I can't believe how long it's been!

For those of you that follow, I am so sorry I haven't posted in so long! The one major perk about being out of high school is that you get a life! Shocking I know! But since I've made loads of friends and I am tied down by homework or my age I have been going out lots! So it's official! I have been in Wales for one whole month! One down, 8 to go! It's been quite a whirlwind since I got here! Work has been great! I love it, the people is great and I really don't mind the work. It's hard work but at the same time it's not. Although last week was a shitty week. Monday I had a 2-10 shift and it was just a crew dinner and one customer yelled at me all night about everything!!! I didn't plan the event or book it nor do I run the hotel and he still yelled at me! Then that night I got 4 hr sleep because I got home late and by the time I ate, showered and fell asleep it was totally midnight. So then I went to work the next day knackered and managed to burn myself with hot water 3 times. Down my stomach and hip, my foot and my forearm. Luckily they've healed and none of them have scarred which is the best part because I am already covered in scars. Then the rest of the week was just pretty much ruined! So thursday I worked the nigh shift and did veggie runs. So the way the dinners work is once the whole table is seated, the person in charge of that table breaks the napkin over the guests lap and asks for dietary requirements. Then if someone does a requirement you let your team leader know and the veggie runner takes care of it. So this particular night I decided to be veggie runner. Well we must of had over 20 requirementss in our section. I was so stressed and panicked. Thank god my team was amazing and another associate on my team helped me bring out all the dinners but in the process of bringing the dinners out I broke my shoe! The sole peeled right off!! So a very good friend offered to take to me Cardiff to buy new work shoes. So I got up early the next morning and headed out to Cardiff!OMG the shopping is phenomenal! For those of you that have shopped with me, you know its painful! I try on like 20 items and only take 1. I always complain about prices and its like nailing jello to a tree to get me to spend money. Well not here! All I do is shop! My wardrobe has become like 20 times better since I've been here! Shoes, purses, pants, and everything else! So then Friday night when we got home, it was my room mates birthday so we went out for that! And although I wasn't drunk that's the most I have ever drinken and I totally paced myself. But out of the 8 drink I had I probably paid for 1 of them. Cheapest way to do it! Everyone else who's drunk or even boys buy you drinks! So that was a fun, interesting experience! I worked Saturday and went to Cardiff again on Sunday to see the Castle and Shop some more! The castle is phenomenal because not only was it used in medieval times, it was used my soldiers in WWII.
Because C & B is super slow right now, they've moved all the full timers to work in different spots in the hotel. So I got a shift at the Resturaunt on the lobby level. All I have to say is I much prefer C & B. Then I had tuesday off and all I did was clean the house and do laundry. And the one day I do my sheets and towels, its sunny in the morning but as soon as I leave the house to go do errands it bloody rains! Luckily my room mates were home and they managed to bring them in before they got drenched! Today (my one month marker of being in Wales) I went into Cardiff with a very good friend and her son and we shopped until we dropped! I needed to get a few items for Halloween because a bunch of us from C & B are going out Friday for halloween and I am going to be a kitty cat! But I work 3 more times this week and that's really about all. My fluke I was hooked up with a Girl Guide Unit. I was talking to one of the CDR's at work and she said her and her guides were going to cook tonight. And I asked her if she meant girl guides and she said yes! So we got to talking and her other leader said it was ok if I came to meetings, sleepovers and camps when I was available! This is totally what I wanted! I have no repsonsibility in the Unit but I can still be with the girls and help out and still be in guiding! I love it here! The people, the shopping, the ambiance and my social life!

Getting into the groove of things.

So I have been working at the Resort for a full 2 weeks now. I always manage to get the weekend off which I love! The past couple days I have been setting up my bank account and getting a mobile phone. And soon enough I will have everything I need to survive the 9 months I am here. I love work, it is demading and tiring but I do love it and I love the people I work with. Up until now I have only worked the day shifts which I love and recently I did the night shift. I however do not like the night shift. Maybe it's because I am still new but I find them to be extremely stressful. We do this thing called silver service where we use a fork and spoon to serve dinner rolls as soon as the guests sit down. Well it's quite challenging at first and I dropped a dinner roll. So because I was totally embarassed out of my mind I decided to kick the roll under the table and continue. We then serve the starters. Now I can serve 3 starters at a time except when it's soup then it's only 3. Then we move onto mains which for the most part are ok but because the plates are bigger and hotter I can only carry 2. Then with dessert I can carry 3 again. So on the night shift you are constantly moving on your feet and carrying things whether its food or your clearing. The atmosphere is nice amongst me and my colleagues but I definately prefer day shifts.The only downside to work is the transportation to and from work. On morning when I start at 7, I have to get up at 4:30 to catch the 5:30 staff transport van. I could take a taxi but that expensive, from my house to the hotel is 6,40. To do that 4-5 times a week is too much. Then to catch a bus for that time of morning, I have to walk 30 minutes, catch the bus and then get to work for 6:50. So I've talked to my boss and staff transport and I've suggested they change the times. Then on days when I end at 5 or 7 I take one bus to the city centre and then transfer to the bus that gets me as close as possible to my house. The night shifts, I either catch staff transport at one of their designated times or I get a ride home with one of the Chef de Rang's that live a block away from me. I am making plans to go to Cardiff by the end of the month because supposedly it's very pretty, with a castle and there's great shopping! I am having fun getting to know people and explore the city.

2 boys, 1 girl

                No this isn’t a nasty YouTube video or a degrading porno. It’s my new life! I have moved into my staff accommodations. It’s a long walk away from work and a quick drive but a very long bus ride. But I’ll get to transport later. My house is a row house, so on my street there is about 150 houses all connected. It sucks! Because my neighbour plays Nirvana super loud from 4-5. And I can hear my other neighbour yelling at her kids to stop fighting. It’s normally quiet but man when it get going boy does it ever go. My house is 2 levels. As soon as you walk through the door and turn right, we have a small living room with 2 love seats and a chair. There is also a fireplace and a stand where out TV is soon to be. Next you go through a walkway and directly to your right again is my room. It’s the second largest room in the house and it has red carpet. And the only window in my room gives me a lovely view of my own kitchen. So if you go out of my room and turn left and go straight you will find our lovely open large kitchen. With 2 stoves, a separate fridge and freezer, a sink and a washing machine. And loads of cupboard space. However people in the UK don’t use dryers! We have a clothing line in the backyard but I am scared to use it! What if it rains while I am at work, then the clothes are dirty again. Or what if someone steals my clothing and of course why would I put my panties and bra up from all my neighbours and roommate to see. So I bought a drying rack instead and that now sits in my room. If you go up the stairs, directly in front of you is a very small empty bedroom because there is no one to fill it right now. Right beside that is Lorenz room. He is one of my house mates and he is from Germany. He too was at the EHA. He’s very nice and he is polite enough to smoke outside in the backyard. Beside him is Ignatio; my other roommate from Spain. He too is very polite and nice but he totally reminds me of Ricky Ricardo! Definitely not in looks but in accent (yes I know Ricardo was from Cuba), and his jokes and laugh. It makes me miss the hundreds of I Love Lucy episodes I have recorded at home. So I moved in Tuesday afternoon, then I went for an hour’s walk to their wal mart equivalent and I bought a few food items and some stuff for my room. Since I didn’t know the bus schedule at all I walked home. I walked for one hour with 20lbs of crap. I can no say I have the beginnings of muscles in my arm. When I got home I met my roommates and we talked for what must have been like 2 hours. Then I went to bed because my shift started at 7 which meant I had to be up at 5:15 and catch the staff transport at 6:20. So for the shifts I work super early 6-8, the hotel will pick me up and take me work. Likewise if I stay for the late shift and I am done from 12:45 onwards, the hotel will drop me off at home or as close by as possible. Otherwise I am on my own to get to and from work. The public transport in Newport is thoroughly confusing. No stops are marked with the name and a rare few have the time schedule. Now there are 2 major roads in Newport; Chepster and Corporation. I live off of Corporation which means, I have to take a 25 minutes bus ride to the city centre and then another 10 to work. I haven’t bussed to work yet so I don’t know how that one works but were going to have to figure it out. For those of you who know me well, I don’t take public transport like ever. And the odd time I do I panic! I never know how much, or where to sit and what stop to get off at or what bus to get on. Public transport is so scary for me. But by the end of these 10 months I am going to be a bus pro. So I’ve had my first 2 days of work and met most of the team. Out of 700 employees there are only 2 Canadians; which I find funny because the owner in Canadian. The first shift I set up for a large banquet and the second day I helped run that banquet. I did the juice and water station as well as the coffee and tea station. So after my second shift, I went down to the staff canteen where I get free but unhealthy meals. There are 2 computers there with internet staff can use but they are timed. So you log on with your name and after 25 minutes you’re logged out and you personally cannot sign on for another hour. So I went down to get a glimpse of everyone back at home and I read e-mails from my mom and dad that were so encouraging and loving and my chin started to wiggle. Then I read a wall post from my best friend (and she knows who she is, and it’s not your fault I was just mentally and physically exhausted) and then I started to cry. That was the first time in 19 days that I cried and truly felt home sick. The fact that I don’t have internet here makes it even more upsetting because that’s my connection to home and I don’t have that. 19 days is the longest I’ve gone now without being homesick. 2 summers ago I spent 16 days in Ontario. But then I was in the same country and surrounded by friends; so it wasn’t that bad. I hope once I have permanent internet I will get over this hump of home sickness. And in efforts to do so I spent Friday walking around the local shops which are a 15 minute bus ride away. There is like 100 shops lining a pedestrian street and one of the stores was an O2 store. This is where C and I bought our internet stick we used in Germany. So I went in and bought one so excited that now I could finally contact the world. So I bussed home and set it all up only to learn the converter C left with me broke for good. So I walked to the local home hardware type store and bought myself 2 converters. And on the way back I got a library card at the local library that actually has really good books. So I got back home plugged in my computer and started to install the O2 stick which they call a dongle. Well it doesn’t work because the lady who sold it to me gave me one that requires a mobile phone. I don’t have one yet and won’t have one till next week when I have a bank account set up. So I went to the O2 store at the city centre and she set it all up on my laptop and I now have INTERNET!!!! I have never been so happy and relieved! I can finally Skype my mom and dad and my friends! It makes me feel 100% better!