I have been here for nearly 4 months now and feel like the novelty has completely worn off. I still love my job and the girls I look after are amazing. I get on well with the host parents so I do have it pretty lucky, except I totally under estimated the limits set on a 20 year old.
I have been in the UK being allowed to buy and sell alcohol for two years, being able to going into a pub for longer. Now I can't even walk into a bar without being ID the highlight of my weekend is going to the cinema or Starbucks at 11.00 at night. Of course I could go to the city and see a live band, but the cost of actually getting there, entry and the usual minimum drink orders just make it unjustifiable when you are trying to save your hard earned cash.
I am sure this country has many wonderful things to offer and most 20 year olds are not as bored here as I am. It is just hard that we have to use up our precious weekends, which we only get 12 of in the entire year, to do college courses, courses I could really care less about doing as all the affordable ones are aimed towards non english speakers, and all the fun ones are not acceptable.
So now I am sitting here trying to think of something to do on Friday night but all my plans involve being carded, and then showing them an ID that clearly states I am not old enough to be in this place. My only other option is to get a fake ID which is something I would really rather not do.
This is the first week where I have just felt BORED. I need to get out of this funk.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Weekend away.
This week I was so determined to get this blog in on time, but just as I started writing it, my computer broke down. After eating up a large chunk of my savings I have it working and am ready to write again!
Last week was a really good week I think, the girls are happy and loving camp and are sad that it will be over on Friday, but it made for an easy week where work was concerned. On Saturday morning -not so bright and- early I caught a taxi which took me to the city where I could then catch a coach up to Boston.
This journey taught me many things.
1. I don't like pretzel m&ms but yet I buy them and eat them every time I go to NYC, what's up with that?!
2. If you are going to get somewhere early, that doesn't mean you have loads of time to waste mucking about, just get to where you need to go first, then see if you can waste the time when you are already in the location.
3. 4 hours on a bus is a VERY long time.
4. American's don't seem to like talking to strangers.
5. Boston is lovely.
6. There is a very fine line between friends and family.
4.30am Saturday 13th
Alarm goes off, after walking around like the living dead for a while I somehow managed to get dressed, packed, book a cab and be out of the house ready and waiting for Taxi by 5.25am, just to have the guy arrive 15 mins late.
6am
Still not quite awake I find myself in front of the vending machine dispensing my pretzel m&ms and sour skittles. I walk along the platform eating these almost frozen candies grimacing at the salty taste mixed with chocolate (the skittles are for the way home) wondering, why do I buy these? But I do, every time. Shortly after, I board the train and off I go.
6.45am
I start walking from grand central to 8th Av, along the way I see a shop I want to take a photo of, after 10 mins of assembling my camera, I find I have left my SD card at home.
7.30am
Why am I standing outside Pen station?
7.40am
"Cab please"...."Port authority bus terminal"
"$5"
*paid driver*
*3 mins later, including being stopped at 2 red lights*
"Here we are, I hope you catch your bus!"
>.<
8.10am
I sit down on these ridiculously short seats next to a guy, who seems pretty interesting, maybe he will talk to me? That is usually what happens when I end up sitting next to someone on the bus to London.
8.11am
Here begins the 4 hours of silence, and this is repeated on the journey home. 4 hours doing absolutely NOTHING.
12.15am
I find my friend, and suddenly the last 10 years wash away and it feels like it was no time at all since I last saw him.
The rest of the weekend was lovely, it is so nice spending time with people you are so familiar with, being able to talk about friends and family and for the most part, know who the other was talking about.
He took me to see many places in Boston which were beautiful, and the air was so clean! We went for a meal with his lovely partner and all went back to his place to relax. The next day we visited Salem and I was able to see all the things I saw 10 years prior to my visit and actually understand what went on, rather than just believe it was some fairy tale.
So all in all a pretty amazing week!
A guy accused of being a witch.
Cool tree in Salem
Stickers from the museum
Witch
World trade centre.
Last week was a really good week I think, the girls are happy and loving camp and are sad that it will be over on Friday, but it made for an easy week where work was concerned. On Saturday morning -not so bright and- early I caught a taxi which took me to the city where I could then catch a coach up to Boston.
This journey taught me many things.
1. I don't like pretzel m&ms but yet I buy them and eat them every time I go to NYC, what's up with that?!
2. If you are going to get somewhere early, that doesn't mean you have loads of time to waste mucking about, just get to where you need to go first, then see if you can waste the time when you are already in the location.
3. 4 hours on a bus is a VERY long time.
4. American's don't seem to like talking to strangers.
5. Boston is lovely.
6. There is a very fine line between friends and family.
4.30am Saturday 13th
Alarm goes off, after walking around like the living dead for a while I somehow managed to get dressed, packed, book a cab and be out of the house ready and waiting for Taxi by 5.25am, just to have the guy arrive 15 mins late.
6am
Still not quite awake I find myself in front of the vending machine dispensing my pretzel m&ms and sour skittles. I walk along the platform eating these almost frozen candies grimacing at the salty taste mixed with chocolate (the skittles are for the way home) wondering, why do I buy these? But I do, every time. Shortly after, I board the train and off I go.
6.45am
I start walking from grand central to 8th Av, along the way I see a shop I want to take a photo of, after 10 mins of assembling my camera, I find I have left my SD card at home.
7.30am
Why am I standing outside Pen station?
7.40am
"Cab please"...."Port authority bus terminal"
"$5"
*paid driver*
*3 mins later, including being stopped at 2 red lights*
"Here we are, I hope you catch your bus!"
>.<
8.10am
I sit down on these ridiculously short seats next to a guy, who seems pretty interesting, maybe he will talk to me? That is usually what happens when I end up sitting next to someone on the bus to London.
8.11am
Here begins the 4 hours of silence, and this is repeated on the journey home. 4 hours doing absolutely NOTHING.
12.15am
I find my friend, and suddenly the last 10 years wash away and it feels like it was no time at all since I last saw him.
The rest of the weekend was lovely, it is so nice spending time with people you are so familiar with, being able to talk about friends and family and for the most part, know who the other was talking about.
He took me to see many places in Boston which were beautiful, and the air was so clean! We went for a meal with his lovely partner and all went back to his place to relax. The next day we visited Salem and I was able to see all the things I saw 10 years prior to my visit and actually understand what went on, rather than just believe it was some fairy tale.
So all in all a pretty amazing week!
A guy accused of being a witch.
Cool tree in Salem
Stickers from the museum
Witch
World trade centre.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Home and away.
I am so bad at keeping up to date with this blog, I apologize. This has been one crazy week, as I was saying in my last blog America is becoming my home and the place I feel a sense of belonging just like England was my home and the country I loved, the USA is taking its place.
Sunday this week was my day off, as usual I rang home to check in to find they were not answering the phone, or getting my texts, I got a message later on in the day on twitter from my brother informing me they were in London. Which was fine, just meant I'd have to wait a few days to chat, no problem. I went out with some friends to the local lake which was beautiful by the time we got to it. I had read on google maps it was really close, but after 20 mins of driving I was sure we went the wrong way. We tried turning around, but still something seemed wrong, so my friends and I decided to go down a small side road to turn around, after making the turn, we realised this was no side road but rather the entry to the highway. The only time I had been on the highway previous to this had been highly traumatic with lorries cutting me up and cars not letting me get on. Luckily it was absolutely fine and I had friends who were able to guide me to the right exits, another highway later and going down the same original road again we had finally arrived, just to find out the google map directions were to the wrong side of the lake. However we were so hungry we decided we would just sit up on a very uneven patch of grass and have our picnic there.
Sunday this week was my day off, as usual I rang home to check in to find they were not answering the phone, or getting my texts, I got a message later on in the day on twitter from my brother informing me they were in London. Which was fine, just meant I'd have to wait a few days to chat, no problem. I went out with some friends to the local lake which was beautiful by the time we got to it. I had read on google maps it was really close, but after 20 mins of driving I was sure we went the wrong way. We tried turning around, but still something seemed wrong, so my friends and I decided to go down a small side road to turn around, after making the turn, we realised this was no side road but rather the entry to the highway. The only time I had been on the highway previous to this had been highly traumatic with lorries cutting me up and cars not letting me get on. Luckily it was absolutely fine and I had friends who were able to guide me to the right exits, another highway later and going down the same original road again we had finally arrived, just to find out the google map directions were to the wrong side of the lake. However we were so hungry we decided we would just sit up on a very uneven patch of grass and have our picnic there.
After a lovely day with clean fresh air, I went home in a good mood, turned on my computer and was met with images like this:
Even after contacting my family and finding out they were safe I was really freaking out. It had felt like someone had snapped an elastic band and I was suddenly right back into the position I was in when I first arrived, english girl lost and trapped in an unfamiliar country. My good friend took me out that evening to take my mind off of it for a few hours and while it worked it hadn't stopped me worrying. I wouldn't be happy until my family were out of london and home, then once they were I started thinking about all the people I knew who also lived in London. I contacted who I could and haven't heard anything since so I am hoping no news is good news.
Now the riots are in Bristol and in places I was so close to living in, had I for one reason or another not gone to the states, I can't even begin to describe my feelings. One level I am happy I am here are not there in the middle of it all then on a whole other level I feel like I need to be there I feel like people are going to look back in 50 years and share their stories, or not. I have no idea of the actual scale, I have no idea what the general psyche is. I am now in limbo, I am not american but I don't feel english either my heart is in neither country and I don't know what to so with these emotions. I have had to stop watching the news as every time I saw the images of london and bristol I remembered walking down those streets.
What will England be like when I get home? This will all blow over soon enough I am sure, but how long will the scaring last?
I can't go to kings cross without sparing a thought for 7/7, nor can I go to camden and not feel sad about the fire, years after this has happened.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Home.
Every week that I am here it feels more and more like home, its funny a few posts ago I remember saying I am completely settled, I didn't think you could feel more relaxed in another country but it is possible and this country is starting to feel like my country. I was watching a film last week which was set in London, I was surprised that I felt such a distance to it, it really felt like a foreign place, they were driving on the M4, a road I drove on weekly, the road seemed strange and unfamiliar. Watching England in this film no longer seemed like a film set at "home".
This week has been a pretty good week all in all, nothing overly eventful happened. Tabatha was home from camp with a stomach virus on Wednesday, and although I was sorry she was sick, I was also really grateful for the extra time we got to spend together. Elizabeth and I spend a lot of time together just the two of us, because she is so much younger and needs constant supervision, which I also love, she is a very sweet kid. However it was nice spending alone time with Tabatha as it was a rare treat, and it really felt more like hanging out with a friend rather than work.
This week was also amazing as I finally managed to save up enough money for everything I wanted to do so I booked tickets to go and see friends in CO and MA, I then had enough money left over to buy myself a very lovely Camera.
Yesterday my host mom came home in a very american looking car, she told me it was my new ride, I had seen photos of it online but didn't expect it to be so tall. It is very very nice however.
Only really bad thing that happened is I am now sick :/.
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