Homesick for another kinda home..

It's Thursday night.. 15th of December.. just over 4 days have gone by since getting home
It's been really difficult re-adjusting back to my old life, in all honesty.. much less exciting than what was going on back in Ohio. It was an amazing experience and time in my life :) sad to think that's all over with :/ miss my friends and family so much :( Depression much..
At the end of the day, i got more than i ever expected from this whole "going to America for a year" thing.
I feel like a very changed person now, i can look at all the things i've been looking at all my life but differently after being so far away from it for over 11months.
I'm not kidding,
This was all so worth it!!
Thank you for all the love and support, i think that's what helped me get through it all the most.. support from both homes, New Zealand and Ohio :) <3
Since Julia, i know you'll be reading this..
i love you stalker!! ;D x

FML!!

Cassi and Julia spent the night in Warren with me for the last sleepover for the last time.. maybe the most well behaved we've ever been haha, we were very mature that night :) Julia gave me my Christmas present, i'm just happy i fit the tiny shirt she bought me!! We all went out to dinner that night.. quite entertaining actually :P

Cassi and Julia had school the next morning, we had stayed up most of the night literally just talking and crying.. yeah there's skype, there's facebook and email.. but i'm still leaving and no one knows for sure what's next as much as i remind everyone that i'll be back some day.. how do we know it's truly gonna happen.. Cassi and Julia certainly don't believe it but all we can do is trust that it's true. Even I didn't expect all the life long friendships i gained by being here!!
I walked with Julia and Cassi into the high school.. again :P (omg i didn't think i'd be doing that again!!) It was nice seeing everyone again, i know nobody expected me to be there lol :) Just saying goodbye to Cassi... omg it's so tough, what are you supposed to say to someone at a time like that? See you on skype in another country?? :P I don't know..
It will never be the same without you two..

Skyped my little sisters for the last time before seeing
them at the airport 11th december :D They found a baby chicken and thought they'd be funny by added the chicken flavored noodles to the pic ;)
It's all very scary!! I'll actually be home :O I don't believe it yet.. not till I'm in that airport :) :)

New York & my American Xmas with Mum;D

Julia and I decided that with only a few hours left we might as well stay up all night to make sure we'd be up and ready at 4:30am to leave Warren/Niles to go into Cleveland to pick my Mum up from the airport.. it had been going so well up until I began to fall asleep during the end of our movie: Paulie.. haha yesss that movie is a total cutie ;) After much hitting and pushing.. Julia finally let me crash for the 2 hours left before having to get up to leave for the drive to Cleveland. Probably the worse choice to make.. sleeping for such a short time, made me feel like absolute crap. It still hadn't hit me that'd i'd actually be seeing Mum again, been so long without her.. you just kinda get used to living with her so far away, just a totally new adaption to my everyday life!!

Our first photo after 11 months apart!!

Waiting at the airport at 6:15am with Julia.. we just sat in the middle of the almost empty airport pointing out all the people who could possibly be my Mum, so when Julia said to me.. "Isn't that your Mom".. I kinda ignored it, "Nooo," i told her :P "No seriously Amanda.. that's your Mom right?!?".. "hahaha, ahh noo?" and then my "Mum" was waving as she was waiting on one of those escalators, "Ohhh ****, that is her i think"
I was so confused and mixed up, seeing her felt so strange.. but we hugged and i couldn't help but just cry, she'd gone all this way to in a way.. "pick me up and take me home", it'd been so long.. i couldn't believe she was actually finally standing there right in front of me!! She was convinced that i'd got shorter but then i could say the same about her.. midget :P ahaha!!!
Sheila took us all out to Sugar and falls :) an adorable lil' place to relax and eat out.. Just like Mum had hoped.. it had started snowing the moment we drove into Cleveland to pick her up, so yesss she did indeed bring the snow with her :) lol

The New York trip took around 8/9 hours.. omg i hated the drive there, we were leaving Ohio at 11:30pm which meant we really had to sleep as much as we could before reaching New York in the early morning... so when we visited this really old Church Julia and I sat down and tried sleeping for a bit (everybody assumed we were "really" praying!!) But it was just a good time to take a break :) hahaha!! We got so much done in New York, and in all honesty.. i hadn't really been looking forward to, but having gone there.. yeah, i had a good time :) such a crazy and amazing place to see!!

We had an early Christmas celebration with my host family and Mum. It was a nice night :) :) Good family bonding time.. and even with Julia convinced she was driving back to her Dad's that night.. clearly she was in "my bubble zone" as she left that next morning for school ;)

Thanksgiving break

Julia and I with "Santa" asking for a white pony.. or was it
actually a horse :p

School was off for the last half of the week which meant i got to see Julia :) i don't see her much now that i'm off school and in Warren/Niles like 40minutes away.. I spent thanksgiving day with Rons family, a traditional american holiday i was more than happy to experience. There was so much food and many people asking me about my stay over here in Ohio. Julia felt so sorry for me (and so she should have hahaha) i'm asked the same questions over and over by everyone.. so when Julia meets another exchange student she promised me she would be creative and ask them if they've meet a purple cow yet? or something off the wall like that :p

The Grandparents farm in Pennsylvania :)

I spent the weekend in Pennsylvania with Ron, Sheila, Brent and the grandparents.. i slept most of the 6 hours we spent driving in the car which was nice :) I love Sheila's parents home.. I went horse riding for the very first time which was pretty exciting :D and 4 wheeling took me back home :p almost literally..

My Mum leaves New Zealand in literally just a few hours, i still cannot believe i'll get to see her again.. and actually in person this time. It's been almost 11months since the last time we were together. Early Wednesday morning i'll be seeing her, FINAAAAALLY! I've missed her so much.

My last week of school

If there was one week out of this whole year i was most bothered about.. it defiantly would be picked as this one. I spent the whole week at Julia's dads, who by the way makes the most amazing tasting dinners ever :)
I love her dog Sadie, she's so sweet and adorable!! And ohmygosh, i had my first winter snowfall on Thursday night :p I got so excited, Cassi and Julia were just laughing at me over that :) but they understood that for me.. it was a big deal, we just don't get it like they do in Middlefield ;) Well Cassi, who was in flipflops and practically summer clothes ran through the street with me in the falling snow.. we had fun :)
Gahh, it was such a hectic week, only Julia will fully understand what i mean by this :p hahahaha you freaking boyracer ;)
The school week went by quickly, and for once during this whole year with the closer friends i made here, i broke down crying.. not because they called me a hoe (HAAAA...) but because it was then that it really hit me how hard this all was. Finishing school meant i was closing an old chapter in my life...school. That's it for me. No more high school, and then practically all those people i met at Cardinal i most likely would never see in person again. I know i'm really happy here, the homesickness is only kicking in because i know i'll be home to all the things i've missed soon and i'm thinking about that all right now.
I can honestly say that i met people who really inspired and changed my life from Cardinal. I can guarantee most of the students will think i'm totally b.s-ing right now hahaha!! YOU LIFE CHANGERS ;) ;)
Well, can finally say i lived through high school, got that all over and done with.. about flipping time too :p
Yahh i'm sad about the end of it.. but i think i'm just looking forward to moving onto the bigger and better things after school :) Thanks you guys at Cardinal, i've loved being apart of your school (even if you don't care so much for the place :D haha)

My host Mom and Dad made a big deal about having a leaving party before my mum arriving, so they organized to take us all out to cosmic bowling which was pretty sweet, i really did have an awesome time.. they put so much time and effort into it. I love you both, all you've done for me.. i'm so thankful :)
Because of where i'm living now out in Warren/Niles.. i couldn't have all the people i wanted to, to be there. At least it still went along and everything went well!! Sheila was so sweet, making a video of my time here in America and having it played on the big screens at the bowling alley. It was a good end to a long and stressful week!!

The peeps :) Thank you for everything guys!!

My sister and I, my most favorite person in this whole world <3
feel loved.. dawg hahaha ;p

One final month.

It's November.. still don't believe it ;P School has become a very busy part in my life for now.. not as easy as i'd hoped for the last month here but i'm sure i'll get through it just fine!!
I went trick-or-treating (HALLOWEEN!!!) on Monday in Warren where i am now living. Julia dressed up as a Scottish Pirate and I, a French Maid Pharmacist ;) We chose to take along our pink famous scooters.. "Ohhh we know these girls!! we see em' go pass around here with those scooters!!" omg hahaha i'm sure the whole neighbourhood would assume we were 12 or something ridiculous like that ;p because we definitely fit that category!!
For my first proper Halloween trick-or-treating experience.. i had a great time. It went for about 2 hours and even though it was absolutely freezing cold and just finished raining.. we still made it a worthwhile time.
Half the candy we got was so foreign to me!! and lucky for me.. any recess peanut butter chocolate.. i can just give Julia.. even though i know she'd be proud to see me eat it all on my own.. it is peanut butter IN chocolate!!! there is no way i'm eating something like that ;P i think it's horrible no matter how much the rest of them like it hahaha!!

The Fall

ROAD TRIPS in Julia's car ;D It was a beautiful sunny after school day. Cassi, Julia and I drove around Middlefield, and maybe for the first time I noticed the fall weather. It's so pretty outside now, the leaves have all changed colours of reds/oranges/yellows and browns. It's my new favorite

season :) Cassi was getting upset in the car, just some of the songs that were coming on reminded us all how short the rest of my time here is... Cassi and her tears..of course <3

Julia and I took photos in the leaves this afternoon after school. Laying in the leaves she asks me to help her out (I am her 'magical Godly rope' sent from God, hahahaa!!!) I love this photo >>> like a lot of things.."THIS IS SO US!!" :)  (I know Julia will see this.. so, yo!! I LOVE YOU 'pork-pie')


'YOU'RE THE APPLE TO MY PIE,
YOU'RE THE STRAW TO MY BERRY
YOU'RE THE SMOKE TO MY HIGH 
CALEB&ELI ARE AWAY WITH THE FAIRIES...' - our lil' song :) :)

And so then this last weekend, Sheila&Ron took Julia and I to this Halloween costume shop, they had such awesome things to try on there ;)

We found a JB wig!! Planned on
dressing up as 'Justin Bieber'
for Halloween ;)

Here I am as a monk.. haha yesss, A MONK!! and Julia.. she's
supposed to be a witch or something..

Homecoming

Homecoming was September 23rd :) had such an awesome time!! The homecoming game before it was almost just as good. Cardinal huskies won.. just as well ;) haha!! Oh and Julia got to go to the game ;D yay! CASSI, JULIA & I went with the 'oreo dress theme' Black&white!!! smart :P Our friendship bracelets went along with the same theme too :) :) I had started to get the cold everybody else at school and i'm pretty sure all around Ohio was getting just before homecoming night!! >>>Just my luck.

We had a long night at the football game which i know wouldn't have helped, but having a good time at the dance made me forget about how sick I was.. so actually it all turned out well :)

Dedicated to Julia :) 

October 9th >> Happy Birthday Suzanne <3 i love you!!

Dear Alison & Daniel Morris!!! hahahahaha ARTWORK :D

♥

4th week of school.. still got 12 more before it's all over with, there's still time and a bunch more stuff all planned out way before then!!
Went zip-lining end of August during the long weekend that included fair weekend and labor day. Zip-lining was very awesome, had a lot more fun than i had actually expected to have. I'd definitely do it again, our guides Dan&Dan were pretty sweet!! hahaha, they were tryna teach us all about.. 'trees' ;P My experience there reminded me of the movie, 'yellow brick road' especially when we were driven on what appeared to be a golf cart up through the forestry area. After around 3 full hours zip-lining having a good time.. we stayed in a castle over night. yesss, literally a castle hidden away.. we had to drive through a bit of Nashville state to get there which was cool ;D

The bathroom in our hotel was pretty sweet looking,
cannot forget to mention the tiled floor that you could
adjust the heat temperature for :)

Went to the football game!!!

With Cassi I had the chance to go to one of the very
first football games, I HAD A BLAST!!! so much fun. Only thing missing.. was Julia, so wished she could have been there with us, but we all know Julia.. an extremely dedicated lil' worker :) For my first ever American football game, i was impressed. Really looking forward to the homecoming game this friday!!! Julia will be there :)

Julia and i went to THE FAIR, sadly Cassi wasn't with us :/ we had a really awesome time though, ate so much fair food and finally got to try a fried snicker bar.. didn't like it all that much. The fried cheese stick still wins for me as the best fair food to get :) I brought a hotdog.. Julia was trying to be sweet and give me a hug for paying for her fudge and knocked the hotdog out of my hand. We went back to the lady who sold it to us and happily (well i think it was done happily hahaha) gave us another hotdog.. to make up for the lil' incident with Julia Goshhhh hahaha!!!

So there was this car stuck in the parking lot.. which btw.. was in the middle of a field
and Julia and i decided to video these group of guys get it unstuck.. we just thought it was funny that the owners of the car all sat inside the vehicle while these young guys  tried to get it out, getting all gross and muddy.

The fair looked so amazing from the Ferris heel ride Julia took me on. I'm pretty sure
that was the first Ferris ride i'd ever been on. It reminded me of the movie: 'The Notebook'
:)

3 more months ;/

My Mum called me the beginning of this week to tell me that the tickets were booked for my flight going back home to New Zealand and for her visit to Ohio.
On Wednesday 30th November, my Mum arrives in Cleveland airport at 6:15am, she will have the chance to meet all my family and friends here and see where i've been growing up for the past year :) I leave with my Mum Friday 9th December 4.45pm, arriving in Wellington Sunday 11th December at 1pm. I got kinda emotional and upset, just hearing from my Mum that she really was going to see me here in December, i miss her so much and can't believe how much i've got through without her being right there next to me. I got thinking a lot about home, leaving the family and friends i made here and the thought of actually being back to where it all began!! For me, it was hard to hear all of this.. i'd been waiting so long to find out the date i'd be leaving America with my Mum, i actually wasn't sure if she really would be visiting after all the drama we'd gone through to be allowed to make separate flights from the EF program. Just happened to be the first day of school the next day..

So I wore my church looking outfit while Julia had her.. hmm how should i put it ;) well mature looking outfit haha. First week of school went pretty well. I was informed that first day of school is ALWAYS a very big deal. I've got government, american studies and economics all in the same semester so yeah, i'm not too excited about that.

If anything, right now.. i'm really missing home. I love what i have hear but it's the hardest thing in the world to be away from where you belong. As wonderful as this american life is, i know it's not forever, it's not permanent and it's not where i'm supposed to stay. I just can't wait to be with everyone again.
i love you guys :') xox
Me and Alison's song :')

haha, we wore matching boots, our new pj pants and "THESE AWESOME SHIRTS!! ;D" (julia.. with the new zealand one, of course!) WOOT WOOT!!! 

'Summaaahh is ovaaaaah' (summer is over.)

Gross, school starts back tomorrow (Tuesday 22nd August) I have my schedule for my classes which will clearly need to be changed.. there's no way i'll be taking some of the boring subjects already chosen in my schedule. Summer break has been very eventful, if there's one time that i can seriously say changed the person i am today i would blame this American summer break on it all!!! I've been able to travel new places, meet more new people, become emotionally attached to the friends i've made here, and have a better cultural understanding of where i am :) I really truly do believe that the best memories made here were during summer, i'm lucky..
THIS IS WHERE IT ALL CHANGED (:

Julia & I made a heart shape <3 

The homesickness deal is different now, i've been so far away from my family and friends back home that in a way.. i'm sort of used to it. Everyday is something new so it's not like i'm going to be spending my day thinking about them and what they must be up to. It's just a normal feeling now, not having them around. My friends back home all had their school ball this last weekend.. everybody looked so beautiful :) and it's what made me really begin to miss them again, just another reminder of what i left behind when deciding to live in another country for a year.

I miss you guys xox
it's not the same without'cha

Canada

 August 8th: Julia, her co-worker Laura and I made the 3 and a half hour long car drive to Canada. We went through New York and Pennsylvania to get there which was pretty cool. We got stopped at the Canadian border line. Because i'm from New Zealand I was supposed to bring this J1 paper thingy, i wasn't aware that i needed this. I was told that I might get stuck in Canada without the J1 info since after the September 11 attacks USA become more strict on who they let back into the country. Either i was going to get kicked out of Canada, be stuck in Canada or get a special stamp confirming that i was not a terrorist but a safe foreigner. While we waited for conformation.. we took photos of the Canadian flag, didn't know if we'd get a chance to have photos that proved we were in fact in Canada even if it was for only a few minutes before getting kicked out :P Things worked out alright in the end, since i came through LA before Cleveland airport from New Zealand they received confirmation about my status ;) what drama..

 So we had a really full day in Canada, saw the falls which was so amazing and picture perfect :) It doesn't matter where you really stand, you know the falls are close by, if you can't see them, well you can definitely feel them. With the falls near by, it's almost like being by the sea.. you feel the spray of water and gusts of wind :D The weather in Canada was real nice, we had a lot of rain driving there but once we found a hotel and had a swim it had cleared up well outside.

I found it funny how much American souvenirs Canadian shops sold, i was tempted to buy an American flag and tell everybody i got it from Canada, i guess it's just because the countries are very close beside one another. I didn't even need to change the money currency, Canada accepted American money too!! it just meant that they try to rip you off when you're buying things.. with American money you end up paying more.. not because Canadian money is worth more but because that's how they can make more from tourists :P

We had an amazing time in Canada, i know i sure did. Maybe one of my most favorite places to visit so far :) :)

Summer high

Almost the end of another month.. the time between now and middle of december (possibly the time I go back home) seems so much closer and easier to imagine now. This really gives me the most confusing feelings.. summer break has been the most eye opening time of my life. I didn't fully understand why people looked forward to that long break off school during summer until i really lived it. I think Julia is relieved to hear me tell her how right she was.. SUMMER IS ABSOLUTLEY AMAZING and I never want this to end!!
I have so much more respect for people in America now, the kind of weather they have to live through is crazy, i'm experiencing something i never knew existed. People are very stereotypical about other cultures.. expectations of how they think the other half live, but it's not until you meet somebody from "that group" that you really do find a new meaning and respect to the name.. "Americans."

So innocently I am chill'n in the lounge ("living room", as I am told to say.. since the term 'lounge' sounds too british, posh and now to "them" New Zealandish) watching the bachelorette :P and suddenly Obama takes over with a global/national report about how America owes all this money.. all these issues with democratics and repulicans not agreeing on anything to solve the issue ObamaReport.cbsnews.com Really..
I just wanted to mention this because it was unexpected.. and i guess Obama is just that important that he had to take over the bachelorette :P but, it's a serious matter.. i realise that, i still don't fully understand why America owes so much money and has got in this much trouble. My biggest question is.. if they owe so much money, why are they using what they do have for other countries.. shouldn't you help your own country before helping others.. no that's right, this is where bible terms come into it.. "help others before yourself"?
♬is that right♬ The-American-National-Debt-Who-Do-American-Owe.com Fact: America currently owes $2.7trillion.. DAYUM GURL!

Chatroulette: there are some major creepers online.. so we mess with them and give em' sexy facials aha!!

Chatroulette (CLICK TO ENLARGE) I was eating an apple and sharing it with random strangers ;)

Summer made me sick

Went camping this weekend and of course again had such a blast, before we drove the 3hour trip in the car Julia and I decided to tattoo our foreheads, i attempted to put a flower on mine but when only half the picture stuck down i ended up with just a leaf of a picture instead of this awesome looking flower. Eventually i got the kiss tattoo while Julia had the shark. We looked like total bad asses ;)

Zach looked dead most of the way to our destination: hocking hills Ohio. He actually looked pretty comfy back there, not going to lie.. i was jealous and i know for sure Julia was too!!

I know that this will look extremely mean from me to say but i find it funny the things American people find "beautiful" and i'm meaning nature sort of things. Like theirs hills that we drive past and everyones like  WOAHH LOOK AT HOW PRETTY THAT IS, and i'm just kinda thinking.. um, okay sure? I'll only say this because i've seen prettier :P at home haha. So what i'm saying is that most American's find basic nature really something amazing while i would probably laugh ONLY BECAUSE they haven't seen what i see everyday back home.  Our hills are freaking gorgeous looking mountains and these people point out a lil hill with a few trees on it and say woahh. It just makes me want to take that person home with me and show them what i see, i wanna see their reaction then :P And maybe that just makes me appreciate home even more :)

And then there's New Zealand hills, but i guess you'd have to
call this mountains :P yeah?

America (haha i'm just being mean! but
 i'm tryna prove a point here)

We saw 2 baby deer with their Mommy :)

I do have to give Ohio a bit of credit though, i was surprised by the native side it had hidden away in the forest, honestly reminded me so much of the forests in New Zealand.. well at least it almost did (nothing really compares to native NZ :P haha, i'm sorry but it had to be said)

The weekend went by pretty quickly with the camping thing, had a cookout later that night and went water rafting in the river that really didn't move enough for it to be named an actual river, the swimming vests probably didn't need to have been worn with the water not being deep enough to even drown it :P but hey, we had fun..even got a lil' sun which in the car ride home was the reason for a very slow and long migraine, fever and nausea sort of a feeling. Was so glad to get home and have some sleep after a watching the disney movie: 'Winnie the pooh bear' and 'a little princess' with Julia.. haha, i'm so not eighteen years old ;D

We hiked a bit and saw a lot of waterfalls that we raced into since it was so so hot out, GAHHH HEAT!!

Went swimming in the pool at the campsite which was really refreshing and just the right temperature, got some very cooling food, ice cream and even though it's probably not considered 'cooling' sort of food, i would at least say it's comfort food: snicker bar!! :D

I know i could go into way more detail to bore whoever really reads this besides myself but i'm still "sick". Now i've really found new meaning in the song Julia, Cassi and I have all claimed to be ours..

"The sharp knife of a short life

Well i've had just enough time"

- if i die young

When i'm not feeling well, i'm kinda dramatic.. just  warning :P