What a day! Au pairs made the journey to bear witness themselves to this iconic WA site. Snoqualmie Falls is gorgeous and powerful and these women fit right into that scenery. In that moment in time, countrywomen representing Poland, Mexico, Colombia, Thailand, Panama and Argentina came together as one.
Our second in-person cluster event was a night pool party – with the pool reserved just for APIA for safety. We relaxed in water and got to know one another a little bit more from a distance, outside. It’s been a long time coming and it was nice to gather young women from around the globe together in one place for a moonlight dip.
.
What has been lost in a year that much has also been gained? That’s a question we asked when thinking more about our first in-person, outside, masked cluster event with APIA au pairs. Our answer was our personal relationships suffered. Sure, it is great to see au pairs on video – in zoom rooms, in WhatsApp video chats, but nothing beats in-person, get to know you-s. In light of that, we kept our first event SAFE, but also as powerful as it could be and that power comes in connection. We set up blankets outside in a park – 3 feet apart – and went from one to the next to chat with each other like we have in the past on the Mt Rainier bus trip. A speed dating of sorts. And it was an energy boost and made this CC tear up…waiting made meeting up all the sweeter….
We had the au pairs vote on the cluster zoom they would find most entertaining this month and a guided Tarot card reader won with most votes. It was a fascinating night with personal stories and encouragement from a woman who learned these arts from her grandmother growing up in Mexico City. And some others joined to just listen and learn about another way of knowing and seeing the unpredictable world… Open minds, open hearts and forward movement prevailed. 
After watching an inspirational TED talk, we launched a happiness challenge as a group and over the next 21 days, those willing to take the challenge will be doing these 5 things daily: 1 random act of kindness, list 3 daily gratitudes, journal about something good that happened within last 24 hours, exercise, and meditate. We will be sharing our efforts in our WhatsApp group throughout the month to inspire one another. Au pairs also are encouraged to take an amazing class (this APIA counselor very much enjoyed) offered by Yale University entitled The Science of Well Being https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-science-of-well-being.
The world is in a dark place right now, but we are digging deep for the light and these ladies have what it takes! Their American adventure this year and last is like none others yet in history and the teachings are deep. We will emerge even more wise, strong and fierce. This is our pledge.
Au pairs gathered by zoom to talk about their favorite spots to go with kids, family traditions from home – swimming and eating fresh fruit in South Africa in the heat, BBQs in New Zealand and Brazil, sending letters off by balloons to Santa in Colombia, the Austrian Krampus, the German passion plays and Christmas Eves, and cooking in pajamas in Panama. They revealed gifts and secret Santas and shared the 2020 silver linings: baby yoda, cheese plates, new romances, great families, wonderful host kids, and traveling around the state. 
We got the spirit! The au pairs and their host kids were off to the races this month, making the most of their October. We got tons of pictures of them in action, getting out and about this Fall. Here are just a few of them and the photo contest that started it all. Congrats to Annika from Austria and Anna from Brazil who won gift cards to spend with their host children teammates. Such fun to watch virtually from the side lines! And in addition to those two teams, Ikky from Italy and Mariana from Brazil also made the national APIA instagram account. Inspiration!
https://www.instagram.com/theaupairinamerica/?hl=en
We gathered to talk about education in this crazy and challenging 2020. While we are not in classrooms, there are many new options available that were never there before. Au pairs are able to experience ivy league US American institutions at a fraction of the cost. We talked about some of the most popular classes, from Justice at Harvard to some wonderful ESL online options. The sky is now the limit for education in 2020 and isn’t that exciting. Silver linings.
And au pairs shared their most precious joyful moments of the summer. Here is that that looked like: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=AftnZKSCz_k
Au pairs in our cluster joined a group of au pairs nationwide to get pretty in a time when many of us are rarely leaving home. When we do, we are going to step out in style. Essie, a wonderful make-up artist out of NYC, showed our ladies some tips and tricks and we had a nice time learning and just relaxing. It was a fun summer evening, just us girls…
