London

I arrived at Heathrow airport late at night. My flight was a little delayed. I called Kiran as soon as I collected my luggage to let her know I made it and was going to catch the underground train (UG) to the station by her place in Plaistow. It was really easy to figure out the UG. Once I arrived, her husband Kam met me at the station as Kiran was still on her way home from work. 11 pm, and only just getting home. Poor girl was exhausted! We only chatted for a short time and decided to have a proper reunion the next day. They had a spare room for me so I blew up my air mattress and with blankets and a pillow, fell fast asleep.
I spent just over a week with them. They both were working, so during the day I'd get on my computer and apply for jobs. In the afternoons, I'd go out for a walk around Plaistow and walk to Stratford where the big shopping centre was. I needed some warmer clothes for the UK and something other than backpacking clothes since I'd be in the country for a year.
Many foreigners in the community. Mostly of Muslim religion, so lots of halal butcher shops, burka/sari stores and street markets. Very colourful and lively in the neighbourhood. The fabrics were beautiful!
Kam usually got back from work in the early afternoon so I'd come back from my walk then.
They also had an evening where they had a party. It was a lot of fun meeting their friends. They're all social, full of life and outgoing. We played a game called Mafia. Strange game, we all draw a piece of paper out of a bowl, saying whether you were a suicide bomber, town's person or the Mafia. Then one person is the town judge so they control the game. We all close our eyes and the mafia points to a person who then is dead. When we open our eyes, we all have to guess who the mafia person is. Once accused, you get the chance to defend yourself. Everyone votes on who you think is the mafia you're sentencing to death. If your right, you won. If wrong, you either killed an innocent towns person (game continues)  or a suicide bomber (who gets to take someone with them when they die. Best to pick who you think is the mafia so he/she doesn't win the game). It's tricky, and doesn't make a lot of sense, because there's no reason to pick anyone. You have to just guess,who you think it is. With your friends, you can read them and know if they're lying... things like that. I only just met everyone, so I found it difficult. But, it was fun.
I got an interview for a carer position to care for the disabled. It went very well and I got the job. Not bad for one week of job hunting. It was a live-in position, so I didn't have to worry about rent, food or commuting. No expenses. The catch was that because it was live-in, your always on the job. Work 7 days a week and only get 2-3 hours off a day. After a full 6-8 hr day, your on call. So it can be isolating and exhausting, depending on the clients needs.
I had a 5 day training course to do. Kiran and Kam had been so kind to open their home to me, I didn't want to overstay my welcome, so we said goodbye with plans to meet up again soon and I headed to Woolwich and stayed at the Antigallican Hotel for 3 nights before starting the training.
It was a really nice hotel. Great atmosphere and lots of character. There were 2 dorm rooms for 8 people. When I got to my room, there was only 1other person (the receptionist!). I pretty much had it all to myself. It also had a full kitchen upstairs in the lounge which is not easy to find in London. I was really happy with this place. It was one of the cheapest places too. What a find!
Over the weekend at the hotel, I walked down the main road to Greenwich to see the park, National Maritime Museum and Queen's House. I went into the Queen's House first. It was an art gallery of all the centuries of royalty. There were sculptures, paintings, portraits, furnishings and carvings. Some original, others replicas. The Classical style house was built initially for King James I's consort Anne of Denmark, back in 1616. But Anne died 3 years later. Then, 10 years later, King Charles I gave it to his wife Henrietta Maria so that became her home. The Tulip staircase was the first unsupported helical stairs built in England and it was stunning. I don't know much about art or architecture, but this house was really nice. Worth a gander!
I popped over into the rest of the Maritime museum and read about all the star charts, navigational tools over the eras, boats, reading the seas and maritime history (like captain James Cook).
Across from the museum was the Old Royal Naval College. It was very pretty and I could see why this location is used so often for movies.
After, I strolled up to the park (I took too long in the house and museum so the observatory was closing. Had to save for another day). They were using part of the park for the 2012 Olympics so the area right before the observatory was closed. Not a problem though, it's a big park. I was able to walk to the ponds and see the flowers.
The next day I went to the Tower of London. I walked across the Tower Bridge to get over the river Thames. What a pretty bridge. It had the Olympic rings decorated on it that were able to fold up when boats passed though the risen bridge.
The Tower was really neat. There were free tours with the Yeoman Warders (also known as Beefeaters) who actually live in the barracks on site. They told us about some of the history, like how it used to be a prison and some people were tortured. However, most of the executions occurred outside the tower up on Tower Hill. Graffiti can be seen up in Beauchamp Tower from the prisoners that were held there from 1532-1672. He spoke of the ghosts that have been witnessed around the tower. Like the story about the 2 young princes who disappeared, speculated to be murdered but the bodies never found. Also the menagerie where the exotic wild animals were kept, the chapel, the armoury, the crown jewels, Traitor's Gate and the Ravens. Superstition from the mid 1600's that if the ravens flew away, the tower and monarchy will fall. I noticed all the clipped wings on the ravens. Think that still counts then?
His stories were very captivating.
The crown jewels were spectacular. Crowns, rings, swords, sceptres, golden weaved robes, orbs and more. Couldn't believe the size of the diamond there. Wow! The sceptre was beautiful and my favourite crown was the Imperial State Crown. It wasn't all the glittering diamonds that attracted me (although impressive!), but all the colours of the gorgeous gems. Even had the large Black Prince's Ruby (size of a chicken egg), that was brought to England back in the 14th century, attached to it. That crown has a lot of history built into it. Many sapphires, pearls, diamonds and rubies to make 3,000 gems in all. Crazy that it's only decoration for the royal ceremonial coronation. It's just a showpiece otherwise.
Seeing the military and armoury side of things was interesting as well. There were tons of knight's armour with the swords and shields. Henry VIII's armour was pretty funny. He felt he was so blessed that he needed all this extra space down in front. Made me laugh. Also was a dragon statue that was made up entirely of weaponry. Now that was really creative.
After the weekend, I had to head up to Hatfield just north of London to start my week of training. The agency had a rooming house they'd let me stay in and would pick up the trainees from the house to the course and back. Worked out well. Even had free breakfast and lunch. Just had to arrange my own dinner. Perfect!
There were 5 of us and we all got on well. 2 of the girls, Ashley (from New Zealand) and Cass (from Australia) were just a little younger than me, so we got on quite well. After the end of the week, we all exchanged emails and phone numbers to keep in touch. The training itself was fine. Learned the basics of caring for people, the agencies policies and how to use hoists and transferring aids. We even had a driving test to make sure we were smooth drivers. Didn't want anyone driving people with brittle bones or little muscle control to swing around corners too fast or slam on  the breaks. I get that.
After the training, I just had to wait for a position to be arranged, so I headed over to my cousins to stay with them for a while Plumstead.
I hadn't met Elizabeth (Lucy), Rodger or Rebecca before, but it didn't matter. As soon as we saw each other, it was like we've been close family right from the beginning. I love my family! We're all so close and loving, I'm very lucky :)
When I got to their house, I had a room all to myself. The huge window overlooked the small green field out front. Very nice and lots of light. Beautiful home, especially the backyard. They have a nice long garden with a small pond.
My first night there, we were in the living room and heard a strange sound, then a horn going off. We poked our heads out the front door, and 3 doors down, at the end of the terrace, was a car on fire! Someone must have stolen it and set it on fire when they dropped it off. Lucy called the fire department, who arrived quite promptly. Wow! That was a sight to see. I could feel the heat of the warm glow on my face since we weren't far away. No one got hurt and the fire was controlled and out in no time. There was our little bit of excitement! That was a first for me.
Over the next few days, we went on a few walks. We watched an Olympic marathon trial. The elites ran in the beginning, then there were registered runners. And many runners in costumes. Dressed from roman soldiers, fairies, storm troopers clowns to even grand (and awkward) outfits like a rhino and the Eiffel tower. They also took me to their local pub and I met some of their friends (one who got his wallet stolen from a gang of kids on his way home from Lucy's house. Really the neighbourhood isn't that bad! Just a few unfortunate incidents that just happened to occur while I was there), and also went to a few tourist spots.
The first was Eltham Palace and Gardens. It was once King Henry VIII's childhood home, then bought by a wealthy family that filled it with 1930's deco art. I really enjoyed the wall mural made up of different kinds of coloured wood to create the image of trees, with multiple buildings and 2 large guards standing on either side of the door entrance. Also, the family had a pet lemur, so it was neat to see the primate's quarters and how it was a part of their family. The gardens and moat was nice as well.
The second was Cutty Sark. It had just been opened the day before by the queen. It was the fastest ship of it's time and imported tea from China to London and wool from Australia to Britain. It's one of 3 clipper ships left in the world still whole with the iron frame and wooden hull. It's now a museum ship in Greenwich. I learned a lot about tea. Didn't know that green tea is made by drying the leaves quickly and black tea by bruising the leaves and letting them ferment before drying. Funny to learn that people on board took up roller skating, bicycle riding and dog breeding aboard the ship. Kept things interesting on those voyages!
I checked out the Greenwich Observatory after the ship. It was filled with all kinds of clocks and was built right on the Prime Meridian. To think I could stand on both the East and West hemispheres at the same time.
Thirdly, my cousins took me to Waltham Abbey church. It was very old, built in the 7th century. Over the centuries, kings had made additions to the church. At least 5 times anyway. A mixture of different rock and patterns can be seen. From fishbone type patterns, to medieval stones. Most of the design is from the 12th century now. The grounds were quite large and had a stone wall all around the outside of the abbey, graveyard and gardens. It was very peaceful.
We stopped for lunch at a pub  in Chingford, and checked out the royal hunting lodge right beside. The Queen Elizabeth Hunting Lodge is surrounded by Epping forest where many dear, pheasants, rabbit and fox live. I only saw a Kestrel hovering in the sky when I was there though. The area was only hunted by the royals (as it is proclaimed a royal forest) and both Henry VIII and Elizabeth I are believed to have hunted here.
Inside the Tudor lodge were replicas of food  and kitchenware so tourists could have an idea of the food made in the kitchen. Old clothes for the kids to play dress up in were upstairs.
Lastly, we went for a drive to Whitstable where my cousins had a beach hut. On our drive there, we had a cyclist up ahead of us who lost control of his bike, going so fast up to a corner in town and he hit a curb, flew over the front of the bike going over a railing. We pulled over to check and see how he was doing. A bit shocky and a sore thigh, but he was ok. He had a friend with him so we kept them company until the ambulance arrived. We carried on to the beach after everything was sorted with him.
When we arrived, we had the beach all to ourselves. The beach was made up of pebbles and shells, just like home. We had a nice lunch, walked their dog Eric on the beach and strolled through the town and fishing harbour. We were lucky with the weather. Though the clouds were around, we had lots of sun.
Today I'm just relaxing as I'm off to Farnborough, Hampshire for my first work placement.