elis' travel journal

Hi from New Jersey!

I am here, finally!

I arrived in the US two days ago - and will stay with the O'Connor family for thext two months now (until September 4) as an Au Pair. They picked me up at the airport Friday night and showed great friendliness and patience right away, as they had to wait there for about 5 hours (with the little kids!!), given that my flight as well as Michaela's were quite delayed! (both should have been there by 5:20, but we only left the airport past 10)!
As I was there before Michaela, we had to wait for her and so we had time to go and have dinner in a restaurant at the airport and have some first conversations gettins to know each other. They are really nice people - open, friendly, humorous, generous! The very first evening wasn't that fantastic, as I was incredibly tired and had a terrible stomach upset, but I had enough time to explore everything yesterday.

And now that I"ve been here the third day (only), I can already say I know everyone a little bit and already got used to life here.
Just a short description of the O'Connors:
They are a family of 5, living in a huge, fascinating (yet standard American) house in Tinton Falls, NJ. (Pics soon to come!!) This is a really large and nice neighborhood, with what seems like hundreds of houses, broad roads, large backyards (and a swimming pool in ours!), full of young families with kids!


Brad, the dad is turning 36 soon, and is working as an accountant just a 15 minute ride away from our house. He is a really easy.going, nice guy, knows a lot about everything and is an exemplary dad for his three little kids, never too exhausted to play another game or change another diaper! He has even lived in Germany for 3 years as a child (as his dad was in the Army) - but doesn"t remember a lot of German - and has lived in many other states in the US.

Kathleen, the mom, probably in her thirties too (didn't have the chance to really ask her yet : P) is a very warm-hearted and open person, who tries to make my stay as comfortable as possible. She seems to love her current life as a stay-at-home mom with her 3 kids, but has also already revealed a lot of funny stories about her wild youth yet! lol..

Let's move on to the most important persons now - the kids:

Ryan turned 3 in January and is like the most affectionate child you can imagine! Always smiling, nice, polite (okay,with some exceptions for his little sister.. : ) ) and so funny! He is saying things like "Can we have cornflakes togetehr tomorrow morning?" "Will you also wake up with the sun tomorrow?" .... : ) He was'nt shy right from the beginning at the airport, always trying to find something new and interesting! The only thing that is really difficult about him is that most of the time, it is quite hard to understand what he's saying (even K+B have to ask several times sometimes) as he's just mumbling and you can't get the beginning and end of the words at all..... but I'm starting to learn his baby language and I just love being and playing with him, he's the absolute sunshine of the family!!

Ashley turned 2 in May, and naturally is more on the shy side. With her long blond curly hair she reminds me of myself when I was little, and also sometimes in the way she is acting. So, in fact we match quite well I think : ) And today, she even opened up a little more already, asking me with a desperate look in her eyes if she could sit on my lap please! Later on she suddenly sneaked into my room and wouldnt want to leave anymore, playing with everything that wasn't too big for her little hands and rolling around in my bed with me!! : ) She has got the cutest voice ever and giggles something like "...you....got it!" or, with a very serious tone: "I am Aaaaaaashy". I've also already found out how to make her really laugh - she is crazy about the "munch monster" I've been doing for her at breakfast, pulling funny faces!

Brady, the youngest one, is 7 months and a really cute baby. I think he is quite enjoyable at that age, as he's able to just sit in his chair and murmur things for himself and always gives a laugh when you're making an effort to cheer him up! Sometimes, he seems just like he would choke every second, making strange breathing noises and having a red face, which is quite scaring me! But Kathleen said this happens sometimes and he's alright. He's really suprising, happy most of the time (of course except for the moments I'm trying to feed him...sigh!)

And then there is me, a short-term O'Connor, trying to fit in, have fun and look after the kids! I got a really nice and cosy room and already feel at home here (although there are certains things I'm seriously missing!)

I've just been here for three days, but it feels like forever, and I hope that Brad and Kathleen are pleased with everything. But we've yet to see how everything will develop!

I am at least trying to be positive about things and hope it's going to be nice two months for everyone.

Oky, that was already a lot for today as I just wanted to write a short message, being very tired after a long time (Jetski with Michaela and the O'Shaughnessys, going for a long neighborhood walk with the family, playing and running around with the kids..)

I hope you're all doing well and that we can stay in touch all the time. I am happy about EVERY comment, messagesand e-mail from you!!!!! I will check my mailbox and the blog nearly every day I suppose, so feel free to write me and also tell me a lot about what you're doing all the time and how you spend the summer.

Looking forward to seeing you all again soon,

Love,
Elis

posted by elis in wanderlust @ 4:38 AM