Recent Travel Updates

So my trip to Madrid came and went and I had a blast, now it was time to get ready for three week journey to Jordan to visit my relatives. I packed and got all of my things together to  go. A mate of mine walked me to the place where the coach would pick me up to get me to Heathrow airport.  Bus came on time and all is fine, and soon we hit a patch of nasty weather : SNOW… instead of taking one hour to get to the airport it took 4 hours.

I finally arrive to the airport frantic that I have missed my flight but they told me there was a delay. So I waited.. and waited and waited. Later they told us that the plane landed in Brussels but was not able to land in London due to the weather. A few more hours later they cancelled the flights along with 90% of the flights. They also told us that the airport was shut down and to return home.

Since there were no buses or even trains to go back I ended up sleeping the night in the airport.

The next morning we waited until 10 in the morning to hear our flight was cancelled again, luckily my  uncle has a friend whose son was stuck as well and so I went to his place to sleep that night. Since I didn’t sleep the first night in the airport, I was able to get a lot of sleep at my friends place. The next morning we got up and took the tube to heathrow to find ourselves locked out of the aiport and our flight was scheduled to leave at 4pm.

To make the story shorter we were finally able to get in, check ourselves in which was not easy, and finally go through but we did not leave the airport until 7pm so I Arrived safely in Amman at 1:30 in the morning. It has been a blast so far catching up with family and I’m very blessed to have them.

I know it's been a while...

Hello,

I realize it has been since November 23, just been busy with my best mate from Canada who came to visit me. I was showing her all across London, we went on the London Eye, saw parliament, took tons of pictures, and we had a great time celebrating Thanksgiving with our american mates from all over at the Uni. We also had a trip to Dublin, Ireland which was amazing and we truly lucked out on the weather just like when i was in Salzburg a few weeks before my mate came. Don't worry I WILL post pictures! In terms of Rotary I have already had my third speaking engagement and it is really great to see how the other Rotary clubs run their meetings, etc. I helped out at the Hatfield Rotary Clubs Christmas tent at Hatfield House, and was invited to do portraits of people. It was a chilly day but many people came out and visited Santa's grotto which was beautifully decorated!

My assessment went really well with my tutor, handed in my essay two weeks in advance and now I am just working on a few things going to the studio today and a little bit tomorrow for attendance stuff.
They make you swipe in your student card here so they can keep track of you, very interesting concept haha. While my mate was here we got to see the new Harry Potter film, and that was exciting as well since we saw it in London! What an experience. We were also invited to a Rotary Jenga night where we played jenga throughout the night against each other in a tournament style. We also saw a great play : BILLY ELLIOT at the Victoria Palace Theatre, what a great play full of dancing singing and history. I enjoyed it indeed.

I also recently completed my teachers college application and submitted to my university whilst I was away, so now I must wait eagerly until April 2011 to hear of the results. In the meantime i have just been doing my rotary visits my last one for the year was to the Rotary Club of Hoddesdon on Dec 6. I was just recently in Madrid Spain over the weekend and had a lovely time with my mates. I have a minor in Spanish modern languages so I was very pleased to be able to use the language. More pictures of that as well. This blog has a slow uploading time so I can only upload them one at a time.

This week I am preparing for my trip to the middle east for my christmas holiday so running around getting last minute things like gluten free food, etc, and I still need to pack.
Well that is my update of the last 3 weeks or so. It will be 3 months since I have arrived on the 18th and I cannot wait to have a great christmas with family I have not seen in a while!

Cheers happy christmas and happy new year!

Visit from Canada

So Rotary and School have been keeping me quite busy. I'm in the middle of applying to teachers college. My assessment for my studio practice went very well and I am really happy with my progress.
I had the opportunity to go to Hatfield House and do portraits there as a visiting artist for Rotary and I had a splendid time.

My travels this month include Salzburg Austria and Dublin Ireland. I am very excited about all the traveling I have been doing and to share my culture and experience with others.
I will add more photos later as well as a longer post in the up coming days.

My mate has been here from Canada visiting and it's been great showing her around London and having her experience everything I have. More about that in a later post.

Wow! What a journey!

So I realize that this has been a while since I last posted. I promise there is good reason for this. School started on October 4th and that week I went to Scotland with my flat mates for the weekend, absolutely gorgeous weather! I will post pictures following the blog below. I soon got started with my modules and
getting into the school system here which is deffenately a big change from back home. I went to Frieze festival which is a very large art festival outdoors and indoors, and visited some local galleries as my tutor recommended, there is still so much of London that I have not seen yet but I am having a blast.

I got really into my studio practice during that time, and then I was very busy with Rotary meetings and speaking engagements. I was invited to help with my host club ( Rotary Club of Hertford) to plant 900 crocus bulbs at a local school. All the money raised for the bulbs will be going to the fight against eradicating polio which my club the Rotaract club has worked diligently alongside Rotary International. I recently recieved word that our club won a Spirit in Philanthrophy Award, so I am very happy about that because they are a great group and deserve it!

The weekend of the 23rd of October I visited the Tower of London, and what a sight it was. Just to experience the history and see the breathtaking views of the grounds is an experience in itself. The sunday following that I had a lovely Fall dinner with my flatmates, where we all cooked together. Living in a dorm has been an interesting experience as I am so used to living at home, but it is an experience that I am humbled and greatful for as it taught me some independence. The following week on the 27th of October I visited the Rotary Club of Hatfield and spoke to them about my experiences and time here, and we all had a lovely time. Rotary is very unique and I am very keen to see how the other Rotary clubs function and hold their meetings.

In terms of school I am working on my essay for my Consuming Art and Design module, which is due in a months time, but I am almost finished as I have a lot of trips and speaking engagements booked around that time and want the essay to be complete and ready beforehand. My best friend has decided to come up and see me for two weeks so I will have the pleasure of hosting her in Hatfield! I really do miss my friends and family but this experience has really opened up my eyes to a new world and there is so much out there and so much to do and see. I just recently returned my trip to Salzburg, Austria and we went on a four hour sound of music tour, which was in itself an amazing experience! It really took my breath away. Next adventure is Dublin and we shall see where that takes us! Cheers to only being here for only 7 weeks, but I am having the time of my life, and the cultural exchanges I am getting here will last me a lifetime.

Pictures to follow the posts!

Pictures!

Updates!

Hello hello, sorry for not update this blog, yes I know it's October but I have been having an amazing time here. In terms of Rotary I attended the oxford link weekend where all the scholars from all over who are coming to study in England met up for a weekend of fun and adventure.

In addition I travelled to the city of Windsor, and it was gorgeous, I have to say this whole country has been amazing, even with the rainy weather!! I have visited Hatfield house which is just gorgeous and has so much history to it. The people in my flat ( flatmates) are just amazing and we've been having a splendid time sightseeing. We went to London, Cambridge, Stonehenge and Bath, and we are leaving to go to Scotland for a few days. Such history.

I have been collecting patches of the cities that I visit as a small dedication and more so because they will fit in my luggage !! I have settled nicely in my dorm. I have my Canadian flag up and intend to have all the new people I met sign it before I head back to Canada. I still cannot believe it is October!!
Well I don't want to bore you too much with words so I have attached pictures!

Enjoy!

Updates!!

Tomorrow!!

So this is it, it's been a crazy and hectic few months trying to get organized and ready to go, but just a few more things to do ( packing wise) and we are ready to go!! Tonight is the recognition reception for all our volunteers who helped during windsor welcome week so I am very eager to attend tonight and then I head out later tomorrow on my 21st birthday!!

This is going to be a short post as my list of things to do is very large!

Can't wait will update when I get on the plane!

4 Days!

This is going to be a quick one, I am just in the midst of packing, my room is a mess... and I've been trying to juggle friends and family before I leave... it's been a crazy two weeks, and I think I will be more relaxed once the luggages are packed, weighed and ready to go! I sent in my deposits for my residence so I hope they get them before I leave and that my room is still being held! (cross your fingers for me!!)

Anyways it is getting late and tomorrow I will be finishing the last of the packing!
Whoever said packing was fun was severely mistaken.... haha

Cheers to a beautiful week!

6 Days!!

Our windsor welcome week passed so quickly, it feels like it did not even happen, but it did! The new memories I made and the new friends including the old, just made the week one to remember for a life time! I realized that I am leaving in 6 days, so now I am in packing mode and trying to organize everything and get ready to leave. This coming week is coming to be jammed packed with events and little stops here and there but I am looking forward to everything and I am ready to go!

Anyways back to packing as not even one luggage is ready yet!!

10 days!!

So I have been volunteering since the 5th of September, hence the lack of posts, but all of my paper work is in, and now I am just getting my packing list together, but it has been an intense few months preparing for everything and I still feel as if I am not leaving yet, there are still a few things to do before leaving but very minor things.

Volunteering has been helping me see my friends a lot and today I sang the national anthem for our welcome convocation we have for our first year students, and that was a very special moment. Then I went for lunch with some friends, and now I am just finishing up some paper work before I head to bed as I have  volunteering early tomorrow.

Heres to another great week!

14 days!!

So today hits the 2 week mark, and most of to do list is done to 5-6 items! After my blog post about the residence package it arrived that very day, so now just the drivers license. So now I am currently preparing the Residence package and making sure everything is in because I only have a limited time before I have to send it in to reserve my place.

So yesterday, I had plans with my friends to watch a disney movie that was airing on tv. I helped them at the frosh week training we had and then I went to work for a bit. After that my mom and sister drove me to my friends house and I walked in casually and went outside where they were. When I stepped outside my best friends had a sign up saying "FOR ALL THE THINGS WE'LL MISS" it was a surprise going away party! I was in complete shock! But they are amazing friends and I am going to miss them greatly.
We had a bbq, had some wonderful cake, celebrated my guy friends birthday as well as mine. I have to say I am very thankful for my friends! They got me a beautiful present and words cannot even begin to describe how special they are to me. So thanks again to the best friends in the world! You're one in a million!

So tomorrow marks the beginning of our welcome week so I am going to be very busy with that, but just wanted to give an update! CHEERS TO VOLUNTEERING!

2nd Rotary Visit

So yesterday I had the privilege of attending another Rotary meeting, with the District Governor and Assistant Governor at the Rotary Club of Amherstburg, and I had a great time! I really want to return to Amherstburg before I leave so I am trying to plan a day with my friends.

I ran a few errands, my International Identity Student Card arrived as well as my new health card, so now the only things I am waiting on is my residence package, and my updated drivers license!

And we have our upcoming Windsor Welcome Week starting on Sunday so I want to try and have a few things packed before then, because I am going to get rather busy with volunteering with that. So the countdown is 16 days! So two weeks in a bit, and I am still not in the zone to leave, but probably will be very soon!

Well I am currently at work, and I have started reading Eat, Pray, Love so I am going to get back to it!

Rotary Visits!

So today I attended a Rotary meeting for the Windsor Roseland Club, and it was such a boost of energy I got from the group. I really do enjoy all of the work they do and they truly are an inspiration of how to go about a life full of meaning and above else : service. I have learned a lot of things from them.

And tonight was my going away party so I got to see some good friends over some great dinner and I am very greatfull for these people. Some I've known since grade school, and some only in University but they have all added to my personality and there are just so many memories.

So the countdown continues... I bought a few books for the plane, a new planner, and I am still waiting on a few more things in the mail, in regards to residence, but I am almost ready!! I started to set aside clothes that I wanted to take with me, and now i am just uploading music to my ipod for the plane ride.

Heres to another great week!

20 Days!

So I ended up getting an A- in my class! So that was exciting, I took a look at my to-do list and it has begun to dwindle down. I brought up the luggages to my room so I will start packing by next week, as our frosh week will be starting up soon so I don't want to pack and be running around volunteering at the same time. But I am looking forward to volunteering for windsor welcome week.

I just bought a mountain of books for my 7 hour flight so I shouldn't get too bored! Haha
Now that school is done I am just waiting for a few more things in the mail to come and I will be officially ready to go! I love being done way ahead of time!

Anyways off to start a book!

One step closer...

So today was my final exam, it went ok, so I hope I did well. This course will have been my last class at the University of Windsor for my undergrad BFA degree!! So that was exciting, as when I get back I will hopefully be starting teachers college in September. Also a present arrived in the mail today : MY VISA!! so the arrival of that made the whole trip that much closer to becoming a reality, still waiting to hear back on which residence i will be staying in and my other paper work, but I am busy volunteering and helping with our upcoming frosh week called Windsor Welcome Week! So I cannot wait!
Cheers to another great week!

28 Days!!

So just got an email saying that my VISA has been approved, so that is a relief I was just so stressed out about it as I applied on the 13th, thought I wasn't going to get it until September! When I got to the office everything was fine, I had all my papers organized but turns out I was missing an appendix, but they took care of me, and now I am waiting for that to arrive in the mail.

Everything else has been progressing smoothly, I am currently studying for a final exam which will be on Tuesday. That class will (hopefully) be the last class I take for my BFA visual arts major!! Then I will be moving on to teachers college, so I will likely apply to teachers college while I am in England so that should be exciting!

I need to start packing soon, so that will be interesting! And there is this great site that has packages of kitchen and bedroom ware for very cheap so I don't have to go shopping it all comes together so I pre-ordered those, so they should be waiting for me when I arrive!

Now I am starting to get excited!!

31 days... the countdown has officially begun!

I cannot believe that tomorrow it will be one month and I will be on a plane on my way to the United Kingdom!! The first weekend in August my friends took me to Chatham Ontario to see tap dogs, it was a great day!

Last week they took me up to Toronto to apply for my visa, what a stressful time that was as I was finishing up my class and we left immediately after that. All my applications have been sent, and everything that needs to be renewed has been taken care of, so now I need to study and finish up the smaller things before I start packing! It has been quite an adventure and I pray that everything will continue to go as smoothly as it has thus far!

So here we are, tomorrow marks 30 days until my departure and there is still so much to do! I am getting very anxious but nervous all at the same time. I've been trying to spend as much time with family and friends as possible. Anyways I am off to study, heres to another lovely week!

Step by Step

So now the acceptance letter has come in everything has fallen into place, I made my VISA application, booked my flight, extended my OHIP coverage, and started purchasing travel items for the long flight. But there is still a mountain of paperwork to be done... but I know that I will get through it. As I stated before I took two classes, one art history which I got an A in, and this labour studies course which I am taking now, but will be done next week! It was good taking the class as it kept me occupied while I waited for everything, but now I just want to be finished so I can enjoy the rest of my break before I leave. Well I better get back to fixing this paper, heres to another week!

Success!!

So it has been over a month since I last blogged but my theory in taking a course during the summer and working did allow me to pass the time; and I recieved my acceptance letter the other day! So now that is taken care of, now the heavy duty paper work shall begin! I am going to start working on my VISA application, book my flight, and everything else has started to fall in place. It is such a relief to have that scratched off my list! Below are some photos of my new home for a year!!
I will update you as everything goes on, right now I am studying for a midterm for my summer class I am taking! Can't wait to be done!

Cheers for now

Keeping myself pre-occupied

I know I have not been very diligent with my posts lately... so still waiting for my acceptance letter to come in but I have made head way in other things. I am finally caught up on all my courses and requirements before I leave, that way when I get back I don't have to take any more courses ( hopefully).

 I am taking an art history class for the intercession session and a labour studies course for the summer. It feels good to go back to school for a bit, and exercise my mind. Other than this I have been working, seeing my friends, and  and of course trying to get all my business in order before I leave.

I do have to mention that I have been watching all the World Cup Fifa 2010 soccer games haha. We shall see who wins.

The importance of volunteering

So after a few works of working I finally found some time to do some volunteering. At the University we have our head start program which offers an easy transition to high school students entering the university world.

I have been volunteering with the SOS ( students orienting students) program for the last two years and this year marked my third and possibly last year of the head start program since I will still be in the UK while the program is running but I will try to make an appearance.

I actually forgot what a warm feeling you get when you volunteer and help not just parents but students as well. It is such a great opportunity and you get to meet so many new people. Volunteering has helped shaped me so much as a person and I can't stress enough how important it is to volunteer. Well heres to another week!

So Willy Wonka finished, and I have just been working every day. So now is the time to make the to do list as I am leaving in 114 days according to my countdown on this blog.

To Do:

Get Acceptance

Apply for VISA

Rotary Paperwork

To Purchase:

Digital Camera

Back Pack

Plane Ticket

This is about all I can think of right now. I am just trying to enjoy the beautiful weather we've been having here. Anyways I am going back to work, I will post back soon.

WONKA - LICIOUS

So the first round of Willy Wonka just finished, and I am preparing for 5 more shows, 2 shows on Friday, 2 shows on Saturday and the closing show on Sunday. ( Below is a picture of some of the chorus members)

I am working in between the shows, and then going 2 hours before to get into make up. I forgot how good it feels to take the stage, sing, dance, and act! I wish I could do more shows before I leave, but the count down has begun: 130 DAYS! And there is still so much to do...

Success!

Finally...all my grades are in and I finished off my third year really nicely! I have just submitted my application to the school and the residence so now I wait. 

I went shopping the other day and picked up some travel things like an adapter, some locks, and books! The next step is wait to hear back from the school so crossing my fingers! I am basically  trying to spend as much time as possible with my friends before I leave in approximately four months. 

I am in a production of Willy Wonka and we are performing this weekend so that has been keeping me busy. Not much else to say right now, but I will write back soon!

A Follow up

School is finished, and now I await for my final grades. I am crossing my fingers and hoping I do well! I recently attended the Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar Training Seminar in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I had the opportunity to meet some of the most talented and interesting people who are also going abroad. I am excited to reconnect with them soon.

Last week my sister and I were named a Paul Harris Fellowship for all our work with the Rotaract club of Windsor (1918) www.rotaractwindsor.com

I am very honoured to be a part of the Rotary and cannot wait to volunteer and get involved with my local Rotary club in the UK.

I still have so much left to do but I know that I am not the only one going through this experience. Right now I am working on a design for my business card. Will update the blog next week!

A new beginning

April... the time for spring... and a time for renewal. As the last week of classes wind down for me I anticipate getting ready for the summer with many adventures before leaving my home for a year. It has been a great three years studying at the U of Windsor, but I think I am ready to embrace my artistic side and head overseas for an opportunity of a life time. We shall see what life brings us, but for now the last week of school hovers over me and I will keep it together and finish off the semester as great as I started it. Here is to a great week!

Cheers