Host Family

Hi everyone :)

I'm all tucked up in bed with a cup of hot lemon-honey-ginger and chocolate writing this post, reliving yesterday. 

I had the most amazing day catching up with my host family. I had not talked to them for about 9 months only the occasional message on facebook.

I decided to walk to their place as it was a gorgeous day and the closer I got the more nervous I got. I can't explain it and I don't know why but I had this feeling of butterflies in my stomach. It felt like a mix of being in love and about to be sick. 

I thought that my little boy Rowan would not be able to remember me anymore since he was only just 3 when I left but boy was I wrong. 

My host mum opened the door and as soon as I was in Rowan asked if he could show me all the new things he had learned and the ginger bread men they had made and he had decorated. 

He knew exactly who I was and it was so good to see. It was a very heartwarming for me to see that even after a year he still wanted to spend time with me. 

He had to show me all his amazing things he had learned during the year that I had missed and I can honestly say I never enjoyed anything more. He has grown so much since I left and learned how to ride a bike and talks non stop. 

I can't even begin to explain how it felt. When I walked through the door it was like coming home after a long holiday, after all they were my family for a whole year. And in some way they still are. They are my family at this end of the world and they mean a lot to me.

My host parents have helped me become the person i am today and I don't think I would have learned as much as I did during my time here if it weren't fro them. They always encouraged me to aim higher. They taught me that I can reach every goal I set myself if I am prepared to work hard to get there. I have so much love for them and truly admire them for giving me the opportunity to become part of their family. 

So coming back to them was the best feeling ever. 

Just being a part of the daily routines again and seeing that it hadn't changed was great. I got there at around 3.30pm and I had a look around the garden and all the things that had changed there and met the chickens. There little one, which I met for the first time yesterday since she was still a baby bump when I left, is really fond of the chickens and tries very hard to say chicken. Next was their bedroom which was still a building lot when I left. It turned out really great which I could not have imagined having only seen the how it looked in it's early stages. Other then that they have switched the guest room and the AuPair room, so my old room did look nothing like it did when I left. 

After that we had the ginger bread men that my host mum made with the help of Rowan. I then played some football with the little monkey on the deck till his dinner was ready. 

I even got to be part of a bit of silly dancing around just like a year ago, dancing around the dining table all 5 of us and just being silly sausages. 

I cleaned up after dinner just like old times and joined bath time and story time. I even got chosen to read the bed time story which is an honor :)

All in all I enjoyed every single moment of that day and it wasn't over yet.

I also got to talk to the new AuPair for a bit, he seems a bit shy but also like a genuinely nice person. We chatted about AuPair problems for a bit and I hope I could help out a bit. I will also be taking him along to meet some of my friends because I think that meeting locals is very important and actually makes your stay a lot more enjoyable. And he seems like a friendly kind person so I have no doubts whatsoever that my friends here will like him and hopefully take him in.  

After a great day my hosts and I then proceeded with going our for dinner and it was soo delicious.

We talked about a bit of everything and it was 11 pm when we left the restaurant.

I can now say that I already think about the next time I will be coming back even though my stay here has barely begun. 

New Zealand and my year here is a huge part of my life and I underestimated  just how huge role it was still playing in my life. 

More from my stay here tomorrow :)

x

J.