How many branches does the US government have? How often are Senators elected? What date is the President sworn in every 4 years? These and many other questions were answered in our video presentation and trivia game last weekend in Redmond. Au pairs walked away with more knowledge, but were admittedly impressively wise from the start! Then we ate pizza…
Au pairs from many countries came together to talk about what their country and culture mean to them. Practicing public speaking and educating one other was the goal for the day. We heard about Brazilian beaches, French races, Austrian skiing, German town squares, Dutch cultural values, Chinese hotpots, Mexican pies (delicious recipe, Ana’s mom!) and Czech friendships. I shared a cherish gift I received during my own time in Japan from an elder who wrote to me this Zen saying, “White cloud comes and goes and the mountain is blue.” We talked about the challenges faced on exchange and remaining steady within ourselves. On top of all this, we tasted pies that represented the US (apple pie), Washington state (marionberry pie) and Thanksgiving (pumpkin pie). Pictured below, these strong young women who shared.
Nothing beats some fro-yo on a hot day regardless of international taste buds! Au pairs this month were treated to some tasty bites while we discussed the WA APIA Best Of’s. Best place to go with kids, best classes, best hikes, etc… A casual cluster event with friends during the heat of summer.
A group of our dedicated au pairs came together in a host family’s home in Kirkland this season to be together as a community. We shared stories and holiday traditions (including home made delicacies from around the globe). We then partook in a white elephant where everyone was on their best behavior and stole nothing! Afterward we discussed how to overcome homesickness and hot travel spots were shared. Wishing everyone a magical season here in the US, sharing and learning all that you can.
The choice to become an au pair is a challenging one, one that most young women don’t make. However, if you feel the pull to travel in your inner soul, it is like the salmon swimming upstream. You must do it.
Last week, our au pair community gathered to watch something very Pacific Northwest in nature, we watched the salmon spawn upstream. After witnessing this struggle, we then sat in a warm patch of grass to discuss our own struggles in the houses and with the families we now call home. We solved each others’ anonymous childcare dilemmas with discussion and au pair to au pair advice. Then we dispersed to check out the Issaquah Salmon Day festival food and crafts. It was another beautiful APIA community day.
Our host family and au pair community came together today to meet one another, share international cuisines, do some cross-cultural scavenger hunting and play a lively game of water balloon toss (au pair/host child teams!). These, once strangers, are now family and we, as counselors, are so privileged to witness this beautiful program in action.
A nameless group of au pairs set out on a quest to answer clues and find stores in Bellevue Square Mall. It was a spirited game with two groups vying for first place, but when there is leftover Halloween candy, everyone is a winner!
A fabulous group of young women from around the world gathered in my backyard to meet each other (some for the first time), celebrate an “unbirthday party” giving each other gifts that they could not live without as an au pair here in the US (lots of chocolate, some tools of the job, beauty products and a surprising Seahawks theme to a few more…) We then watched on the big outdoor screen a woman on a journey around the world who finds herself in “Eat, Pray, Love”. Hmmm….familiar. The movie closed with this,
“In the end, I’ve come to believe in something I call “The Physics of the Quest.” A force in nature governed by laws as real as the laws of gravity. The rule of Quest Physics goes something like this: If you’re brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting, which can be anything from your house to bitter, old resentments, and set out on a truth-seeking journey, either externally or internally, and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher and if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will not be withheld from you.”
A group of au pairs checked out the meditation class at Urban Oasis Yoga for a quiet hour over this Summer Solstice weekend. After a quiz on summer safety, including pool safety, staying hydrated and sunscreen, we switched gears and listened to the soothing voice of a therapist using the iRest method, a research-based approach to transformation in a guided meditation format. Our session focused on staying calm and patient during a full day of childcare and fighting moments of homesickness and isolation while overseas. We learned body sensitivity training, breath and energy awareness, development of intention and the releasing of negative thought patterns and emotions. The goal was for us to experience peace amidst the changing circumstances of life – and as we all know, change is all around the world of the au pair. “Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm.” Let’s see how this week goes!
Au Pairs hit the rink at Southgate Rollerrink in West Seattle this month. We took the lesson and then joined the families to skate around to the hits. Very American!
