Woops, been a while!

Oppsies, didn't realise I hadn't blogged for so long! So, from when I last wrote an entry, I have changed address, now living up in Kettering with my Aunt, Uncle and cousin. It is kind of hectic trying to slow into other people's lives and routines, but they are helping me out a lot by letting me stay here. In return I am playing Cinderella and cooking meals for them and doing little odd jobs to help out.

What else? The first week up here was spent sorting ALL my possessions into piles for taking back, shipping back, giving away, donating to charity, binning. I managed to condense 4 shipping boxes, 2 black bags, 2 suitcases, 1 backpacking pack, 1 carry on case, 3 plastic storage containers and 1 backpack worth of stuff into 3 boxes shipping back, 1 carry on case, 1 suitcase and 1 pack, that I might be able to put inside the suitcase on the big day, as there's not much in it. So I think I did quite well! A lot of the stuff was begged/borrowed when I first moved over here, so that's going back, like quilts and pillows and stuff.

Then on Friday night I went out to the pub with some of my cousin Louise's friends, who are lovely people, even if they did nerd it up a bit and I didn't understand half of the conversations!

Saturday I went to a place called Slimbridge which is a wetland bird sanctuary, with my Aunt and Uncle. There were loads of little baby birds, and the biggest range of ducks I have ever seen! I wasn't sure how interesting it would be, knowing English birds tend to be black or brown or grey, compared to the colourful Aussie birds, but I was quite impressed by it. We had the binoculars and were able to see the kingfisher, which is apparently a rarity. I took some different photos of some of the birds...

This last week I was volunteered to visit and help out at the local village school, so I could see a "nice" school before I went back, with only impressions of inner city Bristol schools. So I went there on Tuesday, and helped out, and ended up doing Wed and Thurs too. The kids were lovely, and the worst child they had there would have been on a par with the best kids in some of the schools I have been too! Yesterday, Thursday, I presented 2 small discussion sessions with the infants and primary sections of the schools, on Australia. Really just a Q&A session. They all had some really good questions, which was better than most of the schools I have been too! The best/most random question was from a kid who was in year 2, who heard me talking about all the desert in the middle of Australia. He put his hand up and said "are there mummies?". Priceless. Then in the primary assembly a boy brought in his didgeridoo and played that, properly, with circular breathing and everything. VERY impressive. I gave the teacher of the class I spent most of the time in my email address so they can email me if they want.

Today I went to the gym with my cousin, on a guest pass, and got out some stress on the treadmill. I am sure I will hurt tomorrow as I haven't gymed in over a year! But I managed to jog, so that was good. Tomorrow is my cousin and her hubby-to-be's housewarming party which I am going to, so that should be good, with her friends I have got to know quite well.

Then next week I am off to my last country before I head home... I'm flying up to Scotland, and have booked into a tour like the one I did in Ireland, on a bus of backpackers going to Ben Nevis and Loch Ness and a couple of other out of the way places, but starting and ending in Edinburgh. So I am looking forward to that.

It's 17 days to go until I get on the plane. I have officially had confirmed by 3 different people that I an definitely going to be leaving on the 30th July, but I have to go into London and have them print out a new ticket for me, and pay a little extra cos tax has gone up and long story, but yeah. I can fax my ticket to them and they will get the new one ready to pick up 4 hours before the flight leaves, and I pay the extra then, but knowing my luck, and the saga that has been me trying to get to go home, it wont be there and they wont let me fly, so I would rather go all the way into London and get it in person! So yeah, looks like I will be doing that in the week after Scotland too. So my 17 days is being filled up rather nicely!

When I get back I think the first thing I do is go to a dentist, cos my wisdom tooth is causing havoc in my mouth, with pressure on other teeth, and I think it is moving a tooth now, cos that tooth, about 3 in from the end has gone red in the gum and sore. I just hope I can last the next 17 days, well 19 by the time I land in oz, without the excruciating pain people talk about, because I don't have the time/money/pain threshold to deal with getting whatever needs to be done done in the next 2.5 weeks. I just can't handle it. So I am trying to ignore it an hope it goes away, which is easier at times, and harder at moment like right now where it is just pushing and I can just feel pressure in my jaw. Not really pain, just pressure. *ignores it*

Ok, well, that's it for now, and I will write more in a week and a bit, when I get back from Scotland. (I am more nervous about going there and not understanding the language, cos at least in Germany, I don't speak German. But Scottish is just such a THICK accent I can't even understand my native language!)