I am not talking the Hokey Pokey, but rather cultural exchange, the heart of our program. The Cultural Care Au Pair Training School is a unique experience as it brings together people from all over the world for an intense few days.The bonds that are made here last not only throughout an au pairs year, but through their lives.
One of the best ways to make friends at the Training School is by sharing your culture.Not only is it a great opportunity to learn about the world that we live in, but it can help you make contacts for your year in the USA. Some great ideas to get you started:
-A group organized “Secret Santa” international gift exchangeA great way to start this is by creating a Facebook group for your week at the Training School.Once you have enough members, you can pair off into couples.Each person then brings a gift or small item from their home country for their partner and explains what it means.
-Another way to share your culture is to make it a goal to make friends with people from at least five different countries, if not more, and ask them about their life back home.See how it is the same and different from your home country.
-The classes at the school are split up by where your host family lives so you will have plenty of opportunities to meet people that will live by you.Try to meet people that will be living in other parts of the country and become internet friends.You can Skype, send e-mails and send them pictures or postcards from your host family’s city and ask them to do the same.Also, it might give you a good opportunity to travel within the USA to visit them during your year.
-Try to learn how to say a few phrases or to count in other languages.You can also write them down and teach them to your host children. This will then become a true cultural exchange for everyone!
There are countless ways to make friends and share your culture here at the school.If you can come up with any great ideas, share them in the comments section and maybe other au pairs will use your ideas while they are at the Training School!
I am very happy to announce that we have launched the new Training School online questionnaire! We had been asking the au pairs to fill out a survey each Friday where they are able to give open and honest feedback about their school experience. We read through each one of these surveys and take all feedback and suggestions given to us by the au pairs and make changes based on what they say.
The school staff is proud to live and work on campus and we strive to be sure each and every au pair’s experience at the Training School is the best it can possibly be. We are granted the opportunity to get to see each week from start to finish and we want it to be successful, as this is not only our workplace, it is our home. All the preparation they have done, the saying good-bye to their friends and family at home and embarking on this once in a lifetime adventure is certainly something that hits them when they arrive in New York! We want that excitement to continue right up until they meet their host families and well into their year, so the better experience they have here, the better their year starts off.
This online format will allow us to take the information from any given week, month or even year and be able to work with it in ways that are impossible now. Allowing au pairs to give specific suggestions and being able to use the data we are receiving and make changes and adjustments immediately, are just a few of the many advantages of this new format. We take the suggestions that au pairs give seriously, and in fact have made many changes based on what they have said already. We look forward to taking the survey to the next level and we will be sure to start sharing the results soon!
I am so excited about the success of this site. As we had hoped, it is really turning out to be a valuable tool for host families, au pairs and LCCs alike!
It has also turned out to be very valuable for us the staff, as well. So far, we have put two polls up on the site and have been so pleased with the over 2000 votes we have received. The first one asked how au pairs should be organized into classes and the overwhelming response was by the geographic location of their host family. This is the way we already split the groups as it allows au pairs to really spend time with and make friends with people who will be close to them during their year.
The current question asks how au pairs should be placed into their sleeping room. As we are situated on a college campus, they do share typical dorm rooms in any of our three dorm buildings. Currently we place them into rooms based on the country they are from. This is then giving them plenty of opportunity to speak English all week as well as get to know someone they wouldn’t otherwise meet.
In looking at the poll, once again, the winner seems to be to place them in rooms according to the geographic location of their host family. We will of course continue to encourage cultural exchange but will now also be taking the location of the host family into consideration! Thanks a lot for this great suggestion.
We have a lot planned for the upcoming summer months both here on campus and for this site. In the next few weeks we will be posting a video tour of campus that will be available on the site to get a feel for what campus life is really like. Be sure to check back soon!!
Caitlin Corcoran Director Au Pair Training School Cultural Care Au Pair
I am pleased to present our Cultural Care Au Pair Training School website. As the Director and a full-time resident on campus, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share insight into our one of a kind program and my home.Having the best orientation and training program in the industry has made it possible for Cultural Care Au Pair to continually send well-prepared au pairs to our host families each and every week.In my role, I have the unique opportunity to meet every single au pair on our program before they join their family.It is a privilege and an honor to be the first American staff member that every au pair will meet when they arrive to the United States.
Through this site, we have created a resource with detailed information for both au pairs and host families on what they can expect to experience at the school. Au pairs will now be more prepared for their first week and host families will have more insight into what the au pairs will be experiencing here.
Our beautiful campus, in-depth curriculum, passionate teachers and dedicated staff are something we are very proud of. Throughout this site you will find pictures, sample menus, testimonials, and frequently asked questions; all to provide you with a clear understanding of the Cultural Care Au Pair Training School experience.
As time goes on, this site will continue to evolve with more information, updated pictures and soon, a video tour. We are continually working to improve the campus and overall experience at the school based on the weekly feedback we get from au pairs and will keep you updated on those changes as well. On a regular basis we will be having guest bloggers including staff, teachers, and visitors from around the world who will be sharing the latest news and memorable stories, so be sure to check back here often!!
Caitlin Corcoran Director Au Pair Training School Cultural Care Au Pair
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