i did not budget at all well tonight. shocking really. however, i have for you here two pictures. The first is five of us dressed in our 3D uniforms on teh first night that we got them. They were all sparkly and super. This is a digital photo taken of a photo stuck on the wall. so it's not the best reproduction ever, but ti does give you an idea of the uniform here. You kinda feel a little bit official and important like when you're wearing it. It's well good.
The second is the three of us down by the needles. There they are in the back. complete with little lighthouse thingy. neato. they are not very spikey and needley - evidently there was a big spike that feel down in seventeen hundred and something. oops.
the week has been quite busy - i am still sick. um, coughing loads.
Big news is: I am heading over to portsmouth this weekend on sunday (getting circus skills training on saturday - hurrah) to see a beth orton concert. love it love it. £15. So, because of that, I may well miss my internet time on sunday meaning that the next update will be a week from now. Maybe. Possibly. Not sure. Anyways... Now for the pictures.
So perhaps I made it sound like the last week was absolutely horrific. Really it wasn’t. It just sounds that way. It was loads of fun. But I am VERY tired.
It was super sad to see my kids go at the end of the week – you get to know them pretty well and then they all go home. So that’s a bit rough. But, as I’m constantly told, there’ll be plenty more schools come through…
So on Friday night I went to tidy my resembles-a-refuse-station-bedroom and fell asleep, only JUST waking up before dinner. Missing dinner is a really terrible thought.
Some of you may remember my friend Anne from college. She moved to London about two years ago. This weekend she came down to see me here on the Isle. How cool is that? It took them nigh on six hours to get here from London. I estimated a lot less, so was getting a little worried when they still hadn’t arrived. I called their mobile and got no answer and was getting a little panicky. However, there they were at the gate some time around three. We took a bit of a tour around the centre so they could get a bit of an idea about what goes on here. Then we cruised in for dinner, before relaxing in my room with a couple of bottles of wine. A nice relaxing, nostalgic evening.
Having lived in London for a while, they loved the open spaces and just being able to stroll around surrounded by trees and birds instead of people. I don’t think I could live in London.
Today we ventured out around the Island with a day rover ticket on the buses (£7.50). The idea was to have breakfast here, then stop off at about three places on the way around, then end at Ryde where they would get the Ferry back to Portsmouth. Evidently this wasn’t as easy as we thought. Being a Sunday, buses were infrequent. It also took forever to bus around from town to town; about four hours all up. So as a result, we ended up bussing to the needles (as pictured below) and then bussing from there all the way around the Southern coast back to Ryde.
We drove through a little town called Ventnor. It was gorgeous and I really wanted to stop there. Now I’m planning on a day trip to there. Then I can spend the entire day exploring all the little hillside streets and intricate architecture.
We parted company in Ryde and I bussed back to Wootton for dinner. Cam and Amy spent the weekend in London, so there were masses of stories about their little adventure to be heard. It was an exciting time at the dinner table tonight.
Um, I am sick again. Bleh.
There were more bangs in the distance tonight. They were fireworks. I think the war is well contained in Iraq for the meantime…
my oh my - i said it would be strenuous, and i wasn't wrong. This last week has really hit me hard. I'm feeling the strain. On Monday i had 47 kids arrive from a school near London. Each morning i get up at 6:45, run to the bottom of the centre to wake them up at 7:00, say good morning, and run back to my room to shower and then head back down again to pick them up and take them to breakfast at 7:35. we leave breakfast about 8:20, i run back to the room and brush, back for an 8:40 meeting, then start setting up the frist session at 9:00. Next session at 11:00 ends at 12:30. I pick up the kids for lunch at 12:35, leave there at about 1:30 and start setting up the next session at 2:00. Fourth session is at 4:00. That ends at 5:30 and i pick up the kids at 5:35 and head for dinner. 6:30 we leave dinner and i help set up the evening activity at 7:00 and pick up the kids at 7:25. That ends at 9:00 and i take the kids back to their chalets and help settle them in before lights out at 9:30. An instructor patrols the chalets until 11 and I've been stayign around until usually after 10, before ehading off to talk to other instructors on Duty Instructor. Then i crash into bed sometime after 11 and start all over again the next day. It is hard work, but this is seriously the most fun I've ever had. These kids are unreal - way too cool. Having an absolute blast with them laughing and being silly. And then there are the teachers - tonnes of fun - loads of laughs there too.
They all leave tomorrow. It'll be sad.
Anyways - a bonus for tonight, a picture of my room. (Special thanks to Gazza for posting and hosting my pics)
a day off a day on a day off. how odd. | mar 16, 2003 23:00
It was a long and arduous process to regain my health after that little bout of cold and ickyness. Unfortunately, I woke up yesterday sick again. This is someone’s evil plan to ruin all my fun. Bleh.
There is a distinct lack of children this weekend. I believe that we had about 65 children this weekend. There is a staff of about one hundred. You do the math. We had a lot of time sitting around not doing much. Days off, no-work sessions, etcetera. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining, but I can’t honestly say that I look forward to my days off. If there was something to do here – then I could see the point. As it is, I’m quite content working. The working days are well spaced out and not generally strenuous. I think the most exhausted I’ve been is at the end of a penguin race. (That’s my favourite little “five-minute-filler” game) (You stand in a circle and make the sound of penguins running by slapping your hands on your thighs. Everyone does it. It sounds neat. Then you “commentate” a race. “Penguins start your engines. And they’re off, heading down the first straight and there is a turn to the right (everyone leans to the right and makes squealing sounds) and a turn to the left (go figure) then a downhill (slapping speeds up) with a jump (not a plan jump. These are cool penguins, so it’s a funky jump with a trick and a w00p)...” And it goes on from there adding in things like w00ping polar beers, uphill, lots more turns, and a photo-finish. It’s fast, it’s fun, and the kids love it.)
Apologies for not having posted on Thursday, there was drama, and a phone-call which resulted in mere minutes of internet time.
Also, two photos are coming. I’m working on taking some more but it’s awkward finding suitable times to take pictures so that everything looks nice. I set out the other day to take some waterfront pictures only to find it was low tide and all I could see was a lot of mud. Nice. (Out of interest, there are 42 different types of grass down there on the waterfront, and crocodiles too.)
Friday was my day off. I’d promised a bunch of kids that I’d try my hardest to be around for when they left the centre. But I had to drop in to Ryde with Amy in the morning to go to the bank (Evidently I STILL do not have an account set up over here. But I have just now printed off the form that i have to fill out. No, wait, there is no paper. All that I can find is a pile of certificates. I’m not sure that the bank will be overly impressed with that. I’ll make enquiries. It’s off that we’ve all applied with exactly the same information, and we’ve all been treated differently by the bank. Some people have accounts already. Some, like me, are finding the process laborious and absolutely horrid. But oh well, at some stage we should be issued with accounts. *crosses fingers*) We left the bank, headed for the library where I got a book on child psychology and two Douglas Adams novels. (Evidently, it’s also a horrid horrid process joining the library.) Up next on the agenda was a visit to the Kandy Store. They sell candy. Loads and loads of candy. They also make milkshakes with over a hundred different flavours. I had a milky-bar milkshake. It was stunning. We will return. We walked around Ryde for a while, looking in some shops, buying a few necessities and then caught the bus back to Wootton (We caught a ride to Ryde with a school that was leaving the centre. Brilliant plan.) where I just made it back in time to see the kids off. (A teacher from the school phoned the centre yesterday to say how super I was. Excellent.)
I had a half day off yesterday and another day off today. The week that lies ahead will be busy though. I'm looking forward to it, I'm the school leader. (Each school has a designated instructor that looks after them. More on this later)
and as i type - i feel myself growing healthier, hour by hour. Striving towards sinus freedom. Today i woke up and i could breathe. Breakfast was a pleasure for the first time in days. And all in all - it's been gosh darn lovely today. Though, a shoulder massage, ro about nineteen hours of sleep wouldn’t go amiss...!!
(omg, i am losing my voice tonight...)
Showers. yes, it has been raining, raining, and raining here. so much delightful rain that one would be forgiven for thinking that this was in fact the isle of rain. But amidst the rain we are graced with intermittent patches of mmmm-good sun.
Training is nearing an end. Thursday and Friday of this week consisted of Towers training which will enable me to take abseiling and climbing. This is a prerequisite course for the high-ropes course which is something i am absolutely dying to progress to. though i suspect that abseiling could well be more entertaining. The course was, as i said in the last post, not overly exciting on the Thursday. However, Friday proved to be far more interesting. We were presented with a wealth of information to remember from setting up the rig at the top of the tower through to the "patter" of conversation that you convey to a child as they gradually back their way over the edge. The assessment is on Tuesday. I'm more confident about that than any other assessment we've had thus far. I'm bouncing with excitement. Bouncing off the walls. (and the other instructors).
Yesterday was my first REAL day. I mean, my first day with sessions, and kids, and like, you know - me instructing and all. It was well good.
(it was MAD. absolutely MAD.)
After today, i forget entirely what i did yesterday - I know there was a Quad Bike session, and an aeroball session, and i suspect that somewhere in there there was a low ropes, oh yes, and a site work. That's where they put instructors when they're idle - doing various maintenance jobs around centre. i shifted a lot of old tyres. Thrilling.
Today, I had tunnel-trail (which consists of twelve children dressed in boiler suits and helmets scurrying around in a set of complex tunnels built in the basement of the hall.) Jacobs Ladder, Problem Solving, and a second session of tunnel trail. It was well fun.
Tomorrow comes more training, then the said assessment, followed by two more days of work before FINALLY a day off. I imagine that if i DO update on Thursday that i'll more than likely be deluded and talk a load of absolute babble. But i'm sure it'll be entertaining... Please hold.
(Apologies for the shorter posts recently (though i know certain people will appreciate that), there is less to write about, and this exhaustion, and aileen is making me log-out now... *sad face*)
I’m the lucky recipient of this nasty nasty throaty icky head-cold thing that’s been floating around centre terrorising various members of staff. There are few that have escaped its grasp. Yesterday it loitered in my sinus thingies, and today it invaded my throat and induced coughing and general unpleasantness. It is most unfortunate.
Brief run-down for those interested... training this week has been Quad-Biking, Orienteering (We're looking at entering an island orienteering event later this month), moer centre based activities (like beach walk, low ropes, parachute games, tenpin bowling, and a course on being a group leader for schools) and today we started towers training which i found rather dull and unexciting due to my existing knowledge in the field. (However, quadbikes was the opposite as every little tiny detail was a new thing for me. Well, all but the fact that quad bikes have four wheels. I was aware of that. *takes a bow*)
tomorrow is more towers training, leading on to seven more days of work before i get a day off. Yes, that's right, i am working twelve days straight.
The situation in Iraq is something i didnt' think about much in New Zealand. Ok, to be fair, i admitted that there was some degree of threat. But if i heard a bang in the distance at home, I'd think nothing of it. Perhaps I'd think it was a firework, or a car backfiring or something.
Last night, we heard a series of bangs in the distance. All three of us in the room fell silent. The thought that instantly popped into our heads, all of our heads, simultaneuously, was war. We're trying to not let the threat of war control our everyday lives, but obvisouly paranoia is loitering in our minds.
Today, i heard more bangs in the distance. I keep trying to tell myself not to be afraid. Stoicism is goodness.
it seems that rain isn't actualyl a foreign concept at all here on the Isle. From teh weatehr thhus far, one could be forgiven for thinking that this was some kind of surreal pocket of the UK that somehow escaped from the notoriously dull and gloomy winters. Friday came with some rather torrential rain and gloomyness. Now everything is mud. You cannot, no matter how hard you try, avoid the mud enroute to my room from the centre. Bleh.
We finished up early on Friday, so wandered into Newport to have a look at the selection of bikes. There are two bikeshops there and it was suggested to me by the locals that one of them was the best bikeshop on the island. They have a little second-hand bit in the back. But they're all crap. In the new part of the shop you can get cheap crappy bikes, or REALLY expensive nice bikes. there is nothing in between. rather sad. I suspect I'll have to go to the mainland to get something decent. *sigh*
Saturday was a good day. We had a Child Welfare session which was really really brilliant. loved it. The presenter/instructor/whatever lady, Anne, was fantastic - we liked her lots. Her session delivery style was unlike anything any of us had ever seen. She had the majority of us rivoted for the entire day. Anyone who knows me should be aware how difficult it is to keep my attention for too long... *cough* Admittedly, she gave us candy. That's always a good start. But yeah - for a course filled to the brim with all sorts of legal stuff, and very serious subject matter, she made it really quite pleasant. One of the more interesting points from the day was the conversatino i had with Anne afterwards. We talked about the Family Planning Association in the UK. They're currently developing a youth education section not too disimilar from that that exists in New Zealand. This summer they'll be recruiting people. I'll be looking into this - While it's not design, and may not pay me as well, it's a more rewarding career path that i'd like to investigate further...
That night, we fianlly got to go climbing. The wall here is chicken wire over a steal frame, clad with a thick layer of cement. It's quite like natural rock. sort of. Well, more so than the plywood surface we have at home with bolt on holds... There were a few of us climbing, maybe six or so, which soon dwindled to three. We got silly and started playign silly challenging games creating routes that were difficult and pain-inflicting. I loved it. We stayed for a coupla hours until we were all too sore to climb anymore and we crawled back to our rooms to sleep.
Today i had the option of joining Juzza, Sarah, Amy, Cam and Rob on an island mission. They caught the bus with an all day bus pass and ventured far away to the opposite side of the island. They had fun.
I decided sleep was a better plan and would be more beneficial. So i got up around eleven, showered, and cruised in for lunch. nice.
Then i decided to jump on Robs mountain bike and go for a ride with Sheepy. Sheepy is from Melbourne, he's neat. (His real name is warren, but everyone knows that's a silly name, so he calls himself sheepy. No-one knows why.) So i clad myself in the best mountainbikign atire i coudl muster up, then spent some time adjusting robs bike, and headed for parkhurst forest. (For those checking maps, go from wootton to newport, head for yarmouth and it's to the north of the yarmouth road about 4km from Newport) Evidently, that wasn't the best decision we ever made. You may recall that the rain on Friday turned everything to mud. It turned Parkhurst forest into a river. We went in with nice clean sparkly bikes and emerged with mud-caked bikes. We sank up to our hubs in mud. My orange Teva shoes will never be the same again.
On the way back to Wootton we called in at Carisbrook to see the castle there. It has a moat A real life moat. no, serisouly it does. It's up there on the top of a hill overlooking a rather english looking town with winding streets of terrace housing. It's awing. Huge towering walls, cannons, wrecked stone facades, and loads of castle-like features. I'll take my camera next time. Also, we'll endeavour to go to Ventnor to grab some photos, it looks very cool.
We were late back for dinner, and all the mains had been removed. So we were left with sausage casserole (which was a combination of the leftover sausages from breakfast and the leftover sweet'n'sour vegetables from last night. mmmmm yummy.). Mental note: Do not be late for dinner, ever again.
I had a few hours of lethargy before i ate an orange, chocolate and 100mg of caffiene. Ahhh, bliss. now i feel fine. But, it is definately time for bed...
Oh, and i dropped my laken bottle again. Now it has big dents. It looks rugged.
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