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! ♥

International picnic with the dishes from twelve countries!

The next Au Pair meeting of Go Au Pair cluster in the Philadelphia and Bucks County area – international food picnic – will be on Sunday, June 4, 2017 at the Independence National Historical Park, 6th St & Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19106. All Au Pairs will bring a dish from their countries! There will be dishes from 12 countries in our Sunday picnic menu or maybe even more because many Au Pairs planed to bring their friends. We will test variety of dishes from China, Colombia, South Africa and Ecuador -since we have many Au Pairs from those countries. Also, we will have an opportunity to try dishes from Hungary, El Salvador, Brazil, Ukraine, Peru, France, Germany and Argentina!

The Au Pair program is a cultural exchange program. Go Au Pair cluster meetings give the Au Pairs chance to meet other Au Pairs from around the world and learn/share their unique culture. We will enjoy the Au Pair international cuisine- the food represents the traditions, stories, and geography and we learned a lot simply trying different food.

There is also a great opportunity to learn about American history and culture because  we will have the picnic right across the Independence National Historical Hall in the center city of Philadelphia. The Independence Hall is known as the birthplace of the United States. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were signed there. Our international Au Pair team will enjoy the historical Landmark and great company of friends.

Au Pairs will have fun sharing the experience, taking many photos and creating new memories. After the meeting, they will visit many historical places together.

Welcoming the first Argentine Au Pair.

By Tania M, au pair from Ukraine.

We are very excited to meet the first au pair from Argentina Julie! Julie will replace the au pair from Brazil Aline. Aline was an awesome au-pair, she was nominated for au pair of the year award! All the au-pairs from Go Au Pair Philadelphia are looking forward to meeting Julie.

Julie’s host kids were so excited to meet her that they even made a special gift for her – a welcoming poster.

Julie’s host mom made a great present for her  – a handmade lamp, so that she will feel cozy and comfortable in her new  room.

I am really lucky to interview Julie, especially because it’s my first time interviewing an au- pair! So, we asked her a couple of questions to get to know her better.

1.Why do you want to be an au-pair?

I wanted to be and au pair because it’s a great opportunity for cultural exchange…for meeting new people and work with kids…It also gives me the opportunity to study in a college or university, so it’s like a complete package for me.

2. Please tell us something about your hobbies.

My hobbies are cooking, writing and reading. I like to go out with friends but not every weekend…

3. What places would you like to visit?

I’ll like to visit New Orleans, New York again, Chicago, Disney… California… And Philadelphia, o course.

4. What three adjectives best describe you?

I consider myself good with people, I’m studying to be a psychologist, so that it’s kind of a requirement… I’m also a good singer, I think, hahahaha

Wow, I was surprised to find out there’s one more person in our cluster, who’s interested in psychology! We’ll have a lot to discuss when we meet, Julie:)

5.Did you like the NY Au Pair introductory workshop? Why?

I really like the workshop, Patrick was amazing with us and taught everything perfectly. I’ll recommend it. I liked it because it was a very good way to start to know the culture in this country. And because it teaches you a lot of stuff that you need to know before working with kids.

Thank you for the answers, Julie, we are looking forward to seeing you in person and spending time with you, sharing our experience and impressions of being an au-pair.

Au Pair meetings.

The Au Pair meetings are designed for cultural exchange.  They give the Au Pairs an opportunity to meet new Au Pairs from around the word and form friendships. The cluster meetings also create a sense of unity and belonging to the group of Au pairs that have a lot of common. The cluster meeting give Au Pair a chance to talk to a Local Area Representative if there are any issues or questions and prevent many issues.

We had a great Au Pair meeting and the second annual buddy appreciation party on 02.28.2016 at Brunswick Zone XL Feasterville, Bucks County, PA. Please read a post by our new Au Pair from Ukraine Tanya.

The Au Pair meetings promote cultural awareness and help gain a new experience. I invited to our last meeting the school teacher Claudia Young.

Claudia  started MAKE A DIFFERENCE CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION four years in one of Bucks County schools. Make a Difference is involved in many projects to help children in both our local and global communities.  MAKE A DIFFERENCE mission is to bring relief to children living in poverty.

The Foundation is making a difference in the lives of children living in some of Nigeria’s poorest areas. Claudia shared the stories of a few kids she met during her two trips to Nigeria. Many Au Pairs were touched by those stories. They met Claudia after the Au Pair meeting and discussed ways they can participate in MAKE A DIFFERENCE projects.  It was great to see how everyone was involved and wanted to help.

Perhaps, Au Pairs can volunteer at The International Spring Festival with other Go Au Pair clusters and joined many other projects to help the foundation to MAKE A DIFFERENCE to children living in poverty!

I am proud that I am Ukrainian!

Go Au Pair features a country each month. This month Go Au Pair’s feature country is Ukraine.

We have a few Ukrainian Au Pairs in the Go Au Pair Philadelphia, Bucks County cluster. Stacey, Au Pair from Ukraine, is this blog guest today. Stacey has been in the USA almost one year and has a great experience. She extended for another year with her host family.

I am a resident of an amazingly beautiful country, Ukraine. Golden wheat fields and cloudless blue sky began its eternal symbols. Versatile nature can not leave indifferent any guest and resident of this country. Ukraine is one of the largest countries of Eastern Europe. It occupies an area of 603 700 km2. Its territory stretches for 893 kilometres from north to south and for 1316 kilometers from east to west. It has state borders with Russia, Belarus and Moldova. It also borders on Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. In the south, it is washed by the Black and the Azov Seas. The major rivers are the Dnepr. The major part of Ukraine is flat and only 5% of it is mountainous. The two mountainous areas in Ukraine are the Carpathians and the Crimean Mountains.

The population of Ukraine is about 43 million people. The biggest cities are Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa and Lviv. Ukraine has an ancient history. It has its own original culture and arts. Ukraine is my homeland, and I am proud that I am Ukrainian. I love it’s fields, rivers, forests and mountains. The Ukrainian people are very emotional, smart, kind, talented and understanding people. I advise everyone to visit my homeland and feel all the power and the beauty of my country from the inside.

PS. Perhaps, you may invite a Ukrainian Au Pair to join your family first and learn more about this beautiful country. Families who match with an Au Pair from Ukraine will receive $100 off the program fees in addition to other discounts available.

Reaching new heights

Climbing at Rock Gym and reaching “new heights” was one of the best events ever 🙂 even though we are doing  many interesting activities with the Au Pairs from the Philadelphia,  Bucks County Go Au Pair cluster. This was my very first time being at Rock Gym with the Au Pairs, and I didn’t expect that it will be so fun and exciting.  

On Saturday,  May 30, 2015  many Au Pairs came to the Doylestown indoor rock climbing gym and adventure facility in the north Philadelphia area and Bucks County. Au Pairs from Australia Amber and Kiah came to the Gym the second time and were impressive in their performance.

It was a great workout 

and fun event. 

Cherry, Au Pair from S. Africa  and many Au Pairs climbed for the first time. Brenda Au Pair from Mexico and Iryna Au Pair from Ukraine enjoyed climbing again and again

Lorena and Joana, Au Pairs from Colombia climbed together Many Au Pairs reached new heights

and met new friends!

They all had a lot of funThen we enjoyed a picnic!

Welcome Irina

I would like to welcome our new Au pair Irina Melnychuk. She is 24 years old and from Ukraine. Irina arrived here in the states on Feb 26 and she’s currently living in Washington Crossing, Bucks county. Thank you Gina for being Irina’s buddy.

Why do you want to be an Au Pair?

“It is a great program which gives a good possibility to get more experience in working with the kids, learn/improve a foreign language and get in touch with traditions and cultures of a foreign country.”

Irina’s hobbies include doing sports, cooking, learning new languages and stitching. The three best adjectives that would describe her best would be kind, easy and outgoing.

The best compliment Irina has ever received was about her red hair and her freckles. I personally think your red hair is gorgeous! Irina considers herself to be very good at cooking and eating sweets 😉

Everyone at Go Au Pair hopes that you will have an awesome year and we’re looking forward to getting to know you even more!

Bowling with the Au Pair buddies and friends.

We are going bowling on Sunday, January, 18. 2015 and we want you there! Put on your comfortable clothes and a smile for fun bowling party with the Au Pair buddies and friends from Go Au Pair. For the first time we are going to celebrate a Buddy Day! It is a way to say thank-you and show appreciation to our buddies- Au Pair from Germany Cosima, Au Pairs from Colombia Monica, Joana and Luisa, Au Pairs from S. Africa Cherry, Nita, and Tania, Au Pair from Ukraine Oksana, Au Pairs from El Salvador Claudia, Yoselin and Karla, Au Pair from Mexico Brenda.

We started Au Pairs buddy program in the Philadelphia and Bucks County Go Au Pair cluster nine months ago. Many Au Pairs helped new Au Pairs and made a lot of friends as well. The Au Pairs buddy program creates a positive cluster culture and a sense of unity and belonging to the cluster. The program helps new Au Pairs have a great experience from the beginning and prevents many issues.

Come join us for an Au Pair meeting and two hour bowling party on January, 18. 2015, at 1:00 pm at Thunderbird Lanes, that is located at 1130 York Road, Willow Grove, PA 19090.  There are going to be fun and a lot of surprises. You can have a great time with the Au Pairs from 9 countries!

A new Au Pair cluster tradition – a Buddy Day celebration

Happy New 2015 Year! 

During this time of year many people resolve to do something significant or different to accomplish something important and new. The first Au Pair meeting in 2015 will be also the first buddy appreciation party for Au Pair cluster in the Philadelphia and Bucks County area.

An Au Pairs Buddy Day celebration will be a new cluster tradition. On Sunday, 01.18.2015 we plan to get together for a bowling party and surprise the Au Pairs buddies with something special.

The new tradition will strengthen cluster’s bonds, enrich cultural exchange, and create lasting memories. I hope that the new tradition will be passed down through years and become a cluster meaningful tradition.We started Au Pairs buddy program eight months ago and are having a great experience with this program. Many Au Pairs became the great buddies, helped new Au Pairs, and made a lot of friends.
Thank to Au Pair from Germany Cosima,

Au Pairs from Colombia Monica, Joana and Luisa,

Au Pairs from S. Africa Cherry, Nita, and Tania,

Au Pair from Ukraine Oksana,

Au Pair from El Salvador Claudia, Yoselin and Karla,

Au Pair from Mexico Brenda for being great buddies.

The Au Pairs Buddy Day celebration is an important way to create a positive cluster culture, a sense of unity and belonging to the cluster and help Au Pairs have a great experience from the beginning.

 

Welcome, Stacy!

Anastasia Molchanova or Stacy (22) is a new Au Pair from Ukraine that joined our cluster a month ago. Thanks to Au Pair Monica from Colombia that volunteered to be her buddy.

Stacy graduated from the Medical University in Ukraine and her brother is currently a high school student in the US. She loves being a big sister and she enjoyed helping her mom raise her little brother.

 ”I always liked to be with children, any other work does not bring me so much satisfaction. So I decided to be a doctor/pediatrician in the future. I volunteered in a baby house, where I looked after the children, helped nurses with babies’ examination, and played developing games with children.”

Stacy also wants to be an Au Pair so that she could improve her English and meet new people. A better knowledge of English will allow her to improve and develop faster as a pediatrician.

Stacy’s hobbies include traveling, doing sports like skating, swimming, running, dancing and she enjoys cooking.

Stacy describes herself as patient, goal-oriented and reliable. She would like to visit China, Argentina and India.

I hope that you will have a great time here as an Au Pair Stacy and also that you will be a great pediatrician in the future 🙂