Au pairs from Brazil, Mexico, Germany, and Colombia shared their holiday traditions, both country and family and we enjoy a spirited game of white elephant and treats from around the globe. Some of these ladies are chefs in their own right! Coming together as a community is important around the holiday time and stopping to take stock in a tough, but amazing year is part of the au pair journey. And this game is just a lot of fun…https://happyhomefairy.com/a-super-fun-christmas-game/
Our crew gathered in West Seattle this month for some pie tasting and craft making. Johanna from Germany led us in a Blidergebnis fur Laternen craft. The story goes that St Martin, being a kind man, cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm. On Nov 11, this day celebrates altruism and modesty. Since APIA is all about sharing, we thought it relevant this season. Thank you to our host families who sharing their Thanksgiving tables with young women from around the world!
Thanksgiving is a public holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November every year in the United States. It started as a harvest festival and has been celebrated nationally on and off since 1789. The most important part of Thanksgiving for American families is to spend family time together.
Martin Cathrae
“My favorite holiday was Thanksgiving. Firstly, it was my first holiday with the whole family in America. Secondly, the whole family came together. All aunts and uncles and their kids came to grandma’s. We played football with all of them, including grandma and grandpa. It was the first time I played it and it was so much fun for all. We had a great dinner with all the typical things you can imagine … it was deeeelicious! It was so great to be with such a big family and I really enjoyed that day. I will remember it my whole life, I hope.” – Swantje from Germany
Here are a few tips to help you have a terrific Thanksgiving experience.
Host Parents
Please plan to include your au pair in your Thanksgiving celebration, if at all possible. If you are traveling or will not be able to invite your au pair to join you for Thanksgiving, give her plenty of notice and help her make alternate plans. You don’t want to leave your au pair alone over the holiday.
Au Pairs
If you are invited to attend dinner, please let your family know within 5 days of the invitation, whether you are planning to attend, so they may make plans. If your host family is unable to include you in their Thanksgiving plans, please let me know if you have trouble making other plans, so I can assist.
Make sure to discuss time off during this holiday weekend. Many host families work the Friday after Thanksgiving so do not assume you have this day off or the entire weekend. Talk to your host family, BEFORE you make any plans.
Bonus Tip for the Kids
If you are looking for a fun recipe to make with your au pair, check out these turkey cookies. Find more fun activities and recipes on the Au Pair in America Fall Holidays pinboard.
Brazil in the house! Celebrating birthdays and eating cheese bread. D. Lish.
Bainbridge Island was hit by a mob of frantic au pairs. We played some get-to-know-you games, ran around an island completing clues in a photo scavenger hunt and ended our time…eating ice cream. Good times and tasty treats with friends from around the globe. Doesn’t get much better.
Being knowledgeable in basic first aid and CPR is important for au pairs (and anyone else caring for children). Au Pair in America’s commitment to infant/child safety begins before au pairs arrive to the U.S., with pre-arrival training and continue throughout the au pair year.
#1 Training At Orientation
Our orientation includes seminars by American Red Cross instructors who provide hands-on demonstrations in infant/child CPR and safety. Printed materials are provided that reinforce the safety information and can be used to review from time to time.
#2 Enroll in a Red Cross Certification Class
After settling into their host community, all au pairs are encouraged to complete an Infant/Child CPR and First Aid certification program. Au Pair in America will pay for this training through the American Red Cross.
Classes are available through the Red Cross. Au Pair in America will pay for the cost of a class providing an au pair has at least six months left on her visa and is taking one of several approved childcare/child safety-related classes, such as Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED. Au pairs should check with their community counselor and host family before signing up. Au Pair in America will register the au pair directly.
To locate a class, visit www.redcross.org/takeaclass. For step-by-step instructions on how to locate a class and have Au Pair in America complete enrollment, click here.
#3 Stay Current on Safety Information
The Official American Red Cross First Aid app puts expert advice for everyday emergencies in your hand. Available for iPhone and Android devices, this app gives you instant access to the information you need to know to handle the most common first aid emergencies. With videos, interactive quizzes and simple step-by-step advice, it’s never been easier to know first aid. Download the app for free from the American Red Cross website or in your app store.
Photos: Robin Leon
90+ APIA fans headed up into the clouds of Mt Rainier at Paradise. We didn’t have clear skies, but we didn’t have rain either. And while the beauty of the mountain might have alluded us in the bigger picture, we did enjoy the wild flowers, wild beasts (some even caught a glimpse of a bear) and one another in the wild. A bit of speed dating on the way up on the bus and we are off to another beautiful fall season as a community of interculturalists, set to support one another on this cross-cultural journey.
Almost everyone experiences culture shock when they come to a completely new environment. Everything is different: the language, the food, and the people.
When everything feels so unfamiliar, it is natural to long for the security of home. However, you don’t want to let that feeling of longing for home, make you too sad or prevent you from finding happiness in your new home.
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 often makes homesickness worse. Try texting 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 go to 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 nearly all of them stay and have a successful year (some stay 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.
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 group to find others who may want to join you on your adventures.
Photo by: Hernán Piñera (Flickr)
Au Pair In America has the best cross cultural child care community out there. Yep, I said it. (and I used alliteration for bonus points…). This WA community gathered to celebrate our connections – people who are globally minded, adventurously spirited and just good ole’ kid fans. And boy did those kids party. We were 165 people and 12 nations strong in Redmond with our multi-cluster day: sharing culture in a culture fair put on by hard working and proud au pairs, throwing water balloons, scavenger hunting, tattooing, face painting and crown making.
Our cluster gathers more intimately monthly for coffee meetings around town and this month, we hit the pool and left the coffee behind. Au pairs gathered for sandwiches and ice cream at the Arbor Heights pool in West Seattle. Delightful to soak with this crew and just unwind. #welovesummer
