{"id":10040,"date":"2022-09-26T17:25:28","date_gmt":"2022-09-26T17:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/?p=10040"},"modified":"2022-09-26T17:25:30","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T17:25:30","slug":"fun-facts-about-hosting-a-south-african-au-pair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/fun-facts-about-hosting-a-south-african-au-pair\/","title":{"rendered":"Fun Facts about Hosting a South African Au Pair"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div>\n<p>Have you considered hosting an au pair from South Africa before? Au Pair USA has been welcoming au pairs from South Africa for over 30 years and we\u2019d love to share some fun facts with you to help you better understand South African culture and what to expect if you decide to host an au pair from this country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>South African au pairs will bring a unique cultural perspective<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Most South Africans will speak English very well because it\u2019s often their native tongue, but did you know there are 11 official languages in South Africa? Eleven! They are English, Afrikaans, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and sisZulu. Because of this, most South Africans can communicate in more than one language.\u00a0 English; however, remains the most commonly spoken language in the country.<\/li><li>South Africa is known as the \u201cRainbow Nation\u201d because it is made up of so many diverse cultures and religions. Consequently, most South African au pairs tend to be open-minded and accepting of different cultures and ideology.\u00a0<\/li><li>South Africans drive on the opposite side of the road, so it can take some time for them to get comfortable driving on our side of the car and the road. Be sure to take this into consideration when you\u2019re practicing driving with your new South African au pair.<\/li><li>Soccer, rugby and cricket are the most popular sports in South Africa but basketball is becoming very popular as well!<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/south-africa-baseball.png\" alt=\"South African au pair at a baseball game\" class=\"wp-image-10044\" width=\"839\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/south-africa-baseball.png 740w, https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/south-africa-baseball-300x169.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><figcaption>South African au pair Lara enjoyed learning more about American sports! Image courtesy of Lara.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Even though A South African au pair may speak English natively, our cultures are quite different. For example, it\u2019s not uncommon for a South African au pair to feel like American homes are not very security conscious. In South Africa, it isn\u2019t unusual for buildings and communities to have private security guards. Letting your au pair know your family keeps themselves safe via an alarm system or other safety measures might help them feel more comfortable about something like this.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When matching with any au pair, whether they\u2019re from South Africa or not, it\u2019s so important to connect with the au pair during your interview. While it can be a huge benefit to hosting an au pair with impeccable English skills, like a South African au pair, be sure to take other parts into consideration when making your ultimate decision. Ask thoughtful questions and provide specific expectations so both you and your au pair aren\u2019t met with any surprises upon arrival. Spending ample time getting to know your au pair during the interview process is a great way to connect and ensure your values and personalities are the right fit to live together for a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/Oratile-pumpkin.png\" alt=\"South African au pair holding a carved pumpkin\" class=\"wp-image-10045\" width=\"839\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/Oratile-pumpkin.png 740w, https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/Oratile-pumpkin-300x243.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><figcaption>South African au pair Oratile quickly found herself joining family activities! Image courtesy of Oratile. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re ready to welcome your next au pair and are especially excited about welcoming a South African au pair into your home, <a href=\"https:\/\/passport.aupairusa.org\/host-family-apply\">start here<\/a>. Au Pair USA will connect you with South African au pairs who can\u2019t wait to share their culture and begin their au pair journey with your family!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you considered hosting an au pair from South Africa before? Au Pair USA has been welcoming au pairs from South Africa for over<a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/fun-facts-about-hosting-a-south-african-au-pair\/\">&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":10044,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[32,35,53,46,56,57],"class_list":["post-10040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice","tag-au-pair","tag-au-pairs","tag-host-family","tag-new-au-pair","tag-south-africa","tag-south-african-au-pair"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Fun Facts about Hosting a South African Au Pair<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Have you considered hosting an au pair from South Africa? South African au pairs will bring a unique cultural perspective to your family.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/fun-facts-about-hosting-a-south-african-au-pair\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fun Facts about Hosting a South African Au Pair\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Have you considered hosting an au pair from South Africa? South African au pairs will bring a unique cultural perspective to your family.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/fun-facts-about-hosting-a-south-african-au-pair\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Au Pair Life Host Family Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-09-26T17:25:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-26T17:25:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/south-africa-baseball.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"740\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"418\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Marisa Lonic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Marisa Lonic\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/fun-facts-about-hosting-a-south-african-au-pair\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/fun-facts-about-hosting-a-south-african-au-pair\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Marisa Lonic\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/#\/schema\/person\/6ff4cca459c85bdfc85ce5465e484241\"},\"headline\":\"Fun Facts about Hosting a South African Au Pair\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-26T17:25:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-26T17:25:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/fun-facts-about-hosting-a-south-african-au-pair\/\"},\"wordCount\":535,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/fun-facts-about-hosting-a-south-african-au-pair\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/south-africa-baseball.png\",\"keywords\":[\"au pair\",\"au pairs\",\"host family\",\"new au pair\",\"south africa\",\"south african au pair\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Advice for Families\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/fun-facts-about-hosting-a-south-african-au-pair\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/fun-facts-about-hosting-a-south-african-au-pair\/\",\"name\":\"Fun Facts about Hosting a South African Au Pair\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/fun-facts-about-hosting-a-south-african-au-pair\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/fun-facts-about-hosting-a-south-african-au-pair\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/south-africa-baseball.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-26T17:25:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-26T17:25:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/#\/schema\/person\/6ff4cca459c85bdfc85ce5465e484241\"},\"description\":\"Have you considered hosting an au pair from South Africa? 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