Go Au Pair’s Family Day Conference in the NJ area

Time flies very fast, and  October is here.  On Sunday, October 13, 2013 we are meeting for a Family Day Conference at  Grounds for Sculpture.  We will meet at the Rat’s restaurant entrance of the Ground for sculpture, which is located at 16 Fairgrounds Road, Hamilton, New Jersey 08619.

There is a pretty oval court yard outside the Rat’s restaurant .  The oval court yard of the Rat’s restaurant is located outside the park. Here is the photo of the place where we will meet.

According to Wikipedia, Grounds for Sculpture “is a 35-acre (140,000 m²) sculpture park and museum located in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, on the former site of the New Jersey State Fairgrounds.

Founded in 1992 by John Seward Johnson II, the venue was intended to be dedicated to promoting an understanding of and appreciation for contemporary sculpture by organizing exhibitions, publishing catalogues, and offering a variety of educational programs and special community events.”

This year we are going to 9th Annual Guild for Early Music that will held at  Grounds for Sculpture from 12:30 till 5:30pm. The Guild for Early Music features Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and Early American music sung and played by our finest regional ensembles and concludes with a “petting zoo” of historical instruments for you to touch and play.

The event is free with park admission. According to  Grounds for Sculpture announcement, “this year’s theme, “Journeys,” features a medieval instrument demo, a youth orchestral prelude, and performances on harpsichord, viola da gamba, recorder, harp, flute, Baroque strings, sackbut, cornetto, percussion, and more, and includes themed “Journeys” sculpture tours of the park.” 

That will be a great  music performance of the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and Early American eras before 18 century and also  an opportunity to meet Host Families,  Au Pairs  in the area and a Local Area Representative.  It is an opportunity to share their experiences and get to know each other better, gain cultural and social experiences and make new friends from different cultures.

The Family Day Conference is required by the Department of State and Host Families are obligated to attend at least one while hosting an Au Pair. It is also a favorite activity for my Au Pairs and Host Families.  Attending the Family Day Conference is valuable and  fun experience. Host Families and Au Pairs leave the event with unforgettable memories.

 The prospective Host Families can learn about the Au Pair program first hand. Au Pairs from Go Au Pair and their friends, Au Pairs from other agencies are welcome too!  Please check  other our activities.

Please bring friends -everyone is welcome to join us! See you in the park!

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Au Pairs meeting at African American Museum in Philadelphia.

Recently Go Au Pair cluster in the Philadelphia and NJ area had the meeting at African American Museum in Philadelphia. 

The reason of our visit was not only exploring the African American museum, but also attending the event “Modern Soul Food: Lecture and Tasting with Chef Wheeler Del Toro”. It was an amazing cultural experience for Au Pairs and we really enjoyed it.

Wheeler del Torro is a Nutritional Anthropologist, culinary Guru and author of the book The Vegan Scoop.

His assistant Rayna explained to us why we eat what we eat, the history and traditions of soul food.

According to Wikipedia  Soul food is a variety of cuisine traditionally popular in African American culture. It is closely related to the cuisine of the Southern United States. The descriptive terminology may have originated in the mid-1960s, when soul was a common definer used to describe African-American culture (for example, soul music).

During the lecture Rayna discussed the African heritage of this American cuisine,  and its new interpretations – modern soul food. We tried some unusual, but very testy dishes,  like watermelon in a vegetable salad with a cheese substitute.  It was very delicious and healthy salad. It became my favorite dish that I tried.After testing many delicious dishes,  Wheeler del Torro shared his inspiring stories, told us about his unique experience, and answered many questions with his humoring approach.

We liked all the dishes  that we tasted, the informative lecture, and the most, we like the conversation with a culinary expert Dr.Wheeler Del Toro. We had a lot of fun, learned new culinary ideas, explored healthy eating approaches. We learned about “modern soul food” “a healthy soul food” created by culinary enthusiastic and expert.

Wheeler del Torro discussed modern approaches to food and taught how to add a healthy vegetable twist to soul food like macaroni and cheese. He encouraged us to live a healthier lifestyle and discussed the options for creating healthier interpretations of familiar dishes.

We took many photos, exchanged emails and he promised to send us the recipes. It was an amazing educational and cultural event.

 

We took many photos, exchanged emails and he promised to send us the recipes. It was an amazing educational and cultural event.

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