Today has been my last day at work - it's so weird to think that it's for the next 5 months (although quite nice really to have such a long work break)
It was actually quite sad. The morning was just like any other morning, but then at lunch time I was eating my sandwich and reading something on the screen, and suddenly I looked behind me and the whole office were standing there! It was really sweet, I got a card and a really lovely speech from my colleague Jas (you know what it's like though, you can never remember afterwards what they said because it's so overwhelming at the time!) but it was along the lines of 'everyone has really enjoyed working with me over the summer, everyone will miss me, keep in touch, don't know what they'd do without me, I'm amazing, lol!' It was really sweet and I was really surprised - I honestly had no idea it was coming :-)
Then I was handed a couple of presents which was really nice too - materials for my course; pencils, a sketch pad, and a really beautiful faux leather case full of oil pastels and coloured pencils. It was really lovely of all of them - thank you guys! I'll miss you too!
I normally work 1 day a week at Young Addaction - doing the office admin as I am used to. Over the summer I have been working almost full time, working with some of the young people on a 1:1 basis, specialising in art / design or fitness / boxing in a therapeutic sense. It has been fantastic, and great experience and I have loved working with the young people. Hopefully it is something I'll be able to take up again (1 day a week) when I'm back.
As far as the actual exchange is going I can't think about it for too long at the minute, I just get so excited and nervous and scared and everything all at the same time, so I just don't think about it. I am concentrating more on spending a week with Hans and his family, at least I know what that'll be like.
Having a BBQ at Hans' mums - lovely!
It's so peaceful and pleasant so I know I can relax for a few days. I'll worry about Bergen when I get there. I can't even comprehend what it's going to be like joining a course in the 2nd year, and being taught in a foreign language. It worries me to be honest (even though they have designated teachers for the foreign students) Bergen speak a different dialect to what I have learnt, and also they will speak soooooo fast. I need people to talk to me in Norwegian the same way you would talk to a small child (or the way English people tend to speak to ANY foreigner; "DO - YOU - UN - DER - STAND - EN - GLISH??") in order for me to understand... so, something I made sure I learnt well in advance was "kan du snakk saktere, vær så snill?" - which is, "can you speak slower please!!!" lol
I was coming home from work on the bus today, and listening to my MP3, daydreaming out of the window (as usual) it was realy bright and sunny and I looked up and saw an aeroplane and I thought 'I'm going to be on a plane in a few days, and this time I won't be coming back' (well I know I will eventually, but it's not like a holiday or anything) I have done that many times before, watched a plane fly by and wished I was on it, going somewhere far, far away and never coming home. Sometimes even looking at a beautiful sky even gives me the same thoughts - especially around sunset. I can remember talking to my brother Rob about it when I fist found out about the exchange, and telling him that it's like I always knew I would do something like this one day. I think that's why even though I knew it would be hard, I took the opportunity and I'm determined to make as much of it as I can.
I think sometimes that other people must think I am making such a huge deal out of this, but I'm not really - it is such a massive thing for me. I have never done anything this big before. It is on my mind all of the time, my thoughts go back to it over and over again, I dream of it even. I was thinking about this earlier and I can only remember 2 other major things that have taken up so much of my life; the first is whenever I have had a fight (thai boxing, not in town on a Friday night) and the second is when I met Hans. It was love at first sight, literally, and I remember it was so hard to be around him and him not know how I felt! Both of those things were the same, I could think of nothing else - my whole focus and will was bent towards acheiving what I wanted (and I always get what I want - muhahahahahah!!!) Just kidding! People I talk to daily must be so bored of me talking about nothing else, but it's just because it means so much to me, and it has taken alot of sacrifice to get here. Amongst all of my other emotions, I'm so proud of myself. I'm proud that I have taught myself to speak another language (albeit pretty badly at the moment) I'm proud that even though I'm scared and sad to leave Hans I have fought to get this chance and pushed myself to do it.
I'm sure that's enough for tonight, I had better go and actually study Norwegian for a bit. Yes I do speak it but pretty terribly to be fair (grammer wise) I mean, it's one of the main reasons I'm going after all! The other night I told Hans that "Jeg skal ligger meg, men først jeg må vask min tan" which translated literally as 'I am going to bed, but first I shall wash my tooth'! He has called me 'snaggletooth' ever since. Hmmm, nice ring to it, snaggletooth Simpson!
Yes, really must study!
x
1 comment:
I have always been impressed at how dedicated and hard working you have always been when it comes to work i.e. paid employment. I know it will be weird for you not having to work at all, but I hope that, for the short time you have, you'll relish not having to do it at all.
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