Cultural Exchange Challenges

Hello? Your Au Pair needs good “phone manners”

by cv harquail June 25, 2009
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I just got off the phone with the au pair of one of my friends, and I had two serious problems during the call. Neither problem was caused by the au pair’s still-limited English. Both of these problems were cause by bad phone manners. Said another way, the problems would not even have occurred if […]

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What skills has your Au Pair learned… from You?

by cv harquail June 20, 2009
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I was downstairs early this morning, in quiet reverie folding laundry. When I dragged the fitted sheets out of the dryer and started the elaborate and effective semaphore choreography that gets them folded into tidy piles, I was reminded of all of the crazy little things that I have taught my au pairs over the […]

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Traveling with Kids: Book to investigate

by cv harquail June 20, 2009
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Strolling across the interweb this morning, I came across this review of a book about traveling with kids … and it looks like the kind of information Au Pair host parents might be interested in. Many of us choose to have Au Pairs over US college student live-ins, or other caregivers, because we’d like to […]

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Your Au Pair’s Guests: A few guidelines….

by cv harquail June 17, 2009
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I just love reading all these posts nodding my head knowing I am not alone in my feelings! One topic that I think may have been covered lightly is Out of Town Guests. Our Au Pair is having A TON of guests! She has her Step Father coming, a single girlfriend, a married couple, her […]

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Au Pair Advice: Can we get her to speak the right language with the kids?

by cv harquail May 21, 2009
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Sing me Spanish techno? This just in from Madrid!!  A host mom with a different kind of language challenge! Just about every host family- au pair relationship I know of feels some kind of communication challenge… and these are always exacerbated when the host family and au pair grew up speaking different languages.  But this […]

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Au Pair Appreciation: Brazilian Manny wins “Au Pair of the Year”

by cv harquail May 9, 2009

From a press release issued by Cultural Care: CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 10 /PRNewswire/ A young journalism student from Natal, Brazil who has shown compassion and dedication in his daily care for a special needs boy, has earned the distinction of being named the"International Au Pair of the Year". [Check out the YouTube video, which is […]

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Advice Wanted: German Culture insight?

by cv harquail May 5, 2009
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Host parents, here’s an awkward question; read it and you’ll see why. "I am in serious consideration of making a match with an au pair from Germany and have a question to ask you or your readers. When we were discussing her arrival dates, she mentioned she did not want to depart from Germany during […]

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Au Pair Appreciation: St. Lucia

by cv harquail May 3, 2009
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International Au Pair Appreciation Week As shared by a Host Mom Our last AP was from Stockholm, Sweden. Her mother sent her 3 Swedish white ‘nightgown’ style dresses, electric "crowns" and bulbs so that she could celebrate St. Lucia Day for our benefit in December 2008. She baked sweet rolls flavored with saffron, taught our […]

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Au Pair Appreciation: Showing our sons the way

by cv harquail May 2, 2009
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International Au Pair Appreciation Week As shared by a Host Family Our Swedish, male, au pair is a wonderful addition to our family. We wanted a young man from the start. Our very active 9-year-old twins need to have a high-energy au pair who can manage and channel their energy into positive activities. Daniel is […]

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Au Pair Appreciation: How many ways can you say…

by cv harquail May 2, 2009
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International Au Pair Appreciation Week As shared by a Host Mom How many ways have you learned to say "I don’t know"? This is one of my favorite responses to children who are looking for their misplaced belongings or asking a question to which they know there is no real answer. One of the benefits […]

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