Gifts for the Host Family! Au Pair in America AIFS

Hi,

when you find your perfect family and confirm perfect match - everybody starts thinking about gifts for the host family!
First thing after my first dinner with the Host Family I gave them presents - they were pretty a bit surprised !
Trust me, it's not that easy - firstly, I was looking for polish souvenirs then I wanted to buy something connected to their hobbies and fav sports, after that I decided to buy these things:

 

Cups for Host Parents (on the other side there are their names),

it means - the best american mum and dad!

 Some sweets for them!

The most popular things in Poland!

 The cookbook was for the Host Parents, the other one is poems (for LCC) - written by Wislawa Szymborska - this book is really special because everything's translated! 

Boxes for jewellery (for the girls!) with DIY homemade bracelets by me - with their names on it - (I put it inside) - they loved it!

Anyway, I ordered it online - it was the worst decision ever, it was huge and half of my suitcase was filled with presents... I was glad they liked that!!!

 This money box and DIY bracelet made by me was for the host family's previous au pair - she was with me for 10 days to show me everything and help me get used to the daily routine and my 'new life'.

At the end of this post, I wanted to show something sweet and cute!
My French friend got a package from the host family (at the orientation) there was for example this:

HOMEMADE DELICIOUS MINI TINY CUPCAKES !

Yesterday it was such a long day, I'll write about it tomorrow it was a little disaster in the kitchen...

See ya,
xx
M.

Orientation Au Pair in America - October - first days in the USA ☺

HELLO,
YES, I DID IT!

I'm in the USA - and still soooo excited about it, I can't believe it at all.
Btw.today I had a terrible NIGHTMARE that I was in Poland again...

Anyway, I'm gonna post many photos today so brace yourself!
First of all, 1 day before the departure I had a meeting with my friend in Warsaw and I slept there.
We had a really nice vegan dinner (burger) #krowarzywa I literally LOVE IT.

Then we were walking down the Warsaw's streets it was a pretty nice Saturday.
On Sunday we ate out some delicious pancakes - it was only 1 pancake but I was totally full.

After that, the busy and nervous time came.

At the crowded airport I met a girl that was going there on AAA Driving Course also 1 day before the whole Orientation - it was funny!

I was a bit surprised because the security check was really quick.

When we finally found our seats in the plane I started being worried about the flight but when we were between clouds my feelings have gone... I mean I didn't care about anything because there was nothing to do if something went wrong - I was afraid of this long flight it was ALMOST 10hours.

You would have thought eating in the plane is awful and so on but the FOOD was so tasty!

Lemme show you:

Ummmm... Why am I posting so many photos of food? I'm probably a bit hungry !!

Anyway, when we landed at the JFK airport we had to wait in a crowded room in a long queue.

The whole process took us about 2 hours,

the last interview was the worst, trust me! 

I got a lot of questions about my trip and then this man decided to let me in (this last entrance depends on his last word - it was possible that I wouldn't come in) and I got my Visa signed!

My friend got the suitcase broken so we had to report it quickly and then the woman from the APiA took us (she was waiting there 2/3 hours!), it was almost midnight - in Poland it was almost 6AM, so I was really exhausted...

The DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton in Tarrytown,NY was AMAZING!

And our room:

 

Sorry for that little mess ☺

I didn't even know that I was going to live with 2 other girls on the first night, because I was there 1 day before the planned departure - I had the AAA Driving Course on Monday when other girls were arriving.

So, my roommates welcomed me ummm... not really kind - it was the middle of the night and they were tired after their arrival.

Anyway, in the morning we met each other, we couldn't stop laughing and talking!!!

I enjoyed it!

And don't be afraid of DoubleTree's food, just look at this:

Everyday the hotel staff were waking us up at 6.30am, 

then we were having breakfast at 7am - 7.45am and at 8 o'clock the Orientation starts, with some breaks for drinking or eating (for example lunch etc.) so it wasn't that bad - we learned a lot about taking care of children at any age so it was really helpful and interesting.

To be honest, I've made LOADS of international friendships!

Unfortunately,I took some selfies (only) with a few of them - there were about 150 people.

That was definitely my bad hair&face day but who cares - I love you guys ☺

What else, my host family was waiting for me in the APiA office in Stamford, girls were really excited and so do I.

When we finally arrived to Darien, everything seemed different - the city is beautiful,they do celebrate

Halloween - a lot of houses have been already decorated!

Firstly, I got a little gift - bathroom stuff and maps,books about Darien etc.

THAT'S IT! 

The next notes will be about Darien,CT , my daily routine (schedule) ,feelings, trips, differences between Poland and the USA.

I've just made a video about my departure and the Orientation days in DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton in Tarrytown,NY - check this out!

Girls, if you're still waiting for your Perfect Match - please, remember that everything is going to be alright, maybe not today, but unexpected things happen in life - trust me.

xx,

M.