Au Pair: Claudia Pino Pavez from Chile
Host Family: Selembo Family in North Carolina
Claudia has been a gift sent from heaven (or Cultural Care) to our family. Above all, she loves the kids and always makes sure that they receive the best care, whether it is by providing healthy food, making sure they do their homework properly, do not watch too much TV or play too many video games and always giving them lots of hugs and playing with them. She has such a sweet disposition and a kid’s heart. My eight year old was asking her why she is an adult but yet likes the same things kids like. When it is play time, she will wrestle with the kids, play video games, play in the swimming pool, ride the kid rides in the amusement park or just play children games in general. She does all this, not because she has to, but because she actually enjoys doing it. She also works on improving my kids’ Spanish by correcting them, teaching them new words or making sure they don’t mix the two languages. Somehow, she still manages to cook healthy food (including soups, salads and fruit) for my whole family, go grocery shopping, do their laundry and drive them to their multiple activities (soccer, girl scouts, boy scouts, tutoring, daycare, wrestling, cheerleading, gymnastics, after school activities, etc). We are a busy family and we couldn’t do it without Claudia.
My husband and I have been able to dedicate more time to work or to enjoy ourselves. If something comes up at work and we can’t be home, or if there is a social event we would like to attend, Claudia will step in and either change her working hours (if she wasn’t originally scheduled to work), or manage the four kids by herself, including in circumstances when it is difficult for one person to do it herself (like taking them to three different activities at the same time). Even the neighbors notice how friendly and helpful is Claudia, and will go the extra mile to make sure she is happy here. For example, they will introduce her to other people her age, give her rides, or give us discounts for her in their places of business.
My kids love Claudia, to the point that they will sometimes sneak in the middle of the night and go sleep with her. They always set her plate at the dinner table, and if they haven’t seen her for a while, they will ask for her. If they are doing a project at school, they will consider her as a family member. They even have special activities they do just with her, like ice cream runs to a particular store. Claudia looked like a great match for our family on paper, when Cultural Care suggested her. I thought it was too good to be true: her desires were identical to our needs… Turns out she really is a great match for our family! We will miss her dearly when it is time for her to go. I hope Claudia gets the award for the au pair of the year, so she knows how much we appreciate her and she can be a source of inspiration for other au pairs.
My husband and I have been able to dedicate more time to work or to enjoy ourselves. If something comes up at work and we can’t be home, or if there is a social event we would like to attend, Claudia will step in and either change her working hours (if she wasn’t originally scheduled to work), or manage the four kids by herself, including in circumstances when it is difficult for one person to do it herself (like taking them to three different activities at the same time). Even the neighbors notice how friendly and helpful is Claudia, and will go the extra mile to make sure she is happy here. For example, they will introduce her to other people her age, give her rides, or give us discounts for her in their places of business.
My kids love Claudia, to the point that they will sometimes sneak in the middle of the night and go sleep with her. They always set her plate at the dinner table, and if they haven’t seen her for a while, they will ask for her. If they are doing a project at school, they will consider her as a family member. They even have special activities they do just with her, like ice cream runs to a particular store. Claudia looked like a great match for our family on paper, when Cultural Care suggested her. I thought it was too good to be true: her desires were identical to our needs… Turns out she really is a great match for our family! We will miss her dearly when it is time for her to go. I hope Claudia gets the award for the au pair of the year, so she knows how much we appreciate her and she can be a source of inspiration for other au pairs.