This is a warning! But don't let the title scare you, it's a good warning. The reality is, when you come to the States, everything you love to shop for in New Zealand (or wherever you come from) will suddenly be sold in HUGE stores at VERY CHEAP prices!
My shopping obsessions? Books!
In the USA I can buy books that you simply cannot get in New Zealand, books that they don't even SHIP to New Zealand! And now here I am, in America, and everything seems to have free shipping and costs so little, I am warning you ahead of time to think early of how much stuff you will have to bring home! I have been obsessively visiting bookshops and online bookstores since I arrived, and I am not even a big shopper by nature!!!My host family were saying that their last au pairs took whole suitcases of shoes back to their home countries. I'm not so much a shoe person so that doesn't scare me, but books? oh dear!
Luckily, I anticipated this happening, in fact, before I left New Zealand I wrote a list of all the books I wanted to buy. And the great thing about books is that if I finish them and don't want to read them again I can sell them to a second hand bookstore or give them to a charity shop. I am one of the lucky ones who is a very light packer, I only brought one bag with me, so when I eventually go home I will simply buy another suitcase to take with me if I need to and I'll be sorted! (I wish good luck to those girls who brought 2 suitcases with them just to come here!).
I am three weeks into my American year and I have already bought seven books.... I guess that second suitcase is already looking pretty full and heavy!
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