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!
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Eat, Pray, Love for our Au Pair Unbirthday Party – August 2014
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.”
Peace Amid the Storm – APIA Meditates – June 2014
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!
Getting our Roller Derby Rolling – April 2014
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!
APIA, Seahawks, Northwest Harvest Battle Hunger – November 2013
Close to 30 au pairs from around the globe gathered around Seahawks stadium for the (now infamous game) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Our selfless ladies, held signs, spoke with fans and gave up a day off to help the 1-5 families in Washington state that find themselves hungry. WA is the 15th hungriest state in the U.S. That day, APIA au pairs and other volunteers collected over $14,000 for the cause!
A FEW THINGS ABOUT NORTHWEST HARVEST
- They are a statewide hunger response network.
- They distribute food to more than 360 food banks, meal programs and high need schools throughout Washington state.
- Last year, they distributed
o More than 30 million pounds of food,
o Which is 1.9 million meals a month.
- All of the food and money collected at the Seahawks Tackle Hunger event will stay in Washington.
Thank you to all the APIA au pairs who now call WA their home and who donated a Sunday to this important cause with Northwest Harvest.
Salmon Days – October 2013
Au pairs from around the globe gathered to share in a very PNW event – Salmon Days in Issaquah! We made new friends, did a bit of shopping and had a nice picnic with blue grass music after learning about the salmon life cycle… and with 70 degree October weather…nice!
Celebrating Solstice – June 2013
APIA au pairs gathered in Queen Anne to discuss summer safety issues before heading down to Fremont to watch the Fremont Solstice Parade! Good fun. Welcome summer!
St. Patrick's Day Wishes for a Year Abroad – March 2013
Our cluster gathered at my home to talk first about taxes and then about wishes! A green bowl was passed around where au pairs could put anonymously her wishes (a la leprechaun) for her year in the U.S. Many wanted to improve their English, make lasting friendships, learn about themselves, travel the U.S. with a must stop in Hawaii and perhaps meet a lovely U.S. American boy during their stay. Our green dishes went from the savory stuffed green peppers to green tea balls and almost everything green in between. Wonderful spending the afternoon with such a diverse, smart, caring group of young women with independent goals, but many shared wishes…
Home Country Traditions and Holidays Abroad – December 2012
Over 50 au pairs met in a host family home in Medina on Sunday to share their home country holiday traditions in the form of dance, song, word and cookie. Treats were exchanged in an old fashioned cookie swap – including Korean shrimp puffs – and gifts were exchanged (and then stolen) in a just-for-fun white elephant/Yankee swap. Au Pair In America wishes everyone a wonderful holiday – especially those experiencing it for the first time abroad!
200 Trees Planted in One Day – November 2012
An amazing group of women from all corners of the globe joined Nature Consortium in the Duwamish Green Belt yesterday. After planting over 200 trees and bushes in the forest that runs from West Seattle to Burien, the au pairs and others then protected our newly planted friends by mulching over 1000 square feet of forest. All this accompanied by some clarinet music, making the scene feel a bit out of a movie… It surely was not a Saturday spent lounging about, but we felt good to know that all this hard work would yield a more healthy forest for years to come. Nice to affect our carbon foot prints…just a little bit.
Kim Marie (Germany), Martyna (Poland) and Ashley (Korea)
Baby trees set to replace the 100 year old dying ones in the forest.