is an honor to be a part of your lives for this time and beyond. I love the relationships that have developed that last after an au pair returns home. I am thankful for the warm, caring host families in Southern Maryland who welcome some of the most wonderful young women into their homes and entrust the care of their children to them. Host families who inspire, encourage, celebrate, cultivate and share their culture and customs. Host families that embrace each new au pair as a unique and special person. Host families that encourage an au pair to share her culture and customs and incorporate it to their family life. It is a beautiful thing to witness.
“The people-to-people ties and transfer of knowledge achieved through international education builds and sustains a more democratic, secure, and prosperous world that benefits the entire global community. International education and exchange is vital to our diplomacy efforts and establishes lasting ties between individuals today that translate into stronger relations between nations tomorrow.” -Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, Evan Ryan
Some thoughts from au pairs current and departed about Thanksgiving:
“I didn’t know that thanksgiving was such a big holiday before I spent my year there. It was a really nice day. We started off with breakfast, cooking and baking in our pajamas and then we got ready and we were all dressed really chic and went off to my host mums part of the family in DC. There we had a lovely dinner with everything you can imagine! Everybody also had to say for what he or she is thankful, we were around forty people and it was so nice to hear about everybody.”
‘I was super curious on Thanksgiving and what it was like. It felt like something truly American and I had never tasted turkey or pumpkin pie before (which I had learnt you ate a lot of during Thanksgiving) since we went to Chicago and I got to meet a huge part of my hm’s family that was also something I really looked forward to! So the whole holiday was all food, food and some more food! And ALL kinds of pies! I believe there might have been around 7-8 different pies. I had a great thanksgiving!”
“Thanksgiving was actually one of my most favorite holidays in the states. We went to Ohio to spent it with family. Watching Macy’s parade while cooking the dinner and baking some pie. After eating the fantastic food watching some football and then of course some Black Friday shopping it was amazing!!”
“I really enjoyed Thanksgiving with my host family. It was as I imagined! So much food to try. Everyone got dressed up and shared what they were thankful for. It was so warm and special. The next day we began to prepare for Christmas. It was magical.”
“I am really excited to be with the whole family. To see everyone gathered around the table. I am so happy thinking about the foods, some I have never tried. I am curious about pumpkin pie. I want to cheer football too and maybe shop on Black Friday!”
“I am looking forward to experiencing the traditions. All the family coming, sharing good things and food….my host mom says there will be so much food!”
I wish each and every one of you a Happy Thanksgiving!
-Photo by Loren Kerns
Making Pinch Pots
Corn husk dolls and pinch pots
This year we celebrated our Host Family Day by attending the American Indian Heritage Day hosted by Jefferson Patterson Park in Calvert County. Many host families and au pairs braved the rain to enjoy the festivities! There were displays, artisans, dancers and plenty of things to make and touch! Highlights were corn husk dolls, pinch pots, grinding corn and fire making demonstrations!
Learning how to make fire
Learning how to shoot a bow and arrow
Au Pair in America au pairs from all over the greater Washington DC/Baltimore region gathered recently to join in on a scavenger hunt at the National Zoo in Washington DC! The au pairs (and counselors) braved the cold to enjoy a morning hunting around the zoo. Afterwards, we gathered on a hill for a picnic! It was a great event!
One of the most beautiful things in fall is watching the leaves change. The green fades and is replaced by the most amazing colors – yellows, oranges, reds, browns…. Now is the time to drive along some of the country roads, go for a hike, or simply go out into your backyard! Really look at and enjoy the beauty of it. If you enjoy photography, take some pictures. Mid morning and late afternoon tend to have the best light. Sometimes the leaves fairly glow in the sunshine!
You can check out these cool ideas for leaf oriented crafts and activities –
And don’t forget to check out the Fall Bucket List! So many fun ideas!
Photo by: wsilver
Here is a video explaining how to carve a pumpkin (as well as some non-carving alternatives.) If you get a pumpkin at a pumpkin patch, I don’t recommend carving it until the week of Halloween, so it will stay looking fresh for big day.
Find more fun on the APIA Fall Holidays Pinterest board.
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 someone 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, go to get ice cream. 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, some even come back for a second au pair experience after being back home 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. Make sure you tell your host family, counselor and au pair friends that you are homesick – we’ll help you!
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. Pinterest is a great option to plan your adventures! Post on our cluster Facebook group to find others who may want to join you on your adventures.
It was a magnificent afternoon today in historic Leonardtown as we gathered to enjoy the sights, sounds and eats at the Taste of St. Mary’s! As always, live music was playing, the antique cars were there for viewing, and of course, LOTS of great food to sample! Some of the great food we tried – Peach Bourbon Brisket Sliders; Crab, shrimp and mac n cheese balls; beef lumpia; strawberry banana smoothies; cannoli; cream of crab soup; jerk chicken; sea salt handmade caramels; and chocolate mousse!
Giant cookies from McKay’s were a big hit with Renata –
Atessa tried the gazpacho fro Linda’s Cafe –
Marise – got behind the wheel of this AWESOME Ford –
We all enjoyed a visit with a deputy from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office –
I am sick or hurt! Now what? If you find that you need medical care, please remember these important things:
All au pairs are covered under a medical insurance policy arranged by Au Pair in America. The cost of this policy is covered by the program fees that the host family pays. Details of the medical insurance, including the policy number, dollar limits of coverage, and exclusions are available in the Insurance Brochures, which you can download below.
Download the Insurance Brochure
Click here if you arrived in 2015
Click here if you arrived in 2014
Need to file a claim?
Click here here to get the form. Submit form and attachments to:
Cultural Insurance Services International
1 High Ridge Park
Stamford, CT 06905
For claim submission questions, call (800) 303-8120 ext. 5130 or e-mail claimhelp@culturalinsurance.com
List of Preferred Physicians, Hospitals and Medical Centers
To access a listing of preferred physicians, hospitals and medical centers in the U.S., please visit http://www.culturalinsurance.com/usprovidersearch/. If there is no participating provider in your area, then you may use any physician or hospital.
Southern Maryland Resources –
Calvert County:
Calvert Memorial Hospital Solomons Urgent Care
