Au pairs celebrated the holiday season with gift exchange and party games. They chatted about their memorable experiences with host families and kids and shared hopes for the future.
Yearly Archives: 2016
Picnic in Audubon Park
With holiday season approaching, au pairs took advantage of beautiful weather to have a picnic in Audubon Park and talk about Thanksgiving and work on a turkey themed craft.
Lynnesse Is Nominated for Au Pair of the Year 2016
Congratulations to Lynnesse for having been nominated by her host family for the Au Pair of the Year 2016 award!
Lynnesse is a second year au pair from South Africa. Her host parents say she felt like part of the family from the start and their three young children think of her as their wonderful big sister and love to spend time with her. In addition to providing excellent care for the kids, Lynnesse enriched the family’s life by sharing her South African culture and different perspective while herself learning about the life in the United States.
Au Pair of the Year is a yearly contest. For more information please visit
http://www.aupairinamerica.com/aupair_of_the_year/index.asp
Oak Street Po Boy Festival
Which po boy to have? Oyster, shrimp, beef or sausage? Or perhaps one of the several more exotic varieties? Should it be dressed or not? Shared with a friend or gobbled up by one hungry self? These were the big questions facing au pairs who attended Oak Street Po Boy festival, an annual po boy extravaganza in one of the funky New Orleans neighborhoods.
Beignets at Café du Monde
There is not a better and more iconic place in New Orleans for au pairs to reacquaint themselves with city after summer vacation than Café du Monde in the French Quarter. Excitement about new schedules, plans and goals both for au pairs and their host kids was enhanced and yes, sweetened, by copious amounts of sugar poured lavishly over delicious beignets.
All at the Mall
Au pairs met at the mall, the Lakeside Shopping Center to be precise, to reconnect after summer vacation and greet newly arrived “comrades in arms.” After sharing happy memories of summer escapades, both with host families and on their own, au pairs fanned out across the mall to compete in Scavenger Hunt. The winners enjoyed scoops of ice cream and plenty of accolades.
Back to School Tips
The new school year will start shortly. The transition from a more relaxed summer time to the busy school year can be challenging for all – kids, parents and au pairs. Here are a few tips for making it as easy as possible for everybody.
- Discuss changes to the daily routines in advance and mark children’s after school activities on the calendar
- Make sure au pair is familiar with the system of dropping off/picking up children (including NOT leaving kids in the car when picking up siblings)
- Put au pair’s name on the list of people allowed to pick up the children from school
- Provide au pair with the list of emergency contacts, including doctor’s
- Prepare a list of acceptable foods for breakfast, lunch and snacks
- Designate a spot for kids’ backpacks, school projects and sport/extracurricular activity items
- Discuss children’s after school routine (rest, playtime, use of electronics, homework)
- Remind au pair that it’s illegal to pass a yellow school bus if it has the STOP arm raised
New Match Advice for Au Pairs
The basis for developing a trusting relationship is good communication. Good contact between the host family, au pair and community counselor is the best recipe for success on our program. Here are some tips about how to get your match off to the best possible start:
- Family Time – Spend time with your new family; the more you get to know them, the more comfortable you will feel.
- Time to Talk – Set aside some time each week with your host family to talk about how things are going, ask questions, and discuss any concerns.
- The Schedule – Review and discuss the schedule and your duties, making sure you really understand what is being asked of you.
- Vacation Planning – Discuss vacation time as early as possible so you can choose weeks/days that work for you and your host family.
- Classes – Review your education options and discuss your preferences with your host family.
- Cluster Meetings – Attend the cluster meetings, as they are a great way to have fun with other au pairs and connect with your community counselor.
- Monthly Contact – Your counselor is required to touch base with you once a month; let her know how things are going.
Support – If you are concerned or worried about anything at all, let your counselor know!
Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro
The Olympic Games will take place from August 5th – August 21st. Au pairs will be cheering on their nations from the USA and maybe supporting the USA too. The Olympic Games are the world’s biggest sporting spectacle. They are divided into a summer and winter Games, held every four years by a single city. This year 207 nations will participate in the games. Athletes with disabilities compete at the Paralympics. More than 10,000 athletes from all over the world take part in the summer events. Here are some fun facts:
The First Olympics
The ancient Olympics celebrated the god Zeus and were held every four years at Olympia, Greece. Winners received an olive wreath. The date of the first Games is unclear, but the first recorded Olympic champion was Koroibos, who won a sprint in 776 BC.
The Olympic Rings
The rings symbolize the unity of the world’s five continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas). Every national flag in the world contains at least one of the five colors.
What is the Olympic Ideal
The ideal is to build international understanding and cooperation. The Olympic code promotes amateurism, or performance without payment, and professionals are allowed to participate only under certain rules.
Winning Gold…or not
Even though the top athlete in his or her field wins the ‘gold,’ the medals aren’t really made out of solid gold. In fact, they haven’t been pure gold for around 100 years. The gold medals awarded now are actually silver, with gold plating. That probably doesn’t matter to the athletes who have dedicated their lives to winning one, as long as they aren’t planning on melting the medal down and pawning it off.
All About Rio
This year the Olympics will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Just one hour ahead of the Eastern Time Zone, it will be easy to view many events live. View the official website with everything you need to know here https://www.rio2016.com/en
Schedule of Events
Find out when your favorite events are scheduled here http://www.nbcolympics.com/full-schedule
Au Pairs Talk Communication
Au pair Lina from Brazil said: “The best way for you to enjoy your year as an au pair is to have a very good relationship with your host family.” Her au pair friend Julia from Sweden added that very good relationship could only be achieved through an open and honest communication.
However, communication that must bridge different languages and cultural expectation can pose challenges. A quick game of deconstructing Twitter acronyms showed just how tricky understanding and interpreting a new language can be, whether it’s Twitter-speak, spoken English or culturally inflected body language.
Samantha from Mexico spoke for everybody when she suggested that both au pairs and host families needed to show flexibility and patience when communicating and soon enough everybody will speak the same argot!
GL TTYL