Friday, 26 November 2010
2010
Well, as you can see it's been ages since I have wrote what I have been up to. So instead I will promise to update before Christmas. But for now it's some ironing and the Christmas shopping...
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
New page in the book of life...
6 months, been and gone, and that's the end of the World Challenge chapter in terms of full time work. Working over the winter as a centre assistant/trainee instructor flew past so quickly and though the main work included hanging up wet tents, folding dry tents, organising stores for the training expeditions, there were the perks towards the end that got me involved in the delivery of training. It was stressful and full on but after going out on the third one, I was running it all by myself with an instructor shadowing me incase I missed out anything. I came back in from that weekend on such a high as the group were really receptive to the training, really positive and I had great feedback including a thankyou card. The teachers had been made aware that I was in training but thought I did really well :-)
So before I knew it, I was moving out of Buxton and heading South East to a village outside of Derby called Spondon where I am now based. It was originally going to be a 'rent a room' situation but turned out to be the case of a relationship blossoming. That guy is none other than my 'boyfriend', Ned, someone who has helped me a lot over the past few months with my climbing, not only someone I have worked on and off with for the past year, but someone who has been a little less than totally amazing to me.
So I have found myself moved into a new house and this is coupled with a new full time job (until October) with the company that started off all of my work within the outdoor sector, Peak Pursuits. I had been pestered for the past few months about working full time for the company as they lack female full time members of staff within the Duke of Edinburgh department and so an agreement was proposed that I take the seasonal position with a month off in the summer to go to Malawi on expedition with World Challenge. It was a big decision as I had been totally convinced with the idea of going freelance with different companies but after a few weeks mulling over the pro's and con's I went with taking the job for some security and experience with the 'behind the scenes' side of DoE. It's not like it's a permanent job as it is only until October and I can reassess the situation when I get back from Malawi.
In terms of life, I'm really not sure what I want anymore. It's not like I'm bored with the outdoors or anything, but only being a ML (in terms of qualifications) there are not a huge amount of avenues to go down at the moment. I may be just blind, and stuck in my ways of DoE but I hope to find something new for this winter or 2011. I aim to get my SPA (climbing award) sorted by the end of the year which may open some doors and hope to start paddling this year which could mean I aim for some water qualifications as well but I'm at the stage where I feel I have had a none stop life for the past 4 years and want some time out.
Yeah ok I'm only 22 years old but I want to get out travelling without a group of kids tagging along/in front of me. My brother has just made the hard decision to defer University and go out to Australia for a year to travel and maybe work. A friend of mine has done the same thing, got a camper van and is travelling throughout New Zealand. That would be awesome, but I'm a sociable person (most of the time) and don't think I fancy doing things like that on my own. I like to talk to someone and share the experiences of travel. Even if I was to go out on my own, I could potentially meet people on my travels but who knows if they are idiots or want to do the same things as me. I can be a right grump at times and I do have ties to the UK now. Job, meh, I can quit that worst case scenerio, a house, I can leave that and dump things in my parents loft, a boyfriend, a little harder to 'deal' with. That sounds very negative, which I really am not about. I haven't been this happy in a long time, not that I have been unhappy or lonely, but I so enjoy spending time with Ned. I think it's merely the fact that I have completed University, where I had a lot of time to play around with and could work when and where I wanted, had some excitement with going to Bolivia and India then going straight into a 6 month placement/job for the winter and straight into another 6 month job interspersed with work in Africa. Non stop but I do get bored just on days off.
So for the next few months it's going to be preparation for Malawi, getting through all the DoE expeditions around the UK (and abroad now with the possibility of going to Spain in August) and job hunting for my next challenge. I could easily just continue with DoE but it's not challenging anymore (depending on the group of course). And with that, I will pack for a gold practice in Scotland :-)
So before I knew it, I was moving out of Buxton and heading South East to a village outside of Derby called Spondon where I am now based. It was originally going to be a 'rent a room' situation but turned out to be the case of a relationship blossoming. That guy is none other than my 'boyfriend', Ned, someone who has helped me a lot over the past few months with my climbing, not only someone I have worked on and off with for the past year, but someone who has been a little less than totally amazing to me.
So I have found myself moved into a new house and this is coupled with a new full time job (until October) with the company that started off all of my work within the outdoor sector, Peak Pursuits. I had been pestered for the past few months about working full time for the company as they lack female full time members of staff within the Duke of Edinburgh department and so an agreement was proposed that I take the seasonal position with a month off in the summer to go to Malawi on expedition with World Challenge. It was a big decision as I had been totally convinced with the idea of going freelance with different companies but after a few weeks mulling over the pro's and con's I went with taking the job for some security and experience with the 'behind the scenes' side of DoE. It's not like it's a permanent job as it is only until October and I can reassess the situation when I get back from Malawi.
In terms of life, I'm really not sure what I want anymore. It's not like I'm bored with the outdoors or anything, but only being a ML (in terms of qualifications) there are not a huge amount of avenues to go down at the moment. I may be just blind, and stuck in my ways of DoE but I hope to find something new for this winter or 2011. I aim to get my SPA (climbing award) sorted by the end of the year which may open some doors and hope to start paddling this year which could mean I aim for some water qualifications as well but I'm at the stage where I feel I have had a none stop life for the past 4 years and want some time out.
Yeah ok I'm only 22 years old but I want to get out travelling without a group of kids tagging along/in front of me. My brother has just made the hard decision to defer University and go out to Australia for a year to travel and maybe work. A friend of mine has done the same thing, got a camper van and is travelling throughout New Zealand. That would be awesome, but I'm a sociable person (most of the time) and don't think I fancy doing things like that on my own. I like to talk to someone and share the experiences of travel. Even if I was to go out on my own, I could potentially meet people on my travels but who knows if they are idiots or want to do the same things as me. I can be a right grump at times and I do have ties to the UK now. Job, meh, I can quit that worst case scenerio, a house, I can leave that and dump things in my parents loft, a boyfriend, a little harder to 'deal' with. That sounds very negative, which I really am not about. I haven't been this happy in a long time, not that I have been unhappy or lonely, but I so enjoy spending time with Ned. I think it's merely the fact that I have completed University, where I had a lot of time to play around with and could work when and where I wanted, had some excitement with going to Bolivia and India then going straight into a 6 month placement/job for the winter and straight into another 6 month job interspersed with work in Africa. Non stop but I do get bored just on days off.
So for the next few months it's going to be preparation for Malawi, getting through all the DoE expeditions around the UK (and abroad now with the possibility of going to Spain in August) and job hunting for my next challenge. I could easily just continue with DoE but it's not challenging anymore (depending on the group of course). And with that, I will pack for a gold practice in Scotland :-)
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
Snow snow snow
When it first hit I was dead excited. We haven't had snow like this in ages, to then be told England hadn't had snow like this in over 20 years or so, I knew then that it was exciting! That was until every morning at the centre we would be clearing snow for over an hour and gritting half a football pitch. Some good snowmen, sledging and fights were some of the highs but now it's just getting riduculous.
Practically all the roads in and out of Buxton are closed because they are getting so dangerous. Thankfully I wasn't too bad getting into Buxton on Sunday night just gone but I doubt I'll be able to leave for at least a week. Bummer! So much for the climbing sessions on Tuesday evenings in Sheffield, not happy.
One good thing about being stuck in the centre though was I finally organised and booked some holiday that I was due. I had been wanting to go out to Switzerland for ages now to see my God Mother Gillian. Probably a couple of years ago now, she had her own house built with her husband Bart. I still haven't visited so it was a perfect opportunity to go out there. So 4th Feb, fly out to Zurich, spend a night in Luzern by the lake and then meet Gillian on the 5th. Spend a long weekend at her's and then fly back on the 8th. Exciting stuff. I hope to get out and do some walking in the weather is kind. They have been having lots of snow by the sounds of things but the trains are still running so will be able to get from the airport to near enough her house.
I also booked off the half term week in anticipation of something exciting to rear it's head. Will see what happens but it'll be a week off so can get away and do something either way.
Then it's going to be some busy weeks as the last of the kids will be coming through the Leadership and Development Centre for their overseas training. I believe I will be on a remote course in Hexham in February so that will be a nice break from the centre. Not to mention going out with the groups in Buxton as well! Hopefully the weather will have sorted itself out by then and I can get out climbing working on the log book for assessment. How frustrating it is when you have time off but can't get out and do the things you want. Welcome to the real world I guess. I will have to just try harder with things....
Practically all the roads in and out of Buxton are closed because they are getting so dangerous. Thankfully I wasn't too bad getting into Buxton on Sunday night just gone but I doubt I'll be able to leave for at least a week. Bummer! So much for the climbing sessions on Tuesday evenings in Sheffield, not happy.
One good thing about being stuck in the centre though was I finally organised and booked some holiday that I was due. I had been wanting to go out to Switzerland for ages now to see my God Mother Gillian. Probably a couple of years ago now, she had her own house built with her husband Bart. I still haven't visited so it was a perfect opportunity to go out there. So 4th Feb, fly out to Zurich, spend a night in Luzern by the lake and then meet Gillian on the 5th. Spend a long weekend at her's and then fly back on the 8th. Exciting stuff. I hope to get out and do some walking in the weather is kind. They have been having lots of snow by the sounds of things but the trains are still running so will be able to get from the airport to near enough her house.
I also booked off the half term week in anticipation of something exciting to rear it's head. Will see what happens but it'll be a week off so can get away and do something either way.
Then it's going to be some busy weeks as the last of the kids will be coming through the Leadership and Development Centre for their overseas training. I believe I will be on a remote course in Hexham in February so that will be a nice break from the centre. Not to mention going out with the groups in Buxton as well! Hopefully the weather will have sorted itself out by then and I can get out climbing working on the log book for assessment. How frustrating it is when you have time off but can't get out and do the things you want. Welcome to the real world I guess. I will have to just try harder with things....
Sunday, 3 January 2010
Happy New Year
A new year, a new start and a whirlwind of excitement to come...Bringing in the new year with a trip to Lincoln cathedral, beautifully lit with bell ringing, crowds of people and tea lights floating into the sky where a full moon enlightened everything in sight. It was a truely beautiful evening in the crisp cold after an exciting day of Mountain Biking around Carsington Water. I was a little dubious about the idea of getting back on a bike, especially when it was freezing cold, icy though sunny but we went with the idea. I had done the low level routes with my parents when I on holiday years before (but this time it was with Ned Needham, who doesn't understand easy!).
Unfortunately I had been ill the previous two days which was ominous, with having only ate a tin of soup and some toast. My energy levels were low but we whizzed onto the trails and there were hills! I can say I only had to push on one of them from exhaustion, the other two where because it was icy and I had no purchase on the ground. On Ned peddled, thankfully waiting for me on the flat. A nice lunch stop by the dam where we were pestered by a family who had a puncture. Then an absolutely freezing sprint across the dam where I lost both hands and feet to the cold and we were back to the car. I made it but can't say my bottom agreed with it though....
Now my week had obviously started off badly due to being sick, though I managed to squeeze in a meal with some old school friends on the Monday night so once I was feeling better on the Wednesday I was back on the road and it was to stop at my friend Ned's house in Derby. Easing in gently to physical exertion I had a 'fresh' walk around Darley Park to be surprised by a random water buffalo called Oink sitting in a field, finished off with a wander around Derby old town for a taste of culture. It was bitter cold so we head home for tea, though the house was really no warmer! Ned doesn't seem to understand the word heating. The following day, the weather was fantastic so we had our ride around Carsington followed by an amazing dinner and trip to Lincoln, finally crawling into bed very late.
New Year's Day, another amazing day of weather that was dedicated to a trip to Harborough for some outdoor climbing. What a way to start the new year and though there was snow still on the ground, I was thrown into climbing on Limestone.
Some amazing views looking over the Peak District, I got myself two leads ticked off for my logbook. If my log book continues in this way then I will be having all types of rock types logged soon enough. Ned tackled a particularly tricky looking climb that I seconded. That was when my hands completely froze, not to mention the non-existent feet on the end of my legs. Painful as it was, I got to the top and we bailed for the 'warmth' of home. 
Some amazing views looking over the Peak District, I got myself two leads ticked off for my logbook. If my log book continues in this way then I will be having all types of rock types logged soon enough. Ned tackled a particularly tricky looking climb that I seconded. That was when my hands completely froze, not to mention the non-existent feet on the end of my legs. Painful as it was, I got to the top and we bailed for the 'warmth' of home. 
After I found my feet my again, I was shocked to find that the heating was actually working in the house which was blissful. A evening of food and films finished a day well. Very successful!
Now it can't all be fun fun so a morning of getting up to date with things and some work, we then spent the afternoon at Nottingham Climbing Centre where my comfort zone was well and truely stretched with the introduction of fighting over hangs plus a play with twin/double/half ropes (don't ask me to explain or work out the difference as it was a 2am conversation that was only half taken in when it was explained!). The bouldering was pretty good though and I tackled some interesting problems but the day took it's toll on me thankfully co-inciding with closing time at 5pm. Some sore hands and a bit of demoralisation, we skipped off back home for a couple of hours to then go to see the new Sherlock Holmes film at the cinema which was very good. Thoroughly recommended with the character of Holmes being portrayed in a very quirky manner. The night topped off with a monster game of Yahtzee and cheese on muffins!
So a very exciting week and now I prepare to head back to Buxton for work tomorrow. Back on duty so 7 days of early mornings and late evenings. Apparently the snow is still up there but the roads are ok which makes my travelling a little easier. Clearing drive ways for non-existent members of staff coming in makes in a bit demoralising but hey ho, work work work. Let's hope the weather stays sunny and fresh for some afternoon climbing outdoors. And with that I head to Buxton...
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Life in Buxton
I have officially been living in Buxton for 6 weeks and it has been an exciting time of learning, meeting new people and opportunity. A time that has mainly consisted of running the Stores for the Overseas Training Expeditions at the Leadership and Development Centre in Buxton, it has also taken me to Pitlochry, Scotland twice with benefits of once the work is done your time is spent on personal development. So naturally I have been out climbing and pushing my grade to prepare for my SPA assessment.
It has been an exciting time, seeing and meeting Challengers due to depart for far-flung countries all over the globe next summer and unfortunately brings back the want to travel again. Only being back from Bolivia less than 3 months I'm already eeking to get away again, but where to....
On a safe arrival back to the centre 2 weeks ago from Scotland, I had had an eventful weekend in Pitlochry where beautiful weather graced our company and a school from Glasgow had their training for their trip to Malawi next June. It was at the same time that my leading aspirations were being contemplated by the techinal and HR team back in England. They wanted me to lead this coming summer and no better placement than with a team that requested me! Yes, this team from Glasgow were very happy with me and wanted me to be their leader.
Now to be honest if this had happened a couple of weeks before I think I would have cacked myself and said no, but after being questioned about what I wanted to do next summer I put some serious thought into it, talked to many leaders that I had recently worked with and then came to the conclusion that I was ready for the plunge. With the right group, the right destination and the right itinerary plus plenty of research and preparation I would be ready!
Even so, on getting back to Buxton, I had to wait for over 2 weeks, even with my training instructor Chris making phone calls and arrangements of Potential Leader paperwork to go in, until I finally got the all clear that it was going to be my expedition. With a mixture of nerves and excitement I now write my news and plan for the start of research and preparation.
So 324 days until action (the World Challenge members site tells me) :-)
Amongst the excitement, we have the return of Jo to the centre, one of the trainee instructors that live in the little attic flat of Oaklands Manor, Buxton. The other being Aaron, who has recently moved in this week. We are now the new instructors of the Manor and are ready for the onslaught on the training expeditions that run regularly amongst other such courses. Jo has been in Morocco on a development training week, the lucky thing. Looking forward to hearing all the stories and look through the photos! And then we have 4 days off until the next course after having back to backs running throughout October due to halfterms across the country. It will be nice for some quiet time and more time to get out climbing working towards my assessment which is penciled in for April time.
And with that, I return to looking out over the Peak District, waiting for the return of the groups tomorrow :-)
It has been an exciting time, seeing and meeting Challengers due to depart for far-flung countries all over the globe next summer and unfortunately brings back the want to travel again. Only being back from Bolivia less than 3 months I'm already eeking to get away again, but where to....
On a safe arrival back to the centre 2 weeks ago from Scotland, I had had an eventful weekend in Pitlochry where beautiful weather graced our company and a school from Glasgow had their training for their trip to Malawi next June. It was at the same time that my leading aspirations were being contemplated by the techinal and HR team back in England. They wanted me to lead this coming summer and no better placement than with a team that requested me! Yes, this team from Glasgow were very happy with me and wanted me to be their leader.
Now to be honest if this had happened a couple of weeks before I think I would have cacked myself and said no, but after being questioned about what I wanted to do next summer I put some serious thought into it, talked to many leaders that I had recently worked with and then came to the conclusion that I was ready for the plunge. With the right group, the right destination and the right itinerary plus plenty of research and preparation I would be ready!
Even so, on getting back to Buxton, I had to wait for over 2 weeks, even with my training instructor Chris making phone calls and arrangements of Potential Leader paperwork to go in, until I finally got the all clear that it was going to be my expedition. With a mixture of nerves and excitement I now write my news and plan for the start of research and preparation.
So 324 days until action (the World Challenge members site tells me) :-)
Amongst the excitement, we have the return of Jo to the centre, one of the trainee instructors that live in the little attic flat of Oaklands Manor, Buxton. The other being Aaron, who has recently moved in this week. We are now the new instructors of the Manor and are ready for the onslaught on the training expeditions that run regularly amongst other such courses. Jo has been in Morocco on a development training week, the lucky thing. Looking forward to hearing all the stories and look through the photos! And then we have 4 days off until the next course after having back to backs running throughout October due to halfterms across the country. It will be nice for some quiet time and more time to get out climbing working towards my assessment which is penciled in for April time.
And with that, I return to looking out over the Peak District, waiting for the return of the groups tomorrow :-)
Wednesday, 16 September 2009
Good news!
As ever it has been hectic! I have officially zig zagged around the country about eight times in only 3 weeks or so. I have just finished a couple of expeditions for Duke of Edinburgh with work only down in the Chiltern Hills then around the Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District. Interspersed with that I have been to some job interviews and been working on the Adventure Quest work in Buxton and Bushey. Fun it has all been and with living out of my car for about 2 weeks since leaving home last, I have finally returned to Dunstable with the expeditions under my belt, being signed off to run high ropes courses around the country and.........a NEW JOB!
Yes I am finally sure on my movement and it will be to Buxton on either 20th or 21st September to take up the new trainee instructor position at the World Challenge Expeditions centre in the beautiful Peak District! I had been tipped off about the position opening up again this September so quickly threw a beautiful CV together, got my log books together then zoomed up to Buxton for the nerve-racking interview. It was pretty laid back but as usual I suffer under 'interview-pressure'. It all paid off though as after 2 weeks of waiting to hear back from them I was doing some shadowing at the centre for the week and was then told the good news. It was definitely a relief to finally know the outcome. I had been quite positive but then everyone else was telling me that I would no doubt get the job but then I thought I might be devastated if I didn't so went with the negative view. It all worked out though :-)
So the job is actually a 6 month placement where I will be 1 of 3 trainee instructors living in the centre with a small wage, helping to run the training expeditions for the groups going abroad in the summer, as well as running the stores, being on call if there are any problems, being the face of World Challenge, centre assistant, plus all the menial jobs like folding tents and pairing up boots. We also have a personal development programme where I will be able to finish my SPA climbing award and start working towards my kayaking qualifications. It's going to be an intense 6 months which I know is going to be hard work but it's an opportunity to be working over the quiet winter period and work towards further qualifications. It was even mentioned about possible trips to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Morocco! It boils down really to have dedicated you are to the work and what you put in reflects what you get out of it so I'm looking to be very busy. I can't wait :-)
Yes I am finally sure on my movement and it will be to Buxton on either 20th or 21st September to take up the new trainee instructor position at the World Challenge Expeditions centre in the beautiful Peak District! I had been tipped off about the position opening up again this September so quickly threw a beautiful CV together, got my log books together then zoomed up to Buxton for the nerve-racking interview. It was pretty laid back but as usual I suffer under 'interview-pressure'. It all paid off though as after 2 weeks of waiting to hear back from them I was doing some shadowing at the centre for the week and was then told the good news. It was definitely a relief to finally know the outcome. I had been quite positive but then everyone else was telling me that I would no doubt get the job but then I thought I might be devastated if I didn't so went with the negative view. It all worked out though :-)
So the job is actually a 6 month placement where I will be 1 of 3 trainee instructors living in the centre with a small wage, helping to run the training expeditions for the groups going abroad in the summer, as well as running the stores, being on call if there are any problems, being the face of World Challenge, centre assistant, plus all the menial jobs like folding tents and pairing up boots. We also have a personal development programme where I will be able to finish my SPA climbing award and start working towards my kayaking qualifications. It's going to be an intense 6 months which I know is going to be hard work but it's an opportunity to be working over the quiet winter period and work towards further qualifications. It was even mentioned about possible trips to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Morocco! It boils down really to have dedicated you are to the work and what you put in reflects what you get out of it so I'm looking to be very busy. I can't wait :-)
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
It was the plan... opps!
Well the plan was to be able to log in and blog as much as possible but unfortunately, though it wasn't exactely hard to find the Internet, time was against me with the amount of work and how busy we were scrambling around Bolivia! I was so busy I even forgot it was Dad's birthday which I'm sure he wasn't happy about but it wasn't until I was camped on the Isla del Sol with my diary (which also suffered) that I realised that it was the 16th July and I wasn't going to be in a town for another week.
I did try to get to the Internet once back in the capital, La Paz but it was all action stations to organise everything for the main trek which was an epic 4 day trek across the Yungas Cruz high up in the Andes! The views were amazingly beautiful that even the photos can't show but the memories will be there forever.
Once back from the trek we then had the excitement of heading down to Rurrenbaque, the jungle which was the bit that most were looking forward to out of the whole trip. Also the one bit of the trip that went completely wrong. The flights down there were cancelled for 2 days and with much disappointment and upset we had to bail the idea and spent another day or so trying to claim money back for the flights and tour. We then were given an option to go down to a place called Corioco which was a nice change from La Paz. We then headed back to the capital (which also went badly) for a couple of day trips. We ended up getting stuck on a mountain pass 4000+ metres in tonnes of snow. The traffic jams were crazy but again the views were amazing. We managed to spend the day preparing for the project we were working on in a remote village then visited an Inca remains site before boarding a night bus down to the Uyuni Salt Plains.
The Uyuni tour was amazing, the one thing that I was seriously looking forward and it was mindboggling how vast it was! This huge lake that didn't exist anymore, just a huge salt plain with the random cactus islands then bordered with the Chilen mountains. Words again can't explain the sight but it was fantastic. There, of course, were the problems of communication which resulted in the night that could reach as low as -20C and our bags, sleeping bags and warm clothes didn't turn up. The group had to pair up and huddle all night, thankfully it didn't reach -20C, only around -5C or so but then a boy got really sick and we were really worried allnight. The leaders got no sleep as we nursed he through the cold. We were very lucky to have had a doctor staying in the same hacienda as us and helped us out. The next morning he was much better so no sleep for us helped alot. We were then off to the geyseurs, hot springs and finally onto the village of Santiago 'K' where we were to be based for 5 days working on our project/
The project consisted of re-painting the school theatre as well as replastering the walls and also digging a cess-pit due to their lack of a sewage system. It was quite hard labour but was such a beneficial phase of the expedition for the group, especially the interactions with the kids of the village. I think it was one of the best bits of the expedition minus (of course) the problems of the lack of food, communication and understanding between us and the locals and then the poor project organiser which I won't go into on here.
The trip, for me, unfortunately ended on a bummer for me as I got travel sick travelling back to the capital and then I went on to get sickness. I ended up missing the last dinner, along with the leader who got me strong enough to travel back to the UK. We did have the downer of one of the group members losing his passport on the last day so he had to stay out in country with the teacher. So we went from 17 to 15 for travelling home. Still waiting on news on whether they are home yet, fingers crossed! Even the travel through America was scarred with passport problems but eventually we arrived back at Heathrow VERY shattered. The M25 was the last straw not allowing Mum and Dad to get to the airport on time but by 3pm on the Saturday I was back in Dunstable.
The trip was probably the most amazing form of work experience. It was a bit of a bummer that so much went wrong but so much went right as well. If the situations every happened again I would have the knowledge and understanding to sort them out as best as possible which is great for if I end up leading a group next summer. Bolivia is such an amazing country and I can't wait to get out to South America again and to explore more countries. Role on the opportunity for Peru and Machu Picchu. But for now I will be content with the UK and getting on the road for work :-)
I did try to get to the Internet once back in the capital, La Paz but it was all action stations to organise everything for the main trek which was an epic 4 day trek across the Yungas Cruz high up in the Andes! The views were amazingly beautiful that even the photos can't show but the memories will be there forever.
Once back from the trek we then had the excitement of heading down to Rurrenbaque, the jungle which was the bit that most were looking forward to out of the whole trip. Also the one bit of the trip that went completely wrong. The flights down there were cancelled for 2 days and with much disappointment and upset we had to bail the idea and spent another day or so trying to claim money back for the flights and tour. We then were given an option to go down to a place called Corioco which was a nice change from La Paz. We then headed back to the capital (which also went badly) for a couple of day trips. We ended up getting stuck on a mountain pass 4000+ metres in tonnes of snow. The traffic jams were crazy but again the views were amazing. We managed to spend the day preparing for the project we were working on in a remote village then visited an Inca remains site before boarding a night bus down to the Uyuni Salt Plains.
The Uyuni tour was amazing, the one thing that I was seriously looking forward and it was mindboggling how vast it was! This huge lake that didn't exist anymore, just a huge salt plain with the random cactus islands then bordered with the Chilen mountains. Words again can't explain the sight but it was fantastic. There, of course, were the problems of communication which resulted in the night that could reach as low as -20C and our bags, sleeping bags and warm clothes didn't turn up. The group had to pair up and huddle all night, thankfully it didn't reach -20C, only around -5C or so but then a boy got really sick and we were really worried allnight. The leaders got no sleep as we nursed he through the cold. We were very lucky to have had a doctor staying in the same hacienda as us and helped us out. The next morning he was much better so no sleep for us helped alot. We were then off to the geyseurs, hot springs and finally onto the village of Santiago 'K' where we were to be based for 5 days working on our project/
The project consisted of re-painting the school theatre as well as replastering the walls and also digging a cess-pit due to their lack of a sewage system. It was quite hard labour but was such a beneficial phase of the expedition for the group, especially the interactions with the kids of the village. I think it was one of the best bits of the expedition minus (of course) the problems of the lack of food, communication and understanding between us and the locals and then the poor project organiser which I won't go into on here.
The trip, for me, unfortunately ended on a bummer for me as I got travel sick travelling back to the capital and then I went on to get sickness. I ended up missing the last dinner, along with the leader who got me strong enough to travel back to the UK. We did have the downer of one of the group members losing his passport on the last day so he had to stay out in country with the teacher. So we went from 17 to 15 for travelling home. Still waiting on news on whether they are home yet, fingers crossed! Even the travel through America was scarred with passport problems but eventually we arrived back at Heathrow VERY shattered. The M25 was the last straw not allowing Mum and Dad to get to the airport on time but by 3pm on the Saturday I was back in Dunstable.
The trip was probably the most amazing form of work experience. It was a bit of a bummer that so much went wrong but so much went right as well. If the situations every happened again I would have the knowledge and understanding to sort them out as best as possible which is great for if I end up leading a group next summer. Bolivia is such an amazing country and I can't wait to get out to South America again and to explore more countries. Role on the opportunity for Peru and Machu Picchu. But for now I will be content with the UK and getting on the road for work :-)
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Welcome to Boliviaª
Now I already know that my Dad will be still pacing up and down the hallway waiting for me to make some contact but sorry its a busy time watching over 17 people in a developing country.
We arrived into La Paz and my god the altitude hit us like a tonne of bricks suffocating us. It was even worst at night as it was rather cold and my down jacket was definitely a good call.
We have since sent 3 days travelling to and from as well as walking around the Isla del Sol where there are Inca ruins, amazing views of the huge mountains spanning the Altiplano, llamas, donkeys, Bolivia ladies in their tophats and beautiful fabrics to carry anything from luggage to children on their backs.
It hasnt been a culture shock, not so much as India was back at the beginning of the year but the altitude makes walking very hard, especially as the whole of La Paz is on a hill. I was literally dying from just climbing the stairs. That has since changed and we are much better acclimatised after reaching and trekking around 4000 metres plus. We have camped on the beaches at Copacabana and Isla del Sol, watching amazing sunrises and sunsets over looking Lake Titicaca, bartered at markets for food, been to the Witches market of La Paz where dried llama fetuses are a sacred thing to have in the house, the coca leaves can be found everywhere but I havent found myself near any yet.
We are due to leave to do the Yungas Trek in the high mountains this Friday for 5 days trekking. We will have mules for our kit and a safety horse if anyone is feeling ill. We have a couple of bouts of illness at the moment but nothing too serious. I am currently in charge today as the leader has a rest day to recover from his bout of illness. Exciting stuff.
For now though I am off helping to buy up all the food for the 5 day trek which should be interesting as their is the 200 years anniversary of the Independance of La Paz so Im not sure what will be open.
Will try to update soon. For now though Adidos.
We arrived into La Paz and my god the altitude hit us like a tonne of bricks suffocating us. It was even worst at night as it was rather cold and my down jacket was definitely a good call.
We have since sent 3 days travelling to and from as well as walking around the Isla del Sol where there are Inca ruins, amazing views of the huge mountains spanning the Altiplano, llamas, donkeys, Bolivia ladies in their tophats and beautiful fabrics to carry anything from luggage to children on their backs.
It hasnt been a culture shock, not so much as India was back at the beginning of the year but the altitude makes walking very hard, especially as the whole of La Paz is on a hill. I was literally dying from just climbing the stairs. That has since changed and we are much better acclimatised after reaching and trekking around 4000 metres plus. We have camped on the beaches at Copacabana and Isla del Sol, watching amazing sunrises and sunsets over looking Lake Titicaca, bartered at markets for food, been to the Witches market of La Paz where dried llama fetuses are a sacred thing to have in the house, the coca leaves can be found everywhere but I havent found myself near any yet.
We are due to leave to do the Yungas Trek in the high mountains this Friday for 5 days trekking. We will have mules for our kit and a safety horse if anyone is feeling ill. We have a couple of bouts of illness at the moment but nothing too serious. I am currently in charge today as the leader has a rest day to recover from his bout of illness. Exciting stuff.
For now though I am off helping to buy up all the food for the 5 day trek which should be interesting as their is the 200 years anniversary of the Independance of La Paz so Im not sure what will be open.
Will try to update soon. For now though Adidos.
Saturday, 4 July 2009
18 days straight...
What a hectic 18 days but dear god they were so much fun. That's 2 days training down in the New Forest for a Silver DoE followed by the 3 day practice expedition, race back to Stoke via a pit stop in Bicester to see the parents and grandparents for Father's Day then a Gold expedition in the Dark Peak not before collecting my degree results (2:1) and then after ending a day early from an amazing group from Thatcham, I zoomed back to Stoke and back up to Buxton on the train to be a Team Leader for a residential with World Challenge all rounded off with another Gold expedition in the Yorkshire Dales!! And yes, I'm absolutely shattered, though still waking up at an instilled 6am :-(
The Gold expeditions were the usual, working with the British Gas apprentices, a group from Thatcham and 2 from the Leeds academy. All very determined lads and ladies that all passed with flying colours, well done guys. The Silver was a stretch for the minds as the whole Silver process from training to qualifying happened in less than 2 weeks. Again very determined youths that performed amazingly. The WC residential, which I was truely nervous about, was a real change to the usual work that I was used to. It was a 6am (or before) start setting up camp for the 14 year olds, going climbing, abseiling, raft building, a selection of high rope problems, cooking on trangias, continual team building games and reviews.... pretty full on that us leaders weren't going to bed until 11pm after being debriefed ourselves.
The residential was probably a setting stone for my life within the outdoor industry in terms of dealing with a situation that has never happened before but is likely to occur again sometime. I had to call for an ambulance in what turned out to be no more than a severe winding and cramping trapping some nerves after a slip on the raft. Thinking back to it I'm not really sure how I dealt with the situation but was later told that it was a 'text book reaction' which was very encouraging and reassuring as I was pretty shock up over it. Thankfully it was nothing too serious though could have been in another situation but now I know what to do and can be confident in my reactions to such an incident again. In a way I'm glad it has happened and my training through World Challenge was put into place. Let's hope that I don't have to deal with any emergency crews again though.
So it has come to the last 4 days of saying that I live in Stoke on Trent. I spent the most of today packing up my room ready for the parents to come and take it all away on Tuesday not before graduation on Monday at 11.30 at Trentham Gardens. I even decided to buy a new pair of smart trousers for the occasion, and if people are really lucky I might even wear a pair of heels (wait while people get a chair to sit down from shock!). It has been a defining part of my life, University, and it feels very strange that I'm now set for the big bad world and a life of working at last. It's going to be really sad moving away, though it will only be in Buxton. The next step of excitingness has commenced :-)
But not before heading out to Bolivia for 32 days with World Challenge Expeditions next Wednesday/Thursday! Oh my, I can't believe how quickly it has come around and as I pack away my room and house I now have a rather huge pile accumlating of kit to take out with me. Really going to have to try and hold the nerves until at least Tuesday evening so I can say a proper goodbye to Stoke. Thankfully some people are going to be still in Stoke so it's not like I'm being completely cut away from the area, especially with work being based only up the A500.
But for now, its graduation and travels before moving to Buxton and working the life of an outdoor instructor :-) I hope to update whilst in Bolivia. If not it's going to be some epic updating once back in Blighty.
The Gold expeditions were the usual, working with the British Gas apprentices, a group from Thatcham and 2 from the Leeds academy. All very determined lads and ladies that all passed with flying colours, well done guys. The Silver was a stretch for the minds as the whole Silver process from training to qualifying happened in less than 2 weeks. Again very determined youths that performed amazingly. The WC residential, which I was truely nervous about, was a real change to the usual work that I was used to. It was a 6am (or before) start setting up camp for the 14 year olds, going climbing, abseiling, raft building, a selection of high rope problems, cooking on trangias, continual team building games and reviews.... pretty full on that us leaders weren't going to bed until 11pm after being debriefed ourselves.
The residential was probably a setting stone for my life within the outdoor industry in terms of dealing with a situation that has never happened before but is likely to occur again sometime. I had to call for an ambulance in what turned out to be no more than a severe winding and cramping trapping some nerves after a slip on the raft. Thinking back to it I'm not really sure how I dealt with the situation but was later told that it was a 'text book reaction' which was very encouraging and reassuring as I was pretty shock up over it. Thankfully it was nothing too serious though could have been in another situation but now I know what to do and can be confident in my reactions to such an incident again. In a way I'm glad it has happened and my training through World Challenge was put into place. Let's hope that I don't have to deal with any emergency crews again though.
So it has come to the last 4 days of saying that I live in Stoke on Trent. I spent the most of today packing up my room ready for the parents to come and take it all away on Tuesday not before graduation on Monday at 11.30 at Trentham Gardens. I even decided to buy a new pair of smart trousers for the occasion, and if people are really lucky I might even wear a pair of heels (wait while people get a chair to sit down from shock!). It has been a defining part of my life, University, and it feels very strange that I'm now set for the big bad world and a life of working at last. It's going to be really sad moving away, though it will only be in Buxton. The next step of excitingness has commenced :-)
But not before heading out to Bolivia for 32 days with World Challenge Expeditions next Wednesday/Thursday! Oh my, I can't believe how quickly it has come around and as I pack away my room and house I now have a rather huge pile accumlating of kit to take out with me. Really going to have to try and hold the nerves until at least Tuesday evening so I can say a proper goodbye to Stoke. Thankfully some people are going to be still in Stoke so it's not like I'm being completely cut away from the area, especially with work being based only up the A500.
But for now, its graduation and travels before moving to Buxton and working the life of an outdoor instructor :-) I hope to update whilst in Bolivia. If not it's going to be some epic updating once back in Blighty.
Sunday, 7 June 2009
Dales and Peaks
Now I'm not going to complain but what a hectic 7 days of work! Bloody awesome though :-)
The week started with a very early start for the Yorkshire Dales where we had a Gold Duke of Edinburgh Assessement on, where I was the assessor after newly 'qualifying'. I was being shadowed for the week but there isn't alot extra to do on top of the usual duties on working with a group. The Monday was an absolutely beautiful day that once all the kit was handed out, tents were up and lunch done with we basically spent the rest of the afternoon getting rather burnt while the British Gas apprentices were playing football and throwing a frisbee. We even had a brave guy who jumped into the plunge pool in the river, which was freezing! It was that hot though. I wound down in the evening after having drove all the way up there and organising for the afternoon, taking a walk up to the village of Middlesmoor whilst camping at Spean. It was a beautiful evening and the views out over the Dale was fantastic.
The week involved a sprightly jaunt up Great Whernside, keeping up with my ex-military co-worker, in the extreme heat. I really need to get fitter before heading off to Bolivia, where we met very slow walking groups but after the first day the guys starting getting used to the pain and hardship involved with carrying your life on your back. Another 3 days of checking pointing and walking sections with the groups as the weathers started to detiorate throughout the week, though spirits were still reasonably high.
A very successful 5 days though as the group walked from Spean, up and over Great Whernside to Kettlewell, north to Newbiggin, across over to Leyburn ending at Aysgarth Fall, and I passed them all aswell. I even got a dinner in with Claire on the Thursday night at a pub half way between us (time whys) which made the week!
Saturday and Sunday was spent in the Peak District starting out at Ilam Hall for a Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Practice expedition. It made it very interesting with the comparison of such time and distance during the week to just one night camping at Hulme End and then walking to Waterhouses. It was long slow walk with kids that weren't used to the rucksacks, the weight, the distance, the whole experience really. I have a great group though who were reasonably enthusiast if not a little sneaky with wanting to cut corners when I wasn't there. Little did they realise was that I could see them all day! I must have walked another half of their walk though trying to meet up with them at different places. Who would say Bronze is easy?
Sunday ended not until around 7.30pm in the end as we had to talk the students back to their school in Swadlincote then over to Sponden to dump some kit until finally back to Stoke on Trent. Well and truely shattered I sit surrounded with smelly wet kit and the weather was truely abysmal. We were lucky to have a clear evening yesterday for tents to me put up and dinner to be cooked. Us instructors were even lucky enough for a BBQ in the evening once all the kids were sorted, by the SEL (Senior Expedition Leader). It was a great evening talking to the other instructors that we normally just pass by on collecting kids and straight out on the expedition.
Thankfully, or not so, I have 9 days off now to get vaccines for Bolivia sorted, packing arranged for Bolivia, the slow packing away of the Watford Street house plus the numerous other chores to get done. I'm even going to try and cook some bread sometime this week. We'll see, all before heading off to the New Forest for a Silver Duke of Edinburgh! Fun fun :-)
The week started with a very early start for the Yorkshire Dales where we had a Gold Duke of Edinburgh Assessement on, where I was the assessor after newly 'qualifying'. I was being shadowed for the week but there isn't alot extra to do on top of the usual duties on working with a group. The Monday was an absolutely beautiful day that once all the kit was handed out, tents were up and lunch done with we basically spent the rest of the afternoon getting rather burnt while the British Gas apprentices were playing football and throwing a frisbee. We even had a brave guy who jumped into the plunge pool in the river, which was freezing! It was that hot though. I wound down in the evening after having drove all the way up there and organising for the afternoon, taking a walk up to the village of Middlesmoor whilst camping at Spean. It was a beautiful evening and the views out over the Dale was fantastic.
The week involved a sprightly jaunt up Great Whernside, keeping up with my ex-military co-worker, in the extreme heat. I really need to get fitter before heading off to Bolivia, where we met very slow walking groups but after the first day the guys starting getting used to the pain and hardship involved with carrying your life on your back. Another 3 days of checking pointing and walking sections with the groups as the weathers started to detiorate throughout the week, though spirits were still reasonably high.
A very successful 5 days though as the group walked from Spean, up and over Great Whernside to Kettlewell, north to Newbiggin, across over to Leyburn ending at Aysgarth Fall, and I passed them all aswell. I even got a dinner in with Claire on the Thursday night at a pub half way between us (time whys) which made the week!
Saturday and Sunday was spent in the Peak District starting out at Ilam Hall for a Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Practice expedition. It made it very interesting with the comparison of such time and distance during the week to just one night camping at Hulme End and then walking to Waterhouses. It was long slow walk with kids that weren't used to the rucksacks, the weight, the distance, the whole experience really. I have a great group though who were reasonably enthusiast if not a little sneaky with wanting to cut corners when I wasn't there. Little did they realise was that I could see them all day! I must have walked another half of their walk though trying to meet up with them at different places. Who would say Bronze is easy?
Sunday ended not until around 7.30pm in the end as we had to talk the students back to their school in Swadlincote then over to Sponden to dump some kit until finally back to Stoke on Trent. Well and truely shattered I sit surrounded with smelly wet kit and the weather was truely abysmal. We were lucky to have a clear evening yesterday for tents to me put up and dinner to be cooked. Us instructors were even lucky enough for a BBQ in the evening once all the kids were sorted, by the SEL (Senior Expedition Leader). It was a great evening talking to the other instructors that we normally just pass by on collecting kids and straight out on the expedition.
Thankfully, or not so, I have 9 days off now to get vaccines for Bolivia sorted, packing arranged for Bolivia, the slow packing away of the Watford Street house plus the numerous other chores to get done. I'm even going to try and cook some bread sometime this week. We'll see, all before heading off to the New Forest for a Silver Duke of Edinburgh! Fun fun :-)
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Lake District 16th - 20th May
I had planned for a long time that once I had finished all my work for University I was going to go to the Lake District for a week or so to take a break from the rat race that I have called my life for the past few months. I hadn't expected to have anyone come with me but ended up with my new housemate, Dave a friend also on the World Challenge Apprenticeship scheme, heading up with me. It was would be a good opportunity to get to know each other as we had only actually met once before.
We headed up on the Saturday morning to Keswick where we stocked up on food and then parked up at the National Trust car park at the Great Wood where we took our rucksacks up and over Castlerigg Fell to Bleaberry Fell, High Seat, High Tove, Middle Crag over to Blea Tarn where we set up camp for the night. The weather was pretty miserable raining nearly all the time but then it cleared as we got to the tarn which was a welcome relief but then it came down again. I had the unfortunate experience of going up to my thigh in a bog and getting some very soggy boots. It was very uncomfortable and knew I would end up having wet socks for the rest of the weekend.
The next morning the weather was just as miserable. We headed up and over to Ullscarf and then followed the ridge along to High Raise where we were met with some beautiful sunshine which was a welcome relief. I still had wet socks though. We then dropped down into the West valley and followed Langstrath Beck all the way down to Stonethwaite and then we stopped at the Rosthwaite hotel where we had a drink and a little rest then we went back up to Grange Fell where we set up tent again for the night. It was blowing a gale all night and the weather again was pretty miserable but we did have some nice clear moments.
We woke up in the morning with two puddles in the corners of the tent which were worrying, it was thankfully not my tent and thankfully none of our things got wet otherwise I would have another few nights in some miserable conditions. We headed down to Watendlath and in more rain we followed the road all the way back down to the car where I happily removed my wet boots and made some lunch of beans and bacon on the stove. Yum! We ended the good weekend with a cup of tea in a cafe in Keswick and then I rearranged and sorted all my stuff for my journey to continue on. Dave dropped me at Grasmere and then I walked up to Easedale Tarn with my puzzle book and had some glorious weather. I then set up tent and watched the night fall in the sun over the tarn. Beautiful. It was these moments when I love wild camping, with no-one else around and all I have is the things on my back. So all in all we had a good time, minus the bad weather, where we decided we probably won't kill each other when we move to Buxton. I think he was quite happy to get to a warm dry house to get the last of his degree finished the Friday.
I woke to, again, some lovely weather but then as I continued up and over Blea Crag, Castle How, Lang How, Silver How, Dow Bank and Loughrigg Fell I think I had pretty much all the weather under the sun, hail, rain, gales as well as being quite burnt. I ended the day walking around Ambleside then along the lake towards Windermere, where I bailed at Brockhole for a bus to the centre of Windermere. My boots had really started to rub with the wet socks so gave in. I was shattered and was happy to finally get to the Lake District Independant Hostel. A squishy bed, shower, non-boil-in-the-bag dinner and then a little wander to the vantage point over looking Windermere and the lake with the hostel night manager finished off the day lovely.
Wednesday, I wasn't getting the train until 6pm so had a day to kill. Thankfully the guy at the hostel allowed me to leave my rucksack in the reception and I then went down to Bowness, over the lake on the car ferry and then up to High Top which is the home of Beatrix Potter, author of Peter Rabbit. It was a lovely day, sun all day and I thankfully had my flip flops with me so my feet could have a little break. I then made the trek all the way back to Windermere. I was truely shattered and was very welcome for the cup of tea from the manager man again :-)
I would have been having dinner cooked for me that evening by Ceara as I was due to be back in Stoke by 9pm but the train turned out to be cancelled which was annoying. I didn't get back until 11pm. After having a chance encounter with a lovely man who bought me some sandwiches from Booths after I lent him my phone to ring his wife to say he was going to be really late home (his phone had died). A favour for a lonely traveller :-)
All in all an awesome time away, though I ended up with some very sore feet and I also pulled a muscle in my left shoulder which is still hurting but oh well. I was away from Stoke :-)
We headed up on the Saturday morning to Keswick where we stocked up on food and then parked up at the National Trust car park at the Great Wood where we took our rucksacks up and over Castlerigg Fell to Bleaberry Fell, High Seat, High Tove, Middle Crag over to Blea Tarn where we set up camp for the night. The weather was pretty miserable raining nearly all the time but then it cleared as we got to the tarn which was a welcome relief but then it came down again. I had the unfortunate experience of going up to my thigh in a bog and getting some very soggy boots. It was very uncomfortable and knew I would end up having wet socks for the rest of the weekend.
The next morning the weather was just as miserable. We headed up and over to Ullscarf and then followed the ridge along to High Raise where we were met with some beautiful sunshine which was a welcome relief. I still had wet socks though. We then dropped down into the West valley and followed Langstrath Beck all the way down to Stonethwaite and then we stopped at the Rosthwaite hotel where we had a drink and a little rest then we went back up to Grange Fell where we set up tent again for the night. It was blowing a gale all night and the weather again was pretty miserable but we did have some nice clear moments.
We woke up in the morning with two puddles in the corners of the tent which were worrying, it was thankfully not my tent and thankfully none of our things got wet otherwise I would have another few nights in some miserable conditions. We headed down to Watendlath and in more rain we followed the road all the way back down to the car where I happily removed my wet boots and made some lunch of beans and bacon on the stove. Yum! We ended the good weekend with a cup of tea in a cafe in Keswick and then I rearranged and sorted all my stuff for my journey to continue on. Dave dropped me at Grasmere and then I walked up to Easedale Tarn with my puzzle book and had some glorious weather. I then set up tent and watched the night fall in the sun over the tarn. Beautiful. It was these moments when I love wild camping, with no-one else around and all I have is the things on my back. So all in all we had a good time, minus the bad weather, where we decided we probably won't kill each other when we move to Buxton. I think he was quite happy to get to a warm dry house to get the last of his degree finished the Friday.
I woke to, again, some lovely weather but then as I continued up and over Blea Crag, Castle How, Lang How, Silver How, Dow Bank and Loughrigg Fell I think I had pretty much all the weather under the sun, hail, rain, gales as well as being quite burnt. I ended the day walking around Ambleside then along the lake towards Windermere, where I bailed at Brockhole for a bus to the centre of Windermere. My boots had really started to rub with the wet socks so gave in. I was shattered and was happy to finally get to the Lake District Independant Hostel. A squishy bed, shower, non-boil-in-the-bag dinner and then a little wander to the vantage point over looking Windermere and the lake with the hostel night manager finished off the day lovely.
Wednesday, I wasn't getting the train until 6pm so had a day to kill. Thankfully the guy at the hostel allowed me to leave my rucksack in the reception and I then went down to Bowness, over the lake on the car ferry and then up to High Top which is the home of Beatrix Potter, author of Peter Rabbit. It was a lovely day, sun all day and I thankfully had my flip flops with me so my feet could have a little break. I then made the trek all the way back to Windermere. I was truely shattered and was very welcome for the cup of tea from the manager man again :-)
I would have been having dinner cooked for me that evening by Ceara as I was due to be back in Stoke by 9pm but the train turned out to be cancelled which was annoying. I didn't get back until 11pm. After having a chance encounter with a lovely man who bought me some sandwiches from Booths after I lent him my phone to ring his wife to say he was going to be really late home (his phone had died). A favour for a lonely traveller :-)
All in all an awesome time away, though I ended up with some very sore feet and I also pulled a muscle in my left shoulder which is still hurting but oh well. I was away from Stoke :-)
The end has arrived!
Well it has finally come around, the end of 3 years at Staffordshire University! I can't believe how quickly it has happened, 3 years have literally flown by.
My last piece went in on the 14th May and it certainly was a whirlwind for getting it done. I was a bit uncertain on the Tuesday whether I was actually going to get it finished but the printer spat it out on the Wednesday evening about 15 minutes before I was due to go out to the last Gobble (Wed night fun at the students union). I was dressed as someone for the Army just staring at the work as I stapled it together but I couldn't work out if it had hit me or not that I had no more work to do. So I headed out with a sort of weight off my shoulder, happy I could enjoy the evening without having to worry that I had to get up early the next morning to finish some work.
The evening was a lot of fun, including my first experience in the local Old Corner Cupboard pub (it's literally 2 minutes around the corner to my house but I had never been there) as well as my first LRV outting of the year (sad times). It was great to see everyone together and we had a good turn out.
The next morning would have been a welcome lie in but instead the Staffordshire University Mountaineering Club organised a fund raising consisting of an abseil off the Mellor building at the University. It has happened twice every year since being at Staffs and I had the pleasure of running the line as practice for my climbing award. One of the members of the club had a bright idea of inviting the local newspaper so we were made famous the next day in the Sentiel. And yes I am the one in the main photograph making faces as I abseiled off the building :-) The day went really well, it didn't rain until the afternoon and we made around £100 which we donated to Buxton Mountain Rescue. Good job guys! All ended in the pub that afternoon for chips and chocolate cake. It was originally planned that we were going to have a BBQ but the weather changed the plan to heading over to Shropshire Bouldering Centre.
The centre has newly been opened since I was in India so I had missed out on a couple of sessions with the guys but a group of us headed over for the evening (after I managed to grab an hours sleep). It's quite a small place but was a good evening. Was proof how weak I am though since not climbing for over 4 months. I forced a few routes out and had a catch up with some friends then went back to trying to finish writing up my India diary (no I still haven't finished it). It was a welcome sleep when we finally got home.
And that was the last day of being a student and what a cool day it was.
My last piece went in on the 14th May and it certainly was a whirlwind for getting it done. I was a bit uncertain on the Tuesday whether I was actually going to get it finished but the printer spat it out on the Wednesday evening about 15 minutes before I was due to go out to the last Gobble (Wed night fun at the students union). I was dressed as someone for the Army just staring at the work as I stapled it together but I couldn't work out if it had hit me or not that I had no more work to do. So I headed out with a sort of weight off my shoulder, happy I could enjoy the evening without having to worry that I had to get up early the next morning to finish some work.
The evening was a lot of fun, including my first experience in the local Old Corner Cupboard pub (it's literally 2 minutes around the corner to my house but I had never been there) as well as my first LRV outting of the year (sad times). It was great to see everyone together and we had a good turn out.
The next morning would have been a welcome lie in but instead the Staffordshire University Mountaineering Club organised a fund raising consisting of an abseil off the Mellor building at the University. It has happened twice every year since being at Staffs and I had the pleasure of running the line as practice for my climbing award. One of the members of the club had a bright idea of inviting the local newspaper so we were made famous the next day in the Sentiel. And yes I am the one in the main photograph making faces as I abseiled off the building :-) The day went really well, it didn't rain until the afternoon and we made around £100 which we donated to Buxton Mountain Rescue. Good job guys! All ended in the pub that afternoon for chips and chocolate cake. It was originally planned that we were going to have a BBQ but the weather changed the plan to heading over to Shropshire Bouldering Centre.
The centre has newly been opened since I was in India so I had missed out on a couple of sessions with the guys but a group of us headed over for the evening (after I managed to grab an hours sleep). It's quite a small place but was a good evening. Was proof how weak I am though since not climbing for over 4 months. I forced a few routes out and had a catch up with some friends then went back to trying to finish writing up my India diary (no I still haven't finished it). It was a welcome sleep when we finally got home.
And that was the last day of being a student and what a cool day it was.
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Earth Hazards
After a very long 48 hours I have managed to complete the Earth Hazards essay aswell as the portfolio. Ran that down to reception for hand in this afternoon after taking a trip up to Hanley for some printer ink. That damn dissertation ran my poor printer dry!
Restart on the work front now for the Scottish Report on the Loch Lomond Stadial *big sigh!* Only 2 reports left, yippee! Definitely looking forward to climbing this weekend, let's hope the beautiful weather returns.
Restart on the work front now for the Scottish Report on the Loch Lomond Stadial *big sigh!* Only 2 reports left, yippee! Definitely looking forward to climbing this weekend, let's hope the beautiful weather returns.
Monday, 4 May 2009
Last few weeks of University
Well I'm afraid it hasn't been the most exciting few weeks, especially after such a manic month travelling around here and there. It has come down to the last few weeks of being at Staffordshire University and to be honest I really can't wait for all the work to be finished. I am well and truely done with studying for a while.
I am currently in the process of writing an essay for the Earth Hazard module, and as you can tell (as I have resorted to updating my Blog) I am bored. It's quite an interesting topic, how local conditions have more control over the disaster potential compared to the magnitude of an earthquake. I'm pretty much there with it but hoping to finish it tonight then it's just the Scottish Fieldtrip report to do for Thursday. The enthusiasm has completely walked out the door so it's a real struggle to get it done. Not long now and then after the Spanish fieldtrip report is in on the 14th May, that's it! Finito! :-)
Results are due the 22nd June, I believe which so happens to be when I'm working up in the Peak District so hopefully I may be allowed to disappear for a hour or so to pick them up. Scary stuff!
Apart from the lack of work that I have been doing, I have just come back from Buxton (again) to complete a Remote First Aid Training Course which was really interesting. The amount of times that you would go for First Aid training and the worry that it's not sticking to your brain, makes refresher courses worth while. The day ended with a big incident which we had to deal with, we only lost Annie (the CPR dummy - RIP). And that's the main set of training sessions done with World Challenge now and on with the preparation and organisation for heading out to Bolivia. It's going to be neat trick going to graduation, moving out of Stoke on Trent back to Dunstable and pack for Bolivia in the matter of 72 hours. Fingers crossed it all goes to plan.
Well I'm afraid that's the excitement for me at the moment. I'm planning on disappearing to the Lake District around the 16th May for the week to go walking and wild camping. May need to find a couple of maps first but it will be a good escape. But now it's back to the Earth Hazards essay and maybe even an exciting trip to the library. Bad times...
I am currently in the process of writing an essay for the Earth Hazard module, and as you can tell (as I have resorted to updating my Blog) I am bored. It's quite an interesting topic, how local conditions have more control over the disaster potential compared to the magnitude of an earthquake. I'm pretty much there with it but hoping to finish it tonight then it's just the Scottish Fieldtrip report to do for Thursday. The enthusiasm has completely walked out the door so it's a real struggle to get it done. Not long now and then after the Spanish fieldtrip report is in on the 14th May, that's it! Finito! :-)
Results are due the 22nd June, I believe which so happens to be when I'm working up in the Peak District so hopefully I may be allowed to disappear for a hour or so to pick them up. Scary stuff!
Apart from the lack of work that I have been doing, I have just come back from Buxton (again) to complete a Remote First Aid Training Course which was really interesting. The amount of times that you would go for First Aid training and the worry that it's not sticking to your brain, makes refresher courses worth while. The day ended with a big incident which we had to deal with, we only lost Annie (the CPR dummy - RIP). And that's the main set of training sessions done with World Challenge now and on with the preparation and organisation for heading out to Bolivia. It's going to be neat trick going to graduation, moving out of Stoke on Trent back to Dunstable and pack for Bolivia in the matter of 72 hours. Fingers crossed it all goes to plan.
Well I'm afraid that's the excitement for me at the moment. I'm planning on disappearing to the Lake District around the 16th May for the week to go walking and wild camping. May need to find a couple of maps first but it will be a good escape. But now it's back to the Earth Hazards essay and maybe even an exciting trip to the library. Bad times...
Sunday, 19 April 2009
Back in the UK
Well what a crazy week I have had. It has been so busy, mixed with the crap Internet connection we had at the University that I was unable to get up to date. But now I'm back in the UK and getting used to being back in cold civilisation. Thankfully we were greeted back with some gorgeous sun so I'm not freezing cold yet.
India was incredible. Since I last wrote we have been seeing all the important sights of the city like San Thome Basilica, St George's Fort and numerous temples. We have also been to one of the lecturers home to meet his family and experience a traditional Indian home. It was a wonderful experience, so generous and kind people and we even experienced the crazy trains and buses plus a ride on the back of the lecturers motorbike. We had to do it two trips so it was a welcome break of being on my own for a little while.
We then worked at Spastn, which is the (excuse the politically incorrect wording) Spastics society of Chennai. We got involved with the Early Intervention work where 0-3 year olds where helped with different skills. The parents were actively involved so that the learning could be continued at home as well. We also went into the vocational workshops where the children and young adults learnt skills such as cooking, tailoring and handicrafts which could be sold to help fund their education. We found that alot of the active work done by charities and NGO's was very much based on self help schemes which was good as it didn't rely on people needing to come in and help. It was bad on our end though as we couldn't help out as much as we wanted. It was encouraging though.
On the Friday we decided to go visit a town called Pondicherry which has alot of French links. We travelled over at 7am and it cost us equivalent of £1.20 to travel around 160 km. The return bus cost us only 55p. Everything was so cheap. In total I worked out that I spent under £85 for the whole 2 weeks. It was incredible.
Though the actual trip was meant to be based around working with the University, it was poorly organised and alot of waiting around was common place but when we were left to get on with things our self and also when working with our NGO link Niana, we got alot of things done and we definitely made the most of the trip. It was certainly a culture shock, the fact that so many people live in utter poverty and scrape a living on under a pound a day. The clash of society with huge air conditioned shopping plaza's right next to slum areas made you feel like you were actually on a film set or something. It was hard to get your head around but then the inhabitants would still greet you with big smiles and hellos. The kids were fascinated with us and the parents always encouraged the kids to come shake our hands, as if it would make the children better people. It was heartwarming and heartbreaking. At the same time it was all that they had ever experienced. Many of the homeless people did have the opportunity to go to places where they could have a place to sleep or a place where they could get a free meal, but they chose not to go there. Why, I don't know.
It was a definite eye opener to home in how wonderfully lucky we are to live in such a developed country where poverty is very rare. India is slowly becoming quite developed though. With the large shopping plaza's, huge modern industrial estates of offices and western influences, alot of India makes you feel that you could be in London or the USA but is not just developing the country, it is also making the gap between the rich and poor wider. We were lucky to meet Niana who proved that the wealthy and poor could work together in harmony with respect but apparently the set up was rare in society.
All in all, the trip was a big eye opener, and if we forget that it was meant to be an University trip, then it was truely amazing! I just can't wait to go back and explore India in more depth.
India was incredible. Since I last wrote we have been seeing all the important sights of the city like San Thome Basilica, St George's Fort and numerous temples. We have also been to one of the lecturers home to meet his family and experience a traditional Indian home. It was a wonderful experience, so generous and kind people and we even experienced the crazy trains and buses plus a ride on the back of the lecturers motorbike. We had to do it two trips so it was a welcome break of being on my own for a little while.
We then worked at Spastn, which is the (excuse the politically incorrect wording) Spastics society of Chennai. We got involved with the Early Intervention work where 0-3 year olds where helped with different skills. The parents were actively involved so that the learning could be continued at home as well. We also went into the vocational workshops where the children and young adults learnt skills such as cooking, tailoring and handicrafts which could be sold to help fund their education. We found that alot of the active work done by charities and NGO's was very much based on self help schemes which was good as it didn't rely on people needing to come in and help. It was bad on our end though as we couldn't help out as much as we wanted. It was encouraging though.
On the Friday we decided to go visit a town called Pondicherry which has alot of French links. We travelled over at 7am and it cost us equivalent of £1.20 to travel around 160 km. The return bus cost us only 55p. Everything was so cheap. In total I worked out that I spent under £85 for the whole 2 weeks. It was incredible.
Though the actual trip was meant to be based around working with the University, it was poorly organised and alot of waiting around was common place but when we were left to get on with things our self and also when working with our NGO link Niana, we got alot of things done and we definitely made the most of the trip. It was certainly a culture shock, the fact that so many people live in utter poverty and scrape a living on under a pound a day. The clash of society with huge air conditioned shopping plaza's right next to slum areas made you feel like you were actually on a film set or something. It was hard to get your head around but then the inhabitants would still greet you with big smiles and hellos. The kids were fascinated with us and the parents always encouraged the kids to come shake our hands, as if it would make the children better people. It was heartwarming and heartbreaking. At the same time it was all that they had ever experienced. Many of the homeless people did have the opportunity to go to places where they could have a place to sleep or a place where they could get a free meal, but they chose not to go there. Why, I don't know.
It was a definite eye opener to home in how wonderfully lucky we are to live in such a developed country where poverty is very rare. India is slowly becoming quite developed though. With the large shopping plaza's, huge modern industrial estates of offices and western influences, alot of India makes you feel that you could be in London or the USA but is not just developing the country, it is also making the gap between the rich and poor wider. We were lucky to meet Niana who proved that the wealthy and poor could work together in harmony with respect but apparently the set up was rare in society.
All in all, the trip was a big eye opener, and if we forget that it was meant to be an University trip, then it was truely amazing! I just can't wait to go back and explore India in more depth.
Friday, 10 April 2009
India - NGO
Last night we went with our NGO lady Nino to a film showing relating to water as a resource. It wasn't what we expected but it was actually really interesting for us Geographers. It was a perfect example of a case study in water management and to make it even more interesting was that this morning we went to the actual village where the self help groups worked the new initiative. It was really interesting stuff and we learnt some amazing things as well as having a great insight into the workings of a self sufficient village. English people really need to come out and experience the things we did and will be so much more knowledgable on many key issues relating to employment and supposed labour problems.
We have spent the whole day with Nina today and we are currently at her house with her daughter after experiencing some amazing Punjabi food, a wonderful home cooked breakfast this morning and then we will be going out with her tomorrow to the opening of a new initiative of Roof Top Gardens and re using waste water. Now going to go to a soap shop to pick up some of the soap that is made by the community we visited this morning and then go see San Tome church along the coast. We may head over to the Fort later as well.
We are due to visit Pulikat lake in the afternoon but then hopefully do a little more sightseeing in the afternoon. Over all the trip has improved dramatically and I really dont want to be heading home next week. I feel there is so much more to see and absolutely love the culture after becoming such much more knowledgable on everything from the language, traditions, history and way of life!
We have spent the whole day with Nina today and we are currently at her house with her daughter after experiencing some amazing Punjabi food, a wonderful home cooked breakfast this morning and then we will be going out with her tomorrow to the opening of a new initiative of Roof Top Gardens and re using waste water. Now going to go to a soap shop to pick up some of the soap that is made by the community we visited this morning and then go see San Tome church along the coast. We may head over to the Fort later as well.
We are due to visit Pulikat lake in the afternoon but then hopefully do a little more sightseeing in the afternoon. Over all the trip has improved dramatically and I really dont want to be heading home next week. I feel there is so much more to see and absolutely love the culture after becoming such much more knowledgable on everything from the language, traditions, history and way of life!
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
Fabric Glory
Had an amazing day today. We went to the largest fabric shop you can imagine where you choose the fabric you want, the design of the clothing you want and then they make it for you for like less than 5 pounds. Unfortunately we didn't have any time to get anything made yet but we will be heading back soon. We went to an NGO today where elder ladies who have been made homeless can go and live safely . It was hard seeing it but they were all so friendly. The lady who had taken us there was Nina and she was so helpful with showing us places to go and places that we should go and see. Her daughter then acted as our chaffeur who lunch and she may be taking us out at the weekend. Hopefully going to see a film premiere type of occasion tomorrow which should be interesting. But for now we have had our itinerary confirmed and tweaked. Another University day tomorrow where we are going to finally sit in on a lesson then get introduced to our main NGO work.
Monday, 6 April 2009
India
Well I'm back at the Uni today as we were meant to be working in the Department of Geography but it turned out that it is a Holy Day today in Tamil Nadu so the lecturers said they would take us on a walk along the beach. Not really sure it's going to happen so we're going to go off and do some site seeing. The auto-rickshaw's are an amazing way of getting around Chennai, death-defying but also lots of fun.
We went out for a night meal at the Taj Commermara hotel where Hamish, our Staffs Lecturer is staying which was a shambles. There is alot of confusion between everyone as there are around 4 tutors at Madras Uni that are contradicting each other. Fun and games all the way though. It was a nice meal though and it was nice sitting in a beautiful air conditioned room :-)
We met a lady called Heena yesterday at the Uni who is going to meet us at our hostel tonight at 4pm and is going to do a tour for us. She is from up in the North of India in the mountains and has really good English making a great contact for our time in India. We also made friends with a French girl called Clementine who has given us her number if we have any problems.
Our hostel is really nice. I can actually say we are cold at night with the air conditioning which is great after we sweat constantly during the day. The city of Chennai itself is very un-touristy meaning people were looking at us all the time with surprise. Kids will come up to us and say hello and wave with huge grins. It was brilliant but as soon as it gets to the evenings all the homeless settle down on the streets getting ready to sleep and you can really see the hierarchy of the castes. You can help but feel sorry for them but there are so many that you really cant do anything for them. It really makes you appreciate the standard of life we have back in the UK.
The plans for the coming week aren’t set in stone yet but we have a guide book now (in French, but my translating has been going well) so we have some interesting local sites to look forward to.
Heading back to the beautiful air conditioned computer lab now for a chat with a Geography lecturer. Should be rather interesting! That’s all for now.
We went out for a night meal at the Taj Commermara hotel where Hamish, our Staffs Lecturer is staying which was a shambles. There is alot of confusion between everyone as there are around 4 tutors at Madras Uni that are contradicting each other. Fun and games all the way though. It was a nice meal though and it was nice sitting in a beautiful air conditioned room :-)
We met a lady called Heena yesterday at the Uni who is going to meet us at our hostel tonight at 4pm and is going to do a tour for us. She is from up in the North of India in the mountains and has really good English making a great contact for our time in India. We also made friends with a French girl called Clementine who has given us her number if we have any problems.
Our hostel is really nice. I can actually say we are cold at night with the air conditioning which is great after we sweat constantly during the day. The city of Chennai itself is very un-touristy meaning people were looking at us all the time with surprise. Kids will come up to us and say hello and wave with huge grins. It was brilliant but as soon as it gets to the evenings all the homeless settle down on the streets getting ready to sleep and you can really see the hierarchy of the castes. You can help but feel sorry for them but there are so many that you really cant do anything for them. It really makes you appreciate the standard of life we have back in the UK.
The plans for the coming week aren’t set in stone yet but we have a guide book now (in French, but my translating has been going well) so we have some interesting local sites to look forward to.
Heading back to the beautiful air conditioned computer lab now for a chat with a Geography lecturer. Should be rather interesting! That’s all for now.
Sunday, 5 April 2009
India
Just a quick note to say that I have arrived in India well. It has been a rollercoaster of an experience so far from staying in the most interesting of accommodation and finding it difficult to acclimatise the incredible heat. We are now staying in the Paradise hotel in Chepauk area of Chennai which is lovely. We have a great breakfast in the mornings and air conditioning plus a refreshing shower.
I am currently at the University of Madras in the Geography department where we are waiting for our culture seminar. It's currently 40 degrees C in the shade and is really really hot. We are heading over to the British Embassy either today or tomorrow for a little get together which should be interesting. We have found a lovely restaurant just round the corner from our hostel which speaks English and has a menu unlike many places. Getting to know the manager very well.
All for now but will hopefully grab a computer again soon. Back to the heat now
I am currently at the University of Madras in the Geography department where we are waiting for our culture seminar. It's currently 40 degrees C in the shade and is really really hot. We are heading over to the British Embassy either today or tomorrow for a little get together which should be interesting. We have found a lovely restaurant just round the corner from our hostel which speaks English and has a menu unlike many places. Getting to know the manager very well.
All for now but will hopefully grab a computer again soon. Back to the heat now
Friday, 3 April 2009
India - Chennai
It seems like only yesterday I was applying for Staffordshire University's International Programme with a huge application form the length of your arm. The trip involved going to the University of Madras to learn about the Indian way of life, culture and education system. We were given the option of staying in the University accommodation or have a home stay. We had the weekends to explore the city and then we were to get involved with an NGO (non-governmental organisation) basically a charity to give something back to the community. This was back in November and since then we have had fortnightly meetings to organise the details of the trip.
The actual timetable of events are as follows though I'm sure things will change:
Saturday - Travel Manchester - Frankfurt - Chennai. Leave 07.05am. Arrive 23.45pm
Sunday - Day free to recover, investigate the area
Monday - At the University of Madras, trip to the British Embassy in the afternoon as they are interested in British students coming over to the country
Tuesday - At the Uni again. In the evening we will be getting together a hotel for dinner with the trip organiser, a lecturer from Staffs, where there will be music and dancing.
Wednesday - Friday- Working with the charity C-Dot http://www.glinet.org/inspiredetail.asp?id=3295&CatID=1512
Saturday - A trip to Pulikat Lake
Sunday - A trip to Mahabalipuram
Monday - Tuesday - Back to uni
Wednesday - Friday - Back working with C-Dot
Saturday - Free day
Sunday - Travel back to UK. Leave 01.45am. Arrive 12.25pm
Should be an amazing experience of a new country, culture, colours, smells, foods, people....
I think I should really be having a nap at the moment as we are leaving Stoke at 3am tomorrow morning. The packing is pretty much done with some space to bring back lots of fabrics :-) Just need to pop over to Sainsburys for some last minute bits and pieces.
The actual timetable of events are as follows though I'm sure things will change:
Saturday - Travel Manchester - Frankfurt - Chennai. Leave 07.05am. Arrive 23.45pm
Sunday - Day free to recover, investigate the area
Monday - At the University of Madras, trip to the British Embassy in the afternoon as they are interested in British students coming over to the country
Tuesday - At the Uni again. In the evening we will be getting together a hotel for dinner with the trip organiser, a lecturer from Staffs, where there will be music and dancing.
Wednesday - Friday- Working with the charity C-Dot http://www.glinet.org/inspiredetail.asp?id=3295&CatID=1512
Saturday - A trip to Pulikat Lake
Sunday - A trip to Mahabalipuram
Monday - Tuesday - Back to uni
Wednesday - Friday - Back working with C-Dot
Saturday - Free day
Sunday - Travel back to UK. Leave 01.45am. Arrive 12.25pm
Should be an amazing experience of a new country, culture, colours, smells, foods, people....
I think I should really be having a nap at the moment as we are leaving Stoke at 3am tomorrow morning. The packing is pretty much done with some space to bring back lots of fabrics :-) Just need to pop over to Sainsburys for some last minute bits and pieces.
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