Welcome to the cluster, Seba!

It is very exciting to have another male au pair in our cluster! Seba is 22 years old, he is from Argentina. It is my pleasure to share some information with you about him. 

“I wanted to be an au pair, because I love spending time with kids and traveling. As I am studying to be an English teacher I had always been close to kids and I always loved spending time with them. I never thought there would be an exchange program that would allow me to do this. I am happy for the chanse to be an au pair!

I don’t really have a hobbie. I like doing different stuff, for example going for a run, going to the gym are some of them. I enjoy watching movies and listening to music. I also like going out with friends and have a nice meal together.

My wish would be to stop hunger from all over the World.

I would love to visit New York City. It has always been my dream walking in Central Park and getting a hot dog in the street!

On Saturdays I like going out with friends to different places (theater, camp, traveling near my home area, etc) or sometimes we have a meal with my family. 

The best complement I had ever received was:

“Never let people get you down. Don’t let them say you can’t do anything. You are an amazing guy and you can do what ever you want”

I am creative. Since I was a kid I have always loved creating things like a small city on the table with boxes and books and play with my little sister. We also filmed videos acting as if we were in a movie. I edited them and played them on my TV screen. I also enjoy teaching. I like showing people my skills. But I also love learning new things”

Thank you, Sebastian for your answers! I hope, that you will be able to visit New York and a lot of other places! ♥

Farewell to Valentine, 2017 au pair in Excellence Winner.

Valentine sent me long, meaningful answers. She left a couple days ago, but I will always remember her. It was great to spend time with her and volunteer together, stay longer after everybody left. I am sure, she is going to enjoy her time with her family again and as far as I am concerned, her Host Kids will visit Valentine in France, which is amazing – that means, they built a strong relationship! So here are some pieces of the interview: 

“I am very proud to be the Au Pair of the year and it is something that I was not expecting! I like to think, that I am the way I am because of my host kids, they are the best so I try to be the best au pair and sister that they deserve.”

My favourite way to spend my free time was to either go see a movie at the movie theatre because it helped me with my vocabulary by learning new words and phrases or volunteering at a little co-op in town. It was something I did every Friday afternoon since January until mid June and I liked the job and I made some really good friends there!

 What I like about being an au pair in the USA with Go Au Pair is that there’s always someone you can talk to, they will listen to you and try to find a solution. I like the fact that they organize meetings that you can go to and meet other au pairs from different countries and who live not far from you. I loved when we all volunteered at the International Spring Festival in Lansdale this year and even my host kid who is 11 years old helped us that day which was great!

 

The most valuable lesson that I learned while being in the US as an Au Pair is to stand up for yourself, do not let people take advantage of you because there are lots of people out there who try to make you things you don’t want to do and don’t respect the rules. So talk about it with someone if you are not comfortable in a situation speak up and make things change.

The favourite part about being an au pair is that you sometimes get to create an amazing relationship between you and your host family. That’s what happened for me, I came here and found another family, the 2 little girls I took care of for almost 10 months are now like sisters to me.

The experience that I will never forget is when I left for 10 days to go visit California (Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego exactly) all alone, with only a backpack. It was amazing, I met so many incredible people there, did things I never thought I would and took so many pictures of the beautiful things I’ve seen to show my family once I go back to France!

 

“I would recommend being an au pair, because it is a great experience, not easy every day but you will be rewarded by so much love and happiness in your life, that it is absolutely worth it!”

♥

Welcome in our great cluster, Maria!

Maria is 25 years old, she is another au pair from Ukraine. She seems to be a brave, interesting young woman. Let’s see her answers! 

She wanted to be an au pair, because she likes spending time with kids and traveling.

“I want to see the beauty of America.”

She likes dancing,riding,traveling. She has interests in taking  pictures, paragliding,arts,choreography.

She likes to chill with  friends, travel somewhere or attend some active events.

She is a positive,friendly and energetic person.

“The best compliment I ever received in my life was: Maria!You make people happy.”

Her mom was professional skydiver so Maria would like to try skydiving. – Awesome!! 

She also would like to visit Dominicans, Great Britain and Australia. In the US what she would like to visit is NY, L.A and California .

You can see now, that being with Maria must be so much fun!  I hope her dream (to try skydiving) will come true in the US! ♥

Welcome to the cluster, Arminda!

Soledad Araujos (Arminda) is from El Salvador, joining our cluster in a couple days, which is great for several reasons:

1. We did not have a new au pair in a while. 
2. She is going to the au pair of my Host Mom‘s brother! This is very exciting!

She wanted to be an au pair, because she thinks, that taking care of children is one of her passions, so that could make her and other people happy!

She likes going to the beach and listening to music. Sometimes she goes to the gym and to the lake close to her grandma’s house! She is interested in improving her English, getting to know more about the culture in the US and of course to make friends from different countries!

Her friends says, she is responsible, patient and honest. She, also thinks, that she is good at teaching English.

Arminda would like to travel around the World with her little sister, that way they could visit Paris to see the Eiffel Tower.

On the weekends, she likes to go to her grandma’s house and swim the entire evening with her cousins and old friends. They talk about their plans  and experiences they had during the week.
I hope she is going to enjoy her year with her amazing Host Family! I am looking forward to meet her soon! ♥

 

The International Spring Festival 2017

It was a rainy, but nice day – perfect for attending the International Spring Festival! When I got to the gymnasium astonished! Not because it was enormous, but there was a lot of tables from different cultures – it was amazing! 

Our au pair team made balloons and painted faces. I was one of the au pairs, who painted the faces. It was a great experience. There was a little boy, who wanted me to draw an explosion on his face, little girls mostly wanted to be cats, butterflies, but some of the kids asked for owls, sharks, tigers, rainbows on their faces. I was very exhausted by the time we finished, but I learnt a lot of things as well.

Polina (our LAR) posted on Facebook about the event, so I would like to quote from her:

“I found that Au pairs are very talented face painters. Many kids patiently waited in line for their turn. Many kids came back with their friends asking to make the same face painting for their friends and siblings. After we were done and put all stuff away, the kids continued coming and bringing their friends.”

I would like to say thank you for Polina again, that she made arrangements so we could go there volunteer and participate – make little children and their parents very happy! I believe, that everybody had fun there! If you did not have the chance to attend the festival, make sure you will have time for that next year! It is worth it! ♥

Volunteer! Feel good!

Our cluster is going to volunteer at the International Spring Festival in two weeks. I believe, that most of us will go and help – it is going to be fun! Now, I would like to write about volunteering and about my own experiences.

Wikipedia  says, that volunteering is “an activity where an individual or group provides services for no financial gain, to benefit another person, group or organization”. Which is totally true! Just do it, because then others and of course you will feel awesome too! Psychologically, it is definitely better, when you do it in a group.

In my country everybody needs to volunteer 50 hours in order to get a diploma after high school.  I volunteered to work at a handicapped children’s home (children and grown-ups lived there, who were disabled to take care of themselves and their parents had taken them there for different reasons). I chose that place, because my mom has worked there before.

After my 50 hours were done, I stayed there for 3 months (of course still for free), as I was really enjoying the time with them and loved the little children who I worked with. I learnt a lots of things there, especially how to love and return love.

I believe, that everybody could say stories about volunteering. If not, that is not a problem either: you can volunteer simply when you help a friend, your parents, an elderly woman… Little things count!

I will be there at the Festival! Hope you will join us too! If not, then do not forget to read my post after the Festival to see what happened there! ♥

Buddy Appreciation Party 2017

Polina (our LAR), gave us her heart again with that party: she has planned everything, brought two cakes, games, her fantasy, and spent her time with us. I am very thankful for her! 

We had a balloon twisting competition, which was fun, because I have never done that before! We made different things and I had the chance to take balloons home for the kids- they loved them!

We had team games as well: we made two groups and had fun playing the games! Other au pairs and friends joined us too!

After the games, we ate cake and went to another room where we could play laser tag game! I enjoyed my time, as I have never done that before either, but I like playing those kind of games, so I hope, that I will have the chance to play again!

I like attending  the events and meetings, because then we can get together and experience how other people from different cultures react and behave! Interesting! 

I believe, that everybody had a good time! Next time, we are going to volunteer at the International Spring Festival! I am looking forward to meet you there! ♥

Welcome Camila!

After our last meeting a new au pair, Camila is joining our cluster.  She is 22 years old, from Brazil. The best thing: she loves cooking! Let’s get to know about her! 
She wanted to be an au pair, because she loves children, wanted to improve her English and meet lots of people from other cultures.
She loves cooking and learning gastronomy. She would like to take some culinary course in the USA.

She lives near the beach ( Florianópolis Island in Brazil), so she loves going to the beach.She, also likes to ride a bike,  watch films and read books.

She considers herself as a funny person full of life and energy. Her friends say, that she is a good chef and great friend.

She would like to visit California, Colorado, New York, Europe and Caribbean – many places!

We are looking forward to meet you soon, Camila! Have a safe flight! ♥

New au pair from Brazil: Nadia

Welcome to the cluster Nadia Souza! She is 20, going to live in New Hope, Bucks County! Her friend is Valentine.

She chose to be an Au Pair, because she knows that through this program she will have a wonderful intercultural experience.

“I am going to be with kids what is perfect ’cause I love them, of course I am going to improve my English and I know I will have new and good friends.”

Her favorite hobbies are reading books – she really loves that, watching sitcoms and cuting hairs.

She thinks, that it was very special, that she could spend Christman and New Year’s Eve with her family and boyfriend.

She says, that it’s  quite difficult to her to define herself, but she can say, that she is a good friend, an honest and a little bit anxious person. She is a very good driver and also, can learn how to do things very easily.

I wants to visit a lot of places, but the one that she most wants to visit is California. I hope, I can meet you soon Nadia! Enjoy every moment here! ♥

First au pair in February: Dani

Welcome Dani (from Colombia)  in the cluster! Here is some information about her:

• she wanted to be an Au Pair, because she likes kids and this is a great opportunity to improve her English and to get to know the American’s culture a little bit more
• she likes reading, walking, learning languages and hanging out with her friends and family
• once she went to Chile to visit her brother (This is pretty interesting!)
• she says, that she is kind, tidy and can learn fast
• she wants to build her own hotel
• she wants to go to Australia
• on the weekends, she likes to wake up early, go shopping, have lunch in a good restaurant, then spend the whole afternoon reading or playing with her family
• she loves smiling 🙂 

Wish you an unforgettable year in the US, Dani! ♥