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.
Tag Archives: nanny
2024 APIA Clubs Formed – Jan 2024
We’ve got gamers, hikers and readers. Au pairs will be finding their special interest groups for 2024. The things they love will be more fun with friends this year!
APIAs Intimate, Monthly Community Coffee Days
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. 
Holiday Lights and Magic – December 2023
The holiday lights sparkled, along with the spirits of au pairs from around the globe. We shared the traditions from many of our home countries and got a little bit closer last Sunday. Then we stole gifts… In a lively white elephant, au pairs got into the spirit of the swap. We had a fun time and walked away with a smile and another gift (if not the one we selected). When you are far from home, it’s good to know you have a community of people who understand and are there for you. Grateful for the kindness in this group toward one another in this holiday season and throughout the year.
Spooky Underground Touring in Old Seattle – Nov 2023
On Sunday, Oct 22 au pairs from two of the Greater Seattle area clusters dressed up for Halloween and hit the underground tour. We learned of the history of the great Seattle fire, the diverse businesses that existed in the underground and how it is used in present day. Great to spend some time together to meet the community.
APIA Global Community Day in Seattle – September 2023
Nearly 100 people, including host parents, host siblings and au pairs from around the globe joined their Seattle area Au Pair In America community to celebrate!
The au pairs brought down the house with a culture fair that had posters, food, dancing, language and all the smiles. We had representative from Zimbabwe, Peru, Panama, France, Colombia, Brazil, China, South Africa, and Germany showing their colors and sharing themselves. We enjoyed treats specially made from Colombia and Brazil and kids got to “travel the world” with their passports collecting country stickers. Host parents shared their stories about their friendships with au pairs and best practices informally with one another. We had a nice (but small this year) water balloon toss game (so many families with babies and nap times made this a bit smaller this year). The bigger kids colored, did word searches, a bingo diversity scavenger hunt, and got tattoos for kids of all ages. After the event, they headed down to meet our new lady troll in West Seattle. And the weather couldn’t have been better. All in all, it was a lovely day for the world.
Prizes and pizzas in a park – June 2023
What a nice day! The weather was warm and the company warmer. We played some get to know you, speed dating and trivia games and had, well, pizza in a park. Gasworks is iconic Seattle and our community enjoyed one another and the day we were given.
Seattle Touring in our own Town – May 2023
A small but mighty group went touring in our own town. We tried a new tour company and hit the streets to hear about what we didn’t yet know. They told us great stories of Seattle octopus, revealed the real “first Starbucks” location, talked through the Seattle fire and the newly built city and told tales of a man named Ivar and his eccentric ways (leading him to start the first fish and chips chain in the city.). 
The Future is Female – Gates Foundation and Au Pair In America – April 2023
Au pairs from China, Luxembourg, Guatemala, Thailand, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Poland, Germany, and South Africa gathered at Gates Foundation to learn about the work they are doing around the globe. Our gracious tour guides expertly talked through the data on world hunger, equity, pollution, parental leave, sanitation and disease. The young women of Au Pair In America (who will soon be adding their voices and efforts to the good fight for justice) learned about birthing methods and patient treatment around the globe, as well as water free toilets ready soon for market to combat ringworm. It was a great learning morning and wonderful part of this group’s journey while here in Seattle. They had smart insights and intelligent responses. The future is in good hands.
Serving and Protecting Global Visitors – March 2023
The World Health Organization estimates that 1 in every 3 women in the world experience violence and these stats have not improved over the past decade. Women living overseas are an especially vulnerable population, in that they are learners of a new language, surrounded by different values and behaviors. Those who have lived overseas know day-to-day interactions can feel foreign and understanding threats can get lost in cultural misinterpretations. Step in Officer Craig of the Bellevue, WA (the largest majority-minority city in the US) police department.
Officer Craig has been teaching women’s self defense classes to his local community for just a few months now. What the Bellevue Police are doing is fairly unique according to Officer Craig, and last Sunday, our au pair population was able to be a part of his teachings first-hand. Officer Craig slowed down what transpires in the “mechanics” of an unequal struggle, describing how women can use the space between and their own bodies as leverage if it is not their own physical strength that will serve in the moment. He talked through body positioning for finding the best balance, defensive tactics, illegal in boxing since they don’t serve the goal of being able to strike an opponent. He later shared links to reinforce the moves:
Officer Craig demonstrated with care and precision these defensive moves to 30 au pairs from 12 different countries. The women then practiced how to guard against an assailant, lessons they can take with them to their own home countries.
Conversations around law enforcement between citizens from various parts of the globe are always interesting and what it means to “serve and protect” has taken on various interpretations, both at home and abroad, depending on the experiences or the traumas we each hold. Officer Craig learned everyone’s names in the short amount of time we spent with him, he created a space of trust with the local police for a woman far from home, and with humility, he left us offering future support, saying that he was, “grateful to be in a position to help in a small way.” At the Bellevue, WA police station in a closed City Hall office on a Sunday, we found a person who was “serving and protecting” in a very proactive and caring way.