Year Abroad Journal

Ants Know How To Torture Me

2008-04-07T21:43:10Z

Hmm so, on Friday i got up at 4.20am and caught the 6am bus to Congonhas, arriving at 7.30am and looked around there until 10 and caught the 10.10am bus to São João de Rei arriving there at nearly midday. After difficulty in finding a place to eat (there seemed to be a particular lack of restaurants in the town and even less that sold veggie-friendly food) i found a "by the kilo" restaurant. After taking happy snaps of such beautiful churches i made my way to the train station to catch the old steam train, Smoking Mary, to Tiradentes. This was my favourite part of the day, as the experience was lovely. However this was the part where the tropical climate decided to turn against me and it TIPPED DOWN with rain. Meaning that i had to folk out a little bit more for a horse and carriage ride tour of the village in the pouring rain. This disappointed me a little, not just because of the cost of this, but because it is meant to be the best of the three and i felt it had been a little spoilt for me.... but nethertheless, i had a good time and took lots of photos for you all to see! I returned that night, catching the 7pm bus and arriving back home at midnight, in time for bed.

Last week i managed to get my photos of Rio de Janiero and Belo Horizonte onto Facebook. Click and take a look.

Tomorrow i should get some more photos up, and i will post the links on LJ as soon as i can.

On Wednesday i was going to go to the south but today i was having second thoughts and think maybe i will go to the north instead. this is because i want to go there far more than the south and if i dont get time to go to the north i will be much more dissappointed. I was mainly going to the south to see Xavi but then he quit Portuguese and returned to England. I decided if i go to the north on Wednesday instead it is possible to do most of the southern cities over long weekends. The other thing is, its HOT HOT HOT in the North. :D

ALSO, i dont know for certain that i will extend my trip from returning on the 8th to the 28th July, as i dont know how much it costs to change the flight, etc. and might have run out of money by then anyway... so i decided to get the most out of my stay but probably in my order of preference. Saying that i might just change my mind again - i seem to do that quite a bit.

Theres are shit load of ants in my house and i dont like it, and am looking forward to my 3.5 weeks of travelling partly to escape them. They are in the food, in the kitchen, the bathroom, my room, everywhere!!! On Saturday i got out of the shower and wrapped the towel round me and there were dozens of ants crawling all over my wet body, drowning. some were biting me and i had to turn the shower on quickly and wash them off as quickly as possible. it was HORRIBLE. They have taken over my room too. so not only do i have termites, but ants now. GRRRRR!

Progress is Progressive

2008-03-26T20:41:38Z

well, i havent written in a while but i dont really feel there is much to say except i am doing well here. i am understanding more in my classes and my portuguese has improved a lot. Also, my travel plans are going well, and i was in Ouro Prêto for Easter which was a lovely town. I have seen a film day producers course in Rio for 50pounds and am thinking of using my savings to do it but am not sure yet, as it will be in portuguese and its all legal and commercial stuff so it might not be worth it due to a lack of understanding. however i was planning on going to Rio the weekend after that (and travelling to the south for 3.5 weeks), so i might just put my travel plans back a week and spend one of my days in Rio studying!

Will let you know about my 3.5 trip to the south and how it goes. i am very excited!!! just got to watch the cashflow! I dont have any students yet, but i am possibly getting one next wednesday! And my parents are not paying the money in til may, but they are paying me two months allowance in one go. Im suprisingly good with my money here. the 3 days in ouro prêto and mariana were around 67 pounds because i was careful with my money, but here, thats a lot of money. but still i reckon i can make my savings stretch to get me to all the places i want to travel to!

This weekend i am doing a very brave day-trip to three cities and because it is to three cities it is brave - i will have to get up REALLY early to catch the first bus out of Belo Horizonte and get the last bus back, to get everything done in time, but its worth getting up at 4am, just to save money on youth hostels (as if i went later, id have to stay there over night to see everything) so i am going to go there early and sleep on the bus on the way there. Plus the best tourist sight in first town i am going to is, according to my guide book , best in the morning light. i should get there around 7am!

Things i want to do while i am here (excluding traveling)

2008-03-07T14:48:33Z

Apply for film and TV placements in England and Berlin for August and September
Improve my film portfolio: Finish "Pretentious Beyond Belief" and re-draft "The Bue Hour In A Red Week"
Get involved in UFMG TV
Make a short documentary of Brazil
Go to the cinema and a gay bar here at least once (i am v broke y´know!)
Teach English in a favela
Throw a tea party
Cook British food for people
Improve my portuguese by studying hard
Teach english to earn money
GET A TAN!

so what do you think to that?

Looking up, Looking North East

2008-03-05T20:31:44Z

My parents are going to give me 50 pounds a month, as from 1st April so that will help me out a lot, and they might even raise that to 100 when my Dad returns to work. i am also going to teach english and german which get suprisingly good money - if i have 5 students a week, my rent is covered completely! So i want to get around 5! I have worked out the traveling should come to 1000 pounds, which is a lot but i am going to use my savings to do all i want to here, as otherwise i will be doing and seeing nothing whilst i am here and whats the point in coming? So yeah i want to extend my stay until the end of july and do a tour of the North East - fly to Fortaleza and go all along the coast from there to Vitória and then go inland to Belo Horizonte, by bus in 3 weeks! i am also going to visit a friend, Xavi in Florianopolis, in the south (just north of Porto Alegre) and do a tour to there by bus via Curitiba and take a different route back (via Igaçu Falls) so i see as much as possible. So i am happy :D

I

The Reality Hits Home

2008-03-03T23:15:34Z

so i finally got a key. which made me smile, as now ive a place i can call home. I thought about moving elsewhere, somewhere cheaper, but living with the family has improved my language and they are very helpful as they know a lot about the uni because of my house ´sisters´. Vivianne (26 who lives at home with me) does a postgrad there and Adriana (28 and has a 11 year old daughter who both live round the corner) graduate a year ago from the uni.

However, ive just realised ive a bit of a tricky financial situation at the moment. I can live on R$170 for bare minimum (rent, food and bus money) which is 53 pounds / $106 a week. But only for 10 weeks. After that ive no idea what i am going to do, use my savings, or get my parents to help, but i have the whole week stressing about it, as i am here another 20 weeks and i actually want to travel around and see stuff! But i dont want to starve...

i go onto campus only two days a week and i stay there all day - which is helping with the low bus fares. I am going to put up posters to teach English and German on those days too, to get extra cash, and spend Tuesdays at home, doing my washing, studying, buying food at the supermarket, etc. Then spend my savings going away for long weekends. This is all, of course, as long as my Technical Vocal class is on a mon or wed. (the board says 4-6pm mon and i hope it stays at that time but you never know here, they are so disorganised)

In other news i completed my module form for final year Portuguese and was disgusted at my ´optional´ module choices. Portuguese language was compulsary and I had to choose two other modules from the ´optional´ module list! In the Autumn semester there was 3 and Spring semester 2 modules to choose from (excluding dissertation options, which i cant do anyway, cos i want to do it in German and they dont allow us to do 2!) So i didnt actually choose in Spring and for Autumn, i knew one was a dead cert, but i could not choose between the 2 crappy leftover ones. There is a professor who is really boring and he teaches one of the Spring ones that i am doing, and i wasnt going to take his Autumn one as well, but the other one was a follow on module from one i did quite badly in last year, so i didnt choose it. Well, as long as i can stay awake in the boring man module i should pass, it looks interesting (as his modules always do), but he just makes even the most interesting of things dull. He has the same mannerisums as Tony Blair! GOD HELP ME!

Belo Horizonte, Brazil

2008-02-26T23:14:03Z

So ive been here a week, the bus journey was 6hours - and my bladder isnt good enough for that long, so i was trying to pee whilst travelling at 60mph over probably the most mountainous region in Brazil. not fun. Here is good, i´m staying with a family, a bus ride away from campus, but they dont have internet - hence my lack of posts. I´ll have access at the uni, hopefully from next week on. the family are very helpful and nice - sometimes too nice and havent given me key yet which is bugging me, depite telling me three times that ´"i´ll get you a key today". I´m gonna stay with them for convience and cheapness (though they also mentioned they wanted me to pay more, so we shall see!) But ive not much money and things are tight.... i wanna use the weekends to go travelling as ive only lectures on mondays and wednesday at the moment, (9.20am to 10.30pm with a few hours of breaks in between for food and doing more work!) but my singing module hasnt been timetabled as they are still finding a lecturer. which means no classes for 3 weeks. Anyway, the way my classes work out at the moment i get a long weekend, so i wanna take lots of trips to neighbouring cities, and spend tuesdays all day doing work, so i not only pass but also see as much as i can whilst i am here, money pending......its hot here, 33oC today, and i got sunburnt. Also i hate the mozzies, as they seem to love to devour me in my sleep.....

Rio to Belo

2008-02-17T02:32:47Z

Three days of amazingness in Rio and i arrived in Belo today, its an amazing flat, for a lot of money but from next week i'll be paying 35 pounds a week for bed and breakfast (private room) with a family, so i am not too worried. I just got the name and address of my person and i will email or call them tomorrow. kinda excited and kinda scared, as to what it'll be like. Hope we get on. I loved Rio so much that i am going back. it was 34oC there and here its only 27oC so its not as hot. The beach there is lovely and there's no beach here! But i will travel a lot, to the north and south of brazil... so i shall see what i like best. V excited now about studying at uni again. cant wait for orientation on Tuesday it'll be awesome!

So i survived the first week and a half in portuguese speaking countries and aparently according to the taxi driver tonight, he said my portuguese is good. so its gonna be great when i return!

My wifey arrives

2008-02-09T11:11:58Z

Right now, i'm at the hostel, but although i've offically checked out, they are letting me store my massive case in the garage and i'm using their internet. I wasnt sure if there'd be internet at the hotel for free, so i'm making the most of it here. Then in an hour or so i'm getting a taxi to hotel i'm staying in with Adam. I definitely did break my toe when i painted my toenails, as the cobbled streets worsened it and its hurting quite a lot, and although Ailsa used surgical tape to tape it to my next toe, i dont think i'll be able to get to the hotel by public transport. However, i have saved a lot of money on what i did food wise the last few days so i can afford it. Breakfast is included and you can have as much as you want, and there is coffee and tea there all the time which you can help yourself too, and i went to the supermarket and bought a load of stuff to make lunch and dinner with. i ate in on tuesday and thursday night and Ailsa paid for the meal that we had on wednesday at this veggie restaurant, as a birthday treat (one of the yummiest ive had!), and i cooked for her on thursday whilst she packed. Yesterday we went to the castle, on the tram route 28 which is quite famous, and to Belem where we tried a pastries shop and went to the marina museum where there where lots of exploration history and models of ships they used to discover africa and brazil on. it was pretty cool. I had a lot of fun with ailsa and she was in the room opposite, so it was like we had our own little flat, as there was not many people around. Today Adam arrives so i'll not be alone, hurrah!

hope you're all well! xxxx

Last minute feelings

2008-02-04T19:04:25Z

I must say, i'm feeling a little weird. one part of me is convinced it wont happen until several weeks away and is calm, and the other part of me knows i leave the day after tomorrow and is scared that the first part of me is so calm. I've packed a quarter of my things and am going to pack the rest after dinner, and am instead of panicing i am writing this and looking at double beds on ikea (i'm pondering if one will fit in my room, with a little change around!) and its a little weird. i got all the stuff i'm taking and put it on my bed and it doesnt look anywhere near as much as when i went to vienna and that's a little scary. Richard is burning me 9 films onto 2 DVDs so i have a good collection of films with me, and i'm taking 7 DVDs - i just hope it'll be enough... in vienna i watched all my boxsets (scrubs, l word, buffy S1, Wonderfalls, monty python, firefly) and the former 2 i watched twice! I also watched around 20 films. So i'm slightly worried that i'm going for a month longer this time and am only armed with 16 films, buffy S3 and the same Wonderfalls and monty python that i had before (its copied onto my computer). I desperately wanted to take dark angel or charmed but i dunno... maybe if i have room i will. so there. try and stop me.

Also, Ailsa and Adam are going to be in Lisbon with me. The day Ailsa leaves, Adam arrives. Very well timed, i'd say. :)

Near to leaving

2008-01-27T12:22:30Z

Ok, firstly, for some reason my posting page on LJ is in German, it must have recognised that i've been in Austria, but not i am back in England i'm a bit confuzzeled.....

Anyway, my news is that i've sorted most of the stuff for Brazil out, and my visa is now in my paws. i've my case in my room and its just got all this stuff thrown into it, that i'll need. Just gotta pack properly. Got so much to do still....

Ordered new glasses with the sun reaction lenses, so should be quite funky, i'm picking them up mid-week.

i'm applying for summer placements in film and tv but its quite competitive, so i'm not sure how easy it'll be to get one.

Lastly i just hope its easier for me to access the internet than last time, and that people will actually write to me this time. only ailsa and my mum wrote regularly. it sucked big time. Thanks ailsa, i hope you got my postcard i sent you last week, and that it made you smile :)

Sad last days

2007-12-20T11:49:34Z

i got a present of home-made jam from 3a today after i gave a presentation on christmas in england, and Stephanie in 3b gave me a present too. its my last full day in the school as i am only in for 1/2 an hour tomorrow, we (Claudia and I) are going on a cinema trip with 4B. I badly burnt my finger in hot oil today and have never had a burn this bad, that even when bandaged still hurts like hell. i guess around the nail is sensitive, eugh.

I have my landlord round at 1pm tomorrow to give back my deposit and i'm going to the opera tonight! i also want to go to Hofburg royal apartments as i still havent been, and the central graveyard where mozart is buried! but if i have time tomorrow after my landlord is gone. I've a bad cough and felt really rough yesterday so i only managed to go to the christmas market at the townhall and get Glühwien. What else? Oh yeah felicia messed me around yesterday after spent the afternoon sorting out loads of things i dont need to give to her and i was about to go round at 4pm as we agreed and she had totally forgotten and said she thought it was in the evening that we were meeting, so i went to meet her and we went to christmas markets and we were going to go back to mine so she could pick up the stuff but then she just said, i'm going to go home first and then come over. All i could say was "oh um ok" before she got off the train, and of course i stayed in the whole night expecting her to come over and then she didnt. fuck. Well i guess she doesnt deserve if she cant spare half an hour to come to say goodbye and pick up a few items!!! I was so angry....

Well i guess this is my last entry. I have my last lesson in 15 mins, so i'll probably be upset to leave :( SEE YOU ALL SOON!

Last days in Vienna

2007-12-18T07:46:42Z

I love it here. I feel settled now and i'm being torn away from here. it's sad. i will come back though, and i do have a lot of good memories. I wrote in my scrapbook everyday and i took almost every opportunity. There are very few things i regret here and i think i had the best time i could have :) Just sad to have to go back now. I'm making the most of my last day here, that's for sure before i return on Saturday. see you guys soon!

The ugly mask comes off and there's a silver lining

2007-12-07T08:26:27Z

I'm feeling a lot better now. For several reasons...

1. I've bought and watched the whole of the first season of Scrubs. ;D
2. I've applied for accomodation in Brazil - with a family and after 2 weeks i get to decide if i want to stay or if i want to look for accomodation elsewhere. It's really cheap 30 pounds a week, and that includes my own room, breakfast and laundry.
3. I'm really making the most of my time here visiting lots of sights and trying to make the most of my time at the school. I'm often tired on thurs and fri afternoons so i need my DVDs to chill out to, as i'm far too tired to do touristy things. However, i've kept a written scrapbook diary and looking through it, i feel i've used my time well.
4. I hope to go to Salzburg next friday for a long weekend, as i have seen a lot in Vienna and want to come away from Austria, having seen more than just one city. Aparently Salzburg is do-able in 3 days so thats good.
5. I'm really sad i am leaving in 2 weeks but i have loved living here, despite it being lonely sometimes and feeling like a lot of people back home dont care or understand what its like. My mum said she posted me a letter so i should get that today or monday and ailsa sent me one too which i replied to the minute i'd finished reading it!!! I love getting mail and i just hope that i do get more in Brazil than i have done here, because i'm guessing it's going to be even more lonely there...
6. It's Christmas time and everything's so pretty here :) I'm looking forward to Christmas now :D
7. I've finally got used to getting up at 6.30 in the morning that 9am seems so middayish!!!! It's weird and you get more out of the day.
God how can i be this cheery so early in the day....?

Winter Poems

2007-11-28T10:39:01Z

Just a quick one as i'm starving and want to get food at home (i am at the school)

The pupils produced some amazing work on Friday and the teacher i worked with showed me. I presented Tea by Carol Ann Duffy from the collection Rapture, a very beautiful collection (i have also presented Text from it) Then they had to write a poem on the theme Winter. Some of the poems are amazing. It just shows how rewarding this job is.

It snowed on Monday. Lucky i bought some extremely warm and funky boots to keep my legs warm :)

Letters, Phone and Internet. What's the point anymore?

2007-11-27T11:38:04Z

I noticed Emilie Autumn is playing in Vienna on 11th December and am now a proud owner of a gig ticket. She was awesome when i saw her in London and i got to meet her and she signed my album. It doesnt say anything about meeting her though, which is a shame because i didnt know what to ask her last time, i was really shy.

Yesterday i kept myself busy by going to the Liechtenstein museum, which to be honest, i assumed would be about Liechtenstein and its royal family. But it was reneissance art. And far more boring than expected. For an hour of reneissance art is surely enough, but no. I was there 5 hours. So it was a little disappointing. Especially for €10.

I've realised it's actually quite lonely here, and i never see my housemates, which basically means i have the place to myself. On sunday i was feeling very down and emotional and i was very lonely and realised why. It's not only very difficult not having the internet at home to talk to people whenever i want, but its the fact that i have written so many letters and almost no one has replied. Mum, Grandma and Ailsa have all sent me a letter each, and Angie gave one to Adam, which he gave me when he visited. But i have sent 19 postcards and letters. 19. i have got 3 sent to my flat. I'm not sure i can be bothered anymore. It's disheartening - i dont know if i will be doing this in Brazil. Why should i when no one ever replies? Only mum and Adam have called me. And even then most of the time i call them. I called Angie and we talked for so long it cost me 11 pounds. She has never phoned me.

So yeah i am pretty pissed off at most of my friends and family right now. I just dont think they realise that although i am having fun here, i have one friend, and whenever i am at home i am alone, as i barely see my housemates. So the only interaction i get is with Felicia and when i go to the school...

Going back to Notts was a bad move, as i got used to being around so many people, all of the time and it was lovely seeing Adam and all my Nottingham friends. But then suddenly i am back here and alone. I shouldnt have gone back, as now i miss Adam more than ever, and feel lonelier than ever. Before it was easy to ignore the fact that no-one has responded to my letters but now its hard to get out of my mind.

I didnt sleep last night. Chang came back at 3.30am and her and her friend made noise all night. When i got up at 6.30, they were just off to bed... i am so tired....

Four Weeks left in Vienna

2007-11-24T17:00:32Z

i am really enjoying myself here in vienna but i go back in four weeks and i dont want to go back in some ways because it's so amazing here and i finally feel like i've am settled here and now i have to leave. I am really enjoying the school, working with 10-14 year olds and teaching music, art, german and english to them is fun. Especially music. We've sung Let it Be by the Beatles and Do they know it's Christmas? which is fucking awesome. However i have realised teaching isnt for me and (as will be explained later) have decided to go for the film industry.

What else? Oh yes, more catholic holidays... The last one i didnt end up going to Italy as i wasnt feeling great so i just chilled out. However, i went back to Notts last week (Wed to Mon) to see Adam and people and i had a really nice time, i do feel i appreciate the time with him a lot more. I'm glad however, that i will be back for the whole of Jan to spend time with him. During this time i will also be working a hell of a lot on Iced Dice Productions, as after i graduate i have decided i want to make a real go of it and after speaking to my two business partners, Dave and Alex, we have decided to go for it. We have 4 films in different stages -

The first is nearly ready, its edited and just needs some tweaking, and we hope to have it ready for viewing at the end of Jan. We have filmed the second and will begin editing in Jan, hopefully to have ready for the summer. The third is currently being written, but is fully concieved in my mind and i know how i want it done. It will be filmed hopefully in Oct 08 in london. The forth is, at the moment, just ideas, that will soon be scripted.

So that's that. I have re-designed the website and will uploaded on my return, to the UK, when my computer finally has internet access. It will have a shop to sell the films on, at a resonable price (just enough to cover the cost of disks, dvd cases and a small profit for fundraising for our other films) So watch this space.

Went to the christmas markets today, which was enjoyable and i hope to visit some more museums this week. Will update as soon as i can, hopefully before i leave here.

Italy and Film :)

2007-10-27T19:20:07Z

My brother came to visit sat to wed last week and Adam is here now. It's been good as i have got to do touristy things that i've not done yet, and see them too. Dan really enjoyed himself and wants to come back again. We are in an internet cafe as he is checking online but forgot his passport to check in, so he let me use the computer while he runs back to get it. I'm doing ok here and i'm going to do a film course here alongside teaching in the school. This is because i decided that the teaching thing probably isnt for me and i want to purse film. I am going to apply for a load of internships for next summer with TV and film companies and try to get Iced Dice Productions off its feet too. I really want to make this work.

On monday and wednesday i am going to the vienese film fest and then might be going to Rome for a few days as i have some days off work!

Alone and once again... alone

2007-10-10T12:11:06Z

hey all. i've no internet in my flat, only at the school which makes this year abroad journal a bit pointless really as i cant write much.

i like the school a lot and am enjoying myself, and have been going out clubbing etc quite a bit, to stop the impending doom of lonliness... and i do take a bellydancing course too. I'm not actually that good but i enjoy it. I was fairly happy here apart from being quite homesick and a bit lonely, until yesterday when i found out something dreadful...

Angie is quitting her course and that means i have to go to Brazil alone, which i really dont want to do, and i'm really upset about it....and i was going over to lisbon to spend a week with her at her flat and celebrate my birthday during this week and stay at Angie's flat, but now i'll be alone in a youth hostel in the red light district (aparently according to Angie thats where they all are!) on my birthday. i dont want that. at all. And it's getting me down....

Long time no entry

2007-09-24T22:51:05Z

*waves* so yeah i've been in vienna a month now and how the time has already flown by. i'm doing fine and have an apartment. (Photos on facebook) and i am so so sorry for not writing but i've had very limited internet access and the hostel internet was restricted so i couldnt get on LJ. I've spent 4 days in Prague as well as being in Vienna and i love both places - which do have a lot of similarities. I start at the school in exactly a week and will be working 16 hours, 3 in the German department and the rest in English, Art and Theatre. So i'm sure i'll love it! I also get Mondays off and this make me muchos happy. I've done a bellydancing taster evening of 3 hours and really like it so am going to hopefully join a regular class and if i have enough money will do singing lessons again. I've joined the local swimming pool for only 17 Euros a month (£11.50) and intend to go 1-2 times a week. so i'll be busy. I also intend playing Magic every week and also going clubbing :) so yeah. I've made a few friends so all is going well. Invitations are still open to those who've been asking if they can visit. YES you can! :D I'm back in london until Thur night and i've seen my Adam. It's been nice giving my family presents and seeing them again. Miss you all. xxxxxxxxx

Tomorrow has come quickly

2007-08-27T11:02:13Z

I leave tomorrow. it's quite an odd feeling. I have packed and i'm hoping to call the travel agents today or tomorrow morning to book my brazil flights. I also need to call british airwarys to see if i can get a few extra kilos checked luggage for free. (aparently if you are studying abroad they give you special allowances.) this means i can take bed covers out with me, so it saves me buying them when i get there.

I was feeling a little sad last night to not see Adam for such a long time but i have booked a flight back on 22nd September to Heathrow and he's going to meet me then. So it won't be too long til i see him next, but it's already been two weeks....

Still on the other hand i'm VERY excited and a little nervous. Will write in a few days when i arrive. Until then don't be suprised if i am not in contact much. I'm not taking my computer out until 27th September and i won't be calling much as it costs too much. I also ask that you PLEASE DO NOT CALL OR TEXT ME for the first week, as it will also cost me a bomb, I'll be getting an Austrian SIM card, as soon as i can to make calls cheaper. Thanks.

Practically ready!

2007-08-24T18:22:01Z

I'm super happy this evening, as i went to the comenius assistants training day today in london and got lots of resources there. I also managed to get my travel insurance in STA Travel. It's nearly all done! Feeling much more relaxed and i'm getting crazily excited now it feels so real! I also am really hoping i get that room in that flat in Vienna cos it's just perfect!

Not much else to say. i'm just super happy

Make a home

2007-08-23T11:07:26Z

I'm feeling a little less stressed today, as last night i was in contact with someone who has a room free in Vienna and i've arranged to go view the flat on Wednesday at noon.

I don't know how likely it is i'll get it, because she wanted someone longer term, but she didn't like any of the other girls that were interested before, so i know there's no one else that is looking at it. I was interested a while ago but she wanted me to view the property within the week and i couldn't fly out that quick as the flights were too expensive. So i was really gutted cos it's a lovely room (double bed and TV in there) and the flat has interest access. So i REALLY hope she likes me and lets me have the room. she seems cool, and is veggie. Her English is pretty good too... wish me luck!

Today i am hopefully getting my suitcase and hopefully buying the last few things i need. I don't know if i've already mentioned but, i'm not taking my computer with me initally, but am flying back for a few days at the end of September to pick it up and to see Adam. I am also planning to book that either tonight or tomorrow night. Tomorrow i've a briefing day in London for Comenius Assistants. It's 10.30am-4pm and afterwards i am going to STA Travel to get my travel insurance sorted. So it's all slowly but surely coming together.

My brother got his GCSE results today. Clever git - he got 8 A*, 2A and 1 C!

:) Generally feeling much happier.

Edit: Got my suitcase, case straps and 2 combination padlocks today, yay me! I also sorted out some of the stuff i want to take with me. i'm feeling much less stressed!

Ponies and Badgers

2007-08-22T14:59:11Z

Where do i begin? Less than a week until i leave and i feel that my head will soon expload!

Right now i feel like shit, kidney infection really hurts and i'm knackered from all the organising so i'm in bed.

I went up to nottingham last week which was really nice as i got to say goodbye to Adam and sort out some year abroad things like currency and find out more about insurance and injections. I came back Saturday evening and then went on holiday with my folks to the New Forest Sunday to Tuesday, which helped chilled me out a lot. There were ponies everywhere and badgers came to the B&B we were in late at night for food. The most awesome part of the holiday was the trip to stonehenge, and i bought a set of three very nice prints of the stones. Now i am back though and i've so much to do...

I'm really annoyed at the amount left to do. The Brazil flights are getting to me quite a lot. I am supposed to be going with a friend and we had planned to book the flights on the day after my leaving gathering, but she not only forgot to make sure she had enough money in her account, she also didn't want to call up her parents to ask them for their credit card details so we didn't get it booked that day.... so anyway we arranged to do it over the phone on the wednesday. I said no to quite a few people who wanted to meet up with me on that evening so that i could book this thing that night and then i get a text from my friend telling me that she's gone out for a meal that night and won't be back til 9. (I was pretty annoyed by this as i had to get up early to go to Notts the next day, but i stay up so that she can have the same flights as me) Then she calls me and we start to arrange it, and then her Dad doesn't want to book in on the internet because it's aparently not safe enough for him. So once again i'm messed around and as i couldn't book it after that as i was in Notts and the New Forest, she books it in a travel agent and i've not yet. Ok so that part isn't too much shit, but the flights she did book in the Travel agent are changeable and the ones on the internet aren't. So now i'm having to find a flight somewhere which is changable incase something happens and she decides that she'll go on a different one and i've got to go on my own on the non-changeable flight.. (cos with the disorganisation so far it wouldn't exactly suprise me if her parents would want her to come home on a different day or something.) Well so far the Travel agents either don't do refundable/exchangeable tickets or charge £800-odd instead of the online £648. So i'm very pissed off about this now. She also doesn't want to book the hostel yet. I did all the research for the visa, hostels and flights and although she did tell me some stuff about injections and she rang up for an application for a police check, i feel like i am doing more than she is. I just wish she'd look for somewhere for us to live, contacting landlords and looking on Shared accomodation sites or contact the uni, so that at least i don't have to worry about that as well....

On the bright side....I think i know what i am doing about my travel insurance finally. I still have to get my case, which is also stressing me out a lot. Honestly i've no idea how the hell i'm going to fit all my stuff in!!

My finalised to-do list is below:

Before 28th Aug:

~~do rest of handwashing~~
~~getting travel insurance~~
~~buy case and pack~~
book ~~brazil flights &~~ hostel

Between now and end September:

apply for jobs in vienna
~~find somewhere to live in vienna~~

October onwards:

send off police check form
make docs appointments for Jan for jabs
find somewhere to live in Brazil
Apply for visa

Goodbyes

2007-08-13T14:42:42Z

It was odd seeing a lot of people yesterday and saying goodbye, i felt i didn't really get a chance to speak to all of them, even though that was the point of the day. i know a lot of people didn't make it and i guess it's good that they will possibly get to see me another time and actually talka lot rather than only have a short conversation with me like most of my guests yesterday. But i think the party went well. It's weird i've only two weeks left here. Still feel like there's a massive amount to prepare. But, my skype phone arrived today so i can offically call anyone (for free) who adds me on skype now! Download and add me. Still i am sure i'll get everything done in time. Anyway back to the party and the worst point of it...

I felt it was a good party despite one thing that made me really angry. I bought a bottle of Pims (not for the party but for my own alcohol stash) and put my half empty bottle of Pims in for the party. Well the full one is nowhere, there is the empty one i donated but my own one is gone. Vanished. i just honestly can't believe someone would have stolen my Pims. Those guests are supposed to be my friends and now when i see the friends who could not make the party (who i had planned to make the pims for) cannot have any. I'm really quite broke after spending out nearly £900 on flights and youth hostels and i know the bottle of Pims doesn't cost much but i really can't afford to buy another, but that is not really the main point. ONE OF MY FRIENDS stole it from my own house. how fucking selfish and rude. i just feel that i never want to host a party again as this has made me so angry and i am wondering what else is missing.... i know the coke was stolen as well, but i just hope all my money and jewllery is there....

i'm honestly feeling like i can't wait to leave if this is what my friend(s) here are like.

EDIT: If whoever took it (i can understand mistakes can be made when drunk!), returns it or buys me a new one, all will be forgotten.

Fully Booked

2007-08-10T23:07:12Z

I'm actually booked up now, it's crazy! The only three days when i have nothing planned are the 23rd, 25th (one of which i will probably have to get a suitcase) and 27th (day before i go and i'll have to pack then.) it's a bit worrying but at least i am going to nottingham to see Adam for 16-18th and on holiday with my family 19th-21st. So at least i get a break from the oncoming stress! Below is a Meme that ailsa_clare asked her ljfriends to complete.

1: Why do you write?

I love it as a way of getting my thoughts out. I find if i try to write just for the sake of producing good work i get writersblock and it ends up crap so i reckon i write when i need to release emotion or tension of some kind. It comes naturally.

2: When did you first start writing?

Started with poetry when i was about 15. Then prose when i was 17 and finally scripts at 18.

3: How do you decide on a title? Do you have working titles that change?

No i pretty much stick to the same one. It just pops into my head. I'm usually better at coming up with cool titles than cool writings though lol

4: Do you write chronologically?

No way! scenes/ chapters come to me and i write them down. Usually the beginning and end come quite soon before the middle. For poetry it does come to me chronologically though

5: Do you have a methodical planning process so that you know every detail of your character's lives before you start, or do you just 'go with the flow'? Go with the flow, though if i am writing about something i know little about (like my 80s novel in verse) then i research bits first.

6: Have you ever taken a class or course in creative writing?#

No but i want to.

7: If yes, did you find it helpful? If no, do you think you would be helped or hindered by a course? Is writing a craft that can be learnt or do you have to have a spark, a muse that you've either got or you haven't?

I don't think it can be learnt, but it can be improved. If you're almost there, then i think you can't lose out by attending.

8: When you read, do you read as a reader or a writer? (i.e: do you focus on the mechanics of the writing in front of you?)

I don't read much but when i do i read as a reader. Expect sometimes i do through poetry afterwards and analyse it lol.

9: Do you write til you're finished and then edit, or do you edit continuously as you write?

depends. poetry i finish then edit. other stuff mostly finish then edit, though sometimes as i am going.

10: On average how long does it take you to complete a piece of writing? (If you could give me an indication as to the length of what you write that might be useful. Because obviously I'm going to be more impressed if you write 150,000 word novels in two weeks than if you write a haiku in that time. Sorry!)

I think this is where many people fall down. Time to me is not an issue. There is no point writing a 150,000 word novel if it is shite. If you spend the same time writing a fucking awsome haiku then it's a job well done i say. So back to me, well i used to write poetry on the way home, i'd remember it and write it down when i arrived home and that used to be about 20 mins. I wrote a 9 min film script in 2 weeks and a 35 min film script in 4 months. My novel in verse has taken me 3 years and is still not done. so it all depends on what you write and whether it's during exam time or holidays. hope this helps and that you'll try to focus on pouring out your thoughts rather than worrying how long a piece will take. Time pressures smother creativity.