Bath

                                       Bath

We used the first day of March to visit a historical, beautiful city in the ceremonial county of Somerset.

Its theatres, museums and other cultural venues have helped to make it a big centre for tourism.

Whatever you like doing, you can do it in Bath. It has dozens of museums and its streets are a living museum of Georgian architecture. You’re interested in history? The amazingly complete remains of The Roman Baths and the Victorian restoration are still fed by water from one of Bath’s three hot springs.

Our main reason for visiting this city was “The Roman Baths”.

After finally arriving in Bath, we walked around the city centre for a while and then decided to start the sightseeing with the Roman Baths. Even though we had to pay around 13pounds to go in there but it was totally worth it. I do not know how to begin so I will show you a few pictures.

Thanks to the audioguide we learned soo much about the building in general as well as the city. I can not stop recommending everybody to go there! 

Bath is such a beautiful city!

After the visit in the museum we walked to the famous Royal Crescent. Bath has eight crescents. But the amazing Royal Crescent is the finest - a world famous icon and the city's most desirable location.

After eating our lunch on a bank and enjoying the nice weather as well as the nice view, we decided to go back to the city centre and shop a bit, before taking the train back home.

Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul - known as Bath Abbey

Even though it was a long day, it was absolutely worth it. I would LOVE to go back to Bath and spend the day in this lovely city. If you come to England, please pay a visit to Bath. I promise you, you will not regret it!

Oceans full of love ♥

Birthday

I do not know how to feel about nineteen. On on hand, you’re older than eighteen, but on the other hand nineteen is just an awkward number between eighteen and twenty. Like seventeen.

Anyways, I’m lucky to be here and therefore I wanted to celebrate my nineteenth birthday by going out. Unfortunately most of my friends had to babysit the Saturday evening so only Michaela and Maren agreed.

As my birthday was on a Sunday, we decided to go out the evening before and celebrate into my birthday.

The Saturday morning I woke up early to get ready to go to London as Meret and her boyfriend spend the weekend there and she wanted Marine and I to meet him.

When we arrived in Waterloo, we first had to look out for the love birdies but we soon found them. After the usual greeting we decided to walk around a bit and sit on a bench where we had a nice view on Thames. As a birthday gift Meret had bought us all Cupcakes which were delicious. Usually I do not really like cupcakes but I have to admit the ones we had were pretty good.

After walking around London for a bit and eating some snacks, Marine and I had to say goodbye to the lovely couple and got onto the train back home.

I had one hour wash my hair, straighten it a bit, do my make-up and wear something nice.

In the end, it didn’t really matter as we were dancing a lot and sweating; besides, it was dark in the club we went to – Jaxx.

I had such a nice time with the girls and I can’t thank them enough for making that time more special than it actually was.

I can’t remember what time I went home but I was pretty tired – and happy!

The next day, I got up reeeaaalllyyyyy late and went downstairs to find a card and a gift of my host family for me. I got a lovely bracelet and my host mum even baked me cake! And it tasted amazing!!

To sum it up I had a fantastic birthday here and I enjoyed every single moment of it! 

Me, Michi and Maren 

Beautiful faces, hehe

Ocean full of love ♥

Cardiff

Cardiff 

When Meret and I discovered that we both like the rock band “A Day To Remember”, we knew we had to go to on of their concerts in the UK. It turned out that the only concert on a Saturday or a Sunday was in … da da da dam … Cardiff! So we thought: Why don’t we make a weekend trip to Cardiff. That way we could go to the concert and travel through Wales a little bit.

The weeks went off and we bought the tickets, we bought train tickets and reserved some seats for us, we booked a hostel where we shared a room with four other people and of course… we were so excited to see the band! Meret has already seen them but it was supposed to be my first time.

Anyways, I do not want to tell too much now.

8^th of February, we woke up early, got ready, packed our stuff in small rucksacks and walked to the train station. By the way, that day was also my host mum’s birthday! I did not know that but she already knew I wouldn’t be there so I put her gift and a card on the kitchen table before I left.

Anyways, after the long way to Cardiff by train – fortunately we’ve already booked out train tickets and reserved two seats – we finally arrived in Cardiff!

Before I continue let me say something: It was fucking cold and windy.

We had a few hours before we had to check in in our hostel so we decided to use the time to explore Cardiff a little bit. As I unintentionally left Meret’s adapter in the train, I bought her a new one. So we strolled through the city centre, drank a coffee and visited the National Museum. Oh my God. It was amazing!

Here, have a look!

Furthermore, we saw the Cardiff Castle. However, we did not go in there as the entry price was really expensive. But we took a few pictures!

Of course the weather didn’t listen to us, so it began to rain. Not the usual light rain, nooo! Unfortunately not! However, we ran to our hostel and finally checked in. We shared a room with a few other people and one of them was going to the concert as well.  After we got changed and made ourselves a bit pretty, we walked to the arena. To be honest I was shocked as I did not expect that many people waiting. Anyways, we waited in the queue as well and after what felt like an eternity, the line slowly got forward. After a while we got really impatient and angry as it was after 7 and the show was supposed to start at half past seven.

I’ve had a gut feeling that something bad was going to happen… and voila, after half an hour people came to us and told us that the concert was cancelled. Yes, you’ve heard right… CANCELLED!

Apparently, the lead singer had a bad cold and he was not able to sing.

Let me just say: we were pissed. We were so fucking disappointed and angry. I mean that’s understandable. We travelled to Cardiff to see them and to enjoy the concert and after the concert was supposed to start they told us that it is cancelled. I mean if they told us these news a few hours ago we would’ve understood that and then we wouldn’t have waited two or three hours in the rain.

Afterwards Meret and I were looking for a few pubs and drank a few beers. The day was quite long and eventful so we decided to go back to the hostel and sleep so we can get up early the next day.

The following day we got up early, got dressed and went downstairs to eat breakfast. Fortunately you could just help yourself and prepare your own breakfast. After a nice black tea with milk and a bowl of cereal, we went upstairs to get ready and pack our stuff in order to check out.

As it was our last day in Cardiff we definitely wanted to go to Cardiff Bay and see the sea!

Have I already mentioned that it was very windy and cold? As we were taking pictures and walking around it started to rain heavily and we got soaked. Luckily there were a few coffee shops so we went to Starbucks to drink something hot and eat a snack.

In that church or in this area a few episodes of "Doctor Who" were filmed! :)

When the rain finally stopped we took the train back to the train station and we decided to get the earlier train back home. As we had to change in Reading, we took the chance to go to the shopping mall but we did not buy anything! We were just looking, haha.

After we ate something we took the train back to Farnborough and Fleet, respectively. I had already told my host mum that the concert was cancelled and she comforted me and I told them everything about the weekend.

So…yeah. The weekend did not turn round the way we thought it would be that is ok. Sure, we were quite disappointed but we got our money back and hey, we saw Cardiff and it is a beautiful city! Wales in general is really nice, I recommend it to everybody!

      

My beautiful Meret and I ☻ 

Ocean full of loves ☺♥

I Swear I Didn't Forget

I Swear I Didn't Forget

Hellooo….

I know it’s been five months since I’ve last written something but… Well, I do not have an excuse. To be honest, I thought about my blog quite a few times but…yeah, sorry about that.

Anyways, I’m in a new host family right now and I am so happy. I get along with the kids and my host mum really well. Teagan is fourteen years old and sometimes she’s quite a bitch but I love her. Michael is the laziest person I have ever met in my whole life (not that I’ve lived very long but you know what I mean). My host mum Karen is laid back and just really cool. Her boyfriend Bill lives with us and he has a Scottish accent – the first few weeks I didn’t understand a single word he said but now I don’t have to ask him to repeat it.

I am planning on catching up everything I have done since January, however not all in one chunk.
When I first arrived here and saw my room, I was pretty stunned. You‘re wondering why? Well, let’s say I have more space and a pretty big bed! Seriously.. I couldn’t ask for more! There is even a TV in my room; however it doesn’t work...Haha.

I will attach some pictures later so you will have an idea of what my room looks like.
To be honest… I didn’t expect to get along with the kids so well! I mean, it was my dream to find a family who accepts me as a part of their family and even though my family here is not perfect, I love them to death. I do not feel like I am “just their Au Pair”, I actually feel like their older sister and I can’t imagine not having them in my life. Teagan usually comes to me if she needs advice or when she met someone new or if she has problems and the same applies to Michael (but girls instead of boys…). We tease each other a lot and even though I am five/six years older than them we have quite a lot in common. I help them with their homework, we watch movies together or bake something or just hang around in my room and talk or play some apps on their Ipad. I do see them as my younger siblings and it is not work for me. Of course we get annoyed of each other sometimes but then we usually just go into our rooms and after a while we spend time together again. I mean, I do not mind spending time with them on weekends or when I am free and even though my host mum often tells them to leave me alone as it is my free time, it is usually me who asks them if they want to do something.

Even though Fleet is just a ten minutes’ drive to Farnborough, I did not know there were more Au Pairs here. I met quite a few here and some of them I already knew but we didn’t really talk but now we’re close friends and I am so glad I met them! Of course we all have to go at some point and some of my closest friends here have already left and new Au Pairs came but that doesn’t mean you’re not friends anymore. Nowadays we have all this social network things like Facebook and stuff and I mean we can still skype and it doesn’t matter where you are.

I already know the end of my year here will be so hard for me. I don’t want to go. I do want to go on with my life but I would really like to stay here and maybe at one point in my life I will. You never know what happens and that can be exciting as well as scary.

From now on I intend on posting more often here and I so hope I will!

Ocean full of love ♥

Back To Normal Life

I'm back in Germany!

Did I miss it?

Kind of.

Did I miss my family?

Yes...

Did I miss my friends?

Yes!

What's bothering me is.. Where's the snow?!

I know there may be more important things to miss, but to be honest I was really looking forward to the snow. No white Christmas unfortunately.

Anyways, a lot happened since my last Update. I left my ex host family a weak earlier. Last Wednesday we had another argument; I don't really want to tell you every detail of it, let me just say: we were both quite angry and annoyed so I decided to just stay this week, get my money and then leave them. And she agreed and said it would be the best for everybody. Apparently she didn't take me serious.. again. I left the Friday evening and stayed at Marine's house til Sunday afternoon.

The Goodbye of my ex host family was... kind of relieving but also a bit gloomy. Afer all I did spend three months with them and we had some great memories.

Marine's host mum was so nice to me, she told me I could stay and I am not bothering them and made me feel welcome.

In the evening her host mum offered us a glas of wine and we just couldn't decline that offer.

The next day, Saturday, we went to London to buy a few Christmas gifts. :) Well.. Marine still had to buy a few presents, I was already done :)

Camden Town. I've been there a few times now and I absolutely love it! We quickly found all the presents we needed (Marine..) and then went to Westfield as Marine has never been there before.

To be honest, after Camden Town we were already quite tired and exhausted and decided to grab a coffee first. So we went to Costa!

Isn't it cute?!

My little sweetie is shy... :D Don't hide Marine!

We spent a few hours in Westfield, getting lost in that huge building and buying a few things every now and then. Before it got too late we took the train back to Farnborough and tried to sleep a little bit. Well, I did but Miss I'm-hiding-behind-my-coat wouldn't let me.

Back in Marine's house, we ate some pizza and then decided to watch some movies. The first one was a scary movie called "Mama". Admittedly, it wasn't very very scary but we absolutely loved it! Afterwards, to enlighten the atmosphere we watched "High School Musical" just to sing along and then decided to watch "Ted" which is indeed funny.

The next day... was my last day in Farnborough. It was kind of hard to leave but I knew I'd come back.

I don't think I told you that I found a new host family, did I? Well, if not, now you know. They don't live very far away from Farnborough and they are very nice! I already met them a few times and we get along very well and I met them again on Sunday.

In the afternoon, I took the train to London with my suitcase and my two bags.. it was very hard, but I was so relieved when my cousins picked me up at a station in North London. 

Back in their flat we ate something and then watched some TV before we went to bed. We didn't do much.. the next day, we went out to the mall to buy a few things, then we walked around.

I don't want to go too much in detail as it wasn't very interesting but let me just tell you that I nearly missed my flight :D Something I have to mention as well is that I was seated in Business Class... hehe. It was quite fancy but I enjoyed.

I get teary eyed very quickly and at a lot of things.Things like inspirational books or movies based on true stories or how when the underdog succeeds when no one else thought it was possible. It's things like that, that make me want to cry my eyes out - happy tears!

And.. things like seeing someone you love after a long time. Seeing my family after three months was a very special moment for me. It was quite weird being in Germany, listening to everyone talking in German. I felt like I didn't belong there. But I was happy. Because I was with my beloved family.

I didn't realize how much I've missed them 'til I saw them. Suddenly my brothers were as tall as me and I felt like a baby next to them. But when we arrived at home I noticed that nothing has changed. And that gave me reassurance. Knowing that no matter what happens, you can go back to your family and nothing will have changed. 

In the next few days I visited a lot of friends and relatives. I couldn't stop smiling, I am happy and I know I will be happy when I go back to England. Because this time I will make sure that nobody will take away my happiness from me. 

♥

And I’m not
going to say
I forget;
Because I remember every day.

Every day.

- Hope Sandoval And The Warm Inventions

It's up to you.

“Alice came to a fork in the road. 'Which road do I take?' she asked.
'Where do you want to go?' responded the Cheshire Cat.
'I don't know,' Alice answered.
'Then,' said the Cat, 'it doesn't matter.” 

― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

It’s Simple…
When you don’t know where you want to go, it doesnt matter which path you choose. A definite Goal is necessary for taking decisions.

Making decisions is something i’ve always found hard, frankly, i suck at it. I never regret things, i like how unpredictable things can be but most of the time i am fully aware that there might be a chance that i’m ignoring a decision that might have taken me to a real good place, where the sky is more blue and all that. I know i’m not making a wrong decision, but you know how the grass is always greener on the other side, that’s close to how i feel.

The last few weeks have been pretty hard for me. I had to make some decisions even though I didn't really want to. But before I tell you more, let me explain you a few things.

A bad experience can always turn around.

When I first came here I was full of hope, happiness and believe. I knew it would be hard but worth it. I'd be stronger.

My hostfamily was nice to me, I quickly met new people and loved my life here. But people change; sometimes you see their true faces after a long time.

I do not feel comfortable here anymore. I don't like it here. I don't want to be here.

What is "here"?, you may ask. What is "it"?

I don't want to live with my host family anymore.

Basically they treat me more like a cleaner than an Au Pair. I don't mind cleaning but what I do mind is ordering me around and not even appreciating the help you get. An Au Pair is not a cleaner or a maid. A little help is okay, but do not expect them to clean the whole house for you. Every day. That's what my family here wants me to do. I've thought about quitting a lot. I even once talked to my host mum about it but she didn't think it was that serious. Everybody has its habits and of course it's not easy to live with them. And if you share a bathroom you should not leave your dirty underwear on the bathroom floor and expect other people to pick it up for you. This is one of the few things they did. Of course there were nice to me.. sometimes.

It's easy to be happy when everything seems to be going your way, but I think that defining happiness that way reduces it to an accident, which it is not.

Happiness doesn’t just happen.

It's actually your choice.

Some days are good, but there are probably more days that are just plain bad. Have you ever met someone who stayed positive even when they're having a bad day and everything that can go wrong seems to be going wrong? 

People who are able to smile even though the worst of times have learned a very important lesson, the same lesson I stated above: Happniess doesn't just happen.

You can choose to be happy instead of waiting around for it to suddenly appear out of nowhere one day and land in your hand.

I've learned this lesson this year. I didn't want anybody to have that effect on me. I didn't want anybody to ruin my happiness. I failed. But then I looked past these things and I had a surprisingly great time. The thing is: when you live with a family you don't feel comfortable with and you don't want to stay with, your mood will always change. I've tried; I really did. I've fought for it; I talked to them about it and explained my feelings. What do you do when they don't take you seriously? 

For me it is not giving up. It is a chapter in my life I'm willing to close. Because right now I have a choice and I decided to stay here til the winter holidays so they have enough time to find a new Au Pair and I will hopefully find a new host family. 

Happiness is choice.

I don't regret anything. I don't regret coming here and living with my current host family. I've learned a lot. I have had bad times here but they taught me to see the good things in life. There will always be a light after the dark. There is always good in every situation.

It's not an easy choice all the time and it very well may be the last thing you want to do sometimes. Sometimes you just want to sulk and stay upset, perpetuate the sadness. It's a natural response but it is not a required behaviour. Choosing to be happy will make you a better, strnger, wiser, more longsuffering person.