The NZS II came into LA with his compatriots on Wednesday. After a few days of fetes they scattered to the winds and he moved in with us. The HB was pretty excited, but having gone through it once it was not another out-of-the-skull experience.
I ran around yesterday with the NZS II getting him a SIM card for his phone, checking out laptops and the like. For dinner, we went to an LA institution, El Cholo, so he'd get some really good Mexican food. While we waited for our table (btw--their magaritas are the best), he went through a standard list of questions about living in our house. He assured him that we are not ogres looking to enslave an NZ high school student. He's fairly convinced at this point.
This will be his toughest week as he doesn't start school until a week from tomorrow and he doesn't know too many people yet (he might some local high school kids Friday night). I'll take him tomorrow to get enrolled in school and then take him to a soccer match. I've lined it up for him to meet some of the NZS I's friends there. Hopefully he'll hit it off with a few of them so he'll have someone to eat lunch with next week.
A bummer is that I need to travel on biz to Chicago later in the week (brrrrrrrrr), so he'll have even fewer amusements. I'm guessing that his Wii skills will improve imensley and that he'll be DYING to go to school by Monday.
Today's my nephew's 16th birthday. I'm looking forward to seeing him.
Showing posts with label NZS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NZS. Show all posts
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The Penultimate Day for the NZS
The NZS heads out tomorrow night. I booked my flight to Philly at around 1pm (which doesn't get me there until 10:30pm), so I won't be here to officially see him off. That sucks, but my hands were pretty much tied. A cousin-in-law will pick me up and seeing as he's a big college football fan, I'm sure he'll have the FL-OK game on the radio (or at least know a place where we can catch the 4th quarter).
The talk before the Rotary Club went well. The NZS had a pretty good outline and covered the high points. He was well received and several people came up and chatted with him afterwards. We then went to his high school and got him officially withdrawn from classes and he had a chance to hang with some buds for the last time (though a few will be at the airport tomorrow).
For his last dinner he wanted something American, so I made jambalaya. I made it as mild as I could, but he and the HB still thought it was too spicy...lol.
Having the NZS here has been a great experience for all of us. It has really opened the HB's eyes to the world and has really stoked his interest in travel. The wife was a bit skeptical at first, but she really warmed up to him. Most of all, the NZS made some great friends and had an experience he'll always remember. He met a lot of people and saw a lot of things (including our election) that he neve would have on his island. And I guess that's what going on the exchange is all about.
As with all big life things, him going home is bittersweet. It's been great having him, but it will be nice to let go of the resonsibility and have a bit more quiet and flexibility in the house. He misses home and his parents miss him. I wish him well and I'll miss him.
The talk before the Rotary Club went well. The NZS had a pretty good outline and covered the high points. He was well received and several people came up and chatted with him afterwards. We then went to his high school and got him officially withdrawn from classes and he had a chance to hang with some buds for the last time (though a few will be at the airport tomorrow).
For his last dinner he wanted something American, so I made jambalaya. I made it as mild as I could, but he and the HB still thought it was too spicy...lol.
Having the NZS here has been a great experience for all of us. It has really opened the HB's eyes to the world and has really stoked his interest in travel. The wife was a bit skeptical at first, but she really warmed up to him. Most of all, the NZS made some great friends and had an experience he'll always remember. He met a lot of people and saw a lot of things (including our election) that he neve would have on his island. And I guess that's what going on the exchange is all about.
As with all big life things, him going home is bittersweet. It's been great having him, but it will be nice to let go of the resonsibility and have a bit more quiet and flexibility in the house. He misses home and his parents miss him. I wish him well and I'll miss him.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Countdown
We've gotten to the point now where the NZS is really counting down his time in the US. As you would imagine, there's a lot more he wants to do and not enough time to do it (he leaves Jan 8th).
Since his football team lost in the playoffs he's back on the soccer team. Soccer is his true sports love and he's very happy to be back on the pitch. On the football field he always looked a bit lost and on ice skates. Playing soccer he's very fluid and comfortable.
Xmas afternoon we (the four of us) are going to do a quick trip to Vegas and the Grand Canyon. After we get back, he's going to head up to the mountains for some snowboarding with some of his HS buddies (one of his other host families has a place up there).
I would imagine that when he gets back from that we'll have to start shipping some of his stuff home (there's not way he could pack it all on a plane). That will be a sad day.
I'm trying not to talk too much about the NZS II who arrives a couple of weeks later. The NZS asks about him and they occasionally exchange e-mail. I try to remind the HB that the two will be very different and to try not to always mention the NZS in front of the NZS II.
But, all of that is in the future. Today the NZS has a soccer game (possibly in the rain) and some end of the semester projects to finish. Time marches on.
Since his football team lost in the playoffs he's back on the soccer team. Soccer is his true sports love and he's very happy to be back on the pitch. On the football field he always looked a bit lost and on ice skates. Playing soccer he's very fluid and comfortable.
Xmas afternoon we (the four of us) are going to do a quick trip to Vegas and the Grand Canyon. After we get back, he's going to head up to the mountains for some snowboarding with some of his HS buddies (one of his other host families has a place up there).
I would imagine that when he gets back from that we'll have to start shipping some of his stuff home (there's not way he could pack it all on a plane). That will be a sad day.
I'm trying not to talk too much about the NZS II who arrives a couple of weeks later. The NZS asks about him and they occasionally exchange e-mail. I try to remind the HB that the two will be very different and to try not to always mention the NZS in front of the NZS II.
But, all of that is in the future. Today the NZS has a soccer game (possibly in the rain) and some end of the semester projects to finish. Time marches on.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Take Him Out to the Ball Game, Part II
Oh, some things I didn't mention about the Clippers game:
1) Clearly, they have a no visible tattoos/non-ear piercing policy with their dancers. Which I think only leaves about 50 in the city.
2) The enthusiasm in the crows was pathetic. I thought that the Clipper fans had that "Yeah, we're not front running Laker fans" chip on their shoulder. I got the feeling that half the people there were given tickets by people who only wanted to have the seats for the Lakers, and really didn't give a shit about the Clips. Given that Staples holds 20k, it was only half full, and only half of them were pulling for LA, there were only about 5k people cheering. Not good.
1) Clearly, they have a no visible tattoos/non-ear piercing policy with their dancers. Which I think only leaves about 50 in the city.
2) The enthusiasm in the crows was pathetic. I thought that the Clipper fans had that "Yeah, we're not front running Laker fans" chip on their shoulder. I got the feeling that half the people there were given tickets by people who only wanted to have the seats for the Lakers, and really didn't give a shit about the Clips. Given that Staples holds 20k, it was only half full, and only half of them were pulling for LA, there were only about 5k people cheering. Not good.
Take Him Out to the Ball Game
Yesterday, I happened upon a couple of tickets for the Clippers-Hornets game at Staples Center. The price was right (a nominal charitable donation), the tickets were awesome, and parking was included. Fortunately, the NZS didn't have evening football practice (the HB had no interest in going) so we went to the game.
One good thing about the timing of us hosting the NZS is that he already had a cadre of friends and was well-acclimated to being here. The (minor) bad thing is that he's got a pretty full schedule, so it's hard to fit in all the "LA" things that it would be cool for him to experience. This was a great opportunity to cross something off of the list (see an NBA game).
The NBA is popular in NZ, so he knows a lot of players besides those on the Lakers and Clippers. For some odd reason, he's a Denver Nuggets fan. And it was a treat watching Chris Paul play. He had some great lobs to Tyson Chandler (check this clip out at about the 20 second mark...and that wasn't even his best one).
It was a fun evening and gave us a chance to talk hoops, etc for a few hours. I hoping to get him to the Getty Museum and some other places (Vegas, Grand Canyon) during his last 6 weeks here.
One good thing about the timing of us hosting the NZS is that he already had a cadre of friends and was well-acclimated to being here. The (minor) bad thing is that he's got a pretty full schedule, so it's hard to fit in all the "LA" things that it would be cool for him to experience. This was a great opportunity to cross something off of the list (see an NBA game).
The NBA is popular in NZ, so he knows a lot of players besides those on the Lakers and Clippers. For some odd reason, he's a Denver Nuggets fan. And it was a treat watching Chris Paul play. He had some great lobs to Tyson Chandler (check this clip out at about the 20 second mark...and that wasn't even his best one).
It was a fun evening and gave us a chance to talk hoops, etc for a few hours. I hoping to get him to the Getty Museum and some other places (Vegas, Grand Canyon) during his last 6 weeks here.
Monday, September 29, 2008
NZS, Day 2
The first day of school with the NZS here went well. He got out of the house just fine in the morning, had school and football practice and was home on time for dinner.
The HB said he got woken up in the morning by the NZS, but he said it with a smile on his face. Go figure. Speaking of the HB, he must have eaten something bad at school as he was puking this evening. Poor pumpkin. Of course, he was feeling well enough to play some Wii with the NZS.
The HB has tomorrow off for rosh hashana (the school has enough at least 2 times a year observant jews that it makes sense). Hopefully he's feeling better so we can do something fun.
The HB said he got woken up in the morning by the NZS, but he said it with a smile on his face. Go figure. Speaking of the HB, he must have eaten something bad at school as he was puking this evening. Poor pumpkin. Of course, he was feeling well enough to play some Wii with the NZS.
The HB has tomorrow off for rosh hashana (the school has enough at least 2 times a year observant jews that it makes sense). Hopefully he's feeling better so we can do something fun.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The Arrival of the NZS
The NZS got here yesterday. It's good to have him here, though it was a bit anti-climatic for the HB as the NZS took off with his friends at about 3:30 and didn't get back until 11. But, He'll be with us all day today.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Dry Run
This morning the HB and I get to do a dry run on getting the NZS and the HB to school. The NZS and I are going to a get together of other exchange students this weekend. His host family mom is out of town and I wanted to be sure that I had all of his stuff in my car so we can leave right after his football game tonight. So, I volunteered to take him to school this morning so we can see how it goes.
Of course, the HB's first question this morning was, "Is the NZS here yet?" He is SO excited.
The logistics are that their schools are in opposite directions, though both pretty close (about 5 miles). Since we're in LA, traffic will be tricky. I think I have a good plan, but we'll see. I'll let ya know later.
Of course, the HB's first question this morning was, "Is the NZS here yet?" He is SO excited.
The logistics are that their schools are in opposite directions, though both pretty close (about 5 miles). Since we're in LA, traffic will be tricky. I think I have a good plan, but we'll see. I'll let ya know later.
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