Bloggity bloggity blog blog.
Hi Friends.
It's been a while, so since I have a lot of work to do I thought I'd write a blog! Clever me. But to relieve some of the guilt, I shall blog about work! Good call, clever me.
So, at the moment I'm (trying to) work hard on my dissertation (10,000 words, topic of your choice, by the end of March). Although - uh oh - I don't have a *specific* research question just yet, I'm basically looking in to/at lesbian speech.
'Woah!' I hear you cry, 'but Amy, *do* lesbians have a particular kind of speech?'
Good question, imagined reader. But please, no shouting. Whilst the answer to that is something I'll save for my 10,000 word count, I can tell you that I don't know. Personally, I'm not convinced they do, but others have tried really hard to find something. I guess that's the whole point of looking into it, right?
But anyway, in the last week or so it's a conversation I have had several times with various people. Luckily, not one person has said, how ridiculous!, or Oh, great, and shuffled away quickly. They've all been really - strangely - enthusiastic and interested. How lovely.
More interestingly though (to me) is what doing my research has taught me about myself. No, I am not about to come out as gay. Nice try. For although some of the reading has given me something of an existential crisis - who knew identity was fluid and gender culturally constructed? Not me, until Wednesday - what I've learnt about myself is more to do with my own abilities, academically or work-wise.
Slight tangent: I've also been applying for jobs/careers, it being that point in my life (FUCK!) where one does such things. Some of these applications involve timed aptitude tests, what a nightmare, where you look at a paragraph of writing and then have to determine the truth value of a sentence related to the passage. There's also a maths test, and often 'competency questionnaires'. All this can be a little soul-destroying, and sufficed to say I've yet to prove that I am sufficiently capable. It turns out the (tens of) thousands of granduates also desperately looking for futures are MUCH better at this than me. Sad, but true.
Back to the main plot (tho keeping our tangential friend in mind). So there I am reading lots about sexual identity and/or trying to do backwards percentages on the income of a fictional paper company and I realise, almost simultaneously, two things. One, I am nowhere near as intelligent as I used to be (at school) and secondly, I'm not actually that hopeless, so don't worry dear, there there, you will find employment, shhhh.
It seems that I simply have a terrible memory, particularly for detail, and that I read very slowly. After a whole day selectively reading bits of two books, I was surprised to find how much I'd taken in, as I drummed out a tidy 600 words on the topic (I'd been aiming for 200). But, a few days later, in the pub, stumbling upon a friend-of-a-friend who happned to be reading similar things from an Eng Lit perspective, I had very little to say for myself. Now, maybe it was because I was a pint and a half down, and she'd come from editing her essay five mintes before, but sufficed to say, whilst I recognised the words she was saying, I couldn't really remember much about what they meant or why they were significant.
This happens to me time and again, that I can remember concepts but not specifics, and it's kind of annoying. It's certainly going to make the dissertation slow-going. It also makes me think that actually, some of the jobs I applied for I wouldn't be very good at, if they required a lot of reading and digesting of information.
But look, this is not meant as a negative post - I'm not losing sleep over this. It's just an observation, and perhaps an important one in terms of determining what I do do with the rest of my life. (Not that I have any great ideas - all suggestions welcome. My biggest fear is to spend the next 40 years in a suit trapped in a grey box making Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations.)
So, we shall see. Just thought I'd have a little vent. Now tho I have to comb through several articles on Communities of Practice. Things seem to stick if I read lots of stuff on the same topic, so better get started......
A x
Monday 15 November 2010
Saturday 28 August 2010
Hold on to that feeling.
A month ago, I was nervous about coming to Edinburgh: I was having such a good time in London. But now,
I AM HAVING SO MUCH FRINGE FUN
that I'm sad that tomorrow is the last day of Fringe (for those of us working at the wonderful Bedlam Theatre). I know, I know, some people are exhausted - and believe you me, I have been - and hate the Fringe, want their normal lives back etc etc. But, lucky me, I have had a fairly straight forward, simple job to do, and one that I have enjoyed immensely.
Bedlam is such a fantastic place to work, the building looks great this year, people come back again and again for the kind of shows on there and for the great value food and drink, and most of all for the cheerful, laid back atmosphere. This may sound like a shameless (fruitless, at this stage) plug, but it's true. It's why I love Bedlam, and am so proud to work there.
I have also been managed and working with some truly awesome people. Hard working, dedicated people, without whom the above paragraph might well read very differently. How thrilling to be part of a team like that! We should all be so lucky every day of our working lives to feel that way.
Sticking with the topic of lovely people, of course I needn't have worried about returning to the 'burgh. My diary for the last three weeks reads again and again of all the new people I've met, and all the friends I've made, or re-made, of the people I sort of knew of, but didn't really know, and now do. Exciting. With these both old and brand spanking new chums I've been to some great parties, enjoyed many a late night drink and been to see some awesome (and some awful) shows. I've played with my old band at a couple of great gigs and had a couple of delicious days cooking in The Palace (my sweet-as flat) with Helen. And of course, I've been reminded constantly that Edinburgh is as beautiful as my beloved London.
But as Fringe is about to come to an end, I'm nervous again (have I ever been a fan of change? I don't even like it in monetary form). I really should know by now that more exciting things are undoubtedly around the corner, but once again I'm having fun and don't want it to stop. I am still terribly excited to be going to New York and Montreal to see old friends and a new place, as always, but there is a slight sense of dread associated with my return - FOURTH YEAR!
In just a couple of weeks (at least it's still that long), I will be in my final year of university. I'll have to, like, actually do some work. Write a dissertation. Decide and apply for jobs, think about where I want to live, what I want to *do* to make my life worthwhile (at least in my eyes). I always approach milestones with trepidation. At the end of my school career I was worried that I didn't know what the future held; up to 18 I knew exactly where I would be and what I would be doing. Then I had uni, but soon I will need something else. I try, I try, but I do like structure (preferably in Excel form).
Still, in the mean time, I can comfort myself with two things: firstly that useful mantra, live each day as if it were your last. I shall continue to enjoy this time, grateful for my happiness and to have been fortunate enough to have this experience. Secondly, my favourite game: who will I know this time next year who I don't know now? If the past has taught me anything, it's that I will meet lots of lovely people and do some super cool things and, I think we can all be sure, have planned my future.
Perhaps I'll even block out some time for spontaneity.
A x
PS sorry if this post has made anyone a little nauseous. Sick bags are located in the seat pocket in front of you.
I AM HAVING SO MUCH FRINGE FUN
that I'm sad that tomorrow is the last day of Fringe (for those of us working at the wonderful Bedlam Theatre). I know, I know, some people are exhausted - and believe you me, I have been - and hate the Fringe, want their normal lives back etc etc. But, lucky me, I have had a fairly straight forward, simple job to do, and one that I have enjoyed immensely.
Bedlam is such a fantastic place to work, the building looks great this year, people come back again and again for the kind of shows on there and for the great value food and drink, and most of all for the cheerful, laid back atmosphere. This may sound like a shameless (fruitless, at this stage) plug, but it's true. It's why I love Bedlam, and am so proud to work there.
I have also been managed and working with some truly awesome people. Hard working, dedicated people, without whom the above paragraph might well read very differently. How thrilling to be part of a team like that! We should all be so lucky every day of our working lives to feel that way.
Sticking with the topic of lovely people, of course I needn't have worried about returning to the 'burgh. My diary for the last three weeks reads again and again of all the new people I've met, and all the friends I've made, or re-made, of the people I sort of knew of, but didn't really know, and now do. Exciting. With these both old and brand spanking new chums I've been to some great parties, enjoyed many a late night drink and been to see some awesome (and some awful) shows. I've played with my old band at a couple of great gigs and had a couple of delicious days cooking in The Palace (my sweet-as flat) with Helen. And of course, I've been reminded constantly that Edinburgh is as beautiful as my beloved London.
But as Fringe is about to come to an end, I'm nervous again (have I ever been a fan of change? I don't even like it in monetary form). I really should know by now that more exciting things are undoubtedly around the corner, but once again I'm having fun and don't want it to stop. I am still terribly excited to be going to New York and Montreal to see old friends and a new place, as always, but there is a slight sense of dread associated with my return - FOURTH YEAR!
In just a couple of weeks (at least it's still that long), I will be in my final year of university. I'll have to, like, actually do some work. Write a dissertation. Decide and apply for jobs, think about where I want to live, what I want to *do* to make my life worthwhile (at least in my eyes). I always approach milestones with trepidation. At the end of my school career I was worried that I didn't know what the future held; up to 18 I knew exactly where I would be and what I would be doing. Then I had uni, but soon I will need something else. I try, I try, but I do like structure (preferably in Excel form).
Still, in the mean time, I can comfort myself with two things: firstly that useful mantra, live each day as if it were your last. I shall continue to enjoy this time, grateful for my happiness and to have been fortunate enough to have this experience. Secondly, my favourite game: who will I know this time next year who I don't know now? If the past has taught me anything, it's that I will meet lots of lovely people and do some super cool things and, I think we can all be sure, have planned my future.
Perhaps I'll even block out some time for spontaneity.
A x
PS sorry if this post has made anyone a little nauseous. Sick bags are located in the seat pocket in front of you.
Friday 30 July 2010
Paved Paradise.
Blimey. It's already been a month since I left NZ. A month! Two days in Melbourne (current city of Rachel, Nick and JJ - goodbye!), two days in Dubai (city of paradoxes, a prime example of what happens when you have too much money) and then a lot more in London town (greatest city on Earth).
I won't lie. I have had such a great time being back - none of this 'reverse culture shock' malarky I was warned of so many times. I've had a blast catching up with family and friends from all areas of my past, from school to gap year to uni and even NZ; drinking at places old (G-A-Y) and new (most other places), and all the while being a tourist in my own town, as it were. Love London. It really is such a beautiful and vibrant place.
However, I am now off to Edinburgh. Strange, in some ways. Sad, in others. But exciting too of course! There are still so many London folk I haven't seen; tho I know I will be back, I am sorry I haven't had more time to catch up with everyone, and more time still with those I have seen.
I also have this funny sense that I expect to go back to Auckland when term starts again, which is of course nonsense (phew). But when I Facebook stalk friends still in NZ I feel a little jealous - I want to be going out to K Road for drinks too! And I also feel a little pang when I look at my own NZ photos (love how memory erases the nasty bits).
And then, as always, when looking at other people's photos of their years abroad, or fun times at home, I wish I was there too and say to myself that I bet they had a better time than me. Nonsense! These things are relative. And although NZ had its tricky moments, undoubtedly, I did in the end have a good time overall.
I cannot be everywhere. Luckily, however, I know wherever I go I have wonderful people to spend time with. Hurrah. So, if I haven't seen you since I got back, let's make a date.
A x
I won't lie. I have had such a great time being back - none of this 'reverse culture shock' malarky I was warned of so many times. I've had a blast catching up with family and friends from all areas of my past, from school to gap year to uni and even NZ; drinking at places old (G-A-Y) and new (most other places), and all the while being a tourist in my own town, as it were. Love London. It really is such a beautiful and vibrant place.
However, I am now off to Edinburgh. Strange, in some ways. Sad, in others. But exciting too of course! There are still so many London folk I haven't seen; tho I know I will be back, I am sorry I haven't had more time to catch up with everyone, and more time still with those I have seen.
I also have this funny sense that I expect to go back to Auckland when term starts again, which is of course nonsense (phew). But when I Facebook stalk friends still in NZ I feel a little jealous - I want to be going out to K Road for drinks too! And I also feel a little pang when I look at my own NZ photos (love how memory erases the nasty bits).
And then, as always, when looking at other people's photos of their years abroad, or fun times at home, I wish I was there too and say to myself that I bet they had a better time than me. Nonsense! These things are relative. And although NZ had its tricky moments, undoubtedly, I did in the end have a good time overall.
I cannot be everywhere. Luckily, however, I know wherever I go I have wonderful people to spend time with. Hurrah. So, if I haven't seen you since I got back, let's make a date.
A x
Wednesday 30 June 2010
Thank you and good night.
How did I feel on July 8th 2009, the night before I left the UK to go to NZ for a year? Was I nervous, or excited? What did I expect, or hope for? I don't know. As far as I'm aware I have no record of my feelings then. Perhaps I didn't think or feel any of these things. (Was I Vulcan back then?)
But I do know how I felt on June 29th 2010, the night before I left NZ to return to the UK. I was kinda sad. And then surprised about being sad. Now, maybe it was becuase I'd just watched Grey's Anatomy, and was speaking to myself about my experiences in Meredith's chirpily-irritating, self-righteous, all-knowing, metaphor-laden, perfectly-scripted voice, but maybe it was because actually, I did end up having a good time in ol' NZ.
Things were tricksy at times, of course, but in the end I made a life for myself, which I now have to leave behind, pretty much for good (unlike leaving Edinburgh/London). I am returning to places with which I am familiar, but I will be out of the loop. These places, those friends, will have changed, as will I. So be patient when I say 'sweet as, bro' or bemoan the lack of L&P or harp on about places you've never heard of. All my suggestions for where we should go for a drink will be very far away. But, I guess, you never know what's going to happen next, so let's take all of that in our stride.
I will be - I am, right now - sad to leave Grey Lynn and the most awesomest flat, 13 Wilton Street. Sad to leave my Greenpeace chums, and my former bandmates, and my crazy semester two pals. I am sad to not have learnt to surf in Raglan, learnt to ski in Wanaka, to not have taken a helicopter ride over Franz Josef or Fox Glacier, to not have been sandboarding on Ninety Mile Beach. I am sad to leave Burger Fuel, bad advertising, torrential rain storms on my rooftop, the Shadows pub quiz, cold hours spent hanging out at Peary Road with the guinea pigs and Hamiltron, city of the future.
But it's always good to leave wanting more.
So, see you soon - or farewell, until next time,
A x
But I do know how I felt on June 29th 2010, the night before I left NZ to return to the UK. I was kinda sad. And then surprised about being sad. Now, maybe it was becuase I'd just watched Grey's Anatomy, and was speaking to myself about my experiences in Meredith's chirpily-irritating, self-righteous, all-knowing, metaphor-laden, perfectly-scripted voice, but maybe it was because actually, I did end up having a good time in ol' NZ.
Things were tricksy at times, of course, but in the end I made a life for myself, which I now have to leave behind, pretty much for good (unlike leaving Edinburgh/London). I am returning to places with which I am familiar, but I will be out of the loop. These places, those friends, will have changed, as will I. So be patient when I say 'sweet as, bro' or bemoan the lack of L&P or harp on about places you've never heard of. All my suggestions for where we should go for a drink will be very far away. But, I guess, you never know what's going to happen next, so let's take all of that in our stride.
I will be - I am, right now - sad to leave Grey Lynn and the most awesomest flat, 13 Wilton Street. Sad to leave my Greenpeace chums, and my former bandmates, and my crazy semester two pals. I am sad to not have learnt to surf in Raglan, learnt to ski in Wanaka, to not have taken a helicopter ride over Franz Josef or Fox Glacier, to not have been sandboarding on Ninety Mile Beach. I am sad to leave Burger Fuel, bad advertising, torrential rain storms on my rooftop, the Shadows pub quiz, cold hours spent hanging out at Peary Road with the guinea pigs and Hamiltron, city of the future.
But it's always good to leave wanting more.
So, see you soon - or farewell, until next time,
A x
Sunday 23 May 2010
38 days later: assignments will make you in to a zombie.
Now, I know my time left in this country is running out faster than a robber from a bank heist, but a quick head count of Monday, Tuesday and friends revealed I have just 38 days left here. 38! Wait, what? 38? 38! Oh my.
Yes, yes, Mum, Dad, I know. It's great. I look forward to seeing you too. And all of you, UK friends. But the problem is that for all my kvetching and bitching and whining about New Zealand the end of last year, I'm really quite happy here now. The thought of leaving in 38 days makes me feel a little queasy. And it's not just that I have a shitload of work to do before then (hence writing this instead), or that I want to stay *here* particularly, in this country (still the arsehole of the world).
But if I could just move NZ closer to the UK, that'd be grand.
You see, the big difference between last semester and this one is that I've been just living here, like a normal person, not a person on exchange. I haven't been away every other weekend to another green sheep-filled field next to a nice beach. And I haven't had 'home comforts' like Rachel, Nick and JJ and Carlton. Don't get me wrong - those things were lovely, I enjoyed the little road trips, and playing with JJ, and all those Monday morning hangovers. But I feel so much more... calm? content? unfazed? accepting? this semester.
I suppose working at Greenpeace has meant that I've had less time during the week to work (going to London and Australia probably didn't help either) so I've had to be at home more weekends. Luckily, I really like my flat, so that's handy, but it's also meant I've spent a lot more time with my little nucleus of chums, who conveniently mostly live not so far from me, in their own nice flats.
Ok, I have to work. In a minute... Ugh.
I know I have to do it all, and that I'll be sad if I don't or if I do badly, but really I just want to spend time with my friends, and have fun, before I have to go. I am so glad for so many reasons that I didn't give up and come home after Christmas, but it does make it all the harder to come home now (or in 38 days). But, as one of my many mantras reminds me, it's always best to leave wanting more. And definitely better to leave feeling sad than to have a bitter taste in your mouth.
Right. I will blog again soon, and perhaps fill you in on my Oz trip.
A x
Yes, yes, Mum, Dad, I know. It's great. I look forward to seeing you too. And all of you, UK friends. But the problem is that for all my kvetching and bitching and whining about New Zealand the end of last year, I'm really quite happy here now. The thought of leaving in 38 days makes me feel a little queasy. And it's not just that I have a shitload of work to do before then (hence writing this instead), or that I want to stay *here* particularly, in this country (still the arsehole of the world).
But if I could just move NZ closer to the UK, that'd be grand.
You see, the big difference between last semester and this one is that I've been just living here, like a normal person, not a person on exchange. I haven't been away every other weekend to another green sheep-filled field next to a nice beach. And I haven't had 'home comforts' like Rachel, Nick and JJ and Carlton. Don't get me wrong - those things were lovely, I enjoyed the little road trips, and playing with JJ, and all those Monday morning hangovers. But I feel so much more... calm? content? unfazed? accepting? this semester.
I suppose working at Greenpeace has meant that I've had less time during the week to work (going to London and Australia probably didn't help either) so I've had to be at home more weekends. Luckily, I really like my flat, so that's handy, but it's also meant I've spent a lot more time with my little nucleus of chums, who conveniently mostly live not so far from me, in their own nice flats.
Ok, I have to work. In a minute... Ugh.
I know I have to do it all, and that I'll be sad if I don't or if I do badly, but really I just want to spend time with my friends, and have fun, before I have to go. I am so glad for so many reasons that I didn't give up and come home after Christmas, but it does make it all the harder to come home now (or in 38 days). But, as one of my many mantras reminds me, it's always best to leave wanting more. And definitely better to leave feeling sad than to have a bitter taste in your mouth.
Right. I will blog again soon, and perhaps fill you in on my Oz trip.
A x
Tuesday 30 March 2010
Hey ho, let's go...
...somewhere else. Other than South America. With the Rough Guide.
I didn't win, but that's okay.
Now I don't have to travel for 6 weeks as soon as I return from The Other Side of the World, I get to...
- do Fringe (wahey!) and witness Nicola be an awesome venue manager,
- help redecorate the lovely flat that Helen and Mr and Mrs Helen picked out,
- spend time in my favourite city in all the world, London, (I love you too Ediburgh)
- spend time with all my London chums who I haven't seen for a year,
- spend time with all my Edinburgh chums who I haven't seen for a year,
- spend time with Ma Brewer, Pa Brewer and G'Pa,
- go other places, like maybe Vietnam or Canada, to see all my international chums,
- other stuff - please feel free to add your own suggestions.
Anyway, the lady was really nice about it, it seemed like I didn't do badly, just other people did the same thing better. Clearly. But she was glad I'd come across and so was I, so maybe one day in the future I can wrangle some sort of work with them. I'd like that.
So, see you in July! (Or sooner, if, you know, you're in NZ...)
A x
I didn't win, but that's okay.
Now I don't have to travel for 6 weeks as soon as I return from The Other Side of the World, I get to...
- do Fringe (wahey!) and witness Nicola be an awesome venue manager,
- help redecorate the lovely flat that Helen and Mr and Mrs Helen picked out,
- spend time in my favourite city in all the world, London, (I love you too Ediburgh)
- spend time with all my London chums who I haven't seen for a year,
- spend time with all my Edinburgh chums who I haven't seen for a year,
- spend time with Ma Brewer, Pa Brewer and G'Pa,
- go other places, like maybe Vietnam or Canada, to see all my international chums,
- other stuff - please feel free to add your own suggestions.
Anyway, the lady was really nice about it, it seemed like I didn't do badly, just other people did the same thing better. Clearly. But she was glad I'd come across and so was I, so maybe one day in the future I can wrangle some sort of work with them. I'd like that.
So, see you in July! (Or sooner, if, you know, you're in NZ...)
A x
Thursday 18 March 2010
Rough Guide to a competition
So a while back, end of January, I entered a competition with the Rough Guide (guide books) to write for them. 500 words on a place you know well, in the Rough Guide style. Now, the prize entailed (roughly; they've been pretty vague) approx. 4-6 weeks in South or Central America this summer, updating (part of) the RG for a country in that area, with flights and 'an advance fee' paid for by the company. Sweet as! At last, I could finally silence all those people who assume that as someone who likes travel and can hold a pen I simply *must* be a travel writer. So I entered.
And a few weeks or a month ago, I got an email saying congrats, you're one of 10 people out of 580 through to the next round.
In London.
After much umm-ing and ahh-ing, I decided to go for it. I mean, there were a lot of pros, and a lot more cons, but ultimately, I could never win if I wasn't there.
Yesterday was the day of the competition, so here's an update for those of you who knew and an explanation for those of who might be wondering what my Facebook statuses were referring to, (Plus: apologies for not telling you I was in the UK. I only had five days and to say I've been jet lagged is an understatement. It's only three months til I'm back properly anyway and I promise we'll be friends then.)
Anyways, competiton day was spent in the RG HQ on the Strand with nine other finalists, 3 boys, 6 girls, all of whom were absolutely lovely and basically like me. We kept remarking on how similar we were (essentially predominantly white, middle class uni students from the south east of England, heh) and how nice it was that we got on so well. I would be totally fine with any one of them winning and think we all have an equal chance of doing so. One girl was also from Edinburgh and on exchange; there were three people from Bristol university and everyone did some sort of arts/languagues degree. The Edinburgh girl had come from Barcelona but obviously I had come the furthest. Yes, that's right, NZ. For a week. You heard me. Stop asking.
We were shown round the office - RG is owned by another company, along with DK and Penguin - which was occupied by people who seemed ostensibly to be just like us. I guess that was no big surprise. We all would have fitted in just fine - why couldn't they hire us all? Whatever the outcome of the competition, I could be totally happy working there, if they'd have me, whether or not as a writer, perhaps even preferably in some sort of editor/manager role at some point in the future. So an interesting insight anyway.
We got free coffee, pastries, pizza, beer, books, stationary and t-shirts as the day ticked on, discussing where'd we come from, why we'd entered the competition, chatting generally about uni and the like, as well as being interviewed in a rather rushed fashion (which was a bit of a shame - that's the only part I'm worried about; whether I chatted crap or answered the questions at all) and getting to meet everyone from the RG office in an informal way at the end of the day. They all seemed very nice.
The main exercise tho involved updating an older, inaccurate version of the RG to London. Between us we would each cover one of four nearby areas and spend three hours walking around checking the map, spellings, opening hours, prices, whether places still existed, if their descriptions were accurate and adding one eating and one drinking place of our choice. I was based in Covent Garden and after a slow start tried not to always be the next person in the museum saying, 'Hi, I'm from the RG, we're just updating...' as often that would be greeted with a bemused/annoyed, 'I just answered your questions!' I also kept getting paranoid that I was just being stupid, rather than accepting that some places simply weren't there any more. I also got a free pie out of the eating place I chose to add and chatted with a nice man in a specialist tea shop. Plus I got to go in to the Royal Opera House, which I haven't done for years, and it really is gorgeous. It was tiring pounding the streets of London like that, but quite satisfying to gather all the correct information. I guess it might be a bit harder in South America because of the language barrier, but one thing at a time.
After that the writing up process wasn't too bad, tho out of determination to have it perfect we still spent over two hours on it. Essentially just a bit of ammending of details and correcting of the map, plus a slight reworking of the introduction and the little blurbs (each of us only had a page's worth of info, so about 5 sights and 3 eating/drinking places). And that was it!
It was an exciting day and I had a great time and a lot of fun. Hurrah. At the drinks bit in the evening everyone kept saying, 'Oh! So *you're* the one from New Zealand!' which was quite nice - they were all impressed by my 'enthusiasm.' I shall keep you all posted on the final result - the woman said we might not know for another week or perhaps two. Bah. In the meantime, it's back to NZ, uni, Greenpeace, the pub quiz and a trip to Australia. I just have to pack my bag now and get in that metal box for another 30 hour trip. Can't wait.
A x
PS. the other thing about being in London - apart from it being wonderful to see my parents and Grandpa - was that it was a reminder, a confirmation, that I'm not going crazy in NZ without reason - it really is stupidly empty, and London really is where my heart belongs.
Crammed in to the tube carriage like the proverbial sardine on my way to the competition, I thought to myself that there were probably more people on the train and the others before and after it going in to London this morning than there are people in NZ.
And that crush, that crowd, the people, the lack of space, the busy-ness, the self-imposed sense of purpose, is just the way I like things to be.
And a few weeks or a month ago, I got an email saying congrats, you're one of 10 people out of 580 through to the next round.
In London.
After much umm-ing and ahh-ing, I decided to go for it. I mean, there were a lot of pros, and a lot more cons, but ultimately, I could never win if I wasn't there.
Yesterday was the day of the competition, so here's an update for those of you who knew and an explanation for those of who might be wondering what my Facebook statuses were referring to, (Plus: apologies for not telling you I was in the UK. I only had five days and to say I've been jet lagged is an understatement. It's only three months til I'm back properly anyway and I promise we'll be friends then.)
Anyways, competiton day was spent in the RG HQ on the Strand with nine other finalists, 3 boys, 6 girls, all of whom were absolutely lovely and basically like me. We kept remarking on how similar we were (essentially predominantly white, middle class uni students from the south east of England, heh) and how nice it was that we got on so well. I would be totally fine with any one of them winning and think we all have an equal chance of doing so. One girl was also from Edinburgh and on exchange; there were three people from Bristol university and everyone did some sort of arts/languagues degree. The Edinburgh girl had come from Barcelona but obviously I had come the furthest. Yes, that's right, NZ. For a week. You heard me. Stop asking.
We were shown round the office - RG is owned by another company, along with DK and Penguin - which was occupied by people who seemed ostensibly to be just like us. I guess that was no big surprise. We all would have fitted in just fine - why couldn't they hire us all? Whatever the outcome of the competition, I could be totally happy working there, if they'd have me, whether or not as a writer, perhaps even preferably in some sort of editor/manager role at some point in the future. So an interesting insight anyway.
We got free coffee, pastries, pizza, beer, books, stationary and t-shirts as the day ticked on, discussing where'd we come from, why we'd entered the competition, chatting generally about uni and the like, as well as being interviewed in a rather rushed fashion (which was a bit of a shame - that's the only part I'm worried about; whether I chatted crap or answered the questions at all) and getting to meet everyone from the RG office in an informal way at the end of the day. They all seemed very nice.
The main exercise tho involved updating an older, inaccurate version of the RG to London. Between us we would each cover one of four nearby areas and spend three hours walking around checking the map, spellings, opening hours, prices, whether places still existed, if their descriptions were accurate and adding one eating and one drinking place of our choice. I was based in Covent Garden and after a slow start tried not to always be the next person in the museum saying, 'Hi, I'm from the RG, we're just updating...' as often that would be greeted with a bemused/annoyed, 'I just answered your questions!' I also kept getting paranoid that I was just being stupid, rather than accepting that some places simply weren't there any more. I also got a free pie out of the eating place I chose to add and chatted with a nice man in a specialist tea shop. Plus I got to go in to the Royal Opera House, which I haven't done for years, and it really is gorgeous. It was tiring pounding the streets of London like that, but quite satisfying to gather all the correct information. I guess it might be a bit harder in South America because of the language barrier, but one thing at a time.
After that the writing up process wasn't too bad, tho out of determination to have it perfect we still spent over two hours on it. Essentially just a bit of ammending of details and correcting of the map, plus a slight reworking of the introduction and the little blurbs (each of us only had a page's worth of info, so about 5 sights and 3 eating/drinking places). And that was it!
It was an exciting day and I had a great time and a lot of fun. Hurrah. At the drinks bit in the evening everyone kept saying, 'Oh! So *you're* the one from New Zealand!' which was quite nice - they were all impressed by my 'enthusiasm.' I shall keep you all posted on the final result - the woman said we might not know for another week or perhaps two. Bah. In the meantime, it's back to NZ, uni, Greenpeace, the pub quiz and a trip to Australia. I just have to pack my bag now and get in that metal box for another 30 hour trip. Can't wait.
A x
PS. the other thing about being in London - apart from it being wonderful to see my parents and Grandpa - was that it was a reminder, a confirmation, that I'm not going crazy in NZ without reason - it really is stupidly empty, and London really is where my heart belongs.
Crammed in to the tube carriage like the proverbial sardine on my way to the competition, I thought to myself that there were probably more people on the train and the others before and after it going in to London this morning than there are people in NZ.
And that crush, that crowd, the people, the lack of space, the busy-ness, the self-imposed sense of purpose, is just the way I like things to be.
Tuesday 16 March 2010
'Auflauf' and other answers to the question 'what's the German for that?'
Hello friends.
So it's all busy busy in Auckers. Before uni started I was working at Greenpeace full time for two weeks, but now term has started again I'm just going in part time. The place has such a great vibe, everyone's so dedicated and passionate about the work they do, but they also have a lot of fun. I've been to quite a few drinks parties and BBQs which has been great to get to know people and I'm really in to the work I'm doing as well. The first week I had a lot of meetings and inductions with various key people which was interesting and I am finding it fascinating to see how the organisation is run. My job involves sifting through numbers of records about our members and looking at why people sign up to donate and then never do, or donate once, twice, three times and then cancel. At the end of it all I'll make suggestions on how to retain these people who cancel, where possible, and give a presentation on my findings. So interesting. And it's giving me an idea of the kind of work I'd like to do when I'm a Grown Up too.
Then I'm back to uni too, which it turns out is much harder than going to work - I have to listen and take notes, I can't access Facebook the whole time, I can't access free coffee the whole time, I have to go from one location to the next and worst of all I have to do homework! But my courses are interesting, I guess, a bit of Anthropology for variety, which is really cool, and then Applied English Grammar (boo), Advanced Phonology (seemingly no less advanced than anything I've previously done) and Conversational Analysis, taught by a woman who's been lecturing on it for twenty years. In he last two classes there's only about 15 of us, so you get to know people better, and in CA the second half of the lecture is a kind of practical analysis of conversations and I really like actually getting to use the knowledge we've just been given. Au contraire, in Anthro it's a first year course and the tutorials are like being back at school. Ugh.
I'm also still enjoying living in my new flat. I'm big in to cooking now and luckily the place has about twelve of everything so all resources are available for carrot cakes, samosas, falafel, banana bread, pizza etc. Newest recruit, German Marc, is also handy to have as a resource, as he likes to help and he's got a handy logical, efficient German mind. He's a student at AU like me (whereas the other flatmates are Real People) so we get the bus to school together and I probably would miss the first ten minutes of my classes if it wasn't for him. Everyone in the flat is still enjoying the summer too, with afternoons and evenings sitting on the balconies with the occasional beer, guitar or in my case, book. We can also see any fireworks at the harbour from the balcony and hear any concerts in a nearby park, Western Springs. Sweet as, bro.
A few weeks ago school friend Jess arrived in NZ on her gap year, which was great. She spent a few days staying at mine and it was great to hang out and see a familiar face. We also went off for a day trip to the Waitomo Glow worm Caves, where we went black water rafting. This involved floating through rocky caves on inner tubes, staring up at a ceiling peppered with glow worms, which looked like stars. It was a pretty neat adventure. Now Jess has gone off galavanting around NZ, but we'll meet up at the end of her trip in Christchurch and I'll join her in Melbourne, where she's headed next, to hang out more and catch up with Rachel, Nick and JJ, who have moved there now.
Right, there are a few other things to report, but it depends what happens in the next few days before I fill you in. I hope you're all well, A x
So it's all busy busy in Auckers. Before uni started I was working at Greenpeace full time for two weeks, but now term has started again I'm just going in part time. The place has such a great vibe, everyone's so dedicated and passionate about the work they do, but they also have a lot of fun. I've been to quite a few drinks parties and BBQs which has been great to get to know people and I'm really in to the work I'm doing as well. The first week I had a lot of meetings and inductions with various key people which was interesting and I am finding it fascinating to see how the organisation is run. My job involves sifting through numbers of records about our members and looking at why people sign up to donate and then never do, or donate once, twice, three times and then cancel. At the end of it all I'll make suggestions on how to retain these people who cancel, where possible, and give a presentation on my findings. So interesting. And it's giving me an idea of the kind of work I'd like to do when I'm a Grown Up too.
Then I'm back to uni too, which it turns out is much harder than going to work - I have to listen and take notes, I can't access Facebook the whole time, I can't access free coffee the whole time, I have to go from one location to the next and worst of all I have to do homework! But my courses are interesting, I guess, a bit of Anthropology for variety, which is really cool, and then Applied English Grammar (boo), Advanced Phonology (seemingly no less advanced than anything I've previously done) and Conversational Analysis, taught by a woman who's been lecturing on it for twenty years. In he last two classes there's only about 15 of us, so you get to know people better, and in CA the second half of the lecture is a kind of practical analysis of conversations and I really like actually getting to use the knowledge we've just been given. Au contraire, in Anthro it's a first year course and the tutorials are like being back at school. Ugh.
I'm also still enjoying living in my new flat. I'm big in to cooking now and luckily the place has about twelve of everything so all resources are available for carrot cakes, samosas, falafel, banana bread, pizza etc. Newest recruit, German Marc, is also handy to have as a resource, as he likes to help and he's got a handy logical, efficient German mind. He's a student at AU like me (whereas the other flatmates are Real People) so we get the bus to school together and I probably would miss the first ten minutes of my classes if it wasn't for him. Everyone in the flat is still enjoying the summer too, with afternoons and evenings sitting on the balconies with the occasional beer, guitar or in my case, book. We can also see any fireworks at the harbour from the balcony and hear any concerts in a nearby park, Western Springs. Sweet as, bro.
A few weeks ago school friend Jess arrived in NZ on her gap year, which was great. She spent a few days staying at mine and it was great to hang out and see a familiar face. We also went off for a day trip to the Waitomo Glow worm Caves, where we went black water rafting. This involved floating through rocky caves on inner tubes, staring up at a ceiling peppered with glow worms, which looked like stars. It was a pretty neat adventure. Now Jess has gone off galavanting around NZ, but we'll meet up at the end of her trip in Christchurch and I'll join her in Melbourne, where she's headed next, to hang out more and catch up with Rachel, Nick and JJ, who have moved there now.
Right, there are a few other things to report, but it depends what happens in the next few days before I fill you in. I hope you're all well, A x
Friday 29 January 2010
"I couldn't help but wonder..."
Right. The last time I spoke to you I believe I was hitching around the South Island...
I then met up with and had a lovely time staying with Rachel, Nick and (still utterly gorgeous) JJ in a beautiful bach overlooking mountains, vineyards and a river. I had a lot of fun babysitting JJ (dream child) and exploring the delights of Cromwell (which extended to enormous corrugated iron fruit and wine tasting. Guess which one was better.) All too soon tho my time was up and I had to bus it on to Dunedin (Rachel forbid me to hitch hike again. Yes mum.) I hoped to cycle the Central Otago Rail Trail, but I guess I got distracted. Another time, I hope.
Dunedin was ugly, I felt, like a Kiwi version of Newcastle. I did however manage to see four films, go on two factory tours (Speight's beer and Cadbury's chocolate), take a scenic train ride, visit the world's steepest street (it was indeed very steep), an art gallery (good), a musuem (I learnt about early settlers and freemasons) and several second hand book stores. All of these things were interesting (tho not overwhelmingly), time consuming (not like I had anything else to do) and by no means inexpensive.
The highlight of Dunedin however was the day I decided I had to go to the peninsula and see Lanarch Castle, NZ's only castle. They have lots of National Parks, lakes, gimmicky towns, native wildlife etc, but only one castle. And it was a pretty awesome castle too, with a suitably dodgy history, some good cake, attractive gardens and eery, well-preserved rooms. However, getting there without my own transport was tricky, tho not impossible. I took a bus along the foggy coast and then embarked on a 5km climb, in the mist, to/from the castle. On my descent, a car stopped and asked if I'd like a lift. Now, I would like to say, hitch hiking aside, I would not normally accept lifts from random cars. But we were on the only road to the castle, so they had to be tourists, and the car was very shiny in a rental car way. So I asked the two gents inside if they were going to rape and/or kill me. No, they said, and we joked about it. I assumed that if you were a serial killer, it wouldn't have been funny. And that you'd've sweated more.
As it turned out, the two guys, John and Neil, were originally from Auckland and worked in television. They were visiting Dunedin to film some interviews and we got on like that proverbial flaming homestead, and so I joined them to see the rest of the peninsula (which I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise) and for dinner and drinks. Great! It was like having friends. Friends who paid. Ideal.
After Dunedin I went on to a tiny place called Oamaru, or something like that. It's on the coast and good for penguins. I stayed a house converted in to a hostel with a lovely but slightly crazy owner called Agra, who was in to reading energies and would say things like 'I could tell by his body language he wasn't right for the house. I didn't want him to stay' or 'if you wash more than your socks I'll kill you! I need those washing lines for my sheets!' Luckily, I was allowed to stay, sharing a room with a 61 year old woman from Anglesea. We bagsed a lift in the very small car of two others staying there to go and see penguins, me literally hanging out the window sitting on the lady's lap in the front. But the penguins were super cool, and came up on to the road from the shore just 3ft in front of us before waddling off again quite happily to their nests.
The last leg of my South Island adventure was spent hanging out with Christchurch chums Rosie, Maisy and Jonny. Rosie, Maisy and I essentially spent the weekend watching more Sex and the City than I care to remember whilst making an incredibly complex and well decorated gingerbread house for Jonny, complete with magic mushroom garden and an icing swimming pool. I'll try to get some photos up soon so you can appreciate how truly awesome it was. The three of us also checked out some of the acts on at the International Busking Festival, which was fun, although the contortionist made me feel a bit sick...
Back in Auckland, as I have been for the last week, I have alternated between the free internet at the University and trailing around the city looking for somewhere to live. A depressing experience, although the weather is glorious with scorching sun that's keeping my tan in check. And today everything seemed to come together. Having seen about ten flats, from the sublime to the ridiculous, I ventured a little further out of town this afternoon to an area called Grey Lynn where a nice older lady who teaches 'graphic textiles' (I think, or something like it) owns a house with a cat (woohoo!) which is shared by a South African, a Kiwi and a French guy. They were all in their 20s and did a range of things and she lived in a small apartment and studio attached to the main house. The house was on two levels with a large kitchen and dining area, it was tidy AND clean, the room was furnished and it got oodles of sunlight, which is my most important criteria. It turns out Grey Lynn is really lovely too, lots of pretty little houses and tree-lined streets. So a bit of a WIN. And I can move in tomorrow.
Meanwhile, earlier this morning I had a very promising meeting with the Supporter Relations Manager for Greenpeace New Zealand, after finding an interesting sounding internship online this week. He and I were both enthusiastic and he seemed to think I was the right person for the job. We discussed when I could work and he said he would put together a project proposal and call me up start of next week. The project would be to look in to why Greenpeace loses so many supporters following their initial sign up and then putting together a report on this and possible solutions to present to key managers. Personally, I think it sounds really interesting, and potentially the work would go on til I leave. The man I met was nice too, and the office was open, airy and laid back, filled with 30 mostly young people in shorts and Converse. Ideal.
So that kind of takes us up to the present moment. I'm not sure what happens next, I mean, I haven't made any new friends yet, but at least I have somewhere to live and quite likely something to do too. And hopefully friends will come out of that. Some money would be nice too, really nice actually, but one thing at a time, eh?
Anyway, I hope you're all well and survived the snow. I miss you all and look forward to seeing you in early July. Less than five months til I leave NZ now! Scary.
Take care, love, A xx
I then met up with and had a lovely time staying with Rachel, Nick and (still utterly gorgeous) JJ in a beautiful bach overlooking mountains, vineyards and a river. I had a lot of fun babysitting JJ (dream child) and exploring the delights of Cromwell (which extended to enormous corrugated iron fruit and wine tasting. Guess which one was better.) All too soon tho my time was up and I had to bus it on to Dunedin (Rachel forbid me to hitch hike again. Yes mum.) I hoped to cycle the Central Otago Rail Trail, but I guess I got distracted. Another time, I hope.
Dunedin was ugly, I felt, like a Kiwi version of Newcastle. I did however manage to see four films, go on two factory tours (Speight's beer and Cadbury's chocolate), take a scenic train ride, visit the world's steepest street (it was indeed very steep), an art gallery (good), a musuem (I learnt about early settlers and freemasons) and several second hand book stores. All of these things were interesting (tho not overwhelmingly), time consuming (not like I had anything else to do) and by no means inexpensive.
The highlight of Dunedin however was the day I decided I had to go to the peninsula and see Lanarch Castle, NZ's only castle. They have lots of National Parks, lakes, gimmicky towns, native wildlife etc, but only one castle. And it was a pretty awesome castle too, with a suitably dodgy history, some good cake, attractive gardens and eery, well-preserved rooms. However, getting there without my own transport was tricky, tho not impossible. I took a bus along the foggy coast and then embarked on a 5km climb, in the mist, to/from the castle. On my descent, a car stopped and asked if I'd like a lift. Now, I would like to say, hitch hiking aside, I would not normally accept lifts from random cars. But we were on the only road to the castle, so they had to be tourists, and the car was very shiny in a rental car way. So I asked the two gents inside if they were going to rape and/or kill me. No, they said, and we joked about it. I assumed that if you were a serial killer, it wouldn't have been funny. And that you'd've sweated more.
As it turned out, the two guys, John and Neil, were originally from Auckland and worked in television. They were visiting Dunedin to film some interviews and we got on like that proverbial flaming homestead, and so I joined them to see the rest of the peninsula (which I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise) and for dinner and drinks. Great! It was like having friends. Friends who paid. Ideal.
After Dunedin I went on to a tiny place called Oamaru, or something like that. It's on the coast and good for penguins. I stayed a house converted in to a hostel with a lovely but slightly crazy owner called Agra, who was in to reading energies and would say things like 'I could tell by his body language he wasn't right for the house. I didn't want him to stay' or 'if you wash more than your socks I'll kill you! I need those washing lines for my sheets!' Luckily, I was allowed to stay, sharing a room with a 61 year old woman from Anglesea. We bagsed a lift in the very small car of two others staying there to go and see penguins, me literally hanging out the window sitting on the lady's lap in the front. But the penguins were super cool, and came up on to the road from the shore just 3ft in front of us before waddling off again quite happily to their nests.
The last leg of my South Island adventure was spent hanging out with Christchurch chums Rosie, Maisy and Jonny. Rosie, Maisy and I essentially spent the weekend watching more Sex and the City than I care to remember whilst making an incredibly complex and well decorated gingerbread house for Jonny, complete with magic mushroom garden and an icing swimming pool. I'll try to get some photos up soon so you can appreciate how truly awesome it was. The three of us also checked out some of the acts on at the International Busking Festival, which was fun, although the contortionist made me feel a bit sick...
Back in Auckland, as I have been for the last week, I have alternated between the free internet at the University and trailing around the city looking for somewhere to live. A depressing experience, although the weather is glorious with scorching sun that's keeping my tan in check. And today everything seemed to come together. Having seen about ten flats, from the sublime to the ridiculous, I ventured a little further out of town this afternoon to an area called Grey Lynn where a nice older lady who teaches 'graphic textiles' (I think, or something like it) owns a house with a cat (woohoo!) which is shared by a South African, a Kiwi and a French guy. They were all in their 20s and did a range of things and she lived in a small apartment and studio attached to the main house. The house was on two levels with a large kitchen and dining area, it was tidy AND clean, the room was furnished and it got oodles of sunlight, which is my most important criteria. It turns out Grey Lynn is really lovely too, lots of pretty little houses and tree-lined streets. So a bit of a WIN. And I can move in tomorrow.
Meanwhile, earlier this morning I had a very promising meeting with the Supporter Relations Manager for Greenpeace New Zealand, after finding an interesting sounding internship online this week. He and I were both enthusiastic and he seemed to think I was the right person for the job. We discussed when I could work and he said he would put together a project proposal and call me up start of next week. The project would be to look in to why Greenpeace loses so many supporters following their initial sign up and then putting together a report on this and possible solutions to present to key managers. Personally, I think it sounds really interesting, and potentially the work would go on til I leave. The man I met was nice too, and the office was open, airy and laid back, filled with 30 mostly young people in shorts and Converse. Ideal.
So that kind of takes us up to the present moment. I'm not sure what happens next, I mean, I haven't made any new friends yet, but at least I have somewhere to live and quite likely something to do too. And hopefully friends will come out of that. Some money would be nice too, really nice actually, but one thing at a time, eh?
Anyway, I hope you're all well and survived the snow. I miss you all and look forward to seeing you in early July. Less than five months til I leave NZ now! Scary.
Take care, love, A xx
Wednesday 13 January 2010
Solitaire
So, I felt like my last post was a bit lame. I'm not saying this one will be any better, but I might try a bit harder. Kk, here goes.
Flew down to Queenstown on Saturday. I'm currently 100% homeless, 90% friendless and 50% penniless at the moment. As a result, I am a FREEBIRD, wooooo, who can do whatever the hell she likes. I can't tell you what a joy it's been these last few days to do what I want, when I want, how I want. Of course, I can tell you exactly how freaking tedious it is to have to tell everyone, all the time, what I do, where I've come from, what my plans are... Jeez. Maybe I'll make pamphlets. I like that word.
Any snooch, you've got to weigh these things off against each other. I had a pretty good run the first three or four nights, meeting people with exceptional ease, and cool people too, who were forthcoming and talkative and like, only 5% irritating. I also really liked Queenstown, getting a bit over excited and doing everything you can do - assuming jumping out of a plane/off a bridge/down a river/from tree to tree isn't your cup of tea (as far as I'm concerned, it's coffee all round please).
After that things slowed up a bit, but I've still had a good time. I have to say, world, Milford Sound is overrated, but that won't stop busloads of tourists bussing in every bussing day for like, forever. They've been coming for over a 100 years. Today I hitched back to Q'town from there, which was interesting, my first real hitching experience.
First man: 'are you not afraid to hitch hike?' (Should I be??? I kept my pen knife in my hoody pouch in case he returned from the farm he dropped me outside of with a shot gun and a shovel. Yup. Always be prepared. Failing that, I'd have to hope he had a nut allergy and hit him up with my trail mix.)
Second couple: 'you'll have to share the back with the dog.' Joy. Slobber.
Third couple: 'bonjour! nous sommes... erm, traveling, er... a Queenstown!'
Me: 'Great! Tres bien!'
Lady: 'D'accord. Allons y.'
They were pretty cool, actually, and we had a two hour conversation in Franglais. The husband n'est pas speaking the Englishes, but he did take his collection of short stories to libraries round NZ to leave them there, lest you rock up and realise you'd left Bertrand of Lyon's book at home (or at least, I presume that was why.)
And now I'm off to meet up with Rachel, Nick and JJ and enjoy not explaining myself and not having to stand in a cold, windy field with my thumb in the air, getting frost bite and keeping myself amused by trying to remember all 36 of my classmates from when I was four. I only ever got to 32.
Speak soon, People Who Know Me But Are Far Away. x
Flew down to Queenstown on Saturday. I'm currently 100% homeless, 90% friendless and 50% penniless at the moment. As a result, I am a FREEBIRD, wooooo, who can do whatever the hell she likes. I can't tell you what a joy it's been these last few days to do what I want, when I want, how I want. Of course, I can tell you exactly how freaking tedious it is to have to tell everyone, all the time, what I do, where I've come from, what my plans are... Jeez. Maybe I'll make pamphlets. I like that word.
Any snooch, you've got to weigh these things off against each other. I had a pretty good run the first three or four nights, meeting people with exceptional ease, and cool people too, who were forthcoming and talkative and like, only 5% irritating. I also really liked Queenstown, getting a bit over excited and doing everything you can do - assuming jumping out of a plane/off a bridge/down a river/from tree to tree isn't your cup of tea (as far as I'm concerned, it's coffee all round please).
After that things slowed up a bit, but I've still had a good time. I have to say, world, Milford Sound is overrated, but that won't stop busloads of tourists bussing in every bussing day for like, forever. They've been coming for over a 100 years. Today I hitched back to Q'town from there, which was interesting, my first real hitching experience.
First man: 'are you not afraid to hitch hike?' (Should I be??? I kept my pen knife in my hoody pouch in case he returned from the farm he dropped me outside of with a shot gun and a shovel. Yup. Always be prepared. Failing that, I'd have to hope he had a nut allergy and hit him up with my trail mix.)
Second couple: 'you'll have to share the back with the dog.' Joy. Slobber.
Third couple: 'bonjour! nous sommes... erm, traveling, er... a Queenstown!'
Me: 'Great! Tres bien!'
Lady: 'D'accord. Allons y.'
They were pretty cool, actually, and we had a two hour conversation in Franglais. The husband n'est pas speaking the Englishes, but he did take his collection of short stories to libraries round NZ to leave them there, lest you rock up and realise you'd left Bertrand of Lyon's book at home (or at least, I presume that was why.)
And now I'm off to meet up with Rachel, Nick and JJ and enjoy not explaining myself and not having to stand in a cold, windy field with my thumb in the air, getting frost bite and keeping myself amused by trying to remember all 36 of my classmates from when I was four. I only ever got to 32.
Speak soon, People Who Know Me But Are Far Away. x
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