July 2, 2015
Finally, a cool & rainy day with no activities planned. A perfect combination to write while I wait for my laundry cycle to finish. (Figuring out how to use a foreign washing machine surprisingly wasn’t as difficult as figuring out how to turn on the stove, why is there a switch on the wall for that??) I’ve experienced so much already in the last 10 days,
luckily I’ve captured bits and pieces of it all everyday or I’m sure I’d forget most of it!
Last week was such a whirlwind of information. I was introduced to the staff at Social adVentures, as well as services users. I was a fly on the wall for a few meetings and even participated in some of the classes that are offered (chair exercises are surprisingly super fun - thanks Nat!). From Wednesday to Friday I was at different locations, including Garden Needs and one of the nurseries, Cheeky Monkeys. Every location I was at and every meeting I sat in on, I felt at ease. Everyone that I have been surrounded by exude an air of positivity and I absolutely love it. Even if the work can be frustrating, because of course there are stress factors when running a business, it looks to me as though those stresses don’t consume their lives or their attitudes.
One of the lovely people I work with, Emma, invited me out to a W.I. event on Saturday. What is the W.I. you ask? I wasn’t really sure, and this site can explain it much better than I can -http://www.thewi.org.uk/ -. I spent most of my day on the surprisingly sunny Saturday, helping sell tea & cake for Armed Forces Day with a lovely group of women. After the event at the fair, some of us went for food at a pub close by. Which is where I earned my honorary mum - so don’t worry mom, I’ve got people out here keeping an eye on me! I’m hoping I’ll be able to spend more time with them this summer!
The last few days of work this week have been great, but I can’t lie. It’s mostly because of the heat wave England has been experiencing. 30 degrees and sunny! The only downside to the heat was the walk home with no pool or lake to jump into and cool off. We even had a meeting in the garden outside of our office building! As well, this week was the beginning of Kate’s time at Social adVentures. Kate will be my direct mentor so it was really great getting to meet her and start brainstorming ideas for what I’ll be focusing my time on this summer.
Yesterday was Canada day and my coworkers told me to take the day off to celebrate. I celebrated hard by taking a nice afternoon siesta. That heat was really getting to me! Then I went out for beers with a friend. He even bought me a bottle of maple syrup! I was feeling a little homesick, seeing all of my friends back home posting pictures of their celebrations, but the syrup gesture really helped.
I am really looking forward to this weekend and what fun it has in store for me! A work BBQ tomorrow evening and then I’m off to Scotland to meet up with some of my SSIM pals. I can’t wait.
