Introducing Our New Au Piar, Dany!!!

I'd like to introduce you all to Daniela! She also goes by Dany and she is from Mexico! She will be joining our cluster on November 15th and staying in the Annapolis area. She is a very friendly 22 year old who loves to go dancing and watch movies! She enjoys meeting new people and trying out new things! She also enjoys going out for coffee and out to dinner.
Dany actually lived in the DC area for a year as an Au Pair however her family moved to France. She is currently with the family in France but is really looking forward to coming back to this area! I think she's going to fit into our cluster just perfectly and I'm looking forward to meeting her in person!

                    

New York City or Niagara Falls?

Au Pairs get 2 weeks of paid vacation during their year stay in the USA! Sounds great but sometimes you just don't know what to do with your time, right? Maybe you don't want to go all they way back to your home country, maybe you want to see a new area of the USA that you haven't experienced, maybe you want to meet some new friends during this time! Have you ever heard of Cultural Hi-Ways? It's a wonderful way to meet new people and check out a new and fun area! It's a company that helps Au Pairs and International students aging from 18-28 travel areas of the US and Canada! They plan group activities once at your destination however you are not required to do them, you can just travel with the others to your destination and then do your own thing if that's what you prefer! They even offer a payment plan so you can pay a little each week after you've been paid by your host family! Their next tour leaving from Maryland will be to New York City on December 4th. They just traveled to Niagara Falls and it looks like they will again in June 2011 but they are still adding tours for 2011 so you will have to check back on their website for additional tours! Always plan ahead for your 2 week vacation and be sure your host family knows way ahead of time when you want to take your time off!
http://www.culturalhiways.net/tourlist.htm

Prices Take a Dive Friday's After 5

Are you looking for a fun but inexpensive activity that the entire family can enjoy?

You really should check out the National Aquarium that is located in the Inner Harbor! Normally in the winter months they have a special on Fridays starting at 5pm that admission is only $8! That's a great deal considering the normal price is $24.95 per adult and $19.95 per child! This year they are celebrating their 30th Anniversary and therefore from now until October 29th they have lowered their already low Friday price to just $5 per person on Fridays after 5pm. The lines are usually very long during these events so I highly suggest buying your tickets online! If you want to see the Dolphin and 4D show you can add $4 per ticket and see everything! Great deal and lots of fun!

A little friendly reminder...the aquarium does not allow strollers so be sure your kids are ready to walk or you are ready to carry them! Here is their website: http://www.aqua.org!

Everyone Deserves Dessert

The plan was to meet at the Creepy Woods Haunted Trail for our first Au Pair meeting to show the girls how popular Halloween is here in the USA! However it was cold and raining so we changed plans. We decided to meet at Vaccaros Italian Pastries in Little Italy for some dessert and conversation in a warm dry atmosphere!

We talked about some of the cities the girls have traveled to in the United States and where else they'd like to go. We talked a lot about driving and getting a drivers license here and also about what Au Pairs are responsible for if they are involved in a car accident.

I asked the girls what types of things they want to do in other Au Pair meetings and I pretty much heard they want to do things they wouldn't normally do or things that aren't common in their home countries. I have a fun November meeting in the works and I think the girls will love it!