{"id":1083,"date":"2010-08-04T14:49:40","date_gmt":"2010-08-04T18:49:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/mdf\/?p=1083"},"modified":"2010-08-04T14:49:40","modified_gmt":"2010-08-04T18:49:40","slug":"life-in-america-ayanda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.aupairinamerica.com\/mdf\/2010\/08\/04\/life-in-america-ayanda\/","title":{"rendered":"Life in America – Ayanda"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Wow, where do I start! Ok, my life in America has seriously been like a yo-yo! Amazing times and rough times but above all a lot of growth! So, I arrived in America in August 2009. Oh, was it a huge change of scenery compared to South Africa.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The food oooh was\/is American food delicious! But oh is it also oh so weighty! So all I wanted to do was test, test, test\u00a0 all foods and I happened to love everything, what I did forget to do was to exercise and limit myself, so that\u2019s how my jeans sadly started saying \u201cno ma’am\u201d.<\/li>\n
  2. Then another thing that absolutely caught me off guard were the prices, man were things cheap in America! I mean a sneaker for $89 that\u2019s nothing right? Umm, Ayanda honey, wake-up call!! Convert that to south African rand and you\u2019ll realize you just spent +-R900.00 oops!! *shrugs* so I started converting prices before I spent just so I wouldn\u2019t\u00a0 be fooled again!<\/li>\n
  3. I knew that Americans drive on the right and that the steering wheel was on the left, total opposite to south Africa!\u00a0 So, I opted to be a passenger for at least a month or two until I got the hang of it! Oh now I\u2019m a pro, I\u2019m nervous for home now haha!<\/li>\n
  4. The most irritating thing was shopping for clothes and shoes.
    \nMe: \u201cexcuse me do you know the size conversion of USA and S.A?\u201d
    \nWorker: \u201cno ma’am\u201d\u00a0 *screams*
    \nTo this day, I have no idea what my true size is in AMERICA.<\/li>\n
  5. OK and America and its numbered highways. Hmm-ok, I won\u2019t complain because now I know but at first omg I had no clue what you meant by 495 or I-95. I was like \u201chuh, what?\u201d but I\u2019m good now!<\/li>\n
  6. My American life has been flamazing*!! But, I must say I hated being under age. I mean I\u2019m so legal in my country! So, that kept me from clubs and alcohol of course. I am in a way thankful because it sure kept me out of trouble.<\/li>\n
  7. The friends I made were an absolute thumbs up! I met different races and ethnicities and was just able to learn so much!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \n

    Living here was like in the movies, everything I watched I saw and sometimes lived the movie life!! So, yes America sure did deliver!<\/p>\n

    HIGHLIGHT OF MY YEAR! DISNEY LAND!! Pure bliss, it was surreal! I would re-live that week anytime. I absolutely loved loved loved it!<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    I don\u2019t think though it would have been so amazing had it not been for the wonderful host family I matched with! A true blessing from God, I\u2019m so thankful for them and my year wouldn\u2019t have been such a success had they not contributed so well to it! Thank you, Hulton family for an amazing year, this ain’t goodbye its see ya later!<\/p>\n

    Thank you America, its been a pleasure!!<\/p>\n

    Note from Christine: For anyone (like me) who didn’t recognize the word flamazing.\u00a0 I had to google it and found out that it means fly + amazing. : )<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[57,77,254,338,340,552,837],"class_list":["post-1083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-q-and-a","tag-america","tag-au-pair","tag-cultural","tag-exchange","tag-experience","tag-life-in-the-u-s","tag-south-africa"],"yoast_head":"\nLife in America - Ayanda - Au Pair Chatter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Life in America - Ayanda - Au Pair Chatter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wow, where do I start! Ok, my life in America has seriously been like a yo-yo! 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