Miami, Florida

At the end of April, I accompanied my host mum and her daughter to Miami :)

We spent eight days down there and did a lot of fun things. The main reason we were there was because my host mum had a work conference.

We survived a pre-hurricane storm the first day we arrived. We drove around Miami beach and went shopping at a mall! The malls are interesting as they have pubs and adult themed places throughout the mall! It was a good place to spend a whole lot of money (which I did) and to spend a hot, rainy day!

Flooding on the roads

We were staying right in downtown Miami so we were central to restaurants and shopping. Hannah and I spent four days together while my host mum was at her work conference. We swam at the hotel pool, chilled in the hotel room, went to a Children's Museum and went to a zoo called Jungle Island. We missed the shuttle to Jungle Island the day we were meant to go so we had to catch a taxi. It was my first ever taxi ride in America. Jungle Island was a nice place to spend a hot day. There were birds, alligators, farm animals, kangaroos, flamingos and monkeys.
One of the afternoons we spent at Miami beach where we went for a paddle and I sunbathed. It was so hot, so we spent the whole afternoon there until sunset.

Kangaroo at a show at Jungle Island. The keepers running the show are in love with NZ so we chatted about the animals in NZ for a while!

The last two days we were in Miami, we took a drive to the Florida keys and went alligator watching. On the Florida Keys trip we got down as far as Marathon. We chilled on the beach for a few hours and then went to this awesome restaurant for dinner. It was right on the water by the 7 mile bridge. We sat outside where there was a swimming pool and a band playing. It was a nice way to end the day. That day I also got sunburnt for the first time in America.
We went alligator watching in the Everglades National Park. We were on an air boat gliding over the water. We saw a few alligators but it was so hot that they were all hiding in the shrubs and grass around the swamp. After the boat ride, we had the opportunity to hold a 2 year old alligator, Snappy. 

This is Snappy, my pet alligator.

Miami was a lovely vacation destination but I personally wouldn't live there. 

First time ever at a Hard Rock Cafe. 

 That is all for now :)

Katy Perry - 4/20/12

So like forever ago, I went and saw Katy Perry live at the Naval Academy with my host mum's cousin and her husband! 

We watched all the midshipmen march around for a parade as Katy Perry was meant to make an appearance there but didn't show up. And then we got ready for the concert. We drove past Katy Perry while we were driving back to the house to get ready. 

We only had an hour to get ready, so we were rushing around like crazy! 

On the way to the concert.. I had fake eyelashes on and they were so annoying!

The concert started like super duper late. But the wait was worth it! 

We weren't actually sitting this close but these were the photos I got sent from the people I went with cause I left my camera at home. 

The show was only about an hour long! But it was so amazing seeing her live! One celebrity ticked off my list. Hoping to see Kelly Clarkson and The Fray live and The American Idol Top 10 :) 

I have been enjoying life to much..

Sorry for not writing anything in ages.

I will update this weekend with photos from Katy Perry, Miami and other random things that might interest you!

Love to you all xx

Random things.

4/17/12 -

So we had a BBQ on 4/15/12. Lots of my host family's friends came and I was able to meet them all. I attempted my first ever Pavlova. It didn't really work. I believe mum gave me the wrong quantities of ingredients. I stood there for an hour trying to get stiff peaks (laugh all you like) because I was determined to make the best pavlova ever! Well this was not the case. I gave up at that hour as I was not getting any where. So I just put the mixture on the tray in the oven and it didn't turn out to bad. Definitely not the same as mum's but it was so good. And because everyone eating it besides me didn't know any different, it tasted great!!! It was a hit, I think I will be making dessert regularly. 

My ankle is slowly getting better/I have been real lazy and been doing not a lot (which is good) so it has stopped hurting so much! I am so pleased my big purchase of a uncomfortable ankle brace has finally started working.. 

I am off to see Katy Perry in four days :D I am so excited! My host mum's cousin brought me a ticket and I am going with her, her husband and her friend I believe. It is at the Naval Academy in Maryland. It is such an awesome place.. I am in love with that place.. Anyway I am really really excited to see Katy Perry live.

This is the view from the dining room window that I see every morning. It is our BACKYARD!!! It is so awesome. We have squirrels, deer, birds and their is a fox. I heard the fox the other night while I was watching a movie. It sounds like a baby being abused (not my own words). The forest is definitely a lovely place to explore and chill. The only bad thing is that there is a chance that we may end up with ticks on us over summer! Eeeek, not keen for that. Gotta wrap up as much as I can everytime we are outside. 

I have also been on a massive clothes shopping trip.. It was good for me but bad for the credit card.. But I am pleased with my purchases so I am not complaining. 

When I arrived, the host mum was telling me about how her and her cousin like to sing on karaoke when they have get togethers. So the first week I am in Virginia the cousin and her family come over and we played karaoke. I found out I loved it and I can actually do quite well. We were up till 12.30 that night. Well since then, the mum and I have played it a few times. We stayed up till after 2 the other night playing it. We are crazy but we have loads of fun drinking soda and singing to crazy songs I do not know/cannot sing!

I have been driving a few more times too. On Sunday, my host mum and I went to the store and I drove there :) So I got to park the car in a parking lot. I am getting more confident. Should be able to drive myself around soon hopefully (fingers crossed) Oh and by the way mum, we went to the store in our PAJAMAS! We weren't the only ones either.. 

As I am writing this, it is so flipping hot outside and in my room. This summer it is meant to be super hot.. I can only imagine what that means. Hello basement, the coolest room in the house and the community swimming pool. We will end up living there during the day just so I can cope! 

5/30/12 - 

I went to my first Nationals baseball game a week or two ago. The Nationals team is from Washington DC. They were playing the Padres who are from San Diego. When we arrived at the stadium it was bucketing with rain but it cleared up and the game continued. The Nationals got wasted but it was a good experience to watch professionals play!

I am starting to go out a lot more in the evenings and weekends. I have become good friends with two Germans. I go to the movies with one of them every Tuesday as the tickets are ONLY $2! And I go out with the other girl for Frozen Yoghurt on Thursdays. We are also joining a gym together soon. And because I am getting social I am also driving a lot more. I am very confident driving around here. I am use to driving on the opposite side of the road and the rules are all pretty much the same :) 

All for now xoxo

Easter

We had a nice relaxed Easter. I didn't get up till Midday when Hannah knocked on my door telling me to come downstairs to see my Easter basket. 

So in America they don't do Easter eggs, they do plastic eggs fill of candy. Such a different experience. Though, I did get a chocolate egg in my basket cause I did bring a bag of cadbury eggs for my family. 

Other than relaxing all day, we dyed some hard-boiled eggs and then had a egg hunt with the eggs we dyed. It was a lot of fun. 

My family also has a tradition to take family photos at Easter and Christmas. So we had cute family photos in the backyard in the nice sunny weather. 

I am so lucky, my family are just so wonderful. I do miss NZ tooo! 

Love you all xoxo

This is what the Easter Bunny did (:

My Easter Basket

Dying the eggs

The finished product

I am referred to as either NZ Hannah or H2

Colorado

Hi all.

We have just returned from our vacation in Colorado. We spent 6 days in Denver, staying right in the centre of the town so we were close to the main shopping area and in walking distance of restaurants and attractions.

My host mum had a conference in Denver and that is why we were in Colorado. But for us it was a vacation. And so we weren't up till like 10 everyday.. Just slept till whenever. It was great!

While in Denver we visited the zoo and the aquarium. They are both amazing places. The zoo had almost every animal you could think of. It was like a mix of an aquarium and zoo. It was so hot which was nice for a change! Colorado weather is so much like Palmerston North weather. It can be all two seasons (they only have winter and summer) in one day. They also have an aquarium so we spent a few hours there on the day when it was just Hannah jnr and I. They had mermaids swimming around in one of the tanks so Hannah was over the moon when she saw them. We were just lucky we walked the wrong way cause we found them having photos with the public, so Hannah got a photo with them. She was one lucky girl!

At the zoo. Just blobbing out.

On a merry-go-round at the zoo :)

Because of the weather in Denver, it snowed one of the days we were there! So the day after it snowed we treked up to the Rockies and went tubing. It was so much fun. And it wasn't very busy so we didn't have to wait in line for the chutes for the tubing! It was so hot too!

We also made a trip down to a little place called Florence (it is more a hole than Ashhurst) to watch my host dad's sons baseball game. It was a pretty amateur game, but it was fun to see a game I had never watched before. It was nice to see a bit of Colorado also while we were driving. There is a place called Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs and there are unique red rocks there. It was an amazing piece of landscape.

Red Rocks at the Garden of the Gods

Baseball game in Florence. 

The vacation was lovely and found out today that we are off to Miami in two weeks for another conference for the mom, so we get to go to keep her company :)

Bye for now!

xx

Washington D.C quick tour

We had an hour or so to kill in Washington D.C so the host mom drove me around to see some of the sights of Washington D.C.

The White House

St Patricks Catholic Church

A random food stand! They are everywhere!

The museum of Natural History.

The capitol (like the beehive)

The Washington Monument 

Bye for now xxx

US Naval Academy Tour

My host family and I travelled up to the Naval Academy in Maryland as my host mum's cousins husband works at the Naval Academy.

We stayed at their house the night and stayed up to the early hours of the morning singing karaoke (I didn't have a winning streak this time).

On Thursday we had a massive tour of the academy! First off we watched the formalities of all the troops and then got shown around some of the campus. It is HUGE!!! The architecture of the buildings are amazing inside and out. They even have an indoor track!

After the tour we went to a restaurant in the town and there we got dinner plus a 6 POUND MILKSHAKE! It was yummy and between the nine of us we finished it :D


Love Hann x

A random solider having a photo with me. 

The amazing architecture of the buildings. 

The indoor track, it is amazing!

Our 6-pound milkshake! It was delicious! The glass is 2 feet tall :)

Driving in US

I went for my first driving lesson tonight. It is definitely odd driving on the opposite side of the road.

The car I am driving is an European car so the indicator and windscreen wipers are on different sides than I am use to as well. I think I have the hang of it.

I hate to admit it but Virginia drivers are way more courteous than majority of Kiwi drivers. It made it a lot easier to learn around the neighbourhood. There are four way stop signs around the place, so whoever gets to the intersection first gets right-of-way.

Also, almost got T-Boned cause Beamer owners think they own the road and this particular driver stopped in my way! I got through the intersection untouched thankfully!

I will be a little more independent when I get my driving up to scratch around here:)

xx

First few days of being on the job

When we got home from New York City, the mom stayed at home with Hannah and I for three days to get me use to the house and the routines etc. She also drove me around the town to show me around. The area they live in is a nice town with lots of brick buildings and trees :D

Hannah and I have had two days by ourselves. We have had a lot of fun trying to suss each other out. Hannah loves Spiderman, mermaids and princesses. So most days we play a game of all three combined, I think I know how to play it now. She also likes swimming and there is a swimming pool about 30 minute walk from the house so that is handy. We went to go swimming on Friday morning and got there to discover it was closed so we had to turn around and walk home again. We were both pretty guttered.

I have free time once the parents get home from work so lately I have been skyping whoever I can get a hold of in NZ. I have also started watching American Idol and more movies. I have netflixs in my room. It is a set-up where you can watch mostly any movie or TV show that you like whenever you like. And once I start getting to know other Au Pairs in the area I will go out sometimes in the evening to do social activities with them. I am also going to learn how to drive so if I need to drive somewhere I will be able too when there is a car available.

Anyway, I am off to the airport soon to pick up their son.

Love to you all

Hannah xx

New York

Hello all,

I have arrived in Virginia all safe and sound.

My family picked me up from the flash hotel in Connecticut on Thursday afternoon and we drove to New York City to our hotel.  Our hotel looked over Times Square. And it was high enough that you didn't hear all the commotion from down on the road.

While in New York we visited the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building and the 9/11 memorial. The trip out to Liberty Island was quite spectular, seeing both New York and New Jersey state. We went to the 9/11 memorial real randomly cause we kind of got lost trying to find Chinatown and we ended up at the memorial. But the memorial is so lovely. It is a massive cube like hole with water rushing down the sides. It had all the people who died written around the outside of the 'pools'. We also climbed to the 82nd floor of the Empire State Building. Here we saw most of Manhattan and some of Jersey.

View from the Empire State Building

We also went to the hit Broadway musical of Spiderman. Spiderman swung around the theatre and he even landed in the aisle next to us. We were 5 rows from the front. This was also on St Patricks Day. New York is Irish madness so we were surrounded by young drunk americans and not-so-young too. It was a great experience though.

We had a 4.5 hour drive down the interstate to get back to Virginia.

Love to you all

xx

Hi

Hey!

Second night in the hotel! It is the flashiest place I have ever stayed. We got our bags delivered to the door when we arrived, we get our beds made and rooms cleaned every morning! I am sharing a room with a French girl and a girl from costa rica :) I have met many other au pairs too.
There is a whole group from Brazil here and today me and my room-mate went to the mall with them. They are all really friendly. I have just got back from target and all I can say it 'oh man!' that place is sensational and I can't wait to go back!

This morning I received a parcel from my host family. Inside was a gift basket of candy :) they are so lovely.

Tomorrow I have first aid training all day and then I am off on a tour of New York City which my host parents paid for me to do!

Post again later

Love to you all in NZ xoxo

GOODBYE NEW ZEALAND!

I am sitting in the departure lounge just waiting for my plane to board.
Check in took forever but that was ok because the lady behind the desk was lovely so we just talked :)

All for now!

Love you all xox