FEELINGS

Hello world!

Alas, many a day has passed without a blog.
I do apologise, but I doubt you care.
(If you are that traumatised then thank you, but get a hobby)(and maybe a better role model)
Well, what’s been happening then?
Nearly two weeks ago (I know! Bad blogger should go back to blogging school) I held my main fundraising event for India, That Friday Feeling, a night of ska, reggae & soul.
After weeks of organising, Friday 15th November came along faster than a tube train coming out of the tunnel. They do appear very quickly, don’t they?
With a lot of help from my friends, family and in particular my cousin Romy, the night was a complete and utter success! Word had been spread and more and more people came through the door! If you’re reading this and you’ve got a public fundraising event planned or you may do in the future, I can assure you that the best feeling is that which runs through you when strangers attend said event! By the looks of it, my persistent littering of noticeboards and shop windows with posters seems to have paid off. Other humans gone done attended!
Along with the DJs, I ran a raffle through the night with prizes including vouchers for Choccywoccydoodah (check out their show on GoodFood channel if you don’t know who they are) and Peter Andre’s New York Coffee Club. This helped bring in funds and the raffle alone raised around £100.
The Hassocks, where I held the event, were incredibly hospitable, allowing us the function room for free and even getting involved in the evening themselves. A big thank you to them!
The drink did flow and the music did play, so much so that friends who’d only ever dance to Britney Spears were joining in with the talcum powder floor fun (it’s a northern soul thing, Google it)
A special thanks also to Grapevine sound system for DJing and compering the evening!
All in all, we raised well over £400 which takes my total over and above £1000 now.
To everybody that came, helped, danced, drank and gave, THANK YOU!


Other stuff! Other stuff!
Well, as of today, I’ve got my departure date – Thursday 7th February 2014.
Shit just got real.
It’s all so, like, HAPPENING.
I seem to go through spells, as I’m sure everyone is, of being incredibly excited followed by moments of incredible fear and “I can’t get out of this can I?” It’s a very odd feeling knowing that you’re intentionally putting yourself out of your comfort zone. I guess I’m feeling it a lot more because of how I felt at points during my stay in Thailand (being sick and having escaped a crap time at home were big influences). I need to stop relating it to how I felt then!
As I don’t return to the UK until the 17th April, it means I get my 22nd birthday out there! WHAT! My birthday in India! I don’t say this word ever, but that’ll be SICK!

So, I go in 70 days exactly.

MADNESS

Leave a comment and let me know about your life




or not





whatever





do what you wish





it's your life





bye

TEA AND TRAINING

This is relevant OKAY?!

So, say you were applying or preparing for a Raleigh ICS placement abroad and you were wondering what to expect from your pre-departure training weekend..
Say that was you..
(Work with me)
Just pretend..
Then you’d appreciate a blog telling you what to expect, yes?
YES?!
Well, then you’ve come to the right place, my friend

This past weekend (8th – 10th November) I took a little trip to South London Scout Camp in Dulwich, to experience my pre-departure training weekend.
I have to say, before arriving at Sydenham Hill station, I was a little anxious about what the weekend would hold. I’m great with putting myself outside my comfort zone, but the thought of what we’d be doing and whether this would deter me from actually wanting to go to India unnerved me a tad.
After journeying on some very busy rush hour trains on Friday evening, with numerous bags and an empty stomach, I reached SH station and made my way to the camp. On the way I found other intrepid volunteers, a couple of them also being team India, and we traced our way through the dark, dismal night to find the training event (via the golf course – watch out for that).
Upon arrival, we found a room full of friendly faces – including that of a girl on my team at the assessment day. After sticking our bags in the back room, we sat down for an introductory talk then got divided into two groups. Our group took to another room, and guided by our trainer Nathan, got straight into team exercises to get to know one another.
This first evening was a great introduction to the weekend, with more team activities, group talks, presentations – and pizza. I don’t want to spoil it for you, so I won’t explain exactly what we did, but we didn’t finish until about half 10. Most of us were completely shattered by this point but immediately comfortable in our surroundings.
”Sleeping arrangements?” I hear you ask.

The two nights in Dulwich were spent sleeping on bunk beds, so the roll-mat I had bought wasn’t needed. A little tip to anybody tall like myself or precious about their head; don’t choose the top bunk. Low ceilings and tiny ladders lead to a bruised cranium. All in all, pretty comfortable for what it was, just prepare for the cold. These scout huts are notorious for their poor heating.
The following day, we were up at 7am for breakfast at 8. Sadly, I’m used to being up at this time on a Saturday. After brekkie and getting ready, it was back in our groups and right away, into more activities. This day, although long, was incredibly fun. We learnt a lot more about the project itself, the Millenium Development Goals, environmental issues, global community and our role as Global Active Citizens, to name just a few things, broken up nicely with soup and A LOT of tea, in an attempt to drag myself out of a tiresome state. I learnt a lot on this day and gained real inspiration for the project.
That evening, both groups re-joined and enjoyed the delicious curry cooked by volunteer chef Maddock. This was then followed by a quiz night, run by trainer Al. Now, if I was to say to you that volunteers – people with the aim of changing the world for the better – were highly competitive, you wouldn’t believe me. Well, I probably wouldn’t believe it myself. Turns out, us good folk are actually hilarious at being rivals.
Our night didn’t finish at the quiz, with many of us staying up to play board games and Jenga and throw balls around. I don’t think my head hit the pillow until about half one Sunday morning. A really great evening with some really great people.
7am on Sunday came and it was all about day three. Sausage sandwiches for breakfast then the get ready and go, with a lot of us craving a couple more hours sleep. Today we focused on cultural issues, how to deal with cultural boundaries, conflicts and differing situations. There was also a talk on kit, another on medical stuff and more information on the project. I don’t think my brain has quite processed all we learnt over the weekend, but on the plus side the knowledge is worth the brain melt. We wrapped up the day with a final group activity, telling what we’ve gained from training, then packed up, said goodbye to our new friends and headed to the station. Most of us caught the same train back to London Victoria, before parting ways.
So, what can you expect from the weekend?A fantastic time, some great new friends (that I can’t wait to see again), the perfect gateway into your Raleigh ICS experience, gained knowledge of many world issues and to have your eyes opened before even boarding a plane.
I’m more excited than ever before for India and I can’t wait to make a real difference in the world.

Oh, and expect plenty of tea. Tea and biscuits are a non-stop thing over the weekend.

Leave a comment, let me know what your thoughts are on my blog or if you are preparing for a Raleigh trip!
Peace

AN EIGHT AND TWO ZEROS

Before I update y’all on life and that, I thought I should let you know that I’m over £800!!

WHAT!!

£800 is the minimum I needed to raise to get me going to India and because of your generosity I’ve surpassed it!
So, to family, friends, acquaintances and especially clients in the salon – THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I’m shocked that I’m this far already and I’m yet to hold That Friday Feeling!

Let’s get this mutha to 1k!

THANK YOU!!!!!!

Check out my current total at http://www.JustGiving.com/BambiRaleigh and please continue to give what you can for the charity

GUESS WHAT

Guess what..
It's been ages since I posted a blog, that's what!

What's been happening?
Well, I've completed my "luxury free for three"
The second week involved me living below the line, on less than £1 a day on food and drink.
Now, I love me some cake and some beer so I knew beforehand that I'd find this difficult. However, to my surprise, I wasn't actually that hungry in the week.

I managed to get two tins of chopped tomatoes, a tin of mushy peas, a bag of frozen vegetables, a bag of rice, a packet of custard creams, a bag of porridge, a jar of (unsure how it'd be) curry sauce and one of value jam, a bag of pasta and 6 patronizingly small apples. The total spent came to £4.99 - one whole penny clear of my £5 limit!
To make the week easier for myself, I measured my purchases out equally beforehand and planned out my meals. Now, for a fiver, there's no way anybody could expect a medieval banquet. Each day began with porridge made with water, followed by pasta with chopped tomatoes for lunch (on Wednesday, I allowed myself curry sauce instead of tomato - thrilling stuff!) and an apple to snack. Dinner consisted of rice and mixed veg with curry sauce, and exactly 7 custard creams for dessert.
I have to admit, aside from feeling very lethargic by the end of the week due to my lack of any real nutrition, I found myself enjoying the taste of plain foods. I have, however, very much enjoyed being back on my normal diet and surprisingly, I do appreciate the foods I have a lot more, even after only a week.

 

The third and final week was dedicated to me sacrificing my bed. The intention was for me to camp outside, however at the beginning of the week there may or may not have been hurricane force winds - camping got scrapped! Instead, I took to the living room floor. I can't say I found this one particularly challenging, but I did learn that roll-out sleeping mats are extremely thin and nothing beats my comfortable, pillow-soaked bed. Three months in rural India will be fun then...

Things are starting to come together with preparation for the trip, I'm amassing kit (with donations from my cousin), I'm studying Indian customs & culture and I'm slowly coming to terms with being without a hair straightener or eyebrow pencil for 1/4 of the year. I'm still finding it a bit weird that I'm actually going, I'm so excited for it but, as I'm sure everyone is, I'm nervous about quite how extreme it'll be. It's a completely different world within those small communities and our experiences will be life-altering. I've been reading on the Raleigh India blog that the latest teams to arrive have been given their placement villages and are settling in. How bizarre that the next group going out will include little ol' me!

The most astonishing news in the last week is that I'm now over £700 on my JustGiving page, which means I've got less than £100 to go until I've hit the goal! Thank you everyone who has donated! What's even more special, is that this is before I've even had my main fundraising event, which isn't until next Friday. Organisation for That Friday Feeling is going well and it's looking like it's going to be a great night!

 

What's coming up? Well, before TFF next weekend, I've got my pre-departure training in Dulwich this weekend. I have absolutely no idea what this'll involve, but I'm guessing it's learning the basics and participating in team-building exercises. I'm looking forward to gaining a bit more knowledge of the specifics of the programme and discovering what to expect of India in a bit more detail...

Anyway, I must run! Thanks for donating, thanks for reading my quick blog post and there'll be more soon - x