I’ve always wanted to learn a different language, going to another country and expecting the natives to instantly know English is something that I have always thought as ignorant and yes I hold my hands up, am I guilty to this.
The most common example of what I describe as a ‘typical’ brit abroad is easily depicted by spotting the first person that is glowing white after being slathered in sun cream, wearing kahki shorts, sporting the socks with sandals look and with the knowledge of a foreign language going as far as ‘une beero pleaso.’
And as much as this seems to get us where we need to be on holiday I really want the opportunity to be able to do more than this, I want to be able to interact with other people, I want to be able to read a menu, and see the country for its self beyond the mickey mouse tourist resorts im normally immersed in.
Iv gone on a search how i should go about my new adventure,and actually found courses at The University of Arts where I am currently studying which is available at a first come first served basis. Courses have a wide range of languages available and are charged at specified rate, not only this but there set in the evening so it fits around my future uni timetables.
Just a short but sweet post for today; I spent the day with my Dad today, and it made me realise sometimes the man never does talk some sense; and I quote
‘As you grow older. you’ll find the only things you regret are the things you don’t do.’
I love spending days looking over old photos reminiscing, laughing/crying/cringing at that infamous bad hair cut, the first day at school, 18th birthdays and special days out spent with families and friends. I take the preciousness of photographs for granted and it is only after looking back that I realise this. Therefore from now on I want to try and capture and preserve as many memories as I possibly can so I can continue to look back and get lost in past memories and joys.
P.S Urging fellow bloggers to dig out old photos and create new ones to share too!
P.P.S No tortoise was hurt during the making of this montage, for bookings for Simon the Tortoise please contact.
Since we’re on the topic of fresh starts and resolutions I thought it would seem fitting to get my body in the same mindset, start getting fit and really look after my body. And since becoming a newly fully fledged Super Saver I have decided to do it all in the cheapest way I can :]
I think the hardest part of committing to working out that I’ve found in the past is finding the motivation. However, this time round I feel as though I have cracked the da vinci code, discovered the last horcrux, unvailed the miracle cure;
Whos with me!?
Working out is never going to be easy alone, so I’v got together with a group of friends and made it something thats fun,social and at times even competitive. In addition to this I think its even more important to make it something you enjoy, I cant stand the usual ‘jog here’ ‘tense this’ ‘lift that’ usual remedy for working out; its too boring, too futile and uninspiring. So my friends and I have have clubbed together and put money towards a Dancing Workout dvd. Throughout it your taught dance moves to popular songs which makes you forget that your even doing exercise in the first place!
What once was felt like an absolute chore has been transformed into a deffinite change of perspective!
Its that time of the month again, yes,my bank statement arrived today. And as usual the first word that comes to mind is a resounding ‘shit.‘ This monthly horror that Iendure is what spurred me on to write this post; The more ideas and adventures that I set out to to do in this blog the more I begin to realise the small problem that I have in order to make my plans possible…KERCHINGGG;money and after planting my money tree in my garden many years ago, I’m still waiting for its first blossoms to arrive and sadly have come to the conclusion;money doesn’t grow on trees after all.
😦
Being a stereotypical student, money and saving are not friends that I know or see that often, infact I am more familiar with my friends debt and overdraft. And as much as I have been able to survive up until now with this unconventional relationship I have decided to budget my lifestyle in order to fund my plans for this year and for the foreseeable future.
It is pretty obvious to discover a re-occuring habit that seems to be the culprit of my ridiculous spendings and so from now it is goodbye online shopping, so long eating out, au revouir nights out and hello super saver.
The 10 Commandments of a Super Saver
Ebay!- Iv set up my own ebay account so I can now start selling some of my things spare cash, not only that but it is also good for finding the odd cheap bargain too!
Recycling- Get green and start hunting for your old electronics and send them off to get recycled and get a rewarded cash, heres a website that I use for my retired gadgets https://tradein.asda.com/
Walk- I’ve become so dependent on my car that even trips that are just down the road I will drive to therefore iv started saving money and now walk/cycle get fit and save money all at once!
Cook- Sounds like a no brainer, but the amount of money I spend on eating out without realising is ridiculous therefore eating in is now the way forward!
Lists- Writing shopping lists and sticking to them cuts out all impulse distractions and buying!!
Quit smoking- A personal one for me which is a pocket burner, using this calculator I have worked out I spend £34.28 per month thats just under £500 😮 check out how much your habit is costing you here http://smokefree.nhs.uk/quit-tools/calculate-the-cost/
Invest- in a NUS extra student card for just £11 and start taking advantage of the discounts for popular high street shops, restaurants, holidays and more get saving!! http://www.nus.org.uk/en/nus-extra/
Creativity- Get creative and start making, wether it be cards, presents or anything else, after all its the thought that counts!!
Stay in- Swap nights out for a free night in, socialising with friends at home is free,fun and saves you money and the hangover!
Libraries- Take advantage of your local library, loan dvd’s, books and cd’s and instantly eliminate the money that is normally spent on renting and buying them!
In need of some incentive to get through the last few assignments left for this term at university and what better way to procrastinate and distract me but holiday searching!!!I always get so excited about summer holidays, the build up the planning the shopping the adventure and if this doesn’t get me way me motivated to finish up all my work then I don’t know what will!!
After the annual argument as to what destination to choose this year I have come up with a list of possible places which I would want to jet off to help me to decide.
Egypt- Hot all year round, cheap, camel rides, snorkling, desert tours.
Turkey- Also cheap, rich culture, water parks galore!
Morroco- Friends have had a good experience before, Sahara trekking, old market towns
Greece- Greek food NOMNOMNOM, heat, short flight
When it comes to holidays I am not fussy as long as it is hot hot hot, theres a pool, a long list of reading books and activities to do then I am a happy hoildayer. However I have got myself in a holiday rut and as much as I’m enjoying putting off any work i thought it would be interesting to have a holiday vote off, so help me decide!
I spent my entire weekend going through all my old things sorting things that I was going to throw out and what not, possibly the most put off chore I have been delaying for the past few months. However, four bin liners later full of clothes and other odd ends that the idea came to me. There must be someone who would find use of all my things, some of which still actually had labels on, it seemed such a waste just to throw lazily into the bin.
So, with this and my list of things that to do this year in mind, I decided to do my bit for charity as often as I can no matter how small it seems. With my good deed of the day in full swing, off I went with all my ‘rubbish’ to my local Oxfam so that it could be transformed into something that could in actual fact save lives. Every year the Oxfam charity raises £23million just from its store donations which goes towards helping all of the people that live in poverty. My contribution isn’t the biggest, I know it wont fix much, but just walking out of the shop and knowing that I had some sort of involvement in helping people that live in poverty to have something like clean water, or the opportunity to get an education, things that I and I’m sure many others take ridiculously for granted is a feeling of indescribable satisfaction and hope.
Im already thinking of what things I can donate again or any other things I can do to continue giving for such a good causebut iIn the meantime my main hope is to have spurred you on to rummage around for anything that you too could give to save a life!!!
Its that time of year again;Spring is creeping in on us and that only means one thing for me. After hanging up my welly boots after last summers festival frenzy, it was the start of a long winter of eating everything in sight and hibernating. However, its back round again and its time to come out and start preparing for a summer galivanting through fields.
Time to start rummaging around to find oversized sunglasses, the denim shorts and other festival attire to be dug out along with the infamous tent from previous years to make yet another valiant appearance. In most cases the tent will be still covered in mud, still continuing to provide a strong stench of cheap beer, cigarettes, countless amounts of baby wipes and irreplaceable memories made with my friends and the new friends we make on our festival travels. Nothing beats the fun you can get with a £15 Tesco value shit trustworthy tent; you’d be surprised.
As a keen festival go-er I have compiled a checklist for potential festivalers which I abide by for festival survival every year.
Hoping this helps :]
WATERPROOF tent
Suitable bags to carry your things in (dont be that person who thinks this includes suitcases and designer handbags)
Decent sleeping equipment ( to survive what feels like subzero temperatures)
Your tickets (sounds obvious but I have deffinitley left before without them… never a good start)
GALLONS of water (okay maybe not gallons but take some with you, festivals are prime targets for dehydration)
Baby wipes and lots of them (No one likes a smelly camper)
Toiletries
First Aid Kit ( stock up on plasters, having a blister ruin your trip is never fun, nor is your constant moaning and embarassing limp that you gain)
Clothing/Waterproofs
Sunglasses (best thing to have to successfully disguise how hungover/tired you actually feel)
Welly boots
Suncream (just incase, always expect the unexpected)
Torch (you never want to walk back to the wrong tent it gets a bit awkward)
BEER,BEER AND BEER (self explanatory)
Most importantly remember to take only what you can carry, no matter how much you beg and cry no one else will carry your things for you. Tried and tested theory.
Previous years have led me to being a part of the 87,000 strong indie, punk and metal fans who venture to the popular Reading festivals. A great festival with a range of activities within it, comedy tents, movie tents, silent discos and mind blowing mainstage acts. Up until recently,I have become a convert and have become quite the sucker for dance and house music DJ’s and the only antidote I have found that’s suitable for this craving came in the form of Creamfields festival in Liverpool. Quite different to previous festivals I have been to, mainly focused around large amounts of rain/storms, michellin star questionable burger vans,pyrotechnics and fulltime raving; not for the faint hearted.A case of ‘go hard or go home.’
This year Im abiding by my strong Creamfields loyalty and will most definitely be returning, although I have also set my eyes on another summer festival which I’ve decided is a must for my summer. Tomorrowland; another house and dance music festival set in Belgium with a fairytale theme throughout, I’ve made this my ultimate festival and my must do for this year. My inability to even describe the festival and how amazing I think it will be just proves how out of this world it is. Watch the video for a small taster and feel free to buy me my ticket :}
Bonjour bloggers and bloggees,incase you havent realised, this is the first post to my very first blog which I guess for me is a pretty big deal. Writing a blog is something I’d never ever, ever, consider not in a million years. I’m easily embarrassed and shy, possibly the most closed book you will ever meet, so as you could imagine, just the mere thought of blogging is completely unnatural petrifying. Why would I want every Tom, Dick and Harry being able to read my personal thoughts and more importantly What if no one reads my posts?! What if everyone finds me boring?! What if I have nothing to write?!
As a first time blogger I’m pretty anxious however, as daunting as it seems; I have decided to overcome my self diagnosis of blog-o-phobia, I’v got my one way ticket, and I’m getting on the blogging-wagon.
So there we have it, Im officially a blogger and after a slight long period of extreme horrendous procrastination I have decided to fill my blog with things/resolutions/lists ‘insert appropriate phrase here,’ of what I want to do this year. And yes, unlike all the other years of promises which I know people are all too familiar with, I will 100% will be sticking these out. PROMISE.
megstodolist.wordpress.com 