Pros and Cons

Ahhhh what am i doing here?? Yeah something I keep asking myself. I'm away from my family and friends. I'm not exactly doing anything highly beneficial with my time, and truthfully i'm often bored as hell. But there are a few things that are positive. I'm living with a great family and we are really beginning to understand each other. I'm finally started to take some time to focus on myself, which might sound selfish, but it's something i've been neglecting to do for along time. It's often just easier not to focus on yourself and just ignore what is going on inside of you. But i'm really learning to love myself more, i'm spending more time with God and re-growing in my faith, i'm eating healthier and exercising. I'm taking time to just slow down and breath and to try and enjoy life. I'm only just beginning these things, but already i'm feeling the benefits. I'm more positive, have higher self-esteem and i'm learning to love myself for who I am. Plus I know that i'm going to have more great adventures and create some amazing memories. So yeah i'm gonna stick around, as hard as it can be at times, I know that i'm in an incredibly blessed situation and I know that i will make it through just fine obviously, its just the homesickness talking.

Americans - stereotyping

Being in America is a somewhat knew culture, the food they like to devour is large quantities of fat and sugar, the way that often everything sounds highly dramatic due to their accents even when it's not, the way they drive (it's crazy), and the way that bigger really is better; for everything including their cars and houses. For American people the importance of employment and money is high, like everyone else in the world I guess. But to Americans they, from my stand point, live to work, where as Australians work to live. Americans are hard workers if they are in a position of a higher level of employment, if not don't expect so much as a smile let alone good customer service. Americans defiantly think for the individual and live for themselves, they have big dreams and get on that mind set that they really are the only girl in the world. I am very much stereotyping here, but they are also just observations that I've been making from my short amount of time here, and i'm not saying that this is what every single person is like here. I've had to learn that Americans aren't shy to say what they are thinking and that I can't be either! Otherwise I have no hope of ever being heard. They don't understand my Aussie sarcasm very well and I'm like the most sarcastic person I know. But all that being said it's exciting adjusting to a new "culture", a new way to look at life. In the one month I've been here, I have become more care free as a person, I'm not so highly strung, I'm learning to relax and take these new experiences in my stride, I'm learning to make decision better rather than bring so flipping indecisive, and I'm learning to really embrace the new culture and understand the differences, but to not pass judgement. I believe I'm really going to enjoy my time here, I just want to have fun and explore new possibilities. 

Something i'm really looking forward to this weekend is going to NEW YORK!! 
I can't wait!

Coffee, Ulta and Pizza

Week 2 has come and gone and this week was the week of weeks to finally find a good coffee!!! You have no idea how much it was needed, Americans like to drink their coffee, but they don't seem to give a shit about what it taste like. Plus all the things they love to add to their coffee, which they think makes it better, like flavored syrups and flavored coffee creamers, like seriously. On top of that add the size, would you like a fish bowl of coffee or a bucket? Would you like a side of sugar with that? Haha anyway I finally found a little cafe in the little town of Media, PA. I have no idea what the place was called, but I can tell you that they had a normal coffee menu and coffee that was made only by what I can assume was a coffee master. Because seriously it was amazing!! I might just be talking it up a little because of the fact that I have only tasted extremely bad coffee since I got here. But it was just the start to a great day. 

I went to the coffee shop with a friend from Columbia, I was so happy to be finally getting out of the house, that the 45 minute drive to see her didn't bother me one bit. We got to talk about our new lives in America and discuss the things that we didn't like about America and the things that we did. We discussed our futures and I got to here about all the amazing things that she wants to do in her life and how she is working so hard to pursue them. After coffee we walked around the small little town of Media, until we were so freezing cold on a -4 degree day, that we couldn't go any further. By that time we were both very ready for lunch and Julieta wanted to show me this cute little pizza place in Swarthmore, PA. The pizza was not only huge, but delicious too, the first decent pizza I've had in the US of A.

On my way home I drove past a mall and I was thinking how I should not go in their due to my current lack of funds and not wanting to be sucked in. But then I saw the shining beacon that is Ulta Beauty and boy did I swerve across two lanes of traffic just to get into the entrance :D Inside was just pure magicalness, I perused the many isles of beautifulness; but remained very restrained only buying a brush head replacement for my Clarisonic and a brow gel from Tarte Cosmetics, a brand that I will most certainly be going back to. I left that wonderful store feeling very satisfied and happy :D