Christmas in the country

I spent Christmas with my surrogate family this year, it's not the first I've had with them and it likely won't be the last. They live in a small village (population 300) called Feckenham in Worcestershire (yes, the place the sauce comes from!).

It's a really lovely little place with a great community of people that all know each other. On Christmas eve "the kids" spent the afternoon at the pub getting sauced. Then we went to the village square to sing carold around the tree and drink mulled wine. There was quite a turn out for that sort of thing, but Feckenham is just that kind of place.

Singing in the square!

Prezzies under the tree!

Christmas morning we all woke up to see what Santa brought us. He was generous and kind to everyone. There were SO many presents. The dog, Tess, got overexcited in all the wrapping paper covering the floor and was a little sick for all the excitement.

Tess and her antlers in the paper.

At lunch time we all headed over to the local pub "The Rose and Crown" for a free pint or glass of whatever you wanted. It's a tradition every year - the owner of the pub just wants to give everyone a little thank you for their patronage. We had a HUGE turkey dinner with all the trimmings and promptly all fell asleep on the couch watching telly. It was a great day!

On boxing day half the village came out for the 33rd Annual Boxing Day Walk, where everyone gets their boots on and treks through farmers' fields' and along paths through the countryside. It was really beautiful and good little trek that took about two and a half hours.

Start of the walk.

A real country shot.

More in the country.

I had a great Christmas, family bickering included. I hope you all did too!

On the news front, I am in the process of getting a room in a house... I'm very excited and should (if all goes well) be moving in next Saturday. More to come in the new year... in the meantime, party like it's 1999!!!

quick update

Hi all. Sorry for not posting for a while, I've been super busy here in London... and while that's no excuse, I'm sticking to it!

I just want to wish you all a very merry Christmas since I won't have time for a real post until after that (and probably a while at that!).

I DO have lots of great wonderful things to write about, so stay tuned... Check back in about a week for something interesting! Coming up: the London Eye, my work Christmas "do", Christmas in Feckenham, Worcestershire, my new job, work experience at The Times, and looking for a flat.

So, see? Lots of news, but no time to write about it all....

Cambridge

A good friend of mine is studying for her PhD at Cambridge, so I headed up for the weekend. I took the train on Friday from King's Cross station in London and arrived around 5 pm. It was already dark out so there are no pictures from the first night, but there will be lots of pictures in this post, so bear with me...

The house.

We got to her house and made dinner - leek, tomato, cheese, and bacon quiche, with salad - then headed out to the pub. We started at the Pickerel, a pub near her house but moved on to her college pub and then to the Maypole before heading home for the party. The party was a small affair but it was okay. We went for a walk around midnight and then to bed at around one.

We (I) woke up late on Saturday, but we got moving as fast as we could so I could see some sights before it got dark (around 3:30/4). While Anna was getting ready I went for a quick stroll around her 'hood, which is right next to the Cam River. It's a beautiful area... but so is all of Cambridge.

On the Cam... people LIVE in these boats...

Beautiful trees on the Cam.

We started at a small round church on the main road (whose name I can't remember). It's really old and inside you can read a history of Cambridge (I'll have to do that another time... next time I go there I'll give you all a nice history!).

The round church.

Inside the round church.

We moved on to St John's College (Anna's college), which is one of something around 38 colleges at Cambridge. St John's is apparently one of the better colleges to be in. It was founded in 1511 by Lady Margaret Beaufort, who was the mother of King Henry VII. It is the second largest college in the University and has had about 12,000 students in all of it's history.

The entrance to St John's college.

Me inside... don't walk on the grass!!!

Harry Potter-like walkway...

Inside the St John's Chapel.

We walked through the Arts and Crafts Market on our way to the regular market and stopped for a Cornish Pasty - my first ever - for lunch. Then we headed to King's College Chapel, which is incredible.

King's College was founded by King Henry VI in 1441 on the premise that only 70 students would be enrolled and they would come from a poor background (he also founded Eton on the same principle... my how times change...). The Chapel is the only part of the original planned college that was ever completed and took over 100 years to build.

King's College Chapel.

Inside the chapel - the stained glass is gorgeous all over Cambridge.

more inside... in the middle is the pipe organ.

the ceiling. wow.

The end of the chapel... more stained glass.

After King's College, we decided to stop in at the Eagle Pub, which is really old and rather special, but we'll have to get to that another time as this post is already WAY too long... so stay tuned for more on Cambridge and to learn all about my new job, starting tomorrow! Cheerio!

stuff

It's been more than a few days, I'm sorry. I haven't felt like posting much and oddly, I still don't, but I am anyway.

I've been searching for a job all week. On the internet. With agencies. On the street. It looks like things may be looking up now, though I was pretty discouraged earlier in the week.

On Monday I met with my first agency. I had to take a bunch of tests. Word. Excel. Typing. I scored intermediate on all of them. What did I learn from that? I thought I was better at all of them than I actually am. The agency told me it was okay and that I'm employable, but that didn't mean they had anything for me.

I think I've applied to about 25 or 30 jobs online as well. Some of them I've heard from and some not. I got really discouraged when one guy told me to never mind when I told him that I was on a working holiday maker visa. That means that I can only work for 12 months, so who is he that he thinks he's so important that I'll still want to be working there a year from now?!

Anyway, I hit the streets in the area yesterday applying at all the pubs, restaurants, and cafe's that I could find. I also applied at a small photography store that was looking for someone. My job at York International wasn't on my CV since it was quite some time ago, but I worked in a retail photo store for about three and a half years. I was also sent on a Fuji Film Canada lab technician training. Oh, and did I mention that I studied photography for a number of years and worked as a photographer for a summer? They called me today. I'm going in tomorrow to see what it's all about and so they can meet with me and see if they like me.

I also got another call from a temp agency today and met with them this afternoon. They said that I have highly transferable skills and am highly employable - much nicer than the first agency. They might have something for me starting as early as next week, which would be nice.

After meeting with them I went to Paddington Station (wish I'd had my camera!!!) to get my tickets to Cambridge to visit Anna for the weekend. I'm really excited about it since I haven't seen her in a couple of years and I've known her for more than half my life! She's studying for her PhD there. Very cool. So, after the weekend I should have some nice updates about partying in the Uni town of Cambridge for you! See you then!

In the meantime here are two pictures of fuzz that grows all over the place here... everything is covered in green moss...

The British Museum

I woke up late this morning. I just didn't want to get up. I felt congested and flu-ish. Not a great way to start my life in London. After lazing about for an hour or so I finally got dressed and figured out how to make my way to the British Museum.

It's really quite easy to use the public transit system once you know how it works. I used the website to plan my journey and then wrote it down even though it wasn't complicated. It took me about an hour to get to the museum.

The main entrance - Montagu House on Great Russell road

Founded in 1753 it has always been and remains free to the public. That was the point in the first place. Sir Hans Sloane, physician, naturalist, and collector, left his 71,000 objects to King George II in his will, on the condition that the King pay 20,000 pounds to Sloanes' heirs. The King wasn't terribly interested, but parliament was, and so, the British Museum was created.

One side of the Great Court - the middle building is the Kings' Reading Room

It's all rather interesting, but if you wanted to read about every object it would probably take a hundred years. It is HUGE. The many galleries display the history of humankind for the past two million years. The exhibits include: North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East. They also have exhibits that you have to pay for that change from time to time, right now it's the Terracotta Army from China... which I will have to get to before it marches off in April.

Pieces of the Lewis Chessmen - from the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. They are made of Walrus Ivory.

It seemed to me that a lot of the artifacts should actually be in their countries of origin. I know there has been a lot of debate over this fact in the last couple of years but I'm not too familiar with the whole thing. Many of the objects are ancient relics that I'm sure would be much appreciated by their respective cultures.

Basalt Statue known as Hoa Hakananai'a from Easter Island.

All around though it was a good day. I still haven't seen the whole museum, so I will be heading back at some point to see the rest... it is that big... anyway, coming up, the hunt for a job and whatever else comes up.

fun in london

On Wednesday (the day I arrived) Lisa had over a couple of her closest friends - A and K - and we had a vegetarian green thai curry and way too much wine. It was a lovely evening and I was able to meet a couple of really great women. A is an aussie but has been here for years and K is from Kent, I think. Anyway it was really a great night, though my stomach didn't appreciate it the next day!

Yesterday Lisa and I went shopping. We hit Oxford street and went to some of the big department stores -the names all escape me at the moment- and then went to Tottenham Court road to continue the search for one of her Christmas gifts. We ended up finally buying most things online as it's cheaper, and as it turned out, easier.

In the evening we were invited to the Of Montreal concert (or gig as they say here) - which was hilarious for me, since I'm from there and only just left there. The band, however, is not from Montreal... They're American from the States somewhere. They were pretty good and I'm sure there are people I know who are big fans of this band and might be a little jealous that I just happened onto their concert... sorry!

Before the show Lisa and I headed to the local for a pint. My first real pint here, actually. It was nice to sit and chat, we hadn't really had time for it before. I kept thinking to myself how "normal" (whatever that means...) it feels for me to be here. That could change, I know, but for now, there isn't any real culture shock, no homesickness, no wondering what the hell I'm doing... it's all very different from Korea in that sense.

Today I started to seriously look for and apply to jobs. Now I'm waiting to hear anything. I'm going to continue over the weekend to look for something. On Monday I have an appointment at one of the recruiting agencies that I've signed up with. They'll want my banking information - but I don't have any yet. I was going to go get an account today, but the lines were all so long at ALL of the banks that I would have been in line until next week anyway! So, I'll go on Monday afternoon. I still haven't decided on a bank, but Lloyd's is looking like the best right now... we'll see how difficult it proves to get an account here.

So, stay tuned for more on London and the adventures of getting a bank account! Not sure what's on for the weekend yet, but I'm sure it'll be fun no matter what it is, just because I'm in London!!! Also, more pictures to come soon.

in London at last!

My flight arrived about an hour late this morning. We were stuck flying around the airport for ages before we could land. Then we had to wait for our gate... nothing more annoying when you're on a flight than to sit for forty minutes staring at the airport out the window!! Oh well. I got in a cab (yes the fancy black ones, though mine was blue) and a half hour into the journey I realized that I should have tried to navigate the train with my luggage... another "oh well."

I wasn't too keen on taking a cab into the city, but there was a time constraint with Lisa having to get to work and we just thought it would be faster and easier. It wasn't. That's all I have to say about that.

Lisa's house

I arrived after Lisa left for work, but her flatmate Kate was here to greet me with a coffee. I wandered around the house in a daze for a while then decided to take a nap. I couldn't sleep, so I managed to log on to the wireless internet (!) here and check my mail and facecrack. Then I did take a nap - for about two and a half hours, which will hopefully get me through until it's bedtime.

Warning!

After I woke I went for a walk in the area. It's a very pretty neighbourhood just west of the city center... I believe it's called Kilburn, anyway, the nearest Tube station is Queen's Park, which is on the Bakerloo Line.

Around the neighbourhood... old trees have all been chopped like this

A neat entryway...

No drinking!!!

My walk took me to Queen's Park, which was part of the 1879 Royal Kilburn Agricultural Show, attended by none other than Queen Victoria. After the show the 30 acre site was given up for "free use and enjoyment by the public", and so, in 1886, the City of London acquired the land. The park was originally named Kilburn Recreation Ground, until the Queen gave her permission to rename it in honour of her Golden Jubilee. Queen's Park was officially opened on November 5th 1887 - exactly 120 years and one month ago.

In the park

So here I sit in Lisa's lovely living room. I'm going to take a shower and get ready for a couple of Lisa's friends who are coming round for dinner - Thai green curry!!! mmmmm... So, until we meet again, which should be soon... coming up: looking for a job and a flat.

it's only life after all

I'm leaving for the airport in about two and a half hours. So this will be my last post from Canada for a while. People keep asking me how long I'm going to the UK for, what I'll be doing there, and why I'm going. So as a last post, I thought I'd clear up the confusion.

When I was a teenager I dreamed of going to the UK. I couldn't have told you then, exactly why, and I still can't today, it's just something that I've always felt I needed to do. I hope to find whatever it is that deep down I'm looking for, maybe I won't, but at least I'll be able to say that I tried.

I think that one of the most important things in life is to live it - and I know from experience that it is often a lot easier said than done. If you would have told me five years ago that I'd have graduated from university, lived in Korea for a year, and was about to get on a plane (again) to head into the unknown, I probably would have laughed in your face. Yet, here I am.

Something inside of me changed. I don't want to just get through life like I used to (and so many do). I don't want to live a regular nine to five existence. I don't want to lose any opportunity that comes my way. These are a few of the things that I don't want, if only i could figure out what I DO want, then I'd be home free. Regardless, this is a start.

I want to explore the beautiful city that is London. I want to visit the English and Scottish countrysides. I want to go to Paris, Amsterdam, Spain, Portugal, Prague, and Morocco, but those are only a few of the places on "my list". It's time to "do" Europe, so I'm doing it. I'm not going to be unrealistic, I will be living in one of the most expensive cities in the world, making probably not that much money, but I'll get done what I can.

I don't know how long I'll be gone. I'm only allowed to work for twelve months in a two year period, but who knows what will happen in those twelve months. I'll be looking for a job in the media somewhere - either as a journalist, editor, copywriter/editor, photographer... you name it, I can do it!!! It's time to put that degree to use and what better place to start than in London? I'll never be bored that's for sure.

So, to those of you who think I'm crazy - if you're in Montreal look out the window and tell me that five feet of snow is better than a little rain, and to the rest of you, what are you so worried about? It's only life after all... and life is for living, n'est pas?