I am a two-time grand-au pair now!

Every au pair has a little different view on how old children they want to work with as au pairs - and to tell the truth, I honestly think every age has it's own pros and cons. With younger children you get to witness many milestones and get to teach them a lot new things and be there to see their development. When I was an au pair for the second time I actually was taking care of a boy who had just turned 2 years, and it indeed was fun to see how he grew from a little toddler to a small boy.  During my first year as an au pair, my host family consisted of 4 children and the oldest one was a teenage girl. Many au pairs are a bit doubtful when it comes to being an au pair for teenagers, but I can very warmly recommend it -- you are often close in age and usually the responsibilities are a bit different when it comes to taking care of younger children. Often the relationship that gets built between you two will be more sisterly/brotherly and they will of course remember you in the future!

In the beginning of course it was hard - my host child was very attached to her previous au pair, and it took time for us to build a relationship. As there were 3 younger children in the family, I spent most of my time taking care of them and not too much with the teenager. Our one-on-one time was always in the afternoons when I picked her up from school and we would drive home. Slowly but surely these drives would become the part that both of us were looking most forward to during the day. That would be the time of the day we could gossip about boys, plan our next shopping trip, plan which movies to watch, talk about her school days and teachers and so much more. During my year as her au pair, we definitely grew and inseparable bond and we continued to stay in touch and keep that bond strong. The other children in the family well still fairly young after I left so I did stay in touch with them through the parents in the family but with the oldest child we kept in touch. Few years ago she reached out to me and told that she was expecting her first baby, and now she is currently expecting her second baby! I like to call myself now a "double-grand au pair"! Even though we do not keep in touch always that often, I am still happy to have become part of their lives and follow both my host-kid's (not that she is that much of a child anymore haha) and her family's life!

One of my absolute favorite part about going as an au pair definitely was the fact, that you create relationships that last for life.

Happy Holidays from Cultural Care Au Pair!

I was an au pair in Salt Lake City, Utah few years back. One of my favorite memories from my time as an au pair was absolutely the holiday season and everything that was happening around that time. My host mom’s favorite holiday actually was Christmas and it was a really exciting to be part of the Christmas preparations with her! In the USA they often start preparing and decorating right after Thanksgiving- sometimes even well before that! We decorated the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving, hanged up all the Christmas lights and started listening to Christmas music well ahead of Christmas. One of my favorites about that Christmas time (and to be honest, one of the parts that caused most stress) was buying presents for everyone in the family. The happiness I got when seeing everyone opening their presents and liking them was definitely worth all the stress!
My Christmas as an au pair was very special to me in a many different ways. This was the first Christmas that I did not spend at home; it was the first Christmas that I spent far away from my own family and everything familiar to me. Christmas Eve felt more like a normal day – both of my host parents actually worked that day! The TV did not show the same Christmas programs and we did not eat the same food for Christmas dinner – back at home Santa Claus always pays a visit at the end of Christmas Eve, but this time I did not get to meet him! Even though there were a lot of traditions and things that I was used to missing from my first ever Christmas in the USA, I actually got to experience many new ones and learned a lot of new traditions. My American Christmas with my host family was and still is definitely one of my favorite Christmases ever! There was so much new I got to see and experience and also a lot that I took back home with me. This is one of my favorite things about going as an au pair – you give a lot, but you also will receive so much. You learn to appreciate things you have not appreciated before. You will open your eyes to new things and you will leave back home being more rich with everything you have experienced.
One of my favorite moments from my “Au pair-Christmas” was the morning of Christmas Day. Me and my host family had gathered around the Christmas tree in the crack of the dawn (or so it felt since the children got up as early as they could so that they could open the presents). We gathered around the tree to open the presents together and after that we ate Christmas breakfast together. My host family had even bought me some really nice presents and at that moment I really felt that I have two families – one back at home and one in the USA. That is the way I feel even after all of these years.

Hopefully all of you will have a nice Christmas, happy Hanukkah or happy Holidays!

Mari at Cultural Care Au Pair

 

It was nice to meet you!

This time of the year is always one of my favorite time of the year - yes, Christmas is coming and it also means that my birthday is coming... but that is not what I am talking about: it is the fair season, that's what I am talking about! We have just finished touring fairs in Sweden and Finland, and in January we'll be heading to Denmark. I can't wait!

What is so special about fairs? Let me tell you why I love being at fairs and representing us so much: I sit at the office everyday from Monday through Friday and spend a lot of time calling and e-mailing with our future au pairs, helping and guiding them through the process. I love the moments when you get to experience the au pairs getting excited when they are finally done with their application and have been selected to be part of our program, when they have just spoken to their first match even though they were super-nervous and especially when the host family and the au pair have said yes to each other - and so many other moments! But now we get to my favorite part - lot of the contact we have is mainly over phone or e-mail... but at the fairs we actually get to meet all of you lovely people face to face! I love how at fairs we can inspire others, especially people who had not even heard of our program before! I get to stand there for hours, talk about my own great experience and encourage others to apply to experience the same! Thank you everyone who came and said hi to us at the fairs - it was so nice seeing you!

Sharing is caring!

As some of you may know from previous blog entries, I am the resident American here at the Cultural Care office. In truth I am Swedish American, with Swedish parents who moved to the USA just a few years before I was born there.  This didn’t make me too different, as mostly everyone in the USA come from somewhere else, whether it’s themselves or a few generations back. But Americans tend to be very passionate about their heritage and cling to what makes them unique… this taught me to always be very patriotic growing up!

The time of the year that I must say I identified most with my Swedish heritage was the Christmas holidays. This was the culmination of a lot of traditions that are rather unique, especially since I was the only swede in my group of friends.  My friends were always really curious about our traditions so my family always included everyone in our celebrations. We would explain how to make glögg, why we ate pickled fish, and especially why we were allowed to open our presents a day earlier. It was always fun to try to explain because, from the beginning, we didn’t really know the why. My parents, having grown up in Sweden, hadn’t really bothered with the reasoning behind what we did very much. I don’t think many people do, some just follow tradition with little knowledge of the reasoning behind it. Now that their children were asking, they had to find out! I remember looking everything up, calling my grandparents, and then figuring out how to explain it in English. We learned quite a bit!

So for those of you spending your holiday season in the USA, be prepared to share! Sharing your culture and traditions is a huge part of being an au pair. But my personal tip is to also take the time to understand how to explain your traditions as well. Especially kids ask A LOT of questions and you do not want to leave them hanging! You might even learn some more about yourself during the process!

-          Why does Santa come to your door while ours goes down the chimney?

-          Why do you leave porridge for Santa and we leave cookies?

-          Why, oh why, do you pickle fish!?

Remember, most of these questions can be turned around, so don’t be afraid to ask your host family about their own traditions! You and your host kids might have a chance to learn a lot this holiday season!

Happy Holidays!

Camilla 

Snack time!

Something I learned pretty quickly caring for children on a daily basis was: Always bring snacks! (and water and Band-Aid, and extra socks etc.)

Before my time in the US I worked out a lot and the only snacks I was used to were fruits, and a bottle of water, basically. While in the US I still worked out a lot, still ate my fruits, but except from that a whole lot of other snacks as well.

I always had something with me for the children to snack on, even if it was only a shorter car ride, just in case they got hungry. That also meant that if they did want a snack, I could not be without.

After my time in the US, I do not leave my apartment without an extra snack in my purse, since I never know when I will need it.  And if I for some reason forget, you can believe I’ll be starving way before lunch.  

My favorite snack in the US (Please use Google to find out if you don’t know what I’m talking about) was:          

1.       Gogurt (yoghurt in winter and ice cream in summer)      

2.       Diet Coke (fitted perfectly in my cars cup holder)             

3.       JIF- peanut butter                                                                          

4.       Doritos (the red bag)                                                                    

5.       Beef Jerky (all different kinds)                  

What do you snack on?

Have a great one!

/Jenny, the snacker

Nicoline tells us about what she gained from being an au pair!

When I was 18 and had just finished high school, I decided to take a gap year and work as an au pair in the USA. It was a very sudden decision – but a decision that changed my life.

Not only did I have the time of my life, this year taught me so many things and helped me develop as a person. First of all, my year as an au pair helped me to improve my English! Today I study international business at Copenhagen Business School where the level of English is very advanced. Second, my time in the USA gave me so many memories and a great network! I have kept in contact with most of the people I’ve met during my year and we still have reunions. Thanks to my year abroad, I now know a lot of people around the world and every time I travel to a new city I stay at my friends’ places.

Third, My year as an au pair has taught me that you need to grab every opportunity you have in life and then new doors will open. After having travelled to the USA all by myself for such a long time, without knowing anyone, I now feel like there is nothing I can’t do. After I got back from the USa, I moved to a new city where I did not know anyone to begin with. But from my experience in America I knew that it is only a matter of time before a new place feels like home – and I was right. I am very grateful for this amazing opportunity the au pair program has given me, and I am so happy that I grabbed the chance to move to the US as an au pair, because it definitely changed by life!

- Nicoline

Take the next step in your career, just like Mimmi!

 

In August 2009 I packed my bags and moved to Scarsdale, NY to work as an au pair. I knew I had a big adventure ahead of me, but I never knew how big it would actually turn out to be. And I never knew how much this year would affect my future career, but that I know today.

I have always loved traveling, so working in the Tourism industry has always been the perfect choice for me. I’ve had jobs like ski instructor, tour guiding in the Italian alps, working in different receptions and my last job was as a flight attendant for TUI fly Nordic and now I work for Cultural Care Au Pair! I’m very proud of all of my previous jobs and they have all given me great experiences.

All my employers have told me that the main reason that I actually got the job was because of my traveling experience and my year abroad after finishing high school, and of course my improved English. It tells a lot about a person if they take a year abroad after school. You will learn and experience so much more than someone who would take a job back home.

I would recommend everyone to work as an au pair in America, and not just to have a great time while you’re there, but also to have a great time working for the rest of your life. Go out and get that experience!

-Mimmi

My host-family visiting

A couple of weeks ago I attended my host-family’s au pair reunion. After having hosted 11 au pairs, most of them from Sweden, it was time for them to come visit us.

They had organized a huge party with the former au pairs + all of our husbands and children. It ended up being a party of close to 40 people. I was their last au pair, and that was almost 10 years ago. So for some of the girls it had been several years, and our lives have of course changed a lot.

The 3 host-children are obviously no longer children but young adults, older than most of the women and men that are currently traveling from the Nordic countries to become an au pair.

It was fantastic to meet them again, and even if we have kept in touch via Facebook, emails and post cards, it has been a few years since I visited them. I was nervous to meet them again, but was relieved to feel that there is still a bond. It made me proud to see how the girls have become independent, intelligent young women with both integrity and great social skills. They are just in the beginning of their careers and it warms my heart to see how successful they are.

After the big reunion my host-family spent a week in Sweden and spent time with each of the former au pairs, including me. I think it’s such a wonderful thing that they organized their trip and spent their valuable family vacation with visiting all the au pairs around Sweden.  They had even prepared personal gifts for each one of us.

I am so thankful for my time in their family, and to have that connection on the other side of the world. It’s also a pleasure to know that I get to help others get the same experience by working for Cultural Care Au Pair. When I say the au pair year changed my life – it’s really true. One thing leads to another, and I would not be where I am today, with the experiences I have gained over the years if I hadn’t been lucky enough to have the privilege to spend a year in their family.

/Victoria

To feel at home, even when far away

We go abroad as au pairs because we want to spend time with children, we want to see new things, see new places and get to know new people. We want to leave our “safety box” and leave the daily life we know way to well. At the same time though, when we finally has a place at the other side of the globe, we will at some points miss home.
Different people in my group of au pair friends dealt with homesickness differently of course. Some made a call home, some e-mailed friends and some “liked” pictures and happenings that friends at home posted. This was not my of dealing with the lovely home sickness-visitor. I did not to want to be at home, I just missed it a little bit.
So what I did, was to bring a little of home to me. I took both my au pair friends but also my American friends and with proud I showed them Ikea. Except from eating the classic meatballs I bought, caviar, chocolate and of course salt licorice. Basically everyone loved the chocolate but I, luckily for me, got to keep the salt licorice for myself. 
So, instead of thinking of my friends back home I spend time with my new friends and got the opportunity to show them a little bit of Sweden, and I got to feel a little bit at home, at the same time.

Making friends as an au pair

One of the things I was most worried about before going as an au pair was that I would be without friends. I was heading for my big adventure leaving all my friends behind.  How should I make new friends? Where should I find new friends? What if I was the only au pair in my area? What if nobody liked me? Should I be all alone? Would this make me go back home?

What a waste of time worrying! I realized already at the airport that I that I was not the only one having these concerns. Being in the same situation made it possible for everyone to share a special bound with each other. I met people during had not thought that I would be close to. One of my friends in the US was my host child best friend's grandmother and she was around 65 years old. I looked forward to every Thursday when her grandchild and my host child had their weekly play date. It was a wise lady who taught me lot about life and I could talk with her about my difficulties regarding homesickness and “living at you work”. Even if she was not in my age and not in the same situation in life I really appreciated her for who she was and her qualities.  I made friends for life and I still miss her and our meaningful discussion.

 

Five summer bucket list items

Here are some tips on things to put on your au pair bucket list! As an au pair with Cultural Care Au Pair you have at least two weeks of vacation per year. Some au pairs have time off in the middle of the week and some are off on the weekends. This is a great opportunity to explore America!

1. Duck tour in Boston
2.  Learn how to surf
3. Eat shrimp taco in San Diego
4. Go on an Alligator Safari in Orlando
5. Go for a bike tour in Central Park, New York

At the first week in the Cultural Care Au Pair training school you meet au pairs from all around the world and after the time at the school you will be working in different parts of America. This means you will have au pair friends all over the country to visit!

1.      Duck tour in Boston
This is a fun way to see Boston!  You'll cruise by all the places that make Boston the birthplace of freedom and a city of firsts. And, as the best of Boston unfolds before your eyes, your guide will be giving you lots of little known facts and interesting insights about the unique and wonderful city. You will even drive by the Cultural Care Au Pair office (EF, Education First office).

2.      Learn how to surf
Along the coasts in the USA you can find really good spots for surfing! Bring your au pair friends and get out there!

3.      Eat Scrimp taco in San DiegoBetween Ocean Blvd & Ocean Front Walk in Pacific Beach you can find great places to eat shrimp tacos for one dollar each! They are really good and I guess you can find a place close to where you live selling shrimp tacos too.

 
4.   Go on an Alligator Safari in OrlandoEnjoy an exciting airboat ride on one of the lakes outside Orlando, Florida.

 

 

5.       Go for a bike tour in Central Park, New York
A fun and cheap way so see all of Central Park. An idea is to stop and have ice cream around one of the lakes! Why not gather a group on Facebook and gather as many Cultural Care Au Pairs as possible to join the ride?

 

Few words about homesickness!

We have talked about homesickness that our au pairs experience in the blog before as well, but we also believe that it is a very important subject to bring it up every now and then. We have au pairs traveling to the USA every week, and homesickness is something that everyone will face sooner or later - here are few words of the topic from Martina.

 

Homesickness. It’s something everyone will experience, whether you like it or not. Some experience it more than other, but trust me everybody will get homesickness at some point.

 

Something I remember from my time in the USA was that I had homesickness. I didn’t really want to admit it to myself, because I had a wonderful time in the USA, but even though I did not want to go home, I still really really missed it.  I remember one night, everything was sort of a routine, it was raining, I didn’t have too much to do, and it was my brother's birthday. For me it was kind of a hard day. I seriously considered staying home and sitting in the closet all day eating chocolate…. I knew I couldn’t do that, but the thought had crossed my mind.  So I kept going, I kept fighting and believe it or not I made it through that day.

Today, when I reflect on the homesickness I had,  I realize that it’s all aboutthe though: just keep going. There will be ups and downs, no matter if you like it or not. What I tell my au pairs today is that it’s important to just accept the situation. It's ok to be sad for a while.  I suggest to keep busy, make plans, have wonderful things to look forward to, because believe it or not things will get easier.

So when you are in the USA, promise me that if you have homesickness, let yourself  feel sad , but only for a little while. Make sure you communicate with your friends and host family so they know why you are sad.  Some of your friends might even be in the same situation as you are. Let them help you, let us, the Cultural Care Au Pair staff help you. Make plans, and be proud of yourself that you are in the USA, and don’t miss the chance to enjoy it. It will get better, and speaking from my own experience, when you get over the homesickness, time goes by so quickly. And before you know it you will have homesickness, longing to go back to the USA!

Enjoy your time as an au pair!

 

My favorite moment

Have you ever had a moment in your life, when you feel that nothing is impossible and everything just feels great? I have one of those moments from my time in the USA, that I remember as it was yesterday.

This was during a vacation I went to with my host family in 2010, we went to Oceans City, Maryland. It was a great vacation, where we both had time for mini golf and also a beautiful wedding and many days at the beach. We actually lived in a beach house, so we played every day at the beach, doing cartwheels and building forts of sand.

We were there for two weeks, and almost every morning, around 7 AM, I woke up and went for a run, before anyone else woke up. I ran down the beach all the way next to the boardwalk to the pier with all the carousels. And then I ran back. Only this feeling was great, watching the quiet fishermen standing barefoot in the low waves. One of those days though was to become my favorite moment.

I sat down, after my run, to catch my breath, looking out the ocean, thinking about nothing. There and then there came 7 dolphins jumping out the water, only a couple of meters out. I watched them and, remember thinking; this is so beautiful, I am so happy, nothing is impossible and I love my life.

I will forever remember this moment, and now, so will you.

/Jenny

Amy's reflections of her time as an au pair

 

 

What is your overall impression on your time as an au pair?
I have a very positive overall impression on my time as an au pair and I am very  gladly involved in working for Cultural Care Au Pair with inspiring others to apply to the program. I believe that working as an au pair in a foreign country is one of the most beneficial jobs that you can take on as a young adult. Not only to you gain practice in meeting cultural differences, you also learn a lot about who you are. It is first when you engage with people that are different than yourself that you have a reference on who you truly are and what is important to you. It is a very important life lesson that will come in handy in many future situations in your life. Furthermore, it is an amazing and precious opportunity to be responsible for a child's/children's self-development. You are given to chance to experience moments that you thought were only possible to experience the day you become a parent yourself. The mutual learning that takes place between you and your host children will be something that you can feel very proud of and you grow twice yourself as you can recognize the appreciation in your host parents! In addition to the obvious positive self-development that the au pair program offers you develop your language skills, problem solving skills and social skills. You gain all this knowledge meanwhile living in an amazing country with tremendous opportunities!

Who would you recommend the au pair program to and why?
I would recommend the program to any young adult who has had prior positive experiences from working with or being engaged in any childcare activities. To anyone who can recognize the joy from working with children and who wants to take the chance to experience this joy on a truly personal level! You are being offered a unique chance to work with childcare on a more personal and emotional level than in many other job situations. In addition to the fundamentals of having an interest for childcare, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to have an abroad experience while at the same time having the safety pins of a host family and Cultural Care Au Pair staff to assist and support during challenging situations as well as for anyone who is interested in cultural exchange, languages and traveling!

Staying in touch
It will be 3 years this summer since I returned back to Sweden after my au pair experience. This June was the second time that I saw my much loved and missed host family again. As the course of life continues it has become unrealistic to expect contact on a day to day basis obviously, but I can gladly say that me and my host mom stay in contact at least on a monthly basis. I truly believe that the special relationship that you build with your host family during your time as an au pair is a relationship that has all the possibilities to last for life - with some effort of course! Other than my host family I have had the opportunity to visit 4 friends from four different European countries, this on a regular basis. Hence, it has given me bigger reasons to travel around Europe. I also stay in touch with au pair friends that are further away in South America and Australia - and I know for a fact that when the opportunity is given I will most certainly see them again. The fact that I today have friends and contacts throughout big parts of the world became evident when I spent an abroad semester in Munich, Germany this gone fall. I was on my feet traveling to Hungary (among other places) and on chance I contacted an old au pair friend in Budapest, in whom I had not had a lot of contact with since we both left America. It was so great and I was given a great time in Budapest seeing the city from a native's perspective while at the same time catching up on old memories!

What has been the impact of the au pair experience on me and my personality?
Where to start? I think that my dearest would in particular say that my self-confidence has developed in a positive way and I am more secure in myself, letting myself embrace things that earlier would scare me - such as change. I am more at ease with new situations and socially, there are few situations where I would feel uncomfortable. Because I have lived, seen and been in places where many of my Swedish friends have not I have a broader reference point in which I can relate things to. My first six months as an au pair, I took care of an autistic child. Today, 4 years later I feel secure in admitting that these 6 months changed my life to the better. "I'm open-minded" is probably one of the most common self-attribute someone would ascribe themselves with - so did I during my application process. Looking back, I wasn't really as open-minded as I thought, but I became during this experience and I am forever grateful.

Working at the Au Pair Training School

Before I started working full-time at our office, I spent 5 months working at our Training School on Long Island, New York. Our training school is the place where ALL of our au pairs spent their first 5 days in the USA before traveling to their host families. Cultural Care Au Pair has their own offices in over 20 countries all over the world and almost every week a group of these au pairs travel to the training school to get ready for their next big adventure - international atmosphere and many new friends are guaranteed! The school is located at the St. John's University campus, and the campus is the home for our au pairs during the first week!

All the au pairs arrive to the school usually either on Sunday or Monday, and then Tuesday, Wednesday as well as part of Thursday are spent studying hard. The au pairs are divided into different classes based on the state or the area of where your host family lives, so you can make friends already from day one with people that might be leaving close to you for the rest of your time. The topics of the classes are wide variety - but of course related to children! You will be studying for example health & nutrition, common illnesses, safety, being a rolemodel etc. All au pairs also participate into a course on CPR and first aid provided to us by American Red Cross.

Thursday afternoon is probably the time that most of the au pairs are looking forward to a lot - once the Red Cross-training is over, all the au pairs will be headed to NEW YORK CITY! The buses are filled with more and more excited au pairs as they start to head over to the city - the place that most of the au pairs have only before seen in TV or movies! Once we arrive to the city, first there will be a city tour by our great tour guides, and then everyone will have some free time in the city. The tour will include for example the following places - a ferry past the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, all the famous (and oh so expensive) boutiques on 5th Avenue, Times Square, Battery Park, 9/11 Memorial - and the list continues! Once Thursday shifts towards its end, there are busloads of nervous au pairs since the next day they will be meeting their host families!

Au pair school is definitely a great start for your au pair adventure - you spend your first days in a very international atmosphere and together you get ready for the challenges and adventures your upcoming time as an au pair has to offer! Working at the au pair school has definitely been one of my favorite jobs so far.

My favorite moments with this job? Easy to pick! My favorite moment was often Friday mornings and seeing au pairs so nervous and excited to meet their host families - some of them still had a full day of traveling ahead, and some could wait for the host families to pick them up from the school. Many of the au pairs were complete strangers on Monday, and by Friday they had turned to be close friends and already planning the next visit to see each other! For most of the au pairs this is the first time they visit the USA and see New York City - on Thursday when we head out to the city and after crossing a bridge, you can see the NYC skyline open up in front of us, and you start to hear how excited all the au pairs are - that was definitely my favorite moment. I also loved to be part of their first days in the USA and being able to support them for this experience! Once again we can see how much becoming an au pair will give you and how it will help you to "have the world at your fingertips".
läheisemmän ja kuten englanniksi sanotaan ”you’ll have the world right at your fingertips”.

If you have any questions about the training school, do not hesitate to contact me!
Best,
Mari from the office

Sola och bada i....

Förra veckan kom jag hem ifrån en längre vistelse i Boston och Puerto Rico.

I Boston var det möte med USA-kollegor och i Purto Rico passade jag på att semestra i 4 dagar när jag ändå ”var på plats” så att säga.

Det är lustigt – helt plötsligt kändes det så nära att flyga ner till värmen i Karibien, när jag ändå av en händelse råkade befinna mig i samma tidszon och på samma kontinent, så att ta ett flyg på 4 timmar var enkelt.

Om vi hade samma inställning här hemma skulle det bli ett himlans resande, med tanke på att hela Europa med sina 44 olika stater finns inte mer än ca 4 timmar bort.

När jag börjar summera mitt resande inser jag att jag i mitt liv haft en tendens att vilja resa långt bort, till det som känns exotiskt. Jag har varit på alla möjliga tänkbara platser i världen, men till exempel aldrig Norge, Finland eller Tyskland.

Nästa resa känns därför som att den bör vara lite närmare än Puerto Rico. Vi har ju faktiskt en ganska stor del av världen inom nära räckhåll.

Puerto var för övrigt fantastiskt, och precis vad jag behövde såhär när hösten och kylan börjar komma till Sverige.

Ha en härlig vecka!

Victoria

Vi välkomnar Jenny!

Hej alla bloggläsare!

Ny på jobbet som jag är, vill jag ge en liten presentation av mig själv. Innan jag intog min plats på Cultural Care-kontoret i Stockholm har jag varit iväg och jobbat som au pair i USA. Det var ett fantastiskt år! Förutom att jag blev en del av min värdfamilj fick jag även vänner från hela världen, upptäcka underbara platser och leva i en kultur mycket annorlunda än den vi har i Sverige. Ursprungligen kommer jag  från skåne men efter året med Cultural Care i USA och en examen från Växjö i bagaget, är jag nu här,  på Cultural Cares kontor i Stockholm.

Jag ser fram emot en toppenhöst med mycket nya möten, spännande utmaningar och självklart, att hjälpa dig som vill iväg på egna äventyr, till det stora landet på andra sidan Atlanten!

Ha en underbar dag!

Jenny

 

Vårkänslor

Idag är första dagen som det känns som vår i luften här i Stockholm. Jag blir alldeles pirrig. Det är ungefär som att vara förälskad. I våren. Genast vill jag sätta mig på en uteservering med ett glas rosé i handen och njuta av solen i ansiktet. Nu är det lite väl tidigt för det, men bara känslan av att det närmar sig med stormsteg gör mig varm inuti.

Kroppen lider brist på D-vitamin och för varje solstråle som träffar kinderna är det som att vakna till liv ur sitt ide.

Nu står det snart inte på förrän sommaren är här. Till dess ska jag suga i mig av vårkänslorna och fortsätta vara kär i livet.

/En vårpirrig Victoria

Kärleksbrev från en f.d au pair

I veckan fick vi ett mail ifrån en av våra f.d au pairer, som berättar om en alldeles speciell Valentine's i USA. Läs, bli förälskade och dröm er bort...

Hej Carolina,

Jag tänkte berätta om min Valentine´s Day förra året, 2012 som var den bästa någonsin! Innan jag berättar min historia ska du få en kort bakgrund till det hela och om mig som au pair.
Caroline heter jag och jag har varit Au pair i USA i 1 år och 9 mån. Första året var jag hos en familj med tre yngre barn i New Jersey. När mitt år var klart flyttade jag sedan till Kalifornien och bodde där i 6 mån.

Under sommaren 2011 ungefär i samma veva som jag bestämde mig för att förlänga mitt år som Au pair träffade jag en kille, Cory.  Jag och Cory trivdes hur bra som helst i varandras sällskap och vi var väldigt kära i varandra så när det var dags för mig att flytta till västkusten var det såklart väldigt jobbig för oss båda. Men vi bestämde vi oss för att hålla ihop och försöka ses så ofta vi kunde, helt enkelt göra det bästa av situationen.

Nedan följer inlägget som jag gjorde förra året på min blogg.

Happy Valentine's Day

Det är den 14 februari idag vilket också betyder att det är Alla Hjärtans Dag eller Valentine's Day som man säger här i USA. Allt är ju som bekant mycket större här och denna högtid är inget undantag. Alla butiker har de senaste veckorna varit utsmyckade med Valentine's presenter såsom choklad, ballonger, blommor, nallebjörnar, kort m.m.
Var faktiskt ganska så roligt när jag gjorde ett snabbt besök i mataffären idag och jag fick då se alla amerikanare som skulle handla en alla-hjärtans-dag-present. Säkert en tredjedel av alla som var i mataffären som heter Safeway handlade någon slags present och det var fullt av människor som stog vid korthyllan. Helt klart underhållande att se alla dessa människor ute i sista stund för att försöka hitta något till sin käraste.

Sååå, nu till mig och min dag istället. Det är en helt underbar dag, helt klart min bästa Valentine's Day någonsin. Det hela började faktiskt redan igår när jag fick ett sms av Cory som sa att jag skulle gå till ytterdörren. Jag gick till ytterdörren och fick där se ett stort paket som stog och väntade på mig. Öppnade det genast och fann då en bukett med röda rosor i en vas och ett meddelande från Cory!

Caroline,
A year ago I would not have imagined having the feeling that I do now that can only be described as love. You have made every day special, so I want to make today special as I possibly can. I love you and I miss you.
P.S. I know you like sunflowers but today is Valentine's Day so...roses! :-)

Cory 

Blev hur överraskad och glad som helst för den överraskningen och hade verkligen inte väntat mig något mer. Men så fick jag ett nytt sms av Cory som sa precis samma sak som igår, gå till ytterdörren. Jag gick dit och där var ett nytt ännu större paket som väntade på mig! Öppnade det blixtsnabbt och fann då en bukett med solrosor (min favoritblomma) i en vas :) Var även ett nytt meddelande i detta paket.

But, even though it's Valentine's 
Day, you get sunflowers too :-)

Love Cory



Som sagt har haft en helt underbar dag och känner mig verkligen lyckligt lottad att ha en sådan snäll och omtänksam pojkvän. Det bästa av allt är att han kommer hit på fredag och ska stanna här i en hel vecka och bo med mig. Jag har nämligen fått en extra veckas semester då min värdfamilj blev bortbjuda på en resa till Colorado för att åka skidor med en annan familj. Åhh vad jag längtar tills fredag det kommer bli en grym och helt fantasisk vecka!

Mina fina blommor som jag fick av my Valentine, Cory.
 

Det var alltså min historia. . Värt att nämna är att jag och Cory fortfarande är ett par och vi har nu varit tillsammans i över 1,5 år!!! Han är verkligen något extra och även om vi än idag kämpar med avståndet (jag bor numera i Sverige och han i USA) så är vi fortfarande lika kära, love conquers all!

Vänliga hälsningar

Caroline Korpe Larsson

Länk till Carolines blogg: http://www.carolineintheusa.blogspot.se/2012/02/happy-valentines-day.html#comment-form