Fall Hike & Chinese Food (Yummy!)

Taking a break at Elliot Tower after our hike.

Last August, when we were driving home from our camping trip, one of the au pairs mentioned that she would like to go on a hike for one of our monthly au pair activities this fall. There happens to be a great place for hiking just a few short miles from my house, so I told the girls that  we could meet up at my house and then head over to Blue Hills for an afternoon hike.   Everyone seemed to like that idea.

There were 3 Chinese au pairs riding in my car. As we were talking about things that the au pairs enjoy doing with their host families, one of them mentioned that she loves to cook.  Well, I love Chinese food.  Stephanie told me she would be happy to show me how to cook some traditional Chinese dishes.  That’s when I got the bright idea to combine these two things.  We could meet up at my house, drive to Blue Hills  for an invigorating hike, and then come back to my house to prepare some tasty Chinese dishes for everyone to enjoy.

This all sounded great, so I immediately sent out my Evite to the au pairs in my cluster.  As always, I told them to feel free to invite a friend or two.  I figured we would have about 10 or 15 people show up for the hike.  As it turns out, we had about 25 guests RSVP for the hike and Chinese food get together.  Yikes! That’s a lot of dumplings to prepare.  I decided I should prepare some food ahead of time so that the hungry hikers would have something to fill their stomachs while we were busy cooking all of that Chinese food.

We would be making Chinese dumplings together and Stephanie, our Chinese chef for the evening, would also be preparing several main course meat and noodle dishes for us.  I wanted to make something that would compliment what she was making.  I went through my recipe books, and couldn’t find anything that sounded good.  Then I remembered that Au Pair Sis has many interesting recipes on her Pinterest account, so I went there to find something that was easy to make, would feed the masses, could be prepared ahead of time, and had an Asian-inspired theme.  I found a recipe for Coconut Chicken Soup that sounded like it just might do the trick.  So, I prepared my soup and awaited the arrival of my au pair friends.

Girls hiking up Great Blue Hill.

After everyone who was planning to hike arrived, we headed over to Blue Hills.  Blue Hills Reservation is composed of 22 hills that stretch over 7,000 acres from Quincy to Dedham and Milton to Randolph.  The tallest of the hills, Great Blue Hill is easily accessed from the Trailside Museum, which is about 4 miles from my house.  We started our adventure at the Trailside Museum, up the Red Dot trail to Elliot Tower which is at the top of Great Blue Hill.  The elevation is 635 feet which provides for a great view of the Boston city skyline.  It also provides a great place to take pictures.

Anna, Monica and Ligia enjoying the scenery.

The hike up to Elliot Tower took about 30 minutes.  So, you would expect the hike down to take maybe 20-25 minutes?  Well, that sounds about right except we took the wrong trail.  So, instead of the quick straight downhill hike, we took a long meandering hike that took us about an hour to complete.  But that was okay because we were all having fun chatting and getting to know each other better.

“Chef Stephanie” preparing our food.

When we finally arrived back at my house, the real fun began.  Stephanie prepared the filling for our Chinese dumplings.  Her “assistants” Lilly, JinJin, and Shirley demonstrated the finesse needed to properly stuff the filling between the dumpling wrappers.  Ksenia, an au pair from Russia, made one small change to their recipe.  In Russia, when families and friends are gathered for celebrations, Russian dumplings are a traditional dish.  They are very similar to the Chinese dumplings, but the stuffing is a little different.  One of their customs is to secretly hide a special treat inside one (or more) of the dumplings.  The person who received the dumpling with the special surprise is said to have good luck!  So, for fun, we hid some pieces of banana in a few of the dumplings.  (The special ingredient can be just about anything–the point is to make the dumpling different than the rest.) 

Our Chinese cooks preparing the stuffing for the dumplings.

We had a lot of fun tasting all of the yummy dishes that Stephanie and her crew prepared for us.  And it was interesting to see the various ways the au pairs from different countries liked to wrap their dumplings.

Learning the tricky art of stuffing dumplings!

Our good friend, Lilly, was getting ready to return home to China later that week.  So, we all enjoyed a special farewell cake.  Lilly was especially excited about returning home because she was expecting a proposal from her boyfriend at the airport.

Dani, an au pair from Brazil had just arrived a few days before and was able to join us for her first cultural activity.  “I really enjoyed this experience!” Dani said. “My favorite part was to know so many girls at once, chat with them and know a little bit more about their cultures and their experiences as au pairs. ” “And, of course, the food,” she added.

Stephanie heard from Lilly shortly after she returned, and confirmed that Lilly had, in fact, gotten engaged.  Congratulations Lilly!  Best wishes for a bright future.

The Gathering Was Bittersweet As We Said Farewell & Best Wishes to Lilly.

Our August Adventure Day 2: In Search of POTUS

As I had mentioned before,  the Falmouth Road Race was in town on Sunday.   Our original plan was to take the 10:00 a.m. ferry out of Woods Hole.  Unfortunately, the town of Falmouth had to start closing roads early in the a.m.  We were advised by the trusty management staff at the campground that our best bet would be to take the Island Queen Ferry, and we’d better leave early because the crowds were going to start gathering by 9:00 a.m.  So we decided to take the 9:00 a.m. ferry, which meant we had to leave around 8:15 a.m.

Packing up our campsite was somehow not as fun as setting it up.

Now 8:15 a.m. doesn’t sound too bad.  But remember, there were 15 au pairs who needed to all get ready.  And we had to break down and pack up our campsite before we left for the day.  Since I hadn’t really gone to sleep, getting up was not a problem for me.  I got up, cleaned the mess that the crows had made of our trash, put breakfast out for everyone to eat and fixings for sandwiches out for anyone who wanted to brown bag it for the day on Martha’s Vineyard.

We managed to get ready, pack up our campsite, and get on the road by 8:20 a.m. The traffic on the way to the ferry was not as bad as expected.  At one point when we were very close to the ferry, traffic was stopped so that a motorcade could pass.  There were about 15 policemen on motorcycles followed by a black SUV.  “Could it be Obama?”  some of the girls in my car asked.  “No, the President doesn’t ride in a Chevrolet,” one of the au pairs answered.  It was just the motorcade for the Falmouth Road Race.  We managed to get there with about 10 minutes to spare.  All was well in the world.

Enjoying the harbor views. Oceanfront homes and luxury boats!

It was a perfect sunny 78-degree day.  The warm  sea breeze was very calming for our 45-minute ferry ride after our stressful morning rush.  We enjoyed looking at the ocean front houses and watching sailboats glide by us as we made our way from the lovely Falmouth harbor to the beautiful harbor at Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard.

Enjoying morning coffee on the ferry.

The conversation on the ferry ride was all about President Obama.  Would we see the President while we were on Martha’s Vineyard?  Could we go to Chilmark where he was known to be staying? Perhaps we  might see him playing golf at his favorite golf course or shopping in Vineyard Haven at his favorite book store?  Lisa from Germany was thinking about renting a car so she could drive around the island in search of POTUS.  (Unfortunately, when she found out it costs about $375 to rent a car for the day, she decided she would just let fate take it’s course to determine if she should meet the President of the United States.)

Welcome to Oak Bluffs!

Once we arrived at Oak Bluffs, all of us except for two of the German au pairs, decided to rent bikes and explore the island.  (They had to leave the island early because they were headed to a concert in Boston that night.)  There is a nice little family-run bike rental shop right across from the ferry terminal called Anderson’s Bike Rentals.  They gave us a group rate of $15/pp to rent our bikes for the day.  The employees there were very friendly and helpful.

The friendly folks at Anderson’s Bike Rentals had us on our way in now time!

They provided us with maps of the island and showed us the various routes that tourists normally take and told us approximately how long it should take to complete each route.  They also pointed out some places on the map that President Obama was known to frequent when he is on the island in case we wanted to increase our odds of a POTUS sighting.  The Chinese au pairs were particularly excited about this possibility!

Smiling au pairs en route to Edgartown.

There are really nice bike paths all around Martha’s Vineyard.  We decided to take Beach Road from Oak Bluffs to Edgartown.   We would stop off in Edgartown, have lunch and explore the little town.  On the way, we passed several beaches and the famous bridge from the movie “Jaws”.  There were many tourists lined up and ready to jump off the bridge.  (None of us were that daring.  We just watched.)

We were cruising along at a leisurely pace, enjoying the scenery.  I started to notice that my leisurely pace was really slow.  That’s when I realized I had a flat tire.  I called the bike rental place and they told me someone would be there in about 10 minutes.  I told the au pairs to continue on and wait for me in Edgartown.  I hung out on the side of the bike trail and tried to avoid being hit by the oncoming bikes.  The young kid from Anderson’s Bike Rentals showed up pretty quickly and exchanged my bike for one with air in both tires.

The bike path on Beach Road. Not too shabby.

By the time I caught up with the au pairs in Edgartown,  our group had been cut in half.  It seems that some of the au pairs decided they wanted to make the loop to Vineyard Haven, and that was fine.  The rest of us peddled around Edgartown until we found a spot to park our bikes.  By now, everyone was “starving”.  (I learned that food is important to these girls!)

The quintessentially quaint Edgartown, MA.

We walked around town towards the harbor.  The au pairs decided to eat lunch at The Wharf Restaurant.  I decided that I would give them a chance to chat freely and enjoy their lunch in the restaurant while I enjoyed a little quiet time.  I walked to the waterfront, found a nice bench, and watched the boats coming in and out of the harbor while I ate the sandwich I had packed back at the campsite.

A few minutes later, a large boat drove into the harbor and someone shouted, “Clear the docks”.   “Is it the President?” the lady sitting on the bench next to me asked as people began to scurry.  “Just kidding…” the man on the boat yelled.  Now, that would have been a great story, but it was just another false alarm.

I met up with the au pairs outside the restaurant and we decided to do a little shopping.  Unfortunately, the little shops are really expensive, so the only real purchases that were made were for post cards to send home.

Getting ready to hit the road again.

We made our way back to our bikes and began our journey back to Oak Bluffs.  Some of the girls rode straight back to town, but a few of us decided to stop at one of the local beaches to enjoy a quick dip in the ocean before returning to town.  The water was pretty cold, so we didn’t last very long.  But it felt very refreshing after a long day of biking and walking.

We peddled back to Oak Bluffs and returned our bikes at Anderson’s Bike Rentals.  When we arrived, we learned that the other girls had already returned their bikes and were out exploring Oak Bluffs.  After a quick stop for ice cream, we all made our way back to the ferry terminal just in time for our 4:00 departure for Falmouth.

A sailboat flying the American flag. Could POTUS be on board?

On the ferry ride back home, we shared our stories about our adventures.  Unfortunately, there were no POTUS sightings for our group that day.

Angeles, Iveta and Angie on the ferry ride back home.

I was not looking forward to the long drive back home.  But to my pleasant surprise, the traffic was very light.  The drive home from Falmouth only took about 1 1/2 hours. Everyone was safely returned to their host families early Sunday evening.  And the planning for our next adventure is already underway…until next time.

Home Sweet Home? Advice for Dealing with “Reverse Culture Shock”

There are many resources for au pairs who have just arrived to the US, and are dealing with culture shock.  Culture shock is “the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigrating or visiting a new country”.   Summer Blackhurst, Go Au Pair’s Public Relations expert, wrote a series of great articles on the subject recently, including “Culture Shock: The Four Phases”, and “Cultural Adjustment Outcomes“.  I highly recommend that all au pairs and their host families take a few minutes to read these articles as they contain some very intuitive information that may help a new au pair who may be experiencing culture shock as we speak.

But what about au pairs who are finishing up their placement year, or even their second year, and are getting ready to return home?  Surprisingly, they may be experiencing the same type of nervousness about returning to their home surroundings as they did when they first arrived to the US.  What was once familiar, is now foreign to them.

Dr. Lora Cook, founder of the au pair program “Learning to Live Your American Dream”, based out of National Louis University’s Chicago campus, talks about this fascinating issue in one of the sections of the popular program.   “Au pairs usually come to the US expecting to feel culture-shock, but they don’t always go home expecting to experience reverse culture shock,” Dr. Cook told me.  “We like to prepare students by helping them moderate their expectations when they return for either a visit or at the end of their au pair experience.”

Some of the challenges au pairs will face when they re-enter their home environment will be similar to the challenges they faced when they first arrived to the US.

Many au pairs may experience depression when dealing with reverse culture shock.

Believe it or not, language can sometimes be an issue.  When you are immersed in a language and have mastered that language, you start to dream and even think in that language.  If an au pair’s native tongue is not English, she may have a difficult time having a conversation when she returns home.  Finding the appropriate word for an object, for example, might take a few extra seconds because she may need to translate that word in her mind from English.  But, just like mastering English took time, with practice and exposure, those language skills will return.

Getting used to the food again back home may be challenging as well. For the past year, the au pair has become accustomed to American food, restaurants, and large mega-grocery stores.  Spices and available ingredients are probably different and may require getting used to again.  Big city conveniences may not be readily available in the au pair’s home country.  They may feel a sense of frustration by this.

The au pair might expect her relationship with her friends to be the same when she returns home, but may  be disappointed to learn that her friends have moved on.  Maybe they began studying at the university and have made new friends.   Some of her friends may have even gotten married or started a family. Although the au pair has made many new friends, they are probably 1,000’s of miles away in the US or another country.  The au pair has grown and changed as a person as well. She may not have the same interests as her friends.  Feelings of isolation and depression are not uncommon.

The au pair is probably excited about her year abroad and is very happy to tell all of her friends and family about her adventures here in the US.  To her disappointment, she may find that her friends aren’t really interested in hearing about her travels, and may even feel like she is “bragging”.  Feelings of rejection is another common problem for au pairs when they return home.

The Peace Corps, who sends around 4,000 volunteers each year abroad actually has a program to help prepare their volunteers for re-entry into American culture.  In an article published by CNN.com, Jodi Hammer, Coordinator for returned Peace Corps Volunteers, offers some great advice that au pairs should consider:

1.  Be prepared. One of the best ways to avert reverse culture shock is just simply acknowledging that it is real and expected.
2. Share your experiences (with caution). It’s okay to talk about your adventure, but find a way to do so in a way that does not sound pretentious. ( I read an article written by a woman who had spent a year in Thailand on a fellowship.  She has a very unique pair of earrings that she purchased at a local market.  When she wears them, people always ask her where she purchased them, and it gives her the opportunity to tell her story in an unobtrusive way.  )
3. Stay connected.  The internet is a marvelous thing!  It’s very easy for au pairs to stay connected to their international friends when they return home.  Communicating with other former au pairs who may be experiencing some of the same feelings is very helpful.
4. Accept that you’ve changed.  Dr. Cook also offers this advice and added that au pairs should “accept that some of your relationships may be different and you may not be as close to some people as you were before, but just like you developed many new relationships during your time in the US, you can do the same back at home.”

Dr. Cook added one final piece of advice for au pairs.  “Remember that time almost always makes things easier.  So be patient, and you will eventually find your new path back at home just as you did in the US!”

Red Sox Baseball Game A Big Hit for Boston Area Au Pairs

For our  June monthly activity, our Boston area au pairs had the exciting experience of attending a  Red Sox baseball game.  What could be more American than that?

Well, apparently, there is some controversy as to whether baseball was invented in the United States.  Legend has it that the first baseball game was played in Cooperstown, NY in 1839.  The game was supposedly organized by a Civil War soldier named Abner Doubleday. In 1903, a reporter named Henry Chadwick, a native of Great Britain, disputed the claim that baseball was invented in the US, citing evidence of the similarities between baseball and a game called rounders that he had played as a child in Great Britain.  But whether you believe the sport was invented in the United States or not, there is no denying that baseball is the great American past-time.  And Boston has a long history of being one of America’s favorite teams.

The Boston Red Sox organization that we know today was formed around 1901.  And our beloved Fenway Park, the current home of the Red Sox, was built in 1912. There have been many legendary players who have played on this sacred field, but, by far, the most famous of them all was George Herman “Babe” Ruth.  Babe Ruth joined the Red Sox in 1914. The Boston Red Sox won 3 World Series championships with the Babe on board, their 4th in 7 years.  But some people thought Babe Ruth was trouble. In 1920, the Red Sox traded the Babe to the New York Yankees, one of the worst teams in the league.  Babe Ruth was not very happy with this decision and vowed that the Red Sox would never win another championship game.  And for decades, the “Curse of the Bambino” appeared to be in full force as the Red Sox just couldn’t claim a championship while the Yankees became baseball’s golden team.  After many close wins resulting in no championship, in 2004, Boston was finally able to “Reverse the Curse” and win their first World Series in 86 years.   And to solidify that the curse was gone, they won again in 2007. They are currently ranked number 1.  Could this be the year that they win it all again?

Baseball’s Most Beloved Stadium…Fenway Park. The red pennants represent 7 World Series Championships.

Our au pairs could say they had the opportunity to witness a championship team in action…and at a bargain price!  I was able to get us all group tickets for $28/each.  (It’s good to have connections!)  We had great seats at center field.  We were originally supposed to attend the Friday night game, but due to some major rain, the game was rescheduled to Saturday afternoon.  This required a little scrambling to rearrange everyone’s schedules, but we all managed to make the rescheduled game.

We were happy the game had been rescheduled because Saturday afternoon was a beautiful,  sunny day…a perfect  day for some baseball!  It was a well-fought game, but the Los Angeles Angels beat the Sox 9-5 in the first game of the series.  We still had fun watching the game, singing “Sweet Caroline”, and eating our Fenway franks.  (Fret not, because the Sox came back in the second game of the double-header and defeated the Angels 7-2.  And they finished off the series with a win on Sunday.)

Boston area au pairs from Go Au Pair (and me) enjoying the great American past time!

Free Fun Fridays In Greater Boston This Summer!

Thanks to Nemo, Sandy and an assortment of winter storms, it seemed like school here in the Boston area would never end!  But the good news is that school is finally out, and summer has officially begun!  As the kids rejoice, au pairs and host parents everywhere are now wondering, “What can I do to keep these kids entertained this summer without breaking the bank?”

Well, here’s some good news for our au pairs and host families.  Thanks to Highland Street Foundation, an organization committed to addressing the needs and concerns of families with children in MA (and CA), “Free Fun Fridays” is back for the 5th year.

Visit one of The Boston Harbor Islands for free!

What is “Free Fun Fridays?”  Well, starting tomorrow, Friday, June 28th, families can visit one or more of 60 participating venues on Fridays for free! For the next 10 weeks, you’ll be able to choose between 6 venues each week. That’s right…absolutely free admission to museums and other venues.  You will need to refer to the website for specific instructions on how to obtain free admission.  In most cases, tickets or coupons are not required, but you’ll want to check for the specific requirements from each venue before trekking out.

The kids will love the interactive exhibits at the Boston Children’s Museum.

Enjoy popular area attractions like Tanglewood, The Boston Children’s Museum, The Stone Zoo, Boston Harbor Islands, Garden in the Woods, The JFK Library,The USS Constitution, and Plimouth Plantation.  The participating venues are different each week, so check the schedule and start planning now! Free Fun Fridays Schedule. 

Or perhaps a trip to the Stone Zoo?

Looking Back…Reflections from A Former Au Pair

One of the great things that I enjoy about my “job” (I use this term loosely) as the Boston Local Area Representative at Go Au Pair is that I get the opportunity to get to know some amazing people from places in the world that I will probably never see.  I try to get to know each of the au pairs that I counsel, and I think I have learned something from each of them.  Like any good parent, I would never admit that any one of them is my favorite, but there have been a few who have really inspired me.

Yolandie Burger from South Africa certainly falls into that category.  Landie is definitely a unique person.  Prior to becoming an au pair, she was a park ranger in the “Bush”.   Landie has a great love and respect for children and animals.  She is a very smart, determined young woman with a fun but serious way about her.  When she spoke about her host children, she always had a smile on her face and a gleam in her eyes…even when she was telling stories about particular incidents where “her kids” displayed behavior that she  described as “naughty”.  She always spoke of them with love and tenderness.  Landie’s former host family is a lovely couple with three charming young girls and two dogs.  She was their au pair for a year and 1/2.

I thought it would be fun to check in with Landie and see how things were going and possibly get some advice from her that I could share with current au pairs or young people considering the au pair program.   I asked Landie what her favorite memory of life in the USA was, and she said, “Honestly every moment that I spent with my host family was memorable.”   Surely there must be something that stands out? I asked.  ” Okay, if I had to choose I would say our beach outings,”Landie admitted.   “Oh yes! New England was so beautiful and peaceful.   I loved it because it was right by the ocean.” Lucky Landie, her former host family lives in the quintessential seaside town of Duxbury, MA.

Au Pair Landie Enjoying Duxbury, MA

I also asked Landie if there was anything she would change about her experience, and she replied, “Oh boy!  I maybe wouldn’t be so strict (with rules), but other than that, I can’t say I would change a thing because everything that happened, it helped me to grow as a person and I had an unforgettable experience.”

I asked Landie what she is up to now, and how the au pair program has benefited her since she has returned home.  “You could say that the Au Pair program was just one more positive thing in my life that pushed me in the right career path”.  Landie is currently pursuing a 4 year degree in Elementary Education.  

I asked Landie if she is still in touch with her host family.  “I am definitely still in touch with my host family.  I send them birthday cards, emails, letters, and we communicate with Facebook and Skype.”  

Landie’s parting words of advice for current au pairs?  “To the other Au Pairs–experience things, be open minded, explore and don’t give up. Time goes by way too fast, so soak up every moment you have in the USA.  And be good to your host family because just as you can make a wonderful difference in their lives, so they can in yours!  And most of all…GO HAVE FUN!”

Beware of Pranksters…Don’t Be An April Fool!

Tomorrow is April Fools’ Day here in the USA.  Although this is not an official holiday, this is a fun day that is celebrated in many parts of the world.  It is a day when humor reigns supreme.  This is the one day you can play a practical joke (a funny, harmless trick) on your family and friends without retaliation. (At least until next year!)

There seems to be some debate regarding the origin of April Fools’ Day, or All Fools’ Day.  Many historians believe the holiday began in France in the 16th century after the adoption of the Gregorian calendar.  Prior to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, New Years was celebrated near the end of March to coincide with the vernal equinox.  However, many of the French people continued to celebrate New Years on April 1st, either because they did not agree with the change or they had not received word about the change.  Their fellow countrymen began playing pranks on their neighbors to “make fun” of them for their foolishness.  The tradition soon spread throughout Europe.     Other historians believe the tradition started much earlier than that.  The Romans, for example, celebrated “Hilaria”, which was a festival of good cheer that also coincided with the vernal equinox.

However it came to be, April Fools’ Day is always fun at my house!  Living with three boys, there is definitely never a dull moment.   Give them a free pass to play a prank?  Well, that’s just trouble waiting to happen.  They are always tricking me on April Fools’ Day.

This year, I decided that it was my turn to get them back.  So, I did a little research.  And I’m going to share the ideas that I found with my host parents and au pairs.  (I found these on Parenting Magazine’s website, so they have to be okay?  Right? Disclaimer: I am not responsible for your child’s wrath if you decide to try these tricks at home.)

Here are 10 Kid-safe April Fools’ Pranks:

1. Put a few drops of food coloring in a pitcher of milk (choose your kid’s fave shade). Make sure she’s watching when you nonchalantly fix her morning bowl of cereal!

2. Take out cereal bags and put them in mismatching boxes. See how long it takes for everyone to find their favorite cereal.

3.  Wait until your kids are asleep, and then switch them in their beds.

4. Put water in a cereal bowl, and freeze overnight. The next morning, offer to fix your kids a bowl of cereal. Pour the cereal on top of the ice, completely covering it, and watch them try to dig in.

5. Put part of a post-it note over the tracking ball on a computer mouse — it won’t work! (Make sure to write “April Fools!” on the note).

6. Serve up a topsy-turvy dinner to throw your kids for a loop: bake meatloaf in a 12-cup muffin tin and frost with mashed potatoes for a “cupcakes” dinner — bonus if you add food coloring to the spuds. Then toast strips of pound cake for a dessert of “French fries”. Don’t forget red-tinted frosting for ketchup!

7. Bunch up TP and stuff it in the toe of the victim’s shoes. They’ll wonder why their shoes suddenly don’t fit.

8. Add a squirt of lemon juice to a glass of water when your kid’s not looking, then wait for his sour face.

9. Use a pin to make a few small holes in a plastic disposable cup, and make sure to put it back on the top of the stack. Watch as your victim gets a drink and it ends up all over his shirt.  P.S.: Make sure it’s a drink that doesn’t stain, or the joke’s really on whoever has to do the laundry!

10. Take a screenshot of the desktop of Dad’s computer, and leave the image open. Sit back and let him freak out for a few minutes, believing the computer is frozen.

These are just a few ideas.  Try to think of some creative ideas of your own to “fool” you host kids.

Is April Fools’ Day celebrated in your home country?  Feel free to share how you celebrate April Fools’ Day in your country!

Au Pairs Hit the Ice for Some Winter Time Fun

Ying, Amity, Sophie and Sophie take a moment to pose for a snapshot.

Wow!  I’m so behind on my writing, but I am trying to get caught up over the next few days so everyone can hear about all of the fun things we’ve been up to lately.

Our friend, Nemo, managed to shut down all of Boston the  entire weekend that followed the much-anticipated storm.  Luckily, Massachusetts was prepared and we all escaped unscathed.  Our planned au pair outing at Kendall Square’s Community Ice Skating in Cambridge, however, had to be cancelled.  And that’s too bad because we had a record number of au pairs and friends planning to attend this fun, inexpensive, outdoor winter activity.

As the Local Area Representative for Go Au Pair here in the Boston area, I love planning our monthly outings and au pair get togethers.  These monthly activities are an important part of an au pair’s introduction to Amerian culture and provide a great venue for me to get to know these young people and provide them with local support and helpful advice when they need it.

We rescheduled the activity for the following Saturday.  We had a great time, but, unfortunately, many of our au pair friends were unable to attend due to schedule conflicts.

We had some first-timers who had never ice skated before.  Ying, an au pair from China, started the morning off holding on to the railing. After I held her hand a few times around the rink, I eventually let go, and she was skating like a pro!  I love witnessing young people experiencing something new.  It is like watching your child take his first steps.  This is one of the reasons I love my “job”.  (If you can really call this a job?)

Of course, she did fall down a few times, but the important part was, she kept getting back up.

Marcela, Erika and Angeles taking a break.

Angeles, from Mexico and Lily from China, also learned to skate that day.  And then there were some showoffs, like Margaryta from Ukraine, who was practicing her skills ice skating backwards.  Good job, ladies.  I’m proud of you.  Here are some pictures from our fun outing.

Margaryta and Monica–BFF’s

Ying fell down, and she got right back up!

Boston Au Pairs Have a Weekend of “Snow Much” Fun in New Hampshire

For our January activity, my Boston area  Go Au Pair cluster, had a special treat.  On Saturday morning, we packed into three cars and headed North to check out the snowy mountains in New Hampshire.

We drove two hours to my family’s cabin in Laconia, NH. Our cabin is located about 6 miles from Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford.  We arrived in the area at lunch time and stopped at a local restaurant, Shooter’s Tavern, for a nice lunch.

Enjoying a break after the long ride up to New Hampshire.

The girls were very excited because they had passed the frozen lake on the way and were very curious about the small houses and people walking on the lake.  I explained to them that those small houses are called “bob houses” and people use them as shelter from the frigid weather while ice fishing.  Some of the girls stopped on the way home from the restaurant to walk on the frozen lake.  It was very exciting and frightening at the same time!

Ksenia, Alma & Marche “walking on water”.

When we arrived at the house, everyone unpacked and settled in.  We got our snow clothes on and headed over to Gunstock for an afternoon of snowtubing.  Personally for me, this was the highlight of the weekend.

Snowtubing is a thrilling winter activity that requires no skill!  And doing this at a mountain resort takes all of the hard work out of it.  Just hook your tube onto the pulley, sit back,  and enjoy the ride up the hill.  Once we reached the top of the hill, we rode back down in groups, enjoying a little competitive racing.

The girls are getting ready to race down the mountain in their snowtubes!

After our snowtubing adventure, we headed back to the house to enjoy a nice cozy fire, a hot dinner, and some warm conversation.  After dinner, the au pairs entertained each other with an exciting game of Wii Just Dance 4!  Some of us went to bed early because we had to get up really early to make it to our ski lesson in the morning.  (Some of us did not go to bed early…but I won’t mention any names here.)

The “Just Dance” competition was getting serious!

There were 13 au pairs who went on the trip.  Out of the 13, two knew how to ski/snowboard.  (They were both from Russia.)  The rest of us, myself included, were lucky enough to participate in Ski New Hampshire’s “Learn to Ski or Snowboard for Free Week”.  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get reservations at Gunstock for this special free promotion, but I was lucky to  secure everyone a spot at Ragged Mountain Resort, which is about 45 minutes further away.    (This meant we had to get up even earlier, but that was okay because everyone saved a lot of money by doing this.)

Let’s just say it’s not very much fun sharing 2 bathrooms with 13 other women.  But other than that, our morning went pretty smoothly.  We all got dressed in our snow duds, ate breakfast, cleaned up, packed up, and were ready to leave by 8:30 am.  Our lesson was at 10:00 am and were supposed to arrive by 9:00 am.  (Oh well, we tried.)  We arrived at the mountain, got checked in and fitted for our equipment.  We made it just in time for the start of our lesson.

Excited girls getting ready for a new experience!

There were two au pairs who decided to take snowboarding lessons, while the rest of us gave skiing a shot.   It was very challenging, but I think everyone had a good time.  After the initial lesson, they split us up into two groups.  We learned the very basics–how to put on and take off our skis, how to turn, how to slow down, and most importantly, how to stop! Most of us even ventured to take a ride on the chair lift and ski down the “bunny slope”.  That was a lot of fun!

Ligia, an au pair from El Salvadore who is currently in her second year, had tried snowboarding shortly after she first arrived in the US last January.  “With this lesson I feel more confident, and I know the next time I go, I’ll be rocking the diamonds!” she told me. “So, you’re planning on doing this again?” I probed.  “I would love to try it a million times again,” she added.  “No matter how many times I fell, I would LOVE to do it again!”

JinJin getting ready to hit the slopes!

One au pair had a close encounter with ski patrol.  Ski patrol are the on-site medics who drive around on snowmobiles rescuing injured skiers.  Fortunately, it was a minor accident that involved our au pair crashing into a handsome snowboarder…but that’s a story for another time.  Seriously, other than a bruise and a minor headache, she was fine.  “I tried it.  I did it.  Now I’m done with skiing,” she told me after her incident.  Oh come on, Alma, give it another chance!  Maybe you should try snowboarding next time?

New Hampshire is sooo much fun!

Boston Area Au Pairs Celebrate the Holidays With “Cultural Pot Luck” and Yankee Swap

On Sunday, I hosted my annual Christmas party for the au pairs in my Boston area Go Au Pair cluster.  Good food, good laughs, and good cheer was enjoyed by all!

I had asked each of the au pairs to bring a traditional holiday dish from her home country.  Personally, I served my husband’s famous New England Clam Chowder.  (It was a big hit!) We also enjoyed a delicious Ukranian salad, some guacamole with tortilla chips as well as Molletes with refried beans and cheese from our Mexican friends,  Chinese pancakes and sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves, and many yummy desserts.

After we were sufficiently stuffed, we went to the family room for a fun Yankee Swap gift exchange.  This was a new experience for most of the au pairs, who had never participated in a Yankee Swap before.

Everyone was asked to bring a wrapped gift with an approximate value of $20.  There were 9 people who participated in the Yankee swap, so I cut up pieces of paper with the numbers 1-9 and placed them in a bowl.  Each participant chose a number to determine the order of the unwrapping.  Number 1 chooses first and unwraps her gift.  Then, number 2 can choose to swap gifts with number 1 or choose an unwrapped gift from the pile.  This can be quite fun and quite a bit of swapping can occur if a coveted gift is unwrapped.  After the last person opens her gift, number 1 can choose to swap with anyone else.  Most of the au pairs played nice and kept her own gift, but a Starbucks gift basked was swapped quite a few times.  Ironically, the basket was opened first by number 1, and then swapped several times before number 1 reclaimed it at the end!

But it was all in good fun, and everyone left with a nice gift.  After the gift swapping, we finished our evening off with desserts and laughter in the dining room!

Au Pairs gather in the kitchen to sample our international buffet

Marche and Ksenia smiling for the camera!

Yulia, Angeles and Erika are happy to be here!

Rickus is such a lucky young man to be surrounded by all of the lovely ladies!

We gather in the family room for a group picture.

Sam was lucky Number 1!

Ksenia was not very happy when Sam took her gift basket back!

But everyone became friends again in the end as we gathered for dessert!