Monthly Archives: July 2017

Personal Support While In The Au Pair in America Program

With exceptional child care, you can expect exceptional support and service

  • You will receive comprehensive program support including:

    Maine's Au Pair in America Community Counselor, Jennifer Molloy

    Maine’s Au Pair in America Community Counselor, Jennifer Molloy

  • assistance with selecting your au pair
  • coordinating logistics, providing orientation for your family and au pair
  • year-round local support
  • medical insurance for your au pair
  • 24/7 emergency assistance

As an Au Pair in America host family, you receive the services of a personalized support team. One of Au Pair in America’s strengths is our network of more than 180 community counselors in the United States. One of these experienced counselors will reside in or near your community and maintain contact with you and your au pair throughout the program.

The Role of Your Community Counselor

Your community counselor is there to help you throughout the exchange year. In addition to meeting with you during your interview, easing the placement process and conducting your orientation, your community counselor will contact you within 48 hours

Cluster Meetings

Once a month your Community Counselor will host a “cluster meeting”. This is an event for all of the au pairs in the “cluster”, or territory that counselor is responsible for. Cluster meetings can vary from a fun outing like ice skating or bowling, to a self defense class, or tour of the local area. These meetings help au pairs in the area get to know one another, and see other parts of the state, as well as lets them get to know their Community Counselor. 

Community counselors act ongoing as a sounding board for both the family and the au pair, a mediator if needed, a neutral opinion, a hug when needed if an au pair is homesick or having a tough time, guidance when a family or an au pair has program questions, travel questions, healthcare questions for the au pair and a plethora of other topics.

Ongoing Support

Don’t hesitate to ask them questions! Guidance and support is an integral part of having a successful year with your au pair or as an au pair and it’s the Community Counselor’s role to help assist.

Have a wonderful year!

https://www.aupairinamerica.com/applying/yearahead.asp

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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