Adventures of a British Okie

Tomorrow is the big day!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 19:02:00 +0000

WOW tomorrow is a big day for sure! Tomorrow is my last day of work here at Pax Lodge. I can't believe it, but somehow I finally managed to make it to the end of my Journey here... Or perhaps the beginning of my journey here depending on how you look at it. The time has crept, the time has flown, the time has sprinted, the time has slogged, the time has swam through raging currents and the time has floated aimlessly in stagnent disease laden water. Overall it has been an experience that I would repeat in the bat of an eyelash. One of the hardest things is knowing that I won't ever be able to truly explain my life here to anyone who hasn't lived it. No one will ever fully understand the adventures I have had, the people I have met or the things I have accomplished. I guess unexplainable personal experiences are what make each and every one of us unique, but I wish I could share this place with the whole world! I can only hope that I will be able to bring back a little taste of what I have learned from each and every person I have crossed paths with in my 161 days here. In return I hope that a little bit of myself has rubbed off on everyone here :)! Am I ready to leave? That's a trick question. I have learned, grown and changed in SO many ways, but there is only so much that one can absorb here. It is my turn to be "set free" (as Sally would say) in the world to share the experiences I have had with other Guides and Scouts all over the world.

My friend Maya got here on the 21st and I've been having a stellar time. We leave tomorrow night to catch a plane to Brussels where we will spend a few days. We'll take the train up to Amsterdam before heading back to London on the 30th. On the 30th I get to attend the 21st Annual International Scout Jamboree just outside of London. We're celebrating 100 years of Scouting so it should be extra big this year - I'm really excited! After that I will be back in London for a day before jetting back to Oklahoma late at night on the 31st/early in the morning on the 1st. I get into Tulsa around 5 O'Clock and I can only imagine that I will be EXHAUSTED :)!

I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone.

So much to do, so little time!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 12:42:00 +0000

I can't believe it's already July 7th! Time is flying and I move back to Oklahoma in just 3 short weeks.

Last Monday our London Experience III session began so things around the house are as busy as ever. Every session we have an international evening program and this time around it just happend to fall on the 4th of July. We had a big party and taught the canadians (plus all of our international staff) how to celebrate the 4th in true American style. Erin and I sat up a watermelon seed spitting contest which was lots of fun.

Last week I went to the Harry Potter premiere in Leicester Square which was WAY cool to be a part of. Erin and I got there really early (although we didn't camp out the night before as we had previously planned) and actually managed to make it inside the square. I got a really great seat.. errr.. .stand! I was the third head from the railing, but the guy behind me felt bad that I was so short and let me stand on his chair so I could see everything. I kinda felt sorry for everyone who didn't even make in the square, but I guess that's their own fault... I saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Prof. Flitwick, Prof. Umbridge, Bartie Crouch, Mrs. Dursley, Dudley, Fred & George, Ginny, Neville, Luna, Cho, Seamus, Prof. Filch, JK Rowling and probably some other people who I can't remember right now. It was certainly an experience :)

Yesterday I walked alllll over souvenir shopping for friends and family - Does anyone have any requests? Today I'm hanging out at home cleaning my room, doing laundry, catching up on sleep and going through stuff in my room that I don't plan on taking back with me.

My friend Maya is coming to stay with me July 21st - 31st and I'm ready for an amazing time with her. Out of the 10 days she is in town I managed to get 7 of them off which is really exciting. We're going to Brussels (Belgium) and World Scout Jamboree among other things. I'm also going to Norway this month - EXCITEMENT!

Now for a couple of pictures:

My not-so-new room pictures to start with I suppose...

This is my bed area:

My lovely decked out door:

The view from my door - that's my desk, dresser, tv, etc:

Another view from the door (this one looking towards the right):

I'll spare you my closet and sink area pictures as it is a mess ;)!

Pax Volunteers from left to right - Texas, Illinois, Australia, Germany, Canada, Armenia, South Korea, New Zealand, Belarus, Ghana, ME and Russia (I'm not the shortest anymore!):

Team America! Texas, Oklahoma & Illinois:

Erin and I after hour 4? of waiting get a glimpse of Harry Potter:

Harry Potter:

Hermione:

Yeah, so, that's about all for now. See you guys soon!

Bomb Scares!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 18:27:00 +0000

Yeah, it's scary. I can walk to all of those places from where I live. I was at Picadilly Circus, Trafaulger Square, Leicester Square, etc... just yesterday. Today I was off as well, but I stayed home to clean and do laundry because central London is a mess. I'm trying not to let the whole bomb mess screw up my plans, but it's not really worth it to try to go out today. Right now most of central London is closed anyway - none of the theatres are even proforming tonight. I'm sure things will be sorted out soon and London will be back to normal though.

Anyway, in other recent news... Last week I went on some amazing day trips. I can officially say that I spent a semester in England and went to Oxford University!

Kailey and I on the bus (yaaay mega bus!) :

Oxford is certainly set up for tourists!

Painful cobblestone streets:

Christ Church Cathedral:

Big Round Pretty Building:

Cadbury McFlurries before we headed home :) Christa, Me, Kailey & Genia:

Yesterday I went alllll around London taking pictures with the original Monopoly places. We're going to make our own board game. We didn't get them all, but almost! here are a few of my favorite pictures from our adventure - you'll see Kailey, Christa, Andie, Genia and myself:

Pentonville Road!

Old Kent Road after we finally found it :):

Euston (one of tube and one of the road):

Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross Station:

Angel Islington:

Trafaulger Square:

Picadilly Circus (after I jumped in a whole bunch of puddles!):

On our way home. I have perfected the art of sleeping on the tube. Yaay for being short! This is surprisingly comfortable. Notice how wet my pants are from puddle jumping :) Bubbles came out of my socks when I walked!:

Excuses, excuses...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 09:56:00 +0000

For whatever reason blogger quit working with the silly security settings here at Pax for a while. ALAS it works again!

Everything around here is picking up for the summer. Our first London Experience session starts tomorrow and from then on out we are pretty much fully booked 24/7 until I leave. Yikes! It guarantees a lot of work, but tons of fun along the way too.

I haven't had the best of weeks. I was down sick on Wednesday and Thursday which wasn't fun at ALL. Friday I woke up and decided that if I took a shower I would feel enough un-dead to clobber downstairs for work. Just after I got in the shower I heard this ringing noise. The phone in the corridor? Someone else will answer it. Hmmmm, but it didn't stop. I turned off the shower so I could hear better... It was the fire alarm! So there I was wet, half shampoo-y and 100% naked. I got to try to put clothes on over my wet self and find my way out to the flag pole where there would no doubt be a whole house full of guests staring at me. All of this just because someone didn't know that our toaster has a lever and doesn't pop up by itself. What a brilliant start to the day! Oh, dear...

Last month we got two new program assistants - Mia from South Korea and Johanna from Germany. Last week we got a new resident volunteer named Patricia from Odessa, TX and a new volunteer coordinator named Erin from somewhere in IL (she was a resident volunteer here in 2005). We have a Russian resident volunteer (Veronica?) coming on Wednesday and after that an Armenian (Lilit?) and a Brazilian (Anna?). It's exciting but a little bit weird to think that I almost have seniority around here. It is less than two months until I come home!

Two? weeks ago I went to Germany for the weekend and had a fabulous time. Joce and I flew to Bremen which is where the fairy tale "The Musicians of Bremen" comes from. The famous statue of the donkey, dog, cat, & rooster from the fairy tale is still in Brem (as the locals would say). On our second day in Germany we took the train to Hamburg and did the tourist thing. I don't really have the space to type about it all, but it was a good time for sure!

I'm off today, tomorrow, and Tuesday but I don't really have any plans yet. I still have a sore throat so I'm planning lots of rest. I also need to play catch up on laundry and room cleaning since I spent two days wallowing in sickness in my bed.

Some fun pictures:

On May 2nd Anna and I took Christa to Thorpe Park for her birthday because she hadn't ever been on a rollar coaster before - how crazy is that?

Christa before (she was shaking she was so nervious!):

Christa after we ran her ragged at Thorpe (before we went to the theatre):

That would be Anna and I in the third and fourth seats from the left. Christa would ride rollar coasters, but not these scary rides so she just took pictures :)!

In this one you'll find Anna and I in the middle two seats at the very top. This thing was called the slammer and it was like a giant spatula that went upside down and practically pummeled you into the earth. Good times.

This is from Anna's 19th birthday on May 4th. I took her to Epping Forest for the day. We played in the mud and made debris huts!

My beautifully amazing friend Anna on her birthday. I love this picture:

A New Job!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:50:00 +0000

Just a quick update on the life and times of a crazy british okie - errr - ME!

Last week I was asked to apply for a senior staff position in the office and today I officially accepted. You're talking to Pax Lodge's newest Booking Assistant! I was kind of surprised that they offered me, of all people, the position. This is going to be a great learning opportunity for me though. We all know how bad I am at turning down challenges :)! Moving up the job ladder means more interaction with guests, a better schedule for traveling, a bigger room, more money, a tv, and most of all no more bed making, days in the dish pit, or early morning starts. I start training this month and I'll be in full swing by the first of May. The new job has a whole set of cons as well, but those come with any job so we'll see how it goes.

I don't have too much else to report on. I have Friday & Saturday off so feel free to try to call me. I'll be around my computer off and on. I'm going to go to Brighton on Saturday if the weather is nice.

I hope everyone back home is well - leave me comments and let me know!

Busy. busy, BUSY!!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 12:40:00 +0000

I haven't found time to update in FOREVER! The longer I wait the more daunting a task it seems.

I can't believe I've been here for almost two months already. Time is flying. At the end of March we had a Women's Values and Leadership Seminar which was awesome! We had 21-30 year old participants from 20 countries, but they were all from different countries than any of our staff. All together we represented over 30 countries. I learned so much about guiding and scouting worldwide, especially in the Africa and Arab regions. Between schools being out in the US (where most of our visitors are from) for Spring Break, kids in the UK being on Easter holiday, and the fact that's it's finally spring-ish in London we've been packed for the last couple of weeks. It's great to keep busy though!

Last night we had a big group of scouts from Norway here for dinner and evening program. In Norway scouting and guiding (WAGGGS & WOSM) are combined so they just have coed scouting. These particular scouts were 16-20 years old and even though they spoke Norwegian (some spoke more English than others) it was just like being with my Venturing Crew back home :)! Let's just say that some scout things really are universal - I miss you guys.

Today I have the day off and I'm laying in the back garden trying to catch up on email and sunlight. mMm vitamin D! I plan to nap after this blog update and then call friends and family this evening. I'm going to try to do a better job at keeping everyone update, but as we get busier and busier it's hard to find time. Sometimes I work 17 - 18 hour days. By the time I get to my room after evening program sometimes it's midnight or one AM and the last thing from my mind is updating my blog before I have to wake up again at 6:30 the next morning. I'm going to try though!

Happy Easter to all!

Some pictures:

Women's Values and Leadership Seminar - L to R Italy, Canada, Ecuador, Brunei, Thailand, Lesotho, Sri Lanka & Pakistan:

Christa and I at Trafaulger's Square:

Me at Trafaulger's Square :)

Pax Lodge Staff - L to R, Kristen, Andie, Christa, Kailey, Me, Sally, Janet, Heather, Part of Joce's Head, Grace, Seunghee, Anna:

So Much To Type, So Little Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 17:18:00 +0000

I'm going to attempt a wothwhile update...

March 7 was International Women's Day and WAGGGS paid for all of us volunteers to attend a fundraiser where Mary McPhail (CEO of WAGGGS) spoke. We were sent to mingle and support Mary - it as pretty cool! I also got to hear Jo Salter (Britains first female fighter piolit), Susan Hooper (Senior VP & Managing Director for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line), & Rt. Hon. Margaret Hodge (Minister of State for Industry & The Regions) speak! It was a great evening.

Last weekend we were really busy with a group of British Guides In Foreign Countries (much like Girl Scouts Overseas) from Benelux & France County (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg & France). They rented all 59 beds in the house plus all of our common rooms. Needless to say we're just now getting caught up on the laundry and ironing! Saturday night we had a HUGE banquet buffet for them and I worked for 16 hours. It was kind of nice to keep busy though.

Monday night we had a "team building evening" where we had someone come babysit Pax Lodge so we could all go out. We went out for dinner and to the cinema to see Becoming Jane. The movie (errr... film) was throughly disappointing, but it was nice to go out for a dinner that no one had to cook or clean up after!

Tuesday night was my official welcome ceremony which was supposed to happen like.... 3 WEEKS AGO! But it's all good now :) It was lovely and Kailey put a lot of work into planning a fabulous game. Now I have to get to work planning the next new persons ceremony.

Yesterday I had the day off and I went to Hyde Park, Covent Garden, Leicester Square (pronounced "Lester" for all you okies) and walked around on Palace Street. Mostly I just wandered around by myself which was nice. Today I also have the day off, but I didn't make any plans because we were expecting a new volunteer, Dilys, from Ghana, but she didn't book a plane ticket because she wasn't going to know if she had a Visa until yesterday & now she can't get a flight until tomorrow. This morning I cleaned and orginized my room and after lunch I think I'll head to Camden Town or Kenwood House. The weather is too nice for museums today!

Resident Volunteers at International Women's Day:

Mary McPhail, Me, Joce & Christa:

Kailey & I eating dinner during our team evening:

Seunghee & Joce at our welcome ceremony:

Leicester Square:

Leicester Square looking towards the National Gallery:

Training, Time Off, and Too Much Laundry!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 17:14:00 +0000

I don't have too much to report on. I'm still training, but I've also been thrown into the regular rotation which means I'm busy, busy. BUSY! I can't say the work is any too much fun, but it's better than I expected. I guess we'll see how I feel 5 months from now ;)!

I was off on Friday & Saturday which was great! Friday I went to Hampstead Heath with my "mate" (as she would say) Christa who is from New Zealand. The Heath is only a few minutes walk from where I live and it's a great place to go when I need to clear my head. We managed to find an amazing playground which we will probably visit again :) After that we cruised down to Oxford Street for some window shopping. Saturday I planned to head to the south side of London, but the northern line on the tube was closed which left me few options. I haven't really figured out the bus yet and I decided I'd rather save that for a day when I know I can get home on the tube if I need to. Instead of getting myself stuck on the south side of London I walked to Camden (30-ish minute walk). Camden has a huge market that is 10x better on the weekends. I had a nice day people watching and I got my sister a lovely birthday present.

This past weekend we had International Adventure Days here at Pax Lodge. Most of the kids were Brownies & Juniors from USA Girl Scouts Overseas (stationed at Lakenheath I believe). It was cool to spend the day playing games with them. What a perfect excuse to procrastinate laundry!

Now for some pictures!

Up my street (Rosslyn Hill):

Our beautiful next door neighbors, AIR Studios! Google it if you want. Coldplay, U2, The Black Eyed Peas, Paul McCartney, & Joni Mitchell to name a few have all recorded there. Cool? Yes!

The view from a hill @ The Heath:

A pond @ The Heath:

Camden Market - It doesn't look very crowded, but I promise it was packed in the main markets!

Last but not least - One of my many lovely piles of laundry in need of washing & pressing:

Pictures, Alas!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 21:36:00 +0000

Here are a few pictures as promised :)! My computer is finally almost fixed. Most of the important things work now :) Just click on the pictures for a larger version.

This is an almost complete group shot (missing some senior staff) before thinking day. From left to right: An ex-volunteer visiting from Germany, Kristina - Zoe (Long Term Resident, UK) -Christa (Resident Volunteer, New Zealand) - Jocelyn (Resident Volunteer, Australia), Me! (Resident Volunteer, USA) - Sally (Office Manager, South Africa) - Anna (Resident Volunteer, USA) - Kailey (Resident Volunteer, Canada), Seunghee (Resident Volunteer, South Korea) - Andie (Office Assistant, Australia) - Kristen (Resicent Volunteer, USA) - Maki (Resident Assistant, Japan)

This one was taken at the Pax Lodge Thinking Day ceremony. We had a big group from Norway at the house.

Also from the Pax Lodge Thinking Day evening program.

My room!

This picture is from the National Founders/Thinking Day celebration at Westminster Abbey. Did I mention we had VIP seats ;)? That's Jocelyn, Kristina, & Christa

A blurry picture of the colour guard since we couldn't use flash.

And my favourite... 3rd Baron, Lord Baden Powell of Gilwell! Lord Baden Powell's grandson. I got to hear him speak!

Thinking Day & Training

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 21:24:00 +0000

I'm on day... 5? 4? I don't even know anymore.

Thinking Day was amazing! We got VIP seats to the Thinking Day ceremony at Westminster Abbey which was really awesome. I got to hear Robert Baden Powell's grandson speak! Also, I'm going to have my picture in a UK guiding magazine apparently. We came back to the house and had our Thinking Day celebration. In years past they've had as many as 600 people come through the house, but we had far less than that. The Northern Line on the tube was closed (the closest way to get here by tube) and the bus that comes by the house has to go through Trafalgar's Square where there were tons of people protesting the Iraq war there. We think that's why we didn't have too girls many turn up. Although, we have had several groups from Norway since I've been here.

I've been in training which is REALLY overwhelming, but the jobs aren't that hard once you're actually doing them. I'm sure once I get into the swing of things it'll be good.

Tonight we had a group of 27 Brownie's come through for dinner and activities. It was really great! It made me realize how much I miss the kids back home. Brownie's are brownie's no matter where they're from ;)!

I'm still not sleeping well :(! Hopefully I'll get to bed early-ish tonight because I'm on "house" tomorrow which means being awake and working by 7:00 AM!

I promise pictures soon.

The Eagle Has Landed! Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 20:55:00 +0000

My flight was quite an adventure as I sat next to a woman who didn't speak English very well. She obviously didn't know the rules of flying next to someone you've never met before. Not only did we have a constant power struggle over the arm rest (my book says it should remain down when you don't know the person you're sitting next to), but she also used MY tray table! Did she not know she had one? I don't know... I tried my best to ignore her and sleep.

After lugging my luggage on and off of the tube on an empty stomach & little to no sleep it was great to arrive and get setteled in my room (which I'll post pictures of later). Everything is super busy here because it's thinking day (google it!) weekend. Tomorrow we'll go to Westminster Abbey for the formal ceremony with thousands of people. Quite exciting for a scoutie nerd :)!

That's about it. I have wifi on my laptop now, but certain things won't load such as my email, AIM, and *GASP* BLOGGER! Oh well. Hopefully I'll get it to work soon enough.

More another time, it's movie night at the house!

The Eagle Has Landed!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 16:26:00 +0000

It's official! I'm here safe and sound. I'll blog more later when I figure out the wifi password :)

20 Something...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 08:40:00 +0000

Only 20 something days to go! I can't believe I'm actually going to do this.

Stay tuned for exciting updates about the life and times of an Okie gone Brit. In fact, go ahead and add this blog to your bookmarks folder or subscribe to my RSS feed (you know you want to).

If you want to be a REALLY loyal reader enter your email address below. By subscribing to my blog you'll receive updates via email when I write a new entry.