A Change for the Better

Somehow time just seems to be slipping away from me. It only seems like yesterday when I came here, nervous and homesick and alone. Now almost four months have passed already since 

I have arrived and everything has changed, but I'm loving it and I don't want it to end! (This is also an apology for leaving it so long between my last blog)

The most significant change since my last post is that I have now changed families! Luckily, I am only living 5-10minutes drive away from where I was before, so not too much has had to change for me -- I can still see my same friends and go to the same college! So now I'm in Short Hills, New Jersey, I thought I'd give you a briefing on my new host family. There's my new host parents, Lynne and Dan, who are both really nice and laid back. Then, as for the kids (of which there are 3!), first is Zane, who is 7 and loves everything to do with sports (reminds me of Elliott a lot!) and of course, Pokemon! Second is Hazel who is 10 years old, she is very independent and doesnt need me to remind her of anything (which is really easy for me!) and she loves sports and High School Musical! Lastly (but by no means least) is Ethan, who is 11. He is very nice and needs help with his homework as he has learning difficulties making it hard sometimes for him to concentrate on some things -- he loves anything to do with airplanes. My family are very active and love sports, especially anything to do with "Soccer" or Basketball. You're probably wondering why I decided on this family, as many of you know I am rather hopeless when it comes to anything kind of sporty... but as long as they keep going to all their activities I don't need to play sports with them (which I am pleased about, because they would certainly be beating me! Although Zane has been teaching me how exactly to catch a ball!)

The picture is of my new house, so it is definately an upgrade! I now even have my own bathroom and it doesn't matter how late I stay out as I can come in through the garage (and my room is right next to it). Overall I feel very at home and happy here, and I feel I have made a good decision to spend the rest of my year here!

The first couple of weeks of October I was pre-occuppied with finding a new family and getting ready to move out, so apart from maybe visiting New York City an

d maybe seeing a movie, nothing much exciting was happening.

Lately though (especially since I've moved) my social life has been very busy -- even if I do say so myself! Between Starbucks and going out for lunch we have been into New York (obviously!). Hanneke and I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge (from Brooklyn), therefore having a wonderful view of the New York skyline as we walked across it! We could even see the Statue of Liberty from it. I had done it once before in 2003, but it was so long ago I had to do it again. Then again, I have seen a lot of places in New York twice by now, but I am only here for a year and I need to make the most of it! Then we walked through Chinatown (I bought some "Chanel" earrings, for $5) and SoHo, where there will be a Topshop (yes, the same store!) opening in Spring. It was meant to be opening in October but of course it had to be delayed! I was looking forward too much to getting some Topshop jeans at last! (Now you know what to get me for Christmas ;) -- a UK size 8 please!). I am wondering what I will be doing for Christmas this year as my host family are Jewish, but my wonderful Mother is thankfully sending me over some of the much needed essentials like Cadburys Advent Calendars, mince pies and Christmas Crackers!  

On the 29th of October was Gina's 19th birthday. Hanneke and I had tried very hard to get her a wonderful present, so we went to our favourite store, ALDO, to get her a bag (so nice, we want to borrow it off her!), but then we also went to the $1 store and got many silly little things for her to open as well! Her host mom had us all come over and she cooked us a Mexican meal -- Gina is Mexican. It was delicious and we even had some cheeky margarita's, being my first drink since July! The picture below from left to right is Hanneke, me and Gina.

Halloween is an entirely different experience in the States compared to the UK. At home,

 everyone dresses as something scary, whereas here you can dress up as anything! Gina had told me and Hanneke about a Halloween party in New York and so we all need to get costumes. I was Batgirl (of course!) and Hanneke was Robin Hood -- it made me laugh that together we were  "Batgirl and Robin! [Hood]". Unfortunately I paid more than Hanneke for my outfit, she only paid 71cents! Which was clearly a mix up on the stores part (it was meant to be $71!), but I wanted the same treatment instead of paying $60! My outfit did look good though. So we left on Friday night to New York (Gina decided not to come, too bad! But we did have with us a new Canadian Au Pair, Sarah, I wasn't too sure just what her outfit was, but it was short!). You had to be 19 to get into the club, but I borrowed Hanneke's ID, I don't look too much like her but all the looked at was the D.O.B and we were in! We stayed until 4am, and the party was still going! It was so good just to dance all night, but we were so tired once we had left! We took the subway at 4.30am to Times Square and we discovered that New York really never sleeps -- so many people were out (maybe only since it was Halloween!) and we even went to get a Starbucks at 5am, we needed a hot chocolate to keep us warm! The first train from New York Penn Station on a Saturday was at 7.11am, so we needed to wait, we were so exhausted we slept at the station. Hanneke can sleep anywhere it seems, but I don't like to sleep in public places so although I dozed, I kept waking myself up. We finally got home after a long but great night out at 8.30am and we both went straight to bed (I let myself sleep til 1pm and then didn't want to get "jet-lagged" for no reason so decided to get up! Fortunately the clocks went back this last weekend so I got another hours sleep! Last week, for those who don't know, we were only 4 hours apart!) We enjoyed it so much (plus we are limited to where we can go, being under 21 and all) we were planning on going back to celebrate Hanneke's 20th.

I think one of the greatest things I have been able to experience since I've been here is the Presidential Election. I had spent a great day with Jeff (a good friend from college) and then we were going to watch the Election together, both of us were (obviously) supporting the Democrats, so the outcome was certainly a positive one for us. It felt as if we were part of history, Obama's speech was amazing, I was proud to say I was actually here to witness it!

Last weekend was actually Hanneke's brithday, but instead of going back to Webster Hall we went to a different Club, Pacha, which also let 19 year olds in. Even though i had a good time, I prefered Webster Hall's music because I am not into heavy dance music, and although Fedde Le Grande was playing (a famous DJ, for those who don't know!) I didn't really know any of the songs and I found it quite repetitive. Gina and I left at 4am, and began the walk back to Penn Station to grab a starbucks at 5am. (The pictures below are of us going out!) 

Something else I have been doing recently is seeing a lot of Broadway shows, like Hairspray! The Lion King and 13, which all were fantastic! (If anyone is planning to come to New York, I'd definately recommend seeing a show, you won't be dissapointed for sure!). I also went with Jeff to see his brother in a high school production of "Charlotte's Web", which was also really good, and I hate to say it, but the quality was so much higher than anything which had been done in HCCS, the high school had a huge theatre (which helps of course). 

That's all for now I guess (and I'll try to keep this updated more regularly in the coming months!) Please leave a comment as usual (and remember to leave your names!)

Much love to everyone

Charlotte xx

Picture of Me at the Top of the Empire State Building

So Much To Say, So Little Time!

So I've been very neglectful of my blog of late, it's been a whole month since my last post. So much has happened! I thought I would try and catch up a bit.




Williamsburg
After a long trip south, taking around 9 hours -- how we used to survive when we were little without in car dvd players i don't know, whatever happened to just looking out of the window & car games?! -- we eventually arrived in Williamsburg. Of course, we had to bring the cat and the dog. Needless to say, Skitty (the cat) hated it and Couture (the dog) loved it. Not sure we'll be taking them anywhere again soon though... Williamsburg itself is such a beautiful place and very historical, the whole place is a town-sized museum! The people are walking around wearing colonial outfits, its rahter surreal. We had flex passes, which meant we could get into any attractions we wanted, including Busch Gardens. Despite spending most of the week shopping and not seeing all the historical attractions I would have liked to (Shelby & Lindsey weren't too keen on the historical parts), I still had a really good time. We did go on a ghost walk, a witch trial and see the governors' palace (see left) though, which were all really interesting.The weather was perfect (maybe a bit humid at times) and I definately enjoyed the historical places we did go to, especially trying Colonial-style food and visiting the outlet mall (even CHEAPER shopping!). Plus, the rest of the family liked to get up around 11am and not get out until say 1.30pm, which left very little option of what to do except shop as all the Historical Attractions closed at 5pm but shops stayed open to 9pm. Busch Gardens Europe was not particularly my thing, just loads of huge roller-coasters, and the English section wasn't big enough and not at all accurate! Overall we had a good week, although we probably wouldnt take the pets again, and I'd like to go back at some point (maybe in my travel month at the end of the year?) to see all the places I didn't get chance to see, I did find it very interesting.



Back2School
After we had returned from our vacation, that week was very busy preparing Shelby & Lindsey to go back to school. Shelby had found out that her best friend, Emily, was not in her house at middle school (they change schools here every couple of years), meaning that she would not have any lessons with her and therefore she was not looking forward at all to going back to school. The girls were actually at their dad's on the day of going back to school but me and Celeste still went to see them off. Middle school seems to be just the same size as HCCS, even though its only years 7-9 (grades 6-8) and about 800 kids. Lindsey's school has about the same amount again for 4th and 5th Grade (years 5-6), and this is only for chatham, none of the surrounding areas. Lafyette has a "clapping in ritual" for all the kids on their first day at school. All the children stand in a circle in their class and walk into school class by class, while all the parents stand around them and clap them. It really gives the impression of a community, but is really extravagant compared to what I was used to at school, but then again, it is America, of course!



Country House

That weekend, I went with Hanneke with her host family to her country house. The house is in New York state along the Hudson river, and was so beautiful and peaceful. On the saturday we walked up the river and had fun watching Delphine and Emmerson (two of Hanneke's kids) playing and swimming in the river. Later that afternoon it rained very heavily with the aftermath of a Hurricane from the south. It was so nice to just sit and relax and watch the rain pour. The next day the weather was beautiful, so we all went to a national park (see right) which was breathtaking. We walked for 8 miles in total (I wish I'd known we would've been doing that much walking so I could've brought my trainers instead of my flip flops!). We eventually got to a lake, where the Hanneke and the kids went swimming and I watched -- I was a bit of a wimp to be honest, I thought it was too cold to swim. Still it was a really nice weekend, nice to be away from the house on my own.


University, with No Freshers Week
People who go to university in England have it so easy, not starting 'til late September and fresher's week with all the booze you could want. However, American collge started the first week of September, there might have been a Fresher's week but obviously since I'm not a really student, I didn't go to any (plus I couldn't drink even if I wanted to!). I've taken an American History course, which is very interesting. Everyone I've met at Drew seems very nice and friendly, so I've been enjoying going. I don't tend to like participating in class, because everyone stares becuase of my "cute" English accent -- that's all people say to me over here: "ooh I just LOVE your accent!" (thanks, I can't really help having it!) and "Ooh, I know [insert name] from England, do you know them?" (Nope, can't say I do, I don't even live in London...). It's annoying but funny at the same time.



Moving on up?
My saddest news that I have to say is that I found out on Monday that I would have to rematch. This means I have to find a new host family to live with for the rest of the year. My host mom, Celeste, lost her job at the beginning of September and so can no longer afford to keep me, or in fact, needs me to be around. The girls and I were very upset at this news, with the girls protesting that I was their "favourite" Au Pair that they have had so far. I was in rematch a couple of weeks ago but I didn't find a suitable host family (maybe because I didn't want to leave) and so Celeste said that she could keep me for the next couple of weeks to see how things turn out, but now with the current economic crisis, as well as most of her friends getting downsized also (and her severance package not being as much as she first hoped) I have to unfortunately move on. Celeste has said that if she finds a job I could come back though, especially sice the girls like me so much. I am, at the moment discussing some possible new families with my community counsellor. There are no educare host families in rematch in the surrounding area, so I will also have to drop out of Drew (much to my dismay!), and leave my friends I have made here. I hope I will make the right decision, as I don't want to have to rematch again, but I will keep you posted!


New York, New York (too much to see in just one weekend)
The weekend before last, me and Hanneke went into New York, only my third time going since being here! We decided, as it was a nice day to go up to the top of the Empire State Building (very touristy, yes, but at least we can say we've done it). Luckily, the view was superb as it was a beautiful clear (but cold!) day, with maximum visibility. We also visited Times Square, and Hanneke took me to an amazing Ice Cream store where you can make any flavour you want, called "Cold Stone" (I think). After a very good day, we wanted to see if we could go out somewhere, not even to drink, just to have a good time, dance (or in my case, try to) and maybe even meet some Americans! But of course, we got turned away at the door for being too young (oh, but we ARE adults!). Ah well, it was worth a try. We instead went to an American Dinner in Madison, as we have missed the last movie, and eventually got back to Hanneke's at around midnight (oh yes, we are SO hardcore!) The next day we went back into New York with Gina and her mexican friend and a German girl (shock horror). We walked around Times Square a little, but for the most part, as it was such a lovely day we went over the Central Park and the Zoo. There were not many big (or as Hanneke said, "real") animals, mostly just birds. But there were Monkeys, Polar Bears and Sea Lions! Ah well, when it only costs $8 to get in, what can you expect? Later, we watched a street dance troupe outside the plaza for bit, which were good, but most of all it was nice just to sit and relax! Overall, it was a very good weekend!

Not much else has happened since then (except, of course, me going into rematch). On saturday we had the Visco's over for dinner which was very entertaining, but left me exhausted as I worked so hard with Celeste to make the house presentable for company! Then on Sunday I went out with a friend from college to a fair/market in Morristown, which we randomly found and ended up having quite a good time.

I'm hoping to end on a high, I'll have to keep posted with all my new exciting adventures with my new family, I'll be sad to leave but I still want to have an amazing year here so I won't let it drag me down too much!

Until next time, Charlotte.

PS. The weather here is still so nice around 20C each day, just how jealous are you?!

PPS. Please leave a comment if you have bothered to read it! I've heard from my mum that a lot of you (maybe just the more mature reader ;) ) are trying to comment and failing?

• Click on where it says "Comments" underneath the end of each indiviual blog
• It will redirect you to all the comments which have been written
• Leave your comment in the "Leave your comment" box
• Under where it says "Choose an Identity" click on the option (if you don't have a google account, which I'm guessing a lot of you don't!) that says "Name/URL" (you can type in your own name here) or "Anonymous" (if choosing this option, please leave your name in the actual comment so I know who has left me a comment & I don't have to work it out!).
• Click "Publish Your Comment"
• A new screen should come up saying "Your comment has been saved. It may take a moment for your comment to appear on the site at the original post. "
• The comment will not be on the main blog page, it'll only be shown on the "comments section"

Hope that helps? I love reading the comments that people have left, plus I know that people are actually reading my blog!

Pool Parties and Shopping Trips!

One of the most worrying thing that I had to learn over here is driving on the opposite side of the road -- the UK seems to be the only country that drives on the left! Every other Au Pair that I have spoken to seems to be used to driving on the right side of the road! The first time I went out it was so daunting, everything was so much bigger than my little Micra back home. The cars are also automatic here (i miss manual cars -- the real way to drive!), and of course everything is on the opposite side of the car (and the road!)... there's not even a handbrake! After a daunting test-drive around the neighbourhood, and not feeling all that confident, I decided to have some driving lessons. This turned out to be a good idea, my instructor specialised in teaching people who drive on the left side. I eventually got used to it, but I do have to think very carefully everytime I pull out of the driveway!

I recieved an email from my Community Counsellor -- when you become an Au Pair you are put in a cluster where there are many other Au Pairs from around the world, helping you to make friends and you also have a Counsellor to help with any problems that may happen during the year. Anyway, this email said that there would be a pool party at Gina's host parents' house! I couldn't wait to go! Luckily my friend Hanneke wanted to come too so we decided to go together.

I had to go and get a Social Security Number -- a bit like a National Insurance Number -- so I could take a New Jersey Driving Test (for insurance purposes) and so I could get a Bank account. Hanneke and I went together, mainly so we wouldn't get lost (or so we thought!). We didn't get lost exactly, we just kept missing our turnings, the signs are so small over here (ironic, since everything else is so big) you can't see the turn until you actually drive past it. On a brighter note, I'm getting very good at 3-point-turns! So we eventually got there, a twenty minute drive somehow took us an hour. Gettting a Social Security Number is free, so I went for my interview so I could get mine, and come out a few minutes later with my Number, only to see Hanneke standing in the hallway, "Did you get yours?" she asked, "I didn't?" Odd that, since we both had exactly the same documents with us. I said we should go back and check it was right what they said. Apparently she couldn't get a Number because she didn't have a letter to confirm her right for employment in the US. But then, I didn't have one either! This supervisor comes over and says "You need to have a letter to get a number." So I ask, "But I have been given one without a letter?!" Of course then this woman's like "Well you shouldn't have been given one!" I don't want to let go of my Number either! Turns out she didn't know her own job -- Au Pairs are an exclusion to the letter rule. This woman was the boss as well. Well done to whoever gave her that position!

So it was on to the Pool Party at Gina's house! After driving around for an hour, getting lost and going back to Hanneke's house to get a swimsuit, we eventually arrived at the party -- apparently Hanneke and I aren't as good TomTom's as we had hoped (the journey back took us 5minutes!). There were not many people there, mainly Brazilians, some of whom, such as Carla, had nearly finished their year. Its odd to think that my adventure has only just begun and in a couple of months hers will come to an end. Gina is Mexican and her host parents were very welcoming, saying that they loved having the Au Pairs over and we could come over whenever we wanted! They had a huge house too -- mine seems to be the smallest one! It was nice to meet people who spoke English all the time too. We ate hot dogs (an American favourite), and then went in the pool... well, we sat on the edge, as the water was quite cold, and watched Gina's child, Meryl, play in the water. Gina and Laura (who was -- dare I say it -- German!) were at the same orientation as Hanneke and I, so its nice to meet people who will be staying as long as you are in the country. [Please note: Pictures will hopefully be added at a later date, many were taken (not on my camera as it had ran out of battery) but I am waiting for them to be sent to me!]

The funniest part was when Gina's host dad jumped in the pool, as he was quickly followed by their two dogs!

Everyone exchanged phone numbers (except for me, because at this point I didn't have a cell phone) and Carla (from Brazil) suggested that not only we go shopping at Jersey Gardens on Sunday -- an outlet mall, meaning CHEAP prices! -- but also that we all go to the Brazillian festival in New York on the 31st of August. This all sounded fun so I decided to go along.

That evening me and Hanneke went to see "Vicky Cristine Barcelona", which was very good. It was one of those films everyone recommends you watch it but you never get chance to see it. I think it might be nominated for awards, it was rather art-housy. Anyway, Carla text Hanneke while we out, to confirm about the upcoming shopping trip. Hanneke text her back, ending the message: "with love", which is obviously just a nice way to say goodbye. So Carla texts back saying: "is Love the English girl?" thinking Hanneke was saying that she was "with Love"! We both found this very funny!

The next day we went shopping. We all waited for Carla to come out of "Forever 21" (ironic, since none of us are even 21!) where she bought loads of stuff, and after that (as me and Hanneke don't like shopping in big groups) we split up. I bought some tigi hair products, the big shampoo and conditioner for $25 and as they are normally £20 I thought this was quite a bargain! We also went to American Eagle :) which is now officially our favourite store! we both also bought some big sunglasses -- just so we could look really cool.

It was nice to go to a big mall, but it was so busy it was hard to shop really. Plus because Carla had taken us, we had to leave at 4pm and only getting there at 1pm meant that there was little time to shop. We had a good time anyway, and spent a lot of money in the process. I think I may be keeping American Eagle in business...

That Wednesday, we went to Starbucks again. Of course, there were lots of Germans. One particularly rude one interupted my conversation with Hanneke -- twice. Fortunately, Gina came and so did Laura.

While Hanneke and I get along very well, I think we have found our friendship group for the year ahead. Gina is very nice, friendly and funny. Laura (the German) is also very nice, but I am under the impression that sometimes she doesn't know what is going on! For instance, we were talking about our different house sizes and our bedrooms, and Laura burst out with a random story about "Frubes!". I think she may not understand what we are saying as we also were watching Will and Grace at the pool party and she said she didn't know what was going on. I hope that by speaking English with us she will understand better!

"With Love"

Charlotte

NEXT BLOG: Williamsburg!

My first few days!

So I've been here in New Jersey for just over 3 weeks now, and I'm really enjoying myself!

When I arrived on July 28th 2008, the sun was shining and I saw New York city from the sky as I flew into Newark airport. Then of course I had to go through customs -- they are so welcoming over here, my customs officer didn't even smile! What a great start...

I'd met quite a few German girls on the plane on the way over, I was the only English girl at orientation, which is where they have around 150 Au Pairs from all over the world and give them basic childcare information. Namely, the "3 No's" which were: no drinking, no drugs, and no child abuse (what, really??). Some of the German girls were nice, but I quickly realised that if you weren't German they wouldn't bother with you -- they would just speak German to everyone! I find it quite isolating, especially since most of the people are German. Some people even complimented me on my "excellent" English! Was I meant to say thank you?

I decided to speak to other Europeans who weren't German, and I made friends with a finnish girl and a girl from the Netherlands, Hanneke who had been put in my room in the hotel as she was also from my same cluster and she lived in Chatham!

I also had the opportunity to visit New York City at night on a tour at orientation, which was amazing to see the city at night. We went to the top of the Rockafellar Centre as well and saw times square!

The next day everyone was very nervous as it was the day that everyone was meeting their host families! My host family were in fact on holiday (or "vacation") in Cancun at the time so their old Au Pair, Marine (from France) was picking me up at the airport. We were all standing at departures very nervous, watching some host families pick up their Au Pairs while we were left alone.

Marine picked me up and then we went home. The house is very nice but smaller than I thought it would be -- plus it is very cluttered! These people are certainly hoarders! My room was nice though, it reminded me of what it is like at home! Then we went out for dinner, and I started to learn just why Americans are so big: i ordered a meal with was tomato and chicken but then I also got a soup included and then a big plate of pasta on the side! This was all for $15, we get so ripped off in the UK.

I also got introduced to the families "zoo": 3 dogs; one cat and a hamster. Luckily for me they were getting rid of two of the dogs that weekend as they could not be house trained after 4 years, so they were being taken by a family in the country who didn't mind this! But the new edition was Couture the papillon puppy, who wasn't exactly house trained either -- but as a puppy we let her off! Then there is skitty the cat who likes to sleep on my bed and wake me up bright and early! And of course the hamster but she doesn't like people.

The next day we went off to New York to see Macys and Bloomingdales (where I bought store bags from both stores! I also went to see the famous "Flat Iron" (right) Empire State Building (left). We had a great time!

The next few days we got rid of the other dogs, and also went to see Drew University where I would be going this semester.

Then on the Sunday I finally met the girls (Lindsey, aged 9 and Shelby aged 11) and Celeste my Host Mom. Everyone was very friendly and even though I had been nervous about meeting the girls (what if they didn't like me?!) we hit it off straight away! :)

The next few days I bonded with the girls before they went to their Dad's for the weekend, and before Marine left on her travels, and Celeste to Key West on a business trip. So I was left all alone in the house, so I went to see Mamma Mia again!

I also went to a starbucks meeting with the other Au Pairs along with Hanneke my old roommate. Unfortunately there were more Germans, who were as rude as ever, laughing in German and someone asked me why I had bothered to come to America if I already spoke English -- like they were practising their English if they were speaking German every chance they got! They were also rude to Hanneke: "Oh but you can understand us, yes?" only for her to reply "No, I speak Dutch?!" Either way, I had no chance what-so-ever of understanding them...

Anyway, that's all for now!

NEXT BLOG: Pool Parties and Shopping Trips!