Washing dishes

This post is not just about washing dishes, but the activity of washing dishes is a symbol which represents everyday domestic life, a taste of which I am experiencing today. Shut up Cordelia you'refullofcrap.

Today is a nice day. Mish is out in the garden sunbathing with a book, Aunty Kok Lee was out there with her until just then, and I'm just enjoying the sunshine from the inside while on my computer, cos I'm addicted to the internet sophisticated like that.

I decided in the end that I did really just want a quiet day, so here I am having it.

Spent the later part of the morning and the early afternoon in Wimborne, just chillin. Went to check out the op shops actually. There are SEVEN op shops in that little town. Well I guess it comes from the number of old people living there.

I'm now just looking at my photos, uploading them, accounting for money I've spent, reading about things to do in London. Oh and I am also updating my blog. No, I'm not trying to be funny, as in haha look i'm currently blogging, I'm actually going back over previous posts and adding stuff and putting in photos to make it all pretty. I know that some people *not mentioning Paolo* like pictures, like in kids books. It's hard to do that while I'm actually travelling, because it's quite time consuming, but once in a while when I have a quiet day, that's what I will be doing. So if you're keeping up day to day (uhhh...dad), it might actually be worth waiting (or skimming back over it later) so that you get to see pretty pictures too.

So, about washing the dishes. I really don't mind washing dishes, but this house makes the matter a bit complicated. See, there's no dishwasher here, so everything is done by hand, which is fine, but the water that comes out of the tap takes ages to get hot, and cools down in the sink really quickly, so I feel like I'm either emptying England of its entire water supply, or the plates are still greasy. Dilemma.

Back at Canford

I am eating wayyyy too much. Aunty Dan fed us too much over the past 4 days, then I came home to food, food and more food.

After I came home I ate lunch. Then some of Mish's birthday cake. Then some apple and blackberry crumble. Then a digestive biscuit. Then dinner. All in the space of about 5 hours.

So yes, I am back at Canford. I've had a hectic 10 or so days, so I think I'll just chill here for the next few days. Although Uncle Mike is going somewhere tomorrow and has offered me a lift to anywhere along his route, which is tempting. I actually still need to go look up what there is along his route. I would go if I found something interesting. Southampton is looking like an option, but I'm a little bit sick of museums and galleries and churches and castles, so I'll need to find something else to do.

When I got home from the airport, the Scalas from Hailsham had just arrived (minus Adriana) to drop off Bo Poh. Bo Poh has been having some trouble with her eye and so one of the first things she did was go to the doctor's.

I also need to go clothes shopping at some point. For the past 2 and a half weeks I have survived on 2 pairs of jeans, a pair of trackies, about 4 tops, 2 jumpers, 1 jacket, a scarf, 5 pairs of socks and 4 (now 3) pairs of undies (because on my last day at Hailsham I was going to do some washing but Aunty Julie said she'd do it while I was out, and when it came to putting my clothes in my bag, one pair seems to have gone missing). Uhhh anyway. Point is. I travelled light (Harry, you proud of me?), but it's just annoying having to do washing so often, and there's no washing machine here, there's only one in their old house, which means that Aunty Kok Lee drives the washing over and back once in a while, and I don't want to keep bugging her to do the washing cos I need clothes. Trip to Primark ftw. Soon. 

Edinburgh Day 4

Slower day today.

Started with a phone call to Dave while still in bed. Hmmm :)

Then I called my sisters. Silly girls.

Headed out about 11.30. Aunty Dan dropped the girls in the city, then we went for a drive to Duddingston, east of the city, on the other side of Holyrood Park where I was yesterday. Duddingston is one of the oldest parts of Edinburgh, apparently. There was nothing much, just a pub "Sheeps Heid Inn", and old houses. It was a nice walk through the village anyway.

Then we went to the Scottish Parliament and I actually went in this time. The architecture is pretty... interesting. (I'm looking at you, Timmy Fok.) It's pretty incongruent with the rest of the city, it looks like something that a city like Melbourne would build, but it does it's job of providing a place to hold Parliament, so can't complain.

Walked up the Royal Mile/High Street again, but with Danielle. Was going to go see the John Knox House, which is another example of a medieval house, but decided when I got there that it didn't look all that good.

Sarah and Georgie had gone shopping to look for a present for Mish, whose birthday is today, so we met them on Princes St and went to find some lunch. Went to a pub/bar type thing and had sandwiches and soup :) the place had a good deal going, so we all ended getting the same thing lol. Went to some more shops with the girls after lunch, then got picked up.

Edinburgh seems to be a pretty easy city to navigate. Like I've been here 4 days and I pretty much know where the main streets are and I have a map of the place (with street names) in my head. I know Melbourne is organised in blocks, but I seriously cannot tell you the names of the parallel streets in the correct order. Obviously I know where things are, I just wouldn't be able to give you street names.

Today the ATMs seemed to hate me. The first one I went to, everything went smoothly, until the machine was supposed to give me my money, then it came up with a thing saying that there was a problem and that nothing would be debited from my account. The second one I went up to said that they could not dispense cash today, but everything else would be fine. THE ONLY THING I WANT IS CASH DAMMIT. Ugh. Then the final one worked, but gave me Scottish pounds because it was a Bank of Scotland ATM. Grrrr. (It's okay, I swapped them for British pounds with Aunty Dan when I got back home). Scottish pounds are very colourful.

When we got home we watched Limitless. Violent much. Now that I think about it, it was a kinda pointless movie, but entertaining nonetheless. That actually didn't occur to me right after watching the movie.

We were going to watch One Day at the cinemas, but we decided to go to another Fringe Festival show instead, called "Lights, Camera, Improvise". As the name suggests, the show is improvised. ALL of it. There were about 7 actors, and at the start one of them asks for a vote of genre, then suggestions for a setting and a name for the act. Then that person sits on the side and acts as a narrator while the rest act out the story. It's actually pretty amazing. They looked pretty young, like maybe drama students, but their teamwork was quite good. We voted for a rom-com, so it was really funny. As you can guess, every show would be different, so if I ever get the chance to see them again anywhere I definitely would.

So now I'm showered, packed (mostly), ready to set off for the airport at 7.30 tmrw.

I have seriously eaten way too much and done too little housework here in Edinburgh. But it's been fun :)

Day 3 Edinburgh afternoon/evening

It was pouring when I got out of the pub. I just walked all the way down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament. It's Sunday, so the Parliament wasn't open, otherwise I would have gone in to have a look.

Found a really cute teahouse called Clarinda's. 

It had checkered white and blue table clothes and doilies and plates on the wall. I totally wanted to go in for cake or something but I'd just had lunch.

Ummm yes, took pictures, then started walking back up the Royal Mile/Canongate. On the way I stumbed across "The People's Story", a museum about the average joe in Edinburgh from the 1790s to the 1900s. They had life size setups of houses, washhouses, shops, complete with life size human models. It was pretty interesting. Also it was free so I thought why not.

Then I hit Princes St for some shopping :) Got a pair of high waisted shorts from Topshop from the bargain rack!

I underestimated how long it would take to line up and pay for it, so in the end I was rushing because I had to be near St. Giles Cathedral at 3.30 for a tour of Mary King's Close. Mary King's Close is basically a street in Edinburgh that existed in the 1500s. Streets back then were really narrow, and the buildings were really high, because Edinburgh had a town wall, and as the population expanded they could only build upwards. So the buildings were about 11 storeys high, but when they decided in the 1700s to build government buildings there, they basically just knocked down all the levels above about the 3rd storey, and started building on top. So now Mary King's Close is underground, and it's pretty much just a dark tourist attraction. It was still pretty interesting though, and all the stories they told were supposedly real, from accounts and diaries that they've found. Only thing was that the air down there was pretty stale, as it would be if it's been covered up for that long.

Then we just went to grab a bite before our night show at 6 again. We went to find The Elephant House, which is supposedly a really good cafe, and it's where JK Rowling and other famous writers have supposedly written parts of their works. The line was REALLY long. So we just went across the road to another cafe instead.

Our show was "The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik", which was a combination of cartoon, music, and puppetry which told a short (though pointless) story. Despite the lack of story, it was pretty entertaining. The point of the act wasn't for the story, it was more for the entertainment value of all the different aspects, and the puppetry was pretty clever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK2QQxmE9jw

I thought the guy was Australian during the show, but I thought maybe it was just the way he was speaking for the show, because he was putting on voices. But at the end when he started saying thank you, and talking about all his other shows and stuff I was like HE IS DEFS AUSTRALIAN. And uhhh... google now tells me he is :)

Pizza and garlic bread for dinner, and there are cakes on the coffee table that look so yummy, but I have no idea how I'm going to fit it into my stomach...

Edinburgh Day 3 morning

Sitting in a pub on the Royal Mile called The World's End. It smells like pee, but apart from that it's pretty cosy. Having potato and leek soup. Sitting at the bar. There was actually a table free when I walked in, but they gave it to the couple behind me. Cos clearly they were going to make more money out of them.

Don't know if you can see the writing- the blue bit is the pub

Today I got up early and went into the city by bus. Well by early, I mean that it was 10 o'clock when I got into the city.

Doing the city on a budget. Went to check out the National Gallery of Scotland, free admission. I love art galleries like this one. It was done up really nice, red walls, fancy photo frames. Art galleries are so serene.

Then chilled for a little bit outside the National Museum eating a muesli bar, then went inside. Also free admission. Didn't finish looking cos I got a bit bored, so left to find some lunch.


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Edinburgh Day 2

Had a nice sleep in and a slow breakfast. Seriously, I am being so spoilt here. Aunty Danielle is so lovely, and just does everything, and doesn't want help. I feel like I'm on a luxury holiday, cos her apartment is so nice and done up and clean and tidy. And her towels and sheets and stuff are all nice and fluffly.

It has been winter here. Well yeah it's summer, but it's Melbourne winter. Well slightly warmer, but apart from that it feels like Melbourne winter. Today was like 16 degrees, drizzly in the morning, cloudy, then a bit of sun, then rain. So my body is currently telling me it's winter, and it is demanding a lot of food. I am eating so much more than I was at Canford and Hailsham.

So got out of bed at like 9, breakfast at 10.30, and by the time we were ready to do anything it was midday. We went to Rosslyn Chapel, which is where the Da Vinci Code was filmed. Not that that's the reason I went there. It's just a nice old chapel with detailed carving and an interesting history.

Came home for a simple lunch, then we went into the city centre. Danielle dropped us off. We literally crossed the road after she dropped us off, and took 3 steps, and there was a guy about to start his street theatre show, so that's where we stayed for the next 45 minutes till the end of the show. It was pretty good. Fire torch juggling and stuff.

Then we walked around the streets, a little bit down the Royal Mile, and also Princes St. It was really crowded, cos of the Fringe Festival, and also because it's a Bank holiday in England this Monday. I don't particularly like crowds. It was like China all over again, but with white people.

All the little shows at the Fringe Festival were doing street advertising, and so there were musical acts, people handing out flyers, small acts, characters from some of the shows just sitting there while another person calling out and advertising the show. Some of them were actually really good speakers that catch your attention. But as I said, it was crowded, so it actually took a long time to get down the street.

Some performers advertising their show

Went shopping for a little present at Marks and Spencers for Danielle, to say thank you, then had hot chocolate and a quick bite at Costa. I seriously cannot understand the Scottish accent. The poor girl at Costa had to repeat everything she said to me.

At 5.30 we decided to start lining up for the show at night, Rock the Ballet at the Assembly on the Mound. Danielle was supposed to have gone a little bit earlier to line up for us, but she got held up trying to find a parking spot, so we ended up lining up ourselves and waiting for her. The line was actually REALLY long, cos it's not pre-booked seating, so first in best dressed. Sarah and Georgie decided that they needed to go to the toilet, so while they went to find one, I stood in the line. THEN THEY STARTED LETTING PEOPLE IN AND I DIDN'T HAVE THE TICKETS. Danielle had them. So I got super freaked out that I'd get to the entrance and I wouldn't have my ticket. Luckily the rest of them turned up just in time.

In the end I think it was good that we were where we were in the queue, because we were one of the first to be allowed into the balcony, which had a good view. Otherwise if we were further forward in the line we would have been at the back on the ground floor.

Rock the Ballet was AMAZING. Pretty much 6 guys and girl who are trained in classical ballet (i think), but who dance to rock songs. So contemporary ballet. The guys were especially amazing. Apart from the fact that they were super tank, I love guys ballet cos it's more powerful. Girls can be really good too, cos they're so pretty and gentle, but it just doesn't have that energy to it because there's just not the same amount of strength in it.

Chinese takeaway for dinner, chilled.

Edinburgh

(pronounced edin-burruh, for you noobs lol)

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, which is north of England. Edinburgh is a medieval city. Like the rest of the UK, the roads are not straight (frustrating as anything), and the buildings are generally brown and smooth edged, about 2 or 3 storeys high. Except for the office buildings ofc, but they're in another part of town.

Today Sarah, Georgie (Sarah's friend) and I flew to Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival, which is basically like the Comedy Festival in Melbourne, but with a combination of comedy, dance, music and drama. We flew with flybe ("fly-bee"), a budget airline. The flight from Southampton to Edinburgh was only about 50 minutes.

I'm staying with Uncle Mike's sister in her apartment in Edinburgh. Her name is Danielle, and she is lovely. She keeps asking if we need anything, and she keeps fussing over us. She bought us little cakes for afternoon tea (which were actually really nice and quite cheap, for what they were. If I were having people over for afternoon tea and ceebs baking, I would buy them. And that's saying something cos I love baking. Anyway.) Her apartment is done up really well.

So we ate cake, chilled, then went to our first show, Flawless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GrOMLylvhQ

It was really good, though, like all dance, I don't think I appreciate it to its full extent.

We even stayed for autographs at the end, so that we could have a little momento.

Then we had tapas in her lounge room for dinner. Yum.

Started watching Inception, but it lost my interest 40 minutes in, so I had a nice warm shower, and now I am so ready for bed.

Rye

Today had to be a short day because I'm going back to Canford with the Pinningtons this afternoon, so I decided to go to Rye

Rye is a little medieval town east of Eastbourne, in the south of the UK. It is very cute and quaint, pretty much all that you think of when you think of a medieval English town.

I did actually plan out a little tour for myself, but uhhh, surprise surprise, I got distracted. First distraction was a little market, pretty much the moment I stepped out of the train. Actually I think I saw it from the train before it had come to a stop. Bravo.

From there the plan kinda went out the window.

I had a walk around the market for about 20 minutes. Something I'm finding really odd: old/middle aged English men have a habit of tagging "love" or "sweetheart" on the end of what they say. Like when I asked a shopkeeper what time the market closed- "2.30, love". They don't say it in like a creepy way or whatever, it's just that it's a little more endearing than what I'm used to from strangers.

Then I went to see Landgate. Landgate is one of the 4 town gates left from the 14th century when Rye had a town wall and stuff.

After that I intended to walk up the high street, but got distracted by little antique shops on the road that I was walking along. So I'd walk out of a shop and just walk into the next one along. Then at some point I realized I was literally at the edge of the town and if I walked anymore I'd walk straight onto the highway to the next town.

Then I came across Mermaid St, which was one of the places on my little tour. Mermaid St is famous for it's super quaintness, cobble stones and those white houses with black wooden beams across them and everything. (I really need to find out what those type of houses are called)

The end of Mermaid St meets West St, which has Lambhouse, the house of some 20th century American writer whose name I will look up later. Nothing special. In fact, I walked past it and took a photo of the house just cos I thought it looked pretty. Then later I was looking at my list of things to see, and saw it and thought "oh let's go see that!". Then I looked up where it was and realized that I had already walked straight past it, AND that I had even taken a picture of it.

From there I walked up the high street, went to St Mary's church, which has a tower that you can look out to Rye and Sussex country from. It was really pretty, although it was a cloudy day and kinda windy, which made my hair spaz and made my eyes and contacts really dry. *opens eyes wide and blinks*

Walked outside and took a picture of Ypres Tower Castle and Museum (pronounced "wipers"). You had to pay to go in and I'm too cheap for that. LOL nah it didn't really interest me.

Then for a treat! I went to a cafe (or uhhh...tearoom, as they call some of them) called Simon the Pieman, which claims to be the oldest tearoom in Rye. In any case, it was quaint and nicely decorated, and the displays out the front looked delish. Had a hot chocolate with cream. The cream tasted not as fatty and rich as Australian cream, and was really light. The hot chocolate was REALLY rich, which, like all things like that, was really nice at the start, and became almost too much at the end. But it was a yummy hot chocolate.

From there I had just under an hour till the train came (yes, I did just miss a train by a few minutes, but I wasn't gonna sacrifice my Simon the Pieman experience just to make a train).

Wandered back through the streets and the market back to the station.

Currently sitting at Polegate Station waiting for Aunty Kok Lee and the girls, we're going back to Canford.


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Location:Rye,United Kingdom

Hever Castle

Today Emelia and I went to Hever Castle, which is in Hever, about an hour north of Hailsham. It is one of the 3 Kent Castles, and it is the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, King Henry VIII's second wife, and the mother of Elizabeth I. (King Henry VIII was the one with six wives)

It was absolutely pouring down, but the weather forecast had said sunny, so we went ahead with our plans. It was raining all the way there, and when we got there.

We got there at 10, and found that the place only opened at 10.30. Keen beans lol. Then I remembered how last night I did tell Emelia that it only opened at 10.30, but then I was really tired and so I forgot that the reason I told her that was to make sure we didn't get there before 10. Uhhh fail.

So we just walked into the church across the road to pass the time.

At 10.30 we got our tickets and went to check out the gardens. It was still raining. So we were just clutching our umbrellas. On another note, I realised why trench coats were made. In Melbourne I didn't really get it cos if it's raining it's usually also cold and so you gotta wear a bazillion layers underneath your trench coat to keep warm, so it's really not worth it, even though trench coats are amazing. Here it rains like anything even though it's hot.

At 11 the castle opened, so we went in so we wouldn't get wet. It was quite pretty. It's pretty much just a big museum now, with relics, paintings, dresses and other stuff. It's a pretty small castle, but it's really cute and it's decorated really well.

When we got out at 12, the sun had come out, just as the weather man had said! We were super hungry so we sat down on a bench and ate our packed lunches consisting of a ham and cheese roll, Doritos and some fruit :)

The Castle is surrounded by like 12 acres of gardens, which were all really well manicured. There was a water maze (for kids), an Italian garden, a little nursery, a rose garden, and just lots of pretty green grass. We pretty much just walked around, enjoyed the scenery and took pictures.

We finished by walking into the little souvenir shop, which also had a little exhibition of models of typical castle-type rooms over different periods of British history. It was really cute. They even had little fireplaces with little glowing red lights underneath it.

That was a good three and half hours.

On the way home I was craving sponge cake with jam and cream, so we dropped by the supermarket to get ingredients. They don't sell plain sponge cakes. All their sponge cakes already have jam and cream in it. Ugh. In the end Emelia called home to ask if there was jam, and Adriana happened to mention that the Pinningtons, who came from Canford with Bo Poh, brought some cake with them.

So I had an amazing afternoon tea of butter/sponge cake, with strawberrry jam and whipped cream. (I couldn't really figure out what it was. It wasn't rich enough to be butter cake, but not light enough to be sponge cake. Anyway it was yummy)

Tonight Bo Poh has made chicken rice for dinner.

Why does my life revolve around food. (Tienyi, I'm thinking of you)

Enrolment

Today I received an email in my inbox titled "King's College London online enrolment- important information". It looked important, so I opened it straight away.

It had details about how to register to use the IT facilities with a password and everything, and then the online questionnaire so that you can print this form and show it to them on Campus Registration day. It feels odd having to do this a second time, especially cos I'm not a clueless first year. I remember when I did this for Monash, I was so confused and Felicia and I talked on the phone for ages trying to nut it out.

Had a few questions, so I emailed them, but after that the last step is to actually go into uni for campus registration, so a day trip to London in the near future may be required. I need to look up exactly when that is. I've been given links, and it shall be added onto the long list of things to find out for tonight.

I swear I spend so long on my computer each day just trying to find out things. So the agenda for tonight is: shower, sit on the couch, working through the to do list, and watch my cousins play wii (and join in occasionally, maybe, hopefully)

Sleep. Cos I'm tres tired.

Scrap that day trip to London. All the dates seem to be in orientation week when I'll already be in London.

Canterbury

Today I was tired. I got up at 7 to leave the house at 8, cos I was getting a lift with my Aunty Julie to the station.

I kind of started dozing off on the train, but had to wake myself up, cos I'm always paranoid I will miss my stop or something.

Canterbury. Canterbury is a town in the south east of the UK, and it's where the Archbishop of Canterbury comes from *nods*. It has a long and complicated history that involves lots of archbishops and kings, most notably the Archbishop Thomas Becket, who was murdered there because he would not agree with the king at the time, Henry IV (the picture above is the place where he was murdered). Its most famous attraction is the Canterbury Cathedral, so I went there.

Before I went there though, I had lunch at a little cafe, and sat facing the cobble stoned lane and just watched people walk past. It was nice. The French owner was lovely.

Yeah anyway. Just thought lunch was worth mentioning, because food is important. SO. Cathedral.

It was old, like all cathedrals. There was a crypt, like a prayer room, that was dark and dungeon like and kinda scary. There were lots of tombs of former archbishops, as well as just people who had lived and died in that area. There were cloisters too. I actually spent ages there was taking a slow walk and looking around inside, then outside. There were lots of pretty lights and candles and windows, and outside the gardens were nice. There were also a lot of German tourists.

Then I took the train back to Polegate and caught a bus. The bus driver got grumpy at me, because firstly, I didn't know the name of the stop I needed to get off at. (Yeah, the bus system here is stupid like that. You pay by how far you go, not by the amount of time. It's annoying because if you get a return ticket, which is much cheaper than a single, you need to take the same route there and back, even if there are two buses that go past the bus stop you want to get to.)

So one, I didn't know the name of the stop. I eventually just settled for the name of a stop that I DID know, that I thought I would get off at. Secondly, the guy gave me a return ticket, and I didn't realise til I sat down to put my change away and actually look at the ticket. I hadn't taken this particular bus before, so I didn't know I had been given a return ticket based on what I paid. Uh so I went to tell the driver and he sighed at me. Then thirdly, I saw Adriana on the bus coincidentally, and we got off at the right stop, but not the stop that I had paid for. So uhhh yeah. The bus driver is probably still seething about the stupid Asian tourist who didn't know anything.

Brighton

So I was halfway through blogging about Brighton on my phone, then I saved it to online drafts so that I could continue it on the computer, but it seems to have disappeared into thin air. So now I have to start again. Stupid thing.

Ummm yes, Brighton. Brighton is a beach town south of London, and basically became big when King George IV decided to build a Taj Mahal looking building as a holiday house, known as the Royal Pavilion.

Today Emelia drove Adriana and I to Brighton. We had to go via Eastbourne cos Adriana had a dental appointment, so by the time we arrived it was about 12- time for lunch. For lunch, Emelia and I had fish and chips, and while Adriana was in Bagelman buying herself a bagel, we sat on the kerb outside and started on our food. Cos we were that hungry. Then when Adriana came out we couldn't be bothered moving, so the three of us tramps just sat on the kerb and ate our lunches. The fish and chip shop served their chips with a chip fork, which is like one of those fat, kidney bean like paddle pop sticks, with a little wedge cut out of the end of it so you get two pointy edges to poke your chips with.

So weird. Just use your fingers, dude.

Then we just wandered the lanes and North Laine, walking about, checking out the city. Apparently anything goes in Brighton. There are lots of interesting people in Brighton- hippies (including hippie Africans), people wearing hawaiian shirts and shorts, people in long dresses and lots of jewellery, alternatives. There were lots of bright dresses and scarves on sale, and lots of little colourful trinkets. A very vibrant city, even if a little tacky at times.

After that Adriana and I went to Brighton Pier. A pier is a little wooden structure jutting out that you can jump off into the water, right?

WRONG. (look at picture above)

This pier had like a mini carnival on it. There were rides, food stalls, fairy floss, and even an arcade. (The beach, by the way, has small brown pebbles instead of sand.) I got really excited about the whole carnival thing, and wanted to get some fairy floss, but I was already too full from fish and chips.

Adriana and I went on this simulator in the arcade. You sit on a seat, and the screen in front of you has a little plane weaving through traffic, under cars and over buildings, and your seats move accordingly. It was kinda fun :)

Then we went to find Emelia and just walked around Churchill Square Shopping Centre. Got a Ben and Jerry's Strawberry Cheescake ice cream. Yum.

Would you like a cup of tea?

That question has got to be the most overused phrase in England. Both families I have stayed with ask me that constantly. It's actually really nice. Every time someone put the kettle on to make themselves a hot beverage, everyone in the house gets asked if they'd like one too.

Only thing is that back home, I only have one Milo/hot chocolate every couple of days, at most, which means I am currently drinking wayyy more Milo than I'm used to.


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Wimborne - Hailsham

I have nothing in particular to blog about, just thought I should give a recount of my day.

Train trips went well, no dramas, got picked up at Haywards Heath by Aunty Julie, her boyfriend Robert and my cousin Adriana.

Went to Robert's, chilled, had dinner, then went to Aunty Julie's house in Hailsham.

This house is much smaller and older than the one in Canford, and it's in a much more populated area. The area is not as pretty, but it looks like things might be more convenient.

Met Adriana's sister Emilia, and we watched I Love You, Man together. Adriana was in her room playing guitar, and I didn't see much of Aunty Julie.

I am bunking Adriana's room. I've had a nice hot shower, time for bed soon.

Wimborne Market

This morning I went to Wimborne Market, which is, funnily enough, in Wimborne. It's basically an everything market: clothes, fresh produce, meat, cheeses, craft items, bric-a-brac.

Before I continue, just like to say sorry that my blog posts are not in chronological order, this event actually happened before the previous blog post but I'd forgotten that I hadn't blogged about the market.

So we were only supposed to go for a little while so that I had enough time to pack for Hailsham. Aunty Kok Lee said it shouldn't be too big anyway.

Much to my surprise, it was a fairly big market for a little town. At first I just followed Bo Poh and Aunty Kok Lee around, but then was given permission to just wander.

There was a little bead stall, so I bought some beads. Beads are different everywhere you go, so if I see some on my travels, or even at a little market in a country town during summer, I like to buy some to add to the collection. So yes, I bought £4 worth of beads, not a lot. They weren't cheap, but they weren't expensive either, and as I said, I like to buy some everywhere I go.

Then Aunty Kok Lee points out some fur coats and got me to try them on. I AM looking to buy a warm coat for winter, but the thought of a fur coat hadn't even crossed my mind, because I have never worn one before. It looked kinda funny so I put it back.

We were going to wander some more, but I realized the time (we'd forgotten to keep track) and it was about time to head home.

Will go back there another Sunday to finish looking at the stalls.


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Using a ticket machine

I forget that things are less convenient on a Sunday.

Today I rocked up to Poole station only to realize that it was Sunday and there was nobody at the ticket booth.

So I had to learn to use the ticket machine.

Luckily there was a guy before me, and I asked him whether he was in a rush to catch the train. When he said no, I asked if he could show me how to use the machine.

He got me to type in my destination, then a few route options came up, one was "any route", one was "clapham" and the last was "havant". The first option would have been the most expensive, and I didn't want to go into London. The National Rail website had said that I could go to Southampton, then Fratton, then Haywards Heath.

(Perhaps I should add here that I'm going to Hailsham for the next little while to visit another Aunty, and she's picking me up from Haywards Heath)

Anyway, so Havant. Where on earth is that? So the two of us were just peering at this map, I had my finger on Poole and Haywards Heath and he was trying to find Havant somewhere in between...

We eventually found it and the rest was sweet :)

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Train Adventures

It all started at Brockenhurst.

Well not really. It all started with a late train at Bath. The 17:37 to Portsmouth Harbour pulled in at 17:57. Well that was easily forgiven. Trains are late all the time.

Got off at Southampton Central, just as planned.

Caught the service to Poole a couple of minutes later.

When the ticket inspector came round to check the tickets, he told me to change at Brockenhurst. I said "sorry...?" but he didn't hear me and walked off. Then he came past again just before Brockenhurst, and I asked him why I had to change. Turns out that if I did I could get to Poole faster. Theoretically. "Take the train on Platform 3"

So I went to Platform 3, and the board said the next train was going to Bournemouth. I needed to go to Poole, which is further than Bournemouth, so the next one to Weymouth looked good (Poole is on the way to Weymouth). So I didn't take the one to Bournemouth, cos if I did I'd have to get off at Bournemouth and change trains to a Weymouth one anyway.

Then when I got on the Weymouth one, the loudspeaker said that the toilets weren't working, so the train would stop at Bournemouth and we'd all have to get off and get onto another train further along the platform, which would continue the journey. So when we got to Bournemouth we all got off and trooped up the platform...

To a train that finally got me to Poole. Three and a half hours after the first train was supposed to leave Bath.

Now let's contrast it to what it SHOULD have been. Should've been an easy ride, Bath to Southampton Central, Southampton to Poole. 2 hours 37 minutes, says the National Rail Journey Planner. Sure sure.

Ps, can I just say that none of this kefufle (is that how you spell it? Oh, you know what I mean) was actually due to me taking the wrong train :)

Bath

Today I went to Bath. For those of you that don't know, Bath was the place to be seen in 18th century England. Two of Jane Austen's books, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, were set in Bath, and Jane Austen herself lived in Bath for a few years, so if you want to get a picture of the city, think of all those high society English movies.

The name Bath comes from the fact that this place had (and still has) hot springs, which were made into Roman baths. You can pay to go into the Baths, but that wasn't particularly high on my to do list.

So the day started with a road trip with the Pinningtons.

The girls were going to stay with their uncle in Frome (pronounced "froom") for the weekend, so the parents decided to make a trip of it. We all drove to Bath where we went for breakfast at an Italian deli Da Vinci, then they dropped me off near the city centre then took the girls to their uncle's.

So I made my way to the tourist information centre where they tried to get me to pay £1 for a map. I was like screw that my phone has a map, AND it tells me exactly where I am. Obviously I didn't say that. What came out of my mouth was "no thank you"

So yes. While I was researching things to do in Bath the other day, I found a free audio guide of the city, so I downloaded it onto my phone and just went around with it. I took it slow, and walked into any shop I fancied along the way (I found the guildhall market!), and parts of the city were crowded, and it was a little bit drizzly, so the tour took me about 2 and a quarter hours. (It was only meant to go for one and a half hours).

The tour took me around pretty much the entire city: the Abbey, the Roman baths, the River Avon and Pulteney Bridge, the Royal Theatre, Beau Nash's house, Laura Place, the Circus, Royal Crescent, Milsom Street...

*exhales*

I did list down some museums and exhibitions that I thought I'd like, but in the end I could only take so much looking in one day, so I just did the tour. It was pretty informative.

Then I just went shopping with all of Mum and Dad's money.

Ahahaha nah, I DID wander the street with shops though. Sat down and listened to a really good, classically trained young singer busker (she was really sweet!) and decided to toss in some change. That is actually possibly the first time I've given money to a busker. My parents never do, so I never have. But this time I felt like she deserved it cos she was good and I was enjoying it. And she looked like a poor student like me.

Sat down, enjoyed the environs, ate a banana, wrote a postcard to Emily. Had to buy a pen cos mine STOPPED WORKING >:(

Um anyway. THEN I went shopping. Bought some stuff from a stall in the middle of the street and managed to bargain it down. Then just walked around, looked at some shops. I was glad that I'd done the tour earlier in the day, because while wandering the streets I walked past some of the sights again and it was crowded as. WIN.

By that time it was almost 5. My cousins told me that I have to try a traditional Cornish pasty, so seeing as I had to eat I thought I'd try one. I went into the Cornwall Pasty Company, cos I'd seen a few around so I thought they'd know how to make a good pasty. Had a little freakout in the bakery cos I thought I'd lost my wallet, but it was in the plastic bag with my shopping. Phew.

Then thought it was about time I made my way to the train station. And now the train is 20 minutes late :|

Oh my gosh a Harry Potter train just went past! I have to go in one of those one day.



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Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Traffic was terrible.

Anyway, in the end we got to Tower Park, and I watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes with my cousin Sarah while Misha went to see The In-Betweeners with a few of her friends.

The movie was alright. Not what I'd usually go to see, but it was good to have something different. A bit disappointed that there wasn't a deep and meaningful concept from it. Maybe that's just me. Well I guess you could have inferred something, but it would be a stretch.

Came home to a late dinner- Bee Hoon, cooked by Bo Poh, and bread and butter pudding made by Aunty Kok Lee. It wasn't as soggy as how my mum makes it at home, and I think it was better. I don't particularly appreciate soggy bread- at home I usually try and get as much of the top as possible, because the bits of bread sticking up are crunchy and make up for the soggy bits at the bottom.

A few big days ahead, so I better to get some good sleep. I'll keep you posted, ttyl!

Fit boys

In Australia, boys are cute, hot, tank.

In England, boys are "fit".

That's all.

(Felicia, now you know how to ask for a nice English boy)


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Beach party and Bournemouth Air Show

Today I tagged along with Mish to a friend's beach party at Boscombe Beach, so I got to meet some English people :)

It was pretty chill, this girl had a little beach hut, so we just sat on the beach outside the hut. They didn't talk to me much. Well much less than the German kids, which was the last time I was the foreign kid tagging along. But it was still fun. We tried to build a sandcastle and ended up playing scarecrow tiggy ("stuck in the mud") and wink murder.

Then we gave up because there were jets flying above us cos the Bournemouth air show was happening, obviously in Bournemouth. That was pretty cool. Just lying on the sand looking up at the jets.

The weather was much better than the other day. It still wasn't beach hot, but it was sunny and not so windy.

Then we couldn't find the bus stop so Uncle Mike came to pick us up and now we're stuck in horrible traffic.

I'm now going to take the opportunity to complain about the traffic. Ugh. Winding roads, narrow lanes, one lane each way on rural highways... The other day on the bus we were on a residential street, there was one car parked on each side and bus had to literally slow down to snail pace trying to squeeze through. Then on the main road a car broke down in front of us, so to get past, the bus had to go over to the other side of the road (one lane, remember?), only problem was that it was so so so busy, and nobody was stopping to let the bus through. And generally speaking, traffic is very stop start at every corner. Ugh.

Anyway, can't wait for summer at the beach back home, with weather the way it should be if you're going to be at the beach!

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Oakley Village

The rain did not stop all day. There was flash flooding around the area, on the roads and at Poole Dolphin Shopping Centre.

So I pretty much just stayed home all day eating and on my laptop, looking at things to do at various places.

In the late afternoon I decided to take a walk down the road to Oakley Village, not far from the house. There was nothing much there, although I didn't really expect there to be. It was just that I felt that I couldn't really stay here for weeks not knowing where the closest shops were. There's basically a convenience store, a pharmacy and a butcher's, and a big car park.

The convenience store actually isn't more expensive than a supermarket, although I was expecting it to be. And it's not just like a little milk bar thing. It's actually a pretty decent size with a good range of products and some fresh food. I guess the next closest place to buy stuff is Wimborne, so the place must make some pretty good money. I bought a bar of Galaxy milk chocolate, because Sarah mentioned it the other day.

Yum.

Rain, rain, go away

Today it's raining. Quite heavily. Which rules out the quiet day out in the field that I was going to have, but sitting on the couch on my laptop is almost just as good. The girls are still asleep, and Aunty Kok Lee is trying to plan the day around errands. I've told her that I'm happy to tag along with whatever she does today.

It's raining heavily, but the rain is pretty fine, and so it doesn't make much noise hitting the roof/pavement. Hmmm let's use this quiet moment to reflect on things so far:

Public transport. Is expensive. I'm finding the bus most expensive, considering it's 5 pounds for a return ticket for the same distance as my house to Mount Waverley. I pay full fare here (no discounts for students over 19), whereas I pay a concession fare at home, which I guess is part of the reason I'm finding it expensive, but still. Can't really avoid it, because to get anywhere I basically have to go to Poole to catch the train, but it is certainly expensive.

Distances. Are quite far. Perhaps I'm just a spoilt city kid, where everything is close, I can go wherever, whenever. Here, except for expensive buses, the only other option is walk (or bother my aunty for a lift, but that's not an option). I love walking, especially on shaded country paths, and it's just as well that I do, and that I'm used to walking, and that I'm on holidays and have the time to walk. I'm not complaining about having to walk, just noting that it's something I pretty much have to do. Also there's not really a lot of places to walk to. There's Wimborne up the road. Or I could just walk back and forth from the bus stop.

Walking. Is quite difficult. For the most part, there are no footpaths. So you just walk by the side of the road. I always making sure I'm walking against traffic, cos you know, I'd like to see if I'm about to get run over. They're pretty quiet roads, so if a car comes it generally just swings to the other side of the road just to steer well clear. Walking here actually requires you to pay attention to cross the road when the footpath suddenly ends and starts on the other side of the road, and to dodge muddy puddles, cars and the odd branch sticking out. However, walking here is also quite fun, cos it's cool and shady, and you can pick blackberries from the side of the road and just eat them while walking

Trees. Are everywhere. They just kinda create this canopy of shade. Like a rainforest :)

People. Some are grumpy and some are friendly. Random people do start talking to you. Like the taxi driver that just stopped and asked me if I was going to Bournemouth while I was walking home from the bus stop (I'm guessing he wanted to make some money out of me). And the old lady that stared at me on the bus and kept telling me that I was beautiful (what are you supposed to say to that...?). Then there are people that just don't want to be there. Like the guy at the Three shop that sold me my sim card. And the woman at the tourist information centre at Salisbury. I guess that happens everywhere, maybe I just don't have to talk to so many people and ask so many questions back home.

My family. Are very homey people. They just stay home, and read, and play guitar and Mah Jong. They don't go out very much, and very often when they do, it's to walk 20 metres down the road to a friend's house. My uncle and aunty run errands a lot. They're currently on holidays, so the whole family just gets up when they get up, get out the door when they get out the door. They're very content people.

England. Is very pretty. I could probably live here. Maybe. If I could drive.

Dude it just got dark. I just had to get up to switch on the light.

Salisbury

Salisbury Cathedral

Today I took the train to Salisbury. It actually took quite a long time, and I feel like I didn't have much of a day, because by the time I'd baked, and then washed up and dressed and got to Poole (my aunty gave me a lift because she was already heading that way), it was 11.

I was super scared that I'd take the wrong train and end up in the wrong place, or somewhere that my ticket didn't allow me to go, because here with the trains you pay by where you're going rather than how much time you spending travelling.

But it's okay, I didn't take a single wrong train, or miss a train, or miss a stop :D

So, Salisbury. In the end I only spent about 2 and a half hours there, because, well firstly, there's nothing much to see, and secondly, I wanted to get home in time for dinner.

I went to the cathedral, and the oldest church in the town, then just walked the streets, went shopping (didn't buy anything, apart from a postcard), found a vintage clothes shop (like actually vintage) and a secondhand furniture shop. I LOVE old shops.

If I had more time, I would have just sat in a cafe and blogged, or wrote letters, or just watched people. Also kinda wish I had a local with me, like my cousins, so they could give me advice about where to go, what to see, what to eat lol.

There were lots of Indian restaurants. Btw.

I decided that I didn't want to go to Stonehenge after all, because it was another £15 and a half hours' bus ride from Salisbury, which, after 2 hours on the train, I was not particularly keen. I didn't want to go see it THAT much...

***

Freshly baked

This morning I woke up at 7 and baked bread and banana cake. Yum!

It felt very homey. I wanted to fill the house with baking smells so that everyone would be super hungry for breakfast. Only problem with that was that my aunty has an AGA, which is basically this unit that's always hot. It's a rectangular thing about 2 metres wide and the height of a table, and a roasting oven, baking oven, plate warming oven and a few other things that I can't remember. The stovetop is just 2 hotplates. It is so easy to use. It's the unit that heats the water and the tiles in the house during winter, so it's always hot, and to use it you just chuck whatever it is on the stove or in the oven. It is really solid, I don't know what it's made out of. But it's so solid that it keeps everything in, including the smell of whatever it is you're cooking (which also makes it super easy to burn something and not even know it). But it is actually quite amazing. If I ever live in Europe, I'm so having one.

My uncle also made bacon and eggs. Mmmmm...

The Garden

This is the view from the back of my aunty's house

 For the past three days, I have stared at that wall and that door at the back, wondering what's behind it.

This afternoon, I finally got round to checking it out.

It is so pretty. As you walk through the door, there's a little lake, and a massive field. Keep walking and there's a brook, walk over the bridge and there are massive trees that provide shade, a little outdoor fireplace with stumps around it, and a little path that leads to... I don't know what, because there was overgrown flora and fauna.

I spend the most amazing few hours just sitting on the grass, making a daisy chain, taking picture of the scenery, and uh, myself, and walking around. It was so peaceful and quiet. I have always enjoyed my own company, but I wish I could have shared it with you. I wish Kat was there to take pictures with me. Or Harry was there to have a picnic with me. Or Dave was there to just sit and walk with me, and see me get excited every time I saw something new.

Dorchester

Today was supposed to be a quiet day to recoop and relax. I guess it's been quieter, but not exactly quiet.

Slow start to the day, woke up late, chilled on my laptop. We were planning on going to see a replica of the Terracotta Warriors (yes, the China ones) in Dorchester, mostly for my Bo Poh (my grandma's sister). I didn't really understand why we were going to see something so culturally random for England, but they'd actually waiting for me to come from Australia before doing all these sights, so I felt really bad questioning why we were going.

My aunty drove, and Bo Poh, my cousins and I piled into the car.

Long story short, when we got there Aunty Kok Lee decided that she and Bo Poh would go check it out, then tell us if it was anything worth seeing.

In the end we ended up in a little restaurant/cafe called Napper's Mite, where I tried warmed Dorset apple cake with clotted cream, on Misha's recommendation.

It was the best best cake I've had in a long long while.  It was really crumbly, but it was moist and melted in your mouth. Mmmm salivating just thinking about it again. (Rach you would be so jealous. We can try and see if I can find a recipe)

Clotted cream was an interesting experience. It's cream, obviously, but it's thick and liquidy, almost stringy. And of course you could just taste the heart attack knocking on your door.

Mmm Dorset apple cake...

Boscombe beach

It is freaking cold and windy. And my cousin Sarah wants to go into the water. Crazy girl.

This is NOT beach weather. But apparently this is as good as it gets. Terrible.


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Wimborne Minster again, because Cordelia took the wrong bus.

That said, I'm currently eating an amazing maple and pecan plait.

I'm due home at 4, and it takes about half an hour to walk, I think. But I'll give myself 45 minutes, no guesses why.


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Primark

Okay, on the bus. So as part of my Poole adventures, I went into Primark, which is like a non-hobo discount shop. everything was really cheap, and it looked like better than cotton on quality.

For the past few days I have felt like an idiot wearing knee high boots in summer, but they were the only decent walking shoes I had, so it couldn't be helped. BUT, today at Primark, I bought a pair of black walking boots, so we're all good.

They cost GBP11.90, which is pretty cheap. I mean you wouldn't find something like that for $15 or even $20 in Aus unless you were at camberwell market or something.

Yeah so these boots will be the pair of shoes that's okay to trash and get dirty and muddy.


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Poole

Say the word "data". Now imagine being laughed at and asked if you meant "day-ta".

Yeah. That was my first encounter with a mobile phone salesperson in the UK.

****

Currently at Poole bus station, waiting for the bus back to Canford Magna.

Today I got lost. Well not exactly, cos I had maps and stuff with me, but yeah. I knew the bus route to Poole, but I didn't know exactly where the bus stop was, so I decided that I'd just walk along the route ad eventually i'd see a bus stop. So I walked. And 15 minutes later, I was still walking, and was starting to get really puzzled. So I pulled out the map, and found that literally 10 steps after I'd started walking, I'd walked off the bus route. GOOD ONE CORDS.

Uhh yeah then Poole. Nothing much, really, just a high street with shops and stuff. Uhhh I did manage to get lost again... Trying to find the tourist information centre. Then as I was walking into a shop to buy a postcard, there were 2 old drunks, and I got scared so I didn't go down the quiet streets of the old town even though it looked really pretty. Bus is here!


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Tesco

In Australia, we have food shops, clothes shops, homeware shops, hardware shops. Here they just have shops. Which have everything.

Like this afternoon when I went to Tesco. There were people coming out of it with trolleys and bags, so you know, I assumed it was a grocery store. Which is was. There was fruit, vegies, meat, and all of the expected goods on the bottom floor, but then there was an escalator up, and the place sold clothes, camping gear, electrical cables, phones, internet usb things. And there was also a cafe. Supermarket? Mmmm not quite

Then we went to... uh oh. Another shop which I can't remember the name of. And it literally had food next to those massive outdoor canopy things with tables and chairs. Odd.

And their equivalent of Bunnings also had a cafe. Can't these people wait till they finish shopping to eat?

(The shop was called The Range! I remember now)

Slow Sunday

Beautiful day. Just got back from a nice stroll to Wimborne Minster through Canford Magna school and a nice park-like path.

Canford School

My cousin Misha went with me and so we just chatted. I saw a squirrel and got really excited and she thought it was the funniest thing ever :|

Anyway we just took a slow walk through Wimborne and stopped at a sweet shop, where she picked out some traditional English sweets for me: Rosie apples, bullseyes, sticky strawberries and cola cubes.

All the houses were really cute and picturesque, even though some of them had bright blue or bright purple doors and window frames. The quaint-ness makes up for it.

It's Sunday, and so all the shops were closed and things were really slow going. I'll probs go there again during the week just to get a feel for the "normal" atmosphere.

I found that the adapters I brought from Melbourne didn't work, so I'm about to follow my aunty to the shops to go get another one. (Yes, I didn't test them before I chucked them in my suitcase)

About to head to the shops, bye for now!

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Day 1

I am super tired. Staying up so I can call my parents soon.

So. London Heathrow. Got off the plane. Passport control was quicksmart, although I was totally freaked out that I hadn't done something right with visas or whatever and they wouldn't let me in. But they did, so yay! They didn't even want to look at my bank statement...

Then baggage collection! I was so happy the carousel was still, so I didn't have to go chase after my bag.

AND THEN QUARANTINE. What quarantine? I had some teabags, and so I went through the red lane, where they're supposed to check that you're not bringing anything into the country. So I went into the red lane and there was no one there, and there was a sign that said that if no one was there you were supposed to see the officer in the green lane, where you can walk right through if you have nothing. So I asked the guy at the green lane about it, and he asked what I had. I was like ... some teabags and muesli bars? And he had the most unbothered look on his face and just waved me through.

Oh and then I had a little panic attack at the little duty free place cos they didn't have Black Label. So I bought Gold Label instead.

All that took like 20 mins. I was expecting it to take like... hours. So even though I'd booked myself a coach ticket for 1700, I was ready to go at 1340 to catch the 1400 bus, which was 2 before the 1700. So I g0t my ticket amended which costed an extra 6GBP. I don't really understand that :|

Got off the coach at Poole, and my Aunty Kok Lee came to pick me up, brought me to her house in Canford Magna, where I met my Uncle Mike and my cousins Misha and Sarah. The rest of the day was pretty chill. It's summer here, and so at 7 it was still bright. I thought it was like 5 when they said dinnertime, then I looked at the time and it was actually 7.

Then we went to pick blackberries at the back of their property. And I got stung by nettles a little bit I think. Well my fingers sting a little bit now. They did tell me about the nettles. Woops. But the blackberries were yummy.

SO looking forward to a good nights' sleep tonight.

Abu Dhabi International Airport

Free wifi at Abu Dhabi ftw.

There's a desert outside my window. No but really. As we were landing, we could see all the buildings, and things, and it's JUST LIKE IN ALADIN OMG. Yeah like all the buildings are this sandy, orangy colour, and they're all square, and the roads are super straight, and there's just dust everywhere. So stereotypical Middle-Eastern

The flight was smooth. Well as smooth as flights get. Obviously it's still pretty rough, especially landing. One guy was talking to this kid, and he was like "that's a bit like how mummy drives, isn't it?" lols.

The guy next to me was a first year teacher who was going to visit his girlfriend in Paris. He was friendly, which made the trip more bearable. But he was also really tall and massive, so he took up a lot of space and I just squished towards the window as much as possible.

I watched Dead Poets Society. Probs not the most cheerful way to start a trip, but I've always wanted to watch that movie. So I did.

At the flight transfer security screening just then, my laptop didn't have to come out of the bag, but my boots had to come off my feet and be put through the scanner. Go figure.

Thank you Dave for the amazing noise cancelling headphones. They helped HEAPS.

I haven't got lost yet! *proud*

Airport lounge

Currently sitting in the airport lounge at Gate 14. It's in the new bit of the airport, and so it was really far away and my shoulders started to hurt from carrying *ahem* 5 kilos of hand luggage. So now I'm puffed. Ahahaha I'm actually quite flushed. Not quite sure what from. Had a bit of a "I'm on my own" moment in the bag scanning queue, but yeah

They randomly tested me for liquids, aerosols and gels.

The announcement just came on that said my flight will be boarding in 5 minutes.

Gotta remember to turn data roaming off on my phone (thanks Dave).

Gotta remember to take travel sickness pills.

Gotta remember to buy whisky at the duty free at Heathrow. For my uncle. Johnny Walker Black Label. Writing this is mostly for my own memory, really...

So toodles all, I will miss you xx

(totally looking forward to just sleeping on the plane. One whole day of anticipation actually takes up a lot of energy...)


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24 hours

In 24 hours, I will be sitting in the airport lounge waiting to board my plane.

I'm super excited! Today I sorted out the final bits- getting my bank statement (which took so long to come that I got impatient and went to the bank to ask them to print one out for me on the spot. Well it was supposed to come in the post today, but that never happened), buying gifts for my aunty and her family, doing the final bits of packing, and making sure I am prepared for absolutely EVERYTHING. I still don't feel prepared, but I don't think I ever will. I will just be as prepared as I can be, and take things as they come.

I also vacuumed my room and cleaned the piano area so that things are clean when I get back.

I was fully excited about checking in online, so I went onto the Etihad website, only to be told that check in only opened 24 hours before my flight. Sadface. I'll do it tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow I just need to weigh my bags, and find something to do to pass the time, a WHOLE day of time. I will enjoy the last day in my own home. Everything on my desk represents something I have to sort out. So by the time I leave for the airport, my desk should be spotless.

Dave's coming over any minute from rehearsal at church. This will be the last time I see him for a while :(

Another thing, I am fully freaked out about breaking some rule or law. There seem to be so many of them... security procedures, immigration, baggage allowance, quarantine... But then again I think it might just be me being the super paranoid person that I am, which leads me to be the super organised person that everyone sees.

Dave's here!

There are riots in London

My parents are tres worried (as parents are).

Don't be worried. The moment I land at Heathrow I will be taking a coach to Southampton and staying there for about 4 weeks (with about a week in Hailsham), and only then will I be going to London, so we'll see how things go.

I pray that the police will be doing their jobs well.

I pray that the youths would be willing to communicate their message another way.

I pray that the country will listen to their pleas.

I pray that God will restore our broken world

I will be gone by the end of the week

And I will miss you all.

Sorry to those who want to catchup- I'm really struggling for time with all the preparations, but rest assured I will miss you.

10 days (just about)

I'm kinda scared, actually.

I don't have the best sense of direction.

I'm not the most streetwise person around.

I get tired too easily.

I get stressed too easily.

But at the same time, this is kind of exciting. I get to figure things out for myself. When I get lost, I just get to wander around... lost. When I don't know things, I get to observe and learn.

I will miss you all, yesterday proved that. I was deliriously happy after the picnic cos I got to hang out with all my awesome friends :)

I'm looking forward to this adventure.