A couple of 'free' weeks...

Since I got back from America I was looking forward to a couple of 'free weeks' before New Wine...here's the things I've done in the last 2 weeks:
-had my hair cut
-been in the audience for an ITV show
-dress shopping with Kat
-Henley
-PJ's leavers service
-Godzone (x2)
-Cinema
-Church (x2)
-Visited my cousin & her daughter
-Road trip with Ellie (x2)
-Met with my dissertation supervisor
-Lots of Holiday Club prep
-Two Holiday Club meetings
-Shopping with Kat & Val
-Had friends over
-Costume shopping with Kat
-House viewings
-Pilates
-Visited Bournemouth for the day
-Searched for a missing friend
-Found missing friend whilst on phone to police
-Spent evening with lots of friends, including now found friend...
-Godzone BBQ
-Organised some Space Leavers surprises
-Been to dinner with Kate & Anna
-Been to Reading for lunch with Adam & Dina
-Picked up a friend's daughter from school (x4)

Still to do this week:
-Submission workshop at uni
-Meet housegroup at pub
-Pilates
-Dissertation work
-Cinema with Kate & Anna
-New Wine welcome tea
-Many church events
-Pick up friend's daughter (x2)

Suddenly my 'free weeks' weren't so free....this makes for a tired Sarah...enjoying everything but maybe needing to slow down a bit...
It's been busy...fun...but busy...and I haven't even included all the other bits and pieces that don't count but still take time (looking after house whilst Mum and Dad were away, reading books, food shopping, phone calls to friends).

Plus my decision to not rent anywhere in Oxford next year....house stuff got complicated and it just became easier to stay home, save some money up and actually make life easier for myself. I've swung back and forth worrying about what other's think but actually realising that this is for me and it's the smart decision and it's actually what I want to do.

I think that's everything...time to go to bed!
Much love xxx

I'm back :)

I'm back from America..after a long overnight flight where I slept a bit but not enough, I finally got through to arrivals and just hugged Mum...it's nice to be back with my family :)

I had a brilliant time in America, placement turned out pretty good for the last few days where I got to help on a camp. I actually did work with kids and that's the bit I love and the bit I wasn't getting to do so I'm glad I stuck it out.

The other amazing thing is that I actually just lived away from home for almost 3 weeks :O
Considering a year ago I couldn't even stay a night in Oxford, this is pretty incredible! And I did ok as well...I think I cried once but that's it...and that's amazing for me!
I was with family, I had a comfortable place to chill out, watch tv, people to hang out with...I've realised that if I have that and I can talk to my family regularly (skype is a godsend!) then I'll be ok. I'm starting to realise that moving out properly after university is actually going to be ok :)

In other news: not sure what's happening with my Oxford house for next year...the landlords are selling it and we aren't sure if the new possible owner will want to rent it out or live there themselves. So we're thinking through our options...I can always stay at home....it's weird though, I'd just said that I hoped my placement would be in Oxford so that I could push myself to stay there more and then my house in Oxford is looking dubious, and my placement is probably going to be in South Oxfordshire.
So I'm still trying to work out God's plan here...but I'm ready and willing for whatever comes and I think he will bless me through that.

That's all I think, right now I'm trying to sort out my dissertation and the assignment from my america trip, and holiday club, and social stuff. New Wine is in less than 5 weeks and I'm looking forward to all the things happening between now and then :D

Much love xxx

over halfway

I am now over halfway through my trip...and that makes it easier to relax and enjoy my time here. When I'm tired and not feeling very well (like I was at 5am this morning) I miss home more. but the rest of the time I'm doing ok :) it helps that I feel very comfortable in Angie's house.

So comfortable, in fact, that Jess and I took over the kitchen and made dinner last night :) Jess is a family friend of the Millers and I met her last year and we hit it off. This year she's actually staying here this week because her housemate is away and that's fun for me to have someone extra to hang out with.

Placement is going ok...I'm still not doing much which is frustrating. In the UK I would take the intiative and say 'these are my skills, I'm good at this so let me do it' (not to sound conceited, but I'm confident in my skills) but over here it could be done differently so I don't want to put myself out there and then get it wrong.
Mostly I've done alot of photocopying and moving boxes and observing the services offered, rather than actually doing much social work. But I've observed enough to get an idea for my assignment and the next few days I should be helping at a summer camp so I should get to do some work with the public.
I'm trying not to worry so much about it and just see it as a learning opportunity rather than as a placement that I need to through myself into 100%.

Since my last blog I've also been to a baseball game, seen Toy Story 3 (great movie by the way!), been to church, watched fireworks, caught lightening bugs, and made chocolate covered strawberries. Lots of fun things :)

It's weird because I'm happy and I'm enjoying myself, but I think that's only because I know in a week's time I'll be home. If I didn't know that I only had a short time left, then I'd find it harder, but because going home is getting closer, it's easier to enjoy every moment.

The plans for this week include: yummy food (one night Jess and I will be making dinner again which has been fun to plan), more placement (hopefully with more opportunities!), manicures and pedicures, movies, a little bit more shopping, and lots of very hot weather (there's a heatwave starting today!).

That's all for now I think
In other news: I might have a placement for next year- please pray that it's the right placement in the right place...it's getting harder to tell what God has planned for me!

Much love xxx

two years down, one to go...

So I got my 2nd year results this morning...
B in Mental Health
B+ in Adults and...
double B+ in Placement!!!
I'm very happy!

means I'm currently on track for a 2:1 degree which would be amazing :D

I'm enjoying America :) Saturday I went flying with Colin and I actually got to fly the plane myself, alot of fun! I've had dinner with my friend Jess, been to church, had a manicure...and just chilled out.

Today was the longest day ever...got results, had first day of placement, found out my friend Caitlin isn't coming back to uni next year which just adds another dimension to the issues we're having with our house (i.e. our landlords are selling it) so after I got back from placement I had a long conference call with Caitlin, Claire and T to work through what we're going to do....not sure we resolved anything but it's looking more likely that I might be staying home next year.
Which is ok...it's weird that as soon as I vocalised that I was hoping for a placement in Oxford so that I could be pushed to stay there more, that was when all the house stuff started to happen...still working out what that means.

Placement was good, I enjoyed it, it wasn't amazingly exciting or interesting but it'll be alright for the next 2 weeks and I'm already seeing things I can put in my essay so that's good :)

Elliot got back from England tonight, he's been at mine whilst I've been here. It's weird having a teenage boy in the house again, but definitely makes the day funnier.

That's all I think. It's weird, I haven't had the tears of homesickness yet. I think that's because I've been able to just chill and it doesn't feel like a holiday. Plus I'm taking it in chunks...first weekend, first week at placement, second weekend doing fun things, second week of placement...and last weekend including when I go home. So that makes it easier...

Blog again soon :)
Much love xxx

I'm here!!!

I'm in America :D
Flight was pretty good, being at the airport on my own was weird but actually time passed quite quickly and I didn't feel lonely or anything.
Got through security fine although the woman said she didn't know why I needed a visa (me either but the US embassy said I did and I'd like to think I didn't pay that money or go to the interview for nothing!)
Was soooo good to see Angie and we chatted the whole way home :)
I managed to stay up later in the hope that my body might adjust a bit to the time difference but I was still awake at 6am (11am english time) but that was ok because I got to skype Mum & PJ.
It was so nice to talk to and see them, I haven't had a wave of homesickness yet but I'm sure it'll come. Seeing them was much nicer than just talking on the phone.

Today I get to just chill out at the house for the most part, which I'm actually really happy about. Previously on trips because they've been shorter we've crammed everything in, which is good because I got to do lots of things, but meant that I didn't get much time to just settle and recharge my batteries. This time around I have the time to do that and I'm looking forward to it.
Later this evening Jess is coming round (she's a friend of the family that I became friends with on last year's trip, lovely girl!) and we're going to go to dinner and see a movie and then she's staying over I think. It'll be nice to do just a normal friend thing, makes it feel less like a holiday away from home.

Tomorrow is the England vs USA football match, normally I wouldn't watch the football but since I'm here and Angie's son Elliot and his friend Sam are over in England and staying with PJ, it'll make for an interesting match! (Don't ask me how we managed to swap countries, that's just how it happened!)

The weekend is also looking like it's going to be pretty chilled out which is cool, I'm sure Angie and I will find stuff to do :)
Monday I start at placement which should be good, hopefully I'll enjoy it and it'll all work out.

I think that's all to say for now, I'm sure I'll be blogging regularly whilst I'm out here.
Much love xxx

1 day to go :)

Tomorrow I fly to America :D
hahahahahahahahaha....I'm excited!

I'm very nervous too...I've never flown alone before and never been away from home without my family for this long before. But I'm staying with my godmother and I have a few friends out there now and I have placement and it should be fine. I'm preparing myself for the homesickness though!

Right now however I'm trying to pack...except I have way too much stuff, in particular way too many clothes that I want to take. I'm going to have to do some editing and try and choose the essentials.
I did all my own washing (not a big shock, I do my own washing normally...) and then ironed some of my clothes (definite shock...I never iron...wasn't even sure how to do it!) and now my clothes are sat in piles on my bed waiting to be put in a suitcase.

I am excited, I definitely am, but it's a weird feeling...like panic and stress are in the back of my mind but not quite here yet.
Once I'm there it'll be good though :)

Much love xxx

the future

so right now I'm sat in my new room at my house in Oxford...I say my new room because as of august (actually from now really) I will be sharing a room with Teresa. It almost halves the rent for both of us and makes much more sense. She's going to be on placement alot of the year so may not be here all the time and I am not at the point yet where I am staying in Oxford regularly. So both being here part time and sharing a room makes alot of sense.
Our landlords said it could be a 4 bedroom rent but we wanted to keep the living room rather than turn it into a bedroom so this works well and our rent doesn't change either way :)

I haven't heard about placement for next year yet but I've realised that I'm actually hoping that my placement is in Oxford as it will give me a reason to stay here more often. Assuming that happens then my plan is to work up to being here maybe three nights a week which feels like alot but I'm hoping to work out how to make this place more comfortable and homely...basically what do I need here that will make it easier to stay?

The reason I'm thinking like this is because I only have one year of uni left (which is actually very scary!) and I've started to think about what I'm going to do after uni. My ultimate plan is to find a place to live in Abingdon...it's my hometown and I think being a few minutes away from home will make it easier to properly move out.
There's a probable plan that Alice (a new, very good friend from CU) will be doing the Social Work Masters at Brookes and so will be sticking around for a few more years and she's said she would be up for living in Abingdon with me :D which makes me very happy.

But I am thinking that this will be the proper move out...taking pretty much everything with me and being there full-time. It'll be hard, I'm under no illusions about that...but I'm actually excited about it. I will cry alot I'm sure, but it's a good thing.

Part of preparing for that is staying here in Oxford slightly more regularly, so I hope my placement is here and I have a reason to stay. Because if my placement is in Abingdon then it's not more convenient for me to stay in Oxford. I'm trying to trust that God knows what is best and whatever happens will be right for me.

I am enjoying just hanging out here though...there's no-one else here and the only reason I'm here is because our landlords might be selling the house (don't worry, it won't affect us for the next year!) and the estate agent is here taking measurements and pictures! Teresa and Claire are out at uni/placement and Caitlin is at home...so I offered to be here.
I don't often just hang out here, because it's just silly to drive 20 minutes just to chill out here when I can do that at home!
But it's nice to have a reason to do that :)

I have realised through writing this that I'm excited about the next few years...final year placement, dissertation...both going to be tough work but enjoyable I hope. Graduating, getting a job, getting a house in Abingdon...scary to be growing up but hopefully I'll find a job I enjoy and living with Alice (or whoever) in Abingdon will be fun.
So bring on the next few years :D I'm ready for it all!
Much love xxx