Time for a Party

   Since the beginning of October I have worked every weekend. That doesn't mean I have not had any days off. My week usually looks like this: Work Monday and Tuesday, have days off Wednesday and Thursday, work Friday, and work reception Saturday and Sunday either from 7:30am to 4:30pm or from 1pm to 10pm. I usually enjoy doing reception, but sometimes it can be incredibly boring, especially the late shift. Other times it can be crazy and chaotic. Most of the other volunteers think I'm crazy for doing reception and none of them want to do it. Because of that, Morris and I are the only receptionist meaning they need us every weekend.
   Usually I don't mind, I still get two days off a week and doing reception provides variety from just working outside, which can be pretty boring (and cold!) this time of year when we don't have many sessions. The problem is, Emily's job in Sheffield has her work Monday to Friday with weekends off, meaning it has been almost impossible for us to get together. Finally I asked Sam if I could have a weekend off. She agreed and was able to find some of the conference centre staff to cover for me.
   Emily and I planned everything out and she took the train down on Saturday December 1st. I met her at Kings Cross Station. Naturally, before we could embark on our day of adventure, we had to go find Platform 9 and 3/4.

   Emily and I skype occasionally and we have been planning our Christmas trip, but once we were together in person we barely stopped talking and became so preoccupied with catching up that it took us and embarrassingly long time to find our way out of the train station. We decided to check out the Natural History Museum. We only stayed a couple hours, browsing through the zoological collection and the human biology exhibit. It was very crowded and there was a huge line to get into the dinosaur exhibit. The building itself was amazing and just walking around looking about at the ceiling was great. I will definitely have to go back.

 
       After eating some lunch we headed over to the Hyde Park to show Emily the Winter Wonderland. Being the first of December, the place was packed. We walked around, looking through the stalls. We were both particularly enamoured with one that was selling pocket watches for 10 pounds each. I was sorely tempted but in the end decided not to buy one. I got the address for the seller so I might go looking for them again another time.
  It was getting very cold and we were tired from walking so we decided to head home about 3pm, especially since we knew it would be dark in an hour and a half. By that time Hyde Park was even more crowded than before the line to get into the tube station was enormous. It was very squished tube ride back to Walthamstow, and after the bus ride a chilly walk to Gilwell.
   On the way back I got a text from Francisco informing me that my new roommate had arrived, meaning there was no bed for Emily to sleep in. What bad timing. I knew there was a new volunteer arriving shortly but I had hoped it would be after Emily's visit. So when we got home we went to my room in the White House and I introduced Emily and myself to Pei Ling, a quiet girl from Taiwan.
  I took Emily over to meet everyone in the Den. I think it was a little overwhelming, meeting so many new people, I know the feeling, so many names! It was funny because some of the guys were very eager to meet her and kept saying how they were going to compete for her attention. Allan learned a Nickelback song on the guitar for because that's what Canadians listen to, right?
  We went climbing in the Lid for a little bit, just so Emily could try it out, but the inside the Lid is colder than outside this time of year so we did not stay long. After a bit of dinner Emily and I started making pancakes. I'm kind of known for that here. If I want someone do to something for me I promised to make them pancakes.
  While we were working on that, people started getting put in the freezer. To explain this I will have to go back a few days. We did a deep clean of the Den one evening and decided we did not really need to be keeping stuff in the big freezer because we had enough room in the ones below the refrigerators. So we unplugged and defrosted it. Then, on the Thursday night Blum was feeling bored, which is can be a dangerous thing. He managed to organize an group to capture Chiara from her room and stuff her into the empty freezer. For some reason I agreed to record it.

   So the night Emily came the guys went back to putting people in the freezer. Including Emily. I'm afraid I didn't put up as much of a fight as Chiara and Francisco was able to stuff me in quite easily. Then we tried to see how many people would fit in the freezer. 

  The party progressed from there, the pancakes we devoured, Allan played his song for Emily, and as always, the Den got very very messy. There was also the attempt to teach Emily and I Latin dances. 

And other inter-cultural silliness.

   In the end Emily ended up sharing my single bed for the night. The next day we went back to London and did some shopping before she went to the bus station and I went home. I am hoping to get another weekend off in January so that Emily can come again. Although really, it doesn't matter anymore if I'm off or not. It only takes a day and/or one party for a new person to be accepted by the volunteers of Gilwell Parks so there will always be someone around to hang out with her.

Skating Staff Social

    On Monday November 26th we had our monthly staff social. Basically Gilwell Park allows us to book some fun outing to do each month and we can spend up to 20 pounds per person. For November we decided to go ice skating. Some of the volunteers were very keen because they had never ice skated before, being from Ecuador and Chile.
    We picked the outdoor ice rink that is in Hyde Park right now for their "Winter Wonderland" Christmas Fair. Kerry kindly took most of us in the bus to Chingford station and we met everyone else there. The Winter Wonderland was huge, a mix of traditional European Christmas markets and all of the fair ground rides and midway games I associate with the Oak Bay Tea Party. There were so many stalls with food, everything smelled so good and I wanted to eat it all but I managed to resist.

  After we had wandered around the park and seen everything, we lined up to get into the skating rink.  Everyone had been joking that it would be really funny if I was the first to fall on the ice. Well, I had barely skated two metres before I did just that, falling backwards before most of the others were even on the ice. They laughed hysterically as I picked myself up and then promptly fell down again ten seconds after. I blamed the skates, the balance of them was weird. The others did not let me forget it quickly.
  I managed to stay upright after that, skating around and trying to teach Gustavo and Francisco. Most of the Koreans were much better skaters than me, especially Soo Young, but then, her major was physical education. Blum was also much better than me, I was impressed. Eric, who is from Ghana, stepped onto the ice and immediately stepped off and refused to get back on. Nicholas just kind of cowered in a corner of the rink. Francisco improved very quickly and keeps saying we should go skating again. Gustavo and Allan persistently shuffled around the rink the entire time.
     They did not allow people to take cameras on the ice because they wanted everyone to buy the ridiculously priced professional photos that were available. A couple people had their iPhones and we managed to snap some shots quickly before dispersing and pretending nothing had happened.

   It started to rain heavily and by the end of the session we were all soaked and very hungry.

   We had some money left over for dinner, but only 8 pounds each so we wandered Piccadilly Circus looking for some where warm and cheap to eat. Getting eighteen people with very different tastes to agree on a restaurant is very difficult. Finally a promoter on the street gave us a flyer for a restaurant up a side street that had a deal on a two course meal for 8 pounds. Everyone agreed because we were wet and tired and we managed to find the door to the restaurant. The hostess/server led us down a steep flight of stairs into a tiny room that would have been small for coffee shop. Apparently the restaurant could seat twenty people, so we took up the entire space, not that there was anyone else there. I'm not sure that was a reflection on the restaurant itself or the fact that it was almost 10pm.
    The food was not of great quality but it was good for the price we paid. The chef and the one server were the only employees and we kept them busy with our large group. It was good have a meal all together outside of Gilwell Park.

The funniest part was Eric ordering some spicy curry dish, taking a bite and saying, "No, not spicy." He asked the server for more spice and we all told her to make it as spicy as possible. She did so and brought the dish back. Eric tried it an shook his head, "Hmm...no, it's not that spicy." The server was really surprised but we told her not to worry, Eric likes incredibly spicy food.

  It was almost midnight by the time we paid and took the tube, train and taxi back to Gilwell and it was a bit of a struggle to get up for work the next morning.

Loose Ends

     I calculate that I am still three or four blog posts behind but I am having a hard time remembering what has gone on this month. One thing I do know is that I feel as if I have spent a lot of money. I certainly have gone into London enough times judging by the fact that I had to top up my Oyster Card twice in December.
   One way for me to remember is to go back through photos.

There were these photos from about three weeks ago when we had a bit of a mouse problem:

   We girls spent a day and a half shrieking every time we saw a mouse, alive or dead in the trap. A good number of us cowered on the couch while Nicholas gallantly disposed of each mouse and reset the trap. We got an exterminator to lay down poison and though the traps are still set we have not caught any in weeks. So either they are gone they got a lot smarter.

    What else? I voted at the end of October! That was a first. I knew there was a by-election for the Victoria MP due to Denise Savoie's retirement so I went on Elections Canada's website and found the right application form to fill out. I mailed it off to Ottawa and within a couple weeks I was sent a special ballot voting kit. There were very specific instructions about which order to put the ballot in the envelopes and which envelopes to sign. It took me until the end of October to decide who to vote for.

I was not going to let 7000 kilometres prevent me from voting for the first time!

    I have also got my Christmas and New Years plans figured out, and almost everything booked. Gilwell Park closes from December 20 to January 6 so we have those weeks off without using up an of our holidays. Emily and I, after changing our minds many, many times finally decided to go to Brussels, Belgium for Christmas. It may seem like a bit of a random choice but we had two very good reasons. One: Brussels looks beautiful at Christmas, full of markets and lights and it will be great to get  into the Christmas spirit. Two: Emily has a cousin who lives in Brussels with her husband and children and she has offered to let us stay with her over Christmas; it will be really nice to be in a home with a family over Christmas.
  Our plan is as follows: I will travel up to Sheffield to Emily's placement on December 21 (providing the world does not end that day), as she works that day. The next morning we will take the train to Manchester and fly to Brussels. As soon as we land in Brussels we will go to the train station and take a train to Cologne, Germany. After booking our flights to Brussels and back to Manchester, we decided that going to Cologne at Christmas would be amazing, but the markets end on December 24 so we will stay in a hostel there from the 22nd to the 24th. On the 24th we will take the train back to Brussels and stay with Emily's cousin until the 27th. One the 27th we will take the train to Bruges and stay two nights in a hostel there. On the 29th we will take the train back to Brussels, stay one night there, possibly with Emily's cousin, and then fly back to Manchester.
  I know it would have made more sense to fly into Cologne and out of Bruges and cut out some train trips, but the plane tickets were the first thing we booked, and they were a very good price.
   After flying into Manchester we will take the train back to Sheffield and I will stay the night there with Emily.
  Then part two of the Christmas holiday adventures will begin! Emily has to go back to work, but from Sheffield I will take the train to Edinburgh, Scotland on December 31. I will meet Megan, another Lattitude volunteer from Saltspring Island that I met through coming to England. We have a hostel booked for three nights at about 150 pounds each. It's a little expensive but Edinburgh is supposed to be an awesome place to be for New Year's. We have tickets for the street party that takes place right around Edinburgh Castle.
   Finally, on January 3 I will take the National Express bus from Edinburgh to London. It takes almost  nine hours but it is a lot cheaper than taking the train. It will be back to work before long and on January 11 to 13 Gilwell Park hosts a massive Winter Camp which will keep us all very busy.

    I'm getting very excited for Christmas holidays now, it's coming up soon and I still have a few things left to book. I will write all about the adventure when they happen.