The Christmas Adventure: Part One

It has been ages since I've posted anything, but what can I say? School requires more time than I'm properly giving it, and in between homework and sleep I try to shove in some kind of life. In the last month (or since I last updated), Yves and Ozzy have gone back home; Sam, Natasa, Lee, and I had Thanksgiving dinner at the convent hostel; we celebrated Bonfire Night on the Heath; and practiced our drinking skills whenever we had money. I also changed rooms and have gotten no sleep because Rachel and I have waaaay too much fun together, lol.

School is over for winter break now; I got a surprise ticket home for Christmas, which is why I am currently sitting on the floor in SFO waiting for another flight. I should've been home last night but they canceled our flight due to fog - and not even San Francisco fog, IDAHO fog. Idaho fog? Really? Luckily, I was able to spend the night at Grandma's, but I've now been awake for 5 hours after 23 awake and just a couple of sleep. I'm ready to pass out, but there's still another hour to wait before my flight boards.

Also, Montanna doesn't know I'm coming home, as far as I know. I'm looking forward to seeing her face.

It snowed on Wednesday before Sam and I left! We had a perfect day out in the snow. Well, minus the fact that I had no boots or gloves and was absolutely soaking, but still...

I'm so excited to get back to Boise. I need to see the dogs and Thomas, eat good real Mexican food, cook, wrap presents, visit with Allison, and go to the dentist (woohoo).

Noteworthy: I kept saying "home" referring to Boise. The second the plane left London, I began calling it "home" too. But it's true, I have two homes, and it depresses me that I can't be in both at the same time. Can someone figure out how to do that?

Thanks.

Happy Christmas :)

xoxo

Half-Term Adventures

Okay, there aren't any. Yet. But there's still four more days! Have hope!

It's been a while since I blogged but things have been more than crazy. Schoolwork is piling up, teaching practice has me up at 6am or earlier and that is just not fun for anyone.

Half-term couldn't have come at a better time, I tell you what.

But nothing new or exciting to report, I'm afraid. No new London adventures, unfortunately. I'm just a plain old boring student whose life is ruled by the iron fist that is education.

Boooooo.

xoxo

Rule #4: Always wear sturdy heels.

Tash's 18th club party was Friday and oh - em - gee, I can't feel four toes and my knees are killing. Thank god Simona let me borrow her flats because all night in those heels and I think I'd need a wheelchair.

Last week I went on observations and it felt a little creepy. Also I got sick. But tomorrow I'm due to start actual teaching practice and I'm so ridiculously nervous! I can't remember any songs or practical life presentations, and the directress wants to see my anthology but Vikki hasn't given it back to me yet. Plus, it's not finished. So I'm sure she won't be pleased about that but whatever.

In other good news, my cold is going away, hurray! Still coughy and a little achey, but I feel well enough to actually be a real person. Plans for this week include seeing Where The Wild Things Are with Noah and possibly Daniel, going to the Heath, shopping for school supplies, and who knows what else. Going to bed early? Probably.

xoxo

Birthday Fun

Last night we had a birthday shindig on Parliament Hill. So fun! It was pretty small - just me, Vix, Tash, Lee, Simona, PJ, Ozzy, a girl whose name I don't remember, and Jemma. Eventually Steph and two other new Hyelm guys joined us, as well as Jemma's boyfriend, Jeppe, and one of his friends (girlfriend??). It was a perfectly dry evening, even though it was so cold! But what do you expect in October?

But it really was the perfect way to end a horrible week and start a new one that will, hopefully, be better.

Pictures will be up on Facebook :)

xoxo

My life sucks.

This week has been the most terrible week ever.

Friday, Bea took off to Kent to start her end-journey home. So, sadness, obviously. We had a huge study group on Saturday that went on until about 3am. I worked endlessly on my Poetry Anthology and barely made a dent. Lee has just about the most amazing anthology and I am very jealous, but she pulled longer hours through the week then I could ever dream of doing. Still, I was up close to 2am every night until Thursday. And still nothing got done. Ridiculous.

What else? Well, I got sick of my high-strung bitchy neighbors knocking on my wall (they think I'm loud? Try living around dancers) and we had some words. And then management told me I could've gotten kicked out for harassment. WTF????

I had two anxiety attacks, Dad had another surgery, I didn't complete either of my assignments for the week, and I chipped one of my teeth on another tooth while eating pizza. And I probably won't be able to treat myself to a birthday peircing because all of my money has gone to food, school supplies, and laundry.

And it's been raining all week. Which means, since my birthday party is tomorrow.... well, you get it.

On the other hand, we got our placements for Observations and Teaching Practice, and the school I'm sent to is only a 30min walk. :)

Ah well. Nothing much else has gone on worth talking about. Hopefully next week will be better.

xoxo

"Driving's fun!"

I love girls' nights. Last night, Bea, Helen, Tash, Kiri, Steph, and I had too much fun (but only half a bottle of wine... really should've taken up Juliane on that second one) listening to the Beatles and singing along to Tenacious D. And apparently my arm and shoulder are fucked from a variety of things and are full of knots. Hurrrraaay!! Luckily Bea beat the hell out of them so - although I am very sore - hopefully it'll feel better.

Also... possible trip to Australia over Christmas break? We'll have to work out the finances on that one...

Plans for this next week include starting and finishing an essay on Human Tendencies, starting an essay on the Planes of Development, starting and finishing a poetry anthology, doing laundry, paying rent, getting my tragus pierced (which apparently has no nerve endings... trivia for the day), and collecting more leaves to press for my leaf folder. Also must buy school supplies.

As for this weekend, Helen's going away party is tonight at the Heath, and Juliane is having a joint birthday party with her boyfriend in Kensal Green. Hamish is having a going-away paintball thing tomorrow at some ridiculous hour of the morning - needless to say I'll be sleeping in and hopefully (finally!) heading to the Unitarian church down the High Street.

Half-term in three weeks!! I'll be spending it doing work, most likely. I'm getting nervous about our teaching practice, as the only things we're able to do at this point are sing songs and recite poetry, and I can't think of any! I know they're somewhere in my brain but they just don't come out when I need them.

Okay, enough procrastinating... time to do some actual work. That is why I'm here, after all. Right?

xoxo

"Cheerleaders are dancers who have gone retarded."

It's been five days since my last blog... whoops! Okay, in reality I wrote one and then the internet went down and it didn't post. Hyelm's internet is shit, truly.

School's been taking up a lot of my time. There's a lot of reading to get through, and projects are starting. Vikki has spent the last couple of days teaching us botany and getting us ready to make our leaf books. I have to figure out how I'm going to press mine... and also where to get the rest of the ones I need... ha ha...

Lynne, the director of our school, taught our Songs and Poetry lesson - amazing! We're doing children's songs and getting packets of poetry about every subject. It's very cool. Hopefully I'll be able to actually remember some of them.

This weekend has been good in terms of, "I haven't been sitting on my ass inside for three days". Friday, Bea and Ozzy and I went to some fancy bar in Trafalger and then headed to Brick Lane. Lots of walking + fancy heels = feet that hurt even two days later. Bad news. Saturday was fun and chill, considering I couldn't walk to save my life. Although I did manage to win a bottle of wine off Juliane because she dared me to eat a disgusting spoonful of chicken and bacon that was in our soup at lunch. Totally worth it.

Spent the day watching movies, first with Bea and this guy from the hostel; then Jennie from Wales and another dancer whose name I can't spell. And then another movie with some guys downstairs - with the wine. Awesome.

So if you've been checking up on this blog, you might've been thinking, "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Well, I have been good about updating, thank you very much. It's just that the internet at Hyelm is terrible. So. This whole entry, prior to this paragraph, was written two days ago.

School has been good, though the lectures are long. Theory is tough when you want to get straight to the hands-on work. But, theory first. We're stocking up on poems, stories, and songs so that when we start our observations and teaching practice in real Children's Houses, we'll have something to do with them. Tomorrow I need to have a story and I have noooo clue what that's gonna be. Ohhhh well. Such is life.

I've also finally gotten around to leaf pressing, which has taken over my Sherlock Holmes, Volume One :( I can't read it anymore as it is full of plants. Sad day, indeed. I am also currently doing laundry. Woohoo!

Life, for the most part, is gettin' on as it normally does.

On a side-note: I LOVE GLEE!!!!!!!!!!!

xoxo

"... education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being."

School started!!! OMGZ!111!!1!!

Well, the first day (yesterday) was easy enough. Orientation kind of thing - time tables, advisors, etc, etc. Having said, "etc, etc", my advisor, Vikki, is GREAT and our time table is adorable. This week's focus is botany, with the end of the week and next week also spending time on stories and poetry, and preparing the classroom.

The director, Lynne, is also ridiculously amazing. She gave us our first lecture - basically talking about teaching and influencing children, and how the Montessori method is the shit. Which it is.

There are about 30 women in our class, from all ages and places. Actually, a lot from Kenya, which is interesting. And India. And three Americans. And two Greeks. Greeks? Is that right? Who cares. Anyway.

Today we had a lecture on the life of Maria Montessori - and may I say, what a total and complete badass? We also watched a video about the Montessori classroom/Children's Houses are like. So cool!

We also took a General Knowledge test. Yeah. Turns out we all know nothing about everything. I sucked it at geography and plants... and although I did manage to name poets, scientists, inventors, artists, and musicians, I had no clue when they existed or what they did. Mostly.

Epic Education Fail.

Our teacher emphasized how it was for our own knowledge and not anyone else's, so I got a little sarcastic (as I do) on my answers. For example: Name 3 examples of bays. "Definitely not Bay of Pigs". You get the idea. Somehow I forgot that we were going to turn them in. So hopefully they have a sense of humor... or I get to say, "Aha... oops..."

And for the first time since I arrived, London had actual gross weather. I didn't get to escape school and eat lunch because it was raining too hard - and I have no umbrella, which I discovered a day after adamantly insisting that Yes, Mom, I Did Bring One. Luckily class got out early and Lee and I were able to make it back to Hyelm during a dry spell. It's pouring buckets now so I can pretty much guarantee I'll be indoors the rest of the evening.

The past couple of days, aside from school, have been fun. Last night's dinner was hysterical, omgz. Lyke, ur jeliss.

Okay. Well. OH, I tried putting up pictures a couple days ago of the weekend, but the internet here is shit so it didn't work. I'll try again when I feel ready to deal with a slow connection.

xoxo

Brick Lane

Whew, two days without an update and I'm getting harassed. 

Things have slowly been improving. Friday was tea at MMI (the school) where I was overwhelmed meeting the 30 other women in my course, as well as all of the teachers, and other teachers who work in MMI's schools around London. A bit much? Yeah. But luckily we'll have a whole year to get through things and meet each other, so I'm not worried. Simona, who's a second-year from China, showed me a faster way to get to the school through a beautiful path. Will definitely take pictures when class starts.

Which is Monday. So... sometime in the first week.

Also must buy books. And remember to buy notebooks. And to pay rent.

Last night, a giant group of us played cards in the bar. Learned some new ones (with no names, apparently) from the lovely Bea and also got Strongbow spilled all over me because Jeppe gets too excited. Met Nathan (from the north! love that!), who has THE MOST AMAZING movies!! Had a pajama party upstairs with lots of blankets and Oreos (seriously, Nathan rocks) and watched 10 Things I Hate About You.

Wasn't sure what today would be like. I have 208404230489 loads of laundry to do that I've been putting off for about three days, but at lunch Bea talked about a children's illustration gallery in Brick Lane, and I was like, "Hell yeah biotch!"

Okay, I said, "Can I come?" but that's not as exciting.

The ride on the tube was hoooooot, but the weather was truly wonderful today. Very fall-y. The gallery was small and cute, and there was a cartoonist competition where four teams of London cartoon artists drew on giant pieces of paper. Didn't get to see the final result but we managed some good photos of them in progress. I'll post those later, though. Outside were graffiti artists - very cool. Have photos of them, too. But you know, later, because I'm a procrastinator. (rhyme!)

Now it's really time to do laundry, and see people, and be sociable, and enjoy the last of the weekend before school starts and I really have no life outside of homework and lectures.

xoxo

And if you go chasing rabbits...

Slept for 8 hours!! Success!

Been in a miserable funk. Not busy enough, not productive enough, and generally not in the right frame of mind. Felt on top of the world a few days ago and now its hurts to leave my room. Literally. Panicking does only bad things to my body, and it's taking longer to recover this time. Having to walk up and down four flights of stairs to get anywhere doesn't help. I can barely make it up the first two before needing a break.

Had a meeting at the school yesterday. All women, as suspected. From everywhere, too - Barbados, Nigeria, India, England... very cool. Only met five but there are about 20 more. The teachers are very cool and very nice. They seem excited about teaching us the Montessori way (please note that there was a silly voice for that). Tomorrow is tea in the Children's House, where we'll meet everyone officially. I'd love to be excited about it, as I know I should be, but this funk is miserable and getting the best of me.

Yesterday I got lost getting to the school, which was ridiculous as it's ten minutes away just down the street. Missed the turn, walked all the way down to the bottom of the hill (guh), then called Kathrine who, thankfully, was on her computer and Google Mapped me back, lol. Showed up late, then realized too late I was still chewing gum. Rude American!

Had big plans for today, but still feeling like total shit. Energy level (out of 10, of course): ~1. Possibly 1.5.  I am a mess. I don't know what to do with myself. Wanted to get to the Heath, need to go back to the O2 store as my phone is being a twat, but the likelihood is slim. Luckily there's half a tub of pasta in the fridge, and carrot sticks (excuse me, batons), so I should be set for the day.

Well... that's that. It's taken almost an hour to write this, in between talking to Cari and Jeana, looking up cheap flights from Reno to London as well as the new Nano, listening to White Rabbit on repeat, and generally moping.

Time for breakfast, maybe more sleep if I can manage it.

I miss everyone. Having a good friend by my side feels like exactly what I need, but no such luck just yet. Fingers crossed that Jeana and Sara will make it out over Christmas break.

xoxo

The Finchley Road Disaster

So if you've been reading this, you might have noticed that I haven't been able to sleep. At all. Apparently now my body believes it can function on three hours of sleep a night.

Not so.

Steph and I finally made it to Argos, on Finchley Road. Which just happens to be down a big fucking hill, and all the way down the street. And it was hot. Not typical English weather, but actual sunny, real-people weather. The only clothes I have at the moment are pants. You can see where this is going.

Good news, I survived the first major panic attack of the trip so far... somewhat. My legs are still a bit like jelly and its hard to move around too much, but it is what it is. Unfortunately I feel absolutely nauseous and there's a meeting at school today. I was looking forward to it until last night and now I wish I could just not go. If it's very long, I won't make it.

Was hoping to explore the Heath today but we'll see - everybody's out and running around so I'm not sure what's going to happen.

OH! Also, have an address:

(me)

Hyelm

Arthur West House

79 Fitzjohns Ave

London

NW3 6PA

United Kingdom

Yes. So, that's that. I love mail, so it would be fun to get some :)

I also know everyone's waiting for pictures. Promise to do it as soon as I actually leave the hostel. ... and remember...

Just my luck

Jinxed it. Rain imminent.

On the plus side, got use of the fancy shower today. Downside: 5 people tried to shove the door open while I was in there. Was it worth it? Uhh.... yes. Will use again tomorrow.

For now, Steph and I are at McDonald's (again... won't Hyelm get the internet fixed? Please?), then off to run errands, for real this time. Bank, phone (yes!! Contact with people! Real people!), Argos!! Clothes hangers and knick-knacks galore. Necessary knick-knacks, anyway.

Had a real breakfast for the first time today - egg, beans, sausage. A bit English, don't you think? Met a lovely musician there and am finally feeling like it's possible to be sociable after all. But what do you expect after such a fun night? Steph and I were up until 3.30am after the Noise Nazis banged on our wall. We created a very elaborate argument in case management comes after us. In any case, after all the fun I only managed two hours of sleep. Today is going to be long and exhausting. The plan is tea, tea, tea. Hopefully the caffeine will do its job properly. If not: resort to sugar. (Let's hope the tea works.)

The downside of sitting in a McDonald's is the meaty after-smell that lingers on your clothes. Eugh. Not attractive in any way.

So that's all for now. Maybe tonight we'll go out, or at least be around people. Am finding out that people are good for the soul.

xoxo

Sunday, and no Ativan hangover... perfect!

Last night, Stephanie, Tash, Øystein, and I went to King's Cross, to a Spanish bar called Camino (pictures on facebook). We came back home around midnight and headed off to bed around 1.30, and unfortunately for me, woke up three hours later. I tried to sleep but after a few hours, it was hopeless, so I showered in the crappy showers (note: use fancy shower tomorrow) and got ready for the day. I headed out around 8:15, got a croissant from Paul's and money for rent, then ran to the Unitarian church for service. Turns out I was a few hours early. I think it's 10.30 now so I might try and make it. Also might try to hit up Argos, but I hear it's down a steep hill, and how badly do I need clothes hangers anyway?

The Hyelm internet is broken and everyone's going crazy, so I'm at the McDonald's down the road (Hampstead High Street for those interested) using theirs. Hopefully this won't go on much longer. Must also remember to pay rent.

If you want to send me post, keep holding because I still haven't figured out exactly where you should send it.

The weather is muggy and cold, but otherwise perfect. Won't jinx it by saying "no rain either". My brain is still a little fuzzy, and maybe my new glasses prescription is too high because my depth perception is a little off. Tripped on high heels a few times last night - and only half a pint, whoops.

Hopefully I'll be able to talk to everyone later, but if not, I'll keep Facebook and this updated. Going to hurry and get to church, if the clock is right.

xoxo

From Heathrow to the Hostel

Left Boise at 7.30am Thursday. Flew to Chicago, flew to Boston. Had a three hour lay-over, boarded at the back of the plane, sat next to teenage boys, couldn't sleep, watched Angels and Demons, landed. Grabbed bags (broke a nail), hauled them to a cab, whose driver thought I didn't know anything about London and so ripped me off by driving through South Ken to get to Hampstead. Found out the hostel doesn't take credit cards, so need to get to the bank quick. Rent due tomorrow. Money in my wallet? £8. ish.

Basic panicky feelings, have taken too much Ativan and can barely function. Need to get to the Apple store in Oxford Circus, unlikely for obvious reasons. Will try cheap Target adapter and hope for the best.

Dorm room = amazing. Very large with a very nice view. And open windows! My roommate has geraniums and a friendly disposition. Her name is Stephanie, she's from Zimbabwe. Will post pictures when I am sane enough to do so.

Living off £1 Tesco pasta, carrots, and chocolate milk (which I spilled all over myself last night). Sleep hit again, batteries dying, will write more when I have presence of mind.

Love and miss you.

This one time, we lit a fire...

Saturday started with mimosas and left-over Cheesecake Factory, which I think we can all agree is the best way to start any day. Oh, and this make-over helped too:

I think the Sanjaya-hawk is a total bonus.

The party kicked off with a game of King's Cup. Jeana and Aubry came to round out our USAC reunion, and it was great to see them! Cari and Josh came by as well - and contributed their Corona to the cup, which was already filled with Mike's. Morgan got the unlucky last king and drank the mix, which apparently didn't taste that bad (but I still wouldn't have had it if it were me!). 

Kamille joined us later in the evening, and after starting a discussion about Twilight we discovered that Jeana hadn't seen the movie or read the books. Unbelievable! So, naturally, we popped in the DVD and enjoyed the magic that is teen vampire love. Jeana's review: "It was really sexy!"

Hannah, Courtney, and Sara also gifted us with this concoction. Can you guess what it is?

Apparently everything in the pantry, including banana extract and coconut, and sandwiched between two saltines. Morgan was the brave first taste-tester, but there was really no hope for any of us. Luckily, our tasting was rewarded with a truly delicious (store bought) ice cream cake. Yum!

But ice cream cake was not enough, and we went out to light a fire and make s'mores. 

Sara, Courtney, and I also shoved as many marshmallows as they could into their mouths. Courtney won at 9... I managed 5. 

Jeana took some great photo shoot pictures by the fire :)

All in all, Saturday was a fantastic day with an even more fantastic night. Bonfires, friends, marshmallows, drinking games, Twilight... what more do you need, really? Next time: Sunday at the Fry Co.

The United Supporters of Adventurous Comings-and-goings (or, USACers Have A Weekend)

So for the first real post of this blog (which is a bit delayed, I apologize), I'm going to share the first night of the great USAC reunion weekend with you. For anyone who doesn't know, the USACers are the wonderful, amazing, hilarious, smart group of people I met in London last summer. A bundle of them came out to Boise this weekend for a mini-reunion, and thankfully we took lots of pictures (correction: I did not take any because my camera conveniently went missing the day they arrived, but everyone else did) to document our time together.

Hannah arrived first Thursday afternoon from the good old Bay Area, and Courtney from Vegas shortly thereafter. We headed to Rockies Diner for lunch (delish! pictures to come). On Friday, Morgan flew up all the way from Atlanta, and Sara from Reno - just in time to get dressed up for fancy dinner night.


Hannah and I discovered PhotoBooth after Courtney finished our hair and make-up. And then Morgan joined in, and Sara, and then Hannah started using plastic apples as props, and things quickly turned into a Desperate Housewives photo shoot.

Hannah and Morgan (whose hair I totally dug, btw)

Sara, Morgan, Hannah, and myself as Susan, Bri, Gabby, and Lynette respectively.

We did eventually get dressed, and I think we looked guh-or-juss.

Morgan, myself, and Hannah all ready to hit up dinner and downtown.

Hannah and Sara!

Hannah and I ready to devour cheesecake... ugh! Why does it have to be so delicious?

Me and Sara outside of Chevron, looking dramatically windswept.

You can see most of us in this one... but Sara had terrible aim. Nice job!

Courtney and Hannah tree dancing, lol.

And finally, my favorite picture from our night was taken by Sara near the end of the evening. Not only is it fancy artsy, but keep in mind this is also Boise. Downtown. On a Friday night.



Typical, right?

Big thanks go out to Sara for letting me steal her photos and re-post them to not only one, but two different websites. More to come once I manage to sneak copies from everyone else's Facebooks. And also when I manage to figure out where my brain ran off to. This lack of sleep is making me forgetful and incoherent. Will definitely edit this post later if I find my thoughts were just napping in my closet.

Le Blog O' Travel

Let's see how this looks, shall we?


Excellent.