So much has happened in the last year. I've changed so much since this time last year. On this day, 2018, I was packing up from another river party, I had just turned 16 and I was getting excited to go to Canada. Since then, I've started year 11, made it to my mid-year exams then dropped out. Worked solidly for a couple of months and had a great study break, gone on holidays in Canada for just over a week with my awesome grandparents and finally began my time at Pearson College. The first half of the year is a bit of a blur for me. I remember it feeling like it went forever at the time, but now it seems that it passed so quickly. I have been at Pearson for just under 4 months, and SO MUCH has happened already. It went ridiculously quickly, and I'm so ready for the next term.
Winter Break so far has been awesome, we all left school on the 21st, and I spent a few days in a host family before "WestJet Flight 001 to London Gatwick" took off on Christmas Day. My host family were lovely. Lennor was born in German-invaded Poland during WWII and had some amazing family stories that I heard in the car, at the dinner table or while we were cooking or decorating the Christmas tree. It was her birthday on the 22nd so we went to her daughter and son-in-law's house to celebrate. There had been a pretty big storm on the island a few days before (we packed and tidied up our houses at school in the dark on Thursday (20th) night) and the power was still out at their house. They surprised Lennor by inviting all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren from Vancouver (BC) and Kingston (Ontario(!!)) who came to surprise her and celebrate. It was such a nice afternoon, seeing everyone happy and excited for "Grossmama"s 78th. Lennor's husband Roland had had a stroke a couple of years earlier so his entire right hand side was paralysed. He was in a wheelchair, and spent most of his time in a care home, but was able to come home over Christmas and stay overnight. We spent Christmas Eve together, and Lennor and I made a German dish called Rossol for Christmas dinner. The next day, Christmas Day, was time to head off again, this time to England. They dropped me at the airport and I headed off with my bright orange kathmandu backpack and my travel buddy Oscar (my Canadian teddy bear) and eventually made it to Gatwick airport where I was met by Asia and her Dad Luca. Since then, there have been so many things happening. We met up with other UWCers from the UK, there were people who go to the UWC in Wales, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway and of course us, Canada. We spent the afternoon talking about our colleges, comparing rules, activities, classes and the universal lack of sleep. We also had a group video call with Asia and I on my phone, Noah in the Netherlands and Pedro in Portugal. It is so weird to have to call people, rather than to just walk to their bedroom and sit on their bed. The next day we headed off to an escape room with one of Asia's old school friends, Julianna, and her friend from Wales, Audrey. We were locked in a dark room with shackles and prison cells, and had to get out using clues and keys. It was so much fun, and we made it out in 35 out of 60 minutes by accidentally pressing the buttons in the right order. We happened to make the right combination, but we didn't mean to, we were just playing with the buttons. Once we made it out of the escape room we went to Spitalfields market for lunch which was super cool. On Sunday night we went to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. I was expecting a rip-off touristy fair, but it was actually really impressive. We went on a few rides, one of which we got inside a steel ball and were flung into the air on elastics. Another one was a roller coaster which was much longer than I expected with lots of loops. Afterwards we went out for dinner before taking the tube home. The next day, Monday, was my birthday. Asia and I took the tube to Westminster station and went and walked around Westminster Abbey and Houses of Parliament. We intended on going inside the Abbey but it was too full, so they closed it earlier than normal. We're going to pre-book tickets and go sometime later this week instead. After that we walked around Covent Garden (which isn't a garden, its a lie) and Seven Dials before heading back through mnm world (yep, that exists) to Leicester Square where we walked through the Christmas markets. There we had our first proposal for the day. We were talking about something and Asia pretended to propose to me for some reason, and a man walking past went "awww" and clapped, which made our already HILARIOUS joke even funnier. We came home for dinner then headed out again to Tower Bridge to watch the fireworks. Unfortunately London is a city of tall buildings, and we misjudged out position very badly, resulting in few fireworks, but still a fun time. And on the way off the bridge to go home, we witnessed our second proposal for the day. We walked past just as the guy dropped to his knee, so we stood there and clapped and cheered for a bit, before heading home. So now I'm 17, and ready for another year. Tomorrow we're going to Buckingham Palace to watch the change of the guards, and then going to the Natural History Museum, then ice skating in the dark. London is amazing, would definitely recommend. Especially if you have free accommodation and a personal tour guide ;) thanks Asia. I hope everyone had a great new year, and are enjoying their summer. I love you Australia! Bella
2 Comments
Lennor
4/1/2019 09:41:01
Bella, you write a great blog. Lovely for your family to read I am sure!
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Bella
12/1/2019 08:05:11
Thank you Lennor! I hope the weather improves soon, back to Canada tomorrow. Thanks for having me stay, you’ll have to come and visit us on campus sometime! ❤️❤️
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Hey!I'm Bella. I love writing about all sorts of things, and here are a few of them for you to read. I hope you enjoy :) Archives
April 2020
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