Look what's covered in our driving licence theory!

Making friends

I know a number of people have been curious about how I would make friends out here. So I thought I'd explain how you go about it.

- Newcomers Clubs - local organisations that are set up for new people moving to an area. I have joined our local one and been added to a weekly playgroup of Mums all with children a similar age to Ethan.

- Expat group - there is a local expat group which we have also joined. They organise monthly coffee mornings and ladies nights out and I have also arranged a play date with another Mum through there.

- The YMCA - we are now doing three classes there and tomorrow I have a play date with a lady I met while we watched our children swim;

- Family contacts - on Tuesday I went to Manhattan to meet Mum's friend's daughter in law for coffee. We had a lovely morning and hopefully her and her husband will be joining is for lunch in the New Year. On Sunday we have some old friends of Ann and Phil's (inlaws) coming to lunch. They are also currently in New York on a secondment.

- meetup.com - put in your area and tells you all the local groups. I joined a couple of parenting/mum type ones and have just put in a request to join a new playgroup when the 'term' starts in January.

- Putting yourself out there - ok so it's a LONG time since I was in the dating game but it feels a little like that. You meet someone you click with. You ask for their number. You arrange a play date!

First visitors

On Saturday Mum and Dad left after a week staying with us. We had a lovely week and managed to squeeze in lots of activities.

They arrived late on Friday night, we had a nice quiet weekend letting them get over jet lag and took them to the local diner for breakfast. The diner is a 24hour diner and is becoming a firm favourite for breakfast (omelattes, breakfast burritos etc.). They enjoyed it so much we had another visit there on their last day. This was the morning after a trip to our favourite Italian family restaurant (which also supplied takeaway pizzas a couple of times that week) so they were certainly well fed during their stay.

On Monday Ethan and I took them for a day in Manhattan. We first headed for the 9/11 memorial which was very humbling. They have created two large pools, one in the footprint of the North Tower one in the footprint of the South Tower. Seeing the c3,000 names engraved in stone was emotional (especially the lady whose name was accompanied by 'and her unborn child'). 

After this we headed up to 5th avenue, not to shop but to watch the Veterans Day parade. Then we walked up to Central Park where we had a house and carriage ride (very much a tourist rip off but quite a good way to see some of park). Then we walked to Times Square and back to Grand Central where we met a family friend so Mum could deliver his toothpaste from the UK. It was a fun day and a good way of giving Mum and Dad a feel for the city. Lots and lots of walking, well apart from Ethan who got carried round in the sling all day!

On Tuesday I took advantage of having help with Ethan and had my hair done. As you can imagine Ethan free time is pretty much non existent now so when visitors come to stay will be taking advantage.

Wednesday saw Dad fly to Bermuda and Mum and I hit the shops after a class with Ethan. Woodbury Common Premium Outlets is an hour drive away but worth a trip for the day with some great discounts. On Thursday we had an Ethan focused day, a couple of classes and him catching up on some sleep.

On Friday we took Ethan swimming and then went up to Greenwich, Connecticut for some lunch. Greenwich is a lovely place, very upmarket, almost Bond Street like, with a nice feel to it. Mum later discovered that it has a high concentration of hedge funds. In the evening they looked after Ethan while Matt and I went out for dinner trying a new local Italian which served rather tasty cocktails.

Overall we had a lovely week and Ethan enjoyed having family to stay. Looking forward to all our visitors in 2014!

Supplies!

Went to a local shop which stocks UK products, the end result and $40 later!

A follow up interview with Bruno

The first interview with Bruno had such positive feedback we've managed to secure some more time in his diary for a follow up.

Q - How are you enjoying your new home?

It's good thanks. It took me a while to settle in, it's quite different. I've had to have a special collar put on that beeps when I go to the edge of the garden and then gives me a shock when I don't respond. That made me jump at first but now I know what the beep means. And I've not escaped (yet)! Now I like chilling in the garden and all the new smells.

Q - How was your journey?

It was ok. I was in a crate and it was a bit scary on the plane. Daddy got into a row with a man who banged my crate on purpose when he came to pick me up. That made me chuckle! I was very pleased to see him.

Q - How are you enjoying your morning runs?

It's good. I like running alongside Ethan in his buggy. Although it can be hard work pulling Mummy up the hills!

Q - How are you and Ethan getting along?

Really well. He's got really good at stroking me and he likes my ears. He also tries to feed me from the highchair when Mummy's not looking! 

Q - What's your favorite thing about living in the US?

I like the different animals, seeing deer is quite funny on our morning runs. They look at me funny! I also like Ethan's new chair, I like sitting in it and looking out the window. I've been told off now though so I only do it when no ones looking!

The YMCA (not the dance!)

So a number of people will have heard me reference the YMCA so I thought I'd explain more about it. We have joined the Rye YMCA on a family membership. Their mission statement is 'The Rye YMCA is a family orientated community service organisation which welcomes all people and promotes positive values through programs that build spirit, mind and body'. It's a non profit organisation and is actually staffed by a large number of volunteers alongside paid employees. The best comparison to the UK is probably like a public leisure centre but one that draws a much more diverse range of people and seems to put a lot more back into the community. In fact their website states that 

'Most importantly, the Y works to ensure that our programs and services remain accessible to all through a variety of on-going philanthropic endeavors. Our primary cause is to strengthen the foundation of community through a focus on three areas: youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. At the Rye Y, no one is turned away because of an inability to pay. Thanks to the generosity of donors, fundraising special events, grants, foundations, and hundreds of volunteers, the Rye Y delivers free, subsidized or sponsored programs and services to thousands of Sound Shore residents each year, ensuring the availability of the Y’s benefits to those most in need'

So what do we do at the YMCA? For me, it's where I'll exercise (on top of the morning runs). I have already tried a couple of classes and so far am very much enjoying them. They have a 'Child Watch' service where I can leave Ethan for a small fee while I use the facilities. Even better, once he's been there a few times I can use the 'Tot Drop' service and leave him for up to two hours while I go off site. As you can imagine without any other form of childcare help this will be very useful, if only to go and eat cake and read a book! Matt can also use it, although he has joined a gym in the city, he plans on using the 'Y' (what the locals refer to it as) at the weekends.

And how about Ethan? This is where it gets really good. We have managed to get into all the classes we requested (they operate a ballot system each term). So on a Sunday Matt can take him to his swim class and on a Wednesday I'll take him to a gym class. Both these classes are free under our family membership. On a Thursday we've got a place on the 'Rock Your World' music class, this one is not a freebie but is substantially less than some of the other music sessions around (I assume it must be subsidised). (So people don't get confused we're also doing other swim classes which I do with him on a Friday at a place called Aqua Tots).

So basically the Y is where Ethan and I will probably spend a fair amount of time. So far everyone there is really friendly and it is a really nice place to spend time.

Trip into the city

Today we went into Manhattan. My cousin Steve and wife Emma were over in the city for a long weekend so we went and met them for lunch at Grand Central Station. After this Matt took us and showed us his office. In the UK Partners don't have offices but here they do. Some photos of Daddy showing Ethan what he does attached.