So for the past week and a half I've been working as a server at a restaurant in town, which was and still is superbly scary for someone as clumsy as me, but thankfully I haven't dropped a tray on one of my tables yet or drenched someone in the all mighty southern sweet tea (I miss regular lime iced tea).
I guess it might be weird for anyone back home to imagine themselves working as servers, I don't even know anyone in ES that works as a server I guess the big difference is that people actually tip here in the States and you can make really good money out of it.
I've been working on my own for 4 days now and I've made more money than I did back in ES working 44 hours a week which is absolutely mind blowing when I compare it.
Today while I was cleaning my tables after my shift was over it came to me I've swept more in the past week and a half then probably ever in my life.
There are days where I find myself still wishing to have a maid like back in ES but not having a maid is part of the Bama/US package in a way I guess it was about time for me to learn how to take care of myself even though I'm not exactly on my own yet.
-edit- I just re-read this I sound like a brat but I guess it's just part of the whole cultural difference :/
domingo, 7 de agosto de 2011
domingo, 3 de julio de 2011
The American Adventure so far
It's been a while since I've posted in my Bama blog so here I am :) it's been over 2 months since I moved to the states.
So let's put you guys all up to date:
Other than that, well my gorgeous nephew is getting cuter and cuter as the days go by! I've never been quite a baby person myself and well I haven't around many babies other than the ones related to me and back in those days I was to young to be trusted around a baby and as well traditionally back home it's rare for a teenager to be allowed to babysit your nephews/cousins or anything really.
I'd only babysat once before and it was more like sleepover it was last year the day before Easter with my two other nephews (one of them was 6 and the other one was 4, i think) and my mom and sister were helping me so it shouldn't really count but that was really my only experience before moving to Alabama.
So when I came here it was a whole lot of learning about babies, but I wouldn't have it any other way my newest nephew has me wrapped around his little fingers just like everyone else here, he's just unbelievably charming and I guess anyone out there might just think the same way about their own kids but it's true, so I'm sorry I'm gonna stop talking about my amazingly gifted nephew and move on to a different subject.
Adaptation is the name of the game right now and at times I feel like I fail at it and sometimes I feel like I'm part of sociological study of transculturization, in a way I regret not thinking about this sooner and though I understand the reason why my mom never suggested in any way serving in the military as an option for my future (I was the kind of teenager that would always go against my mom's wishes) I think I would have been ready to go for this option a long time ago maybe not straight out of high school but maybe about a year and a half ago but it is what it is and I'm trying to make the best out of it.
That includes enjoying a lot of firsts:
Like waiting for the ice cream truck to come around the block while sitting in the front lawn with my cousins, driving 6 hours to go to the beach (a highly different trip from the 30 min trips I was used to back in ES to go to the beach), fishing, quarter-sized hail,visiting an Air Force Base (which I was able to do thanks to my awesome uncle and it made me feel a lot more happy and confortable with the decision I've taken), going to Destin, Fl (gorgeous emerald green water and white sand beaches ♥), making s'mores, tornados and tornado watch, severe weather sirens (these last two I don't really enjoy of course).
I know I'm probably missing a couple more things on that list but that's ok, I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to experience all of this and as well the opportunities that lie ahead of me, I'm forever grateful for all of the support my family both here and in ES has given me so far.
That's all for this post, hopefully I'll be back here soon with more uninteresting stories to tell you but ever eloquently doing so.
♥, Alice
So let's put you guys all up to date:
- I have an ID :) yay I no longer have to carry around my passport.
- I got a cellphone
- Met my recruiter
- Took the ASVAB
 |
| Deep Sea Fishing @ 5:30am. Destin, Fl |
I'd only babysat once before and it was more like sleepover it was last year the day before Easter with my two other nephews (one of them was 6 and the other one was 4, i think) and my mom and sister were helping me so it shouldn't really count but that was really my only experience before moving to Alabama.
So when I came here it was a whole lot of learning about babies, but I wouldn't have it any other way my newest nephew has me wrapped around his little fingers just like everyone else here, he's just unbelievably charming and I guess anyone out there might just think the same way about their own kids but it's true, so I'm sorry I'm gonna stop talking about my amazingly gifted nephew and move on to a different subject.
 |
| Our Catch! Red Snapper and Trigger Fish :) |
That includes enjoying a lot of firsts:
Like waiting for the ice cream truck to come around the block while sitting in the front lawn with my cousins, driving 6 hours to go to the beach (a highly different trip from the 30 min trips I was used to back in ES to go to the beach), fishing, quarter-sized hail,visiting an Air Force Base (which I was able to do thanks to my awesome uncle and it made me feel a lot more happy and confortable with the decision I've taken), going to Destin, Fl (gorgeous emerald green water and white sand beaches ♥), making s'mores, tornados and tornado watch, severe weather sirens (these last two I don't really enjoy of course).
I know I'm probably missing a couple more things on that list but that's ok, I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to experience all of this and as well the opportunities that lie ahead of me, I'm forever grateful for all of the support my family both here and in ES has given me so far.
 |
| Destin, Fl ♥ |
That's all for this post, hopefully I'll be back here soon with more uninteresting stories to tell you but ever eloquently doing so.
♥, Alice
viernes, 29 de abril de 2011
Day Four
(I'm very sorry for the delay)
Day Four was more like Tornado Day :/
Woke up today at around 7am because the sirens were going off, I knew we were supposed to get some bad weather but I didn't think it would wake me up, first thing I did was check my alarm clock, there was no power so I thought I'll check what time it is on the phone, yet again no power...so according to the directions I had been given just a couple of days ago by my aunt which were turn the tv on and you'll know what to do :/ what did I do went to the kitchen with the dogs and just sat there waiting 'cause I had no clue what to do.
Thankfully within 20-30 minutes the power came back and it was time to watch ABC 33/40 and from then on it was the waiting game for what was gonna be round 2 in the afternoon, I went outside to check if everything was ok as well as Miss Daisy (see photo) had survived the first storm of the day, needless to say it was gorgeous outside (storms make everything look way better afterwards) so I took a couple of pictures and went inside to get ready for my beautiful (cute,amazing, most handsome, smartest) nephew who came over at noon and it was my turn to babysit, he was in a great mood for a three month old he is quite a talker, back to my day sorry for my rambling so we kept checking on each other in the family throughout the day.
Growing up in Central America means you know what to do in case of a tropical storm, hurricane and the unpredictable eartquakes, you learn the vocabulary related to them, what's good, what's bad and of course you have years to learn this is where I live and the cities around me that way you know when something is coming your way.
It's needless to say I had a crash course in geography and tornados last Wednesday, James Spann the weather guy for ABC was my teacher for the day, bad thing was he said himself he hadn't seen anything this bad in 25 years (just my luck, right?).
I can say it's weird (scary/ frustrating, I can come up with many other words :S) to know when something this bad is gonna hit close to someone you know yet in someway knowledge is power in this kind of situation, you have time to calm yourself, get ready and seek shelter which is pretty much impossible in an earthquake so for that I'm grateful especially because all tornado warnings were accurate and it was a rather surprising that not all weathermans are useless like back in ES, of course for the most part in the afternoon I was wishing they were wrong.
Around 4pm maybe, round two started and it was headed towards Tuscaloosa, all I could think was: "Sh#t just got real" (my cousin lives there) and I couldn't help but to feel so powerless just sitting there watching how eveything was happening, I still don't know how my aunt kept it together thankfully my cousin is ok, however the same cannot be said for Tuscaloosa.
A couple of hours later, we had no electricity and the sirens were going off again (the baby was still here, sleeping through it all) we had a tornado warning from around 6-7pm until 9pm, we were able to get a battery operated radio working so it was sitting, hoping, wishing, waiting time for us that all of this would come close to us, long story short, we are ok electricity came back around 11pm and James Spann was still going on ABC 33/40 I have no clue how he did it he was on TV almost 24 hrs.
Going to bed that day was quite a challenge, I felt like I was in a movie for the entire day, but I was thankful we were all safe.
My heart goes out to everyone who lost their homes and loved ones.
(I'll try and post both day five and six today as well, and I refuse to post sad photos on my blog)
Day Four was more like Tornado Day :/
Woke up today at around 7am because the sirens were going off, I knew we were supposed to get some bad weather but I didn't think it would wake me up, first thing I did was check my alarm clock, there was no power so I thought I'll check what time it is on the phone, yet again no power...so according to the directions I had been given just a couple of days ago by my aunt which were turn the tv on and you'll know what to do :/ what did I do went to the kitchen with the dogs and just sat there waiting 'cause I had no clue what to do.
Thankfully within 20-30 minutes the power came back and it was time to watch ABC 33/40 and from then on it was the waiting game for what was gonna be round 2 in the afternoon, I went outside to check if everything was ok as well as Miss Daisy (see photo) had survived the first storm of the day, needless to say it was gorgeous outside (storms make everything look way better afterwards) so I took a couple of pictures and went inside to get ready for my beautiful (cute,amazing, most handsome, smartest) nephew who came over at noon and it was my turn to babysit, he was in a great mood for a three month old he is quite a talker, back to my day sorry for my rambling so we kept checking on each other in the family throughout the day.
 |
| Miss Daisy after the morning storm |
It's needless to say I had a crash course in geography and tornados last Wednesday, James Spann the weather guy for ABC was my teacher for the day, bad thing was he said himself he hadn't seen anything this bad in 25 years (just my luck, right?).
I can say it's weird (scary/ frustrating, I can come up with many other words :S) to know when something this bad is gonna hit close to someone you know yet in someway knowledge is power in this kind of situation, you have time to calm yourself, get ready and seek shelter which is pretty much impossible in an earthquake so for that I'm grateful especially because all tornado warnings were accurate and it was a rather surprising that not all weathermans are useless like back in ES, of course for the most part in the afternoon I was wishing they were wrong.
Around 4pm maybe, round two started and it was headed towards Tuscaloosa, all I could think was: "Sh#t just got real" (my cousin lives there) and I couldn't help but to feel so powerless just sitting there watching how eveything was happening, I still don't know how my aunt kept it together thankfully my cousin is ok, however the same cannot be said for Tuscaloosa.
A couple of hours later, we had no electricity and the sirens were going off again (the baby was still here, sleeping through it all) we had a tornado warning from around 6-7pm until 9pm, we were able to get a battery operated radio working so it was sitting, hoping, wishing, waiting time for us that all of this would come close to us, long story short, we are ok electricity came back around 11pm and James Spann was still going on ABC 33/40 I have no clue how he did it he was on TV almost 24 hrs.
Going to bed that day was quite a challenge, I felt like I was in a movie for the entire day, but I was thankful we were all safe.
My heart goes out to everyone who lost their homes and loved ones. (I'll try and post both day five and six today as well, and I refuse to post sad photos on my blog)
martes, 26 de abril de 2011
Day Three
Today was pretty much (almost) awesome, why you might ask well I had an appointment to meet with my local recruiter which I was super excited about but he wasn't there, every other recruiter was there Navy, Marines, Army...sometimes things happen for a reason, after all I haven't even been here for a week so there's no rush for now.
Good thing is I'm learning my way around town so I won't get lost whenever I start driving, guess what I learned first? how to get to the mall, which was pretty easy I might add next on the list is probably gonna be wally world maybe will see.
For now I'm having a bunch of fun with my 88-page AL Driver's Manual, so far there's really nothing out of the ordinary, my biggest worry is getting lost.
Good thing is I'm learning my way around town so I won't get lost whenever I start driving, guess what I learned first? how to get to the mall, which was pretty easy I might add next on the list is probably gonna be wally world maybe will see.
For now I'm having a bunch of fun with my 88-page AL Driver's Manual, so far there's really nothing out of the ordinary, my biggest worry is getting lost.
Glee was on tonight which is pretty much one of my favorite tv shows, but I was so used to watching it in my laptop, it was annoying how after every song there was commercial break. Royal Wedding Day is almost here I can't wait, I'm loving the whole Royal wedding week on TLC and I <3 Say Yes To The Dress watched it today while I was working out.
Anyways tomorrow we're supposed to get some rain, but so far the weather has been perfect not too hot, a little breeze here and there just getting you excited for the summer! also tomorrow is babysit day <3 !
lunes, 25 de abril de 2011
Day Two
Woke up a little bit late today, I'm home alone :( I have succesfully organized my closet and room, taken a shower, got some breakfast and I'm now reading the Alabama Driver's Manual, it's part of my "To Do List".
To Do List:
To Do List:
- Must get a Driver's License
- Must talk to a Recruiter sometime soon
- Must/Should get a hamper
- Should get a cellphone
domingo, 24 de abril de 2011
Day One
So I just moved to the States after living basically my whole life in El Salvador, even though I was born in CA ad have visited before there had never been a trip this monumental to me, everything I owned was coming with me and I was thinking throughout the entire 3 hour flight: "Please, please let my suitcases arrive safely".
I had only been on a plane by myself one time before yesterday which was when I was 15 and I went to CA for 2 weeks and it was a easy flight into a easy airport (SFO) now the Atlanta airport is so big and confusing and to top it off you have a little train thing to increase your chances of getting lost, which I believe it was purposely made to be confusing in order for you to lose your connecting flight but anyways back to our topic of the day.
My flight was packed with the 212th and the 255th Engineer Companies from the Tennessee National Guard who were on their way home after building schools in El Salvador (video here) who were awesome company since I was sitting in the same row as a couple of them and surronded by the rest while they were preparing themselves mentally to wait for about 4 hours for their connecting flight I was preparing myself for the glorious mess of the ATL airport.
Amazingly everything went smoothly, I found my aunt and uncle waiting for me and a real quiet airport (maybe because of easter idk) and it was off to baggage claim and it took about a good 30-45 min until I was able to get my suitcases.
A 2hr drive to Alabama that I didn't even notice 'cause I was too busy taking everything in, the first and only time that I had visited AL before it had been winter and everything was dead so now everything looks so different yet familiar in a way.
Once we were home and I had catched up with everyone it was unpacking time, it still not completely organized yet but hopefully in the next couple of days I'll finish :)
It was Easter Sunday today, in short went to Wally World, Easter egg hunting which was unsuccesful only found 2 eggs, had an awesome lasagna, sat outside and waited for the ice cream truck for about 25 minutes with my cousin and felt like a little girl (it was my first time buying an ice cream from ice cream truck)...basically it was a eat eat eat kinda day but I had a great time with my family.
Current status: I'm sick right now I think I ate too much (duh!)
As you might notice if you were frequent readers of Alice in Sivarland we have now switched our posting language to English.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
I had only been on a plane by myself one time before yesterday which was when I was 15 and I went to CA for 2 weeks and it was a easy flight into a easy airport (SFO) now the Atlanta airport is so big and confusing and to top it off you have a little train thing to increase your chances of getting lost, which I believe it was purposely made to be confusing in order for you to lose your connecting flight but anyways back to our topic of the day.
My flight was packed with the 212th and the 255th Engineer Companies from the Tennessee National Guard who were on their way home after building schools in El Salvador (video here) who were awesome company since I was sitting in the same row as a couple of them and surronded by the rest while they were preparing themselves mentally to wait for about 4 hours for their connecting flight I was preparing myself for the glorious mess of the ATL airport.
Amazingly everything went smoothly, I found my aunt and uncle waiting for me and a real quiet airport (maybe because of easter idk) and it was off to baggage claim and it took about a good 30-45 min until I was able to get my suitcases.
A 2hr drive to Alabama that I didn't even notice 'cause I was too busy taking everything in, the first and only time that I had visited AL before it had been winter and everything was dead so now everything looks so different yet familiar in a way.
Once we were home and I had catched up with everyone it was unpacking time, it still not completely organized yet but hopefully in the next couple of days I'll finish :)
It was Easter Sunday today, in short went to Wally World, Easter egg hunting which was unsuccesful only found 2 eggs, had an awesome lasagna, sat outside and waited for the ice cream truck for about 25 minutes with my cousin and felt like a little girl (it was my first time buying an ice cream from ice cream truck)...basically it was a eat eat eat kinda day but I had a great time with my family.
Current status: I'm sick right now I think I ate too much (duh!)
As you might notice if you were frequent readers of Alice in Sivarland we have now switched our posting language to English.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
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