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Published: August 9th 2011
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Hello blog-followers!
I arrived in London (from Dublin, Ireland) a few weeks ago so have a lot to update you on, so here we go..
Working at a kids summer camp was the push for me to get out of Oz and explore the big wide world, so before I got settled for the 6 week challenge I set aside 3 days in London to do some sight-seeing and enjoy some time on my own before surrounding myself with crazy kids, long days and action packed activities!
London - Day 1
I caught the tube (London’s easy & efficient way to travel) and took a peak inside Westminster Cathedral before setting foot to visit her Royal Highness (the flag was flying, signalling she was home) and watching the change of the guard at Buckingham Palace. The sun was shining and the crowds were constant, and I think this was the closest I may ever get to the Queen!
While strolling through St James Park & Green Park I couldn't help but think back to my days working in Sydney; city office workers pounding the pavement on their lunch break and tourists wondering the walkways made me feel as
Buckingham Palace
Change of the Guards if I was back home in Sydney in the Botanical Gardens/ Hyde Park on my lunch break.
I spent the afternoon walking, shopping and eating my way around Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and Convent Gardens.
London - Day 2
A map might be a tourists best friend, but one thing it doesn’t do is tell you how far it is to walk from one point to another (I don’t mind a challenge anyway!) – so today I clocked up some extra miles on foot, but got to see more than I would have if I was on the subway underneath it all. I stopped by the Victoria & Albert Museum only to find myself walking out the door in under an hour. I guess museums and me aren’t a perfect match and to be honest the dim light and tiny text on all the exhibits made it hard to appreciate the history plus I felt as if some sort of sickness was starting to set in..
I continued to walk and just across the road I found myself in a cupcake bakery – now that’s more my cup of tea!
I visited the famous ‘Harrods’ store in Knightsbridge (and
All things British..
Flag, red phone booth, black cab & bike! perhaps was only one of few people to resist the urge to buy something just because of its famous name) and used the small amount of energy left in me to peddle my way around Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens before making my way back to my hostel.
London - Day 3
I saved the big sights for last; Big Ben, London Bridge, St Pauls Cathedral, but the busy week in Ireland caught up on me and I wasn’t feeling well so decided to postpone these sights for another day (which is likely to be after camp sometime).
The morning still had a challenge to overcome - I couldn’t find a single hostel bed in all of London (which was a bit hard to believe) for my last night in London so my sisters friend Claire came to the rescue and offered me to stay at her place for the night. I spent the afternoon sleeping, drinking tea and watching Cake Boss (one of my fav tv shows!) - in an effort to bounce back to my bubbly self for camp the next day.
8th July - Life at Camp XUK
I met fellow staff at East
Finchley train station where we caught a bus for 2.5 hours north-east of London and together we set off to camp! After 2 days training and transforming a boarding school into a kids summer camp, we welcomed the first lot of 160 kids aged 7-17 to camp XUK on 10th July!
For those wondering what exactly I am doing, read on for what a typical week at camp involves;
Mon/Tue/Thur/Fri/Sat - These days are filled with activities such as archery, quad biking, art, drama, cookery, high ropes and sports, followed by an evening activity such as a disco, talent show, casino night, games & themed nights.
Kids also get the option of doing off-site activities such as laser skirmish, theme park, go carting or a trip to London for sightseeing & a musical. I was lucky to join them for a laser trip in the first week (but London will still have to wait!).
Wed – Once a week we get off site with the kids to explore a town, go shopping and enjoy non-camp food! It’s a great day out but the kids lead the way to where they want to go (quite often McDonalds). So far we
have been to Bury St Edmunds, Norwich & Cambridge and repeat these towns for the next 3 weeks.
Sun – Sundays are changeover days; some kids stay, some go and some come. Last week I went to Gatwick airport to collect kids and this week I caught the bus for 2.5 hours to drop off & collect new campers. Normally a busy day, but a chance to sneak in a snooze on the bus before I introduce myself to a new bunch of kids whom I will look after for the week to come.
Days are quite long, 8am until 11pm is avea minimum, and I am lucky to get a break during that time! I get one day off a week that normally involves a few drinks at the local pub (with other staff also on a day off) and lunch in the nearest town, 10 minutes away or a trip into Norwich. It only feels like a day off if you actually get off site, and one day goes rather fast!
Sleep – something I don’t get a lot of, but coping better than I was in the first week when I was sleeping in a tent.
The cold UK summer + being sick wasn’t a healthy mix for my first week at camp, but sleeping inside now and feeling heaps better!
Food – The menu rotates weekly so I know what to look forward to and when to load up my plate at the salad bar. Not quite as good as mums cooking, but I do enjoy roast lamb and apple crumble night!
Also, a weekly staff trip to Sainsbury’s (equivalent to Woolworths) doesn’t go astray for some snacks!
Happy Campers – Now I’m talking about the kids, and they are happy most of the time! Alot of kids come from Spain, Italy and France but speak good English. As European countries are so close by, its not uncommon for the kids to fly here on their own and enjoy a few weeks without mum & dad. Each week I am given 4-8 kids to look after outside of daily activities (make sure they eat, shower & go to bed). I have been quite lucky to have teen girls as they are more independent than 7-11 year olds. One young girl asked me if the tooth fairy came to camp.. I answered “umm.. I
don’t think she will find you here”.
Weather - As I write this blog, I am sitting outside, had some warm sunshine just 30 minutes ago but now the clouds look threatening. The weather here is very unpredictable - Summer here isn’t quite like summer in Oz, on the first day at camp I experienced 4 seasons in an hour!
I am now past the half way mark of camp, and I will update you on more camp craziness at the end before I continue the next leg of my journey!
Oh and I have lady beetles, spiders and bugs crawling all over me. . England is so unpredictable (weather, kids & bugs)!
Check out my happy snaps (click on photo to see more).
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