tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25064938288871737992024-02-19T08:09:42.201-08:00Laura_mc's Bloglaura_mchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898227110563937206noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2506493828887173799.post-86491772677811357652013-05-23T14:39:00.001-07:002013-05-23T14:41:32.067-07:00If Carlsberg Did Football Seasons.... They'd Be Giving Bradford City a Call<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I'm not sure we'll Bradford City will ever have a better season, but with Parkinson signing a 3 year deal, we can be sure he'll give it a bloody good go! Here are my top moments and pictures of a truly remarkable Bradford City season. (The list did start out as 5, but it wasn't enough!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>1. Promotion to League 2</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We are going up, say we are going up! Oh yes! 14 years without a promotion and 6 years in League 2 - if there had ever been a team that deserved a promotion, it would be us. Getting to Wembley the first time was such an achievement, but a win in the playoff final was so much more important. The first appearance seemed to work in a favour, the players seemed relaxed f</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: center;">rom the start. There was nothing going to stop us and right from the first whistle we completely dominated and resembled a Swansea-like performance. After a few close chances, we got off to a perfect start with a Hanson goal after just 15 minutes. But just when we thought 1-0 up in 15 minutes was the perfect start, we scored a 2nd thanks to a great header by Mcardle.... and then guess what happened?! Yup, that's right we got a 3rd in under 30 minutes. Another great goal by Wells. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: center;">It could have been 5-0 by half time literally. The atmosphere was incredible and I think we pretty much knew at half time that the promotion was ours. Though, we didn't really want to say and didn't start singing we are going up properly until around 80 minutes. The build up to the final whistle in injury time was incredible knowing it was ours. Seeing Jones and Ravenhill lift the trophy was a moment we will never forget. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">2. The Final Whistle At Villa Away</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Taking a 3-1 lead to Villa was everything we would have wanted, but it's not an easy place to go. Got to admit I was horrendously nervous when the players were coming out and the Villa fans had their flags. Very intimidated. After conceding a goal from Benteke after about 20 minutes, things weren't looking good. But we never stopped battling and got our reward in 55th minute with another Hanson headed goal. It was a nervy last half hour, but despite Villa getting a second it wasn't enough. We won 4-3 on aggregate and were going to Wembley!!!! The atmosphere from the 5,000+ city fans was incredible and a moment I'll never forget.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes Carl McHugh!</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">3. Burton Away - Playoff Second Leg (The Whole Match)</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After a poor display in the first leg we had it all to do away at Burton. We knew we could do it as long as we put in the performance we knew we were capable of. We were off to a great start, with Davies back in the team and Hanson and Wells playing well together, we looked a threat from the off. That all important goal to level the tie came after 27 minutes from Nahki Wells gambling on a backpass going wrong. Then for the first time in the leg, we were ahead thanks to a great finish by Hanson after a good battle from Wells. Despite a Burton penalty (which I'm still not convinced was), we went up the other end and scored again. Just brilliant, a great day out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One thing I'll miss about League 2 grounds is the behind the goal terracing. For away supporters standing terraces creates the best atmosphere, although I did miss all three city goals as I couldn't see haha. God job for Sky replays!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">4. First Trip To Wembley</span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0QQmIYni1eSgl6ibYbl345ZJ8Aa4gEnZ9mY4f1sRuX1fpvNcVgmMMcQCnkzrV9dIJU9jN2AYl_Tqc8ehGU3gtAL-KBpIch3M4NyPtzTybd6dB-wlwOdc1ghnKumXU6rgR0rHzdyHZ2HM/s1600/Parkinson-Flags.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0QQmIYni1eSgl6ibYbl345ZJ8Aa4gEnZ9mY4f1sRuX1fpvNcVgmMMcQCnkzrV9dIJU9jN2AYl_Tqc8ehGU3gtAL-KBpIch3M4NyPtzTybd6dB-wlwOdc1ghnKumXU6rgR0rHzdyHZ2HM/s320/Parkinson-Flags.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo sums the day up</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">If anyone had have thought we'd be in a cup final at the start of the season, you'd put good money on it been the JPT final.... not a major cup final in the Capital One Cup. The build up to the day was incredible and like many other fans, I'll never forget the atmosphere in the Green Man pub beforehand. The good atmosphere continued through to Wembley way and right up to kick off. However, the atmosphere was drained by the nerves of the city fans and it turned out we had good reason to be. Swansea outplayed us in every way... until around 80th minute when every single city fan was on their feet and waving the flags</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The result may not have been what we wanted but the atmosphere, experience and achievement to even be there was amazing and a moment all 34,000 of the Bantams in the stands won't forgot (nor the players)</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">5. Knocking Arsenal Out of the Cup</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I literally would never have thought this moment would make number 5 on a seasons best list - that in itself speaks volumes! Garry Thompson scoring in the was a fantastic moment and we were so close to beating them in normal time....until Vermaelen scored in the 88th minute. After 30 long minutes, another penalty shootout was on the cards. It was the perfect start to penalties going 2 nil up, but we kept our status of penalty champions and won 3-2. An incredible moment witnessed by almost 24,000.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>6. The Players Promotion After Party</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I wouldn't have thought this would be on this list either.... but yup somehow we ended there. After seeing pictures from a few fans and players, I figured out they were at Valley Parade. So after quite a lot of drinks throughout the day, we decided to head down and see if we could get in... and we did. We bumped into Alan Connell and Carl McHugh on the way, we didn't know if they were strict about letting people into the suites so tried asking McHugh to take us in. Instead, they told us the password (Baldwins Promotion Party) which I'm still not sure if they were taking the piss, as no-one was on the door. So, we could just walk in and guess who the first person we met was.... Mr Parkinson himself. Literally couldn't hide my excitement and ran to give him a hug haha. Was the perfect (and unexpected) end to an incredible day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">7. Victory Parade</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I missed the last victory parade we had, though I probably would have been too young to remember it. S</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">eeing the city so full of people all celebrating Bradford's achievements this season was fantastic to see and more than made up for a bit of annoying commentary!</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The build up to the players coming in was a little disappointing, no offence to the women at the Pulse doing the commentary but it would have been better to have had someone like Tim or Stix doing it and getting the crowd chanting but seeing the players come through the town with the trophy was brilliant. It's so great to see some positive news and coverage for the city of Bradford too (the booing of the guy from the council was amusing too). </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">If only half the people who were at Centenary Square for the victory parade bought season tickets, then we'd be seeing an almost full VP every week! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">At the start of the season we'd have taken just 1 of these 7 (preferably #1) and been more than happy but to be able to experience all 5 is just amazing. Other highlights were making the playoffs (after been 9 points behind), beating Wigan away (although I couldn't make that night), all the penalty shoot out wins (we'll take our 10th consecutive next season), a good JPT run and many great performances in the league. Now if all that doesn't bring back the passion in fans that was lost many years ago, then I don't know what could. Let's hope to see 13,000+ crowds at VP next season. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Bring on League 1!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Would you swap any of these top 7 moments, or would something else make your list?</span>laura_mchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898227110563937206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2506493828887173799.post-45120899193444169732013-05-16T12:26:00.005-07:002013-05-16T12:26:55.435-07:00A Season To Remember For Bradford City....Just One More Game To Make It Even More MemorableFirst off I'm not usually a football blogger, not because I don't know what I'm talking about football (yes, I'm a girl and know what the offside rule is!) but simply because there hasn't been a whole lot to blog about in the last few years.<br />
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I still can't quite believe that us Bradford City fans are preparing for our second trip to Wembley of this season! And who'd have thought our first trip was a major cup final (none of this JPT rubbish) after seeing off three premiership teams. Excuse the cliche, but this is really what dreams are made of! Especially for football fans of a team who have seen us plummet to the basement league, escape administration twice and witness so many managers who we had so much hope for fail to get us out of this league.<br />
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I remember saying to my dad at the start of the season when the players were coming out, that there was a different feel this year and a real buzz amongst the players. And that's down to that man Phil Parkinson. He's done wonders for this club, yes some of his team selections haven't been to everyones liking but he's achieved so much and brought back the amazing atmospheres that belong at VP! Listening to his interview on Radio Leeds the other night further backs up just how good a manager and what a nice guy he is. For those who missed it, here's the link -http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p017wjtl<br />
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64 games and this is by far the most important. We NEED to be out of this league and had it not been for the cup run I genuinely think we would have walked the league. Had someone asked me at the start of the season of either promotion or runners up in the League Cup Final, I'd have to take the promotion. That would be after asking if they were mad, of course. The money we've earned from the cup run will be so much more beneficial for us in League 1 to make us competitive.<br />
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Play like we did in the Burton second leg and we can do it, but Northampton will make it very difficult. We can't be complacent, even though they haven't beat us this season they'll give us a good game and will try to ruin our game plan. We need Davies, McArdle, Darby, Meredith to be at their best. I don't rate Akinfenya, but they can be dangerous. Just look at the goal they scored to get them to Wembley. Hopefully we'll have an advantage of already playing at Wembley this season, to get the nerves out of the players. <br />
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Finally, to those fans whining about how many tickets we've sold - yes 23,000 ish is a little disappointing when we took 34,000 just a couple of months ago but unfortunately an extraordinary, odds defying cup run naturally brings out lots of 'fans' (a refuse to say the p word) who wouldn't venture to Valley Parade on a cold Tuesday night in December. <br />
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So down to London tomorrow afternoon, then the Green Man on Saturday nice and early. I'm the most ridiculously excited/nervous/giddy I've ever been for a game (and I've said that quite a few times this season!)<br />
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COME ON CITY!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My signed shirt ready for Wembley round 2!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6s7bqyGKP3JEAd5_CVGhV7GayEO4-9tRWe90eLf-8mbOuBV9hRSTxMBSr11DXTTMxf4yJhyphenhyphen5kLCNT40SJIXf0E7qr7WtRdkGh7veEHzqjTuZOQ6rcPetMbnPL3hGipRB-cGKnC9-rmuc/s1600/DSCF5257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6s7bqyGKP3JEAd5_CVGhV7GayEO4-9tRWe90eLf-8mbOuBV9hRSTxMBSr11DXTTMxf4yJhyphenhyphen5kLCNT40SJIXf0E7qr7WtRdkGh7veEHzqjTuZOQ6rcPetMbnPL3hGipRB-cGKnC9-rmuc/s320/DSCF5257.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready for Wembley!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />laura_mchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898227110563937206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2506493828887173799.post-82222695351946595232012-10-15T14:20:00.001-07:002012-10-15T14:20:31.137-07:00Garden of Light, Bradford<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Last night I went to Bradford's City Park to see the much raved about, Garden of Light for the last night. And it's safe to safe I was really impressed for two reasons. 1 - The lights were truly spectacular and 2 - For 7pm on a Sunday night the town centre was full of people, which I'm sure doesn't happen often.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_a_k-rt1DVpDmMdiulDLvRWRzxfF_28fqyqbQGSjFZL-p_VjzyuAaY5wokQzgpxkxfCh8deHSLjkBLh8d4tzomaeMpMwxi6yl6sjLG3kYwPfwnAPbhraZ3lOa__KC88u_3zuLJ8dIo40/s1600/IMG_0765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_a_k-rt1DVpDmMdiulDLvRWRzxfF_28fqyqbQGSjFZL-p_VjzyuAaY5wokQzgpxkxfCh8deHSLjkBLh8d4tzomaeMpMwxi6yl6sjLG3kYwPfwnAPbhraZ3lOa__KC88u_3zuLJ8dIo40/s1600/IMG_0765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_a_k-rt1DVpDmMdiulDLvRWRzxfF_28fqyqbQGSjFZL-p_VjzyuAaY5wokQzgpxkxfCh8deHSLjkBLh8d4tzomaeMpMwxi6yl6sjLG3kYwPfwnAPbhraZ3lOa__KC88u_3zuLJ8dIo40/s400/IMG_0765.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKWauMSzNXcGvbyTBsb8MXA7PVi79bG9YZbLxxWeiJOmvcw0wCCPW9yjr2n9JvGGepYTk1e3D_Xhg1At26gy_f3PfAubOdMnhMk-EMzHNMRdm8Aj4cfXCnrqzlRdPAaKQlfVYU8TjHyYo/s1600/IMG_0767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKWauMSzNXcGvbyTBsb8MXA7PVi79bG9YZbLxxWeiJOmvcw0wCCPW9yjr2n9JvGGepYTk1e3D_Xhg1At26gy_f3PfAubOdMnhMk-EMzHNMRdm8Aj4cfXCnrqzlRdPAaKQlfVYU8TjHyYo/s400/IMG_0767.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHf-tzMUnDBB0-ezCxTmSmaJDp71yIvmr_LZEudDV6bLzDSXW5gEBi8Dc-KULNBaAVl56clGoUbA2miL1fVRNyxc_x7GS4Q3kwRgoIduuNiTDSIeOjobddRvellcF1q91_WU1n0GU_Ks/s1600/IMG_0766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHf-tzMUnDBB0-ezCxTmSmaJDp71yIvmr_LZEudDV6bLzDSXW5gEBi8Dc-KULNBaAVl56clGoUbA2miL1fVRNyxc_x7GS4Q3kwRgoIduuNiTDSIeOjobddRvellcF1q91_WU1n0GU_Ks/s400/IMG_0766.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I've been to City Park a few times, but it was the first time I've seen the huge fountain turned on - very impressive. Even more impressive was the brave women so who decided to go walk through the water to stand right underneath it (it was cold enough without being stood under a 30m fountain!).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4b-FzyqriCAcpoHL3SylH9nT6-a-7xN0F55ND3ymCI1ue9knRKK-eXrXMgoxul1mm-4KIh9XOIm9bQH6lxzIh48IKYqgU4MkeWXcBCidq_pfw8X1DFA08yscAo1kBfs18IMLDfhdK1c/s1600/IMG_0764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4b-FzyqriCAcpoHL3SylH9nT6-a-7xN0F55ND3ymCI1ue9knRKK-eXrXMgoxul1mm-4KIh9XOIm9bQH6lxzIh48IKYqgU4MkeWXcBCidq_pfw8X1DFA08yscAo1kBfs18IMLDfhdK1c/s400/IMG_0764.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">People still give Bradford a hard time, but it's moving in the right direction and I for am proud to have these spectacular features in my home time! It was also great to see so many people from all different backgrounds there to enjoy the amazing Garden of Light. </span><br />
laura_mchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898227110563937206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2506493828887173799.post-56481590789323136432012-09-26T13:01:00.000-07:002012-09-26T13:11:33.394-07:00A Month in Romania in Photos<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Okay, so I still haven’t finished writing
about my month in Romania… but I’ve had a long day and spend look at my photos
approximately <s>10 </s>100 times a day so I thought I’d share them with you
(whilst giving me another excuse to look again).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNSrjQ8y5hlqYP0ONq9x59MbB00p7ctLpWAv8tu3NAPVmZmexFiCtOfzaqido4PdqjN6d_lCEAGlPkVdNVZw9qwkbnLQ3dsIHxjh1kPQXA-Nf7-gafB46BTALEpRJwGxVBmc_2ZPJoxps/s1600/11690012_exposure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNSrjQ8y5hlqYP0ONq9x59MbB00p7ctLpWAv8tu3NAPVmZmexFiCtOfzaqido4PdqjN6d_lCEAGlPkVdNVZw9qwkbnLQ3dsIHxjh1kPQXA-Nf7-gafB46BTALEpRJwGxVBmc_2ZPJoxps/s400/11690012_exposure.JPG" width="400" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Some of my boys from first camp - Levi, Lala and Marius</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The boys in their football kit</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Levi suits my glasses :-)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Mi5f1TLeQbdLTyJ139BKg7AB_aNNmrqcS7HnQxtRZWMEJ1wxNFd4tpZ44dZEfjg-4rjb42U2vMsGuQDWojrfJdHW000esNrV2xecMrxUPZ3_p5xBPHn_ah6dSfrBhVEcRUlyfMfey4s/s1600/223943_10151010871422694_331791280_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Mi5f1TLeQbdLTyJ139BKg7AB_aNNmrqcS7HnQxtRZWMEJ1wxNFd4tpZ44dZEfjg-4rjb42U2vMsGuQDWojrfJdHW000esNrV2xecMrxUPZ3_p5xBPHn_ah6dSfrBhVEcRUlyfMfey4s/s400/223943_10151010871422694_331791280_n.jpg" width="400" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The kids queing up for food at the BBQ - over 150 turned up!</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiES-WPG89coLBi8jH47rM88taZmVcsPXKnjdYRo3pgHTH2FMf1Ib1MylcOjtfx0IiznivCEOjwKLPAxZaFDpQ6NuD9jcHjZdUkS8BjT_u1EAemjyuYQ5oFRvQZBuSwE3AWStGszZM6CwQ/s1600/391375_10152076470425204_1748643615_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiES-WPG89coLBi8jH47rM88taZmVcsPXKnjdYRo3pgHTH2FMf1Ib1MylcOjtfx0IiznivCEOjwKLPAxZaFDpQ6NuD9jcHjZdUkS8BjT_u1EAemjyuYQ5oFRvQZBuSwE3AWStGszZM6CwQ/s320/391375_10152076470425204_1748643615_n.jpg" width="320" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>All the volunteers and a few kids at the BBQ</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>At the zoo with the cutest kids</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>All the kids and volunteers at the zoo</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFkWph5Vx__3ZTH-WuEG7WuqrHJx5fVHuOgZyAB3KwnovwN_frDuEX6QlwWhrmlekk1Wkb6Rq9Z5WIlFVcUTmIZxBem0VD9KlPtAGbDbXTfNhLwSY2AM-_I_YoKLo94hSv6NZOXRQpP5I/s1600/20920002_exposure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFkWph5Vx__3ZTH-WuEG7WuqrHJx5fVHuOgZyAB3KwnovwN_frDuEX6QlwWhrmlekk1Wkb6Rq9Z5WIlFVcUTmIZxBem0VD9KlPtAGbDbXTfNhLwSY2AM-_I_YoKLo94hSv6NZOXRQpP5I/s400/20920002_exposure.JPG" width="400" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Enjoying being one of the kids :-)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKNCjVVyF6yK3Zw4lLsESnWCelf47onwe_Kma0uLrdpDQn8XGEpvQI288LESs8PH7uUjDWG4BeugM99nG0CSmuKlFhUbfDS2qw01UU0i9awapWkEgOe-xRuPiuV_q_cLav_5IcSnozmDM/s1600/527139_10151855832484298_1128636383_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKNCjVVyF6yK3Zw4lLsESnWCelf47onwe_Kma0uLrdpDQn8XGEpvQI288LESs8PH7uUjDWG4BeugM99nG0CSmuKlFhUbfDS2qw01UU0i9awapWkEgOe-xRuPiuV_q_cLav_5IcSnozmDM/s400/527139_10151855832484298_1128636383_n.jpg" width="400" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Painting at one of the playschemes we ran</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEtMMBAYBaKk0y5gE7F_rd9Qp8pZmoGADcRdkBbcT3nqE36gW0e9CtCsNX3kRuyONh8czv3hp7fV6BaVUSt_v_BVVsCfmGH1eNpaBcv8BCg6MTCahfhp8ultdDcDZbtA0qp1s1dWNe6uo/s1600/305265_10151855860944298_2082672612_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEtMMBAYBaKk0y5gE7F_rd9Qp8pZmoGADcRdkBbcT3nqE36gW0e9CtCsNX3kRuyONh8czv3hp7fV6BaVUSt_v_BVVsCfmGH1eNpaBcv8BCg6MTCahfhp8ultdDcDZbtA0qp1s1dWNe6uo/s400/305265_10151855860944298_2082672612_n.jpg" width="400" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Round the back of the village where some of the poorest kids live</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEtMMBAYBaKk0y5gE7F_rd9Qp8pZmoGADcRdkBbcT3nqE36gW0e9CtCsNX3kRuyONh8czv3hp7fV6BaVUSt_v_BVVsCfmGH1eNpaBcv8BCg6MTCahfhp8ultdDcDZbtA0qp1s1dWNe6uo/s1600/305265_10151855860944298_2082672612_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4eAmmZyGCWqvWGFuhPczoeFjDs9W6gFtr1tyBjyRelRKfRWSpf5GgR57G5SaF25G3gNApjDNULIpukKshjnwlhXrGmn0h1KlPIvQKJwPhq8GEy3RDnBsc5NtRwP31ZTO8V5y3LRCxv4/s1600/20930007_exposure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ4eAmmZyGCWqvWGFuhPczoeFjDs9W6gFtr1tyBjyRelRKfRWSpf5GgR57G5SaF25G3gNApjDNULIpukKshjnwlhXrGmn0h1KlPIvQKJwPhq8GEy3RDnBsc5NtRwP31ZTO8V5y3LRCxv4/s400/20930007_exposure.JPG" width="266" /></a></i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Me and my favouritist Joska</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>One of the games the kids play - would not pass health & safety in the UK!</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfPXMpkvHn5adDmsJbmHPGYmOTcO3Ct0lUrP_cKgEPfP5F60IygfMT0d7lfpWvFWDNOLJA_0M4xH2lwfH0lnK484EzWkDpqUVZCMYOSXpSqhNBzTiDDKnGGsKC1KplHbkaTpyfDcoH_o/s1600/20930021_exposure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfPXMpkvHn5adDmsJbmHPGYmOTcO3Ct0lUrP_cKgEPfP5F60IygfMT0d7lfpWvFWDNOLJA_0M4xH2lwfH0lnK484EzWkDpqUVZCMYOSXpSqhNBzTiDDKnGGsKC1KplHbkaTpyfDcoH_o/s400/20930021_exposure.JPG" width="400" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Bela and Dudu traditional Roma dancing (they both had bruises on their legs after this)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGALvy-aLBaWARBzOodicRmxefiy18rhJ-YFhkcIphIsKeaBnduQjfHw1rGr6zJr2WyXXA9ea85rS6xr2bbHAeKT00PsZ2Wt9QjKin1TD0LUxbBG0clLgpyQjrEpzcj08T7MCaAeIan7k/s1600/20940002_exposure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGALvy-aLBaWARBzOodicRmxefiy18rhJ-YFhkcIphIsKeaBnduQjfHw1rGr6zJr2WyXXA9ea85rS6xr2bbHAeKT00PsZ2Wt9QjKin1TD0LUxbBG0clLgpyQjrEpzcj08T7MCaAeIan7k/s400/20940002_exposure.JPG" width="400" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Dudu, Pepi and Bela in their hats</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAs3U0Xi7_wGS9LmVnCilMGtUQ2fp70WGxeUVNtTFq_cxkmOMPxz2187j3Q5T3AoJGcOfa_6aUch2Sd022lYHkS_hUYu0zRfXf1IVAlIZOPqOQbqJnysnjYtFehh4lCTnJFwz4UzZhusY/s1600/20940025_exposure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAs3U0Xi7_wGS9LmVnCilMGtUQ2fp70WGxeUVNtTFq_cxkmOMPxz2187j3Q5T3AoJGcOfa_6aUch2Sd022lYHkS_hUYu0zRfXf1IVAlIZOPqOQbqJnysnjYtFehh4lCTnJFwz4UzZhusY/s400/20940025_exposure.JPG" width="400" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Me and Dudu colouring in his folder </i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddJgr7YEZpl7uSYO1JHagNdo23wJ8AxP8lQyHJVz81wscT-auyhOpdcajEZ3UqT2uTfecjbMwZhAGxRrYEn2OYzYpVuKYby0OB_LPVGPCwmd4l3Snnq6SqIEhqWoVtFbygGItDPoLUQQ/s1600/253896_10151010870717694_444766772_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddJgr7YEZpl7uSYO1JHagNdo23wJ8AxP8lQyHJVz81wscT-auyhOpdcajEZ3UqT2uTfecjbMwZhAGxRrYEn2OYzYpVuKYby0OB_LPVGPCwmd4l3Snnq6SqIEhqWoVtFbygGItDPoLUQQ/s400/253896_10151010870717694_444766772_n.jpg" width="400" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Amazing dance off</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FOl0gcim1841j135gHHAknyUMbBp_LlJhEql9v1-SQG3jiZCOkyvK1HH2xl_qIFKSf0YHyNE6j1vDEpFbiM0brw1fBUmrUlE3vgbsBspQeCqK9ZbnZRTJpWO1K2fqd1xhov4HjFLhno/s1600/305162_10151010884947694_902399591_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FOl0gcim1841j135gHHAknyUMbBp_LlJhEql9v1-SQG3jiZCOkyvK1HH2xl_qIFKSf0YHyNE6j1vDEpFbiM0brw1fBUmrUlE3vgbsBspQeCqK9ZbnZRTJpWO1K2fqd1xhov4HjFLhno/s400/305162_10151010884947694_902399591_n.jpg" width="400" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Chicken with cornflakes (yes, that's right)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVo1xjVtnQgzahyphenhyphenhVxs2rkTOaVVRmjP_4Lz24RATxpMPthosV9XPFOzh2dtluIeB707fqltWC0yg69ZwIf8KvcuFZrGkmqj6nPBAaSjP_DQA5qyUgk8BmnD4D09C8_nLg7NEvlg74BTFQ/s1600/255554_10151010894387694_248381364_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVo1xjVtnQgzahyphenhyphenhVxs2rkTOaVVRmjP_4Lz24RATxpMPthosV9XPFOzh2dtluIeB707fqltWC0yg69ZwIf8KvcuFZrGkmqj6nPBAaSjP_DQA5qyUgk8BmnD4D09C8_nLg7NEvlg74BTFQ/s400/255554_10151010894387694_248381364_n.jpg" width="400" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Last meal with the volunteers and helpers from the village :-(</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFk4S4y1uVJ-E_2Nt6JRdgydGKU5QQpAg-T4ebUHVj6R3s6STNiLQAMMgLp2dKkMg59CRfQBBjoxwCqCktOG9hPisQYukBOTdSf7vQADr8v4B11lNLin6JSREc84h8j7VFD7IUYAXzilA/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-09-25+at+22.20.49.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFk4S4y1uVJ-E_2Nt6JRdgydGKU5QQpAg-T4ebUHVj6R3s6STNiLQAMMgLp2dKkMg59CRfQBBjoxwCqCktOG9hPisQYukBOTdSf7vQADr8v4B11lNLin6JSREc84h8j7VFD7IUYAXzilA/s400/Screen+shot+2012-09-25+at+22.20.49.png" width="400" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Camp 1 boys balloon game</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1Oh3254X8gMNIz9cRA-Q2IHZSC4JYZIeqpASEnOOw4SwuZf_ryA3p7P5-lvi9K11lUnWcWb1yNRNN4aZYaOJG8TMXOcCKR1YmiRw89Q6BXXHovX-lF_sGn6l9RQtaZUevdMABZUd4-U/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-09-25+at+22.24.16.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO1Oh3254X8gMNIz9cRA-Q2IHZSC4JYZIeqpASEnOOw4SwuZf_ryA3p7P5-lvi9K11lUnWcWb1yNRNN4aZYaOJG8TMXOcCKR1YmiRw89Q6BXXHovX-lF_sGn6l9RQtaZUevdMABZUd4-U/s400/Screen+shot+2012-09-25+at+22.24.16.png" width="400" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The volunteers turn at the balloon game :-)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz4HAxhL954LDPdWDEUuz-3Qwo5pWkGFM91XDRPDfYjuSbhcvU4BrCe-rwrHwoiezVwi_qUURmUOFFJdP7l_7BE5FeA_0uv2fqXXjBTNuq6xXLzJqPS7v19tmTa6pTmEjU-MN8pry91OU/s1600/387039_10151241266849714_1431402645_n+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz4HAxhL954LDPdWDEUuz-3Qwo5pWkGFM91XDRPDfYjuSbhcvU4BrCe-rwrHwoiezVwi_qUURmUOFFJdP7l_7BE5FeA_0uv2fqXXjBTNuq6xXLzJqPS7v19tmTa6pTmEjU-MN8pry91OU/s400/387039_10151241266849714_1431402645_n+(1).jpg" width="400" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Possibly my favourite pic - all 74 kids plus volunteers</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiweCRQrZfx1IWjL-BI-WPLY_TiPdNOnooopyW3IBcOy2eXe2KK17efO6KuB-NN7Zsut4ANfpkiUKU9YxM9sAytu8IuNXg_5-mDr554kwo36ql8Nf2771-m4MsDb0DE5iJkR7FwVi2O3qc/s1600/559217_10151855859904298_552152018_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiweCRQrZfx1IWjL-BI-WPLY_TiPdNOnooopyW3IBcOy2eXe2KK17efO6KuB-NN7Zsut4ANfpkiUKU9YxM9sAytu8IuNXg_5-mDr554kwo36ql8Nf2771-m4MsDb0DE5iJkR7FwVi2O3qc/s400/559217_10151855859904298_552152018_n.jpg" width="400" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The contrast of the back of the village and town</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For more information on the work of the charity <a href="http://www.arccharity.org/">Aid for Romanian Children</a> (ARC) visit their website. </span><br />
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<!--EndFragment-->laura_mchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898227110563937206noreply@blogger.com0Târgu Mureș, Romania46.5455556 24.562546.5018721 24.483536 46.5892391 24.641464tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2506493828887173799.post-34478294489926902132012-09-18T13:38:00.000-07:002012-09-18T13:38:27.983-07:00English Lessons, A Trip to Budapest & a Reunion With my Boys – Romania, Part 2
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<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span><span lang="EN-US">So you made it
back for part 2…. congratulations! </span><span lang="EN-US">:-)</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 20.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span>After the first
group of volunteers left, me and my friend Alice had a week off before the next
group of volunteers arrived. We moved from the hostel we were staying in, to
Katie & Jeno’s house in the village. This was this first time I’d stayed in
the village, as we usually stay in a hostel in town where there is enough room
for all the volunteers. It was quite surreal staying there after going so many
times for just<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>few hours at a time.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 20.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We decided to
teach the older boys who have been helping the English volunteers run the camps
for several years now. When we first met the boys they were 14/15 and now they
are between 15-18.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s been
really strange seeing them grow up and change every time we see them (one of
the lads is now married and living with his wife!). Being a teenager in the
village is difficult, there is very little for them to do and without support from their parents there is nobody to drill in the importance of
getting an education to them. Three of the boys have now dropped out of school
and have very limited options available to them. In the four days we had spare
me and Alice took them out of the village for a couple of days to teach them a
little bit of English.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">For our first
English lesson we took the four lads, Lapi, Vergin, Gyozo and Feri to a beer
garden and played pool to break the ice as we wanted it to be relaxed. We tried
getting them to only speak English but that didn’t work very well whilst
playing pool! So decided to go back to ‘proper’ teaching and gave them all a
pad of paper and pens. It was great to see them writing and really taking care.
Gyozo ripped up his piece of paper about 5 times as it wasn’t neat enough for
him! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 20.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The walk back to
the village was the highlight of the day. The lads had got confidence in
speaking English at this point. Everything we passed we pointed at and told
them the word in English and practised what we'd taught them already - sit down, stand
up etc. It was amusing them suddenly stopping or sitting when we said something!
What was even better was Gyozo shouting ‘What’s the problem’ across the street
at a stranger. Luckily not many people speak English in Tirgu Mures (or don’t let on that they do anyway!). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The next few
days of teaching them went well. I tried out my skills as a TEFL teacher and
made little cards and got them to match them up to make sentences. It was going
well until a gust of wind blew them all off the table! Despite trying our best
to get them speaking in English it was conversations about girls, drinking or
smoking that got them all talking – typical lads! It was great to see them
taking in an interest in learning and even though we might not have taught them
as much as we’d like, it’s more than they knew before and got them more
confident in speaking English. Lapi and Vergin the older two lads, knew a bit
of English but would never speak it so that was progress in itself! Vergin was
even reading his notes on the walk down into town one day, which was really
nice to see, as he'd been one of the quieter ones on the first day and we
weren't sure if he'd return for day 2! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">For our last
lesson we took them to see Batman in English with Romanian subtitles. I don’t
think they had ever been to the cinema before. It’s little things like that,
which we take for granted in the UK but it’s a real treat to them. Felt like
such a mum buying them popcorn and drinks. We asked them if they enjoyed it and
Gyozo looked really annoyed, he said he didn’t like it because Batman died so
when we told him he didn’t he decided he did like it after all! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhouiYhuVg3pkq_wiLDW29NVd-XZtHpgwpx1OxgmcQ7roVG_Zdy1NPw14M2IF7-4ZbUKmaN_3wf28wdYCSJ8qiCa4F5taescBKcp8yFNoqJzH4erqgrFpKVIIZRx6TQ0xoLmvn8iyFN1UQ/s1600/IMG_0601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhouiYhuVg3pkq_wiLDW29NVd-XZtHpgwpx1OxgmcQ7roVG_Zdy1NPw14M2IF7-4ZbUKmaN_3wf28wdYCSJ8qiCa4F5taescBKcp8yFNoqJzH4erqgrFpKVIIZRx6TQ0xoLmvn8iyFN1UQ/s320/IMG_0601.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Vergin, Lapi, Feri, Alice and Gyozo at the cinema :-)</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Me and Alice
booked a couple of days in Budapest. After we booked it we realized there was a
big festival, the Sziget festival on at the same time so we decided to go to
that while we were there. I got a really cheap deal on a 5 star hotel, which
was actually cheaper than most hostels so we couldn’t pass up on the
opportunity! We enjoyed the 5 star luxury and all the touristy things around
Budapest before heading to the festival. If you’re ever in Budapest <a href="http://www.sziget.hu/festival_english">Sziget festival</a> is a must.
Good bands, cheap beer, great location and a lack of festival idiots – what’s
not to like?!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTa-03iO69X2rAyTq8PgM5hSW1LJTKAYnddm5-joovWWWBBYD5UItEBq0aul4FKzJOO7n0VUjBoAUoV7r5NFmoBza68w8qIsLBzJ_geOj-S_UgfQv53_75QMNuSyYELZR4HIUx2Io0SI/s1600/DSCF1223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTa-03iO69X2rAyTq8PgM5hSW1LJTKAYnddm5-joovWWWBBYD5UItEBq0aul4FKzJOO7n0VUjBoAUoV7r5NFmoBza68w8qIsLBzJ_geOj-S_UgfQv53_75QMNuSyYELZR4HIUx2Io0SI/s320/DSCF1223.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">That's me and Alice with our Hungarian (not Italian) festival hats</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqlOla-HciR1MGK5Zi4kDf5mqjxKTiD3CfqCAUbrr35lXMpe4WzJ9x2gUY6-yAlKnH5req6m6Y_nF1ZaGlu7s_-Oz29DUgTZWHu7pPNOkJy1-uOmnyqrNP1OdtGN5GHJoVWQ85Cq7khA/s1600/DSCF1156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqlOla-HciR1MGK5Zi4kDf5mqjxKTiD3CfqCAUbrr35lXMpe4WzJ9x2gUY6-yAlKnH5req6m6Y_nF1ZaGlu7s_-Oz29DUgTZWHu7pPNOkJy1-uOmnyqrNP1OdtGN5GHJoVWQ85Cq7khA/s320/DSCF1156.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">O</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">n a bar suspending in the air on a crane (sorry Alice!)</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After a
horrendous plane journey back (see cheap beer reference and above pictures), we returned to the
village for a day to relax before the second group of volunteers arrived. The second summer camp is the one I usually come for. The same kids go on the camp until they get too old and I've looked after the same boys for three years now. As soon as I saw them in the village they told me who else was going to be in our cabin this year!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Well, this has turned out to be quite long so I'll stop now! I'll post the final part of what should really be a book soon...</span></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->laura_mchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898227110563937206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2506493828887173799.post-29936005864445512572012-09-06T12:35:00.000-07:002012-09-06T12:38:15.498-07:00A Month in Romania – Part 1<link href="file://localhost/Users/lauramcdonald/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0/clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link>
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<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Long time no
blog! I’ve just returned from an amazing month in Romania. Well, I say just
it’s been over two weeks now but I’ve spent all the time since I’ve been back
looking at my pictures, listening to the songs and just generally getting
emotional. So, I’ve finally got round to writing about my time without bursting
into tears (not so far anyway!).</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></span></b><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></o:p></span></b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before I start
rambling, I’ll give you a little background into what I do in Romania (if I
haven’t already bored you!). I started going to Romania in 2009 when I found
out about the project through Leeds met university. </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The charity <a href="http://www.arccharity.org/">Aid for Romanian Children</a> (ARC) work with
kids in a poor Roma gypsy village in Transylvania. These kids live in
horrendous conditions and have very difficult lives. ARC run two summer camps
with the help of Leeds Met volunteers every year which take between 60-75 kids
out of the village to have a week of fun and just generally allow them to be
kids again. </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Without wanting to use a cliche (I'm going to anyway) volunteering in Romania has changed my life and the work that the charity do to help these kids in need is fantastic. I usually just
go to Romania for two weeks, but decided to go for a month this time and go on
both the summer camps. I flew out on my own to meet the volunteers who were
already in Romania. Flying alone on a Wizz air flight is a scary enough
experience in itself! As soon as I got to the hostel to meet the volunteers it
was straight into helping with the preparation for the first camp, then after
attempting to catch up on some sleep we had a early start to pack the bus and
go pick up the kids to start the journey to camp (all 68 of them!).</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">The first day of
camp is always a bit mad with the kids running round excitably! Each of the
volunteers is given a room of kids to look after for the week. I got a room of
8 boys, who are some of the poorest boys in the village. One of them, Peti, who
I had in my first year has a really tough live and sniffs glue :-( </span><span lang="EN-US"> Seeing them being happy and enjoying what
all kids should on camp couldn’t make me happier.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYr820hiPbO98kHx6F4IqRPiY1SiT8KOBN-dWsEg6zfjuD5W5Qml53RYNWoCA1aJdgul86m83TVL5lVItKGqUimt1oIIV0urcNyUBSZiYxZi0eWyMqz5siSxcfPII772yehFy5oCLbzkk/s1600/481977_10151127974115853_449535719_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYr820hiPbO98kHx6F4IqRPiY1SiT8KOBN-dWsEg6zfjuD5W5Qml53RYNWoCA1aJdgul86m83TVL5lVItKGqUimt1oIIV0urcNyUBSZiYxZi0eWyMqz5siSxcfPII772yehFy5oCLbzkk/s400/481977_10151127974115853_449535719_n.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>6 of my boys with their photoframes before we put photos of</i> them in :-)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">This was my
fourth camp with the same routine and you'd think you'd get a bit bored with
it, but I don't at all. I still love watching the kids say grace before they
even touch their food, seeing how much they love their new clothes and seeing
them sharing their sweets with you!</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The week on camp
was made up of craft activities, group games, a sports day and lots of playing
football. I’ve been learning Hungarian (the kids speak Hungarian not Romanian!)
for a while now. I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t understand or was able
to speak that much in my first few days. One of the only sentences I picked up on
was when playing football and one of the kids said to his friend that I played
like a boy. To be fair it’s true, compared to most girls I probably do play
like a bloke haha.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwmLFsfgl4W9Vf6Gr9NaOFTu3DuHGXa5dmVI305GqnabSztadrBw2s2FnebscPunx3gpUG9mFKEtitl6pKtIZIxN51RlXcUjqDL7Ra2mQruy2cOuvIrTW3ztaGtc1MdgyiRhE61vhdGc/s1600/11690007_exposure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwmLFsfgl4W9Vf6Gr9NaOFTu3DuHGXa5dmVI305GqnabSztadrBw2s2FnebscPunx3gpUG9mFKEtitl6pKtIZIxN51RlXcUjqDL7Ra2mQruy2cOuvIrTW3ztaGtc1MdgyiRhE61vhdGc/s400/11690007_exposure.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Some of the boys in their football kit – Marius, Levi, Lala, Petu and
Peti :-)</i></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
On the last
night of camp we have a disco with the kids. No matter how many times I see the
kids dancing it will always amaze me. The kids learn traditional Roma dancing
from a very early age and it’s impressive to say the least. The disco is always
a fantastic night where the kids have a great time, but it also means it’s the
last night we put our kids to bed for the last time as we had back to the
village the next day. At least for me this time, I knew I’d be doing another
camp.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The following
day we left camp early and the volunteers said goodbye to the kids until the
next day when we returned to give the kids their photos! Even though I wasn’t
leaving the village, it was still quite emotional seeing all the other
volunteers getting upset and the thought of me actually leaving after a full
month wasn’t exciting me!</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well that was my
first week in Romania, I’ll be posting about the rest of my trip soon! I’m sure
the anticipation will kill you! In the mean time I'll leave you with some of my favourite photos from my first week:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUcB0gnJKB1qIclMc8rQ56u08vOXkrDRbzGSPtVkQkSAvFzkd01X04QqF8Fl6G1j1c3KlU4i8rvSJrCwaNne0Pdv2GcHmEgK_b-XDIb4cQdvNVJIhzjdkMfPYYoUH4PoDuFEitleu0LpE/s1600/11690009_exposure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUcB0gnJKB1qIclMc8rQ56u08vOXkrDRbzGSPtVkQkSAvFzkd01X04QqF8Fl6G1j1c3KlU4i8rvSJrCwaNne0Pdv2GcHmEgK_b-XDIb4cQdvNVJIhzjdkMfPYYoUH4PoDuFEitleu0LpE/s400/11690009_exposure.JPG" width="266" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Say cheese!</i></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUhpZfmGTXWHjBsJu3WC54CTGBo5unnynCtrOO_adpozBpWFB3vcfCLrKIOmneWdfow_8S3mZ4_M2dKq02K9y6nkXTVY8xJ7nEk73_z-3wWDdfbxoH-NJcNM49MKkNcaD_cddgQB09Vs/s1600/11690012_exposure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMUhpZfmGTXWHjBsJu3WC54CTGBo5unnynCtrOO_adpozBpWFB3vcfCLrKIOmneWdfow_8S3mZ4_M2dKq02K9y6nkXTVY8xJ7nEk73_z-3wWDdfbxoH-NJcNM49MKkNcaD_cddgQB09Vs/s400/11690012_exposure.JPG" width="400" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Levi, Lala, me and Marius</i></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUqDrptfLnnsxo7VR0BD5uIH3v9XAexJtzkIqErseahbK2gvCWN9U2pXCxvJiyZkw2LwXM8iLaAENq8zHuyGY3fe_bes-XvfZyJEECXbu_PzoFg18ia1KNOd87S2V6UhYqiJsMiOA9hs/s1600/11690013_exposure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUqDrptfLnnsxo7VR0BD5uIH3v9XAexJtzkIqErseahbK2gvCWN9U2pXCxvJiyZkw2LwXM8iLaAENq8zHuyGY3fe_bes-XvfZyJEECXbu_PzoFg18ia1KNOd87S2V6UhYqiJsMiOA9hs/s400/11690013_exposure.JPG" width="266" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Me and Lala :-)</i></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg64_q2xDF9HRJBZqkys-E0Mrhyphenhyphen_f0XH_z87lJMMk1XL0p5lvvJ5KFW1xoYXx2IJwUA8RBdz1-fXN3tYFI-j26OO0ntK_MFrIZM4Vki1O2WdeccWWtss_k_r9xKNmAoWXglJ8hxQ_r7C1g/s1600/480530_10151127972570853_8495848_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg64_q2xDF9HRJBZqkys-E0Mrhyphenhyphen_f0XH_z87lJMMk1XL0p5lvvJ5KFW1xoYXx2IJwUA8RBdz1-fXN3tYFI-j26OO0ntK_MFrIZM4Vki1O2WdeccWWtss_k_r9xKNmAoWXglJ8hxQ_r7C1g/s400/480530_10151127972570853_8495848_n.jpg" width="400" /></i></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>All of my boys and me and Laura!</i></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<!--EndFragment-->laura_mchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898227110563937206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2506493828887173799.post-82895488409536438252012-06-13T11:05:00.007-07:002012-06-13T11:29:57.676-07:00A Weekend in Milan<link href="file://localhost/Users/lauramcdonald/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Just got back from a weekend in Milan. I’ll admit Milan wasn’t ever on my list of places I wanted to visit. Rome and Venice would definitely have been higher up on my list of Italian cities to visit, but cheap flights (£44 return!) and the urge to have a weekend away called! Despite not really being that interested in going, it was an amazing few days and it may have made it as my top European city (I’ll have to give that some thought though, don’t want to be too hasty).</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here are my highlights from the weekend:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Duomo – Not to be missed!</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Wow. Just wow. I’d Googled it before leaving and thought it looked impressive, but boy it was so much more in real life! <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">It really was breathtaking and just as impressive in the day as it was at night then even more so when you’re on the roof of it! We took the stairs up, as I was being stubborn about paying an extra 5 euros just to get the lift! Although I started to regret my stubbornness about half way up the 250 steps you have to climb up! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The view from the top was amazing, luckily we had nice weather compared to the previous day and that night when we had really bad thunderstorms. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgicBBMAMgPOz79sLVjgD1jKezbP6k_vmrg4cVLdhs-ZseSh6jkGjDUq_dGxgXPgpQqFg7lNzXOv25gIbKiCNP4iVGby2J2OQKDN3zte6kJ28iXF22nmpvZrCcCTb_aHG8GfioXcTq8gZk/s1600/Leaning+duomo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgicBBMAMgPOz79sLVjgD1jKezbP6k_vmrg4cVLdhs-ZseSh6jkGjDUq_dGxgXPgpQqFg7lNzXOv25gIbKiCNP4iVGby2J2OQKDN3zte6kJ28iXF22nmpvZrCcCTb_aHG8GfioXcTq8gZk/s320/Leaning+duomo.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Just resting against the Duomo...</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgknYT5X-gNWY4dKo4F-vZ8pJA9SRxJ6KOhwr9Zn3BNqSJyQO-Zdmh0QFFNUZS6PHf-a3ZM59pweI7iQJn6PfuD20eEJgMZTnBR6VlN0RG97E43VOxwECDuoBXCfFPGglcosQnSRK9E_7E/s1600/Duomo+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgknYT5X-gNWY4dKo4F-vZ8pJA9SRxJ6KOhwr9Zn3BNqSJyQO-Zdmh0QFFNUZS6PHf-a3ZM59pweI7iQJn6PfuD20eEJgMZTnBR6VlN0RG97E43VOxwECDuoBXCfFPGglcosQnSRK9E_7E/s320/Duomo+.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Almost at the top</i></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQtJN7K8kqDd3ZWLBI0NmAJwEW-9yl9W9FjmCGWqJyL02luYgEm7bXsecBHlPQDgP9uyf-taSHeOdXEatuyvMqHI-EHVVRq_HA1NZGydozQ3ANy1ELMd2raAE1nRFNfazR0S931Rp3gc/s1600/Me+aarti+katie+duomo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQtJN7K8kqDd3ZWLBI0NmAJwEW-9yl9W9FjmCGWqJyL02luYgEm7bXsecBHlPQDgP9uyf-taSHeOdXEatuyvMqHI-EHVVRq_HA1NZGydozQ3ANy1ELMd2raAE1nRFNfazR0S931Rp3gc/s320/Me+aarti+katie+duomo.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>On the roof finally!</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI91eLWc2KasMYv9fVjg_9O1eKyjLKOr9_I7wB1_VBYF5nYH0ml7ZuElYBhg1cbLGHgoqGm5TaQpOQaytiT3oKVFe_EHuL9r9LlycTRyQTEI_0leTnCo243pB0-l2t0K4_Xyyl88A1rp0/s1600/Duomo+at+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI91eLWc2KasMYv9fVjg_9O1eKyjLKOr9_I7wB1_VBYF5nYH0ml7ZuElYBhg1cbLGHgoqGm5TaQpOQaytiT3oKVFe_EHuL9r9LlycTRyQTEI_0leTnCo243pB0-l2t0K4_Xyyl88A1rp0/s320/Duomo+at+night.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>At night</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRkQVFtqa49Ej8CDuoiISIot1xqhvhAf_xhYW9a7Ducz4Va530hsGFK4aEw0zOPWbTMaNrry8E3GiVvOAjWdbXhmHroVFAiAACyeMtzdQ4X8oCCuxAJ5qcPFyKfEI7bPYYSEtzgG1CmU/s1600/Inside+duomo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRkQVFtqa49Ej8CDuoiISIot1xqhvhAf_xhYW9a7Ducz4Va530hsGFK4aEw0zOPWbTMaNrry8E3GiVvOAjWdbXhmHroVFAiAACyeMtzdQ4X8oCCuxAJ5qcPFyKfEI7bPYYSEtzgG1CmU/s320/Inside+duomo.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Just as impressive inside</i></span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Tour of the San Siro</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A must see for any football fans. As one of the only stadiums where two rival teams share the ground, it certainly doesn’t lack in history or character. The tour costs 13 euros, which is definitely worth paying. It starts in the museum, which is divided into a red and black and a blue and black side. Notably the AC Milan side was showcasing lots more memorabilia and trophies. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Impressive</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Yup that's me in the stadium</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj128hc97rAdRbRkYJ9nelK5eQl6kIdFoejNuWCrionxu0WTq4RC7tEggLJOKBGpFTvhtwWTF839RWJ6aXYoj-E9tOqMhFrfOtwWBq1yScFy8FMNKqkhbrcqV4iaVqx_RMyHHglblepFU/s1600/AC+milan+changing+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj128hc97rAdRbRkYJ9nelK5eQl6kIdFoejNuWCrionxu0WTq4RC7tEggLJOKBGpFTvhtwWTF839RWJ6aXYoj-E9tOqMhFrfOtwWBq1yScFy8FMNKqkhbrcqV4iaVqx_RMyHHglblepFU/s320/AC+milan+changing+room.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Brazilian corner of the AC changing room</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcU8w0hCoSVjfNWGjLBX9oxV9Yta2DD0bhBirEUOaCD1jmF5o00ysYVCHhJZiSIBvqMGIL8kGcD0SUhti2FghM-__iPwWkfDjwQ5tY7RstiQyqcXwDyvHLxO3kmaJtwQkgdGcAaitNNb8/s1600/Champions+league.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcU8w0hCoSVjfNWGjLBX9oxV9Yta2DD0bhBirEUOaCD1jmF5o00ysYVCHhJZiSIBvqMGIL8kGcD0SUhti2FghM-__iPwWkfDjwQ5tY7RstiQyqcXwDyvHLxO3kmaJtwQkgdGcAaitNNb8/s320/Champions+league.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>No explanation needed</i></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The tour of the stadium was ruined a little as they were putting up a stage for Madonna playing there in a few weeks. Still, the ground was impressive. I’d love to go there for a game one day, the atmosphere would be immense. The tour of the changing rooms was my favorite part, pretty weird sitting in the changing rooms where so many football legends have sat over the years. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">After going to the Nou Camp for a tour and to watch a game I wasn’t as impressed as with the San Siro but it still beats Bradford City’s ground (yup, that’s who I support unfortunately!). </span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Visiting One of the Oldest Shopping Mall</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is one of the oldest and most impressive shopping malls in the world. Unfortunately I don’t have money (or style!) to be able to take advantage of the luxury shopping! I’ve never seen Louis Vuitton and McDonald’s so close to each other in the same mall before.</span></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwI8JcbLT2_iwS7UGRHAFn5NXAIlKZbtLl1ULX-ygbS-iKxByuSHipfuy7VLEEMTJ21zFoKsyJc4_3wEq-TnJT2hQJN_Vtv8_gv5qTRYQESnIHYDh5A1H_kq8zxX-dGJhsrefUOcq9uyU/s1600/IMG_2219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwI8JcbLT2_iwS7UGRHAFn5NXAIlKZbtLl1ULX-ygbS-iKxByuSHipfuy7VLEEMTJ21zFoKsyJc4_3wEq-TnJT2hQJN_Vtv8_gv5qTRYQESnIHYDh5A1H_kq8zxX-dGJhsrefUOcq9uyU/s320/IMG_2219.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Not a bad shopping mall</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">If you’re prepared to pay a little over the odds for a nice meal it’s well worth eating at one of the restaurants inside. We ate there twice out of the three nights we were there and it was definitely worth it. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Watching the Italy Game in the Pub</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Italy were playing Spain in the Euros, so naturally wanted to experience the atmosphere of the Italians. We were all set to go find the big screen by the Duomo to watch the game on, but ended up losing two of my friends and confusion with the non English speaking taxi driver meant we missed the first bit of the game and just got dropped off in the middle of nowhere at a very local pub. But it was great, the atmosphere was amazing, especially when Italy scored early on.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Despite being the only English people in the pub and stranded in the middle of nowhere (we didn’t have a map or a clue where the nearest taxis/buses/trams were) it was a great night and probably turned out better than if we watched it with all the other tourists. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5AiwZpLnh9jjp8_hg83uMSdSDvMVUR_Vqj6KnWlXYcyXBDwIZBugTP_3vKl9Jv7uilEZBdBcFDgc1FR56EIZOe2f3HrWt7X1qZjz69eftsv-6ePnoj4ZDaQ1KpODDW_mTRgKGfrziQVo/s1600/IMG_2416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5AiwZpLnh9jjp8_hg83uMSdSDvMVUR_Vqj6KnWlXYcyXBDwIZBugTP_3vKl9Jv7uilEZBdBcFDgc1FR56EIZOe2f3HrWt7X1qZjz69eftsv-6ePnoj4ZDaQ1KpODDW_mTRgKGfrziQVo/s320/IMG_2416.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The pub had every English clubs scarf </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>apart from Bradford it would seem...</i></span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A Pretend Venice Experience</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I didn’t realize there was a canal where you can take boat tours in Milan, now I’ve never been to Venice so can’t really compare and I’m sure it’s nothing alike at all, but it was really nice. We didn’t get to go on a boat trip as they fill up pretty quick, so think you’d need to book in advance. The surrounding area is really nice though, loads of shops, cafes and a market that runs along the top of the main street. We also visited an unexpected art gallery, which looked like it was just the entrance to some apartments. There were loads of really cool paintings (and even a wedding dress shop). If I hadn’t just had a small bag as hand luggage I’d definitely have bought a painting or two. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKv7mlpzeVw636dWWqYxLuATf_qhT0jrclpkww64kODcEzvBQ5YoaM8AO2wV7SCoQCQxT7_eo2HfIMSmO-MnHr0Ay_xNXrQw0Mys4BPdaIz03xybpqiarWnw3mRSXq-stWUApBbZ5HUsw/s1600/IMG_2401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKv7mlpzeVw636dWWqYxLuATf_qhT0jrclpkww64kODcEzvBQ5YoaM8AO2wV7SCoQCQxT7_eo2HfIMSmO-MnHr0Ay_xNXrQw0Mys4BPdaIz03xybpqiarWnw3mRSXq-stWUApBbZ5HUsw/s320/IMG_2401.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCDJEC0rKr2la-L_oswtBvnqrFkstzijoWSCXSBtS6aA7MZ9guSxuRaxSrtU2fdHiYhaMXRawlexA0Q2YXMV_beCXdgSzHd7fiISemWe9OFqyMCzdkZEMoj9zUnmp-gSz8xK9wxRINE0/s1600/IMG_2412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCDJEC0rKr2la-L_oswtBvnqrFkstzijoWSCXSBtS6aA7MZ9guSxuRaxSrtU2fdHiYhaMXRawlexA0Q2YXMV_beCXdgSzHd7fiISemWe9OFqyMCzdkZEMoj9zUnmp-gSz8xK9wxRINE0/s320/IMG_2412.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-PP5YMHtVpi21TfvNt26hASTX6eb7hdaiVB4h628JrUlo2NNz1fh1004gBS5MI3oiPFUMV-LFsnB4GMcPfb-axq7NdyIGNJ-w0wTsL8hDnfn9ESCAmnUacBKe2o98CInlQfTVTl45iA/s1600/IMG_2413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1-PP5YMHtVpi21TfvNt26hASTX6eb7hdaiVB4h628JrUlo2NNz1fh1004gBS5MI3oiPFUMV-LFsnB4GMcPfb-axq7NdyIGNJ-w0wTsL8hDnfn9ESCAmnUacBKe2o98CInlQfTVTl45iA/s320/IMG_2413.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Open Tour Bus</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Okay, this is going to make me sound like a typical tourist right now, but the open bus tour was a great way to see all the sites (funny that…). It only costs 20 Euros and the ticket is valid for 48 hours, which is really good value compared to others. Once we figured out where everything was we used it more as a taxi service than a tour bus. <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One thing not on my list that might surprise people is the lack of references to shopping! Milan might be the fashion capital and all, but the city has so much more to offer in its history, art galleries and impressive buildings. Plus I was on a budget and not really a big shopper so site seeing, eating (lots of pizza and pasta) and drinking suited me down to the ground.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Well that's my highlights from Milan… ciao!</span></div>
<br />laura_mchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898227110563937206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2506493828887173799.post-21740050680182259362012-05-31T14:27:00.003-07:002012-05-31T14:37:11.240-07:006 Reasons Why Everyone Should Volunteer Abroad in Their Lifetime<link href="file://localhost/Users/lauramcdonald/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1- It
puts everything else into perspective<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">How many times do we act as though something that
has happened will end the world? The supermarket running out of your favourite
food, the queue at the bank being really long - you name it, we all act like
these things are the worst thing that could happen. On my first every day visiting Valea Rece in
Romania, I saw things I never thought I would see in Europe; houses without
proper roofs/walls, children walking around (on glass) without shoes, babies
with no clothes on laying in the mud, rubbish everywhere and children no older
than 5 begging on the street. It’s then that you start to realize how good I
have things here. Yes, we all know poverty exists, but for me it was only when
I saw it first hand that it really put my life into perspective and realized
how lucky I was.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2- You’ll
experience some of your proudest moments<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Okay, so I might have felt proud when I scored a winning goal for my football team, or when I achieved my targets at work and I’m sure I’ll have a huge grin on my face when I graduate, but I will never ever forget the look on the Romanian kids faces when we gave them clothes for the winter! There is genuinely nothing else that I could feel more proud about than when we give clothes/toys/sweets to some of the poorest children in Europe.</span></span></span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglU9VN2lg_pmNloQvwfJRmwNtXaaNy47-JdDpKefONf4G-0zyP5t6D5rsfmjwrsce-Gem8gYDStZmawGNdrDQSuLJVmJrzbei2E1VdcfzO8Vbx92iiixcyWUaQ7xrX2VIPecEiGI5i5EQ/s1600/300013_10150902305320296_508250295_21310148_528909978_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglU9VN2lg_pmNloQvwfJRmwNtXaaNy47-JdDpKefONf4G-0zyP5t6D5rsfmjwrsce-Gem8gYDStZmawGNdrDQSuLJVmJrzbei2E1VdcfzO8Vbx92iiixcyWUaQ7xrX2VIPecEiGI5i5EQ/s400/300013_10150902305320296_508250295_21310148_528909978_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The kids waiting to get clothed. We gave to 316 this year :-)</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">3- Improve
your employability<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I’ll admit when I signed up to volunteer in Romania
with Leeds Met in 2008, I wanted to do something different to put on my CV. I
guess, I’m a bit ashamed of that now (see number 1 and 2) but I’d like to think
it’s made me much more employable. I’ve worked from when I was 16 so my CV has
never been bare but it was my experience in Romania that gets employers
interested. Every single interview I’ve attended have asked me about Romania
and the feedback from these interviews was that no-one else had that kind of
experience (I didn’t get the jobs for other reasons… but that’s another story!)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My current employers loved my volunteering experience
and I think you’ve got to do everything extra you can these days to stand out
and international volunteering ticks all the boxes!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">4 - Make
friends for life<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I never thought I would make some many friends from
volunteering, but I really have made some friends for life (cheesy I know!). I
met some of my best friends from Romania in 2008 and we’re still great friends
now. The one thing you’ll have in common with them is your experience. While
your other friends dread you saying “This one time in Romania….”, you’ll always
have your experiences to talk about with your volunteering friends. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Some of my Romanian besties :-)</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">5- Experience
new things</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Everyone experiences something different, I’ve been
to Romania 7 times and every time my experience has been completely different.
I love that volunteering is so unpredictable, one time I went to Romania we
sung and danced to Greece Lightning at 3am with the locals. Another time we had
a singsong sat with 65 kids sat around a bonfire. One of my favourite memories
of Romania (am I saying the R word too much?!) was the night when we were
followed by a creepy man on a bike (it was okay in the end), we stayed on
mattresses on the floor in a nursery and had two of the lads from the village
as our body guards (in case said creepy bike man appeared). It was the first
night of us getting there, but turned out to be the best icebreaker we could
have. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjABBpU4TVfMrIq17Mtu-kdCMsDVCgQ5pPGCfA_Gp-cZ4QSq7OilCsNZmveX9P0VU0VwVAzEqG-ciAgu2vwNUGlP4qHfEB8hyMVj8E3sPkaREHNuQhEwpvhHna3cqPLnGsFRnAvZkINXPQ/s1600/5132_208911540211_1426421_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjABBpU4TVfMrIq17Mtu-kdCMsDVCgQ5pPGCfA_Gp-cZ4QSq7OilCsNZmveX9P0VU0VwVAzEqG-ciAgu2vwNUGlP4qHfEB8hyMVj8E3sPkaREHNuQhEwpvhHna3cqPLnGsFRnAvZkINXPQ/s400/5132_208911540211_1426421_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The night of the bike man</i></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">6- It’s
a life changing experience<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It really is a life changing experience, I never
thought volunteering would have this much impact on my life. But it’s something
I can never stop thinking about. I spend a lot of my time collecting clothes
and doing fundraising events. <o:p></o:p></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">It’s not just the charity side of it’s that’s made it a life changing experience though, it’s also helped develop me as a person. Four years ago I had hardly any confidence and hadn’t done anything like this before. It sounds stupid, but for me it was a big deal and I did almost wimp out! I always remember the look of fear on my mums face when I got on the coach with 11 strangers! She sent me a text 10 minutes later saying ‘are you going to be okay’. Well, I was okay thanks mum!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>My boys :-)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLg3UWsjqE5ijI0uTMhjlKJj_QZNHdSsK7FeRrnnZGryPfKcbDx9sZIxo0t_A4-UAZ18c7xM2Kn3o7E9_jANLaB0YlDc6xK5e2IUfgz5XCEooY0QPci2RZ4IM1ntI9UP4uG_JqMzZ0WI/s1600/Romania1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLg3UWsjqE5ijI0uTMhjlKJj_QZNHdSsK7FeRrnnZGryPfKcbDx9sZIxo0t_A4-UAZ18c7xM2Kn3o7E9_jANLaB0YlDc6xK5e2IUfgz5XCEooY0QPci2RZ4IM1ntI9UP4uG_JqMzZ0WI/s400/Romania1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>One of my favourite Romania pics</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11pt;">Point of this long article?! - </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Do it! </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>laura_mchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898227110563937206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2506493828887173799.post-33406540241978292142012-05-14T14:08:00.001-07:002012-05-15T14:14:39.536-07:00To Intern or Not to Intern…That is the Question!<link href="file://localhost/Users/lauramcdonald/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0/clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Internships
seems to be a popular talking point at the minute. So, after interning for a
year, I thought I’d give my two pennies worth (if that’s the right phrase?!)….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Many
employers are accused of exploiting their interns, but how can they be
exploiting someone who knew exactly what they were being hired for? I completed
a years internship working in marketing and knew exactly what I was getting
myself in for. Yes the tasks were tedious, yes the money was pants and yes I
would have preferred a paid job, but it was the experience I wanted and needed
and that’s exactly what I got!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I
started packing brochures and writing repetitive emails but that comes with the
job title I guess. You’ve just got to persevere, show enthusiasm and you’ll be
rewarding in the end! I was anyway, my work kept me on part time whilst
finishing my final year of uni then hired me full time straight after
finishing. Proof that a one years internship pays off right? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Don’t
get me wrong it’s not all plain sailing! There were many times I got a bit depressed
about the rubbish wage and even more so when I worked out what I was on an
hour…£1.34! I did consider getting a weekend job to help finance it, but I’m
glad I didn’t. That way I was still enthusiastic and committed to my job, instead
of being tempted by more money at a more rubbish job (I’m good at English
really!) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My
advice is make the most out of it and think about what’s at the end of the
rainbow so to speak. It’s all experience and that’s what counts…. How old does
that make me sound? <o:p></o:p></span></div>laura_mchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898227110563937206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2506493828887173799.post-55498217644635963892012-05-14T12:24:00.002-07:002012-05-14T12:27:46.510-07:00My Daily Commute – All the Things that Irritate me<link href="file://localhost/Users/lauramcdonald/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the signs of getting older
(I may only be 22, but sometimes I feel like I’m 42!) is that everything seems
to annoy me. Practically everything on my commute to uni or work irritates me. I
think I’ve always been annoyed by these things on some level, but it’s only now
that I’m actually dedicating time to have rant about it… is that the definition
of getting older?!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">People on the train/bus taking up two seats.</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"> I’m sure I’ve been guilty of this sometime
in the past, but if it’s busy how hard is it to move your bag so someone can
sit down?! Unless someone has paid for two seats, one for them and one for
their bags and/or feet then fine! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">Handing a bus driver a £10/£20 note.</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"> Why is it when you give a bus driver a note they look at you like
you’re trying to give them drugs?! I’m made to feel guilty every time I give
them a note when they always have enough change anyway!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">People running for the train when they still have 5 minutes before
it sets off!</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"> Okay, so this one really
shouldn’t annoy me. But as soon as one person starts running, it sets everyone
else getting the train to run too. Then when I’m the only person one not
running I start to wonder whether I’ve got the time of the train wrong (even
though it’s the same time everyday and I know that) so I start to run too. Then
I sit on the train with minutes to spare, oh well at least I get a seat for a
change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">Pigeons </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">(Nothing to
do with public transport but part of my journey which annoys me!). They are the
most annoying animals ever! The streets of Leeds City centre seem to be full of
them. It’s not the actual pigeon that annoys me, it’s when they start flying
off and I think they are coming really close to me. So obviously I duck out of
the way, then realize they weren’t coming anywhere near me so I just look like
a crazy person ducking! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">Rant over… for today anyway! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;">P.s I’m not an angry person, in
fact I’m usually positive about most things but there is something about public
transport that makes you mad! I hope someone reading can relate to some of these
things… otherwise I sound like I need help!<o:p></o:p></span></div>laura_mchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898227110563937206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2506493828887173799.post-91172616371894346592012-02-04T16:32:00.000-08:002012-05-15T14:21:52.553-07:00Snowboarding Looked So Easy on the Wii…<link href="file://localhost/Users/lauramcdonald/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0/clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US">I was Number 2
in the world on a snowboarding game, so how could I be so bad at it in real
life?! Turns out it’s a lot easier in the virtual wolrd </span><span lang="EN-US">:-(</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I’ve recently
just returned from Pamporovo, Bulgaria for my second trip there. I skied for
the first time there last year. I had lessons for a week but it was
snowboarding I took to straight away. I did a two hour snowboard taster and
loved it, so I switched to that this year. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I took
beginners snowboarding lessons and boy did I need them! I thought I was quite
good at snowboarding after my two hour taster the year before, but turns out I
was wrong about that too! I have never fallen so much in my life than I did on
my first day of lessons. Good job there was lots of snow to cushion my falls! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">It took my four
days just to master how to turn, but once I had that I could start going
on the runs. I was very close to giving up on day 3, but glad I persevered. By the end
of the week I went on green, blue and red runs so was really pleased. I was
also really glad I was able to go down some runs with my fiance Kyle, who skis (boo,
hiss!). Although I don’t think he was too pleased as he spent more time waiting
for me to get back up from my falls or push me down the slope when it wasn’t
steep enough than he did actually skiing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I really
considered doing some black runs and some jumps on the last day, but I think it
was a wise decision not to and come back with fully functioning limbs!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Anyway, despite
the slow start I had an amazing week and will definitely be sticking to
snowboarding! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkUSlDXGFBIa9NFJ63fyhR16193m5By4T8WRmV_9RrcvVyXP80r7RJBuHsl8cS2E7_kdDzE1Zr8f2yE7ZJmnbj5YnUNxdeTyJCaryhksXJfP1uQHFRI2KP8-SZhJLknIrlXJd6b5CO5o/s1600/IMG_1987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxkUSlDXGFBIa9NFJ63fyhR16193m5By4T8WRmV_9RrcvVyXP80r7RJBuHsl8cS2E7_kdDzE1Zr8f2yE7ZJmnbj5YnUNxdeTyJCaryhksXJfP1uQHFRI2KP8-SZhJLknIrlXJd6b5CO5o/s320/IMG_1987.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The snow went up to my knees</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8a8Lz5lZbUJMGp0LuPUpihAiRbkITrwpMiS5FHBrVLg0Jj0SLxztSx7Mesx87fd09SiKX0xb8Egcq8BwwBqHAy_DNyNky6MV6ScDcKa30GnfzNItWfUoL4QTlOYJ2IjBdaOGNhj8KSs/s1600/IMG_2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8a8Lz5lZbUJMGp0LuPUpihAiRbkITrwpMiS5FHBrVLg0Jj0SLxztSx7Mesx87fd09SiKX0xb8Egcq8BwwBqHAy_DNyNky6MV6ScDcKa30GnfzNItWfUoL4QTlOYJ2IjBdaOGNhj8KSs/s320/IMG_2015.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A little difficult to see where you were going..</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNgUkuRhLxSJlhh3MVqgpzYn8CCyZd2IiKazwXhdhpicqM3fczAdejy5BNL2HJFt3EbEIvBdE03XoiZhzAW80JhAyxgFamKqJGznhTv4Vjby5rwPwRuoiNKLDB-8c3E3WqIHd1H938RNA/s1600/IMG_2067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNgUkuRhLxSJlhh3MVqgpzYn8CCyZd2IiKazwXhdhpicqM3fczAdejy5BNL2HJFt3EbEIvBdE03XoiZhzAW80JhAyxgFamKqJGznhTv4Vjby5rwPwRuoiNKLDB-8c3E3WqIHd1H938RNA/s320/IMG_2067.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My favourite photo - I should be a professional!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijgiRw-_pH6voJ12CQaEAkr7IhU6vWonAHQtnj8Do0bokmqrrurEu7tgTJ4-6TMes5-yy0atfAIoZkix7Hn15cy35T1DLqPQ7sf3i8TC1pAvh0WO0f37s_UAUFmYYR4m-m4OJq8pZ2E-k/s1600/IMG_2072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijgiRw-_pH6voJ12CQaEAkr7IhU6vWonAHQtnj8Do0bokmqrrurEu7tgTJ4-6TMes5-yy0atfAIoZkix7Hn15cy35T1DLqPQ7sf3i8TC1pAvh0WO0f37s_UAUFmYYR4m-m4OJq8pZ2E-k/s320/IMG_2072.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The sun finally made an appearance</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgamhK_DYtwykvAv3jHVVxfcMb4wxjFiTZRS8Og10D-ETfcG56R_n6BYwnufoh39At_3J7rg51G-jIvbOeaFCsGhvaW1yH9-sj8-OdU5Md8asZmSEM16e5sY7E-x7xc_n54TCSXODsBUtk/s1600/IMG_2090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgamhK_DYtwykvAv3jHVVxfcMb4wxjFiTZRS8Og10D-ETfcG56R_n6BYwnufoh39At_3J7rg51G-jIvbOeaFCsGhvaW1yH9-sj8-OdU5Md8asZmSEM16e5sY7E-x7xc_n54TCSXODsBUtk/s320/IMG_2090.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Proof I wasn't on the floor the whole time</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>laura_mchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898227110563937206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2506493828887173799.post-72173585051817134882012-02-04T14:41:00.000-08:002012-05-15T14:19:49.600-07:00My Bucket List<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hey!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is my first ever personal blog so be nice! I've wrote loads of blogs at work, but never had the urge to start my own personal blog until now... </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've heard lots about people's Bucket Lists recently and have just watched 'An Idiot Abroad' so Karl Pilkington has inspired me to write my own. So, here's mine:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<link href="file://localhost/Users/lauramcdonald/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0/clip_filelist.xml" rel="File-List"></link>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Swim with dolphins</span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Visit every continent</span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Do a 360 on a snowboard</span></b></span></div>
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<s><span lang="EN-US"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sky dive<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></s></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Start my own business</span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Run a marathon </b>(and not be overtaken by a
70 year old man!) - I ran a 10 mile run and came about 10th last out of 500 people... true story unfortunately! </span></span></div>
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<s><span lang="EN-US"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Go to a world cup<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></s></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Climb a mountain</span></b></span></div>
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<s><span lang="EN-US"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Ride in a hot air balloon (get engaged
on one too!)<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></s></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Go paragliding</span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Go hiking in a rainforest </span></b></span></div>
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<s><span lang="EN-US"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Go on a safari<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></s></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">See the Great Wall of China</span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Visit at least 30 countries (on 12 at the
minute)</span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Travel round South America</span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Get a degree</b> - I'll hopefully have this in July, as long as I don't mess up my last semester!</span></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay so I've cheated a little bit by putting things that I've already done... but at 22 I'm really lucky to be able to tick off some of these things. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll explain the hot air balloon one (I like telling the story!). I went to the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 and my boyfriend, Kyle proposed to me on a hot air balloon. Obviously I said yes, if I hadn't I'm sure one of us would have jumped out of the balloon! Later on that day we went to watch Brazil play the Ivory Coast, so yeah not the worst day I've had! </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Just about to get engaged :-)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQjkIzrZDFJyqcYzoq4R5aXRGTqmk4w0gLTjX9jaflAOjmHY905GrHQMAaYe5XDEkwHderc1UA3jQNsA_cnkUM72olRVXi34VtRLgA9RXgervmdTbikHVfZNlhVLPbJVh8IKcwQoJWQVQ/s1600/DSC00083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQjkIzrZDFJyqcYzoq4R5aXRGTqmk4w0gLTjX9jaflAOjmHY905GrHQMAaYe5XDEkwHderc1UA3jQNsA_cnkUM72olRVXi34VtRLgA9RXgervmdTbikHVfZNlhVLPbJVh8IKcwQoJWQVQ/s320/DSC00083.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Not a bad view from the hot air balloon!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn1wGBlzq0Xq1lRh53ABsVr4bAF8O5M7cFfd9BUP5DfPMxDqc0v_ysnGTmQuL1m18TojBLO5_rcWOrMph7Ff1DMasfGD59cB8_wjMaSoTy9EqMT4okOULierWguZLHc_fy7nM1E67TDgw/s1600/DSC00340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn1wGBlzq0Xq1lRh53ABsVr4bAF8O5M7cFfd9BUP5DfPMxDqc0v_ysnGTmQuL1m18TojBLO5_rcWOrMph7Ff1DMasfGD59cB8_wjMaSoTy9EqMT4okOULierWguZLHc_fy7nM1E67TDgw/s320/DSC00340.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">One of the big 5 we saw on safari</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8X23aJaFixuvVyUSVKUCiPIqPJfk270MIOC3gewXijLsTF8e9BHTlFr904KrCPXfIBx6l2vHC5cHZ6F-9u6LdzbpYWl7770YAczXzZt4vxKGu51vOUi54cDsB_7QJsXf84iMW0rvaKE/s1600/IMG_4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8X23aJaFixuvVyUSVKUCiPIqPJfk270MIOC3gewXijLsTF8e9BHTlFr904KrCPXfIBx6l2vHC5cHZ6F-9u6LdzbpYWl7770YAczXzZt4vxKGu51vOUi54cDsB_7QJsXf84iMW0rvaKE/s320/IMG_4.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></span></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Here's me throwing myself out of a plane (not sure why the plane looks like it's going to attack us)</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span>laura_mchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14898227110563937206noreply@blogger.com0