Ya llegaron mis documentos!

Estoy felizzz! haha. todavía ni tengo la visa, pero es un paso más q estoy dando... y estoy un poco más cerca de mi ansiado viaje...

entonces, los siguientes pasos a seguir son:

-Ir al banco a pagar por la entrevista en la embajada.
-Ir a IE (mi agencia) a marcar la fecha de la entrevista.
-Completar los documentos q necesito llevar.
- Retirar certificado de estudios de la facultad.

y... esperar mais uma vez! haha =/

creo q mañana voy a ir a pagar, y tb a IE a marcar la fecha... no se imaginan lo ansiosa y nerviosa y desesperada q estoy... sinceramente espero conseguir la visa... hace unas semanas q ya estoy leyendo miles de historias en orkut, de las entrevistas de muchas au pairs... y por un lado me pongo más nerviosa, pero por otro lado más tranquila... es difícil de explicar la sensación q siento... lo único q sé es q Dios va a estar conmigo, y q se va a hacer su voluntad... y sinceramente espero q su voluntad sea q yo viaje... porque ya se me presentaron varias oportunidades laborales (enseño inglés en un instituto, y me ofrecieron varios cursos) q voy a tener q rechazar o q voy a tener q dejar... todo por el viaje a USA... y de verdad q espero q salga todo bien... ojalá q el hecho de q enseño inglés en un instituto q practicamente pertenece a la Embajada, me ayude... y también mi carrera... y mi conocimiento del idioma inglés... porq no soy millonaria, y sé q para nosotros q no tenemos tanto, las cosas son más difíciles... pero confío en Dios...
y como están las cosas, creo q mi entrevista ya va a ser la semana q viene... EN SERIO q espero q salga todo bien... en el nombre de Jesús, Señor... por favor, bendecíme...

vos sabés q yo no tengo la intención de quedarme a vivir en los Estados Unidos ilegalmente... lo único q quiero es ir y conocer el país, y cumplir con mi obligación de cuidar a esos 3 niños hermosos... no quiero faltar a ninguna ley... no pretendo ser ilegal... vos conocés mi corazón, Señor... vos sabés cuales son mis verdaderas intenciones... y confío en vos... y confío en q esta experiencia sería muy buena para mí... q me ayudaría en muchas cosas... q me ayudaría a madurar, a ser más independiente, a mejorar mi inglés, a ser más open-minded... también me ayudaría a conseguir un mejor trabajo en el futuro... ya que decir q viviste en USA por un cierto tiempo te da un cierto status... como q te respetan más y creen más en tus habilidades...

la verdad q yo ahora enseño inglés en el CCPA (Centro Cultural Paraguayo Americano), y no hizo falta q viaje a USA para conseguir ese trabajo... igual ellos se dieron cuenta del nivel de mi inglés y me contrataron... pero obviamente q el hecho de vivir por un año allá, me va a beneficiar muchísimo... mi inglés va a mejorar muuucho... voy a aprender slangs q no conozco ahora, cosas q uno sólo aprende estando ahí... y en el futuro voy a poder conseguir trabajos q me paguen más...

Señor, por favor... help me. Bendecíme y acompañáme en todo momento y lugar (especialmente en la entrevista en la embajada)... tocá el corazón del o de la cónsul q me va a entrevistar, y tb de la persona q va a revisar mis documentos antes... no sé quienes serán, pero desde ya te pido q ablandes sus corazones y q no sea difícil la obtención de la visa... te pido q no me hagan muuchas preguntas y q no me pongan trabas... te pido q me ayudes a responder todas las preguntas con seguridad y firmeza... sin dudar... por favor, Señor... te pido q me hagas "hallar gracia en los ojos de esas personas"... en el nombre de Jesús, amén.

bueno... cambiando un poco de tema... voy a colocar acá algo q leí por ahí, y me gustó... son tips para aupairs, como tratar a los kids, a los host parents, etc... enjoy!

Au Pair Survival Guide!
Your Job
1. You must be ready for work when your day begins: out of bed, showered, dressed, have eaten breakfast, and greeting your host parents 5 minutes before your start time to get your instructions for the day.
2. Say “good morning” to your host parents and host children, with a smile, don’t wait for them to say it first.
3. Be positive, outgoing, and enthusiastic about your work.
4. Bond with the children - Get to know them, children need to know that you like them and they can trust you.
5. Never say nor think, “it’s not my job”. If it’s related to the kids, IT IS YOUR JOB.
6. You must always be on-time: this means for starting work, picking up the kids, taking the kids to school, getting the kids to
bed, having their meals on time, and your own curfew
7. Make reminders for yourself if you need to… write it down.
8. During working hours, au pairs must always be watching the children or doing childcare related things. When you are
working, you are working. No watching TV, spending time in your room, showering, letter writing, personal reading, personal
chores (your laundry, cleaning your room, etc), personal phone calls, using the internet nor writing e-mails. NEVER ALLOW KIDS OUTSIDE ALONE!
9. Eliminate the words “stupid” and “hate” from your vocabulary. These words are most often used incorrectly and offend host
parents and children.
10. Never compare your host family situation with another au pair’s. Remember, each family is different, in some ways better, and
in some ways not.
11. Don’t answer the door to anyone that you do not know unless your host parents tell you to ahead of time.
About your Host Children
1. Watch your kids at all times! If you cannot see them, they are too far from you.
2. You always have to remember: the most important thing, which your host parents expect from you, is THAT YOU KEEP THEIR CHILDREN SAFE!!!
3. Play, play, and play…We want au pairs to be actively playing with the kids; not just watching them play. You need to be fun,
happy, silly, smile, creative, and be playful. Be motivated and creative with the children; minimize TV watching.
4. Understand that American children are different than children in your country.
5. Understand that kids are not perfect. They have bad days too, they make mistakes, they do things wrong… they are kids, you
are the adult and you need to react to them as an adult always. Do not argue back with them like another child.
6. Do not take things your host kids say or do personally.
7. Be sensitive to the kids, they love you whether you are “on” or “off” working hours.
8. Encourage your host kids. Help them to be positive and believe they can do things
9. Attend important events for the kids if you can. If you cannot, be sure to ask the kids about them. Example: How was the
soccer game? Did your team win? How did you play?
10. You are the “eyes and ears” for the host parents. You may see a behavior change with the kids on Monday and your host parents may not see it until the weekend. You will hear what the kids say when they come home from school and what they
need for the next day.
11. Be careful not to favor one child, you must treat all the children equally.
About your Host Parents
1. Every au pair needs to understand that host parents are very busy, this is why they have you. You cannot be offended when they
come home from work tired, upset, or don’t talk with you as much as you’d like.
2. Realize that if your host parent is in a bad mood, it doesn’t mean it is about you.
3. Even if your host parents work a lot and you don’t see them often, make sure that you find a minute to tell them something
about your day with the kids or ask questions.
4. Ask lots of questions about your work. Even if you feel silly asking what seems simple, you really must ask if you have any doubts! It is so much better than making avoidable mistakes
5. Communicate! Even if it is hard – you MUST find a way to talk to your host parents and to solve possible problems early!
Small problems just get bigger, they never just go away. If you need help, talk to your coordinator for ideas on how to talk with your family.
6. Make eye contact when you are talking with them, this is respectful.
7. Say “thank you”… thank you for dinner, gifts, and vacation. We say “thank you” more than many other countries and we also write thank you notes.
8. Host parents do not want to hear your opinions on how to raise their children nor your strong dislikes about America. Be careful to never give your opinion unless your host parent specifically asks you for it. Do not tell your host parents what they should or should not be doing with their children, home, or life.
9. Do not talk with other au pairs about your host family’s private life. Things in your family stay in your family.
10. Do not share with your host parents what other au pairs are saying about their host families.
11. When host parents do something with the kids, it doesn’t mean you can. For example: If they let the kids watch TV all day on Saturday, it doesn’t mean you can do that during the week.
12. It’s not appropriate to ask for your stipend (your pay) early.
13. Don’t call your host parents at work unless it is an emergency.
Being Part of a Family
1. SPEND AS MUCH TIME AS YOU CAN WITH YOUR HOST FAMILY! It is most important in your FIRST couple weeks. It is really necessary that you spend some of your free time with your new host family. You have to get to know them and almost more important they have to get to know you. You are the person who will be responsible for their children a many
hours almost every day.
2. Have dinner with your family when you can; help family setup and help clean up dishes and kitchen after eating.
3. Participate in social events with your family because you are part of this family, not just because you ‘re working. Join in, talk, and help out! Attend family events (holidays, birthdays, and special celebrations) with your host family.
4. Enjoy the little things about your year, don’t only focus on the big things.
5. Show family and children that you care about them. Asking "What can I do to help?"
6. Having good hygiene is important: keep your self clean, shower daily, wear deodorant daily
7. Set a good example for the children: make your bed daily, clean your room weekly, keep your clothes picked up.
8. Keep the bathroom you use clean. Clean this bathroom twice weekly.
9. Share your culture: talk about your country, teach the kids some of your language, songs, and games, and prepare some food
from your country.
10. Keep your car clean and neat. Respect your curfew and mileage limits. Don’t bring the car home without gas. Neither smoking nor drinking by anyone in the car.
11. When you go out for dinner with your host parents and you are not working, you should still be helping! This is family time and they are including you and buying your dinner. You can help the kids when their food comes, help entertain the kids while they are waiting, take turns taking them to the bathroom if they need, help them clean up after and again…. Say “thank you”.
About your House
1. You should always leave the house the same way you received it. Clean up after yourself and the kids throughout the day.
Put things away in the same place that you got them from.
2. You live here too, act like a real family member as you would in your own family. Examples: you could bring in the mail, take out the kitchen garbage, or bring in the empty garbage cans from the road.
3. Food: please eat all food in moderation and realize that food costs a lot of money. Drinking several glasses of juice a day or eating a whole carton of strawberries is sure to make your host parents unhappy.
4. Be quiet in the house: Be quiet when the kids are sleeping, be quiet when you are talking on the phone, be quiet when you have friends visiting, be quiet closing doors, closing drawers, etc.
5. Lock the doors when you come home and turn off the lights.
6. Do not give out any information about yourself, your family, or your home.
7. Do not visit inappropriate web sites, your host parents will know what web sites you go to.
8. Don’t download anything without asking host parents first, it’s not your computer!
9. If you have an accident or spill something in your room, please tell host parents immediately. They can help you remove the stain; stains not taken care of right away usually do become permanent.
10. Please do not leave empty dishes of glasses in your room. Any leftover food or drinks need to be disposed of immediately to
prevent bugs/insects. Do not leave food in your room.
11. Empty your garbage weekly.
12. Always close your windows when you leave the house in case it rains.
13. Turn your light off when you are not in your room…. Also with other rooms in the house
14. Be sure to turn off TV, stereo, curling iron, etc when you are not in your room.
15. Be aware that electric, gas and water can be costly and we don’t want to waste. Please… turn off lights and TV when you leave
a room, keep windows and outside doors closed when the heat and/or air conditioning is on. Do not leave the water running
when you are not using it.
HAVE YOU READ YOUR AU PAIR NOTEBOOK? GREAT, NOW READ IT AGAIN AND
RE-READ IT EVERY MONTH!
We spent a lot of time and thought putting this together for you, we hope you find it helpful. We want your year to be successful and a wonderful experience to last a lifetime.

TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL AU PAIR YEAR
-Remember this is your chance to have the best year of your life. Try to keep a positive outlook towards the program. Do not criticize the differences in your cultures. Celebrate and learn from them.

-Don’t be afraid to communicate with your Host Family and ask a lot of questions. The American culture is very open and communicative. If you are having difficulties they will expect you to talk to them about it

-Attend all cluster meetings and establish a good relationship with your Local Coordinator and the other Au Pairs in your area.

-Attend family events (holidays, birthdays, special celebrations) with your Host Family. The success of your relationship depends on your integration and ability to become a full fledged family member.

-When you first arrive, your main priority should be to bond with the children. Try to engage the children and get to know them. The children will try to test you, because you are the new Au Pair. They will not know you, and it may take a while before they can truly trust you. Try to learn as much as possible about the children. What are their interests? What were their favorite activities with their last Au Pair or babysitter? It takes about a month for everyone to truly know each other and feel comfortable. Reassure the children that you like them and that they can trust you.

-Talk to the Host Family about their methods of discipline. American families are against hitting their children. Many families use a discipline procedure called “time out.” This is where the child has to go to their room or sit in a special chair while they can calm down and think about why they are misbehaving.

-Get to know the family. Ask the children about their friends. Help the children set up play dates. Familiarize yourself with the children’s friend’s parents.
-Do not speak on the phone during working hours. Curtail phone calls to when you are off. Tell your friends and family that you are working and need to call them back when you are off duty. Children will get upset if you are speaking to your friends and not paying attention to them. Discuss phone rules with your Host Family.

-Review all of the house rules with your Host Family. Do you have a curfew? Can you have visitors? Where can you drive the car? When do you they think would be a good time for youto take your vacation? Try to do this during your weekly meeting or at an agreed upon time.

-Research the classes you would like to take as soon as possible after you arrive at your Host Family’s home. Ask your Local Coordinator for information on the types of courses other AuPairs have taken in the past.

-Try to do as much as possible during your days off. Travel, visit local museums, go to thetheatre, attend sporting events, etc.

-Try to keep your room and the children’s rooms neat. Ask the Host Family what household duties you are expected to help with such as emptying the dishwasher, taking out the garbage, etc. Remember that even though these might not be “Au Pair” duties, these are duties that you are expected to fulfill as a family member living in their house.