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Published: March 5th 2009
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Hey everybody!
Well, the past few days have just flown by and it's nearly 2 weeks since I updated so here goes.
My weekend of the 21st included a trip to Salisbury Cathedral by coach tour. I got to see an original copy of the Magna Carta (which I originally thought was a place, not a document) and viewed the gorgeous city of Salibury enjoying lunch with a few other tourists from the trip. We moved along to Stonehenge where I went to back in the day of Longleat but this time I entered the grounds and got a bit closer to better pictures. So, it was a neat 40 minutes walking around the circle of stones but after seeing Macchu Picchu, it's got a long way to go! Haha. Anyhow, it's famous around here and a must see for most. After our stop there we continued driving the distance to Bath, the city famous for the Roman Baths. Wow, the first instant I saw the place = WOW. It was breathtakingly beautiful, pictures just can't cut it but I tried and you can see a little bit here. I will also put some videos on my youtube account
in the next couple of days. For the new readers to my blog - www.youtube.com - search Wonstable and you'll see my videos, just click on the ones that interest you.
So, I had fun chatting away with a few other people travelling alone and was pretty exhausted by the end of the day. I had left the house around 6:45 AM to arrive in the Victoria area for the coach tour. I discovered a new area of London where there are tons of tour agencies, travel information centres and a shopping centre (which had McDonalds). I have really missed my egg mcmuffin meals, my fat splurge that I enjoyed back at home. The only thing that comes close here is the Sausage McMuffin but I've only had it once and it was disappointing. Ah well, I have a few more months to survive without my fav. fat breakfast, perogies, angel food cake, fruit loops and I've just realized most of the stuff I miss is really bad for me. I suppose it's not all that bad to take a break for a year! Hehe. Okay, back to the day. Well, that was about it, got back into
Bath
You can see a bit of the beautiful architecture here! town after a fabulous and exhausting day just to head home for some rest.
Sunday I went to church in the morning and cleaned Vedrana's house in the afternoon before heading to West Thurrock in Essex (Copford was a random name I liked because they didn't have the correct one for my location). Lynne and the kids drove me to Lakeside Karting where I was to have a "driving experience". Dave had been given the opportunity for Christmas and wasn't in the least interested in taking advantage of it so it was passed along to me, hurray. I felt quite certain that I could really race around that track and beat the boys but realized quickly that if I wasn't in it purely for the fun of it, the experience would be very disappointing. Some people are maniacs! So, I had a few practice runs and then did 3 heats. My best run around time was 6 out of 9 drivers. I got to wear the cool looking racer outfit and really play the part which was fun too. Lynne and the kids went to visit Ian but came to see me finish off my last 2 heats. So,
that was a good ending to the weekend!
The week went by, it was really busy catching up with things I hadn't been able to do the week before, etc. I did my first youth offending panel! I had done training over Oct/Nov but wasn't sure I'd actually get to use the skills with the timetable of the panels generally. Turns out that there are indeed panels that I can do during the day but they are less often. So, I signed up for 3, 2 kids didn't show up and 1 came on my first panel day so that was cool. I really enjoyed the experience, being part of the process which is a cross between the justice system and the community. Basically, if a youth under 18 commits a crime and pleads guilty to a charge that isn't majorly serious, they can get a referral order. 2 volunteers make up the panel and we meet the young person, their carer (usually attends), and the youth offending officer. So, first one down, hopefully lots more to help out with. Hmm, other than that, life as usual.
This past weekend was another busy blur but in more specific places. I went to St. Barnabas for the Alpha away day. I had missed it during my Alpha course because Richard was here and we wanted to see Oxford! So, I joined a different group for the day and it was amazing. I learned a few good things and came away feeling blessed. I met up with Begona (spanish aupair from Welwyn) for a visit. She was planning a 3 week trip to Spain, returning to London for a new aupair job if all works well. We ended up chatting for a couple hours and watching the Nanny Diaries movie together which was cool. Sunday I met up with Ivana, Serbian aupair from St. Albans who I've had a total blast with. She's been such a cool person to be around, definately made the most of our days together! She came here for 6 months and couldn't extend her working visa so she was returning to Bucharest this week. It's rather sad having my friends leave but I guess we all have our time and it's got me thinking about doing more stuff while i am here. I am also getting more excited about returning home! There will be great adventures in my own country but I am proudly representing Canada here for now. Ivana and I went to Camden Town, Petticoat Lane Market, Sunday Up Market and Brick Lane as well as Oxford Street to finish off the last of her souvenir shopping and browsing. We had a good time and then said a quick goodbye when my bus arrived, hoping to visit her before I return home in Aug. So, I might pop over there one weekend or something but for now, I am really busy planning my trip to Africa with Mark. We've got dates, flying out April 28 and returning around the 10/11 of May. It's super exciting but so much work planning and organizing everything, shots, medications, money, etc. Also, I am going to Hungary for a weekend at the end of May with my friend Gabi. She's going to take me to her hometown and also tour around Budapest. Yay, it looks amazing there. I wasn't that interested in travelling there but she's a good reason to check it out! She will be aupairing until August as well though so it's not goodbye!
So, that's my update. I better go to bed now, still a few reports to read for upcoming panels and fun stuff like that. Thanks for keeping up to date with me! Hugs, Chloe
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