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 :) :)