Peregrination Posts

Home at Last!

2005-12-18T01:08:00.000Z

It's official, I'm home at last! I actually arrived back in the 15th (NZ time), where my parents met me off the plane and the air outside the airport hit my full-on with the overwhelmingly fresh smell of home, but was too jet-lagged to update my blog that day and just never got around to it until now.

The weather here has been awful until today, at least in my part of the country (my sister says it's better in Wellington). This didn't stop us from having a barbeque yesterday. In the garage. Becks, my best friend also came to visit and stayed the night, which is fantastic: we stayed up talking until 2am. She's still here now and it's so nice just to have her around again:)

I decorated the tree the night before last and this morning at church the kids from the Sunday School did a fantastic Christmas presentation - they were so cute! Really looking forward to Christmas: I must get the presents wrapped and post them off to people overseas (so they-ll be more like New Year's Presents really).

Not much more to say for now, except that there really is no place like home!

The last day...

2005-12-11T22:52:00.000Z

Well, tomorrow is my last day in Mexico, making today my last full day. I can't believe I've been here a week already! But tomorrow I fly up to LA, and the day after tomorrow I head back to NZ at long last!

The last couple of days haven't been wasted: yesterday I spent the whole day at the Anthropology Museum, which was unbelievably fantastic. I mosly hung out with a couple of other people from the hostel; Katarina, the German woman (who had more of a sense of humour this time!) and April, from Canada, who was really nice and who I'm hoping to stay in touch with. We had a lot of fun trying to figure out the answers to questions like "exactly HOW did they fit the bodies into those dog-kennel shaped tombs?" (for the record, we came up with four possibilities: cremate them first (Katarina); dismember the corpse (me); allow the body to rot then use the flesh as a charnal house for the bones (me); and just kind of stuff them in (me again)). The 'Bat God' statue also cracked them up as I couldn't help humming the 'Batman' theme under my breath when I read the sign (nana nana nana nana, BAT-GOD!!).

Today I visited the Frida Kahlo Museum with a tour group from the hostel. Then we went on to the canals of Xochimilco, where we had lunch on a brightly-painted barge whilst listening to Mariachi music and occasionally bumping into another boat on the very crowded waterways. Then we had a chance to browse the market - one of the better ones, I have to say - where I bought a handbag, two scarves and an icecream.

And then we came back to the hostel, where I managed to score a computer to update you all! Will write again from NZ.

Random Stuff

2005-12-10T15:51:00.000Z

Below are just some random houghts I forgot to post at various times, plus an update from just before I left Guadalajara which I couldn't convince Blogger to post back then...

LEAVING GDL UPDATE POST...
Wow, what a week! My last week in Guadalajara, and there's been a lot happening.

For starters, some of the people three doors down decided to have a party on Friday night, which was insanely loud. I'm not just talking normal annoyingly loud party here: this was what sounded like African drumming and chanting, and even with ear-plugs there wasn't any way I was getting to sleep: not good when it's already midnight and you're teaching a class at 7am! Anyway, next thing two squad cars arrive (no, I was NOT the one who called them) and, after hitting the siren a couple of times, pounding on the door for ten minutes and yelling at the windows, the by now rather irritated cops finally managed to shut them up.

On Sunday I went to St. Marks Episcopal church, an English-speaking church which, sadly, I only heard about the previous Sunday evening. It was great to be back in a church where I could understand what was going on, not to mention receiving Communion again (the other churches I've been to seem very reluctant to dish it out even to their own flocks), but rather sad too as it was one of the first times I've attended a Communion service since Holy Trinity.

On Tuesday I went on a bus tour of the city, which is something I've been meaning to do for ages. They had a commentary in English and it was really nice riding along on the top of an open-top double-decker bus (right at the front too!) along tree-lined streets and past some of the historic buildings. A great way to spend a morning.

This week has been a little weird as it's finally sinking in (for my students as well as for me) that I'm leaving. My Advanced class at Intel, which was the second-ever class I taught, will be especially hard to leave. They managed to take advantage of the fact that we'd finished the month's official coursework and were looking at a news article about New Zealand ('Come Home Kiwis, Your Country Needs You', from the BBC website November 10th) to side-track me mercilessly! They also asked for my email address and bought me a cake today (Friday). So sweet!

On Wednesday afternoon I dropped a bunch of resources over to one of my employers' offices. I happened to arrive as he was briefing the replacement teacher for my Intel class, which meant I could tell them a little more about him and also had a chance to tell him how wonderful I think they all are! Miguel, my boss, said that he was really sorry I was leaving as I'm such a great teacher and the students love me (this for someone with little formal training and no formal experience prior to arrival, who had to wing it without a textbook for the first month!). I was really touched! He also asked me to tell anyone I know who wants to come and teach English in Mexico to get in touch with him because he's always on the lookout for new teachers. So let me know guys...

Interestingly, Miguel's street appeared to have turned into a market for the day, a fairly common sight here, so I spent a little while browsing the stalls on my way back. Had a corn tamale and bought some guayabas (delicious Central/South American fruit that DT can't believe I'd never seen before coming to Mexico) before catching the bus home.

Today I've spent half the day cleaning my bedroom and bathroom so that I won't have to worry about it tomorrow. The only thing left for me to do is laundry and packing, then I can head off on Saturday morning. Next stop the beach!

BARRA DE NAVIDAD FOOD...

I forgot to mentin it before, but I do think the food in Bara is worth mentioning. That part of the coast is pretty tropical - coconut palms and banana trees everywhere you look - so it's no surprise to find tropical fruit readily available. There are hawkers who go up and down the beach selling stuff like a whole fresh coconut (drink the milk, then they'll cut it so you can eat the flesh with salt and chilli) for ten pesos, or a pineapple drink like you see in the movies: a whole pineapple cut into a cup with the insides pulped with chilli (of course) into a delicious, refreshing drink/snack. Plus there were the jewellery hawkers: I got a lovely bracelet for 65 pesos (not bad considering he was asking 200 pesos - not good bargaining on my part so much as "I only have 65 pesos on me, take it or leave it." He took it).

CHAPULTAPEC ZOO FOOD...

I mention this as a waning to anyone thinking of visiting the zoo: the only food you can buy there is from a couple of the fast food chains, so I was reduced to eating the Evil Food of the Grinning Devil in Yellow (aka McDonalds: see previous post 'Make me Super Fat' for my feelings on this).

CELLPHONE NUMBERS...

My lovely mother has promised me a cellphone for Christmas, so can those of you who have my email address and a cellphone number please email me their numbers so I can load them when I get it?

Thanks and love to you all!

Pyramids, Shrines and Butterflies

2005-12-10T00:12:00.000Z

Greetings from Mexico City! I’ve been here a few days now and I’m having a fabulous time!

On Tuesday I was too tired to do much so I just visited the Temple Mayor ruins round the corner from the hostel. Wednesday I did a free walking tour of the city, which was very informative, and then went to one of the art galleries we’d passed on the way.

Yesterday – PYRAMIDS!! Yes, that’s right, I went on a tour of the pyramids at Teotihuacan with a group from my hostel. I climbed both the Pyramid of the Moon and the Pyramid of the Sun (and boy was I feeling it this morning!), and generally had a great time. There were a bunch of Aussies on the tour too, and a couple of Germans and Mexicans. One of the Germans, a lady, seemed to be pretty nervous about climbing up and down the pyramids. At one point I offered to stay with her on the descent only to be rebuffed with “this is my hundredth pyramid.” Fine then, bite me bitch, and I’ll go hang out with the Aussie blokes who are more fun and have a sense of humour. Although I notice she was only too happy to accept help from the guys…!

Anyway, we also visited the shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which was interesting, if a little much for me (given how poor people have always been in this country I think building four cathedrals one next to the other is a little OTT), but the Virgin, and specifically her appearance at Guadalupe in the 1500s, is greatly revered by the Mexicans (Mexico is 90% Catholic).

We had a free lunch as part of the tour: deep-fried bean tacos with nopal (a type of cactus) and cheese, followed by guayabas – yummy! And I ended up trying to teach the Aussies, Peter and Paul, a few words of Spanish * waits for DT to pick herself up off the floor where she’s rolling around laughing *. I know, I know, things have reached a pretty pass when I’m the one TEACHING someone Spanish, but they didn’t even know how to say ‘buenos dias’…

Today I visited the fabulous Chapultapec Zoo, which has to be one of the best zoos in the world! I spent pretty much all day there and saw just about everything. The highlight – of my entire trip, I think! – was the butterfly house! According to the nice English-speaking guide (who even let me release a butterfly!) they import hundreds of chrysalises from Costa Rica every week, and there are thirty species of butterflies in the climate-controlled building. It was fantastic – a little slice of the miracle of God’s creation right there in that house! I think I must have spent about half an hour there all up – my ticket was good for two entries, so I took advantage.

Tomorrow I’m going on a tour of the Anthropology Museum, and on Sunday I might go to Frieda Khalo’s house, then I leave for LA on Monday.

Barra de Navidad/Mexico City

2005-12-06T23:44:00.000Z

Hi everyone!

Just a quick note to let you know that I’m now in México City. I had a fantastic time in Barra de Navidad, which I fully recommend. It’s very quiet and CHEAP! Spent a day and a half basically lying on the beach in the sun and swimming. The water was perfect: not too warm and not too cold, with just the right amount of wave and dropping off fairly suddenly into water deep enough for swimming.

The place I stayed at was great too: I had a private room with bathroom for 150 pesos a night, which is really good, and there were common areas where I hung out and met several nice people. In fact, on my second night I went out for dinner with two of them, Ursa from Slovenia and Mike from Canada. We walked on the beach and watched the sunset, then had dinner at a Mexican restaurant.

The overnight trip from Manzanillo to Mexico City wasn’t too bad; at one point a guy sat down in the seat next to me and tried to grope me – not really scary, just chancing his luck – but I think I must have scared him because he backed off in a hurry and found somewhere else to sit. Hehehe, don’t mess with Paulette, mate!

Arrived here this morning feeling pretty shattered but got to the hostel okay. My three roommates are – amazingly enough – three ladies from New Zealand! Anyway, I unpacked and had breakfast, visited the Temple Mayor ruins two blocks from me (the ancient heart of pre-Hispanic Mexico), got some lunch and then had a nap.

The hostel I’m staying at, Hostel Moneda, includes dinner in the price, so the really good news is I don’t have to go out after dark.

Two weeks to go!

2005-11-21T10:55:00.000Z

Hello everyone!

Less than two weeks to go now until I leave Guadalajara. So, what have I been up to? Well, not much really. My regular Saturday classes have finished, which is actually okay because I've managed to pull a bit of relief teaching for the same hours, so I haven't lost any money. One of my classes was really sweet: they gave me this cute little dolphin keyring to say goodbye! Another class finishes this week and the last two the week after next.

On Saturday the 3rd I'm going to a place called Barra de Navidad, which is a beach resort about five hours from here by bus. I'm staying there two nights then getting the overnight bus to Mexico City. I have five full days there, and I'm really excited: there's so much to do! Pyramids, anthropology museum and zoo are a must, plus I don't know what else - I have too much to choose from.

Apart from that, life is pretty quiet. I've started writing CSI fanfiction, which is keeping me amused, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again.

I do have little token Christmas presents/souvineers for some people, but I'll post them when I get back to NZ, so they might be a little late!

Seeing the Sights

2005-11-03T12:27:00.000Z

First of all, I would just like to say that Blogger is crap, and it’s currently taking me approximately a week of daily attempts to convince it to accept an update, so I apologise for the delays.

I had a fantastic time in Tonala on Sunday. In the end there were three of us who went, Laurence, Jorge and myself. We wandered the shops, had lunch in the town square and climbed to the top of a hill with great views out over Guadalajara. I didn’t buy much, just a couple of little presents, but there was so much lovely stuff that I spent a lot of time thinking ‘if only…’. Also had an interesting and protracted conversation with Laurence more or less on the subject of ‘Christianity: valid truth or superstitious nonsense?’ Guess which side I was on. I guess you could say we didn’t really get anywhere, but it was certainly stimulating, especially as Laurence isn’t the sort of person to tip over from heated intellectual disagreement into personal nastiness.

Yesterday was Día del Muertos (Day of the Dead: DT, did I spell that right?), which is pretty much a Mexican custom, although I’m aware of similar customs in ancient Rome, contemporary China and a number of other cultures. Basically, this meant that I had most of the day free, as my morning and afternoon classes were cancelled, leaving just the 8pm. So one of my students, Fernando, offered to take me out to Tequila, the town where they make the drink, which happens to be where he’s from. We had a fantastic day, visited the Tequila Museum and took a tour of the José Cuervos factory (I now know the difference between Blanco, Joven, Reposado and Anejo tequilas, spelling please DT), and enjoyed a couple of free samples, plus a margarita each. Yummy!

After we left Tequila we detoured to some Aztec ruins Fernando knew about. Not very well-known (and I can’t remember what the place was called), there was a round pyramid perhaps three stories high surrounded by what looked to be a courtyard layout. Very few people, and absolutely fantastic!

Arrived back in Guadalajara with plenty of time for a nap and dinner before my class, which happened to be their oral final exam. They have their written exam today. So far they’re doing great!

Make Me Super Fat

2005-10-31T12:09:00.000Z

That’s more or less the literal translation of the Spanish title of the American documentary movie ‘Super Size Me’ by Morgan Spurlock. How do I know this? Because I’m watching the movie with my advanced English class. Why? Well, we read an article about it as part of another lesson last week, and since none of them had seen it I asked them if they wanted to watch it as the movie of the month (we watch in English with the English sub-titles turned on, which gives the exposure to natural spoken English). I also figured it’d be great for promoting discussion and giving some fascinating insights into the American way of life. The really interesting thing, though, is how many more people turn up for class when the word ‘movie’ is mentioned!

Life here is having it’s ups and downs at the moment. On the one hand, it looks like I’ll be losing some classes in November, as several of the courses I teach are finishing and they don’t want me to start new ones when I’ll be leaving a couple of weeks through. Another class is liable to get cancelled through lack of students (the school won’t keep a class running with less than five students because it isn’t financially viable). On the one hand, this means a dip in income which means I’ll be arriving back in NZ with a bit of credit card debt. On the other hand, it’ll be a pretty manageable amount and, as the classes in question are on Saturdays, I’ll have my Saturdays free again.

On the plus side, next Wednesday is a public holiday, and one of my students, who happens to be from Tequlia, has offered to take me over there for the day to see it, so that should be pretty exciting. Otherwise, of course, I can use one of those free Saturdays to go! And this Sunday I’m off to a place called Tonala, which is a town near here with a large and well-known market, with a couple of my flatmates, so I’ll be buying people’s Christmas presents (those of you not in NZ, I’m afraid your presents will be late this year because I refuse to pay the extortionate Mexican postage fees to mail them to you!).

The other really great thing is that I finally managed to reach Becks on her cellphone yesterday! This is a pretty big deal because, what with me moving about so much and her not having my email address (?!!!) or checking her emails regularly and my phonecard not connecting calls to her cellphone nine times out of ten… well, we’d been out of touch for a bout two months which is not at all nice when you’re talking about your best friend of almost ten years. Anyway, we couldn’t talk long, but she now knows when I’m coming home and the great news is she’s now living in Auckland, so we’ll DEFINITELY be able to see each other!

Hard to believe I’ll be home in about six weeks!

The Paycheque Saga

2005-10-17T13:14:00.000+01:00

I got paid on Friday, so postcards will be on their way soon. But getting paid was quite a saga…

First of all, you should know that I get paid by cheque as I don’t have a bank account. Secondly, I have to pick up my cheques in person. And thirdly, the person who was paying me has just moved offices…

Now, a quick scan through my book of maps revealed two possibilities. I could take the 629, which runs from right by my house, or I could get the 625, which would mean a bit of a walk but which I’m more familiar with. I was lazy. I took the 629.

Now, I still don’t trust my Spanish 100%, so on my mission I took with me my detailed map of Guadalajara, with the place I needed to get off the bus (corner of Patria Sur and Lopez Mateos) circled on it. Little was I to know my bus driver couldn’t read maps. He let me off on Patria alright. Unfortunately he let me off close to #1 Patria, which was pretty much the other end from where I needed to be, and Patria is miles long. I didn’t realize this at first, of course. I started walking down Patria, looking for the cross-streets I knew I needed, until it dawned on me that the names were all wrong and I looked at the map. At that point I started swearing.

Now, when you use the buses as much as I do, you begin to develop a habit of spotting bus numbers almost without thinking. After my initial panic (‘Okay, I’m basically hopelessly lost and a REALLY long way from home in a neighbourhood I don’t know…’) it occurred to me that I had recently seen the 632 go past. Now, the 632 goes nowhere near my house. It does, however, go past Plaza Las Fuentes, which is a really big shopping mall about an hour from my house. How do I know this? Because Tuesdays and Thursdays I teach an English class at Hewlett-Packard’s Las Fuentes offices, and I get there on the 625 (remember that number? It was bus option #2, the one I didn’t take because I was being lazy).

Reasoning that it would be better to be miles from where I wanted to be in a place I knew and could get home from than miles from where I wanted to be in a place I didn’t know, I crossed the street and caught the next 632 to Las Fuentes (I didn’t use the map this time, I just wracked my brains for the necessary Spanish and asked the driver to tell me when we got to Las Fuentes. Happily, he must have understood, because he did).

Well, from Las Fuentes, I caught the 625 back towards my house, getting off at the corner of Cruz del Sur and Patria and walking back to Miguel’s new office where, after a bit of bother finding the building (I had the number. Unfortunately, the buildings weren’t numbered), I finally picked up my pay-cheque. Then it was just a matter of getting to the bank, standing in line until the 20-plus people in front of me had been served, and collecting the money. Ahh, sweet, sweet dinero!

Anyway, now that I have money I’ll try to get postcards out soon.

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨

As an addendum to the above, since Blogger wouldn't let me post yesterday, and since I don't want to go through another paycheque saga like that, today I went on another kind of mission: I opened a bank account! Quite an achievement, considering the woman in the bank didn't speak English - my Spanish got quite a workout (I'm SOOOOOO proud of myself!)

Fiesta Time!

2005-10-13T11:59:00.000+01:00

It’s fiesta time here in Guadalajara! La Fiesta de Octubre (hope I spelled that right!) kicked off at the start of the month, and last night was the Festival of the Virgin. On Sunday night I went out to a big fairground at Periferico Norte with my landlord, Jorge, and one of my flatmates, Lety. It was fantastic! I drank caña (sugarcane juice), ate burritos (with meat, unfortunately, but you can’t have everything), somehow managed with my puny Spanish to talk Jorge and Lety into joining me on this ‘Crazy Mouse’ ride, which left poor Lety looking decidedly pale, and watched a fantastic dance show with men in white suits and women with those incredible full skirts that the swirl about all over the place.

Then, last night I got home from work and my new flatmate, Katrine, from Germany, asked me if I wanted to come out to the Fiesta de la Virgen with her and some of her friends. I was like, “it’s 9:30 at night, I’m tired, I haven’t had dinner yet… sure!” Had a fantastic time with some great people. Dinner was no problem: I had corn served with sour cream, cheese, chili and lemon, tacos with everything (again with the meat: it hasn’t been a great week for vegetarianism), this sweet tortilla thing with honey on top, and some pieces of sugarcane. Mmmmmmm! It was all delicious, and so far I haven’t had any stomach upsets.

Apparently they paraded a statue of the Virgin from the Cathedral up to one of the suburbs this morning, although I didn’t participate due to the fact that it was a 5am start.

And another piece of good news: I have 4.5 hours a week teaching at Hersheys, beginning Friday. Two ladies, and all they want is conversation practice, so I’ll be getting paid to sit around talking and drinking cappuccino. And free chocolate was mentioned!

2005-10-10T13:18:00.000+01:00

Hello there everyone!

My mother pointed out to me in an email yesterday that I haven't updated my blog in a couple of weeks, so I thought I'd drop you all a line and let you know that I am still alive!

It's a grey Sunday afternoon here, almost cool enough for me to wear a sweater, so I'm enjoying my favourite Sunday occupation of doing sweet stuff all. Woke up about 10am, worked on this cute little embroidery Mum sent me the other week, read a bit and eventually made it as far as the internet café. So, real action-packed! But I figure I did teach for eight hours solid yesterday (my usual Saturday workload).

Speaking of work, it's kinda up and down at the moment. On the one hand, I just gave my Beginner 2 class at the school their mid-term. The lowest mark was 74%, and that was someone who started his exam with the words 'no estudie!' (I didn't study!). Not surprising really, as he only made it to two classes out of five in the preceding week. The top mark was 94%, which two students achieved. So that's given me a bit of confidence. I'm making another test at the moment for my Beginner 3s, and so far they seem to have done pretty well. My Beginner 1s have their final – written and oral – next Saturday.

I finally have a textbook for my Advanced class (Monday, Wednesday, Friday mornings 8-9:30am), which is good since it means that I won't have to spend as much time wracking my brains for lesson ideas. On the other hand, we only have to get through eight textbook lessons a month, which still leaves me plenty of free time to use my imagination.

On the down side, one of the companies I was working for 4.5 hours a week has decided they don't want to pay for their staff to learn English anymore, which is a bit of a blow. I'll miss the students, who were lovely (when they could make it to class, which in several cases was not often), and I'll really miss the pay – 450 pesos a week, which is a lot over here – but I won't miss the hour each way walking and on the bus that it used to take me to get there! The contractor I got the job through is bidding for a couple of new contracts this week though, so if he gets those it will mean more work for me.

I can't believe I've been here over a month already! My Spanish is slowly improving, so that I now understand a bit more of what is said to me and can sometimes formulate an intelligent reply! I've been listening to the radio to try and get my 'ear' in, but the main result of that is that I manage to understand about one line of each song and then get that line firmly stuck in my head with no possibility of learning more! I've also been picking up the free paper on the metro, since reading is also useful. Sadly, it's only about 16 pages, 10 of which are devoted to sports and four to advertising, but at least it's free! (incidentally, I'm now pretty sure the main soccer team here is the Chivas).

I haven't really been up to much, as money is still a bit tight, but I did visit Parque Agua Azul ( Blue Water Park) on Wednesday, which was very nice. It's about half an hour's walk from my house and has an orchid house, a huge aviary, and a butterfly house. You have to pay to get in, but four pesos (about $0.40US) isn't likely to break the bank; it's the same as my bus/subway fare. Anyway, I visited all three of the attractions - my favourite was the butterfly house - then strolled about under the trees for a while, where I saw bananas growing from a banana palm, which was quite cool. A peaceful break from the big city!

Once upon a time, there was a girl called Susan...

2005-09-26T12:30:00.000+01:00

Greetings everyone from a very tired Mexican correspondent! Yesterday our landlord, Jorge (who is SO much nicer than Crazy Barbara, my last landlady!) took us all hiking in a beautiful canyon to the north-east of the city. Beautiful but steep! It took well over an hour to hike down on the rocky, uneven paths (whilst being passed by children who apparently were actually mutant mountain goats, given how sure-footedly they were bounding down!), following which we hiked beside the river, which also included a bit of rock-climbing. At this point I pointed out to my flatmate, Alberto, that if I died it was going to be his responsibility to call my parents and explain, and that my mother might actually kill him. I’m not sure whether he believed me.

Anyway, after a picnic lunch by a tiny waterfall and a second stop by the river we set off back up the hill. Alberto, his friend (who’s name I think was Violetta), Sonja and Angela all made it up in about an hour. Jorge and I took two! What can I say, I didn’t realized how soft I’d gotten after three years living away from Wellington’s hills! But it was a wonderful place: lush and green, smelling of damp foliage and flowers, without any of the traffic noise which is constant in the city, and filled with birds and butterflies. The views were spectacular as well: think a smaller version of the Grand Canyon, only much, much greener.

Amazingly, I’m not especially sore today, although that may change tomorrow, which is just as well since I had an 8am class today! Fortunately I’d prepared an exercise on Saturday so I had something to do with them, and I rounded off with the exercise Jen suggested a couple of weeks ago, the one where they each add a line to a story, then fold the page over so that the next person can only see the line immediately preceding theirs. I supplied the first and last lines and this is the result:
‘Once upon a time there was a girl called Susan
who used to swim across long and frozen rivers
to demonstrate [to] all their friends how much courage [they] had
because they had been defending us against the monsters.
They used all kinds of weapons to destroy them.
After that they sit down to cry
And realize that all their stuff and money were not there.
So they made a huge insurance claim and lived happily ever after.’

LOL
Not bad, I thought!

Yesterday was Becks' birthday: happy birthday Becks!! (P.S.: I did try to call you, but only got your answerphone. Hope you had a good one!)

Pretty birdies!

2005-09-22T13:14:00.000+01:00

We have hummingbirds!!

You might remember me saying a week or two ago that I intended to put up a hummingbird feeder? Well, I got one and hung it up on the terrace. As per the instructions I put it near some flowers (the only pot of geraniums not destroyed by the hailstorm), and waited. For several days there was nothing - awwww - but then my flatmates, who tend to spend more time on the roof than I, said they'd seen them coming!

I saw one for the first time three days ago and, needless to say, I've been spending a lot of time on the roof since then! They really are backwards and forwards constantly: sit there for ten minutes and you're almost guaranteed to see one.

I've also managed to get myself told off several times by one cheeky little beggar when it's arrived to find me too close to the feeder (it hangs quite close to the washing machine, this being the only place I could put it): the little darling, no bigger than my thumb, darts up and down roughly at eye level about a metre from my body chirping what are most DEFINITELTY hummingbird insults at me! Then it gives me a final glare and zips away, only to return when I've withdrawn to a more acceptable distance. I wonder if it realises that I thoroughly enjoy the chance to admire it at such close quarters?

The Naked... Politician?!!

2005-09-19T10:45:00.000+01:00

I know I don't normally comment much on what's happening outside my own life (this isn't self-centredness so much as the fact that there are professional journalists who do that, and anything I say will be a repetition of their words anyway), but I just had to share this with you.

Go the Greens!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4260016.stm

Things I like about Mexico

2005-09-16T18:25:00.000+01:00

Now I've been here a couple of weeks I thought I'd write you all a quick list of some of the things I like about Mexico.

I like the people, who are incredibly friendly – and really patient with my fumbling attempts at Spanish (although I do now understand enough to have scared myself listening to a ghost story on the radio last night!). They're also always willing to tell you which stop to get off at on the bus, assuming of course that we can understand each other!

They're also very clean, which may sound like a strange thing to comment on, but please remember that I'm spending about 10 hours a week on public transport – anyone who has ever used the Tube in London during warmer weather will understand why I appreciate not being suffocated by the B.O of the sweaty masses surrounding me!

I also like the bus network itself: the buses are overcrowded, the seats are hard plastic and the drivers drive like lunatics (there are several reasons for the above, mostly to do with the fact that said drivers are severely overworked and severely underpaid), but the service is pretty regular, goes where I need to go and is actually pretty exciting, given the aforementioned lunacy of the drivers (and what's life without a little danger?).

I like the plazas and the fountains of central Guadalajara, which really are stunning. I keep catching myself stopping and staring and have to remind myself that I have three months in which to enjoy it all.

I like some of the food, especially the churros (like deep-fried doughnuts, except ling and crispy-golden-brown, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon), and 'tunas', which I've never seen before and can't identify in English. They have a thick green outer rind covered with fine spines, so I assume they're the fruit of some kind of cactus. Peel away the outer rind (and pick the spines from your hands), and the inner flesh is filled with hard seeds (do NOT attempt to bite into these!) and incredibly juicy and sweet – they taste rather like watermelon, but are about the size of a pear. I keep them in the fridge for a delicious and refreshing snack.

I'm also enjoying my job, of course. Teaching so many classes (six, at last count) at all levels of ability makes for a very varied week, and my students are a great bunch!

Another storm... and more tequila!

2005-09-12T12:32:00.000+01:00

We got hit by one heck of a storm here in Guadalajara yesterday evening! We were pounded by hailstorms as large across as a thumbnail that ended up about two inches thick on the ground. I had some minor flooding in my room because the wind drove the rain in under my balcony doors. My main concern, given the force with which the hailstones were falling, was that they would break a window, but fortunately that didn't happen. Our landlord, who lives in the ground-floor apartment, came up to check we were okay, but he was worse hit than us. Like many Mexican houses he has a central courtyard that is open to the sky above and rooms on each side, and the central drain couldn't cope so his house was flooded. We all pitched in to sweep out water and carry out buckets of ice, and got it sorted in under an hour. Then it was tequila shots all round... *grins*

This morning a lot of the trees are partially or totally stripped of leaves and all the flowers are gone. One of my flatmates suggested the other day that we should buy a hummingbird feeder to attract the hummingbirds, and after last night I think I'll put that on my list of things to do tomorrow morning (I don't have work until 5:30pm): with all the flowers gone the birds will NEED that food!

More work!

2005-09-11T15:40:00.000+01:00

It’s official: I now have 22 hours of classes, and possibly 24 after an interview this afternoon. I have the option of a couple more, but I’ll probably turn them down as they’ll cost me too much time that would otherwise be free. There’s more to life than work, after all.

As you probably gathered from the above, the sample class went well, and I went back after work on Friday night to do my orientation. As luck would have it, the heavens opened in fine Guadalajara fashion ten minutes before I arrived at the Metro station by the school, with a torrential downpour and the street and inch and a half deep in water – and me in sandals! Well, there was nothing for it but to run, which is what I did. Didn’t actually arrive too wet but Lizette (my soon-to-be supervisor) fussed over me anyway. Took me a while to convince here that yes, I really was fine, no I didn’t want to head home because that was further away and the rain was still coming down, and no, I wasn’t cold because to me Guadalajara is warm!

Anyway, I’ll be teaching three beginner classes there: Beginner 1, 2, and 3, with classes Monday to Friday evenings and all day Saturday. This means that I have most of the day free Tuesday and Thursday, which is pretty good.

I’m slowly getting used to life in Mexico, although the language barrier is still an issue of course. Some things here are really funny, like the trucks selling propane gas that come around every day. They have a loudspeaker that announces ‘está gas’, but they say it really long and drawn-out – ‘está gaaaaaas’, which always reminds me of the Chinese food lady in ‘Sex and the City’: ‘And theeeeeeen?’

I went shopping yesterday and got a new skirt and blouse for work. Also went to the stationary shop where I bought envelopes and scissors. You have to ask for stuff over the counter, so I was pretty pleased with myself for remembering that envelopes are ‘sobres’, although I couldn’t remember scissors (still can’t, actually), but that was easily communicated with a gesture.

I also bought a birthday present for Becks – it’ll probably be late, given the postal service here (sorry babe!), but it is on its way –ñ and wandered about downtown. Some of the fountains here are amazing. There was one huge one, and another that had four little boys. One of them is holding a frog that squirts water from its mouth, the second holds a turtle doing the same, the third is squirting water from his mouth, and the fourth… well, I’ll leave it up to your imaginations where else a little boy can squirt water from!

This morning I went to church, which was LONG! I arrived in time for the 10:30am bible study groups, which was actually pretty good. I didn’t understand most of the WORDS that were being spoken but I did manage to pick up on the themes and even make a brief comment in the discussion – although those who have been in bible-study with me before probably aren’t surprised that not even a language barrier could shut me up! The actual service went right over my head, but everyone was very friendly and welcoming.

I’ve activated word verification for comments to prevent repeat spamming, so please be aware that you’ll now need to complete that for any comments (and please don’t stop commenting!). Gabi and Clint, if you want to debate the validity or otherwise of political polls let me know and I’ll give you each other’s email addressesJ

La Maesta

2005-09-06T18:46:00.000+01:00

Well, it's official: I taught my first class yesterday. How did it go? Well, to be honest it could have been a lot better. I knew nothing about the class ahead of time and didn't even have a copy of the textbook (still don't in fact, although I now have a copy of the relavent chapter to go through tonight), not to mention the fact that I didn't have much warning. So I went in cold, which I knew ahead of time was a BAD idea... Anyway, there were four adult students, all male, and fortunately they were a little late, which helped. I introduced myself and got them to introduce themselves, talked a bit about New Zealand, got them to talk about Mexico, played 'Hangman' on the board... and generally managed not to panic during one of the longest hour and a half's of my life (and I have tattoos!). Still, like I said, I have the book for tomorrow.

I also have a class tomorrow morning for which I was in much the same position, except I know that they're an 'advanced' class. But now I have a plan! Not sure if any of you know the song 'Wellington' by the Mutton Birds, but it's a song all about Wellington and therefore appropriate, given that that's where I'm from. Anyway, I sat down this afternoon and went through it, producing a worksheet with a series of questions for the students to answer. I even copied out the lyrics. Typed it all up this afternoon, and I'm hopefully all set!

The other good news is that I had an interview with an English-language school two blocks from my house this afternoon. I have to teach a sample class on Thursday and the pay isn't brilliant, but the hours are good and there's no travel involved, so I'm REALLY hoping I get it!

Meanwhile I`m having to get used to being introduced as `Maestra Paulette' (or `Paolette' as it tends to be pronounced here). I keep thinking they're about to ask me to conduct!

Thunderstorms and Tequila

2005-09-04T15:52:00.000+01:00

Hopefully the storm won't knock out the power before I've written this: it's blown up in the last few minutes whilst I've been sitting in what has already become my 'regular' internet café, just three blocks from my house. Still, it doesn't seem to be as bad as the storm we had last night, and we didn't lose the power then.

Yesterday was actually a pretty nice day, weather-wise. No rain at all, and quite a bit of warm sunshine - perfect for doing laundry and lounging about on the roof, which was what I did most of the day. Headed off in the evening to meet Phil, Vere (his girlfriend) and a bunch of other people at a place called 'Der Krug'. Not the most welcoming of places - whoever heard of a bar where you had to make reservations? - and very obviously not pleased to have a large party in. As Phil said, you'd think they'd be glad of the money. Anyway, we only had about one drink each (I had sangria, which was very nice) before we got tired of the attitude of the staff and headed for another bar. I think someone left a 10-peseta (1c US) tip just ot make a point.

Anyway, after that rather unpromising start the evening thoroughly took off at Maestraza, where any party of eight or more receives a free bottle of tequila on a Saturday night. We just had to buy the mixers. Vere did ask whether, as we were sixteen by that stage, we got two bottles, but apparentely not. The free nibbles were also flowing, thanks to the very attentive wait-staff, and if the music was a bit loud it was worth shouting yourself hoarse to converse with the other people there. A real ex-pat mix, with Americans, Latin Americans, a lady from Finland, Mexicans and, of course, a Kiwi!

Anyways, it was while we were there that the storm started, and boy, was it something! I get the impression it isn't all that uncommon here, but the rain was pretty torrential, and there was a LOT of thunder and lightening. Thanks to Guadalajara's somewhat lacking surface drainage system the roads also turned into shallow rivers in short order. Fortunately Phil and Vere were willing to drop me home!

I got a couple of numbers of people I might get together with later, especially Christine from Oregon, who seems like a thoroughly good sort (a self-describled hard-core socialist and very politically and socially aware: just the sort of person you can have some really meaty conversations with), and also got Phil to sign as witness on my absentee-ballot form for the upcoming New Zealand election. Well, I guess he counts as a 'business colleague', and who the heck else was I going to ask?

Speaking of business, it looks like I'm up to between 12 and 15 hours teaching work a week, hopefully starting tomorrow. I estimate I need about 20 hours a week to cover costs and a little extra besides, so I'm feeling pretty optimistic - although that may not last after the first class!

Home Sweet Guadalajara Home

2005-08-31T17:50:00.000+01:00

Yes, it's true I've made it to Guadalajara. I actually arrived yesterday evening, but since my day consisted of 7 1/2 hours on a bus, then a taxi to the hotel followed by pizza for dinner I thought I'd wait until I actually had something interesting to report.

Guadalajara is a big city. The population is estimated at 4 million which, for those of you keeping score, is about the same as my entire freaking country. So, big. But the hotel I'm staying at is pretty central, within easy walking distance of one of the main shopping areas and the centro historico, which is where I went this morning. I visited the cathedral, managing to intrude during mass (oops), the governor's palace, now an administrative centre with areas open to the public where I sat out a nasty rain storm (it's the rainy season here, or so I'm told. Still pretty warm though), and one of the museums, but don't ask me which. It was good though!

This afternoon I met up with Phil, my contact from the Teach English Mexico programme. The upshot of this is that I have a room in an apartment to move into tomorrow and two, possibly three, job interviews in the afternoon. I'm afraid you'll have to wait for me to email out my soon-to-be address though: I can't remember if the apartment is number 7 and the landlord lives at number 9, or the apartment is number 9 and the landlord lives at number 7. Hmmm, should probably get that sorted out!

To give you a better description of Guadalajara, it's rather like Rome only flatter and minus the ruins (it was established around the 16th century, so give them time!). Parts look quite run-down, like the street my hotel is on, but if this place is anything to go by then a lot of buildings around here are nicer inside. There are lots of beggars and hawkers, including children, which is quite sad. Must see if there are any homeless charities based here so I can make a few donations (I feel this is generally more effective than giving money directly). There are also lots of beautiful plazas with trees and fountains. All in all, it seems like a pretty good place to be.

Frances, I am so sorry I forgot to call! It completely slipped my mind until I read your post. But I'm glad to hear your family liked me: they all seemed really nice, so the sentiment is returned:) I guess you must have found the url somewhere, given that you posted, so it could have been worse.

250 Million, 10=100

2005-08-29T20:27:00.000+01:00

250 Million = the population of Mexico City, the largest city in the world, or so I’m told. $10US = $100MP is the exchange rate for US dollars into Mexcian pesos.

In case you hadn’t guessed, I’ve arrived safely in Mexico City after a surprisingly smooth flight, hurricane Katrina having moved far enough north not to cause me any disruprion (but please pray for the people of New Orleans, directly in the path of what was upgraded to a Force 5 hurricane on Sunday).

I’m staying at Hostel Moneda, a centrally-located backpackers here in the city. It’s really nice, with a great atmosphere, friendly people and breakfast and dinner included, plus free internet access. If I pass through Mexico City again I’ll definitely come back.

Tomorrow I’m getting the bus up to Guadalajara, where I’m hopefully going to settle down for the next three months with a TEFL job and a more permanent abode than someone’s spare bed!

Not really much else to report after a day spent mostly in transit. Mum, Dad, I’m not drinking the water and have started taking my anti-malarial tablets. Frances, you’ll be happy to know that the error you pointed out in my last post has been rectified;)

A Little Slice of Paradise

2005-08-27T22:46:00.000+01:00

As Frances has often remarked, Puerto Rico is far from perfect, but that hasn't stopped it putting on a good show the last couple of days!

I can't remember all the places we've been around here, but I know we've been into the centre of town several times, to the aptly named 'Plaza las Delicias' ('Plaza of Delights'), with its lovely fountain, cathedral and the brightly painted old fire station. We visited the latter, although the cathedral was closed, which involved signing a visitor's book. Unsurprisingly, giving my country of origin as New Zealand led to an interesting conversation with the guy on the front desk, who also remembered us when we walked past again a couple of days later.

We also visited the local history museum, where we were lucky enough to get a free guided tour, Unfortunately, there are two kinds of luck, and our guide only spoke Spanish, which would not in itself have been a problem except that he wouldn't stop talking long enough for Frances to translate for me. Still, while I can't amke out 95% of spoken Spanish (unless it's spoken REALLY slowly) I can usually get the gist of anything I see written down, so I did manage to get a rough idea of what we were looking at.

Yesterday we went to a lovely park with all kinds of tropical birds, waterfowl (including geese: those of you who have heard me talk about DT will understand why that was significant) and several dozen iguanas - and not small ones either! That was pretty exciting, as I've never seen them wandering around loose before (not certain how 'wild' they were), and they were all different colours from bright green to yellow and black to brown and grey. We also learned that iguanas can swim, having seen several plunge into the pond and make for the ornamental islands.

Yesterday night we went to La Guancha, the boardwalk on the waterfront, with Frances' friend Karelix. It was pretty much everything a tropical night by the water should be: lots of people, loud music, small bars, palm trees, lights on the water... I had my first piña colada - which was delicious - and we had a great time.

But today was the highlight of the trip so far. Today we went to the beach! It was a little over half an hour's drive away, which Frances was a little leery of, what it a lot of it being open road driving and her never having been there before and all, but she did great and it was fantastic! Palm trees, white sand, water almost as warm as a bath and, unfortunately, hot sun: I'm now sunburned in spite of my sunblock! We had a lot of fun playing in the water, where Frances rediscovered the ability to float and made her first (and successful) attempts at swimming. We had a picnic and drank soda and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Tomorrow is my last day in Puerto Rico, and we're heading back up to San Juan with Frances' aunty. This will give me a chance to see the historic Old City and also allow me to overnight as I need to be at the airport at 7am on Monday (yuck :P). Next stop after that is Mexico City via Miama - assuming Hurricane Katrina doesn't have other plans...!!

How Many Were Going to St. Ives?

2005-08-23T12:27:00.000+01:00

For anyone who doesn't know it, today's heading comes from an old riddle:
'As I was going to St. Ives
I met a man with seven wives;
Each wife had seven kids;
Each kid had seven cats;
Each cat had seven kits.
Cats, kits, kids, wives
How many were going to St. Ives?'

Why choose it as a heading? Because I've just arrived at Frances' in Puerto Rico and she and her grandmother have six cats, and a seventh which seems determined to add itself to the number! Not that they're irresponsible, you understand. From what I gather, they had two cats, Mishu and Kiara. Then another cat turned up pregnant and had three kittens, all of which were adopted out of kindness (awwww). They've now been spayed or neutered as appropriate and wander around being cute, shy or bossy as their various natures dictate. My favourite is Midnight, a sweet little female who just loves to be stroked (wish I could take her with me!). You never met such an affectionate cat: if you pick her up she just makes herself comfortable and settles down for a nap!

But enough about cats. For anyone who doesn't know (or recall me mentioning) Frances and I met online where we both wrote fanfiction that we posted on the same website. A friendship was formed, based on a mutual love of (some would say 'obsession with') the show in question, a 90's cartoon series called Gargoyles, and cemented through numerous conversations on msn and (occassionally, given that it costs 36p a minute to call Puerto Rico from the UK with British Telecom) phone conversations. It seems hard to believe we've never met in person before: we spent yesterday evening talking and joking around until late, and I taught her to play Speed, which she is already close to beating me at.

It's very hot here, and humid, so I'm drinking lots of water and staying indoors quite a bit. The drive from San Juan yesterday was lovely, through the steep green mountains that run the bredth of the island down its centre. Now we just have to figure out how to get to the beach...

Incidentally, the answer to the riddle is: only one. I myself was going to St. Ives and I 'met' the man - he was coming the other way!

7 Days in the US of A

2005-08-22T20:03:00.000+01:00

It's my last night here in the States: I fly to Puerto Rico tomorrow. I've had an enjoyable time with Jen. We've been a few places, like the Delaware Water Gap (scenic river valley drive), and Lost River Caverns, a network of caves about a half-hour drive from where Jen lives. I've also managed to meet just about every member of Jen's extended family, all of whom have been lovely to me.

I saw a groundhog (as featured in the movie Groundhog Day: ground-dwelling critter not unlike a fat otter in appearance) up at her grandparent's place, but best of all were the hummingbirds! Yes, real, live hummingbirds. So cute, and close enough that I could hear their wingbeats. That was up at her cousin Renee's place, which is in the woods.

I've also been spending time trying to figure out how to get from San Juan, in the north of Puerto Rico, which is where I arrive, to Ponce in the south. After several days of back and forth with Frances (who's initial response to the email reminding her I was coming on Monday as planned was "WHAT?!! That's THIS Monday?!", prompting Jen to buy me a Lonely Planet guide to the island), we've succeeded in establishing that there are indeed buses that run between the two towns and that Frances will meet me at the bus stop in Ponce. So, all going according to plan, that's where you'll find me next.

Made it :)

2005-08-16T10:50:00.000+01:00

Hmmm, I'm not too sure what the anonymous comment on my last post was in relation too. I think perhaps they got the wrong blog...

Anyway, as you can see from the heading I have indeed made it to the States, on a flight that left only five minutes late. No food on board, although they did have water, tea and coffee. They also provided vouchers to buy a meal at the terminal before departure: I had a very nice pizza, danish and apple juice. I also had a packed lunch, courtesy of Jane and family, so I didn't go hungry (although I did feel a bit like a kid on a school trip).

It was fantastic to see Jen again and, in my usual just-off-a-flight-and-totally-hyperactive fashion, I proceeded to talk her ear off mercilessly for the hour and a half from the airport to her place.

Managed to keep my eyes open until 10pm local time: quite an achievement, given that that's 2am UK time after a very long day, and am more or less operating on local time now.

Not too sure what we'll be up to in the next week, but will keep you posted.

Come fly the friendly skies???

2005-08-14T18:57:00.000+01:00

I'm sure you've all seen news of the recent British Airways dsiruption at Heathrow splashed all over the media. As you can imagine it came as a heck of a shock to me! Only to be expected, of course, given 1/ the appalling way the catering company handled the 800 layoffs that started the whole thing; 2/ the fact that many of the ground staff at Heathrow had friends and family working for said catering company; and 3/ BA ground staff at Heathrow are well known for their habit of going out on strike on a fairly regular basis anyway.

All of which is pretty cold comfort to the thousands of people who have spent several days camped out in Terminal 4 because they have nowhere else to go, and the thousands of others like me who have been left with no idea whether our scheduled flights will in fact be departing or not. What the heck were the executives at that catering company thinking?!!

*Draws slow, even breaths* Anyway, the good news from my point of view is that I've just checked the BA website (www.ba.com for anyone who's interested), and it looks as though my flight will be departing as scheduled. Which is rather a pity in a way, as it's Sarah's birthday tomorrow and a delay would have meant that I could have gone to the zoo with her and Jane. Swings and roundabouts, eh? And I can't wait to see Jen (and family) again, so at least I (hopefully) won't be messing them around.

Asides from the worry over flights the last couple of days have actually been pretty peaceful. I met up with Paul on Friday rather than Saturday and had a lovely day hanging out around Hyde Park, although I could have done without the two and a half hour mission to find a cinema in the early evening. We did eventually track a bunch of them down in Leicester Square, but by that time the early-evening showings had started and I didn't want to stay for a later showing which would have meant getting back to Bishops Stortford about midnight. Not a total loss though, as it's always fun hanging out with Paul (who should TOTALLY move back to New Zealand so that we can hang out again when I get home!).

Anyway, as the song says, 'All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go', and I can't believe I leave the UK tomorrow! I've had the most amazing two and a half years, and will go back with some treasured memories of people and places. Those of you who have my address (email or postal) please remember to stay in touch: you mean so much to me!

Next stop: the US of A!

I've never seen such stars!

2005-08-10T22:37:00.000+01:00

Arrived back in England yesterday, after a 3am start. Pretty tiring, but as we headed out to the car at four in the morning the sky was perfectly clear. I've never seen such stars! Suvigny is out in the countryside, and at that time of night there were no lights on at all. You could see the entire Milky Way, not just the main constellations but the faint dusting of thousands of stars that make up the galaxy. It was spectacular!

My arrival back at Suvigny was pretty spectacular as well. Jane picked me up just after 10pm from the train station in Vire, which is the better part of an hour's drive from Suvigny but the closest station with an approximation of a decent service. The reason trains in France are seldom late? There are hardly any of them! Anyway, that night there was a spectacular lightening storm. Hardly a sprinkling of rain, but a constant low rumble of thunder, like trucks on a distant road, and continuous flashes of lightening, both sheet and forked. It was amazing to watch!

Life at Suvigny was a little easier this time: still no shower, but an inside flush toilet and a basin with running water (although we couldn't sort out the hot water, much to the disgust of Andrew who was communicating with us from England via text messages as he had to work, so there was only cold). There was also a supply of clean water to an outside tap from which we could fill bottles for use in the kitchen, all of which was much better than having to cart it in from Montain, one of the nearby towns, which had eaten up a lot of Jane's time the first time we were there.

Not that we weren't kept busy. During the course of our stay I've planted trees (and carted endless buckets of water from the pump to water them), used a vacuum cleaner to remove some of the cobwebs from upstairs and downstairs ceilings, helped put up and take down scaffolding, helped paint the walls upstairs, applied teak oil to garden furniture to protect it from weathering and finishing oil to the tops of three sideboards to keep them from damage inside, gotten us lost several times whilst driving when my map-reading skills (which my mother will confirm are actually pretty good) were defeated by the French reluctance to adequately sign major roads (an attempt to defeat a future German invasion by ensuring they get hopelessly lost and therefore never manage to cause any damage??), taken my turn at cooking and dishes, and done goodness only knows what else. Jane has also been involved in most of the above, in addition to spraying weeds and brambles across the site (which didn't appear any the worse for the experience) and creosoting as much as the exposed wood as possible on the house and barn.

It hasn't all been work, work, work though. Jane's sister, Margaret, and her son Michael visited for a few days over the weekend, so we all relaxed a bit and I was fortunate enough to have the chance to see Mont Saint Michele and to wander several picturesque beaches and the walls of St. Malo during that time. We also discovered the swimming pool at St. Hilaire, another nearby town, which was well worth the 4.50Euros admission charge: in addition to the standard pool there was a water slide, two jacuzzis, an area outdoors with sunbeds, and (oh, luxury!) showers! We've also had time to talk and hang out together, and with just the three of us there most of the time I've been lucky enough to get to know both Jane and Sarah better. I was quite touched when Sarah said she felt that I was 'almost like a big sister' to her!

On Sunday we went to the service at the catholic church in Montain. Not the best church experience I've ever had: there was no printed order of service, and that combined with our shaky grasp of the language meant that it was almost impossible to work out what was going on. We did manage to pick up on a few of the obvious ones - the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, Communion, and a couple of the hymns - but I don't think any of us really felt like we'd participated in the service. Still, it was nice to be there, and we still had the daily offices.

The ferry crossing back to the UK was almost perfectly smooth, and warm and sunny beneath a clear blue sky - almost enough to make me like being on the water! Unfortunately, given how early we had to start, we were all totally wiped when we got back, which is why I'm posting this tonight. I spent today running a few errands in town and have a few more to attend to, then I'm planning on heading into London on Saturday to see Paul, and on Monday I fly to the USA, so it's been pretty busy!

Just a quick request to all my friends and family: no matter how funny or relevant they are, please don't send me forwards or links at the moment. I'm afraid I'm struggling to keep up with my email without regular internet access, so, please, I'd rather hear from YOU and read about what YOU'RE doing!

Quick note

2005-07-26T19:08:00.001+01:00

Hi everyone!

Just a quick note to say that tonight is my last night in St. Romain (and therefore my last with a shower...), as I'm back off up to Normandy tomorrow.

I've had a great time here, and Cathy and Brian, my hosts, have been lovely.

Time is short as we're off out for dinner.

Quick note

2005-07-26T19:08:00.000+01:00

Birds and Bugs

2005-07-20T00:08:00.000+01:00

Another week has passed in peaceful St. Romain. There isn't really much to tell to be honest; at the moment I'm back at Cathy and Brian's for a barbeque and the pool, which is great, but for the most part I've been on my own. I've spent a lot of time reading, and stroll over to Aubeterre at least once a day. It's on these strolls and in the little courtyard outside Chez les Pelerins that I've seen most of the birds and bugs of my heading.

A couple of evenings ago I watched the housemartins congregate on the buttresses of the church opposite my window, swooping and diving in a feeding frenzy on a swarm of flying ants. A pair of collared doves and a number of sparrows have been hanging around, no doubt encouraged by my habit of putting out breadcrumbs, and the evening before last a little bird I didn't recognise with a call more like an insect's clicks hung around for a while. There are the swallows of course, mostly out over the fields, and some kind of songbird that's lovely to listen to in the evening. Yesterday on an evening stroll over the fields I watched a buzzard soaring overhead until it was lost in the sun, and heard it calling. And this morning a little stumpy-tailed sparrow hopped down, and of course there are the lizards.

In terms of insects, I've seen a grasshopper as long as my finger (if not longer), some huge spiders in their webs (mercifully strung in the undergrowth along the country lanes rather than anywhere near my little nest!), and outside church on Sunday there was a funny little insect that Cathy informed me was called a 'Hummingbird Moth' flitting from flower to flower.

The fact that I have leisure to slow down and observe all of these, and take pleasure in doing so, just goes to show what a peaceful time I'm having.

Bonjour de France!

2005-07-15T17:16:00.000+01:00

First of all, my apologies to anyone who's been worrying about me following the bombings in London last week! I'm very sorry I haven't managed to get in touch with everyone sooner but I've been completely without internet access and didn't even hear about what had happened until more than 24 hours after the fact.

Actually, last week I was without rather a lot of things... L'Abri au Suvigny, the farmhouse in Normandy I was at with Andy and Jane from Northumbria Community, is pretty much a ruin: four walls and a roof, but not a lot else. No flush toilets, no running water (although a tap to the old barn was put in midweek), only a couple of electrical points, no phone or television, and no kitchen to speak of. We did have a few amenities: a fridge and elecric kettle in the main room which served as kitchen, dining room and living room, airbeds to sleep on in the attic (the good thing about it being so dark was that I couldn't get freaked out thinking I saw spiders, of which there were plenty), and a lot of fun and fellowship. There were seven of us there; myself, Andrew and Jane who own the place, their daughter Sarah, and another couple, Diane and Paul and their five-year-old. We were also joined for part of the time by an English couple who live in the Dordogne region of France (kind of inland from Bordeaux is the best I can describe it without a map) called Cathy and Brian.

The work wasn't that hard and there was plenty of time to hang out and chat, so I had a great time: the only thing I didn't like was the lack of a shower, as it meant I couldn't wash my hair!

Prize for funniest conversation goes to Diane and Daughter for the following:
Diane (in reference to a toy 5-year-old was trying to assemble): What do the instructions say?
Daughter: I don't know - I can't read!

At the moment I'm at Cathy and Brian's in the Dordogne as Jane and Andrew have gone back to England for a few weeks. I'm actually staying in a self-contained unit in a small Christian retreat centre run by English friends of Cathy and Brian, who are currently in England, in a tiny rural village called St. Romain. 'Tiny' as in 'doesn't have shops'! The nearest 'town' ('has shops') is Aubeterre, 20 minutes walk over the fields. This may not sound like much, but I'm told temperatures reached 37C yesterday, so the walk is really only doable in the morning or late evening. During the afternoon all I want to do is hide indoors and read!

But it's a lovely picturesque place and very peaceful. There are dozens of swallows which fly all around the village and are very cute, and lizards on my balcony (although even they weren't venturing out yesterday!). A couple of evenings ago I went for a stroll and saw a couple of deer and a fox in the distancem which was very cool.

Today Cathy and Brian took me to the weekly market in Riberac, a nearby town, where I picked up a few things and posted a bunch of postcards. Food here is very cheap, as is wine (less than 3euro for a bottle of red) so I'm eating well with lots of delicious fresh fruit, bread and cheese, washed down with a responsible glass of the aforementioned red!

I have no mobile phone reception in St. Romain and I'm afraid I'm not certain when I'll next have internet access, so please don't worry if you don't hear from me for a while. I'll be back in Suvigny (no internet access, but I will have mobile reception) for a few days from the 27th.

Next stop: France

2005-07-04T20:29:00.000+01:00

I'm back in the south of England after a very refreshing week with the Northumbria Community at Hetton Hall. I caught up with some 'old friends' from last time - Norma, Norman, Ingrid, Joanna, Rob, Simon... - and, of course, made some new ones. What can I say, I drank a lot of tea, had a lot of laughs, talked by the fire until midnight and spent two days with a new friend called Val pulling shoulder-high weeds out of a shrub garden, which was a lot more fun than it sounds!

Yesterday I arrived at Jane and Andrew's and finally got a chance to meet the people I've been corresponding with for more or less the last two months! Haven't had a chance to get to know Andy yet, as he was at work most of today, but Jane seems lovely and we get on really well, which is a good thing considering that I'm more or less committed to spending three of the next five weeks in deepest rural France with them! The ferry sails tomorrow (please pray for me: I get terribly seasick!), and I'm very excited. Jane showed me the plans this afternoon, so I now have a much better idea of the overall vision behind everything, and I have to say it looks like it will be a wonderful place, although a fantastic amount needs to be done. I keep saying I'll have to come back in a few years to see what's happened!

Meantime, I'm thinking of you all and remembering you in my prayers, as I hope you remember me in yours (those of you who pray, that is). Not sure when I'll next be online, but watch this space.

Helloooooo!!!

2005-06-23T21:58:00.000+01:00

Hello again everyone, and my apologies for the long delay in updating! Not entirely my fault: Monday to Friday last week I was with my aunt Ruby in Braintree, Essex. Had a fantastic time, but no internet access. And the last few days have been so roasting here (temps in the high 20s celsius, although I suspect they've tipped over into the low 30s a time or two. For those of you operating in farenheit, that's high 80s, possibly into low 90s), so all I've really wanted to do is lie by the pool here at aunty Jean's and enjoy it. Yes, I have been sunburned, although not as badly as you might think (or wish, if you're currently feeling jealous!): I've been using sunscreen. I have managed to aquire a bit more of a tan though, even on my pale legs!

Anyway, my time in Braintree was lovely. Ruby (she doesn't like being called 'aunty') came up with something for us to do every day: we visited the picturesque villages of Thaxted and Lavenham, including the guildhall in the latter which, from memory, dates from around the 14th or 15th century, went to the Tiptree jam factory, where they make Wilkin & Sons jam - you know the kind: just think fancy jam with an elegant white label - where we enjoyed a lovely cream tea, and to the beach at Frinton, where Ruby had a read on the promenade while I enjoyed a lovely, windswept walk along the beach. I also had a chance to see cousin Christopher and Marlene, and Simon, their son, who is now married with a baby on the way for September. Unfortunately I didn't see their daughter Samantha, who is getting married next year.

I came back to Reading on Friday, and southern England has been enjoying a heatwave ever since. Asides from enjoying the pool (yay!) I've been to London (Tuesday) to visit Paul, who's recently arrived in the country on his OE (Overseas Experience, for the non-antipodeans amongst you!). We visitied the Natural History Museum and St. Paul's Cathedral, where we attended evensong. To be honest, I felt rather more like an audience than a participant at the latter and couldn't help contrasting it with the unpretentious (and, for me, far more sincere) worship in the simple chapel at Hetton Hall. But it was wonderful to see Paul, who hopefully is coming over to Reading on Saturday, even if we did spend half the time bickering and insulting one another: Anyone who knows us will know that's what we've always done!

Today I took thr train to Oxford to spend the afternoon with Georgina, who I knew in primary school. We had fun strolling by the river watching the people punting and the ducks, moorhen and geese, all accompanied by their young: Frances, you would have appreciated the small goose army that advanced upon us at one stage! We also did an open-topped bus tour that passed many of the old college buildings and gave us a taste of the town's history, and attended evensong at Christ Church Cathedral, which I enjoyed. Some of the little choirboys were so cute! We also spent a lot of time reminiscing about when we were little: discussing games we played at school and people we remembered. Mum, Georgina remembers you as "a really cool mum who always had something fun for us to do", and says visits to our house were never boring. She especially remembers the "fabulous" dressing-up clothes (I reminded her that you actually used to WEAR that stuff!), and the Wendy house with its own doorbell (one of your projects I think, Dad). When I told her you got a tattoo for your 50th she laughed and said that in her eyes that made you even cooler!

And that brings me up to this evening. We had a barbeque for dinner, which we've been doing a lot. I had vegetable kebabs - very healthy - vege sausages and lots of salad and bread, so I think I did pretty well. Sadly, the weather is forecast to change tomorrow.

On Monday I'm heading up to the Northumbria Community for another week, and then I'm off to France, so I can't promise to be in contact for a bit.

Like a ghost

2005-06-10T12:57:00.000+01:00

Went for a walk around Emmer Green yesterday, past my old primary school and the house where I grew up. Felt like a ghost wandering streets where I no longer belong: okay, kinda melodramatic, but if you've ever moved away from a place, go back and try it some time. You can return but you can't go back.

The old house is in a pretty sorry state: the front and side doors have been painted a nice bright blue, but the garage door and the guttering are still a faded red, and I suspect haven't been painted since the last time Dad did it, which must be a decade or so ago now. The window frames need attention as well; even from the street you can see the paint is flaking and the wood beneath rotting (rather like the window frames at my flat in York, actually). The lawn was in need of a mow, the flowerbed out of control, and the fence rickety and in need of repair. Only the bricks were the same warm golden yellow they always were.

It hasn't all been doom and gloom, of course. The weather is cloudy today, but we've had amazing sunshine the last couple of days and have spent a lot of time in the backyard and pool. Yesterday evening Flossie decided she, Brian and I should go for a country walk, which we did. It was lovely - winding country roads, picturesque villages, fields full of wildflowers, rabbits everywhere (in the UK it's more aceptable to regard them as cute little country-dwelling wildlife rather than destructive vermin), and a drink in an old pub. I REFUSE to use the word 'quaint', but it's hard to resist! Basically, think of any TV show you've ever seen set in the rolling English countryside or some pretty little English village: that's what this was like.

P.S. I think I've finally managed to locate the option in the settings which allows anyone to post comments on my posts without having a blogger.com account. If you don't have an account, give it a shot and let me know how you get on.

P.P.S. Mike, you have my email address but I don't have yours: drop me a line some time and reassure me you haven't been killed in the blood feud you may so unwisely have re-opened!

Here I am!

2005-06-07T22:24:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone!

Blogger appears to finally be letting me update again, although without the benefit of pretty fonts:P Still, anything is better than nothing.

Now, I think the last time I wrote I was sitting in an internet cafe in Dingle and it was bucketing down with rain. Well, after that it took about another three hours for me to give in and admit that the rain wasn't going to stop and I'd be better off at my nice warm hostel. The only question was what to do for the rest of the afternoon. By this time I was in the tourist office, which, like all tourist offices in Ireland, sold all kinds of stuff. Didn't feel like a book so I picked up a tin whistle, the kind the beggars play in York, and a little book, and spent the rest of the afternoon teaching myself how to play. I'm doing okay, too - I can play 'Danny Boy'.

Anyway, I managed to make the 07:15 bus the next morning and, wouldn't you know it, the sun was shining? It was raining again by the time the bust hit Tralee, an hour up the road, though. In fact, it rained every single day I was in Ireland, except for yesterday, but I flew back to the UK then anyway. But I arrive in Galway mid-afternoon and eventually managed to locate my hostel, slightly hampered by the fact that the first two people I asked directios of had never heard of 'Queen Street'.

The hostel was somewhat overcrowded (read: potential death-trap), but a very friendly place. I ended up playing cards until midnight with half a dozen Americans, although they weren't all travelling together. One of the guys, Mike, was planning on going to the Arran Islands, just off the coast, the next day while his friend Chris continued down to Cork to kiss the Blarney Stone. Since I'd been thinking of visiting the islands as well we agreed to go together, and it was totally worth it.

There are three islands in the group, and we went to the largest, Inis Mor. The boat trip over was okay, largely because the ferry was open-top so the fresh air kept the sea-sickness at bay. Once we arived we had a lovely lunch, thick home-made vegetable soup for me, and chowder for Mike, both served with lovely fresh bread rolls, then headed off to explore the island.

Inis Mor is covered with rocky stone walls and the ruins of small two and three-bedroom cottages, as well as later houses, churches and monestaries. In addition, there are a number of occupied houses, as the islands are still inhabited. English language and culture has had less influence there than in the rest of the country and Irish Gaelic is still the first language for the inhabitants of the islands.

The highlight was a bronze-age fort on the cliffs at the highest point of the island with the sea booming far below. The sheer drop is inough to make you dizzy, and very aware of how close you dare edge before you have to back away. Mike was fantastic company: someone who was able to talk about politics, religion and world affairs with all the gusto of my friends back home, which made a refreshing change from the indifference most people show on the subject. In all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable day and the best part of my trip.

The following day, Sunday, I decided to spend the morning in Galway and head over to Dublin in the afternoon. Ireland being a staunchly Catholic nation pretty much everything was closed, including the museum, which was a shame as really haven't done much skulking in museums this trip. But in the end I had an enjoyable walk along the waterfront with two girls called Rachel and Akery, from North Carolina. It was strange, as they were both very tiny and I literally towered head and shoulders above them, making me feel like a freaky giant. There was a service at 11:30 at the Presbytarian/Methodist church across the road from the backpacker's which all three of us decided to attend. It was pretty good, with a lot of singing (very enthusiastic, although a little more down-tempo in places than I'm used to), and a sermon on knowing God through the Bible, believing in His Word, and trusting in Him (it must have been good for me to remember the condensed version!). We also had Communion, with the wine in those little mini shot-glasses that Gabi and Mum will remember from the church we went to in Wanganui - which saint was it dedicated to again?

The bus ride to Dublin was pretty quick: less than four hours express. I treated myself to a proper dinner out in honour of it being my last night: I've cooked most nights, or had Subway or a kebab. Didn't have too much trouble finding a place with vegetarian options, which was nice (for those of you who have fed me meat lately, don't feel bad: I could have chosen not to eat it, but I did. It was my choice).

Monday morning in Dublin was all sunshine and blue skies, typical after a week of holiday where it's rained at least once a day, and more often off and on (or simply 'on') all day. Made it to the airport well ahead of my flight, which was delayed yesterday. Had a bit of bother at the security check: I was wearing my travel pouch with extra cash, passports, tickets etc. under my clothes and the guy at the scanner said I had to take it off and run it through the x-ray machine. Well, I said I couldn't because it was under my clothes, but he said I had to anyway. Now, customs officials are NOT people you want to mess with under any circumstances, so I took off my sweater, followed by my t-shirt, and dumped them both with my pouch in the tray he was holding out. Just as well I had a singlet on as well! I resisted the urge to ask whether he wanted my bra, since it's underwired, but it did rather bother me. As far as I was concerned, he was a skanky old perv abusing his position to get an eyeful. I ended up laying a verbal complaint, although I didn't put it in writing. Even American customs officials aren't that bad.

Anyway, after that little incident I grabbed a book for the flight ('Skinny Dip' by Carl Hiaasen. Guy tries to murder his wife by chucking her off a cruise liner. Two problems: 1/ she survives, and 2/ she decided going to the cops would be so much less fun than screwing with his head), and settled in to wait out the inevitable delay.

Arrived back at Gatwick not too far behind schedule and called Aunty Jean, who reminded me that there's a direct rail link fron Gatwick to Reading and said to ring her when I was near so she could come and pick me up (she's so lovely!).

Today was her 60th birthday, which you'd totally never believe to look at her, and people have been round all day for an ongoing mediterranean-style buffet, mostly prepared by her eldest daughter Felicity, who is a total wizz in the kitchen, in the garden under cloudless blue skies. I'm a little sunburned. It's been great.

Blog won't update, will write more when it will :)

2005-06-05T18:55:00.000+01:00

The Emerald Isle

2005-06-02T20:07:00.000+01:00

Well, first off, Ireland's green for a reason, which is why I'm holed up in an internet café in Dingle, southern Ireland, warming up and avoiding the rain!

Dublin was nice, although not really anything out of the ordinary: pretty much a city like any other. I arrived pretty late in the evening, about 21:00, so headed straight to the hostel, which was great and very centrally located. It even provided a basic cereal/toast/tea/coffee breakfast, which is always a plus. The next day I took Allison R.'s advice and did one of the hop-on-hop-off bus tours, which was a great way to get an overview of the city and its history. Plus I managed to get a seat right at the front up the top, which is always good. In the afternoon I went to the Writers Museum. I never realised so many writers had ties to Ireland! Jonathan Swift (of 'Gulliver's Travels', amongst others) was Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral for a time, and James Joyce, W. B. Yeats, Oscar Wilde... the list goes on!

Yesterday I caught the bus down to Dingle: an eight hour trip with three changes (not bad for 24 Euros) which took me down through ever-more-beautiful scenery, past green hills and ruined buildings, some no more than heaps of stone, and finally to the misty and mysterious Dingle Peninsula and to Dingle Town itself.

My backpackers, Ballytaggart hostel, is about 20 minutes walk back out of town, so I picked up food at the local supermarket (lots of veges Mum!) before getting a taxi back out there. I've no idea how old the building the hostel is in is, but it's pretty amazing. My room opens off this central courtyard with a filled-in well and paths worn in the stones where heaven only knows how many people have walked!

This morning, in spite of the rain, I walked back into Dingle, along country roads and past stone walls so overgrown with grass and moss that in places you wouldn't know there was a wall underneath. Dingle town is really not much more than a village, with narrow, winding streets and lots of little shops. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, it's raining, but apart from that I'm having a great time!

Tomorrow I'm catching the bus up to Galway. The first goes at 07:15, so it'll be interesting to see whether I make that or have to wait for the 10:15.

P.S. Post some comments people, so I know you're actually reading this!

Anchors away

2005-05-31T01:49:00.000+01:00

Well, here I am stuck at Gatwick airport because my plane is delayed, so I thought I'd get online and give you all a quick update, and also line the pockets of whoever owns these computers (10p a minute?! You gotta be kidding!).

Anyway, as you can see from the heading I've managed to make it out of York in good order. I was feeling a bit down last night, thinking about how I'll miss the city and all my friends, not to mention the income (I'm starting to worry about that already, which is a bad sign!). Fortunately Gabi was only a text message away ('Don't think of it as leaving. Think of it as coming home the long way so you can buy lots of presents for your sister.'), and this morning the sun was shining and I got everything done in good time, and the world is looking like a much better place.

The landlady was great about giving my bond back (she's always nice as pie to your face, which I suppose is something), and I managed to get to the train station in time for an earlier train, which meant I didn't have the stress of having to rush...

Although, come to think of it I'm now stuck hanging about an airport, which is SO not my favourite part of travelling (like Ford Prefect, I've always found the 'getting from place to place' aspect of travel rather boring), so I thought I'd drop you all a quick update.

Not really much of interest to say, however, so I'll write again from Ireland.

Mad world

2005-05-28T19:26:00.000+01:00

I have been way too busy the last two days. Ugh! I hardly know whether I'm coming or going at the moment, so this might be a bit of a ramble.

Two bits of good news:
1/ it looks like I have been accepted into the Teach English Mexico programme, which is fabulous; and
2/ I've now been to the doctors for shots that will hopefully keep me in good health whilst participating in said programme. I've had shots for Hepatitus A, tetanus, diptheria, polio and typhoid, the best news being that these were all on the NHS (National Health Service) and therefore free (hey, I pay my taxes!). Haven't had shots for rabies or hepatitus B, but the doctor has told me how to get anti-malarials (over the counter, apparantely), so I'll do that before I go.

I've also managed to book my flights from Philadeliphia to Puerto Rico, and from Puerto Rico to Mexico, which I know Jen and DT will be pleased about (details have been emailed, guys). Stupid travel site wanted an extra $90US per ticket to send them overseas, so I just asked for e-tickets, which technically I don't think I was supposed to do as I'm not a US citizen, but I figure they probably won't mind. And if they do, hey, what are they gonna do, deport me? I was leaving anyway!

Let's see, what else? Well, tomorrow is my last full day in York, so I'm planning on relaxing, but today I still have to get my TV in to the secondhand shop (they're not giving me much for it, but at least it will be off my hands) and drop stuff at the post office. The good news is I'm hopefully meeting up with Cecily this arvo, which will be fun, if somewhat bittersweet as I don't know when I'll see her again.

Meantime I need to head back to the flat and get things sorted for when my landlady (usually described as 'my psycho control-freak landlady': we don't exactly have a great relationship) comes round to collect the rent/show new tenants around/leave notes bitching about how we never clean this afternoon. Now there's one person I won't miss!

Celtic country

2005-05-27T21:21:00.000+01:00

Hello hello.

Yes, it's true, the 'weird cultists' haven't abducted me, and I'm back from Northumberland after four lovely days with the Northumbria Community near Berwick on Tweed.

What can I say? It was a wonderful time, very restful and spiritually refreshing. The 'rhythm of the day', with time for worship, work, reading, private prayer and play, modelled on that of the monestaries of c. 8-9C A.D. was both easy and relaxing. Breakfast was 8-9am, with morning worship after that. In all there were four worship services all between 10 and 30 minutes in length, with the exception of Communion, which was celebrated on Wednesday and was almost an hour long. A very beautiful service, and it honestly felt much shorter than it was (and could have gone on much longer without worrying me in the least).

The Community house is called Hetton Hall and is a rather unpretentious two-storey building with lots of bedrooms. Inside it has the comfortable familiarity of home. The main living room is heated by an open coal-and-wood fire, perfect for those cool Northumbrian nights (I'm told that even in the height of summer the fire burns most evenings), although there is central heating.

The house is surrounded by rolling hill country, mainly dairy farms. In the grounds themselves are two chapels, the main one where the daily offices are held and a smaller one that one or two people can use for private worship. There are also two 'poustanias', small, windowless cabins in which a person can withdraw completely from the world to spend a more extended period in uninterrupted prayer or contemplation.

There are birds everywhere, nesting and singing in the trees in the grounds, feeding in the garden and darting overhead. Housemartins were building nests in the corners of the upper-storey window frames and darted around the house from sunrise to sunset, at which point tiny bats took over. It was amazing to look out of the windows and watch the housemartins so close to!

The Prayer Garden is a walled garden by the larger of the two chapels, and is where I did my morning 'work' each day: digging compost, weeding, hoeing and planting. Although some of the digging was quite hard I thoroughly enjoyed it.

In the afternoons I worked on tidying the books on the library shelves - although I didn't get that much work done! What can I say, with all that rich material there it was just too easy to get distracted.

As for the people, they were all unbelieveably warm, welcoming and accepting. There was a feeling not just of community but almost of family, reinforced by the meals shared around the two large tables in the dining hall each day. There was 'hairy Rob', a large, broad man with a bushy beard who was as much of a stirrer as Grandpa, and Joanne, Brenda and Ingrid, who were like house-mothers. There were younger people too: Andy and Angie and Bekka, and Norman who picked up up from the railway station, and Simon whose room was a caravan in the yard. Plus the other people who were 'on retreat': young Simon and sweet Geraldine, and John and Julia... I could go on and on, but suffice it to say they were all lovely!

I also met Jeff, who worked on a number of the CDs the Northumbria Community has put out, including the 'Waymarks' CD that led me to them. The music of the Community isn't just a means of putting bread on the table (although if the last week is anything to go by it does that too!); it's an expression of faith through the combination of words and music in ways that reflect the celtic-christian heritage that is at the heart of the Community's philosophy and experience. In the end I managed to restrain myself to two CDs, including the short but exquisite (four-track) 'May the Peace of the Lord Christ Go With You' collection of blessings. It's hard to pick a favourite track, but if I had to it would be one based on a ninth-century blessing with the words:
May your life in this world be a happy one,
May the sun be warm, and may your skies be blue.
May each storm that comes your way
Clear the air for a brighter day;
May the saints and Saviour watch over you.'

I wish I could buy you all a copy, but you'll have to content yourselves with listening to mine I'm afraid.

The funny thing about it was that, although it is a religious community that offers a religious space we didn't really talk about God all that much. In fact, we spent more time discussing Eurovision and dairy produce! It was only after I left that I realised that this isn't through any lack of interest in God, but rather because He is as much a part of life there as breathing: and who sits around talking about breathing all day?! There was a wonderful feeling there that I can't convey in words: suffice it to say it's something I'll treasure for a long time to come.

Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3

2005-05-23T19:42:00.000+01:00

Hello, and welcome to The Blog! As promised, I've set this up so you can all see what I've been up to - and I don't have to send dozens of emails keeping everyone up to date.

For anyone wondering about the name, the Cambridge Dictionary Online (a very useful resource, by the way) defines 'peregrination' as the following:

peregrination [Show phonetics] noun [C] FORMAL a long journey in which you travel to various different places, especially on foot.

That sounds about right to me, so here it is.

To update you on recent developments in my life:
- Last Friday was my last day at work
- That evening was also my farewell dinner with friends (guys, you mean so much to me and I'll miss you all!)
- I had the phone cut off earlier in the week (you can still reach me on my mobile though)
- The flat is pretty much packed up
- I'm off to a place called Hetton Hall in Northumberland for a few days (www.northumbriacommunity.org)
- I move out of the flat next Monday
- I'm going to Ireland for a week from next Monday

That's about it for now, so I'll update you all when I get back.