Lähtötunnelmia

Tässä on niin sanotusti nyt lähdön hetket käsillä. Pakattu on, hyvästelty on: enää vain odotellaan. Me aloitetaan matkanteko siis jo tänään Kristiinan kanssa. Tai huomenna, sunnuntain puolella yötä.. Lähdetään yhdeltä yöllä bussilla kohti Lontoota. Perillä meidän pitäisi olla n. 7.25. Sen kummempia suunnitelmia ei ole, koska nyt vuorostaan Kristiina on tosi kipeenä.. Toivottavasti saadaan edes muutama tunti unta bussissa..

Big Benille kävelyn suunnittelua.

Tosiaan siis kummempia suunnitelmia Lontooseen ei ole, ainakaan Kristiinalla. Ollaan perillä jo aamusta ja lento lähtee vasta illalla 18.45 paikallista aikaa. (20.45 Suomen aikaa.)

Itse ajattelin käydä aamupalalla jossain kivassa paikassa ja sitten kävellä katsomaan Big Beniä ja ehkä piipahtaa joissain kaupoissa jos vastaan joitain kivoja tulee. 

Lontoosta meidän täytyy jatkaa matkaa vielä lentokentälle Gatwickiin, matka on n. Puoli tuntia bussilla. Bussi lähtee samalta Victoria Voach Stationilta mihin saavumme täältä Plymouthista tulevalla bussilla.

Voiton tuuletus: reissusta almost selvitty!

Täytyy kyllä sanoa, että itselle tämä 4 viikkoa on tuntunut oikein sopivalta ajalta. Olen saanut irti mielestäni todella paljon näinkin "lyhyessä" ajassa. Englannin puhumisesta on tullut sujuvaa. Sen on nähnyt jo siinä kun itsenäisesti on täytynyt puhua englantia ja laajentaa sitä osaamista: työt, arkipäivän kanssakäyminen, kuntosalin jäsenyys, kosmetologi palvelut, ravintola, uudet ystävät. Hyvin sitä on selvinnyt ihan itse vieraassa maassa!

Pienistä vastoinkäymisistä huolimatta reissu on ollut oikein antoisa, olen saanut hyviä ystäviä, nauranut, vähän itkuakin tirauttanut ja oppinut niin paljon uutta! Hienoa, että tällainen ulkomaanjakso on mahdollista. 

-Rosa

Last friday

Today we went to school (Almond Vocational) and stayed there a while. We met other people from Hyria and we got our certificates etc. After that we all Me, Kristiina, Rikhard, Tuure and Teemu went together to eat. It was nice to meet other Finnish people and talk with them. 

Waiting bus.

Burger King

Then our ways separated, Tuure and Teemu went back home because they are travelling tonight to London and flight tomorrow morning back to Finland. me and Kristiina went to do final shoppings to friends and family.

Tuliaisia

-Rosa

Final packing

Uhh. The things I've bought from here! Now I realise how much I have stuff when it's time for packing. Oh my oh my. :D

I haven't packed all of it yet but I hope I manage to get it all in my luggage. And I hope that it won't weight too much! 

Kristiina has huuuge luggage and her bag weighted already 17 kg when we came here (limit is 20 kg and then you have to pay). I hope neuther from us has to pay from extra kilos... 

Packing

-Rosa

Final week

My final week started awful.. I was sick for three days, and still I'm a bit stuffy. I hope it goes away before our flight back home.. Last days in work were pretty similar with past days. Nothing special. 

My french friends, last work day.

Today we are going out one last time with Kristiina and my french friend Lou and Rikhard is maybe joining us too. I think it's going to be sad to say goodbye, me and Lou have become really good friends. But both of us are still happy and excited to go back home.

Frappucino at Starbucks.

-Rosa

Third week

Third week is now about to end. It's sunday night. I'm looking forward to come back home & Finland. Altough this place is really nice. 

At this moment I feel a bit sick, my throat is aching and nose is bleeding :( I hope I won't be sick on plane.. 

This week has gone really quick. In work it has been quite easy week. I've been "hanging out" almost everyday after work with the French girl who works in a same shop as me. 

I was really luvky on friday, I got from the city centre a 7-days free pass to local Lifecenter. I can go to gym, swimming pool and to sauna free until next friday! 

Walking back to home from LifeCenter

It has been really good week. I'm looking forward coming home and graduating but I think I'll miss this place and people I've met. But now I have to go back with my studies, I have 2nd of june entrance examination to Haaga-Helia and 5th of june same thing in Lamk. 

-Rosa

Food in England

This post is going to be about food in England. 
I must admit that I was very surprised that home-made food isn't that different from Finnish food. Pasta bolognese, potatoes and fish, meat sauce and mashed potatoes etc. Very similar that in Finland. Like I've said in earlier post, I think we are very lucky to live here. Our host (Judith) does very good food. And like she says "I'ts nice and fresh". We eat healthy: Pork, chicken and fish, salad, vegetables, potatoes, rice. And of course wonderful desserts. Most of time dessert is fruits and chocolate mousse or yogurt. Today Judith made for us Banana Split, mmm yammy. 
Judith picks up our salad, tomatoes, cucumber and other vegetables, meat and potatoes from a local farm. Very different from other hosts, our spanish friend told tha her friends gt everyday frozen pizza or ready hamburger... But like I've said: we're lucky!
Here's some pictures of foods that we've had.

Garlic bread and Pasta Bolognese, mm.

Fish, potatoes and salad. One of my favorites!

Chicken, vegetables and potates.

Fish, potatoes, salad and "salty" pie (down left in picture) is absolutely my favorite!

-Rosa

Oxfam

First of all I'm going to answer some of earlier questions.
"Oxfam is a global movement of people working towards a world without poverty. And we won't rest until we get the job done." -from www.oxfam.com

Oxfam was founded in 1943. Nowadays there is over 700 Oxfam shops in Great Britain. Like the quote says Oxfam is fighting against poorness in world. Oxfam where I'm working is quite big, comparing to other charity shop in Plymouth. 
Quality in products is very high I think. Clothes and other items are very precisely before tagging and putting them to the shop. I think Quality is quite same as in Finland.

First you take "the tagger" put price to price tag..

Then you put the needle through tag in clothing..

..And press, ready to go!

Second, I really don't know what to write. I'm not that good in writing :D... So I'm going to tell you about the weather in here. It's different from Finland's weather. One minute we can have realy warm and sunny and in the second it can be windy and rainy. One does not simply go anywhere -even if it's sunny- without umbrella. 
Now past few days it has been really good weather! Sunny and warm, ahh lovely.

Central park

I'm not really good posing to pictures :D

-Rosa

Second week

 Toinen viikko on nyt pulkassa. Pikkuhiljaa alkaa tuntumaan, että asiat tulevat enemmän ja enemmän rutiinilla. Tietää jo miten liikkua kaupungissa ja muutenkin on ehtinyt sopeutumaan muutoksiin

Central Park

Ensimmäinen viikko näin jälkikäteen ajateltuna oli todella ristiriitainen: samaan aikaan oli todella innostunut mutta kuitenkin pieni "mihin sitä oikeen on lähtenyt" tunne. Niin kuin alussa jo kerroin nyt alkaa tuntumaan jo vakiintuneemmalta. Tietysti outoa on vieläkin ettei kukaan ymmärrä Suomea :D

Voisi kuvitella ettei Iso-Britannian kulttuuri niin hirveästi eroa suomalaisesta. Kyllä se niin vain on. 

Täällä ihmiset puhuttelevat toisiaan kauniimmin ja ovat kohteliaampia. Välillä tuntuu kyllä vähän hassulta esim. kaupassa tulla kutsutuksi "darling" tai "my love". Loppujen lopuksi pidän Plymouthista todella paljon. Vaikkei töissä olisikaan aina niin mieluisia tehtäviä tai sataa kolme päivää putkeen.:D 

Sanoisin, että ollaan Kristiinan kanssa melko onnellisia kun päästiin tähän tiettyyn taloon asumaan. Ruoka on hyvää ja terveellistä, huone on iso ja "kotimme" on lähellä keskustaa sekä minun työpaikkaani Oxfamia.  

Minä ja Kristiina

 

Tänään kävimme Kristiinan kanssa National Aquariumissa. NA sijaitsee täällä Plymouthissa ja on Britannian suurin. Oli todella mielenkiintoista ja samalla oppi kaikkea uutta. 

National Aquarium

Merihevonen ja kala

Tietysti kala-aiheella jatkettiin, surku-hupaisesti, lounaalla Fish&chips merkeissä. 

Fish&chips @Rockfish

Eipä muuta tällä erää, huomenna uusi työviikko starttaa klo. 10.00.

-Rosa

Oxfam Mutley Plain

Here is a post with a lots of pictures and less words. 

I work from 10 to 16 every day. I have changing duties. Some days I do sorting and prising, I steam clothes, do online selling and work at the till. When I'm working at the till and it's not so busy, I do organizing at the same or prising. The most I like being at the till because there I can talk to people and improve my english.

So, here's some pictures from the shop itself and from other spaces too.

Entrance

Oxfams own products

Books

Panorama picture from homewares 

Panorama picture from the shop

Space where we sort, steam and price clothes. Homewares etc. Are in different rooms.

Posters

Healthy lunch in sunset.

-Rosa 

6th of May

It's wednesday again. I have to admit that I forgot to write the blog.. Oops. 

Well, last weekend we didn't do anything spectacular. We went to see the city, shopped in Drake Circus etc.

In work i've been doing lots of things. I've been doing sorting, prising, putting clothes and items to the shop. In oxfam all workers are volunteers exept my supervisor Lesley. Many of volunteers do 1-2 days in a week, shifts are from 4-9 hours. It depends on person. I think there is about ten to fifteen people working in here. 

Oxfam sells all kinds of things: clothes, shoes, accesories, books, toys, homewares. Oxfam is doing it's work to support poorer countries. Now because of earthquake in Nepal many have come to donate money or items to sell and support the people in crisis. 

Clothes ready to be steamed.

Upstairs.

In monday was Bank Holiday so Oxfam was closed and I didn't have to work. So in sunday I went out with the spanish girl and her friends. It was so fun, spanish people are so different. 

I have to admit that I'm not so happy with my work placement. There is so many people and not much to do.. Sometimes there is lots of things to do but like today I had to clean and hoover places because there wasn't anything else to do. Or so said the lady who was "the boss" today...  Today there was 11 people working so it wasn't surprise that there wasn't much to do. 

Stairs to basement.