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Published: August 7th 2007
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Baby Lamb
This baby lamb was so cute! Sheep only have two nipples, so if they give birth to three or more babies then, all but two will survive. This one was adopted, and I fed it some milk out of a bottle with a nipple! Well, it's been only 8 days since I landed in England, but it's seems like I've been traveling for ages. Let me give you a short recap, and then I'll begin by telling you about my travels, and my recent trip to the A & E (Accident and Emergency) where in America, we call it, "the ER."
I started rock climbing in Thailand in Tonsai when some Kiwis took me rock climbing, and to cool off from the climb, we jumped into the ocean. I found it challenging and exciting. Once while climbing with my brother and Mark, Mathew climbed to the top, and asked Mark if he should take off the gear from the top, "just in case Joni can't climb up here." I thought to myself, "Just watch me ." Mathew wasn't saying that to be rude, just the opposite, he was trying to save me from embarrasment in case I couldn't get there, and and we had to have someone climb up there again to take off the gear.
I still remember, it was a challenging climb that had a steep incline with an overhang at the top. Very pumpy and quite
What a bonnie lamb...
A baby and his mum. (the English say "bonnie" which means, "cute") exhilarating. I was hooked.
Anyways, after graduating from college, I had the choice to travel. I thought, "Where is the best climbing?" and "Where can I earn some money?" Since taking a refresher Hebrew class with an amazing Israeli, Ariela Harel, I got back a lot of my fluency, and so my choices were; Britain or Israel. I wasn't too sure about the economy in Israel, and was able to get a 6 month visa in the UK, so voila!
Here I am.
(I can also fly to anywhere in Europe for cheap. The airlines are not regulated, and I can, for instance, fly to Barcelona, Spain for only £20...or to Florence, Italy for £10)
I flew into Heathrow in London and proceeded to exit London as quickly as one can, and went straight to Liverpool where I met Dave Douglas. His partner had just given birth at 6am, and he picked me up at the train station at 2pm. He hadn't slept in 3 days, but he is now the proud dad of a cute little boy, Tod Van Douglas. He dropped me off at his rock climbing gym, and I was literally climbing within 8
A lamb on top of his mum
How cute is this little lamb on his mum's back? hours of arriving in England. He lent me a spare phone, and put me up for a day or two.
One night he took me to the local pub, and I tried my first bit of British Ale.
Yep... still don't like it. That's okay, more beer for the Brits!
Soon I was off to the Lake District in Milnthorpe, near Kendal. I stayed with Sam Blenkharn and his family for a few days. I had so much fun there. The parents were willing to put me up and feed me on the condition that they weren't going to entertain me. Well, that's fair enough! I can easily entertain myself anyways, easily spending a whole day reading, doing yoga and hiking. One day I kept Sam's older brother, Fred, company as he went around tending to the local farms. I went with him as he made sure the cows had plenty of water out on the farm, and milked the cows. He showed me how to milk the cows by hand, and then, as it is the 21st century, proceeded to milk them all by machines. There are plenty of pictures below, and some videos up above.
The next
Mister Sam
I stayed with Sam and his family for a few days and had so much fun with them.
I was fed soooo well, and didn't want to ever leave. day, I took a 20 mile bike ride with Sam to Kendal and where he works in an ice cream shop. The ice cream is made from the cows in the back of the building. They are milked every morning and evening, and they make the ice cream in the back of the shop! I went against my no-dairy policy so that I could try the ice cream, and had two bites, and yummy! The after-eight chocolate mint was my favorite.
I was so sad to say good bye to Sam and his family, but alas, such is the way of the world, and it was time to move on.
I am now happily settled in a town called
Sheffield which is located next to the Peak District. The Peak District is the best place to climb in all of England, and Sheffield has some of the nicest people as well. I immediately found people to climb with the day I got there, and had much fun climbing. The people I climbed with said I was a good climber, and as confirmation, asked me if I wanted to climb with them again. So, that was enough, I thought. Sheffield
Look at the view...
Here is a view of the Lake District. is definitely the place for me. I am now looking for a place to rent and work for a few months. This is the perfect time as well, since the college semester is now over, and there are now tons of local accomodations, and of course, there's always jobs to be had.
I was climbing with a very nice bloke here in the Peak District and we were climbing up on a multi pitch. It was taking so long, and I could tell he was just knackered. I couldn't see him from the ledge that I was on, but later found out he couldn't find any place to put the gear. He traversed over, and unfortunately fell about 20 meters (60 feet) right onto his ankle. He dislocated and fractured his ankle, and I took him to the local hospital in an ambulance. They call it the A & E (Accident and Emergency). He will be out of climbing for a bit, and required 2 hours worth of surgery. I was happy to be able to be there for him, and I called his parents to tell them which hospital to go to. He asked if I could call
Cows being milked
Here is an awesome view of cow udders.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Everything is now machinery. his mother, to hear her voice, and I was reminded how people (men and women) will always need that feminine voice to sooth them. Everyone will always need that mother energy.
To give just a bit more detail, he fell, and started screaming, "ambulance!" Since I couldn't see anything, but I thought it was raining, and looked down, and noticed I had blood on me.
Mountain Rescue came, as well as the paramedics, and a chopper. Morphine was administered straight away, and this was all way too much excitement for one day, but I was truly inspired by how there were different groups of people (Paramedics and the Mountain Rescue) come together and work so well as a team. I just wanted to take a moment here and send a shout-out for the amazing Mountain Rescuers who are
not funded by the government, and are 100%!v(MISSING)olunteer workers. They will go out and rescue someone from the mountains and service all who enjoy the hills and high places especially when the paramedics and choppers can't get to them, and go out in any weather. Even though they are a rescue team, they are treated like a business and must pay
Got Milk?
The milk is very quickly refrigerated. taxes on all their equipment.
It is for the reason, that I want to add the link:
to donate to this amazing company as good will to all those who stand for us even when we don't know they are there for us, but will risk their lives on a daily basis and ask for nothing in return.
Alright, guys, make sure to check out the videos, and as always, keep in touch!
Cheers from England,
Joni
Recommended Reading:
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
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Tot: 0.19s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 13; qc: 65; dbt: 0.0838s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Andrew
non-member comment
no title today sorry
Hey Joni - looks great! I'm impressed with you climbing zest! (please not the rhyme)