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Well we stayed home last night and had a low key New Year's Eve so that we could wake up early today and have a productive full day. By low key I mean that we drank champagne on the couch and listened to what quite possibly was WWIII outside at midnight. Sure, there were a few fireworks going off...in between magazines from Uzis and Tek9s. Welcome to the hood.
So we woke up at 7 to drive to DC to hang out with my New Zealand host brother John and his girlfriend Toni. We met them at the spy
useum but it was closed, so we went to the American Art Museum and spent about 30 minutes looking at a few Hoppers (that I loved) before they admitted that they were sick of museums. John said they didn't have anything planned for the day and just wanted to chill and catch up. The last time I saw him was the summer of 1997 when I lived on his family's farm in Geraldine. So it was quite nice to see him again and have it mostly feel natural. Amelia was feeling a bit self-conscious about the whole thing but John didn't seem to care at all about it. We walked around Chinatown and went to Dupont Circle so they could check out some bookstore Toni had seen from a tour bus. We got brunch and talked for a while. Then we walked around some more, brainstorming ideas of what else to do. John basically said "No, really, we don't care, let's just relax." So we went to Bethesda and walked around the shops there and stopped at Jaleo for a few pints. Then we went back to Amelia's parents' place for dinner. We just had a simple fondue and they had fun meeting the dogs and chatting. I always enjoy talking politics with foreigners because their pespectives always lead me to reevaluate my own perception. It was very interesting to hear them say they think that Canadians are less friendly and less willing to work (John said intelligence but Toni said work ethic). They seem to like Vancouver and love mountain biking at Whistler. Who knows how long they'll be there due to their jobs but it would be awesome to visit. Anyway, they stuck around until 9 when everyone started yawning, so I think that was a good sign that they were having fun. Tomorrow morning they're going to the air and space museum at Dulles because John has always been a big aviation nerd (and industrial design in general).
So it's pretty awesome to be able to reconnect after this long. If we don't go to Brisbane to see their land (they bought 200 acres as an investment/for biking) then I really think we need to visit Vancouver if they don't move. If they move to Chile, then we absolutely must visit. And I want to make it back to New Zealand before we start having kids and can't afford to take long international trips. Although I'm sure Ali would love it since I vet we have kids before any of my host siblings do.
Whatever, great start to the year. Who knew I was worth staying in touch with after so long? Not me. Friendship is great.
So we woke up at 7 to drive to DC to hang out with my New Zealand host brother John and his girlfriend Toni. We met them at the spy
useum but it was closed, so we went to the American Art Museum and spent about 30 minutes looking at a few Hoppers (that I loved) before they admitted that they were sick of museums. John said they didn't have anything planned for the day and just wanted to chill and catch up. The last time I saw him was the summer of 1997 when I lived on his family's farm in Geraldine. So it was quite nice to see him again and have it mostly feel natural. Amelia was feeling a bit self-conscious about the whole thing but John didn't seem to care at all about it. We walked around Chinatown and went to Dupont Circle so they could check out some bookstore Toni had seen from a tour bus. We got brunch and talked for a while. Then we walked around some more, brainstorming ideas of what else to do. John basically said "No, really, we don't care, let's just relax." So we went to Bethesda and walked around the shops there and stopped at Jaleo for a few pints. Then we went back to Amelia's parents' place for dinner. We just had a simple fondue and they had fun meeting the dogs and chatting. I always enjoy talking politics with foreigners because their pespectives always lead me to reevaluate my own perception. It was very interesting to hear them say they think that Canadians are less friendly and less willing to work (John said intelligence but Toni said work ethic). They seem to like Vancouver and love mountain biking at Whistler. Who knows how long they'll be there due to their jobs but it would be awesome to visit. Anyway, they stuck around until 9 when everyone started yawning, so I think that was a good sign that they were having fun. Tomorrow morning they're going to the air and space museum at Dulles because John has always been a big aviation nerd (and industrial design in general).
So it's pretty awesome to be able to reconnect after this long. If we don't go to Brisbane to see their land (they bought 200 acres as an investment/for biking) then I really think we need to visit Vancouver if they don't move. If they move to Chile, then we absolutely must visit. And I want to make it back to New Zealand before we start having kids and can't afford to take long international trips. Although I'm sure Ali would love it since I vet we have kids before any of my host siblings do.
Whatever, great start to the year. Who knew I was worth staying in touch with after so long? Not me. Friendship is great.
Saw this in a high school. President Obama wants you to pull up your
pants.
I think it's a little big for the entertainment stand. Whoops.
Sometimes people trot out these really sad stories when they're talking to me, and I'm just like "oh, well, right, um, ok. sorry about that."
Because what?
Because what?
- Mood:
sleepy