US and A ! (7jan)

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.

2013-01-07 22.18.14

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

Ready to go

Yesterday I finally packed all my stuff. It was more than I expected, but 5kg less than maximum weight allowed. The only thing left to pack is my dressing-case, computer and phone. I hope I haven’t forgotten anything…

So, now I am completely ready to go on my biggest adventure yet. It feels kind of unreal, but at the same time I’m realizing I’m leaving Sweden for a year. It’s a strange feeling. But I am so excited and right now I’m just sitting here, waiting for time to pass, haha! I don’t think I will be able to sleep tonight either.

Tomorrow looks like this: I will get up pretty early, pack the last of my things, and go to Landvetter airport where I’m going to meet the other three au pairs who are leaving from Gothenburg. Say goodbye to my mum and then get on the plane. Take off is at 11:55, stopover in London and landing in New York 11hours and 45 minutes later. It’s going to be a long day, local time in New York will be 17:40, but I probably will be too excited to be tired!

I can’t wait till I met my host family in Carlsbad Friday evening.

Butterflies

Now I am seriously realizing what is about to happen in three days. I am moving to the United States of America, for a year!! These last days will be all about preparing for departure. For example I really need to start packing…

Soon my host mum will call me and check if everything is alright. And after that I am going to a going-away-dinner with my dad, his girlfriend and my brother. Don’t know where yet, but it will be nice.

Yesterday I said goodbye to my gym and the beach volleyball hall. Two workouts in one day and you know you are alive! I thought I wanted to work out some more before leaving, but with this muscle soreness I don’t think so. It was fun playing beach volleyball one last time here in Sweden, no sun or wind to disturb me indoor. But I think I’m going to prefer playing on the Californian beach next year :).

5 days left!

Time just flies by. It’s kind of ridiculous that I only have four days left in this cold and wet country. I still have a hard time believing all this is true.

Anyway, today I finally started packing. For a month now I’ve had a box where I’ve put stuff I wanted to bring along, and today I sorted out what I want to have in my hand luggage and my check-in luggage. It’s a start, a small one, but still a start!

Today I also tested to Skype with my youngest cousin. She is so adorable. I gave her parents my address in USA and I am hoping for a Swedish candy package sometime next year :).

Happy New Year!

A new year has arrived and I have high hopes on this one! In only six days I am on my way to New York and the au pair training school with a lot of other au pairs from around the world. On the 11th I will finally meet my host family in Carlsbad, CA. I can’t wait!

I wasn’t sure if I was going to start a blog. But after some thought I figured it would be good for my English. It was quite a while ago I studied it in school and since I am going to speak Swedish with my host family, this could be good practice.