This post used to contain pictures, but due to new storage limitations from WordPress, I had to fix the problem and decided to create a new blog that works as an archive for all the posts from my two years in California. This full post can be found here.

Today was the last day with classes. Vi had 6 hours of First Aid/CPR/AED with the American Red Cross. I learned a lot, for example that Americans are very afraid of germs, and want us to call 911 like all the time. I feel safe, having upgraded my skills with this, but I really, really hope that I won’t have to use them this year!

Breakfast was good today, they served french toasts. And I tried the sweet and colorful Cheerios. It was good, but I don’t want to think how much sugar it was in them.

Lunch consisted of a lunch box with a sandwich, a bag och chips and an apple. I am glad we don’t have to eat this bad food anymore. They teach us how important it is with nutrition and healthy food, and they serve us this?

At 2:20pm the bus went from campus in Oakland, Long Island to New York City. Everyone was really excited! When we got to Manhattan, our guide went on the bus and started talking. He talked about buildings, famous people and le tus off the bus now and then to take pictures! He let us walk a little in Central Park, down by the Hudson River looking at the tiny Staty of Liberty, he let us take gorilla photos of the new World Trade Center (as a nearly graduated building and civil engineer, I wished that I could be on that project, that would have been the most awesome thing ever!), and of course Time Square! Oh, gorilla photo apparently is when you run off the bus, take a quick photo, and then run back to the bys.

In our freetime most of us went to Rockefeller to look out over New York in the dark. That was amazing! The pictures aren’t that good, but I will always have the memory of the fantastic view. It was so amazing and beautiful!

For the first time since I got here, I really felt that I was here! On the school it has felt like I was on a girls boarding school. But to see New York, yeah, I totally am in the United States of America! I mean, Time Square, SERIOUSLY?!

I was speechless most of the time and I think I walked with my mouth wide open in awe all afternoon/evening! It was so big, I’ve never seen anything like it. It was kind of overwhelming. I have to go back there!!

2013-01-11 01:38

I can’t believe I can sleep well on these beds. They are rock hard, and has a plastic cover that makes horrible noises everytime you move. But just as the night before, I slept like a baby last night. And tonight it will be the same. I am soo exhausted!

The breakfast today was different than yesterday, today scrambled eggs, sausages and hamburgers were served. After breakfast we had a class about. Hmm, I don’t even remember. But today was more relevant and I thought I learnt something. For example I learned that when I meet my host family at the airport Friday evening, I’m going to greet the children first. We had classes about the different ages of a child and everything about those ages. We did an arts and crafts project where we presented our age group. I had 9-11 year-olds.

At lunch we had hamburgers and fried potato bits and corn. Except for the corn (don’t know the word, but you know when the corn is still on that stick or whatever? :P) the lunch was horrible.

Dinner consisted of, I think it was fried, chicken and som over cooked pasta. Not that good either. After dinner we had more classes. That was fun though and easier to keep your eyes open. A policeman talked about saftey, and I actually learned a lot! Afterwards som information about tomorrow.

I am worried about my luggage. I checked with American Airlines, and you have to pay $100 if you have overweight. And I do (don’t ask me how, I think I just suck at packing…). So I’ve tried to repack and put some heavy things in my hand luggage. It doesn’t say how much you can have in that one on AA’s website, but I hope it’s quite much.

2013-01-09 22:15

In class doing the project on 9-11 year olds.

The safety class with the policeman.

I am not suffering from jetlag at all. It’s so awesome! My day started with breakfast at seven and I slept like a baby between midnight and the time of my alarm! Breakfast was okay. I had a normal sandwich and tried a yellow bagel. That was good. But the orange juice was weird, packed in a little can and was frozen so you couldn’t drink it…

Classes started at eight and the day was over at 6:30 pm. If I’m going to be completley honest, I think it was kind of a waste of time. Everything the teacher said I already knew, everything was obvious. Well, okay, some things I didn’t know, for example that parents in the US are the only ones that can give their child medication. If anyone else is going to do it, they need a note with a signature from the parents.

We had 2h classes and 30min breaks except for the lunch break. Right before lunch we were talking about food and nutrition and for lunch we get fried chicken, french fries and as much soda as we liked.

In the last class for the day the teacher handed out small notes to some of us. On the notes it said that we should go to the ”Basket Room” to pick up a suprise. It was a basket from the host families. That was so sweet of them! They paid for my New York tour on Thursday, I got a small bag of Skittles and M&Ms and some small stuff like a cap, post-its and a notebook. So very nice of them!

Dinner was served at 7 pm and we had like big fish sticks, and some pasta in some cheese sauce. Not so good. But the brownie for desert was nice! I’m starting to know why some Americans are like they are.

After that we went to the super market nearby. That was really an experience! Just because I could I bought a Butterfinger and just tried it. It was really good. And the Skittles, how come I’ve never tasted them before? They were delicious!

The time is running away and I’m starting to get really tired. Tomorrow is going to be even worse than today. We have classes from 8 am to 9:30 pm…

2013-01-08 23:32

The basket my host family got me!

St. John’s University Oakdale Campus.

Part of the gigantic field on campus. In the back of the picture, the ocean.

The Cafeteria is part of this other building.

A pretty view on campus.

It is 11:45 pm here in New York (Long Island or whatever!) and I am still awake. I have been up for about 23 hours now and I am still not very tired. It’s really weird! Now I am sitting in my bunk bed in my dorm room in St. Johns University on Long Island. I am sharing the room with two Mexicans.

So far I haven’t done anything at this school except eaten a pizza slice. It was delicous! We arrived at the school very late because of the bus driver who took a detour in New York. Didn’t see much though except China town and Manhattan from a distance.

In total we have traveled by plane for 12h with a stopover in London. Heathrow is sooo big! We had to take a train to our gate. I was hoping to see JFK in New York, but we landed in New Jersey and Newark International Airport. But I think I will depart from JFK on Friday when I’m leaving for San Diego.

Even though the late hour I think au pairs are still dropping in. We were four Swedish au pairs going from Gothenburg, and three from an early Stockholm flight. We arrived together to the school. But I wonder if the girls (and boy?) from Stockholm has arrived yet. I think they were leaving Sweden 3-4 hours after us, so they probably just got here or will in any minute now.

There is WiFi here at the university, but the signal is not strong enough in my room, and I am too exhausted to go look for a spot in this big house where the signal is good. So I will post this when I either find that spot, or when I am at my host family’s house in California this weekend (12th of January).

It has been a long day, I should be tired… Maybe I’ll fall asleep if I just lay down and close my eyes!

2013-01-07, 23:45