Orientation in New Jersey

After 17 hours in the plane and another hour in a taxi, I arrived at the Sheraton Hotel in New Jersey for orientation.

Basically, four days of classes trying to teach basic skills to 168 people - of which 166 people has English as their 2nd, 3rd, 4th language. Yeah, not so much fun really but I had to do it.

The hotel was really beautiful and the staff were so friendly and helpful.

I made friends with three girls in particular; Fernanda from Brazil, Cara from South Africa and Oksana from Germany. Hopefully I will be able to see them at some stage this year.

After Orientation, I got picked up by Kevin - the host Dad - and he drove me to Long Island where I will be based this year. It took about 2 hours to get from New Jersey to Long Island, but usually it would only take an hour. The US Open (Tennis) has just started, and we had to pass the stadium to get here.

So I'm settling in okay so-far, feeling a little homesick, but I'm sure that will pass soon.