Happy Valentine's day! I have overdosed on chocolate and it's only noon. They just opened a new Sainsbury's right across the street from me, and so rather than having to walk all the way to Tesco (10 min walking; which I do almost daily) I can now just skip across the street and get my food shop done all while hardly leaving my bed!
So, to recap the past few months.... - I went to Madrid and Barcelona with my flatmate, Cam! It was cold but so sunny compared to London! Great for a bit of time away! Madrid: best Sangria and coffee at the oldest (and coolest) restaurant in the world while being serenaded by a comedy-mandolin troupe, a flamenco show, paella at Placa Mayor (with a fantastic waiter who reminded me of my Grandpa!), and tapas and wine for a euro (!). Barcelona: coffee every day on the beach, la Sagrada Familia Cathedral, Gaudi's Park Guell (for the second time), the best hand made pasta and sauce at this little hole-in-the-wall a guy at our hostel spent 20 minutes recommending (with eyes closed, swooning as he described the taste), a cable car to the top of one of the mountains surrounding the city, and a Barca game cheering on the winning team (complete with face paint)! - I was visited by two awesome friends! Kaleena saw London for a week over New Years. It was a lot of discovering the best bagel (beigel, in British English, apparently) places, the cereal killer cafe (serving only cereal), thrift store and Indian grocery store shopping, high tea with the cast of TOWIE (probably), as well as a LOT of walking. Bus strikes make for great exercise. Then as soon as I got back from Spain, my 11-years-best friend came for a visit and we did all the touristy things I had yet to do - Royal Albert Hall, Natural History and V&A museums, Big Ben and Churchill once again. Brittany visited a friend in Spain a couple days too and there was a bad incident there when her wallet was stolen. Then there was a nightmare with all the trains to the airport being cancelled before her early morning flight. But it was all sorted out and she made it home in time to start a brand new job! I love showing off my city! - I've discovered a few fun pubs in the area, and a few not worth visiting again - I have gotten worse (how?) at FIFA playstation - I have gotten my first grade back (worth 1/8 of my whole degree!) and did way better than I expected! - I've changed my dissertation topic - Time Banks! Exchanging services for credits of time, rather than money. It's an alternative currency model and I'm going to look at how it promotes social inclusion, is a successful option for social prescribing, and is a form of prefigurative social change! - I've joined a community group, Neighbours, at the church I've been (not so consistently) attending. It's a great group who are trying to get to know the residents of a big housing estate (do we have these in Canada? It's essentially 5 or 6 apartment buildings that share an address and public spaces. What do we call these? Apartment complexes?) that one of the families lives in. We meet monthly, and just twice so far but it's been great to get to know these new friends and mentors! - I've started my volunteer work with Doctors of the World UK! It's been an amazing experience so far! I do 6-7 hour shifts every other week at the clinic. It's a walk-in for people who don't have access or have been turned away from registering with a GP (usually because they're undocumented). We see a lot of people in a lot of emotional and physical pain who have lived in London for decades and never seen a doctor. Currently, the NHS provides primary and antenatal care free to anyone, regardless of anything. There are loopholes though, so we work with people who come into the clinic to find a way through those loopholes and make sure they get primary care, help paying for secondary care, and that they aren't treated any differently. It's incredibly rewarding and such a good escape from schoolwork, but it's incredibly emotionally exhausting too! I find those days the hardest. So a lot has been happening lately! I've been crazy busy and I'm now off to write an essay and prepare a seminar presentation this week, so that I get them done before training off to Paris next weekend to visit Leslie, a friend from back home! |