The title sums my life up perfectly at the moment - I am both ill and in Plymouth. I had virtually no sleep last night and the bed was awful. Breakfast was on the top floor of the hotel and that made me feel ill as well. Great.
Having said all of that, I *am* glad to be somewhere other than my own house for once and almost looking forward to getting on the ferry and being able to walk around...plus I'm hoping the sea air will be refreshing and not make me feel ill (unlike the air conditioning here in the hotel...eurgh).
This is it for now, I might be able to blog from France, I might not. If not, have a fabulous week and I'll see you next Saturday :)
Besos ♥
Rachel
Saturday 30 July 2011
Friday 29 July 2011
Plymouth
I have 16 minutes of internet left to use tonight and then 30 in the morning. It cost me £5 which is a complete rip off, but considering I've been sitting in the back of my dad's car for 7.5 hours straight feeling faint for at least 3/4 of it, I'd do anything to take my mind off being ill.
One thing that I kind of both love and hate about long journeys is that I end up thinking for most of them...which for me isn't good because I think too much anyway. At the moment I'm just sad at my lack of a social life and lack of people wanting to spend time with me (blah, blah, blah, I know, you've heard it all before) - it's a ridiculous problem to have because it's hard to fix - I can't just abandon my friends but, on the other hand, I'm fed up of being the one that has to organise everything when most other people have no enthusiasm for doing things at all. I messaged Jess about our little Poland group meeting up earlier but I'm on holiday now and then she goes away so none of us can do much until we're all back from our holidays. Grrr.
I'm also bitterly disappointed at the lack of foreign TV channels here at the hotel (Holiday Inn Plymouth) - they have them in London so why not here? They're way more interesting than British TV because part of the fun is trying to guess what it's about ;)
I'm now down to 10 minutes. So, holiday plans:
- We sail at about 3pm tomorrow afternoon and should be at our holiday home in Perros-Guirec for about 10pm local time (so 9pm here in the UK). We have a random list of restaurants and supermarkets in and around Perros-Guirec and I made a note of the bead shop address in Dinan. As far as holiday plans go, that's it.
Going to go now because I only have about 7 minutes left :(
Besos ♥
Rachel
One thing that I kind of both love and hate about long journeys is that I end up thinking for most of them...which for me isn't good because I think too much anyway. At the moment I'm just sad at my lack of a social life and lack of people wanting to spend time with me (blah, blah, blah, I know, you've heard it all before) - it's a ridiculous problem to have because it's hard to fix - I can't just abandon my friends but, on the other hand, I'm fed up of being the one that has to organise everything when most other people have no enthusiasm for doing things at all. I messaged Jess about our little Poland group meeting up earlier but I'm on holiday now and then she goes away so none of us can do much until we're all back from our holidays. Grrr.
I'm also bitterly disappointed at the lack of foreign TV channels here at the hotel (Holiday Inn Plymouth) - they have them in London so why not here? They're way more interesting than British TV because part of the fun is trying to guess what it's about ;)
I'm now down to 10 minutes. So, holiday plans:
- We sail at about 3pm tomorrow afternoon and should be at our holiday home in Perros-Guirec for about 10pm local time (so 9pm here in the UK). We have a random list of restaurants and supermarkets in and around Perros-Guirec and I made a note of the bead shop address in Dinan. As far as holiday plans go, that's it.
Going to go now because I only have about 7 minutes left :(
Besos ♥
Rachel
Au revoir for now
So, in about two hours I'm setting off for Plymouth - we're staying there overnight before getting the ferry to St Malo (France) tomorrow and we're going to be staying in Perros-Guirec for a week.
I'm not entirely sure I can be bothered with this holiday. This is the third time in July alone that I've condensed my life into a suitcase/bag, only this time I'm going to be spending a week with the same three people that I spent every single day with. My mum is currently unbearable/I'm avoiding her at all costs because she seems to have the attitude of a holiday equalling the same as moving house or something else major happening.
I'm hoping that somewhere in the area will have wi-fi, but if not I might have to resort to blogging from my phone (and if you've seen the state of my phone, you'll know that's a pretty big commitment) because I know I'll end up going insane if I end up completely cut off from the world outside my immediate family.
I'm also not a fan of ferry travel - it just seems so stupid travelling for five hours on a ferry when you could be there within two on a plane. My dad's 'fear' of flying means our holidays are generally terrible - I think our worst has to be Wales 2009 where within about two days we'd decided we'd have to book another holiday to make up for how terrible it was.
I *might* keep a video diary whilst I'm there. Well, I might film my brother telling you all where we are at certain times. I'm hoping the ferry (or a service station somewhere) might sell a Spanish newspaper or something - it did last time but that was a long time ago.
So, I'll be back at some point within a week, maybe even tonight if the hotel has wi-fi. Have a fabulous week guys :)
Besos ♥
Rachel
I'm not entirely sure I can be bothered with this holiday. This is the third time in July alone that I've condensed my life into a suitcase/bag, only this time I'm going to be spending a week with the same three people that I spent every single day with. My mum is currently unbearable/I'm avoiding her at all costs because she seems to have the attitude of a holiday equalling the same as moving house or something else major happening.
I'm hoping that somewhere in the area will have wi-fi, but if not I might have to resort to blogging from my phone (and if you've seen the state of my phone, you'll know that's a pretty big commitment) because I know I'll end up going insane if I end up completely cut off from the world outside my immediate family.
I'm also not a fan of ferry travel - it just seems so stupid travelling for five hours on a ferry when you could be there within two on a plane. My dad's 'fear' of flying means our holidays are generally terrible - I think our worst has to be Wales 2009 where within about two days we'd decided we'd have to book another holiday to make up for how terrible it was.
I *might* keep a video diary whilst I'm there. Well, I might film my brother telling you all where we are at certain times. I'm hoping the ferry (or a service station somewhere) might sell a Spanish newspaper or something - it did last time but that was a long time ago.
So, I'll be back at some point within a week, maybe even tonight if the hotel has wi-fi. Have a fabulous week guys :)
Besos ♥
Rachel
Monday 25 July 2011
I need to get a grip
I just spent about an hour writing an email that was only really one paragraph in length. Yes, seriously. It takes me hours, sometimes, to write an email of decent length. Why? I don't know, but I seriously need to get a handle over it.
I think a lot of it is because it's so impersonal. I have two extremes with emailing people - I'm either used to only communicating with them face to face, or I only communicate with them online (I have a friend who I haven't seen in about 4 years and when we hopefully see each other in September, it'll be so strange). For those that I only talk to online, it's easy, I'm used to it. But with those that I speak to face to face, it's a little awkward, for me anyway. I rely a lot on being able to see somebody when I'm speaking to them. This probably has a lot to do with my 'phone phobia', too.
Especially after having my SOS (peer mentoring) training, I've realised that I rely a lot on visual cues. When I'm talking to someone about their problems, for instance, I find myself watching where their gaze goes, how they sit etc - but you can't do that via Facebook, Twitter, email etc.
I also find myself re-reading everything I've written at least three times before sending it. Why? Again, I don't know. I suppose because I don't want to come across in a bad way. I remember once googling ''ways to end an email'' and, while the article I read was amusing, it made me realise how pathetic I was being.
There's somebody that I email regularly because she wants updates on my life...sometimes I just feel like linking her to here and letting her pick and choose what's interesting and what isn't. I don't know...for me, if somebody is interested enough in you to ask you to keep them updated, you shouldn't just spam them with everything and bore them. Or is that just me?...
Besos ♥
Rachel
I think a lot of it is because it's so impersonal. I have two extremes with emailing people - I'm either used to only communicating with them face to face, or I only communicate with them online (I have a friend who I haven't seen in about 4 years and when we hopefully see each other in September, it'll be so strange). For those that I only talk to online, it's easy, I'm used to it. But with those that I speak to face to face, it's a little awkward, for me anyway. I rely a lot on being able to see somebody when I'm speaking to them. This probably has a lot to do with my 'phone phobia', too.
Especially after having my SOS (peer mentoring) training, I've realised that I rely a lot on visual cues. When I'm talking to someone about their problems, for instance, I find myself watching where their gaze goes, how they sit etc - but you can't do that via Facebook, Twitter, email etc.
I also find myself re-reading everything I've written at least three times before sending it. Why? Again, I don't know. I suppose because I don't want to come across in a bad way. I remember once googling ''ways to end an email'' and, while the article I read was amusing, it made me realise how pathetic I was being.
There's somebody that I email regularly because she wants updates on my life...sometimes I just feel like linking her to here and letting her pick and choose what's interesting and what isn't. I don't know...for me, if somebody is interested enough in you to ask you to keep them updated, you shouldn't just spam them with everything and bore them. Or is that just me?...
Besos ♥
Rachel
Monday Randoms
Nothing important to report on today, I've done pretty much nothing all day. A few randoms...
- Seen as I already had the Photoshop CS5 trial downloaded onto my laptop, I decided to go ahead and sort out my header. I liked my old one, but there were a few things that annoyed me like the font (seriously, what was I thinking?) so I decided to go ahead and update it. I'm still working on adding some photos, but I like it so far.
- I've also been working on some blog redesigning for Aiden at Bubble Dreams - this is what I came up with. He's also hoping to relaunch his cooking blog, so I'll be sure to link up to it once the reinvention happens ;)
- I'm already starting to go insane with these holidays. Today it's honestly been like
I could feel my brain melting. Ugh. Not being able to leave the house is the worst thing for me, I've been ill for a few weeks so I haven't got out much, and now I'm better it's starting to really get to me. I go to France with my family on Friday for a week, but until then the days are going to drag.
Besos ♥
Rachel
- Seen as I already had the Photoshop CS5 trial downloaded onto my laptop, I decided to go ahead and sort out my header. I liked my old one, but there were a few things that annoyed me like the font (seriously, what was I thinking?) so I decided to go ahead and update it. I'm still working on adding some photos, but I like it so far.
- I've also been working on some blog redesigning for Aiden at Bubble Dreams - this is what I came up with. He's also hoping to relaunch his cooking blog, so I'll be sure to link up to it once the reinvention happens ;)- I'm already starting to go insane with these holidays. Today it's honestly been like
I could feel my brain melting. Ugh. Not being able to leave the house is the worst thing for me, I've been ill for a few weeks so I haven't got out much, and now I'm better it's starting to really get to me. I go to France with my family on Friday for a week, but until then the days are going to drag.
Besos ♥
Rachel
Let It Go
I love it when the simplest of things reminds me what life is really about. I can spend days and weeks getting wound up over things that, in the moment, feel really important to me - my laptop charger is broken, my dad is shouting at me for no reason again, status updates on Facebook are making me angry at people...
I guess sometimes it's perfectly normal to find yourself in that situation. If you lived your whole life without ever being annoyed or upset, you probably wouldn't be human. Life is about being happy and being sad and everything that falls in between, I know that, but I cannot help but want to keep myself grounded and with a good perspective on life.
This week, I have been letting that slip a little. I don't know...it's no excuse, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that my mind isn't being kept occupied at all with no college at the moment. It's easy to get caught up in small dramas when you have nothing to focus on. I keep telling myself that I'll start up with the Swedish learning again but I'm just lacking in motivation. I think I've painted my nails three days in a row now and I spent a whole evening browsing jewellery online because my auntie Jude texted about what she wanted to buy for my 18th. Like I said, perspective...
So, last night I unplugged my laptop and brought it upstairs to my bedroom. I plugged it in and turned the plug on and the charger just stopped working. I turned the plug off then on again, removed the cable and put it back in again, took it out of my laptop and then replaced it, changed the cable for the alternative I have, everything - and nothing. Last time this happened my laptop just died instantly so I turned it off and continued trying to get it to work. Still nothing. My dad joined in, we tried it in several different plug sockets and more. Nothing again. We concluded that it was officially broken, and that I would need a new one. I was firstly annoyed because it meant I had nothing to do (I'd planned to catch up with my 'work in progress' songs list for on here) and secondly annoyed because it meant my parents having to spend money on a replacement. I was in a terrible mood and went to bed annoyed.
My grandad visited in the morning, we had a nice talk about Poland and he gave me €40 for France, which was brilliantly timed as I have a serious money flow at the moment, ha. The afternoon was spent hauling my laptop and charger around Wakefield city centre trying to find a replacement charger. We found one shop that sold them for £42 and my parents insisted we tried every other shop in Wakefield before going back to the first shop and purchasing one. I was just annoyed and ridiculously warm - because the sun only ever comes out after you're dressed and have left the house, doesn't it?
So, I'm back at home and enjoying my laptop working again. I'm working on several things for college magazine and end up going to my grandma's, where Photoshop just does not cooperate at all. Once again, annoyed. I manage to get it to function and go home, where I regain internet access.
I have an email, one that I don't read straight away because I assume it's just a reply to an email I sent a few days ago. I listen to music while catching up with Eliza and Zoe online and inform Fern of the brilliant news that a teacher that made my life miserable for two years is retiring, and then I read the email at 11:44pm (yes, I have sleep issues).
I won't share the contents of it, but right when what I considered 'a bad day' was drawing to a close, along came the perspective I was looking for. No matter how many people and situations make you angry at life, it only takes one to remind you how lucky you are. All of those little annoyances, I'm letting them go and focusing on the things that matter. And I have a feeling it might take me a while to think up a good enough reply to that email :)
Besos ♥
Rachel
"When your hope has been denied you, I will walk beside you, carry on." - Ben's Brother - Carry On
I guess sometimes it's perfectly normal to find yourself in that situation. If you lived your whole life without ever being annoyed or upset, you probably wouldn't be human. Life is about being happy and being sad and everything that falls in between, I know that, but I cannot help but want to keep myself grounded and with a good perspective on life.
This week, I have been letting that slip a little. I don't know...it's no excuse, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that my mind isn't being kept occupied at all with no college at the moment. It's easy to get caught up in small dramas when you have nothing to focus on. I keep telling myself that I'll start up with the Swedish learning again but I'm just lacking in motivation. I think I've painted my nails three days in a row now and I spent a whole evening browsing jewellery online because my auntie Jude texted about what she wanted to buy for my 18th. Like I said, perspective...
So, last night I unplugged my laptop and brought it upstairs to my bedroom. I plugged it in and turned the plug on and the charger just stopped working. I turned the plug off then on again, removed the cable and put it back in again, took it out of my laptop and then replaced it, changed the cable for the alternative I have, everything - and nothing. Last time this happened my laptop just died instantly so I turned it off and continued trying to get it to work. Still nothing. My dad joined in, we tried it in several different plug sockets and more. Nothing again. We concluded that it was officially broken, and that I would need a new one. I was firstly annoyed because it meant I had nothing to do (I'd planned to catch up with my 'work in progress' songs list for on here) and secondly annoyed because it meant my parents having to spend money on a replacement. I was in a terrible mood and went to bed annoyed.
My grandad visited in the morning, we had a nice talk about Poland and he gave me €40 for France, which was brilliantly timed as I have a serious money flow at the moment, ha. The afternoon was spent hauling my laptop and charger around Wakefield city centre trying to find a replacement charger. We found one shop that sold them for £42 and my parents insisted we tried every other shop in Wakefield before going back to the first shop and purchasing one. I was just annoyed and ridiculously warm - because the sun only ever comes out after you're dressed and have left the house, doesn't it?
So, I'm back at home and enjoying my laptop working again. I'm working on several things for college magazine and end up going to my grandma's, where Photoshop just does not cooperate at all. Once again, annoyed. I manage to get it to function and go home, where I regain internet access.
I have an email, one that I don't read straight away because I assume it's just a reply to an email I sent a few days ago. I listen to music while catching up with Eliza and Zoe online and inform Fern of the brilliant news that a teacher that made my life miserable for two years is retiring, and then I read the email at 11:44pm (yes, I have sleep issues).
I won't share the contents of it, but right when what I considered 'a bad day' was drawing to a close, along came the perspective I was looking for. No matter how many people and situations make you angry at life, it only takes one to remind you how lucky you are. All of those little annoyances, I'm letting them go and focusing on the things that matter. And I have a feeling it might take me a while to think up a good enough reply to that email :)
Besos ♥
Rachel
"When your hope has been denied you, I will walk beside you, carry on." - Ben's Brother - Carry On
Sunday 24 July 2011
Working Title gets a blog
Hi guys, just a short post from me tonight and it's rather self indulgent as I'm here to plug the reason I haven't blogged since Thursday. I've been very busy working on a few Working Title (student magazine at my college) things, but this has to be the best :) ...
http://newcollegeworkingtitle.blogspot.com/
There is still A LOT of work to be done, but, we finally have a blog! I'll let you know when people start posting because it's ridiculous how excited I am to share the work of my friends and 'colleagues' with you all :)
Besos ♥
Rachel
http://newcollegeworkingtitle.blogspot.com/
There is still A LOT of work to be done, but, we finally have a blog! I'll let you know when people start posting because it's ridiculous how excited I am to share the work of my friends and 'colleagues' with you all :)
Besos ♥
Rachel
Thursday 21 July 2011
Better
I've come to realise that most of my thinking is done late at night. This is why I can usually be found emailing people at midnight, blogging at times like this and tidying my bedroom at 1am. Tonight I'm thinking about being better.
When I was in high school, there was a myth maintained about me that helped to spread a ridiculous belief that I was just ''good at stuff''. Of course, I wasn't. Ultimately, the grades I achieved and the things I accomplished were down to a combination of extreme hard work and luck - but because I was never the sort of person who made a point of talking about my work, nobody ever knew.
I had one friend who frequently told me ''well, you're just better'', and while that might just be one person, it was a belief held by more than a few people, and it confused me...a lot. In all honesty, perhaps while I was fishing a teaspoon out of a pan of frying vegetables for this person, maybe I was better at the task in hand, but for every one thing I'm good at, there are ten things I'm terrible at.
I mean, I cannot draw to save my life. KS3 Art was the most depressing class I have ever experienced - it was only once I chose not to study it further at GCSE that I realised it wasn't that I wasn't trying hard enough, it was just that I wasn't talented at it. But being bad at art also made me bad at textiles, graphics, woodwork, anything practical really. The only thing I could do was Food Tech, which was why I ended up in the ridiculous situation of fishing a burning teaspoon out of a frying pan.
And I could never do PE, which meant that I was always in the 'loser group' with the stereotypical bitchy girls and the people that didn't want to be in school, let alone PE. My weird feet have meant that as I've grown up, I've never been able to run properly, and my weird legs have always been an issue. When I struggled my way up a mountain in Croatia last summer, our World Challenge leader took me to one side a few days later and told me I should get my feet checked out because they looked like they had problems - but she was also the same woman who left someone halfway up the aforementioned mountain about to pass out so that she could flirt with our teacher instead. Smooth.
So I've accepted that I'm never going to be an artist, and I'm never going to be an athlete. There are just some things that you can't change. You just have to work round them and learn from your bad experiences. I'm always the first up a hill now because I've learnt how to walk uphill properly, and while I will never be able to draw or paint on paper or canvas, that doesn't mean I can't paint pumpkins for Halloween or be creative.
And that is the point: You can realise that you're never going to be the best at something, and use that to better yourself.
Other people are also brilliant for making you want to better yourself. I watched every series of The Choir by Gareth Malone that was on TV and spent years wishing I was in a choir. When I started college, I joined one, and went from barely being able to speak to people to running for Amnesty group President and peer counselling training. Because of one TV show, I am better.
Our Spanish teacher during Linguastars, María, had us making up plays and pretending to take part in 'Cita a Ciegas' (Blind Date). Part of my character's role involved throwing a fake ice cream across a room full of complete strangers while shouting angrily in a foreign language. Yes, I was terrified. She used the cliché of ''I want to make you shine'' to encourage me to do it, and somehow, I did. And afterwards my oral confidence in Spanish rose dramatically. And now, because of one slightly crazy Spanish lady, I am better.
There are so many things I wish I could improve - general awareness of world issues, knowledge of what we discuss in the Amnesty meetings, relationships with my friends, relations between family members, and more. But what I've learnt this year is that if you don't fail, you don't improve.
I've spent so long in the past two years believing that I'm not good enough. I remember being in year seven and just having no friends - I didn't conform to what everybody else in the year did, so I wasn't good enough to have real friends. I remember sitting on my bedroom floor one evening texting one of my 'so called' friends and deciding I wanted to be better than the people who put me down. All the way through high school I suppose I maintained that idea, but it got hard when people I didn't even know decided to believe it too.
In truth, I'm no better or no worse than the next person. Only now as I sit here typing do I realise that my lack of happiness at grades and achievements is due to my motives for achieving them. But I'm different to that person - the pressures on me have gone and so have the pressures I placed upon myself. I might not always be the best at everything, but I can better myself...and trust me when I say that happiness may only start to appear when you realise this - it did for me.
Besos ♥
Rachel
"And I never want to let you down, forgive me if I slip away. Sometimes it's hard to find my ground, 'cause I keep on falling as I try to get away from this crazy world." - Josh Groban - February Song
When I was in high school, there was a myth maintained about me that helped to spread a ridiculous belief that I was just ''good at stuff''. Of course, I wasn't. Ultimately, the grades I achieved and the things I accomplished were down to a combination of extreme hard work and luck - but because I was never the sort of person who made a point of talking about my work, nobody ever knew.
I had one friend who frequently told me ''well, you're just better'', and while that might just be one person, it was a belief held by more than a few people, and it confused me...a lot. In all honesty, perhaps while I was fishing a teaspoon out of a pan of frying vegetables for this person, maybe I was better at the task in hand, but for every one thing I'm good at, there are ten things I'm terrible at.
I mean, I cannot draw to save my life. KS3 Art was the most depressing class I have ever experienced - it was only once I chose not to study it further at GCSE that I realised it wasn't that I wasn't trying hard enough, it was just that I wasn't talented at it. But being bad at art also made me bad at textiles, graphics, woodwork, anything practical really. The only thing I could do was Food Tech, which was why I ended up in the ridiculous situation of fishing a burning teaspoon out of a frying pan.
And I could never do PE, which meant that I was always in the 'loser group' with the stereotypical bitchy girls and the people that didn't want to be in school, let alone PE. My weird feet have meant that as I've grown up, I've never been able to run properly, and my weird legs have always been an issue. When I struggled my way up a mountain in Croatia last summer, our World Challenge leader took me to one side a few days later and told me I should get my feet checked out because they looked like they had problems - but she was also the same woman who left someone halfway up the aforementioned mountain about to pass out so that she could flirt with our teacher instead. Smooth.
So I've accepted that I'm never going to be an artist, and I'm never going to be an athlete. There are just some things that you can't change. You just have to work round them and learn from your bad experiences. I'm always the first up a hill now because I've learnt how to walk uphill properly, and while I will never be able to draw or paint on paper or canvas, that doesn't mean I can't paint pumpkins for Halloween or be creative.
And that is the point: You can realise that you're never going to be the best at something, and use that to better yourself.
Other people are also brilliant for making you want to better yourself. I watched every series of The Choir by Gareth Malone that was on TV and spent years wishing I was in a choir. When I started college, I joined one, and went from barely being able to speak to people to running for Amnesty group President and peer counselling training. Because of one TV show, I am better.
Our Spanish teacher during Linguastars, María, had us making up plays and pretending to take part in 'Cita a Ciegas' (Blind Date). Part of my character's role involved throwing a fake ice cream across a room full of complete strangers while shouting angrily in a foreign language. Yes, I was terrified. She used the cliché of ''I want to make you shine'' to encourage me to do it, and somehow, I did. And afterwards my oral confidence in Spanish rose dramatically. And now, because of one slightly crazy Spanish lady, I am better.
There are so many things I wish I could improve - general awareness of world issues, knowledge of what we discuss in the Amnesty meetings, relationships with my friends, relations between family members, and more. But what I've learnt this year is that if you don't fail, you don't improve.
I've spent so long in the past two years believing that I'm not good enough. I remember being in year seven and just having no friends - I didn't conform to what everybody else in the year did, so I wasn't good enough to have real friends. I remember sitting on my bedroom floor one evening texting one of my 'so called' friends and deciding I wanted to be better than the people who put me down. All the way through high school I suppose I maintained that idea, but it got hard when people I didn't even know decided to believe it too.
In truth, I'm no better or no worse than the next person. Only now as I sit here typing do I realise that my lack of happiness at grades and achievements is due to my motives for achieving them. But I'm different to that person - the pressures on me have gone and so have the pressures I placed upon myself. I might not always be the best at everything, but I can better myself...and trust me when I say that happiness may only start to appear when you realise this - it did for me.
Besos ♥
Rachel
"And I never want to let you down, forgive me if I slip away. Sometimes it's hard to find my ground, 'cause I keep on falling as I try to get away from this crazy world." - Josh Groban - February Song
Wednesday 20 July 2011
40 facts about me
Another literal trend from Twitter that I thought I'd post here because a) I'm bored, b) I can't sleep for this ridiculous cough and c) I don't fancy spamming the timelines of my followers. These are all in no particular order and probably don't make sense.
1) I can't write my own surname properly, the 'ss' ends up just looking like a squiggle
2) ^ Which is why my signature is my first name with an 'x' through the middle (this only makes sense if you know my surname) and is also partially why part of the URL of this blog has 'xo' in it
3) It is 61 days until my birthday (I think...)
4) I have an addiction to buying stickers and notebooks...and I never use any of them
5) I used to keep a diary but now I only manage to keep a travel one
6) If I achieve nothing else in life, I want to travel the world
7) People, in general, annoy me
8) I can't even lie, I'm doing terribly at my TYSICs
9) I found a Turkish coin in my bedroom last night, and I have no idea how it got there
10) Hearing about anybody I know being interested in a foreign language excites me more than it probably should.
11) ^ The same goes for grammar, ESC and people who make jewellery
12) My handmade charm bracelet will always be worth more to me than expensive jewellery
13) I wouldn't be like I am now if I hadn't gone on the Croatia expedition last year - this includes my involvement with the Amnesty group or new found interests
14) My family, generally, do a brilliant job of winding me up
15) I cannot be followed up the stairs by anybody
16) I have an irrational fear of medicine (as in the liquid, not the general term for medical practice)
17) My only other fears are being underwater and being alone in the dark (I blame having to walk home in the dark from the bus stop for this one completely)
18) The majority of the music I listen to is either by a foreign (generally European) artist or in a different language (generally Spanish)
19) Languages are my life. I could talk for hours about how fulfilling being a languages student is.
20) I'm lucky that I went to such a good high school and had so many wonderful teachers
21) I've come to the conclusion that even though I hate it, NC is definitely for me because everybody there seems to be at least a tiny bit crazy
22) I own 4 Spanish dictionaries
23) My all time favourite foreign word is 'slap', meaning waterfall in Croatian
24) I can't switch off from my responsibilities at college, even now during the summer holidays it's impossible
25) One of my proudest achievements is that I'm a published author
26) The only career choice I have ever seriously considered is teaching
27) I love learning about other people
28) I'm more than a little obsessed with 'doing my nails'
29) I miss stress baking, but the lack of stress with which to bake is a good thing
30) Generally, I prefer animals to people (especially Dusty and Peanut)
31) I'm a complete night owl when I'm at home, but whenever I have to stay somewhere else, I can guarantee that I will always be the first awake.
32) My favourite book is Eleven by Mark Watson, partially because he's my absolute favourite comedian and he knows who I am, but mainly because the concept behind it fascinates me
33) I don't remember a winter when I wasn't upset/sad/depressed about something or had something bad going on in my life
34) The hour of Linguistics while on Linguastars in which we studied Vietnamese grammar was the most fascinating hour I've had in a long time
35) I love it when people take me out of my comfort zone, as long as it's for the better and I gain something good from it (i.e. María making us ring her friend in Spain and have a conversation with them in Spanish...I smiled for at least an hour after that non-stop)
36) I'm glad college only lasts two years, and even though I hate the place, I'm glad that I didn't go to a sixth form at my school (not that one exists yet...)
37) I'm kinda proud of my 'Croatia scar' (don't even ask...)
38) I have an obsession with Russian dolls and bought two sets in Poland alone. I have one that my grandad bought me and one that I painted myself, then I have a set of Russian doll boxes, a Russian doll money box (thanks, Fern) and several pieces of jewellery with them on
39) I still want a 'paint your own ukulele' set
40) I haven't seen one of my best friends for about 4 years...but hopefully we get to see each other this September and I'm already excited :)
Yeah, I told you there was no order...
Besos ♥
Rachel
Tuesday 19 July 2011
Tuesday Randoms
OK, some very quick Tuesday randoms before I reply to an email and then, hopefully, get some sleep...
- Firstly, the good news :) I can finally stop being secretive (to be honest, I didn't do a great job, both Eliza and Danny knew it was booked and I told Zoe yesterday) because I had my driver's theory test today and...passed! :) And now I can officially relax for the summer.
- Secondly, I'm so impressed with the gift my cousin brought me back from the US that I just had to share it... It's nice when people know you well enough to get you something you'll like. On a related note, I spent my entire evening writing out 18th invites to family members I've never even heard of. How on earth does that work? I've never met them but we're inviting them. OK then...
- Finally, the college magazine has its own blog! http://newcollegeworkingtitle.blogspot.com/ is where you can find articles, reviews and general musings written by the magazine's wonderful team. Well, when it properly goes live you will. I'm actually quite excited about this because it's giving the team a platform for writing that doesn't make the final cut for issues and I know how hard everybody works on their pieces so please, follow the link and give the team a follow :)
Besos ♥
Rachel
- Firstly, the good news :) I can finally stop being secretive (to be honest, I didn't do a great job, both Eliza and Danny knew it was booked and I told Zoe yesterday) because I had my driver's theory test today and...passed! :) And now I can officially relax for the summer.
- Finally, the college magazine has its own blog! http://newcollegeworkingtitle.blogspot.com/ is where you can find articles, reviews and general musings written by the magazine's wonderful team. Well, when it properly goes live you will. I'm actually quite excited about this because it's giving the team a platform for writing that doesn't make the final cut for issues and I know how hard everybody works on their pieces so please, follow the link and give the team a follow :)
Besos ♥
Rachel
Sunday 17 July 2011
Is it just me?
I don't normally double blog, but I've been meaning to do this one for a while. One of my favourite bloggers recently did a post on 'pet peeves' and I instantly knew I wanted to do one too...because firstly, who doesn't love a good moan? And secondly, it sounds kind of...fun? We also recently compiled 'Top 10 Annoyances' for the college magazine, so this fits right in.
Firstly, Facebookers. The fundamental flaw with the whole website is the people that use it. No, 12 year old, we don't want to know that two minutes ago you were sitting on the sofa, but are now sitting on the chair. Nobody is interested in the 'frape' packed with weird innuendo and we're pretty sure that Facebook isn't going to reply everytime you update with ''off to bed, goodnight Facebook xxxxxxx''.
People that walk around for days or even weeks with chipped nail varnish. Honestly, it makes me cringe. At least chip the tiny little black patch in the middle of your nail off...I'm pretty sure you don't want to walk around looking like you have some sort of nail disease. Equally, people that walk around with about 3 false, manicured nails remaining and the rest of their nails painted bright red or something - you look ridiculous, I'm sorry, you just do.
Having my back to people. I seriously can't even be followed up the stairs without cringing. I can't sleep unless I'm facing the door and I always attempt to sit at the back of a classroom so I don't have people behind me...even when I used to have to wear glasses for up-close vision I'd sit at the back and just be partially blind. Yes, that's how much of an issue it is.
People that bite metal cutlery when eating/people that scrape cutlery along plates/bowls. I have been known to tell my family off for doing this, especially my dad and brother. In fact, I've also been known to leave the room. I can put up with my dad's ridiculous eating noises unless he's doing either of these, and my brother's just a terrible eater. It's no wonder he needs braces if he chews every piece of metal he encounters...
People that EAT while in public toilets. Honestly, I have never understood this one. At high school, there was a crowd of girls that would spend their entire breaktimes and lunchtimes sitting on the toilet floor eating. Truly baffling. And the germs...goodnesss.
Tearing only the corner off a piece of paper - I had to do this to write my email address down for someone on Thursday but debated it for a few minutes first. I HATE messy paper. Equally, if I tear a piece of paper from my college notepad and it tears down the edge, it is the end of the world.
People that use coloured pens for essays. Black is acceptable, blue at a push, but nothing else please. I have a friend who handed in a piece of coursework that had been written in light green pen. Pens that make noises when they're being used are equally as irritating, as is the 'scratchy pencil' noise. Yuck. My life was made when I started in Y6 and was finally allowed to write in pen instead of pencil.
Wet hair - seriously freaks me out, as do people who chew their own hair.
Students who ask you what you're studying and then go ''oh...'' because you're not studying maths and your only science is a social one. You're not better than me because of your subject choices. And arguably, you're not studying a language, pretend person, so you are also inferior. Also, students that are studying 'less academic' subjects who make out like all of your subjects are insanely hard. It's a ridiculous cycle of being inferior and being superior and at the end of the day, we all study different things because we're different people. End.
People in supermarkets. I can guarantee that a trip to (our new, huge, ridiculously unmanned) Sainsbury's will end in complete fury at a) my mum and her ''we have to walk slowly so we see everything'' theory and b) the randomers that will just stop in front of you, leave their trolley in the middle of the aisle or happen to be in your way everytime you move. If I ever have a position of authority, there has to be a law on irritating shoppers. Honestly, just make a list. You end up buying the same things every week anyway.
Odd numbers. Everything has to be an even number - the amount of sweets in a packet, folders I take to college, piles on my desk...everything. Thankfully, my friend Zoe is also an odd number hater, so I'm not a freak alone.
I cannot wear socks. I just can't do it. Unless it's winter and my feet are cold in bed, in which case bed socks are perfectly acceptable. I've only worn one pair of socks recently and that was to walk around Auschwitz in the rain. People that wear knee high socks also make me cringe (just because it usually looks terrible and they usually wear them with tights and shorts, just no), as well as neon legwarmers and/or socks. In fact, neon clothing. It should be banned unless being used as reflective clothing at night.
Finding objects in places they really don't belong in - my latest moment was finding a whole pencil in the bottom of a water cooler tray. How on earth did it even end up in there? The best I've ever seen was a pair of shoes tied to a power line in my village. Why? Just, why?
Finally, people that never make an effort. Seriously, even if it's just a simple text to confirm something unclear, do it. It's going to take up, what, less than a minute of your entire life? And presents, if you're going to buy me a £5 Boots set for Christmas because you ''don't know what else to get me'', donate the money to a charity. I'd much rather receive nothing than a gift that has no thought behind it. Eliza did this for me last Christmas at my request and donated money to a charity I'm interested in. See, effort, thinking, it's not that hard. Equally, people who do absolutely nothing when you're put into groups in classes. I'm finding the task hard too, but at least I'm contributing rubbish ideas rather than nothing. Oh, and people that say they ''can't be bothered'' doing things like getting dressed, climbing a set of stairs or finishing something they've already started. Stop being so lazy, go upstairs and get dressed and then just finish it. Grrr.
It probably shouldn't have felt quite as good as it did to write that post, right? ;P
Now, your turn. Leave me a comment if you agree with any of these :)
Besos ♥
Rachel
Firstly, Facebookers. The fundamental flaw with the whole website is the people that use it. No, 12 year old, we don't want to know that two minutes ago you were sitting on the sofa, but are now sitting on the chair. Nobody is interested in the 'frape' packed with weird innuendo and we're pretty sure that Facebook isn't going to reply everytime you update with ''off to bed, goodnight Facebook xxxxxxx''.
People that walk around for days or even weeks with chipped nail varnish. Honestly, it makes me cringe. At least chip the tiny little black patch in the middle of your nail off...I'm pretty sure you don't want to walk around looking like you have some sort of nail disease. Equally, people that walk around with about 3 false, manicured nails remaining and the rest of their nails painted bright red or something - you look ridiculous, I'm sorry, you just do.
Having my back to people. I seriously can't even be followed up the stairs without cringing. I can't sleep unless I'm facing the door and I always attempt to sit at the back of a classroom so I don't have people behind me...even when I used to have to wear glasses for up-close vision I'd sit at the back and just be partially blind. Yes, that's how much of an issue it is.
People that bite metal cutlery when eating/people that scrape cutlery along plates/bowls. I have been known to tell my family off for doing this, especially my dad and brother. In fact, I've also been known to leave the room. I can put up with my dad's ridiculous eating noises unless he's doing either of these, and my brother's just a terrible eater. It's no wonder he needs braces if he chews every piece of metal he encounters...
People that EAT while in public toilets. Honestly, I have never understood this one. At high school, there was a crowd of girls that would spend their entire breaktimes and lunchtimes sitting on the toilet floor eating. Truly baffling. And the germs...goodnesss.
Tearing only the corner off a piece of paper - I had to do this to write my email address down for someone on Thursday but debated it for a few minutes first. I HATE messy paper. Equally, if I tear a piece of paper from my college notepad and it tears down the edge, it is the end of the world.
People that use coloured pens for essays. Black is acceptable, blue at a push, but nothing else please. I have a friend who handed in a piece of coursework that had been written in light green pen. Pens that make noises when they're being used are equally as irritating, as is the 'scratchy pencil' noise. Yuck. My life was made when I started in Y6 and was finally allowed to write in pen instead of pencil.
Wet hair - seriously freaks me out, as do people who chew their own hair.
Students who ask you what you're studying and then go ''oh...'' because you're not studying maths and your only science is a social one. You're not better than me because of your subject choices. And arguably, you're not studying a language, pretend person, so you are also inferior. Also, students that are studying 'less academic' subjects who make out like all of your subjects are insanely hard. It's a ridiculous cycle of being inferior and being superior and at the end of the day, we all study different things because we're different people. End.
People in supermarkets. I can guarantee that a trip to (our new, huge, ridiculously unmanned) Sainsbury's will end in complete fury at a) my mum and her ''we have to walk slowly so we see everything'' theory and b) the randomers that will just stop in front of you, leave their trolley in the middle of the aisle or happen to be in your way everytime you move. If I ever have a position of authority, there has to be a law on irritating shoppers. Honestly, just make a list. You end up buying the same things every week anyway.
Odd numbers. Everything has to be an even number - the amount of sweets in a packet, folders I take to college, piles on my desk...everything. Thankfully, my friend Zoe is also an odd number hater, so I'm not a freak alone.
I cannot wear socks. I just can't do it. Unless it's winter and my feet are cold in bed, in which case bed socks are perfectly acceptable. I've only worn one pair of socks recently and that was to walk around Auschwitz in the rain. People that wear knee high socks also make me cringe (just because it usually looks terrible and they usually wear them with tights and shorts, just no), as well as neon legwarmers and/or socks. In fact, neon clothing. It should be banned unless being used as reflective clothing at night.
Finding objects in places they really don't belong in - my latest moment was finding a whole pencil in the bottom of a water cooler tray. How on earth did it even end up in there? The best I've ever seen was a pair of shoes tied to a power line in my village. Why? Just, why?
Finally, people that never make an effort. Seriously, even if it's just a simple text to confirm something unclear, do it. It's going to take up, what, less than a minute of your entire life? And presents, if you're going to buy me a £5 Boots set for Christmas because you ''don't know what else to get me'', donate the money to a charity. I'd much rather receive nothing than a gift that has no thought behind it. Eliza did this for me last Christmas at my request and donated money to a charity I'm interested in. See, effort, thinking, it's not that hard. Equally, people who do absolutely nothing when you're put into groups in classes. I'm finding the task hard too, but at least I'm contributing rubbish ideas rather than nothing. Oh, and people that say they ''can't be bothered'' doing things like getting dressed, climbing a set of stairs or finishing something they've already started. Stop being so lazy, go upstairs and get dressed and then just finish it. Grrr.
It probably shouldn't have felt quite as good as it did to write that post, right? ;P
Now, your turn. Leave me a comment if you agree with any of these :)
Besos ♥
Rachel
Saturday 16 July 2011
The Balance
There's a lot on my mind at the moment. I guess it might have something to do with the fact that I've officially broken up for the summer. I like being on a schedule and college holidays generally mess that up completely, so I think it feels a little weird knowing I don't have anything to stick to for what feels like a long time.
One of the biggest things on my mind is something I thought I'd forgotten about and managed to get over by now. But then, suddenly I'm thinking about it again and I'm not so sure anymore. It's probably my own fault for ending up in a conversation in which I got myself into a position where I had to mention it. This one situation, combined with some 'news' that I found out a few days ago, makes for some interesting thinking. Basically, both myself and somebody that I really do not get along with have both been invited to the same party. In fact, there's a strong chance that person will secretly be stalking my blog... Anyway, part of me is totally fine with that - it's not my party and this person is friends with the person hosting it, it's their choice who they invite - but then another side of me is already nervous about the prospect of being in a confined space with said person. I suppose that while the events that have preceeded this predicament have been partially forgiven, they haven't been forgotten. In fact, I can remember them vividly.
Maybe it's because I never really had an opportunity to discuss what happened and deal with it. I was in counselling at college at the time but it happened during the two days before the Christmas holidays and by the time my next appointment came I was too busy with revision and exam stress to put myself through bringing all of it back into my mind. So, it's currently somewhere inside my head just lurking and making rare appearances when I could really do with it staying put.
And that is the point, how do I find the balance between accepting it and being completely fine with it. I mean, I've accepted that this situation has happened and that, unfortunately, we have mutual friends and our paths will occasionally cross. But, I'm not fine with that concept at all. In fact, I feel physically sick just thinking about it.
Maybe I'm being a bit dramatic, but there's no way I can accurately paint the picture for anyone to understand why. Hyperventilating on the kitchen floor while your parents call the police...feeling completely helpless when your tutor tells you ''it's not a college issue''...being driven to college by your dad because you're terrified of being on the same bus as certain people... Perhaps the worst part at the moment is knowing that I can't talk to anybody about it until after this party we've both been invited to, realistically. So in the meantime? I really don't know...
Besos ♥
Rachel
One of the biggest things on my mind is something I thought I'd forgotten about and managed to get over by now. But then, suddenly I'm thinking about it again and I'm not so sure anymore. It's probably my own fault for ending up in a conversation in which I got myself into a position where I had to mention it. This one situation, combined with some 'news' that I found out a few days ago, makes for some interesting thinking. Basically, both myself and somebody that I really do not get along with have both been invited to the same party. In fact, there's a strong chance that person will secretly be stalking my blog... Anyway, part of me is totally fine with that - it's not my party and this person is friends with the person hosting it, it's their choice who they invite - but then another side of me is already nervous about the prospect of being in a confined space with said person. I suppose that while the events that have preceeded this predicament have been partially forgiven, they haven't been forgotten. In fact, I can remember them vividly.
Maybe it's because I never really had an opportunity to discuss what happened and deal with it. I was in counselling at college at the time but it happened during the two days before the Christmas holidays and by the time my next appointment came I was too busy with revision and exam stress to put myself through bringing all of it back into my mind. So, it's currently somewhere inside my head just lurking and making rare appearances when I could really do with it staying put.
And that is the point, how do I find the balance between accepting it and being completely fine with it. I mean, I've accepted that this situation has happened and that, unfortunately, we have mutual friends and our paths will occasionally cross. But, I'm not fine with that concept at all. In fact, I feel physically sick just thinking about it.
Maybe I'm being a bit dramatic, but there's no way I can accurately paint the picture for anyone to understand why. Hyperventilating on the kitchen floor while your parents call the police...feeling completely helpless when your tutor tells you ''it's not a college issue''...being driven to college by your dad because you're terrified of being on the same bus as certain people... Perhaps the worst part at the moment is knowing that I can't talk to anybody about it until after this party we've both been invited to, realistically. So in the meantime? I really don't know...
Besos ♥
Rachel
Thursday 14 July 2011
Linguastars
First off, I'm really not well at the moment so I apologise in advance for the lack of sense in this post.
Soooo, Linguastars. What an insane two days. We arrived at something like 9:45 on Tuesday 12th and had an icebreaker session to get to know the group. Our first impressions of everybody else? Well, we all had to make animal noises at people and 'find someone of the same species'. I was a chicken...I can't make chicken noises. Awkward. We then got given a bunch of balloons and straws and had to try and make the tallest tower out of what we had. Ours was, well, rubbish... The majority of our building time looked like this >>>
After balloon building we separated into language groups and the Spanish group went and sat in a computer room for about half an hour attempting to figure out what we were doing as our 'stand in teacher' didn't speak Spanish. We ended up doing some research on Universidad de Córdoba, which is apparently somewhere near Malaga. I'll warn you now, just for future reference, there is no information at all about catering at the university anywhere online. Guess what my research topic was...
After that, we went to an AMAZING Linguistics taster session with a cool Bulgarian woman. We talked a bit about grammar and sentence structuring in English, and then we did some Vietnamese grammar. I seriously shouldn't have enjoyed learning Vietnamese grammar quite as much as I did, but it was SO cool. Chim nyo ku'ng thay chim to - the little bird also perceives the big bird. And then we talked about Latin alphabets vs. Cyrillic alphabets and Chinese alphabets.
After lunch we had a terrible World Cinema taster session with a guy who just read out a research essay for an hour about western films. It was basically media theory but he got several bits wrong. From there, we went to our second Spanish session where the teacher, María, had us ringing her friend in Spain and asking him questions in Spanish. She started the lesson by talking about how she wanted to break down the fear barrier that language students have so she decided the best way to do that would be to make us ring her friend. As you do. It was a really odd experience but lots of people said afterwards that it did give them confidence, and it definitely did for me.
In the evening, we did 'University Challenge' in random teams. The best round was the playdoh/pictionary round where we'd be given random things to model and the rest of the team had to guess. I think my most random object was 'piano'. We also had to make a team mascot out of sweets... meet Nemo.
Wednesday began with presentation preparation in Spanish. We decided ours was going to be 'Cita a Ciegas' (Blind Date) where a uni student had three potential flatmates to choose from a lineup. After Spanish we had Russian (:D) where we learnt some of the Russian alphabet and were taught some basic words and phrases. The aim of the lesson was to demonstrate that learning a foreign alphabet, like that of Russian, doesn't have to be 'scary' or 'too hard'. By the end of the session, I was able to remember a fair amount of the letters.
We then had a UCAS workshop which was, well, dull, and then another Spanish session to finalise our presentation preparation and rehearse. My group ended the day with Interpreting, which was also quite a cool experience. We had to take it in turns to try out the different types of interpreting (English to English) including going into the booths and using the headsets or having to remember the entire speech and recite as much of it as possible.
The day ended with presentations and certificate-giving. Our presentation definitely got the best audience reaction...if only because Adam (one of the student helpers) was interpreting for everybody and couldn't speak any Spanish. I was the contestant that ''hated everything and only liked animals and fish''. It's interesting having to shout ''odio el helado'' and throw a fake ice cream across a room in front of complete strangers when you're losing your voice (if anybody reading heard me today, you may now understand why I could barely speak...) The two other girls in the picture are Carolina (in blue) - the shy one, and Becky - the insane one. Becky was one of my actual flatmates for the night we spent in Charles Morris halls and Carolina, I believe, was part Portuguese/had been brought up speaking Portuguese.
Overall, the two days were absolutely exhausting, but amazing at the same time. It was SO, so good to be around people witha passion an obsession for languages. There was one random guy who sat with us for lunch on Wednesday who asked if he could look at my apple juice bottle because it had Norwegian on the label. Yes! That is absolutely the sort of random thing I would do too.
Today was the second Induction Day at college and I was in English Language then on the Amnesty stand at the Enrichment Fair. More on that when I'm less ill.
Besos ♥
Rachel
Soooo, Linguastars. What an insane two days. We arrived at something like 9:45 on Tuesday 12th and had an icebreaker session to get to know the group. Our first impressions of everybody else? Well, we all had to make animal noises at people and 'find someone of the same species'. I was a chicken...I can't make chicken noises. Awkward. We then got given a bunch of balloons and straws and had to try and make the tallest tower out of what we had. Ours was, well, rubbish... The majority of our building time looked like this >>>
After balloon building we separated into language groups and the Spanish group went and sat in a computer room for about half an hour attempting to figure out what we were doing as our 'stand in teacher' didn't speak Spanish. We ended up doing some research on Universidad de Córdoba, which is apparently somewhere near Malaga. I'll warn you now, just for future reference, there is no information at all about catering at the university anywhere online. Guess what my research topic was... After that, we went to an AMAZING Linguistics taster session with a cool Bulgarian woman. We talked a bit about grammar and sentence structuring in English, and then we did some Vietnamese grammar. I seriously shouldn't have enjoyed learning Vietnamese grammar quite as much as I did, but it was SO cool. Chim nyo ku'ng thay chim to - the little bird also perceives the big bird. And then we talked about Latin alphabets vs. Cyrillic alphabets and Chinese alphabets.
After lunch we had a terrible World Cinema taster session with a guy who just read out a research essay for an hour about western films. It was basically media theory but he got several bits wrong. From there, we went to our second Spanish session where the teacher, María, had us ringing her friend in Spain and asking him questions in Spanish. She started the lesson by talking about how she wanted to break down the fear barrier that language students have so she decided the best way to do that would be to make us ring her friend. As you do. It was a really odd experience but lots of people said afterwards that it did give them confidence, and it definitely did for me.
Wednesday began with presentation preparation in Spanish. We decided ours was going to be 'Cita a Ciegas' (Blind Date) where a uni student had three potential flatmates to choose from a lineup. After Spanish we had Russian (:D) where we learnt some of the Russian alphabet and were taught some basic words and phrases. The aim of the lesson was to demonstrate that learning a foreign alphabet, like that of Russian, doesn't have to be 'scary' or 'too hard'. By the end of the session, I was able to remember a fair amount of the letters.
We then had a UCAS workshop which was, well, dull, and then another Spanish session to finalise our presentation preparation and rehearse. My group ended the day with Interpreting, which was also quite a cool experience. We had to take it in turns to try out the different types of interpreting (English to English) including going into the booths and using the headsets or having to remember the entire speech and recite as much of it as possible.
The day ended with presentations and certificate-giving. Our presentation definitely got the best audience reaction...if only because Adam (one of the student helpers) was interpreting for everybody and couldn't speak any Spanish. I was the contestant that ''hated everything and only liked animals and fish''. It's interesting having to shout ''odio el helado'' and throw a fake ice cream across a room in front of complete strangers when you're losing your voice (if anybody reading heard me today, you may now understand why I could barely speak...) The two other girls in the picture are Carolina (in blue) - the shy one, and Becky - the insane one. Becky was one of my actual flatmates for the night we spent in Charles Morris halls and Carolina, I believe, was part Portuguese/had been brought up speaking Portuguese. Overall, the two days were absolutely exhausting, but amazing at the same time. It was SO, so good to be around people with
Today was the second Induction Day at college and I was in English Language then on the Amnesty stand at the Enrichment Fair. More on that when I'm less ill.
Besos ♥
Rachel
Monday 11 July 2011
12
Today was officially my last day of Y12. Tomorrow is technically the last day, but I'm at Linguastars (more on that later).
Firstly, what a weird day. SLT decided to cancel all morning lessons for CoPE people who still hadn't managed to finish what is possibly the easiest qualification the college has ever offered. So, it just so happened that I was supposed to be in Psychology first...which ended up being the room I was also supposed to be in to register with my form (which was handy, because they only announced it in the common room, apparently). I sat in there for about half an hour and then got told to go to the LRC where we all got very patronised by SLT. Because we'd all finished our CoPE on time and been 'good little chickens' (yes, I know, shut up Leon...) we were given the filler task of 'writing a letter to say how good college is'' to go in the prospectus. Most people didn't bother, I only did because I'm in SOS and part of the letter had to be about giving advice (which is what SOS basically are there to do). Plus, it's not like I had anything AT ALL to do with my day as all of my lessons were in the morning. Grrrrrrr.
Once we'd been freed from the LRC, Fern and I ran around trying to find all of my teachers so I could give them thank you cards and then we spent quite a while sitting outside B block talking with Sarah. We also had quite a lengthy rant to Suzanne (Head of Psychology) who seemed more than happy to rant back, haha. It was obvious from the beginning of the day that teachers weren't very impressed at the situation either. We then actually went in B block and I gave Nigel his cat mug, where I was also cornered by Lindsay wanting me to fill in a Poland feedback sheet, so me, Fern and eventually Eliza went and sat in Nigel's room while I attempted to fill it out seriously and Fern kept going ''I heart Poland'' in a weird accent. I think the heat combined with the weird morning sent her slightly insane...
There were some other things that occurred, but a) I'm aware this is all rather dull if you weren't involved in NC's latest surprise CoPE day, and b) I'm not entirely sure I want to share them on here (don't worry, nothing bad, I'm just strange).
It amused me that I started and ended Y12 in the same way - in CoPE. In that way, it's like I've come full circle and am back where I started. Yet, as a conversation I had earlier today pointed out to me, I absolutely haven't. College has changed me (a lot), and while I'm still deciding if that's a good thing, there are many things I'm thankful for about the college year (and also plenty that I'm SO not thankful for...):
New people: Keyana, Katie (even though I technically knew them both before, we never spoke), Adam (Amnesty), Kerry, Eleanor, Poppy (My CT!), Sophie, Jess, Jess, Jade, Bethan, Stevan, Emily, Becky (Team Sheepish!), James (Spanish), Chloe, Talor, Chelsea (English). The list could go on. I've met so many truly lovely people who might not realise quite how much I've appreciated getting to know them. There are some on there (e.g. Chelsea) who I don't even speak to much, but who are just genuinely lovely people who always, without fail, cheer me up when I do speak to them.
New experiences: Amnesty International group (obviously!), Rob's Mediocre Choir, Working Title, SOS, CIN/RND, Poland, languages study day, etc etc. The one I owe the most credit to here, really, is choir. I only went because Aiden was, and then I met Poppy who is just the happiest, most fun person I have ever met (PS: she's on World Challenge in India right now and I've been itching to share this link with you all). More than just making new friends, though, something about choir helped me to somehow find the confidence that I just completely lost when I started college. But if you've been reading for a while you might already know my thoughts on choir. If anybody remembers that afternoon after I'd spent all morning sitting in an office with Tim and my dad crying, you might also remember that I had a choir performance all afternoon. I wouldn't have got through that day without choir.
New outlook: Basically, my general outlook on college life at the moment is ''turn negativity into productivity''. I wrote about it in that stupid letter I had to do because for me, it does seem to work. I wish I'd spent less time worrying and stressing at the beginning of the year and just done something about it instead, but seen as I can't I owe it to myself to try and keep it up for Y13.
Tomorrow morning, I go off to a residential at the University of Leeds. Thankfully, it's only one night. I'm not a fan of uni accomodation after Brunel (it was basically a prison, made worse by the fact that my keys didn't work for either of the doors they were supposed to be for), but it doesn't look too bad for us. The residential is basically two days of Spanish (for me and James) and French (for Sophie) - we've nicknamed it 'language camp'.
So, while I may be ending Y12 in exactly the same way as it started, I'm also ending it doing the thing I enjoy the most. Not too bad :)
Besos ♥
Rachel
Firstly, what a weird day. SLT decided to cancel all morning lessons for CoPE people who still hadn't managed to finish what is possibly the easiest qualification the college has ever offered. So, it just so happened that I was supposed to be in Psychology first...which ended up being the room I was also supposed to be in to register with my form (which was handy, because they only announced it in the common room, apparently). I sat in there for about half an hour and then got told to go to the LRC where we all got very patronised by SLT. Because we'd all finished our CoPE on time and been 'good little chickens' (yes, I know, shut up Leon...) we were given the filler task of 'writing a letter to say how good college is'' to go in the prospectus. Most people didn't bother, I only did because I'm in SOS and part of the letter had to be about giving advice (which is what SOS basically are there to do). Plus, it's not like I had anything AT ALL to do with my day as all of my lessons were in the morning. Grrrrrrr.
Once we'd been freed from the LRC, Fern and I ran around trying to find all of my teachers so I could give them thank you cards and then we spent quite a while sitting outside B block talking with Sarah. We also had quite a lengthy rant to Suzanne (Head of Psychology) who seemed more than happy to rant back, haha. It was obvious from the beginning of the day that teachers weren't very impressed at the situation either. We then actually went in B block and I gave Nigel his cat mug, where I was also cornered by Lindsay wanting me to fill in a Poland feedback sheet, so me, Fern and eventually Eliza went and sat in Nigel's room while I attempted to fill it out seriously and Fern kept going ''I heart Poland'' in a weird accent. I think the heat combined with the weird morning sent her slightly insane...
There were some other things that occurred, but a) I'm aware this is all rather dull if you weren't involved in NC's latest surprise CoPE day, and b) I'm not entirely sure I want to share them on here (don't worry, nothing bad, I'm just strange).
It amused me that I started and ended Y12 in the same way - in CoPE. In that way, it's like I've come full circle and am back where I started. Yet, as a conversation I had earlier today pointed out to me, I absolutely haven't. College has changed me (a lot), and while I'm still deciding if that's a good thing, there are many things I'm thankful for about the college year (and also plenty that I'm SO not thankful for...):
New people: Keyana, Katie (even though I technically knew them both before, we never spoke), Adam (Amnesty), Kerry, Eleanor, Poppy (My CT!), Sophie, Jess, Jess, Jade, Bethan, Stevan, Emily, Becky (Team Sheepish!), James (Spanish), Chloe, Talor, Chelsea (English). The list could go on. I've met so many truly lovely people who might not realise quite how much I've appreciated getting to know them. There are some on there (e.g. Chelsea) who I don't even speak to much, but who are just genuinely lovely people who always, without fail, cheer me up when I do speak to them.
New experiences: Amnesty International group (obviously!), Rob's Mediocre Choir, Working Title, SOS, CIN/RND, Poland, languages study day, etc etc. The one I owe the most credit to here, really, is choir. I only went because Aiden was, and then I met Poppy who is just the happiest, most fun person I have ever met (PS: she's on World Challenge in India right now and I've been itching to share this link with you all). More than just making new friends, though, something about choir helped me to somehow find the confidence that I just completely lost when I started college. But if you've been reading for a while you might already know my thoughts on choir. If anybody remembers that afternoon after I'd spent all morning sitting in an office with Tim and my dad crying, you might also remember that I had a choir performance all afternoon. I wouldn't have got through that day without choir.
New outlook: Basically, my general outlook on college life at the moment is ''turn negativity into productivity''. I wrote about it in that stupid letter I had to do because for me, it does seem to work. I wish I'd spent less time worrying and stressing at the beginning of the year and just done something about it instead, but seen as I can't I owe it to myself to try and keep it up for Y13.
Tomorrow morning, I go off to a residential at the University of Leeds. Thankfully, it's only one night. I'm not a fan of uni accomodation after Brunel (it was basically a prison, made worse by the fact that my keys didn't work for either of the doors they were supposed to be for), but it doesn't look too bad for us. The residential is basically two days of Spanish (for me and James) and French (for Sophie) - we've nicknamed it 'language camp'.
So, while I may be ending Y12 in exactly the same way as it started, I'm also ending it doing the thing I enjoy the most. Not too bad :)
Besos ♥
Rachel
Sunday 10 July 2011
Poland Diary - Some Photographs...
About 1/3 of these photos were taken by other members of the group and do not belong to me (mainly the ones with me in or group pics).
I have no idea if it can be made larger. I'm going to Twitpic some photos later so I'll link up to them on here.
Poland Diary - Status Updates & Tweets
Facebook
Just sitting in a random corner at Liverpool Airport.
Found the paprika crisps from Croatia in a random Polish shop :)
Sitting in Krakow"s Old Town talking about slingshots and the Pope.
was with Jess Worrall and 2 others at Hotel Alexander.
Farewell meal with Jess, Jess, Jade, Becky and Emily. Love our little boat racing, Coffee Heaven loving group :)
All packed and ready to go home :(
Twitter
Just sitting in a random corner at Liverpool Airport with the Jess, Jess, Jade, Sarah, Pati, Beth + Talor #poland
Just leaving Krakow Airport. Glorious weather.
Having a meal in a cute little traditional Polish restaurant.
Absorbing Krakow's main square with Stevan and Jade. So beautiful.
Had cherry hot chocolate at the Wedel Chocolate Lounge. Now en route to Auschwitz.
Once again just chilling in the Old Square with Jess, Jess, Jade, Bethan, Stevan, Emily + Becky :)
Got a place on Linguastars, in a beautiful city, been making jewellery. Not a bad day.
Terrible at this hotel business. Can't even open a door.
Just watched Bethan unclog a sink with a plastic bag and a hairpin. Actually disgusting.
#SpecialFF @jessicalouisead - currently roaming the corridors of Hotel Alexander wearing a blanket
Breakfast with Jade, @jessicalouisead and Jess W.
At Wawel Castle. It's not raining. Hurrah!
Quick blog from here in Kraków
I think the man I just talked about in my blog post had something going on with the reception lady. Oooooh...
The man is somebody's driver. He just gave the rest of his ice lolly to reception lady. Can you tell I'm bored?
At the Rocking Horse restaurant.
Phone is dying. Should probs turn it off. Group competition later. Too tired.
I also don't want to go home. My Krakow friends are actually awesome and we're so similar
Saying goodbye to Hotel Alexander. Must not cry today but already emotional. Meh.
Tour guide walks in and says hello. My response? Hiiiii. Why am I so weird?
Running Scared is playing on Polish radio. Day = made.
Yeah it's cool easyJet, just open my suitcase and send it to the carousel with stuff hanging out...
Just sitting in a random corner at Liverpool Airport.
Found the paprika crisps from Croatia in a random Polish shop :)
Sitting in Krakow"s Old Town talking about slingshots and the Pope.
was with Jess Worrall and 2 others at Hotel Alexander.
Farewell meal with Jess, Jess, Jade, Becky and Emily. Love our little boat racing, Coffee Heaven loving group :)
All packed and ready to go home :(
Just sitting in a random corner at Liverpool Airport with the Jess, Jess, Jade, Sarah, Pati, Beth + Talor #poland
Just leaving Krakow Airport. Glorious weather.
Having a meal in a cute little traditional Polish restaurant.
Absorbing Krakow's main square with Stevan and Jade. So beautiful.
Had cherry hot chocolate at the Wedel Chocolate Lounge. Now en route to Auschwitz.
Once again just chilling in the Old Square with Jess, Jess, Jade, Bethan, Stevan, Emily + Becky :)
Got a place on Linguastars, in a beautiful city, been making jewellery. Not a bad day.
Terrible at this hotel business. Can't even open a door.
Just watched Bethan unclog a sink with a plastic bag and a hairpin. Actually disgusting.
#SpecialFF @jessicalouisead - currently roaming the corridors of Hotel Alexander wearing a blanket
Breakfast with Jade, @jessicalouisead and Jess W.
At Wawel Castle. It's not raining. Hurrah!
Quick blog from here in Kraków
I think the man I just talked about in my blog post had something going on with the reception lady. Oooooh...
The man is somebody's driver. He just gave the rest of his ice lolly to reception lady. Can you tell I'm bored?
At the Rocking Horse restaurant.
Phone is dying. Should probs turn it off. Group competition later. Too tired.
I also don't want to go home. My Krakow friends are actually awesome and we're so similar
Saying goodbye to Hotel Alexander. Must not cry today but already emotional. Meh.
Tour guide walks in and says hello. My response? Hiiiii. Why am I so weird?
Running Scared is playing on Polish radio. Day = made.
Yeah it's cool easyJet, just open my suitcase and send it to the carousel with stuff hanging out...
Poland Diary - Sunday 3rd July, 2:48pm, Plane to Liverpool
After giving them their gifts I went upstairs and packed. I didn’t really understand why Jade and the others went back so early to pack because it only took me about 10-15 minutes…not two hours. To be honest, I do think it was a bit of an excuse from some people (alright, someone) but I guess it doesn’t matter now anyway. I enjoyed my evening with Jess enough to not care. I listened to my iPod for a while before bed to try and wind down a bit before trying to sleep. It was kind of good to know where everything was. I’m pretty sure I haven’t left anything. The only thing I couldn’t find was a travel adapter and Sarah and Steph found it this morning once I’d locked my suitcase. At least I won’t get shouted at for losing it now.
I was first down to breakfast again this morning (well, excluding Nigel who has never actually had breakfast with the rest of us at all) and I think I’ve really appreciated that in the past two days - being in a big group 24/7 really wound me up in Croatia and it was no different in Poland. Plus it was nice to get the watermelon before it started to dry out (ha, how sad…) Sarah and Steph came down after about five minutes and it was nice to eat just as roomies for the last breakfast. They both introduced themselves to Nutella and Sarah decided she’ll be stopping at the shop on the way home to buy some. Honestly… When we were upstairs we took some pictures together too. Steph is really lovely, and it really hasn’t mattered that we didn’t know each other. Even though I experienced it in Croatia last year, it still surprised me how I could get along so well with people I didn’t know. I’ve enjoyed the company of people I didn’t know more than that of my actual friends, but to be honest that wasn’t a great surprise considering I wasn't around them as much for most of the trip.
Sidenote: the teachers all just turned round to stare at me. Awkward…
I was first down to breakfast again this morning (well, excluding Nigel who has never actually had breakfast with the rest of us at all) and I think I’ve really appreciated that in the past two days - being in a big group 24/7 really wound me up in Croatia and it was no different in Poland. Plus it was nice to get the watermelon before it started to dry out (ha, how sad…) Sarah and Steph came down after about five minutes and it was nice to eat just as roomies for the last breakfast. They both introduced themselves to Nutella and Sarah decided she’ll be stopping at the shop on the way home to buy some. Honestly… When we were upstairs we took some pictures together too. Steph is really lovely, and it really hasn’t mattered that we didn’t know each other. Even though I experienced it in Croatia last year, it still surprised me how I could get along so well with people I didn’t know. I’ve enjoyed the company of people I didn’t know more than that of my actual friends, but to be honest that wasn’t a great surprise considering I wasn't around them as much for most of the trip.
Sidenote: the teachers all just turned round to stare at me. Awkward…
While I was sitting downstairs waiting for Steph to go up and finish packing (I eventually left her and went up alone), Nigel came and sat with me and thanked me again and told me that it was a perfect gift. Aww. He then told me to keep in touch, saying “I have Facebook, you know.”
Anna, our tour guide, turned up, followed shortly by two mini buses - I sat with Jade again. Everybody was saying how they don’t want to go home and even though I’m on the plane it still doesn’t feel like I am. College is going to be awful in comparison. We camped out on the floor next to check-in for about half an hour. We checked in, went through security and then went into the departures lounge bit for gate 3. We sat there for a while and I wrote in here but it didn’t seem as long as it was. I sat on the floor to write because I had nothing to lean on sitting on the chair and got lots of ‘you’re odd’ looks from people. Haha. Stevan was obviously watching me write/reading what I was saying over my shoulder from the chair behind me. Weirdly, I wasn’t very bothered by it. Then, we were allowed to queue up for boarding even though people were still leaving the plane from the plane to Kraków. We all had to squash together in the queue to make sure we got through together. We got transported to the plane by a shuttle bus like when we arrived although it kept having to stop as the plane still wasn’t ready. We all debated which way we should run to get to sit together and when we eventually could get off everybody ran to the plane. We’re currently all (mainly) sat together at the front of the plane. I’m with Bethan and Stevan; Jade, Jess and Jess are behind.
I feel like I’ve really been myself again for these last few days. I’ve just been happy and have felt like people wanted to be around me rather than avoiding me like some people. I mentioned something like this earlier and Fiona sounded surprised that I don’t like some of my friends (sometimes), but like Jess said last night, it’s hard to do anything about a situation like that, which is just rubbish because it means you’re just unhappy. Plus, I think our random religion conversation has, for some reason, given me some renewed hope. But I do wish we could just stay in our little Poland bubble forever…
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