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Health & Fitness

Cultural Care Au Pairs Share Their Individual Cultures Through Food

What better way to bring people together than over a wonderful plate of food! This is exactly what happened last month when nine au pairs spending the year in Michigan came together to share their favorite regional dishes with each other at an “International Pot Luck”.

Among the favorite dishes featured were Swedish meatballs from Sweden, Pad Thai from Thailand and chocolate chip cookies from America. It was unanimously decided that the dish requiring the most “acquired taste” was the licorice from Finland.

Lively discussion followed the meal wherein the au pairs discussed the things they liked best about being an au pair in America. “The children, of course” said Cassie from Poland. The thing they found the most difficult to become acclimated to: “I can’t get used to eating a big meal at the end of the day instead of in the middle of the day” says Miriam from Germany. The au pairs then discussed their plans for the year following their au pair year. Plans included finishing their university education, internships and for some, an additional year as an au pair.

Cultural Care Au Pair is the largest provider of au pairs in the United States. Au pairs travel to the US on a J-1 visa and provide up to 45 hours of childcare per week. In addition to providing a quality and flexible childcare option for families, the program also promotes cultural exchange as the au pair introduces their host family to their language, culture and food. In turn, the au pair learns what it is like to be part of an American family. To enhance their experience, au pairs take six-credit hours at a local university. At the end of their year in the States, au pairs are allowed to extend for an additional six, nine or twelve months with their current family or move to a new family in a different part of the country.

Currently there are over 30 Cultural Care au pairs living and working in the Ann Arbor and metro-Detroit area. These au pairs get together once a month at a local venue with their local childcare consultant.

“Working as a local childcare consultant for Cultural Care Au Pair has been one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever had. Seeing the bonds that develop between host families and their au pairs is so special” says Sara Brintnall, Local Childcare Consultant working in the Ann Arbor, Dexter, Plymouth and Bloomfield Hills areas.

Brintnall then goes on to tell the story of the very first au pair she had the pleasure of working with. “Sabrina came back to Plymouth from Germany for a visit a few weeks ago. Minutes after her arrival at her host family’s home, it was like she had never left. The youngest child immediately brought out the Memory game. Sabrina began to chide, the oldest, in a joking way, for her messy room, saying, ‘before I leave I am going to help you clean your room. You will feel so much better when everything is in its place.’ In September, Sabrina will begin a prestigious three-year internship for the German airline Lufthansa. “There were so many people applying for this job. I got to listen in on everyone’s interviews, and I think the reason I was ultimately offered the internship is because of the year I spent in America as an au pair”, says Sabrina. Following her internship, Sabrina wants to remain in the travel industry perhaps working for a cruise line. What is Sabrina’s favorite future plan? “Oh, I really want to have children and hire my American host child to be MY child’s au pair! I think that would be so cool” she says.

It is the relationships that are created which make the au pair program such a great opportunity for au pairs and families alike. Finding a second family and making best friends you may never have met otherwise are priceless.

For more information on the au pair program through Cultural Care please feel free to visit: http://sbrintnall.aupairnews.com/ or contact Sara Brintnall at: sara.brintnall@lcc.culturalcare.com.

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