Party in the USA

So here we are. 2 weeks and one 2:2 later and I have become fully immersed in my absurd new life in this absurd country. Camp is truly an immersion and America is a parody of itself. I've fallen in with the very people that I used to mock.

I know all the words to the pledge of allegiance and to that Miley Cyrus song. For breakfast I eat 'Captain Crunch', waffles with syrup and a peanut butter-and-jelly bagel. For lunch, it's Macaroni and cheese and for dinner; cheeseburgers and French fries. When I'm not drowning in their inexcusable yet irresistible food, I drown in the work here. I have so little free time that I have lost all interest in free time as I have completely forgotten what it entails.

But I've remembered one thing since I started here. I love kids! They drive me crazy some days and occasionally the guitar teaching facilities can leave a bit to be desired but there is nothing quite like it.

I'm going on a big day out to the big city pretty soon so I'll be sure to upload some photos with that post.

Until then, stay safe. Hope you all had a nice 4th of July.

Bags and lists

In less than 24 hours, I will be in the United States. And before being picked up and whisked out to the countryside I’m going to have to get to the rendezvous point on Manhattan Island. The most exciting part of this is that I’m going to need something to eat. I’ll be eating lunch in New York! I can’t wait to order a bagel with some ‘hawt cawffee’ to wash it down.

It’s all bags and lists and times and a desperate sense of deep panic now. Have I remembered everything? My flight leaves at 0705 for Heathrow so I need to be out of the house at 5am. Not exactly a lie-in and not exactly when I want to be rectifying things I’ve forgotten to do today.

I wonder what I’ll be thinking when I step off the plane? I’ve been looking at some choices for the iPod for this moment. I know what I really want though.

Speak to you from the US!

Preparation

For those who don’t know, I’ll recap why I’m leaving across the ocean. I’ve taken a job as a counsellor at a summer camp in New York State. The camp is situated in Elizaville which is about an hour from New York City.

I am going to be teaching guitar and mountain-biking to the kids from the 26^nd June until the 26^th August. After that, I’m going on a wee road trip from New York to the city of Los Angeles, terminating on September 14^th. To get out there, I’m flying from Edinburgh to Heathrow and then onwards to Newark. The departure date of 22^nd June looms large.

I have momentarily relocated to Edinburgh from Newcastle so now I’m on the launch pad, ready and waiting. I’m buried under pieces of paper; pieces of vital paper to which my fate is bound. My visa and immigration forms, my medical insurance details, my passport, maps with instructions on how to get to pickup points and Dollar bills are the things I wallow in these days. Have you ever felt a Dollar bill in your hand before? I find them unsettlingly wide and short. They are also all from $1 to $100, exactly the same size. The fact that they are indistinguishable in this sense cannot make it easy for blind people!

But the time is nearly upon us and soon the planning must end and the packing must in earnest begin. In 2 days I’ll be in New York!

An Introduction

I have set up this blog to document my travels this year in the USA. It will also serve as a place for me to comment on things and stuff, which are my two main fields of interest in life. I’m going to enjoy writing it. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Rory McElearney 20/06/10