Where to From Here?

I can hardly believe it myself, but my time as an au pair is nearly finished! My 6 month extension finishes in two months now! It has gone unbelievably fast. I am daunted by the amount of stuff I have accumulated in the past year and 4 months, and I have already begun the process of making "to throw" "to keep" "to give away" piles. I am most disappointed about my books - I have bought so many books over here but have not had time to read them all - I don't want to get rid of them, but I don't want to cart them all over the world with me either! Ahh, the complex problems we must face!

Well, my time as an au pair has changed a lot for me, and especially it has changed my future plans. When I first arrived my initial plan was to be an au pair for ONE YEAR ONLY, then head STRAIGHT back to South Auckland, where I was working as a teacher in low-decile schools. It was my passion, my love. Before I came here I was an absolute workaholic!

However, coming here taught me to slow down a bit, to recognise and take opportunities when they presented themselves, to take chances.

I made the decision that instead of getting my return flight to New Zealand, I would instead use it to fly to Switzerland. I loved Switzerland when I was there last year with my host family, and when I go this time I will be able to meet up with the friends I made over there, and the family of my host family whom I grew to love.

After spending some time in Switzerland I will travel down to the south of France and visit an au pair friend of mine in her home town. Then I will continue through Europe, going through Spain and hopefully Portugal on my way to.... AFRICA!

It has always been a dream of mine to go to Africa. Now I have this chance, and I will grab it with both hands! I am still unsure of all the details - not sure where exactly in Africa I will go - but I have some ideas, and I will be looking to volunteer in an orphanage or school. It will be an amazing journey for me, one which resonates deep in my soul.

I am not going to Africa to try to change Africa or 'save' its people, rather, I am going to Africa so that Africa can change me.

I feel like my whole world has opened up. How far I have come from feeling trapped in my little patch of New Zealand, feeling as if the travelling the world were some lofty and elusive dream that I could never afford. Being an au pair has made the world accessible to me! Who knows how long I will spend over there, or where it might lead me. I am alive to the possibilities. This I owe to my year (and a half) as an au pair. So to anyone considering becoming an au pair, I say DO IT! For you never know what marvellous adventures and paths it may lead you down.

Spring Break Whistler, Canada

Everyone in Seattle knows about Whistler, and everyone in Seattle knows it is beautiful. You mention Whistler and they say "oohhh you are so lucky, it is so beautiful there!". Whistler is about a 5-7hr drive north of Seattle, across the Canadian border, about 3 hours north of Vancouver. It is a small village town up in the mountains, home to some of the best skiing in the world, host to the 2010 winter Olympics, and filled with hotels, resorts and all sorts of luxury boutiques. It was certainly a few steps up the ladder from the accommodation I usually pick for myself! Luckily, I wasn't picking, it was my host family! 

We spent 5 days in Whistler, staying in a lovely three bedroom condo within a hotel complex. Our condo opened out right onto one of the ski slopes (which, being near the end of the ski season, was pretty much just grass). The hotel's hot tub was also right beside our door - talk about perfect location!

The weather was sunny and warm for the majority of the time we were there, it was bliss to be in the sun! During the day my host parents and the older boys would go skiing, and me and the three little ones would go on 'Gina adventures'. We went all over the place, all through the village, all over the mountains, all through the town!

Dragging our sleds on one of our adventures in search of snow

no snow here, just cute kids!

ahhh beautiful!

In the evening when I was 'off', I wandered through the village by myself, I stumbled upon a music festival which was finishing up the Whistler Ski and Snowboarding Festival.

The village was quaint and lovely, well laid out, beautifully tidy, filled with boutique shops of curiosity (read: expensive!). One thing I definitely noticed was the amount of Australians around!!! In New Zealand and Australia you often hear about work exchange programs where you can work in a ski resort over the winter period, well, obviously that resort is Whistler! There were Australians (I didn't personally meet any New Zealanders but I'm sure there were a tonne of them around!) working in all the shops, all the restaurants and cafes, in all the hotels and resorts - they were everywhere!!! I felt like I was back home in downunder! Really, it was the strangest feeling. I was relieved to be back on American soil at the end of it! haha!

The ski slope right by our door!

Olympic rings! A picture perfect relic from the 2010 games

Dressing up crazy to go skiing!

Relaxing in the sun

Kids playing in the beautiful treehouse playground in the village

The Whistler village with mountains in the background.

We had a great time in Whistler, and it was lovely to be with the host family on their vacation!

Recent Happenings

Just wanted to update my blog a little with some pictures of my life with the kids :)

Get right under that sofa, boy!!

My Second Birthday Abroad!

Well well well, another year has passed and once again it is my birthday!! I turned the ripe old age of 24. I was out of Seattle on my actual birthday, I was in Whistler, Canada with my host family, so my au pair friends and I celebrated the weekend before. We went to all our favourite dessert places and loaded up on sugar! We ended up sitting in Starbucks at midnight talking about kids. Ahhh the life of an au pair!

On my actual birthday I was just with my host family, and oohhhh did they spoil me! I felt so special, they gave me very thoughtful presents, and the whole day felt magical. The kids were really great, the sun was shining, it was beautiful and warm in the mountain village of Whistler. The kids and I went around the village and had gelato as a special treat! Later that evening another Seattle family joined us and we had a big meal and three birthday cakes (one was healthy - a watermelon cut into the shape of a cake, covered in whipped coconut cream and adorned with fruit and almonds).

We all sat down and my host mum had organised a game for us to play - Pictionary, except all the words related to me and my life! They were: happy, airplane ticket, Africa, car, travelling, walking, no sleep.
The 'no sleep' one made me laugh - my host parents always go to bed early and are always amazed at how I can stay up so late! haha. The 'Africa' one is a little hint at what lies in store for me after my au pair year, I'll fill you in soon :)

Choose a book, I said.....

This morning I was doing the laundry and the twins came in to me and said: "Gina! Can you read us books please?". 

So I replied: "Of course! Go and choose a few for me to read." 

They were thrilled and scuttled off to get me some. 

I continued folding the laundry for a minute, and when I came back into the room, this was the "few" books they had chosen for me! 

a pile to the moon!

cheeky deceivers! haha how can I resist them??