IT IS SUMMER TIME!

I don't think there are quite many who disagree with me - summer is absolutely the best! Nature is alive, it is green, sun is shining, people feel happier (and actually friendlier), nights are brighter, you can spend so much more time outside, ice cream tastes better (and there is always new tastes), there is so much more to do - and oh so many more things! I think it is quite clear that I absolutely love summer and could not be happier now that it is around!

For many au pairs, summertime means also that your host kids no longer are at school during the daytime, so this might also mean that you will be working more during the daytime - I know it might sound discouraging and something you are not looking forward to, but do not worry - we're here to give few tips. These proved to be successful during my time as an au pair! Please make sure to double-check always with your host parents that they are okay with these activities! 

- Pool (as long as your host kids can swim and you feel like you can be responsible for all of the children at once). I am sure most of the children love swimming, and this is a great way to cool off on a sunny day!
- Picnic in a park. Pack some water and snacks, and remember to stay in shade! Any au pairs in the area who have kids in the same age? Invite them and make it a play date!
- Outdoor games. We all have games that we have played outdoors back at home - how about some mölkky or kubb for example? A great way to once again - share your culture, that's what the program is all about! 
- Library. Sometimes it is nice to escape the sun and warmth and have a story-moment at the library! Gather some favorite books and cuddle up in the corner. Many libraries often also organize different story time activities. Maybe you can find the book that you loved as a child and can share it with your host children?
- Museums. Find out about different museums in the area - I am sure there is a good selection and you can definitely find something that is both of interest for you and your host kids!
- Road trip. If you have a car you can use during your work time, why not try to explore what is around you and take a tiny road-trip with your children? Find some of your favorite music, blast it out and sing along and see what your neighborhood has to offer! 
- Water battle. Is it hot? Is it sunny? Bring out some water guns, water balloons, you name it and cool off on a hot day! 
- Bring indoors outdoors. Who says you cannot play board games or read books outside? Exactly, no one! Bring indoors outdoors and enjoy summer weather!

Remember, use sunscreen and drink lots of water and stay in shade! Happy summer days!

Best,
Mari

“Not all those who wander are lost.” - J.R.R. Tolkien

I love flying. One of my absolute favorite feelings is definitely when the plane takes off and you can feel the tires not touching the ground anymore or the feeling you get when you land and you feel that the tires finally touch the ground. 

In addition to flying, I also love airports. I am actually quite often known as the person who is always late, but when traveling I often make sure to be at the airport long enough to enjoy the atmosphere there - I think quite many of us can agree that it indeed is something very special about it there! The place is full of people leaving, arriving, being sad, being nervous, being excited, being relieved, saying goodbyes, saying hellos, traveling alone, traveling together - so many situations, so many people.

This all probably makes it quite crystal clear that traveling is something that I love, and something that is clearly a big passion of mine. I have been very lucky enough to have had many opportunities to travel, but there are so many places still that have not seen!

To tell the truth, when I was an au pair in the USA, I did not travel as much as I probably was supposed to, or so much I could have. I had one of the best year's of my life, there is no doubt about that. That is why I would like to encourage all of you au pairs, please, do not make the same mistake as I did - make sure that you travel and experience as much as you can. By this I do not mean that you have to keep booking new out-of-state trips every weekend, but also do not be afraid to hop in your car, and experience what you have close by! Living in the USA as an au pair is a unique experience, make sure to take the most of it!

Happy traveling!
-Mari

"Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance you must keep moving"

I think at the moment I can relate to what many of the au pairs are going through. In about a month, I will be moving. I will be moving to another country, starting a new job, making new friends and making a new city into my new home in a month. I am going to be honest, I am going through quite a big pile of mixed feelings - every other day I am beyond excited, every other day I just want to cancel my plans and wonder if I am just crazy for leaving everything familiar behind and starting everything from scratch.

I have done this many times before, and it feels as weird, hard, heart-breaking, exciting, amazing and all of that at the same time. Every time it has always been as hard, but it has also always turned to be one of the best decisions I have ever made - yes, I might have ended up "giving up" something, but I gained so much in return.

Making the decision to become an au pair is probably one of the biggest ones you have ever made in your life so far. I know it is a hard one. I know you will lose few night's sleep over it, both because you are so excited but also because you are just so worried about what will happen.

I have one advice for you: DO IT. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT. I know it is scary, I know you might wonder where it will lead you, but you know what? You cannot plan every single detail in your life.

That is something that I am also trying to learn. Today I am excited, tomorrow I might wonder why I decided to do this, but in the end I know that this opportunity will give me something new. 

Let's take over the world!
-Mari

Nothing like family!

Going as an au pair was absolutely one of the best things I ever did - I actually loved it so much I did it twice. The first time around I was just a fresh out of high school, doing something bigger for the first time - and of course all by myself! I was beyond excited and a bit scared at the same time. My parents were a big help and support for me during the application process and I think they actually did a much more than I even realized at that point - I really did learn that once I arrived to the USA!

Being an au pair made me realize how thankful I am for my family and everything that my family has done for me. My mom really had made my life very easy (mainly in a good way) and it was a point of growing up for me. I have to admit, I did not always give the credit my parents would have deserved to my parents - I was too busy exploring the world and being independent!

It has taken me few years to realize that family truly is the best kind of friends and support system you can have around you! Your family is always there for you, they always love and support you. They are also the ones who have been with you all of your life! Remember to appreciate your family and give them the love and support they need - after all, there is nothing like family!

Sometimes you have to be far to notice it. I see my family only few times every year but nothing is better than a quick skype call with some of my family members! I know that they will always be there for you.

My hardest time as an au pair gave me the greatest time as an au pair!

During my time as an au pair, I faced some rocky times too, and I am going to share the story that turned my entire time in the USA upside down - the good kind upside down!

I was in my room with my suitcase packed, tears running down my cheeks. I had just spoken with my sister back home in Sweden. It's only two years between us but for some reason I felt like she was about ten years older with her knowledge and determination. We had just hung up the phone and the ticket home would have been only few clicks away. At that time I had spent about 6 months in the USA and this family was not working out at all for several reasons.

We had tried talking and I had been in great contact with Cultural Care Au Pair's office in Boston and maybe been a bit too blue-eyed and optimistic about my rematch. Unfortunately things do not always work out - I believe that me and the family were more like oil and water rather than a good match -- we had very different lifestyles, believes and hopes for the au pair year.

As I was sitting there on the floor and looking at all the stuff that once seemed so important to bring over I realized I would do anything, give it all away in order to be happy and stay in the USA.  I had a dream of completing my au pair year, I had a strong feeling that the time (faith if so) had bigger plans for me and going home to my hometown was not an option.

I cried a lot during this day and decided to call my contact person at Cultural Care Au Pair to say that I obviously sucked at this job and wanted to go home.

Her voice was soft and she calmed me down and the sobbing turned to single tears. We talked about my year so far, she made me think of my year from another perspective, what could/should I have done and she made me own the mistakes I had done. This was most likely the most difficult conversation I had ever had, but at the same time it was probably the call that made me to the person I am today and the reason I stayed in the States in the end. The woman on the phone finally said, "I have one more family I would like you to speak to." I remember thinking that she was crazy and that it was a waste of time. I was not good at caring for children - or that was what I at least felt like at the moment!

The call with the family, the host mom come to change my life in so many ways.
We spoke for what felt like a lifetime, about my previous experience in the program, shared interests, the children and what they were looking for.
My mentality was "I will tell her all about me, about what went wrong and she will quickly realize that I suck at this job".

When the call came to an end, she said "Can I pick you up on Wednesday?" The feeling that came along was indescribable, happiness like the prince on a white horse had just arrived (now in the shape of a blue suburban car and mom of four was the only difference!) Karen took me home and I got to meet my four new host children that was very excited to be with me. The feeling of being loved and cared for was the best feeling since I left Sweden! Pulling into the driveway in Sacramento and I knew I was finally home!

I ended up extending my time with this family and gained so much confidence that I CAN DO it and I AM a great au pair! Today I pay it forward and love to help current au pairs to reach their dreams or fulfill their dreams to be in the USA as an au pair!

I will never go hungry as an au pair!

Some call it the most important meal of the day, some just skip it and go straight to lunch but I must say, skipping breakfast is like staying home on Black Friday AND that would NEVER happen!

Breakfast, yes the meal I love the most and USA has all the options for each taste!

My host family, love them very much but I will never understand their breakfast routines --the mom never had time and ran out of the door before I had even started working, the dad, he usually just ate a granola bar (a energy bar) and a cup of hot chocolate, very strange to this day, but as long as it satisfied his belly right?

In my family back home we always have breakfast together so this was a BIG culture shock, I came to realize that this is something I can show them, something from my very ow culture - so I took on this project and decided to introduce my passion for breakfast to the four kids. I actually many times used the breakfast as a way to get them all out of their beds fast!

Many days I made them pancakes, waffles, hot cereal or bacon. Yes it took some time but what I really like about breakfast is not the fact the lovely food but the time to spend with the family together before the day starts.

I would often sit with the children when they were eating and ask them what their day would be like. My six-year-old girl would tell me about the boyfriends, it was always 5 different boys in her school at the same time.  I often was left feeling like my own dating game was kind of boring compared to hers!

My best tips for great places in the USA are:

• Crape Escape- Sacramento, CA
• I.H.O.P (International house of pancakes) Located all over the U.S.A!
• Starbucks for awesome coffee and great bagels
• Dennis Dining for cheap and great eggs
• Peeta bread café, really good sandwiches!

Enjoy your breakfast time!

One of the pros of being an au pair - world-wide network!

I absolutely love working for Cultural Care Au Pair. I love that I have the opportunity to help other people to experience the same as I did. Even though it has already been 8 years (gosh I AM OLD!) since I applied to become an au pair in the USA, every time I speak about my experience to a current or a future au pairs I get so excited and happy!

I am originally from Finland, and as most of you know - Finland as a country is not that big. Other Finnish au pairs - they were quite non-existent when I was an au pair myself.. or that is at least how it felt! I was the only Finnish au pair in the entire state of Utah at the time, which of course enabled me really to establish a world-wide network from my other au pair friends! My neighbor was German, my best friend Swedish, my classmate Peruvian, my travel-buddies Brazilian and Colombian, my new friends American... the best part about my au pair experience was definitely widening my network and having connections all over the world!

I am still in touch with some of my connections, and this is one tip I want to give to all of you current au pairs: do not let go of these connections! Embrace the international network you have and take full use of it! There is always someone who knows one... and at least you have a place to stay wherever you go in the world! Luckily in today's day and age it is so easy to stay in touch!

Best,
Mari

My new hobby

It recently turned out my co-worker Mari and I had made the same New  Year’s resolution this year. We both made a promise to ourselves to invest some more time in a hobby. Something you do only to get energized. Some me-time.

So, we decided to join a choir. Once a week we go straight from the office to our choir practice. I have always enjoyed singing, and it’s a pop/gospel choir, so the music is fun and mostly upbeat and gets you in a good mood.

Being an au pair means living at work, so finding things outside of work that gets you energized is more important than you would think. I encourage you all to find something to do outside of work. Some me-time outside of the au pair job.

Here are a few suggestions:

Take a dance class at your local gym or dance school

Scrapbooking

Try a new sport

Volunteer (pets, children, elderly people – there are lots of different places you could volunteer)

Learn a new language

Learn to play chess/bridge/other board or card games

Design and sew clothes

Join an amateur theatre group

Buy a guitar and learn to play it

Write a novel

Start an amateur podcast with your friends

Learn floral arrangements

Learn nail art

Take a self-defense class

Start making your own make-up

If you have any other suggestions, please comment on Facebook.

Cheers,

Victoria

Greetings from our Program Director Dorte!

Hello Nordics, My name is Dorte Ellegaard Strobel and I am so excited to be a part of our Cultural Care Au Pair team here in the United States.  

Let me share with a little bit about myself. I was born and raised in Denmark. I grew up in a great family in a very small country town. When I was 24 years old (after I attended Odense University, where I  received  my degree in Business) I decided I wanted to be an AU PAIR!

I came to the USA in 1991 as an au pair and had a wonderful year with my host family and four children (yes four children!) age 2, 10 11 and 13! It was a wonderful family and we are still in contact. During my au pair year, I met my husband which made my mom and dad very sad. After dating for 6 months my year was over and I returned back to Denmark. I stayed in Denmark for 8 months, but in 1993 made the move to the USA.   Ron and I have now been married for 21 years, and we live outside Chicago, Illinois.

We are blessed with two wonderful boys, Karsten (18) and Torben (11), Karsten is graduating High school this  year, he has a dream of attending University in Denmark (that made a moms heart very proud!).

I became involved with Cultural Care Au Pair in 1994 as a LCC and simply just loved interacting with both au pairs and host families. I have meet so many great people during the years. After over 12 years as an LCC, I was asked to join Cultural Care Au Pair full time, first I joined the placement team in where I did both transitions and overseas matching. A few years later I was promoted to a Program Director.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I  take great pride in my association with Cultural Care Au Pair, a company with high values and dedication to providing great personal service. I believe our program is an excellent opportunity for both the Host Family and the Au Pair.

Being an au pair is one of the best things I ever did, and I think I am a clear example of  cultural exchange building long term relationships :)

Best,

Dorte

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.

February, the Month of LOVE!

When February comes around in the USA it almost feels like stores and restaurants ban all colors except red and pink. The grocery stores display candy in silky papers and shiny heart-shaped balloons. Valentine’s Day can be the best day to really get the courage to ask that special someone out. It could also feel like the longest and most overrated commercialized holiday ever if you do not share the feeling of butterflies in your belly, with all those happy in-love people.I didn’t plan to stop communicating with my crush weeks before Valentine’s Day, but that’s exactly what happened. I thought to myself: I am in the USA only ONE year and I’m going to miss experiencing this day! Just my luck!

Driving in my family’s blue Chevy Suburban that more resembled the size of a small villa by Swedish standards, I dialed my best friend Eric’s number. I had met him through mutual friends. Eric was tall and very American. We had spent a lot of time together and we always had a great time. This day, he had also been stood up by his crush, a girl I’m sure later came to regret that day many times.

I suggested we would grab some food and make a picnic on blankets by the river. This was in no terms a date to either of us but it was clear to all our friends that something was changing. I think it was at that time my feelings about our friendship took a turn into Lovevillage and I was lost.

You never control who you fall in love with and I knew it was a bad idea to start something that would never work since I had to go back to Sweden in 6 months.

Fast forward and 3 months later and we were applying for his visa to move across the world with me. I remember thinking that he would turn in the airplane door when he sees all the snow and feels the cold. Really, who in their right mind would trade the California sun for most-of-the-year-dark Sweden?

That’s right, only someone in love! Now, 5 years later and we love our life together in Sweden, but even if you haven’t found “the one” yet that doesn’t mean Valentine’s Day is not worth celebrating. In fact, I hope my story encourages you to take a chance this year.

Even if you don’t have a date or find the love of your life, make sure you are seeing the love that comes in other forms, such as a host family that will forever be in your life, or the best friend that you found.  You never would have met if it wasn’t for being an au pair.

I can’t help feeling reminded every time the “month of love” comes around that love is everywhere, in everyone and across continents, so open your hearts and take in all red and pink hearts of the world.

Being there for your au pair friends!

You are going to be making a lot of friends during your time as an au pair. Most likely a good portion of those are going to be au pairs. During your time you will also experience difficulties with your host family, just like you do with your family back at home. It can be small things or big things, but you will find yourself needing to problem solve. Good problem solving skills are something we expect from all our au pairs.

You might also find yourself in a position where you aren’t the one in need of advice, but the one being asked for it. What do you do when your friend is having problems with their host family? What do you say? How can you help them in the best possible way?

Listen

Sometimes the only thing you are looking for when you have a problem is a sympathetic ear to listen to you. Let your friend vent, let them get all their cards on the table as we say in the USA. After I listen to someone’s problem, I like to repeat it back to them in a concise summary.  “Ok, so let me see if I understand right, you are saying that…” This helps a lot because sometimes when you hear your own problem said out loud by someone else you get a whole new perspective.

Another thing that you rarely do when you have a problem yourself is to look at the other side’s point of view. This can be sensitive, since your friend probably wants you to be on their side. BUT this can often lead to, once again, a new perspective. Wonder what their host parents are thinking? Well, actually think about it. How does the problem look like from their side? It is rare that someone will give in 100%, so most likely the problem will be resolved by meeting in the middle. Helping your friend think up a solution that benefits both sides will help them be prepared when they actually confront the problem.

Encourage Action

Take charge of the problem! If you let problems fester, they build up. I think that is something that everyone knows, but it is so easy to push stuff aside so it is something that we rarely do. It’s pretty rare for a problem to just disappear. The first step is to admit that there is a problem, which your friend has done by talking to you. The next step is to communicate. Their host family might not even be aware there is a problem or what their au pairs point of view. Encourage your friend to sit down and speak with their host parents. We always want our au pairs to try and resolve the problem on their own first and being the first to take the step shows character.

When its time to involve Cultural Care Au Pair

It is vital for you to know when you should involve Cultural Care Au Pair. As I mentioned above, we do want to see our au pairs and host families communicate. But sometimes it is important to involve us. If the problem has to do with safety, it’s important that your friend gets help straight away. That means theirs, the host kids, or host parents physical safety.  Also, know your rights as an au pair. They are all written in the different materials that you have received before going to the USA. Is your friend or their host family breaking the rules then it is important that we are able to help them get back on the correct path. You can contact your LCC, our Boston office, or even your home country office. Even if it’s just for advice, we are glad to be of assistance! We do not read minds just yet, so you do need to be the one to take the first step.

Be the support your friend needs. No one goes into the au pair program expecting to end it early or even to have problems. Also, it’s rare for an au pair to go into the program having any friends. This means our au pairs usually develop tight friendships quickly with people they do not know very well. But, with that said, you are all experiencing the same thing. It is you, not their friends or parents back home that can best relate to the problem at hand. So use your own experiences, our tips and your best intuition to be a problem solving superstar!

Getting over homesickness!

No one goes into the au pair program thinking they will be homesick. I can probably say that the majority of our candidates listen to our preparation workshops thinking that it does not pertain to them at all. The fact is however that we see almost 9 out of 10 au pairs getting homesick. It is something that happens to almost everyone, but of course to varying degrees.

 As we say in a lot of our courses, homesickness can be anything from just a slight longing to full-blown sadness. It can be triggered from anything from spending Christmas eve away from your family to clicking through Facebook pictures of what your friends are doing back home. The most important thing to remember, however severe your homesickness is, is that it is okay. You are allowed to feel homesickness, to feel sad, and, most importantly, to ask for help.

We at Cultural Care Au Pair have over 26 years of experience dealing with this. We have a lot of advice, tips, and tricks to get through those tough times. The majority of us have even been au pairs ourselves and those tips come directly from our own personal experience. Your host family also understands where you are coming from, that you are in a new country, and that you are leaving things behind. Your new au pair friends will also be in the same boat as you and might just be too afraid to be the one to bring it up.

 I personally believe that one of the best ways to get through homesickness is having the right expectations and attitude. Believing in yourself is something that will get you far and will be useful no matter which path you take in life. I do understand that it is easier said than done, but going into your au pair time with the expectation that you WILL have tough times and the attitude that you WILL get through it is the first step to a successful experience.

Being an au pair totally changed my career plans!

We interviewed our recruitment leader Susanna from Finland, who has been interviewing and coaching our applicants for over two years, and even before that she has started her "career" with Cultural Care Au Pair in Massachusetts! Susanna is currently studying to become a teacher, and now she tells how going as an au pair totally changed her career plans!

1. Why did you decide to work with children?
Actually, I swore from early age that I would be anything else except a primary school teacher, since my mother is a primary school teacher. But then, my little brother and sister were born and from that on I just started to work with children; as a nanny, a group leader in camps, an au pair! And then when it came time to apply to an university, I found myself applying to study to be a primary school teacher, and only that, since nothing else was closer to my heart. Before I started studying I spent a year as an au pair in Boston, MA, USA and that year made clear to me that I had made the right decision to study especially in Intercultural Teacher Education.

 2.  What would your advice be to someone thinking about a career working with children?
Get experience! It does not matter what the experience is, but just get to know children and their world and interact with them. When working with children, and especially teaching, you are never ready. You learn everyday about yourself and the children. And enjoy the company of children, they are so much more fun than adults are most of the time! 

 3.Having experience as a babysitter and then transitioning into working full-time with children, what would you say is the biggest difference in interacting with the children?As a babysitter I was there to take care of the children and have fun with them, and make sure their day went well, upbringing them in small situations and discussions. Now I am interacting all the time with 15 or more children and going through quite big discussions with them. I find myself now somehow being more on the background and giving the children more space to talk and ponder on those big questions and trying to help them to think for themselves rather than just telling them what to do. With over 10 years of experience from children I would strongly advice everyone to listen to them with your mind open. Usually children think outside of the box, and we adults have hard time understanding them!

 4.  What do you see as the benefit for kids in having an au pair?
There are plenty! First of all, from very young age onwards children get to experience closely someone from a different culture and practice interacting with that someone. Further in life we interact daily with people from different cultures, so I think it is very valuable for children to already notice that people are different depending from the culture and also with a culture. I think children also gain a lot of confidence from au pairs since they usually speak English as a second language and children get the chance to be "teachers" for the au pair. And of course, one close caring adult in a child's life is always great.

5.How can au pairs best help their host children prepare for school?
Listen to the children and make sure they feel good - school days are often full of different situations that  might be troubling children afterwards and they can have an effect to how the child feels about school. School is so much more than just doing exercises in class and learning from the teacher. Before the school day, make sure they have all they need for school and go through the day with them, this helps the child to be confident and if they forget something, this is when they usually remember it. After the school day, pay interest to the child's day: ask what they did, who did they play with and what do they have for homework, and what did they learn? This will help the children do way better in school and motivate them too!

 6. What do you think the benefits are for young kids in being exposed to different cultures early on?Chidlhood is the time to get educated for the upcoming life, so what could be a better practise to interact with people from different cultures than living with an au pair? Since in the modern day world we are required to be global and interculturally competetive, it is more than good to start from young to practise communication skills and also reflect on one's own culture. When children are exposed to different cultures from early on, I believe, that they become less judgemental when it comes to other cultures and learn from early on to appreciate the differences and richness of different cultures!

To see my host family again- felt like yesterday

You say that your real friends and family will be there through everything. When I left the US after my time as an au pair, there were a lot of tears and mixed feelings. When leaving Sweden I knew my family and friends still would be there waiting when I got back. Leaving the US was not quite the same. I didn’t know if I would see them again and for sure not when I would see them again.

Now, almost five years later I went to visit them. I was worried. Would the children remember me (they had 3 au pairs after me and one who extended)? Would my host parents welcome me or would I be someone in the way of their Halloween? Did they really want me to come and stay with them in their house?

When my very best friend in the US came out from the car at the train station waiting for me, all of above worries disappeared. She drove me to what used to be my home for a year. When getting out of the car I saw a big banner above the front door (next to all Halloween decorations). It said “Welcome back Jenny”. It was made by the family and contained a lot of drawings, and for me; that meant everything.

The whole weekend was great. The children I got to know once again and my host parents and my friends, well, it felt like I was there yesterday. I can't even describe the feeling. It was not the same. It was a weird feeling. Many of my American friends is now out of college and no longer in the neighborhood, and the dog that I loved got sick a while ago and passed away. I felt sad I didn’t get to meet everyone, but it also made me feel so thankful. That I got to know all of them and how they have made me love my time as an au pair more than I could ever have realized.

 

Tips for our au pairs from a teacher!

As an au pair you will find yourself with many different roles; sister, friend, confidant, disciplinarian, and teacher. Becoming a bit of a teacher might be new to many of you. To give you a brief glimpse into the role, we interviewed an elementary school teacher from Wellesley, Massachusetts. See her thoughts on working with kids, au pairs, and what you can do to help your future host kids succeed in school!

1. Why did you decide to work with children?I decided to work with children because I LOVE them...I love to get to know each child's unique personality and to watch them discover the world around them. I get such joy from being a big part of their development and growth. As a kindergarten teacher I am usually their first “real” teacher and someone that they have been really excited to meet for a long long time.

2. What would your advice be to someone thinking about a career working with children?My advice would be to get a lot of experience (babysitting or being a teacher's aide) and, of course, a good solid education. Make sure you are capable of extreme patience, creativity, and organization. These three values will take you really far in the world of teaching and are a good foundation to stand on. Actually these are great no matter what you end up working with!

3. You started as a babysitter in high school and then, after college, transitioned into working full-time with children. What would you say is the biggest difference in interacting with the children? There are a quite a few differences actually! But the biggest I would say is that as a teacher you need to require more respect than a babysitter-it’s really important that the children view you in a different light because you need respect in order to teach.  You should always be warm and approachable, but still respected. Set rules from the beginning and the right expectations and, of course, be consistent! When you teach they need to know to listen and take what you say seriously and give you their attention. Balancing respect and approachability is not the easiest, but it is really important in any sort of childcare work.

4.  What do you see as the benefit for kids in having an au pair?

I think that having another adult to look up to and learn from is important in any setting. A child can never have too many people who care about them and be their role  models. Another big benefit of an au pair is in learning how to establish relationships with other adults outside of the family. This is not something that everyone learns automatically and is an important life skill for anyone!

5. How can au pairs best help their host children prepare for school?

This will depend a lot on the ages of the children, but you can always help in teaching them time management, organization, and responsibility. This will vary, but you can adjust this to fit the children’s needs.  These three skills are all key in helping them learn to do things by themselves. It helps to have these skills as a base so it is not as frightening to take the first step. Au pairs might be a part of the children’s lives as they, for example, have their first day of school, first field trip, or even their first test. If the kids are little, like my kindergartener, involve them in packing their lunches, picking out their clothes for the next day, and setting good routines at home. All of this can help improve their self-esteem, which is such a help at school! 

6.What do you think the benefits are for young kids in being exposed to different cultures early on?

The benefits are endless. Different cultures are something that everyone in the USA experiences on a daily basis, but this usually starts in school. Your child will find him or herself in school surrounded by different backgrounds and cultures-this is life! So having already been initiated to the experience at home is worth its weight in gold. You can teach understanding, tolerance, and respect through simply telling the kids about where in the world you come from.

Do you have any general questions  for our kindergarten teacher? Email us at aupair.se@culturalcare.com and we will forward them along!

 

Holidays away from near and dear ones

For many that travel as au pairs, this means the first Christmas away from near and dear ones.
It can be hard, and we know that many au pairs experience homesickness during the holidays.

If it happens to you, please keep this mind:
* You are not alone. Many au pairs feel this way. It’s normal, and it will get better.
* This is a once in a lifetime experience. Regardless if you are celebrating Hanukkah with your host-family, an American Christmas or not at all – it’s part of the experience. In a year from now, you will look back and remember the holidays as part of an overall developing, exciting, sometimes tough, but life-changing experience.
* It’s only one holiday out of many. Next year you are back to your old routines.
* Stay as active as you can. The more you want to go in to your room and pull the cover over your head – the more you need to push yourself out there.
* Embrace it! Share some of your family’s traditions with your host-family. Maybe the homesickness will feel a bit better.


If not – remember that you have a network of other au pairs that can offer support. You are all in the same boat, and even if you experience the holidays slightly different – you can always support each other. Sometimes it’s better to talk to them – talking to your family back home may increase your homesickness.

Our office is open on December 22nd and 23rd, December 29th and 30th and then on January 2nd and from January 7th it’s open as normal again. Those days you are of course welcome to call an email. Our emergency number in the Boston office is always open.

Enjoy your time and stay warm!
Victoria and the ladies in the Stockholm office

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