#workamerica

For those committed followers from the beginning and the new followers and anyone in-between who know or are interested about my travels and know my passion and love for a little place in the USA called North Myrtle Beach.. This is just a post of some highlights about my summer this year back in my second home! 

First, I went to NYC as in keeping with my previous trip. After all, NYC is the central travel hub on the West Coast.

I actually don’t like NYC that much.. I guess not may people can say this but, I feel like i’ve been there enough times not to find any kind of thrill being there anymore. It’s a big, crazy, hectic city and that kind of place just isn't me. But still..

I stayed there for a few days so I could meet up with my best friend in the City! Because he was also out in the US working for the summer and NYC was just a good place for us to meet up! No matter where you are, it’s always amazing when you're with your best friend! 

And then it was off back down to South Carolina! North Myrtle Beach.. home! I love this little city so so so much! It just suits me down to the ground! I love the way the people are in the South, that southern hospitality is second to none! The people and the place, just so chilled out and relaxed. That’s probably why I fell in love with this place! This photo is actually the view from the balcony in my apartment..

You know why else I love this place? Because it’s right on the BEACH! This was 300 yards from my apartment door, everyday! Day drinking on the beach on days off was bliss! I mean the average temperature was around 30 C, it was pretty warm all the damn time! 

But when it rained, IT POURED! This was nearing the end of summer where the weather got a bit wetter although, it was still in the mid 20s on a daily! The storms in South Carolina are amazing to witness, some thunderstorms literally feel and look like the Gods are defending from above! 

BUT lets not forget why I was there! To work! And we all worked hard all summer long! This was the record ticket for one order of the summer! Hard shell tacos come 2 per single order.. that was A LOT of tacos! But I loved my job! 

But then came a REALLY though day for me, the day I had to leave. That place is so much like home to me now that this was literally an extremely hard day for me. I cried my eyes out and almost didn't get on the plane! My boss, who is an absolutely wonderful guy and my friend Vicky took us to the airport and it was just so painfully hard to say goodbye

BUT.. we where off to Las Vegas! So it can't have been that bad, right? 

Dabbled a little in the casinos.. needless to say i’m not much of a gambler! 

And then we just HAD to head down Route 66 and visit the Grand Canyon in Arizona! It was absolutely astonishing! 

Then it was off to Los Angeles on the Greyhound! 

Again, i’m not a huge fan of big cities but, I’ve always wanted to go to LA and see the sights! But I have odd interests! 

My highlight of LA was getting to pop into this little shop! As a huge fan of Kat and LA Ink, it was like a dream come true! I wish I had time and money to have gotten some ink here! 

All round, we didn't have a great experience in LA because we where on a budget and ended up in a very bad hostel in a very bad area and could afford to stay anywhere else.. we couldn't even afford to go out and have  a few drinks! And we where told by the hostel not to go out in the area at night! SO we evaluated our situation.. seen all we wanted to see and booked a flight back to Myrtle Beach, SC aka Home and our boss was kind enough to let us rent out our apartment again! We only planned on staying for 6 days before our international flight home but, the heartache of leaving was so strong that we changed our flights to stay for one more week where we just had a little chilled out, work free holiday for 12 days whilst we came to terms with leaving South Carolina 3 and a half thousand miles behind. My heart is broken because I went there last summer with no expectations but, I found my home. I found where I am meant to be in this world. NMB feels more like home to me than Ireland and that’s what hurts the most because now I am back here wishing I was there. But I will be returning on my final J1 visa for another summer in 2016 and then I will consider my options from there on!

So i'm just going to dive straight into it! My USA adventure began when I flew from Dublin to NYC where I was to spend 3 days in the Big Apple all on my lonesome.. which was a pretty scary thought for me.. thousands of miles away from home in this city, Nw York City! Alone! I was 21 feeling like 12! But It was a surreal experience! I just threw myself into it, I booked myself into a hotel on Times Square for my 3 night stay. I dived into the torurisnm the city had, I got the hop on hop off sight seeing bus and i really used it to see as much of the city as I could and of course.. SHOPPING! I done a lot of shoping in NYC! In a strange kind of way, I felt empowered being in this city, in this country on my own at 21. It was a great feeling. Only one thing made it better, my best friend! My best friend was also in the US working upstate some where in NY and couldn't make it down to the city to see me or, so he thought! He got some time off last minute and my last day/night in NYC he came down and joined me and he brought 2 friends with him and we had a great day then that night we hit the NYC nightlife! 

But I soon had to leave NYC and catch a flight down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina! Thats when the real fun and hard work began! 

So here I was in a New city in America.. STILL ALONE! I arrived at the airport in Myrtle Beach and here's the best part, my employer had yet to tell me where I was supposed to go when I arrived in Myrtle Beach! So naturally, I was panicking in the airport in New York and I was scrolling though Facebook and a girl who I found on a Facebook group who was working for the same company had posted a status about being at a hotel at Myrtle Beach airport and not knowing where to go, so I commented and we had a chat and she actually came to the airport to meet me because we were both in the same situation! (She was from Scotland). So she met me in bagging re-claim and we had a chat and introductions and by that time I got an email from our employer with an address and instructions. So off we went in a cab to North Myrtle Beach. We arrived and went to the apartment we were told to go to and were greeted by 3 other British J1 students! It was such a relief! Soon our employer turned up with a big group of Chinese and Russian kids who were also living with us. We were a little apprehensive about this because we didn't expect there to be others from such a variety of different countries with such a variety of different languages because we all went with a British company but that was all just being ignorant British. Soon we all settled in to our apartment where 23 J1 students from all corners of the world were living, now it sounds bad, 1 apartment and 23 people? Yeah. All I can say is, IT WAS A HUGE APARTMENT, there was 3 floors. Now the best thing was, we all mingled and got along brilliantly with each other! But then came bad news, our big apartment was only temporary! We had to move up the street and granted, the new accommodation was A LOT closer to work (2 minute walk) But eel all got split up into different smaller apartments in one big apartment block and other students came from other temporary apartments we didn't know about it. In the end there was around 130 of us in the apartment block, around 6 people per apartment, very open planned with the beds but 2 bathrooms a big kitchen per apartment. It was basic and cheap and we learnt to love our little home! And the best part was the parking lot on the ground floor! We all hung out there, British, American, Russian, Turkish, Chinese, European. It was great! But we all had jobs and had to work a minimum of 30 hours per week. I worked in a quaint little walk up food place called Señor Willies Taco Shack and I had the best co-workers there, all of different cultures, I often worked my shift with a Russian guy or a Chinese girl and we all go along so well! 

I mostly worked my shifts form 5pm-11pm where I would cashier and when really busy I would help cook/assemble the food, it was all about team work because there were only 2 of us that worked per shift because it was such a small establishment. Strong team work kept the place at its best! And my Manager! Let me tell you about this girl! She was American and only 20! But we got on so well and became really close friends, I love this girl! She worked the late night shift from 11pm-4am so I would go home at 11pm, sleep for a while them we would hang out at 4am when she got off work! WE HAD THE BEST OF TIMES! 

The time she let me dye her hair, completely drunkenly hilarious! 

Drunk at 6am in the parking lot with our Russian friend just hanging out and being awesome! Simply times, but best times! 

And sometimes all the students would have big house parties! Where we would make a ton of jello shots and play beer pong and get stupid drunk and make brilliant friends and memories! The Turkish guys place across the road from our apartment block was a popular party house! 

Some of us at the end of the night at around 6am! on! (me in the front with the Guns n Roses Tee)

And then there were other times where just just hung out in the parking lot sat round, talking, drinking and just hanging out having fun and a chilled night! 

Me with the purple hair hang in out with my manger and my Scottish friend who I met at the airport ( we became really great friends!)

This was what  our average chilled out night consisted of! Whisky, alcopops, snack and beer! (beer not pictured, probably because we drank it all!)

Now don't get me wrong, we did a lot more than just hang out and get drunk! We lived right by the beach and on days off or days we were up and feeling fresh before work we would go to the beach! And on Mondays myself and my Manager were off work so we done activities! and went out for food! Sometimes we would go to the other restaurants in the company where our friends worked and requested them as our servers and had fun with them being awkward customers but it was all in good humour and we always tipped them well! And the done it to us in return! Vicious cycle! Haha! 

This is a snap from one of our beach day walks that often ended up in us deciding the water looked so good we needed to go in but didn't have swimming cloths so went in in what we were wearing! This happened WAY too much! Hahaha! 

And this! This was one of our activity monday nights! This is me hanging out with a dinosaur at Dinosaur mini golf! I suck at golf, my Scottish friend sucked more and my American friend, my manager cheated! I came second hahaha!

But the most heart crippling thing about this whole adventure is that, it would never last forever and eventually tearful, heart breaking goodbyes had to be said and done. Each one hurt ad much as the next. It was almost cruel. It was like a part of me, like a second family was being taken away from all of us. 

This was the day the 2 guys in this photo left. They were 2 of our best friends over the summer. They are both Russian guys from Siberia. They were the absolute best and I just love them to pieces, this was defiantly the hardest goodbye for myself and my american friend and manger. Don't let this photo fool you, under those sunglasses they are crying and so were we! They left to travel the West coast and I know they had an insane time! We still talk almost everyday! 

A few days later it came time for me to leave as well, I don't have any photos of that day because it was such a hard day for me and I spent a lot of time crying and just hugging people. But we had to leave! On the plus side, myself, my Scottish friend and another English friend had a bit of money left so we hopped on a bus to Orlando Florida! It took 12 hours but HARRY POTTER WORLD! 

Me hanging out at the Hogwarts Express! 

Drinking Butter beer in Hogsmead like the Muggle I am! 

And then there was Diagon Alley! I was fan grilling so bad! I was in a trans! It was everything I needed it to be and more than I expected it to be! 

So we stayed in Orlando, Florida for 3 days and went to Universal Studios for one day and we explored Orlando the other 2 days.. how did we explore do I hear you ask? Well.. Did I mention we rented a car, chose the cheapest low class car to rent but me being the only one with a license, I had to rent the car and I was wearing a band tee and the guy at the car rental place was a fan and he was a pretty cool guy so he gave me a Mustang convertible for the same price and the lower class cheapest car I wanted to rent! We were in heaven! Cruising round Orlando in a Mustang Convertible with out sunglasses on feeling cool as hell! 

So it came to the point we had to leave Florida and go to the next destination so we sat down, had a discussion, counted our money and decided it was time to go somewhere with a cooler climate! And we all had to get back to NY for our flights home so we decided to take the bus to Buffalo in upstate NY.. Florida to Buffalo. Yes. 36 hours on a bus because we were on the budget tour! It was a roller coaster of emotions on that 36 hour bus ride! It was fun and awful all at the same time! 36 hours and crossed 8 state lines later we arrived in Buffalo. Bad decision! Buffalo was awful! It was like a ghost city! Most buildings derelict, lack of people on the streets and not a lot to do. So we pulled our money and went to Niagara Falls! Which was an amazing experience in itself! 

Trying to take a selfie on the maid of the mist tour at the horseshoe fall! Disaster! 

But there wasn't a lot to do in Buffalo so we decided to leave as soon as possible but we had to split up because our English friend had to go to NYC to meet her Dad for a few days and I wanted to go to Lake George in upstate NY to visit some friends I made at the beginning of the summer so my Scottish friend tagged along with me. Lake George was a quint little town surrounding a lake, it was very quiet and peaceful, a lovely detox for the end of summer! And I got to meet up with my friends once again, they were from a small country in Europe close to Greece so, it was unlikely I would ever see them again or if I did it wouldn't be anytime soon so it was nice to see them again! They worked in a motel and on a steam boat! So they got us a good rate in the motel and took us for lunch and a lake cruse in the steam boat! Which was really lovely! And then on the day before we had to leave to head for NYC they took us out for dinner and paid as a sort of farewell dinner and it was just lovely and sad at the same time! We just hung out in the motel the rest of the night, had a few drinks and finally a few tearful goodbyes! Then it was up the next morning to cat he the bus at 7.15am headed to NYC. Only a 5 hours bus ride, like a walk in the park compared to the rest!

We spent a day and a half in NYC just getting the last bit of shopping done, presents for friends and family and some bits for ourselves. Soon it was time to leave for the airport, we were both on different flights at different times, I was flying to Dublin, she was flying to London and my flight was a good 10 hours before hers. So it was the final goodbye and to the girl, the first person I met on this adventure and one of the best friends I made. It was emotional but we parted ways and I left for my flight. I cried on that flight the whole way back to Ireland because I could feel my heart breaking. But i was glad, glad that I had something that could make my heart hurt so much. 

This is just a brief description of my adventure, obviously there are so many smaller stored and memories in each section but I could never tell them all because the are so many! We laughed we had fun, we cried, we said goodbye, we made friends for life and most of all we were blesses with unforgettable experiences and the best memories of our young lives.

Myself and my Scottish friend are planning on returning Summer 2015. Our employer has given us our jobs back for Summer 2015 and we are half was throughout the process of applying and getting our visas.

This experience changed me.

And it would never have happened or been the same without my hard work and commitment to weight loss before leaving. Even though I gained a lot of weight back whilst away, I am now on a new mission to loose weight again and be as determined and committed on the weight loss journey for Summer 2015, and hopefully it will stay off this time! Lessons learnt! 

This may well be the longest post I ever write, grab yourself a cuppa & keep reading! 

Without a doubt summer 2013 was the best EVER! I spent a total of 3.5 months working and travelling in the USA. 

My J-1 sponsor was BUNAC (a.k.a. GeoVisions).  They’re probably not the cheapest company around but because it was my first time travelling so far away, without family or friends I decided to opt for a well-established and reputable company. Applying for the visa was quite a lengthy and costly process (online forms, embassy appointments, verifications etc.) A good thing about BUNAC is that they provide a step-by-step guide covering exactly what you need to do: what forms need to be filled in, deadlines to be met, info on arriving in the USA, finding a job and so on.

However, my experience with the company was not completely hassle-free. For what seemed like an administration error on their part, I was booked the wrong embassy appointment in London. My slot was quite early in the morning and the only way to arrive in good time was to travel to London the night before.  In short, I spent a load of money on travel and accommodation, only to be turned away with a re-scheduled appointment. To say the least I was not impressed.

Fast forward a few weeks (granted my visa, booked flights, etc. etc. etc.), I was onto the next task of finding a job. Although BUNAC provides a job search facility, in my opinion and experience, there was a limited choice of jobs available and it seemed like the system wasn’t updated very often. (Maybe my eyes were deceiving me, but hey, I am just being honest). Though disappointed, this was not a major issue because BUNAC suggested many other job sites which I utilised and was happy with.

In the end, I didn’t find a job before I left the UK. This was primarily due to difficulty in balancing volunteering, Uni assignments, exams, work and other commitments. No biggie, because that’s another good thing about BUNAC - you don’t have to find a job before leaving the UK (though it’s strongly recommended).

In the USA, GeoVisions assisted with my search for employment. I spoke to one guy in particular and WOW…I have never been more IMPRESSED with customer service in my life. He was attentive, responsive, helpful…I could go on…but you get the point.

In terms of employment, I got a job and was happy…considering the length of this post, confidentiality, legal stuff and all of those implications I shan’t go into detail.

Overall, my experience in the USA was a 9.5 out of 10….. LOVED IT, LOVED IT, LOVED IT!

Everything in between (Random observations/ advice):

If you are not in a city expect to drive a lengthy stretch (literally) to get to a supermarket/mall – Believe it or not online grocery shopping/delivery is not as readily available as in the UK

If like me, ‘spray’ deodorant is an essential you might want to travel well stocked or consult duty free (roll on dominates the shelves there)

Public restrooms appear to have wider than necessary gaps between doors (potentially a weird person could watch you pee)

Camping in the wild? In Bear country, bear spray & the ability to use it is essential 

There are charges for incoming calls/texts in addition to the normal outgoing rates (UNPLANNED EXPENSE ALERT)

You pay to withdraw cash almost everywhere not just the odd machine in a private shop, unless the machine belongs to your bank (UNPLANNED EXPENSE ALERT)

On that note, I’d recommend signing up to a well-connected bank opposed to a local bank if possible (I.e. Wells Fargo have branches all over the US- so if you come across any problems whilst road tripping you can always pop into a branch –I did this many times) 

One thing I loved about banking there is that I could take pictures of a pay cheque with my phone (via bank app) and within a few days the cheque would be deposited in my account…there’s been talk of this technology coming to the UK...and I'm quite looking forward to it

If you come back from your travels and you have not experienced the joys of a (S’more) or drank from a red plastic cup…you have failed in your American journey!

Whilst over there (in no particular order)I travelled to : 

South Dakota: Keystone-Mount Rushmore, Rapid City Montana: West Yellowstone (wildlife haven & breathtaking scenery), Big Sky, Bozeman Wyoming: Grand Targhee Resort Massachusetts: Boston, Westport, Plymouth( spotted a whale or two), Cape Cod, Middleborough Rhode Island: Providence Washington DC New York City NY State: Catskills, Woodstock (coolest place ever!), Buffalo (Niagara Falls) New Jersey: Atlantic/ Ocean City Maryland: Annapolis( seafood central, amazing crab dishes), Chesapeake Bay Bridge Kentucky: Lexington Pennsylvania: Amish country (Lancaster), Pittsburgh Indiana, Louisville West Virginia: New River Gorge (recommended rafting destination) Illinois: St. Charles, Chicago