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Granny Aupair – A Different Take on the Traditional Au Pair Concept

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Invite a German Speaking Granny to Look After Your Children

As expats we often miss that our children won’t be able to grow up with their grandparents. Not only does it make us feel at ease to have someone experienced to help raise our children but it’s absolutely precious to have someone look after them, who will also pass on some German traditions and values we ourselves most likely grew up with. Not to forget the nice benefit of having our kids be exposed to speaking German whilst they grow up far away from Germany.

Following the principles of an au pair service the German company Granny Aupair in Hamburg has been filling that ‘Granny void’ since 2010!

Have a German “Leih-Oma” Stay With You!

If you can’t have your own Oma stay with you, have a ‘Leih-Oma’ share in your family’s life overseas. That way your kids don’t have to miss out completely on the enriching grandparent experience. There is so much to learn from an older generation and Granny Aupairs come ready to share their generational wisdom while nurturing your children.

Granny Aupairs are active, adventure loving women aged 50 and above from all over the world but mainly from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. They offer a wealth of life experience and most often have raised families of their own. Child care, cooking and keeping a household in check is nothing new to them. They are experts in it!

An Enriching Cultural Experience For The Entire Family

“Since 2010 more than a thousand ‘Grannies’ have travelled to over 50 countries” with Granny Aupair, which was founded by Michaela Hansen (55) in Hamburg. Over the course of their stay many Grannies have become friends with the children and parents alike and have knit close bonds. Susanne, a mother in the USA mentions: “We had such a great experience that we had several Grannies over the last few years, and two of them have come back for a second stay. The children are really happy when a Granny comes again. We also had a “Granny Reunion” in Frankfurt in July this year with our family, my mother, and four grannies. It was wonderful to see all of them together!“

Many women, who choose to become a Granny Aupair are looking for a new challenge after they have retired or their own children have ‘left the nest’. They still feel adventurous, enjoy traveling and are in search for something granny-brigitte-in-kalifornien-2
meaningful to pursue. Granny Aupair Brigitte Köfler from Bregenz, who cared for a family of six in Los Altos felt very enriched by her Granny experience and puts it this way: “I got to know so many wonderful people during my stay…The family I stayed with was absolutely fantastic and they made me feel like a true part of them. The fun with the children and to feel so warmly appreciated was very fulfilling.“

According to an article in the British Telegraph and a 2014 annual survey by Nannytax there is in fact a trend that many families prefer hiring older, more life experienced women to look after their offspring. Granny Aupair offers just that on an international level.

I Am Ready For My Granny Aupair. How Does It Work?

Families and single parents all over the globe can now easily find their Granny Aupair. To get more detailed information and browse the database of Grannies, who are ready to be part of your family, you just simply have to register free of charge at www.granny- aupair.com . Once you have found a Granny you feel fits your family, you need to become a member to start a conversation…and you are on your way to an enriching adventure!

Granny Aupair – Jetzt oder Nie!Logo GrannyAupairwww.granny-aupair.com

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Granny Aupair – (+49) (40) 87976140 – info@granny-aupair.com – Facebook
Disclaimer: Granny Aupair is a pure online matching agency, with the focus on cultural exchange. We are not a job exchange or “regular” Aupair agency.
The Grannies are on a private trip where the Granny lives with a family instead of in
a hotel. Wages or payment are not intended as such. Everything is a matter of negotiation between the Granny and the family.

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Credits:  Images by ©IlonaGehrke ©GrannyAupair
(Sponsored Post)
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Brewery Art Walk 2010

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Here is a little Animoto video with some of many great impressions of a day at the Brewery Art Walk 2010 in Los Angeles. It’s a fun place and a wonderful way to spend a Saturday or Sunday: see some great art, talk to the artists or at least meet the artists. Even just taking in the vibrating atmosphere is worth it. Alone or even with kids. They’ll love it!  In fact my 6-year old didn’t want to leave… We had a great time and look forward to the next one!

Just click on the following highlighted :Brewery Art Walk 2010

The Orange County Fair 2009

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If you haven’t made it to the OC Fair 2009 yet, hurry up! This weekend will be the last one you can spend at the fair. The OC Fair’s last day is Sunday, August 9th.  Lots of rides and games await the whole family and don’t miss the 2009 OC Super Fair attraction of  “Al’s Brain: a 3D Journey through the Human Brain with Weird Al Yankovic”. It is an educational and entertaining attraction featuring a 3-D movie starring famed artist Weird Al Yankovic. ”

For everyone who is not interested in rides, there is still plenty to do and to see. Enjoy the fair food from funnel cakes to barbacued turkey legs and of course don’t forget to visit all the booths of all the various merchants. It’s always fun to stroll around. The daily schedule tells you in detail what’s going on the day you are planning to go, http://www.ocfair.com/2009/visitfair/visit_fair.html#.  TIP:  If you’ll be there on the last day, Sunday April 9th, look out for the presentation by the Club German Cultural Center on the Park Plaza Arts Stage at 10:15 am.

To get in the OC Fair for $2 this weekend, you need to be at the fairgrounds buying your tickets before 2pm and show the coupon below. To get the special closing weekend promotion got to: http://www.ocfair.com/2009/discount/discount_promotion.html

Have fun!

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Health Insurance in the US

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Finding the right health insurance in the US can be quite some challenge. If you are employed by a company and are part of a company group policy you are one of the lucky ones. But if you are self-employed and need to find health insurance that is somehow affordable and covers the whole family, it can become a critical endeavor. Especially if one of the family members happens to have asthma, which is apparently considered a chronic condition, you might run into some problems.

This is at least what I am experiencing at the moment. While everyone else in the family got accepted by the plan I had chosen, my child with asthma got rejected and is still without any insurance. Now, here I go again hitting the on-line road to finding some acceptable insurance that will be okay with the pre-condition of my teenager.  My Health Insurance Odyssey is far from over yet, it seems.

The article”Resources for the uninsured” by David Colker in the LA Times of June 21, mentions different options of what to do when being in this dilemma of trying to find a health insurance to cover you. One is apparently the web site of Healthy City, where one can find “…a search-able database of hundreds of organizations that provide various kinds of preventive, dental and eye care at no or low cost.” Check out www.healthycity.org. A child with a chronic condition can either “…stay on group coverage through COBRA, even if your COBRA eligibility has expired or can get coverage through the State Children’s Health Insurance Program”, according to Kathy M. Kristof’s article “Strike quickly to use COBRA”, also in the same edition of the LA Times.

I will be on my way to checking through this jungle of premiums, deductibles, Co-insurance and Out-of-pocket limits, since a teenager walking around without health insurance is a scary thought to me. How much easier it seems to me was it to have health insurance in ‘Good old Germany’. I don’t recall any of these hassles. You had one insurance that covered everything,  from preventive care to visits at your dentist and optometrist and no-one was rejected for having a pre-condition.

Here are some more resources on finding the ‘perfect’ health insurance: Check out www.ehealthinsurance.com or some of the county services below:

Los Angeles: www.ladhs.org/wps/portal/Patient ; Orange County: http://egov.ocgov.com/ocgov/Health (click on “Clinics & Hospital Locations”); Riverside County: www.rcrmc.org; San Bernadino County: www.arrowheadmedcenter.org; Ventura County: wwwvchca.org/mc ;

The Partnership for Prescription Assistance program, www.helpingpatients.org , can help find reduced-cost or even free programs to get your medications.

Let’s see what the new health insurance plan by President Obama will have to offer. Hopefully it can make some difference.

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Hello world!

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Herzlich Willkommen!

Welcome to CaliforniaGermans, the blog for Germans, Austrians, Swiss and everyone else who enjoys being part of the German speaking communities in all of California.

I hope that this is the beginning of a busy and engaging platform where ideas, tips and stories and much more will be exchanged about life here in California. 

For many of us this means a life far away from our families, friends and also traditions. Life here in such a wonderful State of the USA can be so exciting but also challenging at times. I am sure we all have our stories…

I look forward to an enriching exchange amongst all of us.

Bis bald,

Cornelia

 

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