Spring!

Sorry I haven't written in so long! This time I have no excuse - just pure laziness.

I've been having a fantastic time here. I am enjoying school and can feel my French improving :) I had a very exciting day a few weeks ago when there was a fire at school and we all got evacuated and then were allowed to leave school early! It was perfectly timed in the middle of an extremely boring History lesson.

Geneva is looking so beautiful at the moment! All the pretty Spring flowers are out. We took a trip on the boat across the lake to Yvoire, France, last week. It was so nice to just walk around the beautiful old town, eat yummy Filet de perches and ice cream and look at the beautiful flowers planted all around! We took lots of photos in the sun :D

After having a few days of beautiful weather, it has gone back to being all cold and rainy again. The weather just can't make up it's mind - is it spring or winter?! I am hoping it will warm up a little before I leave but I don't think that there's much hope in that.

I have also managed to get lots of shopping in, including a good trip to Ikea (which is always pretty exciting stuff). I was rather sad though that all I could buy were 2 packets of serviettes due to my seriously limited space issues!

It's also been great meeting up with our old friends from when we lived here. I have also driven past our old house which was very weird!

On Sunday night I went to see a show called 'Rock the Ballet'. It was basically an entire ballet done to rock and pop music. It was the most amazing show EVER! The dancers were all so good it was unbelievable.

I can't believe how fast this has gone. I am already leaving here this weekend! I can't wait to get back to my family and friends but I really don't want to leave this beautiful place! It's also sad because just as I can feel my French really improving, I have to leave. Oh well - I think I'll just have to come back!

Geneva

Hey y'all!

So this time I actually have a reason for not writing on this blog for so long. I've been sick. I know right - ugh! Anyhoo, I think I'm on the mend :) (crossing fingers!)

I had a lovely relaxing week holidaying in Geneva last week. It included many hours of One Tree Hill watching, some trips to the stables, shopping, and my highlight - a short but fantastic ski trip! We drove up to a cool place called Nendaz (where I learnt to ski when I was teeny-tiny), and had 2 days of great skiing. It took a while for me to get back into it after not skiing for the past 3 years, but I soon got the hang of it and I don't think I was tooo bad! I did manage to fall a few times, but that's ok. I would probably have fallen had I been walking, being my clumsy self! There was one particularly spectacular one where I rolled quite far down the mountain, with my skis flying over my head, but it was actually really fun :D Luckily no injuries were caused!

Then in an effort to add some excitement to our weekend, my exchange student's brother decided that it might be the right time to get kicked in the stomach by his horse and rushed to hospital. This caused for a pretty manic weekend, but luckily he is doing much better now :)

This week has been my 1st week at school. It was pretty scary going to school on Monday and I was just a tad nervous, but all went well and I have really enjoyed it. It's been weird getting used to their very different school system, but I think I could get used to it?! We take the train to and from school, and take the tram around town in our 2 hour lunch breaks! The school works more like a university where you only need to go in to school if you have a lesson. So some days this week I've had school from 8-3pm, others from 10-5pm or whatever! Today I had a 4 hour break so we went into town and met up with the family for a delish lunch at a Chinese restaurant! We then went and did a little shopping, before returning to school for one lesson and then heading home. It's been great doing all the subjects that I wouldn't usually do: Art, Art History, Economics, and even German! I have managed to get myself out of German though, seeing as the only thing I can say is 'Ich heisse Emma', which really doesn't get me very far! It was just slightly awkward when the German teacher started talking full-on German to me on the first day and I just sat there staring at her. I think she then realised that I didn't speak any of the language so I just sat there doodling (my fave) for the rest of the lesson, hoping that she wouldn't talk to me (she is the scariest lady I have ever met!). 

I'm also feeling pretty cool in English because they are reading a book on Nelson Mandela (how cool?!), and the teacher is all excited because we have a 'real life South African girl in our class'. So yeah, feeling like a pretty proud South African :)

I've really loved everything so far though, and it has made me realise how I have gotten so used to life in Cape Town! It's been great changing things up a bit and seeing the world from a new point of view :)

Hopefully it won't be too long until I write about the next chapter in my adventure! 

My week in England

Sorry I haven't written in so long! I have just been waaayy too busy.

I have had the most amazing week. I started off in Woodbridge, a small little town in Suffolk, England. It was freezing cold but I somehow managed to survive! I had lots of fun going on long walks in the forest with the cute dog, Ebony, as well as a freezing cold and windy walk in Felixtowe followed by arcade games! And we also managed to sneak in some tobogganing in the meadow, which was pretty exciting but seriously muddy! I enjoyed helping the chef-in-training with making a lasagna, which I have to say turned out to be delicious :)

On monday I went into London on the train with my aunt and cousin. Oh yeah, and the dog (I have named my suitcase the dog because you walk it on a leash - super embarrassing, I know). We managed 2 successful shops at Topshop and Primark in Oxford Street, and then gave in to a yummy lunch at Bella Italia. We then passed the Big Ben and the beautiful Houses of Parliament, before embarking on the coldest walk of my life along the South Bank. Our bodies then needed defrosting in a warm cafe with a big bowl of hot chocolate! But my favourite part of the day had to be my early birthday present of seeing Billy Elliot on the West End. Wow, some talented people out there! Thank you for the great gift :)

The dog then got dragged of to Canterbury, Kent, on yet another long train ride. It was a struggle staying awake and trying not to miss our stop! I then stayed with my cousin for 2 nights. We had a bit of a lazy day on Tuesday, mostly made up of a fantastic Gilmore girls marathon (do yourself a favour and go watch it!). We did however manage to squeeze in a walk around the beautiful village, as well as baking an amazingly delish carrot cake!

So now after my 2nd flight of 4, I am safely in Geneva :) YAY! I was freaking out the whole flight that they were going to interrogate me again at passport control (this time in French), but thankfully no questions were asked and I was waved through. Phew!

Yesterday was yet another lazy day with a One Tree Hill marathon this time (as well as a bar of Lindt chocolate, of course). Today was my first horsey experience. My host family are very into their horses, which I clearly don't have much experience with. We went to Avenches for a big competition, which was great fun but insanely cold and snowy! I'm sure there will be many more horsey experiences to come!

So that's about it for now, I'll try keep you updated on my recent hip-happenings up north!

A very long flight!

Today is my first day in England and, well, it is.....cold! I am so happy to be here, after a very long flight & lots of scary people in uniform. It was just a teensy bit stressful, but overall all ran smoothly. Passport control didn't want to let me into the country, they had to call the manager and have a long discussion! Thank goodness they let me in.
But after a shower, snooze, a walk through the woods and a delish lasagna, I am almost fully recovered! Now sitting by the fire trying to warm myself up. I will try keep you all posted :)