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

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!

New York City - my absolute favorite

Every au pair who travels with Cultural Care Au Pair as an au pair to the USA gets the opportunity to experience New York City during their first week in the USA! I know that it is just a short glimpse of the city and that you only get to see the very important sights, and it will definitely leave you hungry for more! I would absolutely recommend all of you au pairs, come back. Come back and experience more of it - there are few places that are as awesome as New York City.

I got the opportunity to work at our training school on Long Island few years ago and one of my favorite parts of the job were definitely spending Thursdays in the city while the au pairs were getting to know the city as well! This gave me an opportunity to explore the city from North to South, from East to West, to see most of the tourist attractions, but also experience the city as any Manhattan native would!

I could go on and write about my favorite spots and my favorite things to do in New York for ages, but I try to keep this short and sweet and as general as possible!

- Central Park. Let me warn you - it is humongous! Keep your fingers crossed for good weather, stroll around (there's a lot to see, make sure to take a look at the map so that you will not just aimlessly wander around - although, nothing wrong with that either). Make sure to eat your lunch picnic-style in the park!

- Highline Park. I guess I just have a thing for parks - Highline Park is built on old old railroad and you get an awesome view of the city! It is definitively something unique and absolutely worth the visit!

- Brooklyn Promenade. Get on the Brooklyn side, get some great ice cream, walk the promenade -- best part of doing it, you get to see the entire Manhattan skyline from the Brooklyn side.

- American Museum of Natural History. So much to see, so much to learn - fun with your friends or your host kids too if you live in the area!

- The Village. One of my favorite areas on Manhattan. Cool shops, cool people, cool cafes - definitely worth to explore in depth... too many things to tip about!

I could go on forever, there are so many things to see and do - I would definitely recommend to see all the touristy things - once again, these things are things you've seen on TV, in the movies, read about them, so you definitely need to experience all of them! Make also sure to get to visit the not so touristy places in the city... there are plenty of them! Stay tuned for more tips!

The view of Central Park from the Top of the Rock.

Times Square.

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

Challenge yourself!

Whether you currently are an au pair or you are going to become an au pair, you know that traveling abroad and leaving everything familiar behind takes some guts and courage! I want to congratulate you for taking that step – stepping out of your own comfort zone and taking a big responsibility of yourself.

Traveling is one of my greatest passions, for many reasons: you get to see the places you have never seen before (maybe only in pictures), you get to meet so many different kind of people who will wide up your perspective of life and you get to experience so many unforgettable things you would never experience if you would stay at home. All this gives you so much energy for the future! But –as Peter Parker in Spiderman once said- “With great power comes a great responsibility!”

When traveling as an au pair you will face many new and sometimes even difficult situations. Whether it is a matter of applying your visa, calling to an unfamiliar office in English or check-in to your flight for the first time in your life, remember: take responsibility of what you are doing! Take it as a challenge that will make you stronger for the future and a challenge that will make you grow! We at Cultural Care Au Pair Nordics office are more than happy to assist you with all your questions and dilemmas – but first I challenge you to try to solve your situation by yourself. After solving a problem that might seem insurmountable, you feel like there is basically nothing in this world that you cannot handle! I often like to challenge myself with new things that come around. It usually helps me when I think what my mother always tells me “Everything will be all right in the end.” And that’s how it has always been! There is not even one problem I haven’t fixed in the end. Sometimes that might take you twice the energy to try to solve it by yourself instead of taking the easy way out and ask right away, but it will reward you in the end!

Traveling by yourself gives you a great responsibility to manage things on your own! That’s one thing I love about traveling – independency. You are the only person who can make the decision to survive through difficult situations or give up. If you choose to make your way through, you will be 100% stronger and more independent!

Best regards,
Jenni

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!

 

To all the future au pairs!

For the upcoming weeks we are having plenty of au pairs taking off for their au pair adventure in the USA. At the office we are very busy collecting the last documents and making sure all of our au pairs have their visa in time for the departure. I know it is a lot of things to complete because I have been in the very same situation myself.  But in all this and emotions about leaving family and friends behind I am hoping everyone is taking some time just to reflect over the great moments you will have ahead of you. Allt the fantastic places you will see, all the people you will meet , everything you will achive, learn and discover about yourself. Even if your upcoming time as an au pair will also bring out some tough times, keep in mind to stay focused on the postive things and do things that makes you happy!  Also remember during those times” Something good comes out of all bad things”. My wise host mom (who I did not agreed with all the time but that I respected ) actually taught me that and I think it is a great expressen!

Now it is time for you to experience something new!!!

 

Best regards,

Nina from the office

 

Meet the Pink Team: Brittany from the Training School!

Pink is the colour for Cultural Care Au Pair and we all are happy to be part of this world-wide pink team! We thought it would be interesting for you to hear some stories from our Pink Team-members from all around the world - let's start this with Brittany!

Brittany is one of those from Cultural Care who all of our au pairs who travel to the USA will meet or have already met at our Training School. We asked some questions from her from her Brittany and how she ended up working at the Training School!

What is your pink story?After I completed university, I was finishing up an internship at Disneyland Resort in California in the Fall of 2011 when I came across a job opening at the Cultural Care Au Pair Training School. I saw this job as an opportunity to put both my customer service experience and experience traveling/living abroad to good use. I have now been here for almost two years, and each week continues to be as interesting as the last.

What is your current role?I am currently a School Operations Manager. I work to welcome the Au Pairs at the beginning of the week, serve as a resource for them throughout their time with us and help them arrive safely to their host families at the end of the week. I love working with the Training School team to ensure each Au Pair’s first week in the United States is as easy, fun, and exciting as possible.

What would your advice to the Au Pairs be?I encourage each Au Pair to use their week at the Training School to their advantage. The week is a perfect chance to get to know Au Pairs from all over the world (and hopefully make long-lasting friends), learn valuable information from your teachers, practice your English, and ask any questions you may have about your time here in the United States. Your time at the Training School is just the beginning of the amazing, exciting year to come!