"Our journey with Au-Pair Maximiliana in 2018" - A Família Vanden Boogart

A nossa Maximiliana não ganhou o prémio de Au-Pair do Ano, mas não faltou muito!


A sua família de Acolhimento, os Vanden Boogart, partilharam o seu lado da história e contam-nos como é ter a Maximiliana lá em casa e toda a ajuda que ela tem dado! No fundo, tornou-se mais um membro da família!

O vídeo que a Família fez para apoiar a candidatura!

“I am writing to nominate my au pair, Maxmiliana Gusmao de Paula, as the EurAupair 2018 Au Pair of the Year. Max is the first au pair we have had, and we truly could not love her more. Our experience with Max thus far has absolutely been the ideal cultural exchange that we were all hoping for.


Max arrived in the middle of May 2018. When she joined our family, my oldest son Zachary was 3.5 and my twins, Max and Madison (Maddie), were 16 months old. When we started searching for au pairs, we wanted to find someone who had experience caring for multiple young children at the same time, and especially someone who had experience with twins. From the first moment we met Max, we knew we had made the right choice! I believe that Max has to work much harder than most other au pairs simply because she is responsible for THREE children who were age 3 and younger when she began. She handles these three very young, very active children with grace, with agility, with dedication, and most importantly, with love. The love she has for my children and for my husband and me is so obvious in everything she does, and it is 100% mutual. I cannot imagine my life without Max and I cry every time I think about her having to leave us someday. My children call her “Tia Max,” which means Aunt Max in Portuguese, and it is a perfect name for her because she really is like their aunt. She will always be a true member of our family.
The first weekend Max was with us, she spent nearly every moment with our family by choice. She wanted to be with us so she could learn our routines and get to know us. She brought small gifts for the children; for my older son, she brought a book of Portuguese and English words and began immediately teaching him to speak some words in Portuguese. By the time she had been with us for just a month or two, my 3 year old son was able to sing a lullaby in Portuguese! After 5 months with us, she had taught my 1.5 year old twins so many words and phrases in Portuguese. They can ask for strawberries in Portuguese. They greet Max every morning in Portuguese. When Max tells them in Portuguese to “show their teeth,” they give an adorable, huge smile. And when she tells them “manda beijos” (blow kisses), all three of the kids blow kisses! It is absolutely amazing how much she has taught them so quickly.
She has also shared her culture with us in the foods she cooks. The second week she was here, she cooked an amazing Brazilian meal. She made special Brazilian foods for the “Welcome Max” barbecue we threw for her; all of our friends whom we invited to meet her were amazed not only by how delicious her food was, but also by how much effort she put into sharing her culture with all of us. Max made special Brazilian chocolates for my son’s 4th birthday party, and when she celebrated Thanksgiving with our extended family, she spent an entire morning cooking an amazing Brazilian dish that is served in a pumpkin! We are benefitting as much from the cultural exchange aspect of this program as she is.


Max is truly a member of our family. She spends so much time with us. We eat dinner together almost every night by choice. We spend time doing many family outings together on the weekends, even when Max is not officially working. She chooses to be with us even in her free time because she loves us and wants to be included in our family. We have gone as a family to the zoo, the farm, pumpkin festivals, to the library countless times, indoor play spaces for the children, Santa train rides, Christmas light displays, on two family trips to NY, and so much more! These outings have not only helped Max to bond with our family, but they have also exposed her to an incredible amount of American culture. Max wants to learn everything she possibly can while she is here. Her English was already quite good when she arrived, but it is AMAZING now after only 7 months! Max has bonded not only with my husband, me, and the children, but also with my parents, my aunt and uncle, and my 23 year old cousin Alyssa.


Max is the most hard-working, genuine, loving, and selfless au pair I can imagine having. When she is working, she rarely takes a moment to rest. Even when the children are napping and Max knows that she can take a break, she prefers to help us around the house and does things to make our lives easier. She does everything we ask of her and so much more, and she does it all with a smile. Tia Max is truly the definition of what an au pair should be. Not only are my children so well taken care of and loved, but I have gained a wonderful friend in Max. I ask you to please choose her as the EurAupair 2018 au pair of the year because she is an absolute gem and a model of what this program was designed to be. I hope the accompanying video will demonstrate how amazing Max is and how mutual the love we have for each other is. Thank you!!

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