And, frankly, neither did I
but yes yes yes! I AM BLOGGING AGAIN!
Here's a quick run down of my life recently...
Ok, so in February, for the half term, Bianca (QLD Beerwah gap) and I popped off down to Florence, where we had pizza and pasta, visited the Ponte Vecchio, Salvatore Ferragamo, the Uffizi Gallery, Salvatore Ferragamo, The Medici Palace, Salvatore Ferragamo, David, Salvatore Ferragamo, Shopped, Salvatore Ferragamo, the Markets, Salvatore Ferragamo, the Duomo, and did I mention Salvatore Ferragamo?
Yeah
I love that man
I would marry his descendants right now if I could.
B
E
A
U
T
I
F
U
L
The thing is, I'm not even joking, I made Bianca go into that shop at LEAST once a day, sometimes even, like, 3 times. It was soooo cooooool, hahahaha
That's all I have to say.
Just kidding
Then we went back to school, where we've been involved in Taster days, where random kids come into the school adn we treat them like students, and they have to do it on the weekend, and we get paid in either chocolate or alcohol
And then there's been a few wild clubbing nights, which are also AWESOME fun down in Chelmsford, where we've always got our 3 South African body guards to protect us
We went out for Beck's birthday, one of the teachers who we've befriended, and that was pretty crazy
And then I spent a weekend with Nicole, who baby sat me when I was about 9 or thereabouts, and she now lives in England with a rabbit, a dog and a fiancee, and we went bowling and out to dinner, and it was pretty great, nice to actually have a home cooked meal for a change
Then Elspeth Johnston and I went to London together for a weekend, which was the first of many weekends to come, in which we strive to see as much of the city as possible, and blueify it in true Grammar fashion!
And now, for the 3 week Easter break, I went on a tour with a company called Intrepid tours, which has taken me from Paris to Bruges to Amsterdam and finally to Berlin, where we saw the sights, such as the Moulin Rouge and Eiffel TOur, basicallly the entire HIstorical city of Bruges, the redlight district, Anne Franks House and the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam, and pretty much everything in berlin-thanks to Fat Tire Bike TOurs! There are 9 other people in the group, along with 3 tour leaders, named Barbara (BARBWA) Tim (Timotee) and Olga (like, the most ADORABLE girl you will ever encounter)
It's been absolutely WONDERFUL on the trip, even thought the youngest person aside from me is 25... hahahahaha. But everyone's been great, and I was labelled the baby of the group, and otherwise we never really acknowledged the gap (half the group didn't even REALISE I was only 18)
And yeah
Tomorrow I go back to New Hall for a week of lazing about up in our apartment, and probably just hanging out with Matt and Piero and their friends who've come to stay
Which could be a very interesting experience indeed.
hahaha
Missing you all!
Hugs and Kisses and Easter Wishes!
XOXOXO Charlotte
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
New Hall School
Well I've finally reached New Hall School
ACtually I've been here for nearly 2 weeks...
And haven't had time/been bothered to post anything, so what better time than my lunch break...
This is what the school looks like:
http://www.countrylife.co.uk/imageBank/n/newhall.jpg
(I don't know how to post my own photos... yet...)
yeah
It's an old residential palace of Henry VIII and his family, and the school was started in 1642, about a hundred years after he died. There are still old creaky wooden floors, and I think the chapel might have original stuff, but the rest has been redone.
Mostly in, like, the 80s or something...
While it isn't as... picturesque as the outside, it's still a great school.
There are 3 other girl gaps, one of which is also from Queensland, the other 2 from NSW, and 3 boys from South Africa. And ALL of the female students are in love with those boys.
One of them walked in to switch classes with me and IMMEDIATELY the girls started whispering and giggling and fixing their hair. And every night they talk to us about which ones we fancy, and how fit they are, and what they're like and where they sleep.
The funny thing is, none of that is exaggerated in any way at all...
Every morning at 7 we go and start waking them up, and they go down to breakfast at 730. At 8 we start trying to get them out the door, for class at 815. At 845 we start classes, which are 35 minutes each, though most are doubles and therefore 1hour 10 minutes. at 1235 there's a two hour lunch break, which is split into two, and there's sport and music rehearsals and stuff in there. Then it's back to class until 435, when they either go home or go back to the boarding house, where they have study until dinner at 635. Then after dinner there's either some form of games or sports or cooking club each night. at 915 we start putting them to bed, and hopefully they're all in their rooms with the lights out by 10.
If we're lucky (last night we weren't, and didn't get out until 1030...)
then we go back to our apartment and do it all again the enxt day!
Our apartment is called Gapland, and is right under the clock in the clock tour (which I SWEAR is haunted, because at least once a week they go up and fix it and work on it for like an hour, and then it's out of time, and either speeds up or slows down, and then the floor boards creak ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT even though it's EMPTY. It's so scary... :'( )
Only the girls stay in Gapland, and we each have our own little rooms, and there are 2 showers in little cubicle things, and a tv and a gamecube (with only 1 game and 1 and a half working controllers...) and it's pretty good. The boys get cable tv though, and they have an oven... which I have commandeered for my own baking... to their delight, might I add (lol)
It takes an hour to walk up the driveway and out of the school onto the street, then another 20 minutes to the nearest shop (Sainsburys) and it costs 10pounds to drive the 15 minute drive into Chelmsford, the nearest town. But it's an alright sized town, with a couple of clubs and good stuff like that, so it's all good.
Nothing much else really to report that I can think of. Going to Cambridge on a school trip this weekend, which will be good, and there's a residents dinner next week, where all the boarding house staff get drunk. Which will be AWESOME!
So until next time
adieu!
Missing you all already!
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Charlotte
ACtually I've been here for nearly 2 weeks...
And haven't had time/been bothered to post anything, so what better time than my lunch break...
This is what the school looks like:
http://www.countrylife.co.uk/imageBank/n/newhall.jpg
(I don't know how to post my own photos... yet...)
yeah
It's an old residential palace of Henry VIII and his family, and the school was started in 1642, about a hundred years after he died. There are still old creaky wooden floors, and I think the chapel might have original stuff, but the rest has been redone.
Mostly in, like, the 80s or something...
While it isn't as... picturesque as the outside, it's still a great school.
There are 3 other girl gaps, one of which is also from Queensland, the other 2 from NSW, and 3 boys from South Africa. And ALL of the female students are in love with those boys.
One of them walked in to switch classes with me and IMMEDIATELY the girls started whispering and giggling and fixing their hair. And every night they talk to us about which ones we fancy, and how fit they are, and what they're like and where they sleep.
The funny thing is, none of that is exaggerated in any way at all...
Every morning at 7 we go and start waking them up, and they go down to breakfast at 730. At 8 we start trying to get them out the door, for class at 815. At 845 we start classes, which are 35 minutes each, though most are doubles and therefore 1hour 10 minutes. at 1235 there's a two hour lunch break, which is split into two, and there's sport and music rehearsals and stuff in there. Then it's back to class until 435, when they either go home or go back to the boarding house, where they have study until dinner at 635. Then after dinner there's either some form of games or sports or cooking club each night. at 915 we start putting them to bed, and hopefully they're all in their rooms with the lights out by 10.
If we're lucky (last night we weren't, and didn't get out until 1030...)
then we go back to our apartment and do it all again the enxt day!
Our apartment is called Gapland, and is right under the clock in the clock tour (which I SWEAR is haunted, because at least once a week they go up and fix it and work on it for like an hour, and then it's out of time, and either speeds up or slows down, and then the floor boards creak ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT even though it's EMPTY. It's so scary... :'( )
Only the girls stay in Gapland, and we each have our own little rooms, and there are 2 showers in little cubicle things, and a tv and a gamecube (with only 1 game and 1 and a half working controllers...) and it's pretty good. The boys get cable tv though, and they have an oven... which I have commandeered for my own baking... to their delight, might I add (lol)
It takes an hour to walk up the driveway and out of the school onto the street, then another 20 minutes to the nearest shop (Sainsburys) and it costs 10pounds to drive the 15 minute drive into Chelmsford, the nearest town. But it's an alright sized town, with a couple of clubs and good stuff like that, so it's all good.
Nothing much else really to report that I can think of. Going to Cambridge on a school trip this weekend, which will be good, and there's a residents dinner next week, where all the boarding house staff get drunk. Which will be AWESOME!
So until next time
adieu!
Missing you all already!
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Charlotte
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
New Year's!
Well last ngiht we saw The Little Mermaid on Broadway, and it was SOOOO GOOOD!
they had wheels on the heels of their shoes, so they'd glide across the stage like fish, and the mermaid's tails were long skirts, and then they had a wire tail hanging out the back, so they'd swish their hips,a dn their tails would go too!
Flounder was played by THE MOST ADORABLE BOY EVER and he was SOO GOOD at singing, it was insane!
He was like, belting out songs and dancing along! ahahaha it was awesome...
Then it was New Years Eve, and so we were in our room, and we popped out for the fireworks, because the whole street had been blocked off. But it was FREEZING because it's now -7 degrees celsius...
Ah it was so cold!
We watched the ball drop and the fireworks go off, it was amazign! And everyone was singing Auld Lang Syne, just like in the movies, hahaha!
So we hung around for a while, but eventually it just got too cold...
and, at quarter past 12, the police cars alarms are already going off!
and so, I finish with...
HAPPY 2009 EVERYONE!
they had wheels on the heels of their shoes, so they'd glide across the stage like fish, and the mermaid's tails were long skirts, and then they had a wire tail hanging out the back, so they'd swish their hips,a dn their tails would go too!
Flounder was played by THE MOST ADORABLE BOY EVER and he was SOO GOOD at singing, it was insane!
He was like, belting out songs and dancing along! ahahaha it was awesome...
Then it was New Years Eve, and so we were in our room, and we popped out for the fireworks, because the whole street had been blocked off. But it was FREEZING because it's now -7 degrees celsius...
Ah it was so cold!
We watched the ball drop and the fireworks go off, it was amazign! And everyone was singing Auld Lang Syne, just like in the movies, hahaha!
So we hung around for a while, but eventually it just got too cold...
and, at quarter past 12, the police cars alarms are already going off!
and so, I finish with...
HAPPY 2009 EVERYONE!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Quebec/Christmas, New York, Wicked and Equus
howdy y'all!
Well, it's currently 1:40 am in New York, and my bed has been stolen by my sister, so what better time than to post a new blog!
In Quebec, which is where we last left off, there was snow EVERYWHERE
and I mean EVERYWHERE
oh it was so beautiful! If anyone wanted a guaranteed white christmas which was absolutely BEAUTIFUL I'd totally recommend it!
and even if you WEREN'T looking for that, I'd still recommend it!
The town was just like a little French village, with cute little houses, and everyone spoke French because they hate the English/Americans. The hotel we stayed in was called Chateau Frontenac, and is an actualy 17th or 18th century Chateau, from teh times fo the French Occupation of Quebec, and it still has massive walls around it, and cannons all up the hillside.
We spent aaages in all these fur shops, because mum and dad wanted fur coats (oh MAN they're soft...) and that was fun. Except when Anastasia and Harriette fell asleep in front of everyone...
to get down to the city from the hotel, which was on top of a massive hill, you took the Fumiclaire, which was a little glass room type thing which went down the side of the hill on a rail way track, it was really fun!
and that's all I remember about Quebec... we mostly shopped... and watched this crazy TV show about a family with 18 kids. It was AWESOME!
Then we made our way to New York
so far, New York has been dirty, over crowded, cold and smelly, but I still rather like it. Everyone is on holidays, and flooding in for New Years, so the crowds are even more so than usual, says the bell man. We're staying right on Times Square/Broadway, which makes for some good play viewage!
We had lunch at PLanet Hollywood, and got our photo taken in front of the prom outfits from twilight, worn by Kristen Stewart (boo...) and Robert Pattinson(OHEMGEE YAY!!!!!!!!!!!)
Today we saw the matinee of Wicked, which was absolutely FANTASTIC! Even though it didn't have Rob "Millsy" Mills in it, like in Melbourne (AHAHAHAHAHA) but it was pretty freakin' awesome. I don't exaggerate when I say it gave me chills and thrills to see it ;)
then, we saw Equus for the evening viewing.
Oh it was wonderful
Daniel Radcliffe was ABSOLUTELY FREAKIN' MINDBLOWINGLY AWESOME! And I'm still spell bound by it!
I can't get over how unlike Harry Potter he was, and how much he had gotten into the mind of a delusional 17 year old who only knows how to sing the jingles from TV commercials
But nobody ask, because I am NOT talking about him being naked...
no matter how much I enjoyed seeign how freaking built he was )seriously, good on you Harry! I mean... Daniel! DanRad as I call him...)
Tomorrow night we're seeing the Little Mermaid on stage, which looks CRAZY because it's got all sorts of new set design inventions and stuff, so I'm excited
the only problem is, we can't sing along :(
AND the hotel we're staying in has given our room free internet (why I do not know) so we've been downloading like there's no tomorrow (MWAHAHAHAHAHA)
But we aren't srue whether or not to see Young Frankenstein... because it got such bad reviews... but we love it!
any other play/activity suggestions?
should we go to the Empire State building and look for Tom Hanks? or to the Statue of Liberty and sing Higher and Higher like the Ghostbusters?
haahaha
anyway
I must be away to bed, for it is 2 am!
ciao for now lovelies!!!!!!!
ps HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTY TINIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (hahahahaha)
Well, it's currently 1:40 am in New York, and my bed has been stolen by my sister, so what better time than to post a new blog!
In Quebec, which is where we last left off, there was snow EVERYWHERE
and I mean EVERYWHERE
oh it was so beautiful! If anyone wanted a guaranteed white christmas which was absolutely BEAUTIFUL I'd totally recommend it!
and even if you WEREN'T looking for that, I'd still recommend it!
The town was just like a little French village, with cute little houses, and everyone spoke French because they hate the English/Americans. The hotel we stayed in was called Chateau Frontenac, and is an actualy 17th or 18th century Chateau, from teh times fo the French Occupation of Quebec, and it still has massive walls around it, and cannons all up the hillside.
We spent aaages in all these fur shops, because mum and dad wanted fur coats (oh MAN they're soft...) and that was fun. Except when Anastasia and Harriette fell asleep in front of everyone...
to get down to the city from the hotel, which was on top of a massive hill, you took the Fumiclaire, which was a little glass room type thing which went down the side of the hill on a rail way track, it was really fun!
and that's all I remember about Quebec... we mostly shopped... and watched this crazy TV show about a family with 18 kids. It was AWESOME!
Then we made our way to New York
so far, New York has been dirty, over crowded, cold and smelly, but I still rather like it. Everyone is on holidays, and flooding in for New Years, so the crowds are even more so than usual, says the bell man. We're staying right on Times Square/Broadway, which makes for some good play viewage!
We had lunch at PLanet Hollywood, and got our photo taken in front of the prom outfits from twilight, worn by Kristen Stewart (boo...) and Robert Pattinson(OHEMGEE YAY!!!!!!!!!!!)
Today we saw the matinee of Wicked, which was absolutely FANTASTIC! Even though it didn't have Rob "Millsy" Mills in it, like in Melbourne (AHAHAHAHAHA) but it was pretty freakin' awesome. I don't exaggerate when I say it gave me chills and thrills to see it ;)
then, we saw Equus for the evening viewing.
Oh it was wonderful
Daniel Radcliffe was ABSOLUTELY FREAKIN' MINDBLOWINGLY AWESOME! And I'm still spell bound by it!
I can't get over how unlike Harry Potter he was, and how much he had gotten into the mind of a delusional 17 year old who only knows how to sing the jingles from TV commercials
But nobody ask, because I am NOT talking about him being naked...
no matter how much I enjoyed seeign how freaking built he was )seriously, good on you Harry! I mean... Daniel! DanRad as I call him...)
Tomorrow night we're seeing the Little Mermaid on stage, which looks CRAZY because it's got all sorts of new set design inventions and stuff, so I'm excited
the only problem is, we can't sing along :(
AND the hotel we're staying in has given our room free internet (why I do not know) so we've been downloading like there's no tomorrow (MWAHAHAHAHAHA)
But we aren't srue whether or not to see Young Frankenstein... because it got such bad reviews... but we love it!
any other play/activity suggestions?
should we go to the Empire State building and look for Tom Hanks? or to the Statue of Liberty and sing Higher and Higher like the Ghostbusters?
haahaha
anyway
I must be away to bed, for it is 2 am!
ciao for now lovelies!!!!!!!
ps HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTY TINIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (hahahahaha)
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Disneyland, Universal Studios and Quebec!
On Sunday we went to Disneyland, which was REALLLY busy, even though people are still in school (I think...), so we were constantly lining up for stuff
Although, unlike Australian theme parks, the American ones were really good at getting crowds through quickly, and each ride would hold at least 8 people, and there'd be about 3 going at one time. So it wasn't too bad...
Space Mountain was epic, although the line was 45 minutes... Indiana Jones was even better, and only about 20 minutes wait. I can't actually remember what else we did because it's 530 am... but anyway
Oh yeah
because there were so many lines, we could only do each ride once before our bus left, and we didn't even get a look at California Land!
But it was still a pretty good day, pretty much fulfilling all of our expectations
Then we went to Universal Studios the next day, and MAN that was good
they had a field of snow in "Whoville" and all these Who's runing around, and they were really tall and lanky and PERFECT for the part. And everything was "Grinchmas" themed, it was crazy!
we went on the Studio Tour, which was good, they did earthquake simulations, and Jaws attacked you, and they parted the seas of waters around Skull Island (from King Kong...)
And we went on the Simpsons ride, which was a simulation one... which was a bad ride in itself, but the animation of the simulation was really good!
and then we discovered the "Lower Lot"
Which you took 4 BIIIG elevators down to get to, and it had the Mummy ride and Jurassic Park. Jurassic Park SEEMED boring at the beginning, because you're floatig around in this little boat, and then, instead of going into Stegasaurus cove, you go into the back areas, where the T-Rex's and the Utahraptors and the other carnivorous dinosarus have escaped!
and T-Rex's jkump at you from the ceiling,a nd then yougo down the water fall, which was like a 4 story drop or something and it's practically vertical!
It was CRAZY
BUT THEN
we went on the Mummy!
which was a rollercoaster inside a big warehouse type building, and they drip water on you and blast tiny bits of air at your feet, adn it feels like big fat BEETLES are crawling on you
and you go backwards and everythign!
IT WAS SO GOOD
we went on JP 4 times, and the Mummy 6 times
and the best part was
THE LINE WAS NEVER LONGER THAN 5 MINUTES!!!!!!!!!!
and now I am at the airport, waiting for our flight to Montreal, then Quebec, where it's been snowing up a storm, ready for our white christmas!
We got up at 3:30, left at 4, and it's now 5:53 am.
And our flight isn't til 7:30...
yay...
Thanks for reading!
C XXX
Although, unlike Australian theme parks, the American ones were really good at getting crowds through quickly, and each ride would hold at least 8 people, and there'd be about 3 going at one time. So it wasn't too bad...
Space Mountain was epic, although the line was 45 minutes... Indiana Jones was even better, and only about 20 minutes wait. I can't actually remember what else we did because it's 530 am... but anyway
Oh yeah
because there were so many lines, we could only do each ride once before our bus left, and we didn't even get a look at California Land!
But it was still a pretty good day, pretty much fulfilling all of our expectations
Then we went to Universal Studios the next day, and MAN that was good
they had a field of snow in "Whoville" and all these Who's runing around, and they were really tall and lanky and PERFECT for the part. And everything was "Grinchmas" themed, it was crazy!
we went on the Studio Tour, which was good, they did earthquake simulations, and Jaws attacked you, and they parted the seas of waters around Skull Island (from King Kong...)
And we went on the Simpsons ride, which was a simulation one... which was a bad ride in itself, but the animation of the simulation was really good!
and then we discovered the "Lower Lot"
Which you took 4 BIIIG elevators down to get to, and it had the Mummy ride and Jurassic Park. Jurassic Park SEEMED boring at the beginning, because you're floatig around in this little boat, and then, instead of going into Stegasaurus cove, you go into the back areas, where the T-Rex's and the Utahraptors and the other carnivorous dinosarus have escaped!
and T-Rex's jkump at you from the ceiling,a nd then yougo down the water fall, which was like a 4 story drop or something and it's practically vertical!
It was CRAZY
BUT THEN
we went on the Mummy!
which was a rollercoaster inside a big warehouse type building, and they drip water on you and blast tiny bits of air at your feet, adn it feels like big fat BEETLES are crawling on you
and you go backwards and everythign!
IT WAS SO GOOD
we went on JP 4 times, and the Mummy 6 times
and the best part was
THE LINE WAS NEVER LONGER THAN 5 MINUTES!!!!!!!!!!
and now I am at the airport, waiting for our flight to Montreal, then Quebec, where it's been snowing up a storm, ready for our white christmas!
We got up at 3:30, left at 4, and it's now 5:53 am.
And our flight isn't til 7:30...
yay...
Thanks for reading!
C XXX
Sunday, December 21, 2008
LA!!!
And so we come to the first leg of my voyages: Los Angeles.
We arrived in LA at 10am Saturday (after leaving Australia at 1130am Saturday...) and went to our hotel in Beverly Hills .
We spent the afternoon chilling at Santa Monica Blvd, where there were people running around in their underwear singing carols, a man and his son doing acrobatics with 90s haircuts, and a man with a monkey wearing a dress.
And! We got to shake the monkeys hand! LIFE LONG DREAM FULFILLED!
It felt like a baby wearing soft little leather gloves (hahaahahaha)
We then went down to venice beach, where there were massive walls of sand taller than our heads.
Today we're heading off to Disneyland, and it's now nearly 10 am. And we're leaving at 10pm... unless we're not destroyed by jet lag first...
We arrived in LA at 10am Saturday (after leaving Australia at 1130am Saturday...) and went to our hotel in Beverly Hills .
We spent the afternoon chilling at Santa Monica Blvd, where there were people running around in their underwear singing carols, a man and his son doing acrobatics with 90s haircuts, and a man with a monkey wearing a dress.
And! We got to shake the monkeys hand! LIFE LONG DREAM FULFILLED!
It felt like a baby wearing soft little leather gloves (hahaahahaha)
We then went down to venice beach, where there were massive walls of sand taller than our heads.
Today we're heading off to Disneyland, and it's now nearly 10 am. And we're leaving at 10pm... unless we're not destroyed by jet lag first...
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Before we begin...
Hi!
My name is ChazzaPi, and this is my new blog.
I created this blog to keep my friends and family up to date on my goings on whilst I spend a year in the UK/Europe.
And if you're reading this, you're either one of the above, or insanely bored.
Throughout the year I'll be posting blogs about what I've been up to, and uploading photos or videos, so I have somewhere to keep them...
I'll be working at a school called New Hall School, in Chelmsford, Essex, in England, which is half an hour out of London (which is UBER EXCITING!)
But I'm going to America first... so we'll have those photos before the awesomeness of ESSEX!!!!!!!
My name is ChazzaPi, and this is my new blog.
I created this blog to keep my friends and family up to date on my goings on whilst I spend a year in the UK/Europe.
And if you're reading this, you're either one of the above, or insanely bored.
Throughout the year I'll be posting blogs about what I've been up to, and uploading photos or videos, so I have somewhere to keep them...
I'll be working at a school called New Hall School, in Chelmsford, Essex, in England, which is half an hour out of London (which is UBER EXCITING!)
But I'm going to America first... so we'll have those photos before the awesomeness of ESSEX!!!!!!!
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