14/9/2011 - Nineteen

Hi, today's my birthday. But before that...



On Sunday, we all went go kart racing; Rob, Marie, Nick, Ellie, Nancy and I. We went to the Houston Grand Prix and got the one hour wristband each. There was no line, so we all got on first time. Climbed onto the juddery karts, which I can only imagine are powered by golf cart or lawnmower motors,  but they still went pretty fast. Started an ongoing war with a boy who looked about 12 who kept bumping me... beat him in the end though, since the guys who worked there gave me the fastest kart. Who says smiling doesn't get you anywhere?

When we finished, we went to lunch. I had a chicken pasta and raspberry lemonade, which was lovely!

Monday and Tuesday passed without much to report, except for watching Teen Mom and Awkward. But today, is my 19th birthday.

Got up this morning around 10am, and came downstairs to find this little sign, along with a present from everyone. Some little owl earrings, which are so cute and I love already. Then I could open my presents from Dom, which were wrapped really securely so it took me ages to get into them! Some real chocolate, The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, a CD, some deep heat (inside joke...), and a jumper! I also had a card from Granddad and Chris which I opened and then stuck in my scrapbook.

Spent today speaking to people from home, including Vicki, my Mum and Nan, and Nikki, which has been lovely. Almost as if I'm not away from home...

Three days until I leave. I'm sad to leave Houston, and not overly excited for LA, but New Zealand I can't wait for! Spent a lot of time the last few days booking hostels and planning things, it's all very exciting. I really cannot wait.

11/9/2011 - Foods of the World!

In the last 48 hours I've eaten Japanese food, a British BBQ with Texan steaks and New York cheesecake. Now that's culture!

Friday night we went to Asian City Hibachi Grill for dinner. If you don't know what a Hibachi grill is, it's where they cook it all in front of you and do the tricks around the table. We got there and it was very busy, but we waited and ended up sitting at a table with these three other girls.

I ordered the Hibachi Delight (chicken and shrimp), and everyones food came with a soup and salad. They came first and then the cooking began... I'll let it speak for itself.










The guy was really good and the food was lush. I tried some sake, which I actually thought tasted like warm vodka, and it was quite nice really. nice enough for me to have another helping anyhow. As we were finishing dinner, Rob seemed to have found Shiro, the Japanese guy from before, and bought him over to our table. Poor guy, trying to enjoy his dinner in peace, ha!

We took Nick back to his hotel and he told us about the big cut-out of a receptionist that had got him a couple of times thinking it was really her. By this time, we wanted to see the famed Gail, so we all piled out of the car to take a peek at Gail, and of course have our photo taken!

Poor Gail. 

Yesterday was lots of fun too. I didn't get up until midday and then Nick and Shiro came over because we were having a BBQ! Hung around reading Plato and a Platypus... for a while, and then me and Ellie decided we might go to the cinema. That didn't come off in the end but it's cool, there's still time. Skyped with Mum on the big TV as well, so she had an audience and a big head. 

When the food was done, it was delicious! As much trust as I have in the noodle plan, I know it's not gonna taste as good as the food here. Although, Deb told me there's a book of cheap recipes to do with ramen noodles, so I looked it up and found 50 Amazing Ramen Noodle Recipes, so that should help! 

Spent a lot of time just chilling out, chatting and joking after we'd eaten. Marie makes the best margaritas so I had a couple, and a couple of glasses of rosé too, suffice to say I was happily merry. Had a little swim, a little game of water volleyball and after some cheesecake and raspberries it was bed time, knackered. I have no idea why I'm so tired lately, it's not as if I'm not getting much sleep, ridiculous!  

5/9/2011 - Bowling, Swimming and Pain!

Been feeling as if my arms are going to drop off. They've been really sore since Saturday, my biceps (as if I have muscles, ha) are in lots of pain and it hurts to straighten my arms. In fact, today I couldn't do it. How ridiculous, I go to one class and nearly die of pain. I'm inclined to blame it on the fact that I have never worked on my arms because it's my legs that I’m not happy with and want to make skinny.

Yesterday we went for a bike ride to Starbucks as planned. I know that my Mum and Paul are going to be smug though, they’ve been telling me I should ride a bike for years and now that I actually enjoyed it I think they’ll make me eat my words. It was a nice day yesterday, not too hot and really nice to ride in. I was on Ellie’s bike which was a little small for me, so I was doing twice the rotations that Marie was doing, but it’s okay, it’s all leg fat burning. Nancy came along too and done really well on her bike. It’s something I’ll probably do again once everyone’s back at work and school just take a little trip out to Starbucks. It had been spitting rain for some of the journey, which was nice because of the heat it cools you down and you dry quickly. I kept getting Mum’s voice in my head saying “Your skin’s waterproof isn’t it?”

By the time we got near Starbucks, the wind and rain had gotten quite heavy so that we couldn’t see too well, but it soon died down. Had a lovely vanilla latte (grandee) and spent some time people watching. Explained to Nancy that just because a man comes to Starbucks everyday it doesn’t make him weird, it just makes him a creature of habit. I’m very much like that when I’m home, I like to know what’s going on and I like routine. Anyhow, once we’d finished our coffees and Rob had turned up we went over to the AT&T store and played on the iPhones. Turns out, people had been using them to make calls after checking the call log, and some of the pictures people had left on there is hilarious. Must remember that if I want to call home, find a phone shop instead of paying! The ride back was more enjoyable, Marie swapped bikes with me.

Maybe an hour after we’d gotten back I felt a bit down. I felt very disconnected with myself and rather unbalanced. I get bouts of homesickness quite a lot, and this was one of them. Not only that but I’ve started to feel as if I’m stupid, like I know nothing. I talked it through with Dom and I get the feeling its America that makes me feel this way. It’s not as if the people aren't nice, but being 18 here I am still considered a child. At home, I’m an adult. I’m responsible for my own debts, I can buy alcohol, I can live on my own, I can get married, and I can smoke. Not only that but I've always been given a lot of freedom and trust compared to other people, and I do think I deserved it. If I hadn't been allowed to be independent would I be able to do this trip? Probably not.  I’m thankful to my Mum for that. This is why it’s so hard for me to adjust here to being a child again, where people think I am incapable of doing things and where my motives and feelings are questioned. In this country, I cannot think like an adult.  I suppose my A-level grades didn’t help too much either.  I don’t like being treated as if I am incompetent.

I had two glasses of rosé and felt mildly better. Drinking rosé did remind me of Rhea though, and that I miss her too. A gorgeous roast dinner made by Marie helped a lot too and of course Yorkshire puddings.

Marie, Rob, Nancy and I went for a swim and that helped me chill out a bit too, I really had worked myself up into a bit of a fluster. The water had cooled off a lot due to the rain but it was still warmer than most indoor pools in the UK. It was nice to just chill. Nancy took me on a world tour around the pool on an inflatable bed, ending with shark infested waters that I was promptly tipped into!

We all dried off and changed and watched a movie called A Shine of Rainbows which was mediocre but entertaining. It was about an Irish woman who adopts a little boy from an orphanage. She ends up dying and the boy has to get on with her less than welcoming husband. It was good really, and the obviously fake seal made us laugh. I felt a lot better today after some sleep.

Today we were going to go to the zoo, so Marie, Nancy and I loaded up into the car and headed into Houston. I’d forgotten how much I love playing music in the car. We got to the zoo and it was packed, I suppose because today is Labor Day. That’s sort of like a Bank Holiday where lots of things are closed, supposedly to represent the contribution to society and the economy by workers. We decided against the zoo and headed to the bowling alley. We were joined by Deb, Ian, Oliver, Ryan and Aaron. I haven’t bowled in years, and fully expected to be rubbish, but just look at these scores!

Okay, okay. So I was playing against three children and one man, but just look! I was proud of myself. I sat out for the second game; one game was enough for me, so just the kids played. Nancy was chief photographer.

 Once we got home, Marie went out for a works event, so Rob took us girls to Pei Wei for dinner, and Asian restaurant. The chicken Thai coconut curry I had was very nice, if slightly too spicy for me, but I didn’t attempt using chopsticks again, I learnt from my sushi experience that I am not good with them.  The food was very good though.

So now, here I am. Just finished yet another hot chocolate and just chilling out. Arranged to speak to home at 11pm because of the time difference, so waiting around for that I’ll probably read some more of Angels and Demons. Got to do boring things to like sort out my laundry, but I also want to proof read and edit my mini-article I wrote on the Juxtaposition of American and British Politics and Society. I don’t know if it’s any good, I wrote it in about an hour whilst sitting in a hot conservatory in Louisiana, but it’s a building block to work on, it has to start somewhere. I’ve also had two compliments on my writing this week, which was a nice little confidence boost to myself. My plan for tomorrow is to visit the Houston Space Centre so I must book my ticket for that in a minute; you get $5 off booking online. Yay money saving!

4/9/2011 - Ordinary Days

So I apologise for not posting anything since I got here on Wednesday night, but nothing major happened. And that's just fine. Relaxing I do well at.

Thursday I spent recovering from a day of travelling. I spoke to my Mum and my Dad which was nice, and watched The Terminal with Tom Hanks, it was pretty good, and appropriate considering the amount of time I'm spending in airports right now. I also took a swim and done some boxercise and yoga - all in all a good day. Shepard's Pie for dinner - yay English food!

Friday was also filled with speaking to people from home. Had a lovely talk with my good friend Vicki, who I miss a lot. She's going through some stuff right now which I wish I could be there for her through, but until I can, Skype is the next best thing. A lot of the evening was taken up trying to find somewhere to stay in New Zealand, because when I arrive it's the Rugby World Cup and although I'd booked my first night, I'd forgotten to think about crossing the international date line, so even though I fly on the 19th, I land on the 21st. Of course, I'd booked in for the 19th, and getting it changed looked slim because of the World Cup. I emailed Nomads Fat Camel in Auckland to see if they could change it, but I wasn't hopeful, so I started looking elsewhere. I also thought it would be a good time to start booking accommodation everywhere else in NZ. I made a list (I love lists) of where I'll be and when, and the hostel I wanna be in. I then trailed HelpX for money saving options. By this point I was quite stressed about money etc, because my budget is now £125 for accom, food and fun! I had a glass of wine to chill and came up with the noodle plan! The noodle plan dictates that I will now live off only food under a dollar, primarily raman noodles but this is not restrictive (McDonalds $ menu also accepted). Dom is convinced that this will drive me into a noodle coma, I disagree, I think the noodle plan is genius. Fajitas and wine helped me feel better.
Before I went to sleep, some good news came through from the Sequoia Lodge. They told me to contact them closer to the time, but I'd noticed in their listing that they are in a seaside town, so I mentioned Great Yarmouth where I am from. Turns out, the person who emailed back lived in Overstrand near Cromer, just up the road, for eight years! Not only that, but they were a relief teacher for Great Yarmouth High, Acle High and, get this, Cliff Park High School - my high school! Chances are that this person taught me at some point of my high school years! Amazing. All the way in New Zealand, what are the chances that I email them and we have all these connections? It really is a small world.

Saturday - This morning I went to the gym with Marie for a class that started at 9.15am. I know, I'm like a different person to the girl you all knew! The class was hard though, very difficult. It concentrated lots on strength which is not my strong point, and I didn't eat breakfast because I wasn't hungry, so I got some exercise nausea - ew. Looked it up later, nausea whilst exercising is indeed caused by an empty stomach. Ten minutes on the treadmill after class and my muscles were screaming at me, I sure am proud of myself though! There was a climbing wall I spotted at the gym, I might call them and see when that's open. I wouldn't even need a person to belay, they have belay machines! Marie, Ellie, Nancy and I went to the mall this afternoon, and I was very clever and bought 2 long sleeved shirts. NZ is just coming out of it's winter, so I need to prepare for colder temps. Then tonight after pizza for dinner, we went over to Marie and Rob's friends for drinks and some very nice snacks! I like to meet all these people, it's good fun. I think the plan for tomorrow is a bike ride to Starbucks, sounds good, and I plan to swim too as long as it's not raining. Oh! It rained today in Kingwood, amazing considering there's been a drought on!

In other news, it's my birthday in ten days and I'm very excited because I have special presents on the way! I am psyched, but I feel that 19 is a weird age to be. 

Must sleep now, it's nearly 1am, I've updated my iPod, drank my hot chocolate and ate my weight in party favours - bedtime!

31/8/2011 - PIVOT!

I originally wrote this on my train journey earlier, but then my battery died before I could post it. So here it is now, slightly updated with the continuing events.

6am wasn't all that bad. I like being up early, once I'm up, but that first ten minutes is danger zone for me - it's very possible that I will fall straight back asleep. Anyway, I got up and found some shorts and a shirt ready for netball! I was breakfasted, tea-ed and make up-ed by 6.30, so I gave myself half an hour yoga time which was very nice, with the rising sun just outside.

Shannon picked me up at 7am, and had bought me some spark mixed with orange juice and honey. This stuff 'Spark', is unbelievable. It's a mixture that you make a drink out of and it's packed with vitamins and it gives you all this energy! I'm a convert. We set off for her school and we got me a visitors pass and then I waited for her meeting to finish and the kids to arrive. Shannon's classes for the day go in grade order. I know you guys back home don't know what grades are what, and I'm not sure I do either, but I think the ages were between 9 and 13.

I managed to find some old netball pictures from 1910 of women in England playing in dresses. I told the girls how it started as a women's version of basketball, and it was deemed an appropriate sport for women because it is no contact. Not that it really mattered what I said, I could have been saying mean things and they still would have listened to my accent!

It was hot outside, very hot, and it only got hotter as the day went on. The first two classes were the younger kids, who were more enthusiastic than the older ones. The games went well, although of course I was not very strict umpiring! They sorted out there own warm-ups and stretches and then we done some passing drills with a chest, shoulder and bounce pass, and some footwork drills to learn how to pivot effectively (PIVOT!), leaving about ten minutes for a mini game out of the 55 minute lessons.

For lunch, Shannon and I shared a roast beef po-boy which was lush, ordering was not so lush - people here do not understand what I'm saying on the phone! "Roast beef! No, no roast beef! Can we pick it up at 12.10? Twelve ten!" Apparently I was a hit with the kids, because at recess they all wanted me to sign autographs for them! (Ah, fame at last - ha!) I had some downtime whilst Shannon had other meetings before going with her for lunch duty in the cafeteria, where I kept getting beckoned by kids! Oh, I'd also met some other staff too! Wasn't too much to do in this downtime, because all the computers are barred from sites like Facebook, like they are in schools at home! I almost felt like I was 14 and should be asking "Does anyone know a good proxy?". The last class were 8th graders who were distinctly more hormonal, because they had so much attitude. Eye-rolling, complaining and all, I think they enjoyed themselves really. One girl asked me "Do y'all have pot in England?" another wanted to know if I had an owl. My answer? "I'm not Harry Potter..." I had questions on the royal wedding, Doctor Who, our school system, what car I drive, if houses were the same, have I been to the mall, do I like Louisiana, is my hair colour natural, I have pretty eyes. Imagine any question, they probably asked it. They also wanted me all to say their names in my weird English accent... hilarious. Other words that made people laugh because on pronunciations; 'centre' and 'third'. I also was asked to say "'ello Guvner' at least 5 times.

All in all, a really fun day! We went to volleyball practice after school which was fun to watch too, the girls obviously really enjoy it and Shannon's a great teacher. Then Shannon took me to the Sculpture Garden.

The Sculpture Garden is full of sculptures by this man called Kenny Hill. Turns out, he rented the land and lived there, and carved all these sculptures using a fork to get the textures right. The garden became overgrown and nobody knew what was in there. Then not too long ago, someone tried to sort out the garden and found all these amazing sculptures in there. It was taken over by Nichols State University and preserved, and it's just beautiful. There's pictures below.

On the way home, we got a snowball. Kind of like a mix between ice cream and a slush puppy - it was gorgeous. We both got the nectar cream flavour, it was delicious! Shannon came in and had a cup of tea (yep, English tea) and we said our goodbyes. If you're reading this Shannon and Whitney, thank you so much for showing me around and I had such a great time with you guys!

This second I'm sitting on the train to Houston. The journey is 9 hours but it's been made a lot better by some lovely Slovakian people I met in the train station. They are father and daughter and are heading to LA. Shan, the father, offered if I'd like to sit with them and it turns out they have their own personal wifi hotspot which they are letting me use. Very generous and very nice. Spoke to home a little bit, but I can't get over this train. It is a double decker train, with all the luggage and stuff underneath on the bottom level, and passengers on the top level. The seats have more room than a bus and a plane combined, and the views are incredible. Moreover, there is a dining car that has tables, chairs and waiter service, and a lounge car for coffees etc - with comfy chairs. Mum pointed out that it sounds like the Orient Express and to stick with a small, fat Belgian man if I should find one. I'm getting hungry now, but I'm afraid that the dining car will be expensive. I do, howver, have packed up some cheesy chicken wings that Gwen made last night. Apparently I've found out that chicken is appropriate travel food - sorry Greyhound riders for judging you before.

EDIT: I'll upload the photos later, Shan's wifi has a data limit and I don't wanna abuse his generosity.
SECOND EDIT: This is where I got before the battery ran out, obviously you now have photos and I'll continue!

I changed my mind back. Chicken is not good travel food. I got very messy. Even though it was very tasty, I got breadcrumbs everywhere! I spent some time reading my book, got quite a way through Angels and Demons now, and was disappointed to find my iPod had no charge, so no Harry Potter! Wasted an hour sleeping, but didn't sleep well because the train was jolting quite a lot, and as always the A/C was too high so I was chilly, even in leggings and a hoodie. About 8pm I decided to go eat in the dining car, mostly because I was bored. I passed through the lounge car, where all the comfy chairs face out of the window so you can admire the scenery. There's double chairs too, kinda like couches but still train seat style, good for cuddling and watching the world go by I'd imagine. Made it to the dining car and was pretty sure I'd been taken to early 20th Century travel - it was beautiful. All the crockery was decorated with the Amtrak logo, and I befriended a waiter who looked after me. He said I must be a celeb to have the whole table to myself, I strongly suspect it was because it was late but whatevs, I'm not gonna turn down a compliment! I ordered the vegetable pasta (the cheapest thing on the menu) and a tap water - yay travellers budget. The pasta was actually very tasty though, pretty much spinach and ricotta ravioli with vegetables on the side. Also came with salad and a roll, so not bad really. About halfway through eating a woman joined me who was also getting off at Houston because her nephew had just had a baby. Well, obviously his significant other but you know what I mean. So I aww-ed at pictures and told her about my trip, she was a nice lady. We were then joined by a man who used to be a train driver, and he told us all about driving the Amtrak trains. New friends made on the train ride: 4. I also treated myself to cheesecake, shhhh!

We pulled into Houston 30 minutes late and I said my goodbyes to Shan and Lucia with hugs, such lovely people! Spotted Rob pretty much straight away and we waited for my baggage. He commented on how much I look like my Mum, which I have been told, but obviously haven't heard it since being out of England - nostalgic. We talked in the car about America and the differences from England. For those who don't know, Rob and Marie are English and are family friends who have lived here for 4 and a half years now, I think that's how long Rob said. They have two gorgeous daughters, Ellie and Nancy. Ellie has just started High School, and Nancy just started Middle School. When we got back here I met the girls and was treated to a real cup of tea (yay!) and we just chatted for a bit. They showed me where everything was, including the pool. Going to work a bit of a swim into my morning workout I think, it'll make a nice change from boxercise and yoga. Now I can boxercise, then swim to cool off, then yoga. Sounds like a plan to me! Came upstairs to find Nancy had written me cute little notes to point me to the bathroom and stuff, and a long note on my door asking if I'd like to go to her school and other things - I can already tell she's a sweetie!

After travelling since 8.30am and it now being past midnight, I need to sleep before I pass out.

Hello Texas!