Home, home, sweet home!

The last few days we had in New York City, was spent shopping? shopping? and? shopping.
In between the shopping we managed to see the Statue of Liberty, as we took a boat to Staten Island. We also met up with some of our previous neighbors from Denmark and saw ground zero ? which isn?t really ?ground zero? anymore, because they?re rebuilding it all; bigger, higher and better ? the way only the US can do it. At first I was a bit shocked, because I couldn?t see why they would ?ruin? the place where people go to reminisce, but then again? it really does send a strong signal; ?We won?t give up ? you didn?t break us!? We bought a small magazine with pictures and short texts from 9/11 and it really opens your eyes when you?re actually there, compared to ?just? seeing it on the television?
I remember watching a movie about one of the airplanes that were meant to crash into the white house, and the passengers finding out and then sacrificing themselves in order to save them people outside the airplane? As we talked about it, one of our previous neighbors, mentioned to me that ?at least that?s the official story..? because, I?m not in doubt, that the US would shoot down the airplane, if they already knew that two previous airplanes had crashed into World Trade Centre and that this airplane was off track and heading for an important federal building. How crazy to think about? I certainly wouldn?t want to be in charge of making the decisions of ?who?s more important??
My dad however said that via the black box, it was possible to trace the true reason for the airplane crashing and it was because of the passengers who took over the flight and sacrificed themselves.
Still, it?s intriguing to think about because it seems so surreal and terrible.

I also went and got my legs waxed at a salon. Do I need to elaborate on the level of pain or does ?waxing? sound painful enough as it is? Nevertheless, I almost sent prayers to Buddha and whoever else I could think of, to make it stop in between many of the most terrible words I could think of. Thomas was just standing in the corner of the room with a smug smile as the Asian woman babbled on about ?her son having a girlfriend despite only being 18, and that they have been in the same Church since they were 2.? I endured and survived, and smelled like chocolate the rest of the day because of the ?Chocolate-soothing-wax?. The result is lovely and that?s really what matters in the end 😉

Here are some of the results from my shopping-sessions:

The bracelet on the right bottom says “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
The book on the left bottom is called “Ophelia” and is a modern version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, seen from the point of view of the girl Hamlet fell in love with.
(How cute are the shoes?? They were only 20 dollars, rough estimation of about 100 kr!) 

What can I conclude from being in New York?
.. well?. I certainly didn?t buy a ?I <3 NY? t-shirt/mug/key chain/etc. I believe it can be a great city, for the right people? and maybe we just didn?t go to the right places nor meet the right people, but to me, it was much too busy, too crowded, too many cars honking and driving like maniacs and just such a stressful atmosphere compared to the other states we?ve been in.
But to make matters fair; we didn?t stumble into any new crazy angry people and we did get an upgrade to a lovely suite, regarding my last post. We also found a delicious restaurant around the corner; and they had a trillion amazing shops.
What have I learned from being in the US?
1) Ped Xing means Pedestrians crossing!

2) Ordering both an appetizer and an entré makes you want to vomit because the sizes are ridonkulous (my word) huge.
3) The issue of giving tips to waiters/tresses is both good because it often gives you a much more pleasant service and it?s not a problem to change some of the dishes as it would have been in Denmark. It?s bad because I never know how much to give and I don?t want to offend them nor help myself to the road of poorness.
4) 90% of things are cheaper..
5) .. yet the US makes me poor because of all the temptations that just won?t leave me alone.
6) I have learned that I would not have a problem living in the US (especially not in L.A.) because I generally really like it here, despite my previous judgments about Americans.
7) There are ridonkoulously many churches here and I almost feel bad for not going to any of them.
8) That surfing is A LOT harder than it looks, a lot scarier and so much fun.

9) It?s a lot easier just to introduce myself as ?Anderson? instead of ?Andresen? because they don?t get it anyway and will spell it the first way despite actually spelling ?an..dREsEn?.? out loud.

10 ) I have a bad habit, that I believe I’ve inherited from my mum, of collecting the shampoos/conditioners/body lotions from various hotels…. This is a picture of some of them that I found while unpacking my first bag….. Sweet lord!

We are currently in the airplane, going from New York to Reykjavik. We have 9 seats (Yipppiiiiee 😀 ) to ourselves, which is absolutely fan-freaking-tastic, I am so happy. As I mentioned previously I really don?t like being cramped between strangers (nor my family to be honest) and this little extra space means the world to me. The lights are off and it would be ?easy? to catch some zzz?s soon, but I?m much too excited about returning to Denmark. I can?t wait to see familiar faces, to be able to drink (How sad to think that I actually miss this, but I?m so sick and tired of always being ?too young?!) I can?t wait to sleep in my own bed without constantly waking up because my sister or brother is turning in their beds or because people are shouting outside our windows. I can?t wait to stay up late just doing whatever I want and not having to care about disturbing other people because of the light or the noise or the distractions.
I certainly can?t wait to get back to my job, because I really do miss it as I do with the people there.
Mostly I can?t wait to get back and just feel at home, unpacking, sleep in? until I?m on the road again; july 27^th till the 31^st, where I?m going to Norway to visit the most amazing girl in the world.

I?m also planning on going to the UK to see the Webster Campus there, considering I might be attending that one next year.. I wish I could freeze time, because I?ll have to schedule this in between my plans of Norway and Thailand, not to mention work, concerts and the general importance of applying to scholarships.
I got one scholarship already, from Webster University which is a great and really appreciated help, now I just need a few more and I?ll be good to go. 😀

As a reference to my very first real post, I now have three fully packed and very large bags. Ups! Completely worth it though! 😉

I WISH I COULD SLEEP, I?m just so excited about going home!!! Sigh! 😛

I hope everyone had a great weekend, with their partying, birthdays and chilling. I truly wish I could?ve been there!

Biggest love sprinkled with a trillion hugs

Anna

P.s. Bless my family, I love them so much! I can?t elaborate enough on how grateful I am of having such an incredible family and being able to go on such a trip here is a blessing. Farfar, if you?re reading this too (I heard your secretary printed out a few of my previous posts!) thank you so much for everything. I love you too!

P.p.s. 1000 views in two weeks?! Wow!! Thanks guys!!! 😀 It definitely motivates me to keep my blog updated! 🙂