Wednesday, January 17, 2018

I slept well despite getting up a couple times during the night.

I heard Teresa talking to someone on the phone about meeting to buy the water tank today.

It’s a very cool and overcast day.

Teresa left the apt at 9:30 and I left at 10:20.  I did all my exercises in an hour and 25 minutes, including the calf press machine that is now repaired.

Laura and I left the apt at 1pm.  First we stopped in Bancolombia where, after a 5 minute wait for our turn, Laura asked the cashier for the money my brother sent via World Remit.  I showed her my (expired) Cedula, gave her my brother’s name and the ID number he gave me.  She asked me how much and I told her 280,000 pesos.  I had to sign a paper and put my fingerprint on it and she gave me the cash.  It was that easy!

We walked 3 blocks away where we had lunch at Mariskos.  We each started with a bowl of chicken soup that was quite tasty.  I had their pepper steak which came with a small salad and baked potato.  My steak was very tasty but I don’t know what was peppery about it and the sauce tasted on the bitter side.  I also had a pineapple milkshake.  Laura had the fish and a mango juice.  The total came to 75,935 pesos or about $26 including tax and tip.

Back at the apt I picked up a note pad and we headed out of the apt at 3pm.  Walking across the street towards the bus it was just leaving but since it was coming towards us I was able to flag it down and it stopped for us. 

We arrived at the au pair agency at 3:35.  It’s in the same building as Envios Market (Calle 9 #43A-31) but inside on the 2^nd floor.

The young lady, named Laura, sat us at a small table and explained their program.  Here are my notes:

The agency is called Au Pair In America and its based on a J1 Cultural Exchange visa that is good for 13 months.

Their au pair prerequisites are: 18-26 years old, have a Colombian drivers license (manual, even though most people in the US drive automatic), have 200 hours of childcare (non family) experience, and English proficiency of level B1/B2.  She stressed that English is the most important requirement.

The au pair will spend 1 year in the US (mainly east or west coast) taking care of children in a private home.  She will receive $200 a week, have her own bedroom, have a $500 study allowance, basic medical insurance, and 2 weeks paid vacation.

The au pair needs to create an online profile and upload a copy of her passport, a certificate showing she has no criminal record and a personal video.

The cost is $1,525 ($825 promotion until the end of June) which covers her flight from Bogota to New York (Newark airport), 2 days orientation in New York, transportation from New York to wherever she will be working, and later from there back home.

I asked how much it might costs to get a drivers license here and she said about 1,000,000 pesos but that includes lessons.

I asked how much it costs for a passport and she said about 350,000 pesos.

I asked, and she confirmed, that the au pair is responsible for buying her own clothes – thinking mainly about how cold it gets in winter as she would need boots, coat, hat, gloves, etc.

From her answer to my question I understand the family and au pair match themselves, ie, they both agree to the assignment.

Additional information can be found at AuPairInAmerica.com.

When we left we quickly caught a Sabaneta bus back to the apt.

Teresa came back at 7pm and I understand the water tank has been delivered and tomorrow they go back to fill it.

Medellin Living sent an email with “52 Places to go in 2018” from the New York Times.  #1 was New Orleans and #2 was Colombia.  Uh-oh, that means more gringos!  Lol.

We went to bed at 11pm as usual.

T-shirt of the day: Victoria’s Secret.