Always look on the bright side of life

 47 days!

Sometimes it feels like time is passing veeeeeeery slowly. Most of the time. When I'm working, actually. During the weekend, not so much.

I am typing this while some neighbor's kid is practicing German children's songs on the violin. Maybe they have the same melodies here, but that's really funny somehow.

Last weekend was homecoming weekend at Cornell!

On Friday we went to see a Fireworks and Laser show and it was so cool! Every other firework will look boring from now on ...

On Saturday, we went to the American Football Game. Cornell vs Bucknell.

I didn't know the rules so to be honest it wasn't that interesting for me, but it was very American. They had a marching band, cheerleaders and that kind of stuff. It looked like in the movies!

Nothing else exciting happened. The really fun stuff is happening during the next few weekends ...

I am already so excited and I want it to be next weekend right now! And the weekend after that! 

This weekend, I'm only relaxing. I also have to save some money for the next weekends :p

So I'm just gonna upload some photos of my every day life. Enjoy!

Rochester from earlier this month:

"Drones kill children"

Darkness falls. Here comes the rain. #GuessWhichSong

Photoshoot with Michèle, the kids and my hostmom's camera at Ithaca falls (which is 10 minutes away from here and so beautiful):

My face hahaha

Waterfall ... for a change

Chilling hard

I love this photo. It's hilarious. My children love each other

photoception

Me again

Cuties

Purity Ice Cream is almost as good as The Cheesecake Factory. But nothing is as good as The Cheesecake Factory.

Random stuff:

USA vs Germany

37 days!

Last week was just a normal week.

On Satuday, I went with Michèle to Rochester. It was raining all day long so there wasn't much to do (actually we wanted to go to an Oktoberfest with authentic German food and entertainment), so we ended up in a mall. Again. But it was a nice mall!

I thought about things I can write here because my every day life is really not that interesting. A little crisis here and there and some nervous breakdowns ... Just kidding. It's not easy with the kids, but not that bad :p

So I decided to write about differences between the US and good old Germany! 

Food

• Obviously the Americans don't have bread that is as good as the German bread. Same with beer (although I am of course not allow to try that here).
• Funny is that they sell a lot of pretzels. Normal pretzels, chocolate pretzels, caramel pretzels ... No idea why. I didn't have a pretzel yet, but I just think it's funny.
• Americans love to go out for dinner. There are a looot of restaurants here, all kinds. Mexican, Chinese, American, Turkish ... Oh, and even the Austrian one!
• Americans eat warm dishes for lunch and for dinner. At least my family. In Germany, I had something warm for lunch and bread or idk for dinner. That's just what I did, I guess some Germans also always eat something warm.

Sizes

• Everything is HUGE: supermarkets, dishes, packets (snack - sized here is normal size in Germany), malls, the country ...

People

• Most of the Americans I met yet were very friendly. Especially when you say that you're not from here and need help with the coins for example (I still don't know which coin has which value). They also greet you on the street, even if you don't know them. At least in the neighborhood.
• Like I said, at the beginning Americans are very friendly and super nice. But then, when you get closer to them, they become more and more reserved. To be honest, I didn't make that experience yet cause I don't know any Americans my age, but other Au pairs told me so. It's the opposite in Germany or Europe in general. There, people are reserved at first but when you get to know them better they open up more and more.

Culture

• Americans love America.
• You see so many American flags here, you don't even see that many German flags during the soccer world championship. It's crazy.
• Concerning arms ... Or guns. I read a sign on a car that said "The best homeland  defense is an armed citizen". Right. And in offices you see signs that say that guns are forbidden there or that kidnapping a security man is an offence. You'd think you don't have to tell people that but ... yeah, America!

Streets

• The streets are wider here.
• A loooooot of Stop signs. A lot. Like, at almost every intersection. Which is very annoying, cause when I get to an intersection and there are no other cars, why should I come to a full stop? (When I'm driving alone, I almost never come to a complete stop. My hostparents told me you can get a ticket for doing that, but come on)
• The cars are bigger. We have a "normal" car, a Volkswagen. Yay German car! But you see a loooot of huge cars. Trucks and pick-ups and everything.
• They don't really use priority to the right here. It's more like: first come, first served. When you come to an intersection and you stop at the stop sign and other cars from other streets also stop, the one who was there first can go first. I'm still not used to that rule.
• They have signs like "Don't even think about parking here" (saw that one in NYC) and "Right lane must turn right". So when you're on the lane for turning right, you have to turn right! Captain Obvious says hello. Americans, that's all I'm saying.
• The yellow and white stripes on the streets don't reflect the light in the dark. And that sucks. When we drove home from Rochester, it was raining and sometimes I wasn't able to identify my lane. Or the street. It's just so incredibly dark here! I don't know why, but it's never that dark in Germany.
• The speed! Oh my God, I feel like a snail here. The maximum speed on the interstate is 65mp/h which is 104km/h. You feel me? That's nothing when you're used to drive at least 140km/h. So even the Americans who have super nice and fast cars, don't get anything out of it.
• There's sometimes some kind of toll you have to pay. 

Bringing up children

Now I'm speaking in general, not only about my hostfamily. It's what I experienced and what other Au pairs told me.

• Most of the time, American children get what they want. When they want it. Exactly how they want it.
• Example: dinner. Someone has cooked a nice dish, but the children don't want it. So someone's making something else. When the children still don't want that, someone makes something else again. That's how it goes.
• American parents are not as strict as German parents. Basically, the children can do what they want. Play with their food, scream, interrupt adults when they're speaking to each other ... Things like that.

That's everything I can think of right now.

If you have other questions, just let me know and I'm glad to answer them!

I hope that was interesting for you :)

xoxo

Christin

I don't like it, I love it

29 days!

This is it. It's the longest away from home I've ever been ...
It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no telling where you might be swept off to.
#HobbitReference

The longest I've been away from home before was 21 days. Beating my own record every day now!

I'm getting used to all this. To America, to the kids, this house, even to the builders who are here every day (although I hope they're done very soon).

It's a challenge to find something to do every day that keeps the kids and me entertained.

I am working every day nine hours, so nine hours in which I'm alone with the kids. The best thing is to go outside and do something outside. As much as I'm looking forward to the winter, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with the kids when you're freezing your nose off outside. But we'll cross this bridge when we come to it.

Basically I try to do something fun every day.

Cayuga Lake

Picnic - Cornell style

Hiking with other Au pairs and their kids at Buttermilk Falls - first time with my little boy in the back pack. He is a very heavy baby. I was not able to move the day after this :p
No need for the gym!

 Although I also went to the gym ... Look at this view from the treadmill! Makes exercising almost fun ;)

Of course we can't forget about the American food ... well, sweets.

 Ice Cream Sundae on the left!
Whipped cream, chocolate ice cream, hot chocolate fudge and a cookie at the bottom! Oh, and of course a cherry on the top.

Dunkin Donuts on the right.

(Yes, I understand why a lot of Au pairs gain weight during their stay here)








Every Wednesday, I only have to work till 3 cause I'm going to college!
I really like my course, it's perfect. Very interesting.
I only always forget about the Air conditioning and so I'm freezing in class. But tomorrow I try to remember to bring a jacket ...

Fairytale forest?

Another hike with the kids up the Cascadilla Trail ...





But the really fun stuff happens during the weekends.

New York State Fair in Syracuse!

Henna tattoo

it drops you from the top. terrible thing

Milkshake with Michèle

Shopping in Syracuse!

not all of these bags are mine :p

Hershey's Chocolate Cheesecake

The Cheesecake Factory is heaven. Look at this cake. I want to live in the Cheesecake Factory. It's paradise.

Lake Ontario!

I really like this photo. We're searching for pretty stones :p

Reading (at the moment "Red Queen")

Fort Oswego

Yesterday was Labor Day, so I had a day off because my hostmom had a day off. We went to Lake Ontario, which is really beautiful and which looks like the sea. It's just so huge!

Tomorrow is the first day of pre - school for my little girl. That means I'm alone with my boy most of the time. Tomorrow is also college day :D

Sorry for the weird formatting. I don't know how to make it better ... maybe I'll learn that in college! We are really talking about HTML in class tomorrow. Exciiiiting

In general, I really like my hostfamily. I chose this headline because the song is always on the radio and sometimes I do love the US. Mostly during the weekend :p

Thank you all for you support, it means a lot to me. Knowing that you all are still there for me makes me feel stronger in this huge and weird country.

xoxo

Christin

Chasing this American Dream (and sleep)

15 days USA!

Feels like waayyy more.

So last week was quite relaxed because the grandparents were here and they played with the kids often times so I didn't have as much to do as normally.

However, a few important things I have to do or am doing:

I have to get a New York State driver's license. The car insurance is very expensive and it will get cheaper when I have that. Sooo I'm doing my driver's license. Again. I was so happy when it was over in Germany but I'll do my hostfamily that favor. They are doing so much for me. Getting an American driver's license is just a fair deal.

I am going to college ! To Tompkins Cortland Community College. While typing this, I suddenly understood why they're calling it TC3. 

Throughout my whole year I have to get 6 credits. Now I'm taking a class for which I get 3 credits, so I have to take another one in the spring semester. Or maybe I'll go to a weekend class. We'll see.

I am so excited cause it starts tomorrow! Every Wednesday from 4pm to 5.15pm. "Creating Online Media". Actually exactly what I want to do, also after this year.

I just hope that I'm gonna find the college and the room! It's in Dryden which is 20 minutes away.

So far I found everything, even without GPS. Yay disoriented me!

I will also get a membership in the gym. That thing is a dream! Far better than my gym in Germany. And more expensive ... America's making me poor! There are so many cool things here that I want to buy. 

Driving here was kinda weird at the beginning, but I'm getting used to it. I definitely prefer German streets and rules ... People don't seem to know priority to the right here. But they have a loooot of Stop signs. And hills. I hate driving (and walking) uphill !

local diner

Gugelhopf :D

Last weekend, we were at some kinda Austrian restaurant which was really fun because I had Schnitzel and a Gugelhopf. They also had German beer which I didn't drink of course. I just smelled it ... I also hate being underage again! :p

But that was a piece of home. It was nice.

American food - French Dip Sandwich

Taughannock Falls

We were also at Taughannock Falls. Like I said, soo many waterfalls. So much nature. That one is like the tallest in the region or something. Beautiful.

The children are nice, most of the time. Actually they're nicer when I'm alone with them which is weird but good. 

Yesterday was the first day of being completely alone with the kids. It is soooo exhausting, but fun. Sometimes. Hey, I'm the master of changing diapers now ! ugh

I'm fine, actually. Homesickness is under control. Most of the time.

Thanks for your support, guys. You're awesome. I'd probably die without WhatsApp ^^

Yeah, it's quite lonely here. 

Sunday I found a "Au pair in Ithaca" Facebook group. I even met one of the girls yesterday, we went shopping :D Variety is the spice of life, hahahahahahaha

#swag

Just kidding, I'm buying sth almost every day. And I thought I can save some money here. Joke's on me.

I think that's it for now. I am really tired, we went swimming today. And I didn't feel so good during the last days. Guess I caught a little cold. Sorry for grammar or other mistakes, I just can't concentrate anymore.

xoxo

Christin

Ithaca

One week USA!

Here I am, sitting on my hostfamily's couch.

During the past few days, so many things happened! I don't know where I am supposed to begin.

So I arrived here last Thursday at 11pm. My hostdad picked me up from the bus station and brought me home. My hostmom was still awake to welcome me and they were soo nice but I was just tired and only wanted to go to bed. 

The next day, they let me sleep in. 

I was so excited to see the children for the first time! At the beginning, both were a bit shy, but it gets better from day to day. Sometimes it feels like I'm already here for ages, but it's only 4 days!

Saturday we got some stuff for my room which was mostly empty because my family moved in this house like 3 weeks ago. My room also gets better from day to day. I put some photos on the wall, I have a bed (the first night I slept on an air mattress) and I finally had time to unpack my stuff.

Here in Ithaca, there are what feels like a thousand waterfalls. So we were also at one of these, because it's so HOT right now. My room is under the roof, so sometimes it feels like hell in here. I'm so glad that I have air conditioning here.

Saturday we ran around in town all day. We were also in Collegetown, which is like a part of the city and where the college is! You didn't see that coming, huh? It's so beautiful up there! You can see the Cayuga Lake which is one of the Finger Lakes and it's really cool. We also visited a museum, but we went there mostly for the view. Oh and we ate ice cream at a pharmacy. We had small scoops, but they were huge! I wasn't able to eat up mine.

Yesterday I went shopping! All alone :p

I was at Urban Outfitters which is basically the only cool store here - wait, there are a few more - but this is the only "brand" store I found here so far. And as I stood in the store, I noticed that I forgot to look up the American sizes. So I just took my normal German size which was good, but the sizes for the pants are different and I'm still not sure which one I have.

In the afternoon, we went to the Cayuga lake. We met our neighbors there who are really nice people and there was even a girl my age. It was good to talk with her.

Before going home, we went grocery shopping at Wegman's. OhMyGod. That thing is huge. Even bigger than the small ice cream scoop! I got some sweets. And Nutella. I'm curious if it tastes like in Germany.

got a mug!

Today was my first real day of work.

It was good, I guess. I went with the kids to the playground and I even found it all alone!

pizza for lunch

Then the little boy had to take his nap so I brought the girl home and went for a walk with the boy. The walk took two hours. I was so exhausted! It was still so hot today. Ugh.

In the afternoon, we played with their toys that arrived today.

This evening, the grandparents came here and they'll stay for a few days. They're also so nice! The grandpa asked me if I'm really German because he didn't hear my accent. I was so happy when he said that! Although I have to admit that we only spoke a few words at that time.

Homesickness is an issue that I have to deal with.

Every morning it's the worst actually. Over the day it gets better. I hate the time difference!

Keeping you updated,

Christin xo

much  nature

much wow