Wait Where?

Remember early on in my  A-Z countdown, I talked about our first visit to our new school...a mere 24 hours after landing in a foreign country? Well today's story starts during that same visit. We were touring the middle school, as I was starting the 8th grade, while my poor sister was taking her French placement test. And when we were in the main middle school office, the sweet secretary asked my parents if I'd be going on the pony trekking trip. 

The what? 

Oh you know... the trip to the Black Mountains of Wales.. for pony trekking.

As it turns out the 8th graders always take a pony trekking trip in the fall. And apparently EVERYONE is going...according to the secretary. So my mom says sure, then I guess she'll be going! Because they did not want me being left out of something, the moment I got started- because they're the best. 

So the kind secretary informs my jetlagged parents that the payment is due that day. Because the trip is in  just a couple of weeks. 

"Hm...Well... do we have checks that will work here? Or an account set up? Or the right kind of cash? Anything?" As it turns out they figure out a way to make it work. I don't know how. Did I mention we were jetlagged? But nevertheless, all settled.

Oh and I'll also need a sleeping bag...which in theory is no problem because we have sleeping bags. In our big shipment of things. That won'y arrive till after I'm due to leave. Oh no worries, we'll run to Target. Nope...no target. But the secretary had the answer for that too and let us know where we could pick one up.

Oh and one more question...where is Wales? And pony trekking... that's like horses? She's never been on a horse. And wait, chaperones? Oh, just the teachers? 4 teachers- 50 kids and a bunch of horses in the Black Mountains... well OK then! 

So a few weeks after moving to a new country and starting a new school I rode on a bus with all my new friends to Wales. A place I hadn't even heard of before moving there. To ride horses for 4 days. We learned the basics of horse riding and spent the whole day, each day, out riding. Including one ride to a nearby city with a stop in a pub for lunch. Yep- with the horses in the parking lot. There were also activities and things in the evenings and lots of girly chatter in our bunk room. I remember that trip as the one that let me really feel like I was settled and a part of that group of kids. I was where I was supposed to be. 

I unfortunately don't have pictures to share from that week. As they were most likely all taken on a disposable camera and who knows where I put them. But I can picture everything in my head clear as day. From the look on my parents' faces as they were trying to work out what they were signing me up for. To the wide open scenery spread out across from us as we rode the horses. To the busy, excited chatter of 50 thirteen year olds off on an adventure. All of it. Etched in my brain. 

V is for...

 V is for...

I had most of my letters planned out at the start of the A-Z and letter v was one of the few I wasn't really sure which direction to go. So what do you do when you don't know what to write? Write a list. This is my very mixed up list of a variety of v words that didn't make it into any other posts. 

V is for visitors...coming from our old home to our new. I can't count the number of visitors we had when we were there but it was always a treat. It was a taste of home while also getting to show off and play tour guide for our new home. 

V is for vacation...trips to all over, giving us hundreds of memories to hold onto. Some of which you've seen through my A-Z...some that didn't fit in a letter but all memorable. 

V is for Vatican...a visit to a tiny country within a country. We got to tour the grounds, the inside and of course put cricks in our neck admiring the beauty of the Sistene Chapel. 

We visited the Vatican when we ventured to Rome. 

Also... is it just me or does it seem from the pictures I post, that my poor dad never goes on vacation with us? He does! He's just also our photographer usually :) 

And in Rome, we also saw the TreVi Fountain. (I know...a stretch)

I'm thinking I made a wish that this could keep being my life forever and ever...

V is for Stratford Upon AVon....ok this one is a stretch, but there is a v in there.  50 eighth graders exploring all things Shakespeare. Who got in trouble for making too much noise in the hotel. Also- who let us all stay in a hotel with such minimal supervision? Nuts! 

V is for valuable lessons learned. Too many to count each but they all shaped me into the person I am. Life lessons that taught me to accept others. To work with people from all over. To be welcoming and kind. To be flexible. To be resilient...oh boy that was a big one. To be confident and brave. To be adventurous.

V is for voice lessons...a favorite after-school activity. Complete with my first talent show performance. I'm pretty sure my parents were QUITE nervous for this, but I'm pleased to say I didn't embarrass myself- I remembered all the words, was on key and loved every moment. 

V is for volunteer...working with the middle school Wyldlife kids  as a junior leader. 

V is for "vamanos"...Let's Go! (to Spain). I participated in the Spanish trip when I was a junior and we went to Santiago de Compostela. I actually have not made a trip to a "major" city in Spain but loved every minute of this particular trip. 

I think they intentionally chose a smaller city...less English...with the purpose of the trip being full language immersion for the week. We stayed with host families, who were only allowed to speak Spanish to us and I stayed with one of my best friends. We had class in the mornings and then after lunch we explored the city, did some sight seeing and then were free for the night. There was a day trip to the beach, we went strolling through the mall and played futbol in the park. 

There was a fair in town that week so we spent the evenings riding bumper cars and getting snacks, hanging out in the park, being every bit the free teenagers we were. 

V is for volume. The VAST  amount of things I want to write and want to share about my time living overseas. And then as I try to get it all out, I can't quite put into words all that those years meant to me. 

But I sure do appreciate you guys coming along for the ride as I try. 

E is for Egypt

Continuing along today with the April A-Z Blog Challenge and my travel adventures. Our family moved to England when I was just shy of 13 and spent the next 6 years across the pond. This month, as part of an A-Z blogging challenge. I am reflecting on the time I spent overseas during my teens.

E is for Egypt

When I was a freshman in high school, I decided to join the swim team. Now, I was not a swimmer. I mean, I could swim. I grew up going to the pool in the summers and we had a boat when we lived in Annapolis so I could physically swim but as it turns out swimming as a sport is much more challenging. So why did I decide to take on this new challenge at 14 you ask? Because that year, my high school swim team would be headed to Cairo, Egypt for the International School's Sports Tournament (ISSTs). While most school sports teams in the U.S. compete in regional and state and national competitions- most of our regular season sports competed solely against the other international schools nearby.  But at the end of the season one school would host the ISSTs bringing a huge group of international students together to compete. And in the 2003-2004 swim season the Cairo American College would be hosting our big meets. 

So my best friend rallied me to join her on the swim team and I agreed. I will probably share more about my swim team experience in future posts but for now I'll leave you with the fact that while there was one moment where I thought I might drown (in one of my first meets), I did learn to be a competitive swimmer. And then we packed up and headed to Cairo. 

This trip was amazing for a number of reasons including: it was my first trip to Africa, I got to see one of the 7 wonders and I was doing it all with a group of people I loved (a must for a good trip in my opinion).  But before I go any further I have to tell one story that still makes me parents laugh. After my first full day in Cairo (the day we spent sightseeing at the pyramids, the sphinx and Egyptian market), I called my parents to talk to them. They asked me all about the sights and I told them they were "cool, the sphinx isn't as big as I thought and GUESS WHAT! Our host family has cinnamon toast crunch cereal!" 

Are you confused? Let me explain. We had been living overseas just over a year and some of the food choices in England are different from American grocery stores and so having "American" things like a a particular brand of peanut butter, or reese's cups or kraft mac n' cheese or yes, cinnamon toast crunch felt like such a treat and a small taste of home. So when I discovered that our host family had base access, meaning their pantry was full of American nostalgic goodness I was pretty pumped. 

Now 30 year old me is thoroughly embarrassed about my response but I digress. I was impressed with the pyramids, despite my lackluster retelling of the experience. And I actually went back to Cairo as a senior (again for ISST's) and got to see them again and I can confirm that they are impressive- more impressive than Cinnamon Toast Crunch. The Sphinx is also an interesting sight to see, although i stand by my statement that in my head I always pictured it as more towering. Don't get me wrong, its very big and I definitely undersold it to my parents- but pictures in textbook can be misleading. 

Speaking of pictures being misleading... I always imagined the pyramids being in the middle of this desert type area, kind of on their own. But you know what stands directly behind you when you're snapping pictures of the pyramids? A pizza hut. Its the funniest dichotomy to be standing feet from one of the most famous landmarks in the world and at the same time you are steps away from pizza. 

You don't see that in textbooks or in google stock photos now do you? 

I mentioned it earlier but I was actually fortunate enough to come to Cairo as part of our swim team twice. The second time, along with the previous landmarks, we also made a few stops we hadn't gotten to my first visit. We visited The Citadel which is home to museums, mosques and was an important part of Egyptian military in the past. Its a beautiful space architecturally and was truly an interesting space to explore. We walked barefoot across the limestone floors in the robes they gave us and admired the beauty in front of us. 

We also spent some time in the markets which are impressive and overwhelming at the same time. The market we visited was HUGE. It had stalls for so many different things- food items, clothing, jewelry, art, spices. And everyone you walk by reaches out to you with their best offer. As you wind through the labyrinth that the market creates your senses are overloaded and then you emerge on the other side, probably with a trinket or two, unsure how you managed to end up at the same spot you started. 

Whew...I had a lot of words for that one didn't I? My trips to Cairo stand firm as one of the most "exotic" places I've been but stay tuned for letter F because I've got more adventures coming. 
 

A is for Adventure

We're off on an adventure this month! Well technically, I've already been on all of these adventures, but now I'm bringing you along. I am fresh off of a month long, everyday writing challenge. So what did I decide to do? Start a new writing challenge obviously! Today marks the start of the April A-Z Blog Challenge hosted by a number of different people, but you'll find the information and sign up details over on Blogging From A-Z.  My mom has participated in years past and encouraged me to jump in this year as well. So here we are. 

While you don't technically need a topic or theme for the challenge, it's nice to have one I think and my mom actually helped me come up with mine. When I was just shy of 13,  my family moved overseas to England. Over the next 6 years we had the best of adventures as a family and I did so much learning, growing and loving life in those years. I want to be able to remember all the wonders, challenges and excitement from that  period of my life so for the next month, I'll be bringing you along my trip down memory lane. 

A is for adventure. 

It was an adventure leaving the place I was most familiar with and moving to a different country. 

It was an adventure exploring new towns and cities in this new place we now called home.

It was an adventure starting at a new school filled with students from countries all over the world. 

It was an adventure making new friends who I would share a lifelong bond with despite the miles that would someday separate us. 

It was an adventure traveling to different countries with cultures and customs so different from my own. Soaking up every minute (as much as a teenager can). 

And it was the greatest adventure doing this alongside my family.