Author Archives: Kim Van Cleave Michaels

Power Positions – January 2025

Au pairs from Mexico, Sweden, South Africa, Brazil, South Korea, Colombia, Bolivia, Germany, Turkey, and Spain came together to show their strength and learn from the Bellevue Police in their self defense, community class. They learned the importance of leveraging angles and moves to ensure the attacker has their own weight used against them in a struggle. We learned that setting boundaries will reveal the intention of another person; turning and facing someone is generally better than not (unless you can just leave); and if you are on the ground, stand up (in base) if you can. If you cannot stand up, position your feet between yourself and the perpetrator. And most importantly, they learned what was in their power from the start – the situation/environment itself. Staying in pairs and in lighted areas will be job one. Thank you again to the Bellevue Police for protecting and serving our global community in a very proactive way. We are grateful.


Sparkling as a Global Community – Dec 2024

What a fun night seeing some lights in our annual Botanical Garden tour and ending with a fiery game of gift giving. We had a great year and this 2024 class of au pairs and their positivity and leadership is a big reason why. Bring it, 2025. We are strong and supportive!

Finding our Zen, Painting the Town – Nov 2024

A talented group of young artists showed off their skills at Paint the Town this month. We had much activity the week before during Halloween, so this quieter event hit the spot for us. Wonderful to have so many put paint to pottery and create gifts for themselves or their loved ones this holiday season. Grateful.

Down the Seattle Underground Witches’ Road

What a fun event. Nearly 40 of us submerged ourselves in the town that was the town before the town of Seattle. Most came as witches, some as animals, one as a flight attendant and many came as they are (so very Seattle). Beneath the Streets https://www.beneath-the-streets.com never disappoints on the fun facts and historical look at our community from the starts of our community.

Community Day and Culture Fair – over 100 of our Closest Friends

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Our cultural fair and APIA Family Day was a great success with over 100 people in attendance!  Au pairs hosted an amazing cultural fair, greeting the touring kids as they traveled the virtual world with their fake passports, getting stickers from the countries as they went.  We had representatives from Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Spain and Thailand.  We ate donut holes, made flyers, did scavenger hunts and tossed some wet water balloons. Fun times with an amazingly supportive global community. We are all feeling grateful.

Celebrating Summer and Cross-cultural Exchanges

The au pairs in WA state gathered up for some swimming, singing and donating of shoes for the J-1 exchange day national celebrations. We enjoyed one another’s company and sang along to our  joint  Spotify  global  jam mix.  Summer  fun!

Exchange Day is coming soon on August 5, and APIA was excited to celebrate with a shoe drive.  Held on the first Monday in August, Exchange Day is a nationwide celebration of the power of international exchange. Program participants come together with their American hosts to share cultural experiences, give back to their communities, and have some fun. This day is also an opportunity to raise awareness of international exchange programs and spread the word about the power of cultural exchange.

APIA has historically celebrated Exchange Day in August with shoe drives, au pair get togethers, and more. 

Let’s Play Ball! – June 2024

Delightful day at the ballgame this past weekend with nearly 70 au pairs from around WA in a multi-cluster ball game. Not everyone knew the rules, and we started the day pretty wet from our atmospheric river running through it, but by the end, we were all smiles with a Mariners win and a nice day of hot dogs and Americana.