Hello hello to all!
I have been back in the UK for a little over a week now and I feel as though I haven't stopped!! My flight back was great and relatively painless. I didn't really sleep much and that let to a day of jet lag - however I had to work camps two days after landing so there was really no time for Jet Lag to hang around! The camps I worked were great. I had a group of 18 girls and we went over all different parts of the game. Nothing really too exciting.
It wouldn't be a normal week if my Biondi luck didn't kick in. I had a bit of a situation on the last day of camp as my keys, both car and house, seemed to have walked off. We searched everywhere- the fields, my bags and had to unpack my friends car that was full of kit to see if we could find them. no luck however. So we drove back to my friends place where my car was parked and looked all over the parking lot to see if they had dropped out, again no luck. So I called one of the women from the club to come and bring me a set of keys. When she brought the keys the car wouldn't start... I think we all see where this story is going. Only me. Luckily we got the car situated as I had to drive up to Cirencester the next day to get my umpiring certification and help out at the SCO induction (the new american school coaches). So many new friends and nice to see a couple of familiar faces as well- including one of the girls I played club with in hs! That was a lot of fun- a lot of lacrosse and very long days but definitely worthwhile. AND I learned a new drinking game that I will most likely force all of you to play with me called Chicken Goggles. Probably the funniest game I have ever played in my life.
Now I am shot - ready for bed and to head to Reading tomorrow for the LDO Induction (for all of the new american development officers) Going to be another long-but fun- week.
I promise to keep you better updated!
Hope all is well back home and everyone survived Irene!!
xxx
Monday, 29 August 2011
Monday, 14 March 2011
Irish State of mind
Hello Hello again!
Got Back from a whirlwind trip to Dublin and Galway with Kim and jumped right back into the swing of things. Before we headed off to Dublin I took Kim into London for the full tourist experience and also to Hampton Court so that she saw a Palace before she left England.
Ireland was AMAZING - I think my favorite place that I have been to abroad so far. We lucked out big time as we did not have a drop of rain for the entire trip. (although I am pretty sure that is VERY unusual for Ireland at any point in the year)
First Stop- DUBLIN
When we first got there we had to take a bus to the hostel where we were staying. We wernt allowed to check in yet so we locked our bags up and headed to the pub for our first Guinness in its homeland. The bartender let us know that we were doing American's proud as we headed into pint three. We also grabbed some food to fill up and then headed to the hostel to check in. We had 3 australians in the room with us who seemed very nice but we didnt stay along long to chat. We quickly got changed and then headed out into Temple Bar to explore all of the shops and pubs. After a short while we headed to a pub with live music ( my FAVORITE!!) and met a few really nice americans who we ended up hanging out with for the rest of the night. We explored a few of the different pubs but all seemed to have the same atmosphere - live music, lots of alcohol and lots of fun! Tuesday was a bit rough waking up but we managed. We headed back to our favorite pub- the first one we went into when we got there- and grabbed some food and a Guinness. We didnt stray from Guinness much the entire trip and I am pretty sure my body did not appreciate it one bit. After lunch we walked down to the Guinness Storehouse for the full tour. Kim poured her own pint of Guinness and I received my complementary pint at the gravity bar - overlooking the entire city of dublin. absolutely amazing. The storehouse seems to have it right as they get you a little tipsy and then send you into their store before you leave- needless to say I bought a LOT of gifts that day. We pub crawled again that night but this time one of the Australians tagged along.
GALWAY!
We woke up and packed our bags and boarded a train to Galway and travelled with the Australian we had been out with the night before. It wasnt a bad train ride - only about 2 1/2 hours long. when we got there we dropped off our luggage, changed clothes and headed out into the city to explore. They have amazing walkways that bring you right out on the water on the coast. Kim and I spent most of our time walking around the water and then some exploring the different parts of the city. We got lunch at a place called the Kings Head which is the oldest pub in Galway. I got my favorite dish of course Fish and Chips. Hasn't steered me wrong yet. After some more exploring we went back and got changed and headed out for the evening. To say that Galway's nightlife is the most unreal and crazy thing I have ever experienced is probably the understatement of the century. It was certainly a night I will never forget for the rest of my life. We woke up the next morning and had to check out by 10. we walked down to the train station and grabbed a train back to Dublin.
To say that we were dragging on the final night of Dublin is probably also an understatement. Ireland showed us an amazing time and I cant wait for the chance to go back!
Lacrosse has been really really good. I took a team to the National Schools Tournament last weekend and my team lost in the championship game by 1. I was SOO proud of them as they played their hearts out for 2 days in a row. I am also getting ready for two upcoming tournaments that the club is hosting. We have our major POP tournament on April 2nd and we have 19 teams attending that and then our big field tournament on may 8th which will hopefully have 20+ teams in attendance.
Other then that not much else is new. Once I got back from Ireland I had to pull myself together- eating healthy and running everyday. I feel SO much better now - Day 15 and going strong.
not much else to report. Much love to all
Kaitlan xx
Got Back from a whirlwind trip to Dublin and Galway with Kim and jumped right back into the swing of things. Before we headed off to Dublin I took Kim into London for the full tourist experience and also to Hampton Court so that she saw a Palace before she left England.
Ireland was AMAZING - I think my favorite place that I have been to abroad so far. We lucked out big time as we did not have a drop of rain for the entire trip. (although I am pretty sure that is VERY unusual for Ireland at any point in the year)
First Stop- DUBLIN
When we first got there we had to take a bus to the hostel where we were staying. We wernt allowed to check in yet so we locked our bags up and headed to the pub for our first Guinness in its homeland. The bartender let us know that we were doing American's proud as we headed into pint three. We also grabbed some food to fill up and then headed to the hostel to check in. We had 3 australians in the room with us who seemed very nice but we didnt stay along long to chat. We quickly got changed and then headed out into Temple Bar to explore all of the shops and pubs. After a short while we headed to a pub with live music ( my FAVORITE!!) and met a few really nice americans who we ended up hanging out with for the rest of the night. We explored a few of the different pubs but all seemed to have the same atmosphere - live music, lots of alcohol and lots of fun! Tuesday was a bit rough waking up but we managed. We headed back to our favorite pub- the first one we went into when we got there- and grabbed some food and a Guinness. We didnt stray from Guinness much the entire trip and I am pretty sure my body did not appreciate it one bit. After lunch we walked down to the Guinness Storehouse for the full tour. Kim poured her own pint of Guinness and I received my complementary pint at the gravity bar - overlooking the entire city of dublin. absolutely amazing. The storehouse seems to have it right as they get you a little tipsy and then send you into their store before you leave- needless to say I bought a LOT of gifts that day. We pub crawled again that night but this time one of the Australians tagged along.
GALWAY!
We woke up and packed our bags and boarded a train to Galway and travelled with the Australian we had been out with the night before. It wasnt a bad train ride - only about 2 1/2 hours long. when we got there we dropped off our luggage, changed clothes and headed out into the city to explore. They have amazing walkways that bring you right out on the water on the coast. Kim and I spent most of our time walking around the water and then some exploring the different parts of the city. We got lunch at a place called the Kings Head which is the oldest pub in Galway. I got my favorite dish of course Fish and Chips. Hasn't steered me wrong yet. After some more exploring we went back and got changed and headed out for the evening. To say that Galway's nightlife is the most unreal and crazy thing I have ever experienced is probably the understatement of the century. It was certainly a night I will never forget for the rest of my life. We woke up the next morning and had to check out by 10. we walked down to the train station and grabbed a train back to Dublin.
To say that we were dragging on the final night of Dublin is probably also an understatement. Ireland showed us an amazing time and I cant wait for the chance to go back!
Lacrosse has been really really good. I took a team to the National Schools Tournament last weekend and my team lost in the championship game by 1. I was SOO proud of them as they played their hearts out for 2 days in a row. I am also getting ready for two upcoming tournaments that the club is hosting. We have our major POP tournament on April 2nd and we have 19 teams attending that and then our big field tournament on may 8th which will hopefully have 20+ teams in attendance.
Other then that not much else is new. Once I got back from Ireland I had to pull myself together- eating healthy and running everyday. I feel SO much better now - Day 15 and going strong.
not much else to report. Much love to all
Kaitlan xx
Monday, 7 February 2011
Back In Good Company
Well it has been a while since I have blogged - but dont have tooo much new to report.
Got back here and jumped right back into the swing of things. Ashleigh and Jan picked me up at the airport after an awesome flight. I got to fly first class and I'm not sure I can ever go back haha . It was AMAZING - my chair turned into a bed and I slept for about five hours. Which ended up being awesome because I was not jet lagged at all. I had a 4 hour lay over in Minneapolis- Saint Paul which was slightly boring but I got to call people and say goodbyes. When I got back I moved all of my stuff from my Bosses house to a new house. The new family is SO nice. I feel right at home and it took no time at all to get settled in.
First weekend back I had lacrosse practice on Saturday and then we headed into London for a night out. Practice went really well and it was nice to see all the girls again. We did some at night sightseeing in London and then went to a few pubs to drink. It was nice to be back and head out - no down time!
Lacrosse is keeping me very, very busy. My schedule has been very busy this term- which is so much nicer then having almost the whole day with nothing to do. I am working at a High School now two days a week which has been a lot of fun. The lacrosse coach is out from an injury and I am filling in for her until after Easter. Some of the girls are really good- I get to go down to one of their tournaments in a few weeks and I am really excited to see them play. Other then that - I am at a few new primary schools and then at some of the same from last term. The kids are really improving. We have two big tournaments coming up - one for POP and then another for Field. The pop tournament we are holding at a school near the club and will hopefully have 10-15 teams in attendance. The England women's team is also coming and will hold an exhibition match after the kids are done - and hopefully we will have a large attendance for that. The field tournament is a few weeks after the POP tournament and we are holding that at the club. Im hoping for 20 teams but I will have to wait and see what happens.
Kim is coming over next week! I am going to show her around England for a couple of days and then we are heading over to Ireland for a week of traveling- few days in Dublin ( and obviously a stop at the Guinness factory) and then a night in Galway. I am really, really excited!!!!
Then hopefully at some point I will get up to St Andrews to Visit Miss Meg! Im also looking to travel over the Easter Holidays with one of my college teammates. She is in Israel studying abroad and has the same holiday dates as I do. and thennn for Ashleigh's birthday we are going to the greek island Mykonos for 10 days! I cant wait to FINALLY be tan again. Living here my skin has become super white. Its sad really.
Other then that - not much is new. I have been really sick for the last week but am finally feeling myself today. Also definitely staying over here for the summer! I am going to work a few lacrosse camps and Au Pair for the family I am living with - which will be so nice because now I have a place to live for the summer AND a job!!
And I am also training for a 10K .. or at least am going to try. Keep your fingers crossed for me that my legs are willing to slowly go back to work
Miss you all lots and lots - I will update after Half Term adventures with Kim! xx
Got back here and jumped right back into the swing of things. Ashleigh and Jan picked me up at the airport after an awesome flight. I got to fly first class and I'm not sure I can ever go back haha . It was AMAZING - my chair turned into a bed and I slept for about five hours. Which ended up being awesome because I was not jet lagged at all. I had a 4 hour lay over in Minneapolis- Saint Paul which was slightly boring but I got to call people and say goodbyes. When I got back I moved all of my stuff from my Bosses house to a new house. The new family is SO nice. I feel right at home and it took no time at all to get settled in.
First weekend back I had lacrosse practice on Saturday and then we headed into London for a night out. Practice went really well and it was nice to see all the girls again. We did some at night sightseeing in London and then went to a few pubs to drink. It was nice to be back and head out - no down time!
Lacrosse is keeping me very, very busy. My schedule has been very busy this term- which is so much nicer then having almost the whole day with nothing to do. I am working at a High School now two days a week which has been a lot of fun. The lacrosse coach is out from an injury and I am filling in for her until after Easter. Some of the girls are really good- I get to go down to one of their tournaments in a few weeks and I am really excited to see them play. Other then that - I am at a few new primary schools and then at some of the same from last term. The kids are really improving. We have two big tournaments coming up - one for POP and then another for Field. The pop tournament we are holding at a school near the club and will hopefully have 10-15 teams in attendance. The England women's team is also coming and will hold an exhibition match after the kids are done - and hopefully we will have a large attendance for that. The field tournament is a few weeks after the POP tournament and we are holding that at the club. Im hoping for 20 teams but I will have to wait and see what happens.
Kim is coming over next week! I am going to show her around England for a couple of days and then we are heading over to Ireland for a week of traveling- few days in Dublin ( and obviously a stop at the Guinness factory) and then a night in Galway. I am really, really excited!!!!
Then hopefully at some point I will get up to St Andrews to Visit Miss Meg! Im also looking to travel over the Easter Holidays with one of my college teammates. She is in Israel studying abroad and has the same holiday dates as I do. and thennn for Ashleigh's birthday we are going to the greek island Mykonos for 10 days! I cant wait to FINALLY be tan again. Living here my skin has become super white. Its sad really.
Other then that - not much is new. I have been really sick for the last week but am finally feeling myself today. Also definitely staying over here for the summer! I am going to work a few lacrosse camps and Au Pair for the family I am living with - which will be so nice because now I have a place to live for the summer AND a job!!
And I am also training for a 10K .. or at least am going to try. Keep your fingers crossed for me that my legs are willing to slowly go back to work
Miss you all lots and lots - I will update after Half Term adventures with Kim! xx
Friday, 10 December 2010
Thanksgiving and Holiday Break
Hi all!
Hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving and is ready for Christmas! ( I know I am!!)
Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. I went over to Ashleigh's flat for dinner with a bunch of her coworkers who also live at the school. Ash and I were the only Americans so it was fun to share our tradition and have friends to celebrate the holiday with. We made a chicken ( turkey would have taken wayy too long) Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans and then a Cranberry dish. and obviously it wouldnt be a holiday without Whiskey Sours!! They didnt have the right whiskey over here but I made do with what I could find and made some pretty good drinks if I do say so myself! Although nothing beats the ones at home with the family! After dinner I got to skype with my fam while they were at dinner. It was nice to sort-of be at dinner even though I couldnt be there in person. All in all a really fun day!
Last week we had a "snow storm" here in England. Thats right folks we got a whole five inches! and I am not kidding when I say EVERYTHING shut down. I had six days off of work - tough life haha No one is prepared for the snow over here- they dont have road salt and no one plows. So instead of clearing the roads everything turns to sheer ice and the roads become impossible to drive on. I was beginning to go a little stir crazy after snow day number three. Allegheny didnt prepare me very well as we NEVER had a snow day.
I finally got out of the house on saturday night when I went to an ugly jumper Christmas party held by three of the LDO's in Reading. It was soo much fun and so nice to see everyone. It had been a while. Ash was suppose to be in Scotland for a wedding, but since they actually got hit with a ton of snow she wasnt able to go and I dragged her to the party with me- and she drove which was SO nice since the trains were all screwy that weekend. needless to say I didnt get home until 6am. top night.
Tomorrow is my last day of lacrosse before I get to come home on sunday!!! It is obviously an ugly jumper christmas practice - and I will be sporting my kitty jumper. Complete style. I will take pictures for sure. Best ugly jumper wins a prize!! I am SOOO beyond excited to come home and see everyone! If you are around- make sure I get to see you!!
See you all SOON!!! xx
Hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving and is ready for Christmas! ( I know I am!!)
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| Whiskey Sours |
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| snow storm |
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| Xmas Party |
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| Ignore my face.. Check out the jumper! |
Tomorrow is my last day of lacrosse before I get to come home on sunday!!! It is obviously an ugly jumper christmas practice - and I will be sporting my kitty jumper. Complete style. I will take pictures for sure. Best ugly jumper wins a prize!! I am SOOO beyond excited to come home and see everyone! If you are around- make sure I get to see you!!
See you all SOON!!! xx
Friday, 26 November 2010
WAR EAGLE!!
What a game!! wish I could have watched more then live stats but a BIG thank you to my dad for giving me play by plays!!! ... sorry doug and dad looks like you are going to be wearing a nice shade of orange for a while :)
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
A Long Overdue Update
Hello Hello to all,
Sorry I have been bad at updating my blog recently I have just been very busy - as this term is slowly starting to end and there are lots of things to be done before I leave!
So about two weeks ago Miss Nell came down to London for a night and stayed with me in Oxshott before heading off on her worldly adventures during Half Term. Miss Laura met both Nell and I in Waterloo station and we walked across the waterloo bridge to try and find a close restaurant to eat at and grab a few drinks. Miss Nell had her huge suitcase with her though so we wanted to find a place to put it while we went out. We ended up going to the Savoy and Miss Nell worked her magic- as the man working at the door took her suitcase for safe keeping until our return. The catch was that we had to go into the bar for a least one drink .. well apparently you can not wear UGG like boots in the savoy because I was turned away. (which ended up being the running joke of the evening) .. its ok I didnt want to drink with those people anyway. So we snuck out of the Savoy and headed to this little Italian restaurant where I had fish and chips ( so Italian haha) and then we went to this pub that was in a cellar under a different restaurant. It was a lot of fun and great to see them both!
The next morning I dropped miss nell off at the train station and lucky she left when she did! A few hours after her train a laury fell off of the bridge over the train station and hit a train, which ended up closing down our station and roads for the evening. It was really annoying because Oxshott is not very big - and to get in there is basically one major road. well the bridge is on this road and traffic was AWEFUL for at least a week after the accident.
The next weekend was Guy Fawkes day! - Guy Fawkes was the man who tried to burn down parliament so in his honor they burn his effigy over big bonfires and set off fireworks, etc. It is definitely a fun weekend to be in the country. I went to my the school my friend works at for a big firework display and then we headed into london to see a friend from college! She is currently living up in Birmingham but her cousin was recently married so she invited us to a pub for part of the celebration. It was a fun night.
This past weekend I stayed in Little Venice in London with Miss Laura at her flat. We went out for drinks on saturday night and then had a pretty low key night with champagne left over from my birthday and sheldon/ the big bang theory. Then on sunday we explored Little Venice in the morning - complete with a walk along the canal and a photo shoot on the bridge over the canal haha. We then grabbed some food from the local market and had a picnic inside- since the weather was kind of gross. After lunch we headed to the British Museum where Miss Laura works and I had my own personal tour of the museum. SOO cool. If you ever have the chance to go there I highly recommend it!!
This week for Thanksgiving it will be pretty low key- especially since its not celebrated over here. I think I am going to go over to Ashleighs for dinner on Thursday and then on Saturday break out the Whiskey Sours and celebrate. I have to say its very weird for me not being home for Thanksgiving- its my first major holiday away from home! but Ill be home soon enough so Im not too worried about it.
Not much else is going on. Lacrosse is still going really well. I have the occasional boy that causes me hell when I am coaching but besides that they are a really great group of kids. Im trying to figure out what I am going to do over the summer/ the end of spring .. looking into working a couple of camps over here that pay well. Hoping that I will have lots of Visitors soon :)
Wellll not quite sure how I missed this gem of a story- So about two weeks ago I noticed that all the lights on one side of my car would not turn off. Then the indicator lights wouldnt turn on and my hazards went soon after that. After much dismay and hitting all the buttons on the dash and turning my car on and off about 50 times I realized that we had a problem. So I called up the garage and brought the car in - turns out the motherboard gave up. Which was GREAT for me since I drive just about everywhere. I had to take cabs everywhere and that was a great big pain. At one point I was on the phone with the cab company and he was telling me I was in the wrong place looking for him- we went back and forth for about 10 minutes on where I was to meet him and ended up he was at a different school ... 20 minutes away. SO just as I hung up it began to rain and I had to wait out in the rain for quite a bit of time before I was rescued. It was probably one of the most stressful weeks since I have been here. The garage kept telling us that I would have my car back the next day and they next day .. well a week later - I finally got it back.
We are suppose to get six inches of snow tomorrow.. oh GOODY. I though that moving to England meant that I was going to escape the snow and just have to deal with the rain. well that thought was completely false. I feel betrayed by the weather of my new country. All I have to say is it better hold off until December 12th at 10 am or else.
Miss you all xx
Sorry I have been bad at updating my blog recently I have just been very busy - as this term is slowly starting to end and there are lots of things to be done before I leave!
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| London from the Waterloo Bridge |
The next morning I dropped miss nell off at the train station and lucky she left when she did! A few hours after her train a laury fell off of the bridge over the train station and hit a train, which ended up closing down our station and roads for the evening. It was really annoying because Oxshott is not very big - and to get in there is basically one major road. well the bridge is on this road and traffic was AWEFUL for at least a week after the accident.
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| Little Venice |
This past weekend I stayed in Little Venice in London with Miss Laura at her flat. We went out for drinks on saturday night and then had a pretty low key night with champagne left over from my birthday and sheldon/ the big bang theory. Then on sunday we explored Little Venice in the morning - complete with a walk along the canal and a photo shoot on the bridge over the canal haha. We then grabbed some food from the local market and had a picnic inside- since the weather was kind of gross. After lunch we headed to the British Museum where Miss Laura works and I had my own personal tour of the museum. SOO cool. If you ever have the chance to go there I highly recommend it!!
This week for Thanksgiving it will be pretty low key- especially since its not celebrated over here. I think I am going to go over to Ashleighs for dinner on Thursday and then on Saturday break out the Whiskey Sours and celebrate. I have to say its very weird for me not being home for Thanksgiving- its my first major holiday away from home! but Ill be home soon enough so Im not too worried about it.Not much else is going on. Lacrosse is still going really well. I have the occasional boy that causes me hell when I am coaching but besides that they are a really great group of kids. Im trying to figure out what I am going to do over the summer/ the end of spring .. looking into working a couple of camps over here that pay well. Hoping that I will have lots of Visitors soon :)
Wellll not quite sure how I missed this gem of a story- So about two weeks ago I noticed that all the lights on one side of my car would not turn off. Then the indicator lights wouldnt turn on and my hazards went soon after that. After much dismay and hitting all the buttons on the dash and turning my car on and off about 50 times I realized that we had a problem. So I called up the garage and brought the car in - turns out the motherboard gave up. Which was GREAT for me since I drive just about everywhere. I had to take cabs everywhere and that was a great big pain. At one point I was on the phone with the cab company and he was telling me I was in the wrong place looking for him- we went back and forth for about 10 minutes on where I was to meet him and ended up he was at a different school ... 20 minutes away. SO just as I hung up it began to rain and I had to wait out in the rain for quite a bit of time before I was rescued. It was probably one of the most stressful weeks since I have been here. The garage kept telling us that I would have my car back the next day and they next day .. well a week later - I finally got it back.
We are suppose to get six inches of snow tomorrow.. oh GOODY. I though that moving to England meant that I was going to escape the snow and just have to deal with the rain. well that thought was completely false. I feel betrayed by the weather of my new country. All I have to say is it better hold off until December 12th at 10 am or else.
Miss you all xx
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Spain and Birthday!
Then we went to Granada - we got up real early again and caught the bus first to Jaen and then to Granada. When we got there we headed right to the Alhambra to buy tickets but typical to my life they were all sold out at 10 am. So to make up for it we headed to what megan likes to call "arab land" and did some serious shopping. I bought a bunch of things for my family and then we went and had lunch in the big plaza. We saw a few cathedrals and just walked around and enjoyed the sun for the day. Then we headed back to Linares for more tapas with megan and some of her flat mates and some friends from her program. - its crazy to me how late they stay out and how smokey everything is. They are allowed to smoke where ever and my clothes REEK ... my bedroom smells like smoke after unpacking my bags. The tapas were SO good though.
We stayed in Madrid on the last night of spain - we took the train in and then had to take the underground and a cab to find our hotel. once we found our hotel and got checked in we headed into madrid to see the royal palace, cathedral and the plaza del sol. I wish we could have spent more time there but it was good to just go in for a few hours and look around.
long week of traveling. On saturday I had to coach but had fancy dress practice! It was a lot of fun and then after practice we ran to sainsburys to pick up halloween costumes ( I was an Indian ) and then headed to a lacrosse club for a party. It was alot of fun and nice to hang out with people that I havnt seen in a whileToday I am just resting and trying to catch up on sleep .. which may take a week or two haha. but luckly the clocks change tonight in the UK!!! so I will be getting an extra hour of sleep tonight :) Thats all for now!
all my love xx
Saturday, 23 October 2010
Half Term
Hi all-
Headed off to Espana for a much needed break! SOO excited to go explore, shop and catch up with miss megan! I promise when I return there will be a lengthy blog with lots of pictures!
Miss you all! xx
Headed off to Espana for a much needed break! SOO excited to go explore, shop and catch up with miss megan! I promise when I return there will be a lengthy blog with lots of pictures!
Miss you all! xx
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Lovely Weather
Hi All,
Hope everyone had a good weekend! The weather here has been AMAZING for the last three days, a real Indian summer! This weekend was a good one, I was going to go into london for the day and explore the markets with a friend - but typical to my life the train was pulling away as we bought our tickets. SO we ended up going up to richmond and walking on the Thames / shopping for the day. It was so nice to just relax and hang out for the day!! Other then that I had a nice 3 day weekend because I am no longer going to Godalming College on Mondays so I sat outside for a few hours and read a book. Which I miss doing since I have no read much since camp ended.
Excited for the next couple of weeks. The last week in October I am headed to Spain with a friend I met over here and we are staying with Miss Megan. Halloween weekend a couple of people are staying at my house to celebrate my birthday. We are having a Mexican/ Margarita themed evening and then the next night we are headed out for Halloween festivities. I am making practice Halloween weekend Fancy Dress and I will obviously be going all out. Ill take lots of pictures! Then Miss Nell and Miss Meg will be here in the beginning of November! :)
This week is not very exciting - had 2 sessions today. I LOVE the kids I coach from this one school Hurst Park. So we are not suppose to hug/touch the kids - like nothing because parents are crazy and its just for our safety and all the kids were hugging me today and I was so awkward and didnt know what to do. just stood there like uhhhhh you cant touch me haha. and they thought it was REALLY funny so they all kept coming up and hugging me. oh man. But they were really cute, we only have one more class period and then it moves to after school club and they were literally down on their hands and knees begging me not to leave after next week. sooo cute.
Thats it for now! miss you all xx
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| Me on the Thames in Richmond |
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| Richmond Green |
Excited for the next couple of weeks. The last week in October I am headed to Spain with a friend I met over here and we are staying with Miss Megan. Halloween weekend a couple of people are staying at my house to celebrate my birthday. We are having a Mexican/ Margarita themed evening and then the next night we are headed out for Halloween festivities. I am making practice Halloween weekend Fancy Dress and I will obviously be going all out. Ill take lots of pictures! Then Miss Nell and Miss Meg will be here in the beginning of November! :)
This week is not very exciting - had 2 sessions today. I LOVE the kids I coach from this one school Hurst Park. So we are not suppose to hug/touch the kids - like nothing because parents are crazy and its just for our safety and all the kids were hugging me today and I was so awkward and didnt know what to do. just stood there like uhhhhh you cant touch me haha. and they thought it was REALLY funny so they all kept coming up and hugging me. oh man. But they were really cute, we only have one more class period and then it moves to after school club and they were literally down on their hands and knees begging me not to leave after next week. sooo cute.
Thats it for now! miss you all xx
Friday, 8 October 2010
Wednesday, 6 October 2010
Throwing my brother off and posting ANOTHER blog!
So today I went to coach at a primary school and saw this one kid beating the crap out of another kid after school let out. This 9 year old was beating up this 12 year old and his friend was trying to get the 9 year old off. At first I was watching it wondering where a teacher/ authority figure was and then realized I WAS ONE. ( this was one of those I feel really old/ empowered moments hahah) So I broke up my first fight today! Its sad how mean kids can be. Oh AND I am holding an assembly at that school. haha oh lord all the things I never thought I would do in my life.
So today I went to coach at a primary school and saw this one kid beating the crap out of another kid after school let out. This 9 year old was beating up this 12 year old and his friend was trying to get the 9 year old off. At first I was watching it wondering where a teacher/ authority figure was and then realized I WAS ONE. ( this was one of those I feel really old/ empowered moments hahah) So I broke up my first fight today! Its sad how mean kids can be. Oh AND I am holding an assembly at that school. haha oh lord all the things I never thought I would do in my life.
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
welll a little update-
Heading to Spain for October break instead of Scotland/Ireland .. funny how plans change in like 12 hours. SOO excited! I am staying with Miss Megan and plan on eating plenty of tapas, drinking lots of local alcohol and taking tons of pics. One of the girls I met over here is coming with me too- so I will have a traveling buddy!
Also had year 5 kids ask for my autograph today .. which is really funny. of course I signed there notebooks for them hahahah :) taught them all a bunch of stick tricks and I think I officially have them all hooked on lax big time!
Heading to Spain for October break instead of Scotland/Ireland .. funny how plans change in like 12 hours. SOO excited! I am staying with Miss Megan and plan on eating plenty of tapas, drinking lots of local alcohol and taking tons of pics. One of the girls I met over here is coming with me too- so I will have a traveling buddy!
Also had year 5 kids ask for my autograph today .. which is really funny. of course I signed there notebooks for them hahahah :) taught them all a bunch of stick tricks and I think I officially have them all hooked on lax big time!
Monday, 4 October 2010
Hi all,
I cant believe its already October!! my favorite month of the year :) ( and not just because it is my birthday month .. although that is a plus! ) It is starting to get very chilly over here and I have been informed that I will not see the sun again until later spring- AHHHHH haha. It is starting to get dark earlier and I am getting a little nervous for the point when it is dark at about 430 ...
Sad day on the lacrosse front- I had to stop going to Godalming college because only 4 girls show up every week despite LOTS of persuasion to all of the girls who have previously played. They "dont have time" ... UGH whatever .. there loss not mine. However the club went really well on saturday and we are at full capacity with a 20+ waiting list! very exciting... and I guess they are really enjoying it!
Besides that - not to much going on here. Went out in Leicester square in London on saturday night which was a lot of fun - really cool to be in the center of london at night ... and I only spent 10 pounds the entire night! I was very proud of myself.
Right now I am planning a trip for half term in october ... I think to Scotland ( to see some Onas!) and then on to Ireland! very exciting .. kinda bummed that spain isnt working out but not to worried as I will be here a while.
Thats it for now!
I cant believe its already October!! my favorite month of the year :) ( and not just because it is my birthday month .. although that is a plus! ) It is starting to get very chilly over here and I have been informed that I will not see the sun again until later spring- AHHHHH haha. It is starting to get dark earlier and I am getting a little nervous for the point when it is dark at about 430 ...
Sad day on the lacrosse front- I had to stop going to Godalming college because only 4 girls show up every week despite LOTS of persuasion to all of the girls who have previously played. They "dont have time" ... UGH whatever .. there loss not mine. However the club went really well on saturday and we are at full capacity with a 20+ waiting list! very exciting... and I guess they are really enjoying it!
Besides that - not to much going on here. Went out in Leicester square in London on saturday night which was a lot of fun - really cool to be in the center of london at night ... and I only spent 10 pounds the entire night! I was very proud of myself.
Right now I am planning a trip for half term in october ... I think to Scotland ( to see some Onas!) and then on to Ireland! very exciting .. kinda bummed that spain isnt working out but not to worried as I will be here a while.
Thats it for now!
Monday, 20 September 2010
A Month in
Soooo I have been pretty bad about updating this- but I am really going to try and do it more often! Lots of things have gone on since my last update...
Driving: Haha oh lord where to begin.. driving over here may or may not be the scariest experience I have ever encountered. When I finally got my car back- my host brother offered to take me out and teach me how to drive the car and it was like a scene out of a movie. I probably stalled the car every 5 seconds- and THEN he took me up a hill and I couldn't get the car to move and it was starting to roll backwards and it was terrible. not to mention I almost took out about 10 mailboxes and was up on the curb for a majority of the time. SOO they booked me driving lessons and it was 2 - 2 hour sessions with this nice british man with a heavy smokers cough named Ira who probably thought I was on drugs. I was literally having nightmares about having to drive. The signs over here make NO sense .. for example there is a circle with a cross through it that means 2 different speed limits when you are in different places- WHAT?!? why would you make the sign mean 2 different things?! people like ME have no idea what to do- and therefore are always going slower then need be. They also have signs like: kill your speed, not a child.. elderly people with canes at crosswalks and my favorite the frog signs that are everywhere. So after one of my driving lessons my boss had me drive to one of the clubs and he was in the car and I stalled not before, not after but IN THE MIDDLE of a roundabout. how that is even possible people I do not know- but I thought half of the UK was going to shoot me. However not to worry - I am a driving machine now. I still stall sometimes but I am really getting the hang of it . Did I mention my car has my NAME on it and a nice american flag on both sides?! slightly embarrassing when you look extremely special driving ... oh wellll. glad I am representing the country well on the roads.
Lacrosse: Lacrosse has actually been AMAZING. I love coaching so much and the kids are great. During the week I travel to different schools and either run their PE classes or run a lacrosse after school club. I am also working with a college team (which is equivalent to 11th and 12th grade in the states) and then a women's club team. I am teaching a bunch of different age groups - I have Year 5 and 6 which are the young kids and they learn POP lacrosse. which is totally different then anything we have in the states- its basically the plastic sticks we use to play with in gym class, no goalies and you can only hold on to the ball for 4 seconds. They are good for the kids to learn with and they all seem to really love the game. so I have about 90 ish of them and then probably 90 of year 7- upper sixers (which is a senior in high school in the US or their last year of college before university ) It can get totally chambolic at times but there is nothing else I would honestly rather be doing. I am sooo happy that there is so much interest in Lacrosse over here. The Club team I am working with - Putney- is realllllly good. They have a definite mix of talent but they have a lot of girls that play on the England squad. I am really excited in October I am going to play in a Tournament in Prague with them!!! Then on Saturdays I run both POP and field lacrosse at the club for about 80 girls - and the great thing is we have SOO many more girls that want to come and play with us - we just need to figure out space and find more coaches. It can be stressful at times - however at the end of the day I would so much rather have way to many girls then no one wanting to show up.
Everything else is great- yesterday I went into London and explored. It is such an amazing and beautiful place. I also love how much diversity is everywhere- everywhere I walked there was a different language being spoken. I definitely want to get into London A LOT more.. especially because all of the museums are FREEE!! Not to mention its only about a 30 minute train ride for me from Oxshott to Waterloo. We went to Big Ben, Parliament, Saw the Eye of London ( the really big ferris wheel that gives you views of the entire city and more), Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace but I was a little upset that I could not find Prince Harry... however I will not give up my search. I have a good amount of traveling planned - In October I am going to Prague to play in that tournament and then I am Going to Spain and maybe Italy - but I will get to see Miss Megan from Onaway so I am very excited about that!! and then hopefully I will be making a trip up to Scotland soon to see Miss Meg and Miss Nell. There are SO many Onaway people in Europe this year- Including Miss Laura who is moving to LONDON! yayy!
Well that is pretty much it for right now- I am going to attempt to get back into working out today- hoping my legs are OK to handle it- who would have known I would miss running this much? I was really happy that they didnt hurt at all walking around London all day- so we will see what happens.
Happy Monday Everyone! xx
Driving: Haha oh lord where to begin.. driving over here may or may not be the scariest experience I have ever encountered. When I finally got my car back- my host brother offered to take me out and teach me how to drive the car and it was like a scene out of a movie. I probably stalled the car every 5 seconds- and THEN he took me up a hill and I couldn't get the car to move and it was starting to roll backwards and it was terrible. not to mention I almost took out about 10 mailboxes and was up on the curb for a majority of the time. SOO they booked me driving lessons and it was 2 - 2 hour sessions with this nice british man with a heavy smokers cough named Ira who probably thought I was on drugs. I was literally having nightmares about having to drive. The signs over here make NO sense .. for example there is a circle with a cross through it that means 2 different speed limits when you are in different places- WHAT?!? why would you make the sign mean 2 different things?! people like ME have no idea what to do- and therefore are always going slower then need be. They also have signs like: kill your speed, not a child.. elderly people with canes at crosswalks and my favorite the frog signs that are everywhere. So after one of my driving lessons my boss had me drive to one of the clubs and he was in the car and I stalled not before, not after but IN THE MIDDLE of a roundabout. how that is even possible people I do not know- but I thought half of the UK was going to shoot me. However not to worry - I am a driving machine now. I still stall sometimes but I am really getting the hang of it . Did I mention my car has my NAME on it and a nice american flag on both sides?! slightly embarrassing when you look extremely special driving ... oh wellll. glad I am representing the country well on the roads.
Me in one of the Phone Booth's
 |
| Big Ben! |
Buckingham Palace
Well that is pretty much it for right now- I am going to attempt to get back into working out today- hoping my legs are OK to handle it- who would have known I would miss running this much? I was really happy that they didnt hurt at all walking around London all day- so we will see what happens.
Happy Monday Everyone! xx
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
ahhh so I have been here for two weeks and I am obsessed with this place. The people are so nice and everywhere I go everything is SOO beautiful. Last week I had my induction course with English Lacrosse and got to meet all of the other americans that are here working in the south of england. It was alot of fun - were played A LOT of pop lacrosse which is the lacrosse that is played with the younger kids and you use the plastic sticks like the ones we have in gym class back home. Thursday night everyone stayed with some of the LDO's that are in Reading and we went out which was a really fun time. FINALLY learned everyones names haha which was seriously difficult at first- so many new people and not enough space in my brian to remember any of their names! after we finished the course on friday we headed to Bath - which is by far the most beautiful place I have been so far in my life. everything is made out of stone from the same quarry and I was just in awe. We went to Bath Abbey and wandered around the streets. But we were there for a lacrosse tourney which was so awesome - its not like our tournaments back home - they are WILD here .... wayyyyy to much alcohol haha. we got to go out in Bath on friday and saturday night which was a blast - maybe a little too much fun??? haha needless to say sambuca and I will never cross paths again.
Im back in Oxshott now- just hanging out and getting ready to start a lot of coaching. Lots of lesson plans to do!! I have a couple meetings with teachers and then I am going down to play/help coach a club team in Putney which will be fun as they are my age. STILL NO CAR hahaha my lifeee... lets hope I learn how to drive before hmm monday when I have to start? haha ill keep you updated!
If you have a skype account- let me know so we can talk and catch up!
Miss and Love you all
xx
Im back in Oxshott now- just hanging out and getting ready to start a lot of coaching. Lots of lesson plans to do!! I have a couple meetings with teachers and then I am going down to play/help coach a club team in Putney which will be fun as they are my age. STILL NO CAR hahaha my lifeee... lets hope I learn how to drive before hmm monday when I have to start? haha ill keep you updated!
If you have a skype account- let me know so we can talk and catch up!
Miss and Love you all
xx
Sunday, 29 August 2010
oh and for camp people ..I just have a quick story I thought you would all appreciate. The street I am living on has a church at the very end of it and you can hear the bells from my bedroom. well this morning I woke up to bells that sounded like a Waterfront Emergency. Naturally I threw myself out of bed ready to run down to the waterfront until I realized where I was.
Almost a week update
Hellllo!
So I have been here for almost a week and it is still unreal to me that I am actually living in England. It has been a pretty good week so far - but I still do not know that many people so it can get a little lonely at times. Thankfully I have my induction course for English Lacrosse next week so I will get to hang out with the americans that are over here doing my same program. So this week has been pretty eventful- I got to go to King Henry the 8th's Palace (Kensington Court) and look around- it was SOO beautiful and the gardens were unreal. It made me want to start watching the Tudors on HBO - I took a couple of photos and will be posting those up soon. The family I am staying with also has a bunch of parties this and next week so I have been able to go to those. I went to my first Pub last night for a drink! very exciting ... except its not what I would imagine a pub to be like- it was much nicer then I expected. Also they are so behind here on all of our TV shows and Movies .. which is so weird. Movies that are almost out on DVD in the states are just coming into the theater's here. Im going to need to start saying Spoiler Alert before I talk about any movie or show.
hmm ok funny stories-
so I went to take a shower the other morning and they told me they gave me a towel in my room (which I later found) but all I could find in my room was this little towel about the size of a bath mat .. and I was like hmm this must be european or something. so I showered with this small thing and then later after was dressed and ready found the normal towel. haha just keeping things interesting
I hadn't met the son until thursday night when he came into my room to tell me that he had crashed my car (which btw I STILL haven't learned how to drive ... and doesn't look like I will until next week!) I guess he was trying to get to the gas station and ran out of gas and on manual car's the car shuts off when you have no more gas and therefore the breaks dont work- needless to say he ended up running into a tree. So they have been having problems getting my insurance to begin with, and this incident definitely does not help the matter. So when I go to that course next week I have to carpool with 2 other LDO's .. but It doesnt look like I will have a phone either. The son has been using my phone since his broke a couple of months ago I guess and he lost the sim card for it so it cant be used right now. Basically nothing is working out right now lol I am going to be the girl with a notepad getting peoples numbers next week haha
I did have a lacrosse practice I guess you could call it on Friday and it went really well. The girls seemed really enthusiastic and their stick skills were not to bad- I am really looking forward to getting into lacrosse full swing. Paul (my boss/host father) also said that he has been getting emails about how much the girls liked it so I am really happy about that.
That's it for now! Miss you all! xx
So I have been here for almost a week and it is still unreal to me that I am actually living in England. It has been a pretty good week so far - but I still do not know that many people so it can get a little lonely at times. Thankfully I have my induction course for English Lacrosse next week so I will get to hang out with the americans that are over here doing my same program. So this week has been pretty eventful- I got to go to King Henry the 8th's Palace (Kensington Court) and look around- it was SOO beautiful and the gardens were unreal. It made me want to start watching the Tudors on HBO - I took a couple of photos and will be posting those up soon. The family I am staying with also has a bunch of parties this and next week so I have been able to go to those. I went to my first Pub last night for a drink! very exciting ... except its not what I would imagine a pub to be like- it was much nicer then I expected. Also they are so behind here on all of our TV shows and Movies .. which is so weird. Movies that are almost out on DVD in the states are just coming into the theater's here. Im going to need to start saying Spoiler Alert before I talk about any movie or show.
hmm ok funny stories-
so I went to take a shower the other morning and they told me they gave me a towel in my room (which I later found) but all I could find in my room was this little towel about the size of a bath mat .. and I was like hmm this must be european or something. so I showered with this small thing and then later after was dressed and ready found the normal towel. haha just keeping things interesting
I hadn't met the son until thursday night when he came into my room to tell me that he had crashed my car (which btw I STILL haven't learned how to drive ... and doesn't look like I will until next week!) I guess he was trying to get to the gas station and ran out of gas and on manual car's the car shuts off when you have no more gas and therefore the breaks dont work- needless to say he ended up running into a tree. So they have been having problems getting my insurance to begin with, and this incident definitely does not help the matter. So when I go to that course next week I have to carpool with 2 other LDO's .. but It doesnt look like I will have a phone either. The son has been using my phone since his broke a couple of months ago I guess and he lost the sim card for it so it cant be used right now. Basically nothing is working out right now lol I am going to be the girl with a notepad getting peoples numbers next week haha
I did have a lacrosse practice I guess you could call it on Friday and it went really well. The girls seemed really enthusiastic and their stick skills were not to bad- I am really looking forward to getting into lacrosse full swing. Paul (my boss/host father) also said that he has been getting emails about how much the girls liked it so I am really happy about that.
That's it for now! Miss you all! xx
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
First Day in England
Hello Hello to everyone,
Well its my first full day in England and I am still feeling a little jet lagged. Yesterday was a bit long but no complaints as all of my luggage, etc. made it here in one piece. My host family is super nice and has made me feel right at home. I am all unpacked and just trying to get odds and ends set up. I am going to try and post like once a week so everyone can know what I am up to . (ie once I get brave enough to get in the car- once its insured - and tackle driving on the other side of the car on the other side of the road) Hopefully I will have some good stories to share.. however its me, so I am sure I will!
I wish everyone could be here with me! love to all
Well its my first full day in England and I am still feeling a little jet lagged. Yesterday was a bit long but no complaints as all of my luggage, etc. made it here in one piece. My host family is super nice and has made me feel right at home. I am all unpacked and just trying to get odds and ends set up. I am going to try and post like once a week so everyone can know what I am up to . (ie once I get brave enough to get in the car- once its insured - and tackle driving on the other side of the car on the other side of the road) Hopefully I will have some good stories to share.. however its me, so I am sure I will!
I wish everyone could be here with me! love to all
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