My life in Brooklyn part 2

My life goes on here in Brooklyn even tho it's been a while since I updated my blog last time.
I am having a great time over here and I am starting to have a serious network of friends, basketball mates and other au pairs, tho I must admit that I miss my friends and family.
Meanwhile I haven't updated my blog it has been quite busy here in New York, as a lot of you probably know from watching the news. Sandy dropped by. I was quite lucky since I didn't really feel the hurricane as rough as so many others did. During the hurricane they made evacuation zones, I lived one block away from the boarder of the zone. We didn't get anything but a bit of rain and wind whereas the people one block down had their entire apartment flooded, that's how big a difference there were for people in NY. It was mostly the lower part of Manhattan and the southern part of Brooklyn/Coney Island/Staten Island that got affected. Some people didn't get power back before a few weeks ago, and some people still don't have power.
To change the subject to a more jolly and cheerful subject, I celebrated my first thanksgiving! I loved it! It's a holiday all about eating, eating a lot! I celebrated thanksgiving with the whole family over here in Connecticut. The weather was beautiful and everyone was having a great time. We played Football and basketball outside and I had a great run + some great walks. And of course we had the famous Thanksgiving Dinner. Turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, salads, etc. etc. We had 2 x 15 pounds of turkey!

Since I broke my wrist I've recovered from it and I am now again playing a lot of basketball in the parks and I am even playing for a team at a gym in Manhattan. It is a great gym, cheap, but they got both basketball courts, machines, weights, swimming pools and even ping pong tables. I am going there frequently to either play some ball or take a nice swim.

My network of friends steadily grows bigger and bigger, often in very random ways. Approximately a month ago I ran into some funny and nice guys at a starbucks. I found out they go to NYU (New York University) which meant that I was now a part of a bigger network of friends which is great, since I've been seeing them a lot. Watching games, watching movies or just chilling.

Last week I was in Boston to babysit some of the family's friend's kids. They were so nice and I got a great chance to see Boston, such a beautiful city, I loved it. Plus I got shown around by Rikke from my highschool class.
I am now looking forward for Christmas. I am going to have a nice Christmas dinner a another au pairs house since the family is going to Costa Rica. And the best part of the upcoming Christmas time is that Simone is going to come visit me!!!!! :) :) :)
Can't wait to see her and spend some time with her here in New York.

My life in Brooklyn

A couple of weeks has now passed and I am more happy to be here than ever! (even though I recently ended up in the emergency room). The time is flying and I cannot believe that I've been here for now more than 6 weeks. Since the last time I posted a small bit of what I'm doing here, I've been socializing a lot with the other au pairs, they are wonderful to spend time with, and tomorrow the first boy is arriving, I'm very excited since he plays basketball aswell. It will be about 3 weeks before we can play ball together though because of my fall while playing basketball.
I played basketball in the park, and when I hung in the rim after a dunk a guy came to bump into me so my fingers slipped and I fell down landing on my back with my hands underneath which resulted in a bruised back, one fractured bone in my left hand and a sprained right wrist.

This was extremely inconvenient for the family since this is the most busy period of their jobs. Kevin just launched his website, so he's  working a alot and Lisbeth has a big conference to think about, but I believe that so far we've made the best of the situation. Jack and Kamilla's old babysitter came to help out one evening and Kevin's parents were nice enough to come and help out 2 days, one of which Jack was ill, so they even picked him up from school, I don't know what I'd do without their help! Also Millie (The English au pair) has been very nice to help me out in this time, she went with me to the ER and she helped me out Sunday by having fun with the kids.

This week I've been seeing another au pair called Elisabeth from Belgium. She is great to just chill out with, soooo relaxed. This Wednesday we met up at 2pm. She had to work until 5:30, so we had fun with the 3 adorable kids she's taking care of. When she was off we went to buy Chinese food and then we watched a movie called The Holiday, it was great. (Unfortunately the subway ride home was horrible since of construction work, took me more than an hour.....)

Today it was my birthday (yaaaaaaay :-D) I woke up after the family had taken off to work / school and did some of my laundry. At lunch I met with Millie and we had lunch and she went with me for my haircut + grocerie shopping.
At 3pm she went home and I went to pick up Kamilla from school and we went for some ice cream. At around 4 Jack got home from school, still a bit sick, so we went to the doctor, fortunately it was nothing serious so we went home and had fun until 7pm where we walked to an Italian restaurant nearby and met up with Lisbeth and Kevin for a delicious Italian meal, I had lasagna (om nom nom nom nom)
After the restaurant we went home. I then realised that my birthday wasn't over. Jack had made some very very tasty brownies and I got a present from the family, a "family t-shirt" (Jack, Kamilla, Lisbeth and Kevin all got it, so now I really feel like a part of this wonderful family) and they'd even written a song to me, I was very moved! I truly love this family, couldn't have had a better birthday in Brooklyn than the one I had today!
I ended up my birthday by watching a basketball game on TV after Kamilla and Jack had gone to bed. This was all for this time. More stories from my life in Brooklyn to come :)

And then the kid's school began

Since the kids began in school I have been able to sleep for a long time every morning, since Lisbeth and Kevin are able to walk Kamilla to school and prepare both her and Jack.
I have been very pleased with this arrangement, since I could get up at around 9 or 10, and then have my breakfast followed by either a walk to the park to play basketball or a run to the gym to work out, or both.
Then at 3pm I've picked up Kamilla from school and at around 4 Jack's coming home by the bus.
When he arrives the general schedule is that we all have a snack, and then their homeworks has to be done, and then at around 6 we'll have dinner.

Meanwhile I've started to talk a lot to the English au pair, and we've met a French au pair, which was really nice aswell. This Saturday I was at the English au pair's house for a barbeque (apparently with the entire family of her host family, we were about 45 people!) so that was very nice and entertaining.

So in conclusion. I am still very thrilled to be here, I enjoy it more than ever before, because I actually begins to have some friends I can see, I even met with Rikke from my highschool in New York (She's becoming an au pair in Boston) which was really nice. Also the basketball is going really great, I begin to recognize people on the streets whom I've played with :-)
I just my first NBA preseason tickets ordered, so I can't wait for October 18th to come, so I can go see Brooklyn Nets vs Boston Celtics!

Basketball, fitness, taking care of the kids, friends and chores all takes ,up time. I am very busy here, but I love being here more than ever! I've started to see the English au pair called Millie a lot, she's really funny to talk to and I love having such a good friend here even tho we've only known each other for a short timeperiode.
I am also beginning to get into the routine of the daily life in Brooklyn with this family, they are all treating me very nice. And the kids seem to enjoy the time we spend together very much, yesterday we went to the Central Park Zoo (pictures will come shortly), where we saw lots of interesting animals and a 4D movie about the arctic wildlife. Yesterday after the zoo, I found out that I'm not very flexible by playing a game of Twister with Kamilla. I suffered a humiliating defeat.

Jack and Kamilla both seem very popular, I've already met so many of their friends, it's very hard to keep track of all their names. A few days ago Jack had three friends over for snack after school and then they went to the park, it was great to see how much fun they have together even tho they aren't in the same school anymore after they changed from elementary school to middle-school.

Last week I went up at 5 am on Tuesday to go play basketball with some of Kevin's old colleagues. It was very fun, but quite hard for me to play that early in the morning, my body wouldn't do what my mind asked it to, but the longer time I played the better. Besides that I've been playing basketball daily in the park in the evening + going to the fitness 3 - 5 times a week, so all in all I get enough exercise.

Last part of the summer

On Monday I drove Jack to soccer practice at 9 am, and then I drove Lisbeth to work. When I got back, Kamilla and I read a bit in our books and then she watched some TV until we had to go pick Jack up from soccer practice at noon. When we got home it started to rain. To rain A LOT! My shoes which were outside were soaked :(
When it dried up Kamilla, Jack and I went for a walk to "The Chocolate Room" where Kamilla got an icecream and Jack and I got a brownie each. We went home and played a game of monopoly. For the rest of the day we just hung around at home. Kamilla and Jack learned some Danish by reading in a pixi-book. I made them dinner; chicken, broccoli and pasta, before Lisbeth and Kevin got home.

In the following week I started to see the first signs of routines. Jack had soccer practice every morning from 9 to 12, so I drove him there and picked him up. While he played soccer, Kamilla and I had fun reading, watching movies and telling stories. Tuesday became a very relaxed day, because of the temperature. The kids became drowsy and didn't really want to do anything because it was 90 degrees outside, so we played some boardgames and talked a lot, even some Danish :)
On Wednesday we went to the park when Jack got home from soccer. I played some basketball with Jack, and Kamilla was having fun at the swings and on the playground. She helped out at her school aswell, by sorting out books for the upcoming year and other small chores. We were at the park for a long time, and then we went home to have dinner.
On Thursday Jack had a playdate with his friend Marco, so I followed him over there after lunch. While he was gone Kamilla and I made a watermelon / lemonade stand, which she could set up on the sidewalk outside the house.

Jack got home at around 5, and then I made dinner for both of them.
Every evening I went to the park and played basketball with the guys I usually play with, it is really nice to be able to play every single day with great players who are both funny and skilled.

On friday, Jack, Kamilla and I went with Kevin's parents to the beach at Long Island for the whole day. It was around 95 degrees and the water was great! We had so much fun in the waves.
In the evening we went to a restaurant all seven of us. After dinner I went to meet with another au pair from England, and we had a cup of coffee.

From Saturday to Monday the five of us went to Hamden, Conneticut to visit Lisbeth's parents.
Lisbeth's parents house was huge, with a big garden and even a basketball hoop in the driveway (which Jack and I used frequently). Hamden is a very nice city, and I got shown around a bit. We went to a mall where I got myself some bathing shorts, which I needed because we were going to a health center with a swimming pool. Here I learned that Kamilla absolutely loves to swim (She stayed in the water even after Jack and I had left to play basketball). This whole weekend was very nice, Lisbeth's parents are wonderful, can't wait to see them again soon hopefully.

The last days of summer after we got back on Monday both Kamilla and Jack had to focus on their summer homework. One of the days we went to Manhattan because of a bookshop which had a sell-out of Marvel Comics which Jack is very much into, and Kamilla wanted to look at craft-books. Afterwards we had lunch with Kevin at a very nice crepes place.

Until Thursday we spent a lot of time on their homeworks, and we did a science project involving a volcano spraying out diet coke and mentos, which wasn't a complete succes unfortunately, but it was fun doing the whole thing.

The first week with the kids!

Kevin and I picked up Lisbeth, Kamilla and Jack at the airport Tuesday night, I was very excited, and so were they! On the way home in the car I heard a lot about their trip to Denmark, but they were really tired because of the flight + jetlag.

Wednesday morning Kamilla woke me up at 6:40, and we started making pancakes, Jack quickly joined us in the kitchen. When the birthday boy got up, Kevin, the pancakes were ready and the table were set and the breakfast served. When Lisbeth and Kevin went to work, Kamilla, Jack and I started to talk and really get to know each other. We played a board game and then we went to the park. When we got back, the new coach arrived, so we carried it into the hallway, but from there it was stuck because of its size. Then we went for a walk in Brooklyn. Jack got a haircut, we went to an art shop, bought Broccoli and picked up the food-share (vegetables and fruits). After that we went back home and played a board game and just talked for a while before Kevin and Lisbeth got home at 8. Jack and Kamilla had a little dinner and then went straight to bed because of jetlag.

Thursday morning I got up at around 7 and I had breakfast with the family. Kevin and Lisbeth went to work at around 9 in the morning. In the morning Jack, Kamilla and I watched Spongebob Squarepants and then a movie called Duck Soup (1933) made by the Marx Brothers. After the movie we had lunch and then the three of us went to Manhattan, Rockerfeller Center, to go to the Lego Store. Jack bought a Marvel Helicopter. After the Lego Store we had a snack, sugary pretzels. Then we took the subway home to read in our books for a long time, until Lisbeth and Kevin got home.
After we had lunch I went to meet another au pair in the area called Ana, she's from Argentina. It was very nice meeting her and listen to her telling about her visit in Brooklyn. I was home at around 10, so I slowly began to go to bed.

Friday morning I slept until 8:30. I had breakfast with Kevin and Kamilla until Kevin went to work. Kamilla, Jack and I then talked for a while, watched a bit of TV, and read in our books before going to the waterpark at Pier 6 in Brooklyn. It was quite a long walk, but we took a break at Lisbeth's office where I met all her colleagues and Kamilla and Jack was having fun with a dog that lived at the office. After the visit at Lisbeth's office we went to a book store across the road. Then we walked to our destination. The waterpark. It was a very nice place and I think that both Kamilla and Jack loved it. After the waterpark we went to buy an icecream and then we walked home. When we got home we split up, both Kamilla and Jack read in their books, Kamilla even finished the book she's been reading for a while! :)
At 7 we had dinner, Salmon, broccoli and pasta, which was yummy, the salmon came from Ikea which I found funny.
The rest of the evening we just relaxed and had a good time before going to bed.

Saturday morning I woke up and a couple of minutes later the whole Delaney/Shepherd family was on their way to Ikea. I stayed at home. I had a couple of hours to myself, I skype'd with some friends and family. When they got back I helped a bit with organizing the rooms, especially my own room and the kitchen. For the rest of the weekend we made progress setting up my room and organizing the rest of the house.

Getting settled in Brooklyn

At Saturday, Kevin's parents sent Kevin his birthday present, a grill, which is really big, and we found out at lunch that you can make a perfect steak in it.  Later on the day Kevin and I went out to do a couple of erinds downtown, we went to the lumber store, the post office and to the grocery store. Kevin and I started a little project Saturday: Assembling an Ikea cabinet, which took a while, but I believe that we had fun during the process. After lunch we went for a walk to see the nearby areas, plus Kevin had to buy some different things. At around halv past six we went for a run to Prospectors Park and around it and back again, around 6 - 7 miles or so, it was fun to see how many people in Brooklyn who are having a good time in the park. It was a good run. When we got back we had dinner, grilled salmon, made in his new grill, very delicious in my opinion. After the dinner we talked about what needed to be done around the house on Sunday and then I went to my room and read a bit before going to sleep.

Now it's Sunday August 19th and I just got back from New Jersey with Kevin. We went to Harrison to see a soccer game, NY Red Bulls vs Portland Timbers. It was a great game, even tho NY got behind 2-0 after just 25 minutes, but then right before halftime they scored 2 beautiful goals. In the 83rd minute of the game NY scored another nice goal and they won the game 3-2, which really made the crowd go wild! Great experience, loved every second of it!

Earlier today I went to try out my new basketball and snickers in the nearby park. I quickly got invited to play with five other guys and we played a few matches to 16 points 3on3. It was very funny to learn how good the other guys were and I even got invited to play with them again next Sunday and also Wednesday night, so I had a great time! When Kevin got back from church we had lunch followed by him learning me to drive their car, so we drove around on an empty block for a few laps, and then we went to do some erinds. I now know how to drive in Brooklyn, yay :)
Now i'm sitting on my room, just had a late night snack with Kevin and I'm about to go to bed.

Monday was my first day alone in the house, because Kevin had to go to work. I went to Manhattan and tried out a bed we had been looking on, it was really nice, so I can't wait to try it out at home. Then I took a walk on Manhattan for an hour or so. In the afternoon at around 5pm I went to the park to play some basketball. A lot of the guys from Sunday were at the court again Monday, so I easily joined a few games before going home at around 7:30. When Kevin got home we had a snack, and then we ran to the Y, which is a gym. Kevin took a swim while I worked out for about 45 - 60 minutes, then we ran home. When we got home at around 9:15 we made hamburgers and afterwards I was done for today, so I went straight to bed and read for a while before going to sleep.

Tuesday I woke up at around 9 am. Then I made some breakfast, eggs and toast + some oats. Yummy.
I met the cleaning lady called Jenny, she was very nice to me and made me a cup of coffee. Then I went to the Social Security Administration in Brooklyn which was a nice 1½ mile walk, but when I got there, there was a line which was estimated to take around 6 hours, so I went home straight away. I am now planning on going there one of the next days, but I'm going to be there when they open at 7am. When I got back I had some lunch and then I read a couple of pages in my book before packing my stuff and going to the park to play some basketball. I played from 5 to 7:30, it was great. I am really starting to know  and like these guys, even got my own nickname "Europe" :)
Kevin is about to come home from work here at 8 pm, and then we're going to have dinner before going to the airport to pick up Lisbeth, Kamilla and Jack. Can't wait to meet them all!

My first days in New York City

I just landed in NYC, and I got checked into my hotel called The New Yorker Hotel - which is actually a very nice hotel.
On my first day in New York I just took a walk up and down 8th Avenue completely awestruck by the size of everything :)

The following morning I woke up to meet my roomate, Fabio, from Brazil. He quickly became a very good friend of mine during the training days. The breakfast at the hotel was delicious and very American. Scrambled eggs and buttered toast. The training this day was about general information such as: Taxes, insurance and more, followed by learning about kids in the age 0 - 3 years old. We were working from 8:30 am to 11:30 am, then we had lunch, which was a cheeseburger and fries. Then working again from 12:30am until 4 pm learning about the kids. Loooooong day.
When the training was done there was planned a tour around Manhattan, but I was too tired to go, so I went to my room and took a nap followed by a walk around New York to find a place to eat dinner and a new pair of basketball shoes, I had to go to 3 shops before I found a pair in my size! I also found a Subway Sandwich for dinner.

The next morning we had the same breakfast and started training the same time as Tuesday. The first hour of training was about driving in America, so we learned the basic rules about driving and what to do if we got pulled over by the police and more. Then we learned about kids the age of 3 - 14. This took from 9:30 am until 4:30 pm, only with few breaks and of cause lunch break at 11:30 am. This evening I went on a walk with 8 or 9 other Au Pairs from the program, including my roomate. We went to see Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty, Staten Island, Brooklyn Bridge (Which I have now been driving on) and the Financial District in the southern Manhattan. This was a very nice tour because we really got to know each other and we saw a lot of magnificent views of New York City. Plus we had a really good pizza for dinner :)

 At Thursday we had a 9½ hour first aid training. We learned about everything from fevers and bruises to amputations and CPR. This class was from 8:30 am until 5 pm, and then from 5 pm to 6 pm we were handed out our traveling documents which we needed to go to our host families.
This evening I went with Fabio from Brazil, Pavel from Czech Republic, Ingrid from Mexico and Anna from Poland to see Times Square and other parts of Manhattan at night, we also went to the M&M's store, I have never seen that many M&M's in my life!
At around 9:30 pm we went back to the hotel and talked for a while before going to bed.

The next morning, Friday, we did not have any classes, but we had to check out of the hotel by 12am noon. Fabio and I were up at around 6:45 am because he had to leave early to get his flight and I wanted to have breakfast with him and the people from the walk last night. So at 8:10 Fabio got picked up at the hotel by a shuttle and taken to the airport. After this I took a quick nap at my room until 10:30 am, then I packed my backs and stored them at the hotel so I did not have to carry them with me around the city. Then I walked to the NBA store which is on the corner of 5th Avenue and 47th street, only 1½ mile from the hotel. Here I bought a new basketball and a t-shirt. For the rest of the day I just walked around in New York and saw the Empire State Building, I was not on the roof tho, it was very expensive ($44). I ended up on a Burger King because they had air condition and free wi-fi.
I forgot to tell, but all the days we had around 30 degrees celcius (which is close to 90 degrees fahrenheit).

At 7:30 pm Kevin (My host dad) came to the hotel lobby and picked me up and we took a taxi to my new home. The neighborhood is really nice, and we took a walk in Brooklyn where we had dinner at a local diner. The diner looked exactly like diners do in movies, it was very fun. I had lasagna which tasted great!
Then we went back home because it started to rain a little. I got shown around the house which is very nice, they even got a backyard. I got shown my room, and then I went to bed.