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.
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.
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.
Great to gather so many countries on one hill in Gasworks Park in Fremont. We played ice breaker games, Seattle trivia and got to know one another just a little bit more over pizza in a park.
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.
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.
Thanks to all the au pairs who shared in our culture share and sculpture walk this past May. We learned more about one another and about what makes our cultures unique.
We had a wonderful joint cluster meeting with au pairs from around the globe as we “discovered” more about the Gates Foundation together. Au pairs were able to share the main export crops from their own countries and put together the bigger picture of how we are battling poverty and hunger and willing around the world. It was a nice day of witnessing what can happen when we work together to make big changes. We arrived curious and indeed left inspired.
The community of Au Pairs in Washington gathered up to watch another group of strong women – the UW women’s basketball team. Basketball, like cultural exchange, is full of lessons in teamwork, pivoting, communicating, and adapting. A fun day was had by all with close to 100 Au pairs joining the fun.
This year our cluster had monthly coffee days like last to get to know one another better than having just our one monthly cluster event. (Those tend to be very well attended and active, but less intimate!) I personally adore these coffee times – rotating around our cluster towns – with smaller groups sharing and getting deeper into their experiences and one another. And kids are always invited. 
