Yearly Archives: 2016

A Non-traditional Thanksgiving – Bring on the Swedish Meatballs

International Education Week (IEW) has been designated as Nov 14-18 by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.  It comes just before the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US.  In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.  This was a celebration of two cultures and their peacefully learning about one another’s differences, starting from a common ground with the most basic of human needs.  Food!

Our Greater Seattle cluster event this month focused on how to best share their culture, gathering for our own “non-traditional” Thanksgiving dinner at IKEA.  We had more meatballs and mac-n-cheese than might be found at most host family tables perhaps, but we enjoyed a shared meal none-the-less, and spent some time learning about each other and the important cultural stories we hold dear.

Young women from Croatia, Sweden, Portugal, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, and Brazil shared sports jerseys, picture books, money, candy, chocolate, common holiday traditions and thoughts on their exchange year in the US.  The hope now is that they continue to share.  With families. With one another. With their childrens’ classrooms. With a boys/girls club. With a church group. With a library. At a birthday party. Anywhere. With anyone. After all, cultural exchange is the name of our game and what makes our world an exciting place.  APIA provides tools via our Global Awareness program.

One of the most rewarding aspects of my 20 year career within J-1 visa programs has been in watching young women from around the globe test their inner strength and find their outer voice.  Yesterday this group below did just that.  The fear of public speaking crosses cultures, so we talked about how to best overcome this – practice.  The goal of the J-1 visa is to gain a cross cultural understanding, but then ensure that learning is spread to others.  These ladies spoke out loud and proud and are just getting started in making this world a better place.

Click here to read more about Global Awareness, a program of Au Pair In America. 

Click here to read more about the State Department’s IEW events and how people on visa exchanges around the US are sharing cultures and appreciating differences.

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A Salmon’s Journey Upstream – An Au Pair’s Dilemma

This past Sunday, au pairs gathered in Issaquah to watch our WA salmon spawn – another quintessential Seattle experience for these world travelers.  We talked with a fish docent to hear about how the salmon is born and returns at the end of their life to the same stream, feeling poetic for a group of young women leaving home for the first time, ready for life’s adventure away from home.  We then crossed a bridge and sat in a patch of grass to discuss homesickness and culture shock.  Au pairs also anonymously shared something they needed help with regarding child care- involving discipline, behavior around food, sibling rivalry or potty training.  Their fellow au pairs then problem-solved these dilemmas real time, coming up with some solutions to the issue at hand and thereby supporting their fellow APIA community member.  And this all in English – a second language for all…  fullsizerender-14 fullsizerender-15
 

Rainier and her Marmots

This past Sunday was a bit cloudy, a bit rainy (some of us thought the sun may come out and donned shorts…ok one of us and it never did…), but a cheery day for an international community to come together to get to know one another.  We found fewer views, but a plethora of animals.  Chipmunks and marmots posed for us on rocks as the au pair crew of this 2016 hike ascended to new heights.  Also of note, a nice sing-along to the top 40s, including our own Seattle boy, Macklemore.  They are true Seattle-ites now!fullsizerender-13 fullsizerender-14 fullsizerender-15 fullsizerender-16

Bainbridge Scavenger Hunting – August 2016

Au Pairs from around the world gathered on a small island in the PNW for a unique day of bonding and scavenger hunting.  Our crew split up into teams and took to the streets of Bainbridge Island to explore and meet the locals while seeing the sites.  The rain held up long enough for us to end the day with some delicious ice cream from Mora’s.  A sweet end to a sweet day!

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Host Family and J Day 2016

We had another big turn out for the APIA host family day at Lincoln Park this year in Seattle (over 150 people) and yesterday we combined an Au Pair In America 30th birthday with a celebration of J Day where au pairs from several of our 60 countries represented made dishes from their countries and families donated over 30 pairs of shoes for the Goodwill.

Cultural exchanges have always been at the heart of our US foreign policy and the State Department remains steadfast in its support of intercultural friendships through the J-1 visa programs.

“J Day is about celebrating the exchange visitors who enrich our local communities each year.  They not only bring the world to our hometowns and boost our local economies – but also give back to our communities in meaningful ways.”

 

To our host families and their children, we want to thank you for opening your home to a virtual stranger, for helping your au pair with her English, her driving, her homesickness.  For trusting us to find her and to support your program together.  Hosting takes courage and an open mind.

And to our au pairs, we also want to thank you for traveling across the world for this program. For trusting us to find you a warm, loving home. 85% of last year’s au pairs nationwide said their au pair year was the greatest year of their life thus far. We thank you for allowing us to be on this journey with you.  A journey that also takes great amounts of courage and an open mind.

#CelebrateJDay #eatplaygive

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Together, We are Stronger – June 2016

Well, we thankfully saw no cougars, but we also saw little water on our hike to Coal Creek Falls (too late for much more ice to melt, so falls were a nice, dry picnic spot).  Our crew took the many different paths leading up to the Falls and discussed the American culture – the surprises and the challenges.  Newly arrived au pairs also received some good advice from au pairs headed home after almost a year.  The discussion reminded everyone what an individual journey cross-cultural exchange can be at times, but that if we stand together, we are stronger!

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Mariner’s Baseball Fever – May 2016

A crew of 60 au pairs headed to the ball park to enjoy a game (with amazing seats heavily subsidized by a generous host dad to celebrate his son’s birthday!)  We watched from a view just above third base as the Royals and Mariners went head to head.  Our team lost, but the sunshine and smiling community of international friends made us all winners.FullSizeRender-13

Falling for Snoqualmie – April 2016

The world went to Snoqualmie this month to see the power of the falls, breathe the fresh air of the state and hike as a community of international friends.  South Africa, Poland, Brazil, Croatia, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, Thailand, Germany, Sweden, New Zealand and Costa Rica all representing!  We capped our luxurious hike with a summer safety quiz – clearly all passed with flying colors.  Summer, we are ready.FullSizeRender(3) IMG_0558

NW Harvest Helping – March 2016

Our au pair community is strong and mighty and we always have a meal.  We are lucky that way and learned about the thousands of hungry in our state of WA, helping NW Harvest make a difference in a few lives by working in the warehouse on a Saturday.  These strong ladies from 10 countries packed up 5,800 pounds of corn that would equate to 4,461 meals around our state.  APIA was thrilled to be a part of something bigger than any one of us that day.  Thanks, North West Harvest!

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Gates Foundation, An American Tradition – Feb 2016

The au pairs headed this month to the Gates Foundation to hear about the work this important group is doing both here in WA and abroad.  The interactive museum and our guide helped to focus our attention on the areas of most concern such as clean water, malaria and education.  The work done by the Gates family and US. entrepreneurs throughout our nation’s history made for an interesting back drop on the current capitalist discussion and how this idea of altruism differs around the world.  Through simulations, we were able to try our own hand at lifting and envisioning how children would carry water to their village for miles and make it last for a full day.  We might now better empathize with the need for resource management and shut off the tap when we brush our teeth each day.

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