Tag Archives: washington

What Made You a Better Person in 2021? & APIA Tops the Charts – January 2022

Au pairs were asked this and many more questions in our zoom reflections of the year.  Here were some highlights of what was shared:

What were your good moments and gratitudes?  travel, northern lights, snowfall, culture sharing with my host family, learning English…

What did you do right or how did you grow as a person?  learned to say goodbye, improved communication, got the courage to speak up and talk about tough moments…

What are your 2022 plans or mottos for the new year?  “ask myself, ‘why not?'” “stay safe, live more,” make more friends, say yes not no, volunteer, exercise, use social media less, be more generous,…

And speaking of 2022, we are thrilled to report that APIA again has been named the top au pair agency from VeryWell Family.   Proud of our state, regional and national team of dedicated employees!

The Great Rebuild – What History Teaches Us about Resilience – Nov 2021

Seattle au pairs toured the old underground city in our first joint cluster event in nearly two years.  Jan 2019 marked the last time our APIA clusters were allowed to safely congregate, but this past Sunday, with the help of Beneath the Streets (https://www.beneath-the-streets.com) Covid protocols, we gathered again and it felt so good.  Four clusters came together to hear about the Seattle fire (set accidentally by a Swedish immigrant boiling glue) and how this disaster helped Seattle to rebuild the city above a safe sea level, brought in funds from around the country and ultimately set up our city for more success should it never have happened.  Silver linings!  As we learn from the past, we know we are again in a great rebuild moment and it is our job to remain hopeful given this knowledge in our darker moments.

Counselors noted that this same underground tour has now changed to include histories of those marginalized populations that had been less tracked  – histories of our first Seattle black-owned businesses that gave back to the community and inspired more black-owned businesses – our strong women (10% of the population in a mining town) coming to become our first graduates of the newly formed UW and those of the Seattle LGBTQ+ populations in those early days that had once enjoyed nightlife underground only.  History from this wide angle lens shows us that the more we include everyone in our community, the stronger we become and this progressive Seattle town learned many lessons  when the city was at a lower level (literally and figuratively.)  We are poised again to be learning many more as we again rebuild to be more inclusive and stronger together.

Taking Tacoma by Storm – September 2021

The weather has turned this September here in WA, but this small but mighty group of au pairs took Tacoma by storm and bid Laura a fond farewell as she heads out to year 2 in another part of the US.  We walked the (rain-free) streets, sharing in the journey of exchange and just simply getting to know one another.  Back to simple. And to celebrate Peace Day took this shot.

Hiking for a Fall – Snoqualmie Falls

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.

A Pool of Our Own – July 2021

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. .

The Crystal Ball for a Year of the Unpredictable – May 2021

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.  

Earth Day Contest and Spring Celebration – April 2021

Au Pairs celebrated Earth Day this year by purchasing and using earth friendly products, collecting trash, planting seeds, hiking, biking, going to the beach, doing yoga, taking pictures, and of course, visiting the tulips in the Skagit Valley.  Our Earth Day winner, earning the title of Earth Mothers of the Cluster and a gift card was Marine from South Africa for her self watering vegetable garden.  Congrats to all for their dedication to cleaning up

Getting our Happiness on for the New Year – Jan 2021

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.

Fall Bucket List Challenge – October 2020

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

Education in the Virtual Year

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