The world on your doorstep

Welcome to the continued tales of my life, now returned to it's original location of London. Since we spoke last I've been an incredibly busy bee. Hosting can be a most time consuming affair though, and perhaps you've heard, London's been flooded this past month with a little shindig called the Olympic Games.

I don't remember exactly what I've told you before, but I'd always planned to spend the whole summer in Italy during my Year Abroad. I dreamed of three whole months in the sun... presumably with some sort of clearly defined plan. However, exceptional circumstances call for a little flexibility and openness to the remarkable opportunities which present themselves. I did my best, I changed my plans and I got a job with the catering on the Olympic Park. All signed up for 17 days of excited atmosphere, being part of history in the making and yes, apologising to the world for not being one of those excellent volunteers, but a mere  soulless wage-slave.

Let me start at the very beginning, because Julie Andrews once sang something about that being 'a very good place to start'. Please do not expect an over detailed account of the whole affair, because I will get bored at some point and just want to show you pictures, of which I have sadly few.

Right, I'm waffling. I'll head back to that beginning I mentioned a million years ago now.

I admit that I was deeply disheartened by the general lack of enthusiasm and faith in the Great British ability to host and perform. I'm so glad the cynics were silenced as Danny Boyle put on a spectacular show to stop the world in its tracks. I didn't mean to sit through the whole thing, as I had work in the morning, but before I knew it the athletes had been parading for an hour and forty-five minutes and I was still sat, mesmerised, side by side with one of oldest friends. Of course I watched the entire thing, loved every minute of it and went to bed all hyped up for the next couple of weeks.

Following the outstanding show that was our Opening Ceremony I was super excited to return to return to work the next morning and my mood was further lifted by the signs and the prospect of spectators starting to arrive to really get things swinging.

Work was great, not only because of where I was and what I was taking part in. I had missed working and really enjoyed my return to the real world. I had some really interesting and fun colleagues too. Here's a picture of some of them, conveniently located within Olympic rings... in case you wondered where we worked.

I spent most of the games in the Aquatics Centre. This was a very lucky placement for me, as the swimming is one of the few sports I've ever been able to pay attention to and get into during previous games. Excitement! Perfect placement, Sodexo. Job very well done.

The job was great, I spent the first week primarily in the Olympic Family Lounge, serving posh nosh to the likes of IOC members and foreign dignitaries. Exciting stuff! I then started supervising in various retail units, moving to basically wherever I was needed and that was fun too. I was actually amazed at how many people had travelled from all over the world to support the games, not to mention the home crowd all decked out in red, white and blue. I was so happy to see how pleased everyone looked with the welcome London was offering, even though we were obviously ripping them off. Stadium concessions are, of course, overpriced! Eventually I ended up running the mobile carts, you know Coca-Cola, Cadbury's treats, etc. Lots of running around helped keep you in the Olympic spirit. I got to hold an Olympic torch and the view from the west side showed off the park in all its glory.

I was absolutely knackered after seventeen straight days of work, but still running high on the Olympic buzz. On the last day the team even went down by the poolside. Check out Rachael and I on the swimmers' starting block... things.

I told you I would get less detailed and interesting as this post went along. At least you know I'm honest! It was a fantastic two weeks and even with the foot ache and wind ups (how else would a team get through the Olympics without being institutionalised?) and I'm really looking forward to getting back on site for the Paralympics. I love that people here are getting so excited for the Paralympics, celebrating their tickets and gearing up to welcome the world all over again.

Anyway, that'll do for now. Tales of adventures to come soon!

xxx

London Calling

Hello All!

I'm home. I have been for a while but summer has continued on a terrific track and I've hardly been near a computer, so... sorry!

I landed back in London at the end of June and my first few days back in Blightey did involve a bit of whinging. As I'm sure you're all aware, England is not renowned for its glorious summers and quite frankly I was cold. Probably more like 'a bit chilly', but I missed the sun- and everyone knew about it! Another reason to moan would be that spent those first few days delaying reunions with my friends and family in order to chain myself to a desk whilst attempting to write an essay, in Italian. The research process, however, was very interesting and I had hand-picked the topic myself in order to link the essay up nicely with the Cimitero Accatolico per gli stranieri and so to task wasn't an odious and gruelling as it could have been. However, having this job to do did force me to hit the ground running as soon as I got home and enjoy my homecoming enormously.

As soon as the assignment was complete and sent of for judgement and condemnation, the fun could begin. I've spent lots of time in the city centre, including trips one of my favourite restaurants in the world (a Pancake House called My Old Dutch) and a day trip to SeaLife, the London Aquarium. My friend Holly and I had so much fun. We were in there for approximately four hours starring at various fishes, quoting 'Finding Nemo' and stroking starfish. We especially liked the giant turtle and the penguins. After we had exhausted the Aquarium we strolled off down the Southbank, enjoyed the sunshine and took pictures with some street performers. We are southbank converts, we especially liked the old pianos and poetry!

So now I'm just on a wave of reunions and fun. I've also marked this new beginning with a little change- and a big trip to the barnet shop. I have gone blonde. I am a blonde. Suddenly films such as 'Legally Blonde' make so much more sense, being blonde is an empowering thing and as far as I can see they really do have more fun. So until the Olympics and my job start it's just more fun with friends, another round of cosmos, girls?

Attacking ATAC.

For those of you who are unaware, ATAC is basically the Roman equivalent of TFL (Transport for London), they are responsible for all of the public transport here in Rome. A system which, when working well, is rather good- considering that as a student I can buy a monthly pass for only €18. However, it never works flawlessly! For one thing, the buses don't come anywhere near regularly enough for a capital city and more often than not I, in my impatience, end up taking the imaginary bus instead of waiting! Just so you know, most Italians do not view this waiting as a problem, they'll happily just stand there for half an hour in order to take the bus for only 2 stops. It's madness! I realise this is probably how they feel about me walking almost everywhere.

Another common feature of the ATAC system, and all transport in Italy (as I gather from the grumblings of my fellow Warwick students) is lo sciopero. Translation: the strike. About once a month it seems the good unionised workers of ATAC decide 'nope, not today' and the whole city stands still, just like the empty trains and buses. As grand scale standstills go, it's not nearly as much fun as a city-wide game of musical statues would be, but there you go, such is life. No one ever listens to my brilliant, albeit barmy, ideas! As a native Londoner I feel obliged to insert a mini rant about how this would NEVER happen in London. Yes, the tube drivers strike occasionally, but everyone still gets to work and it's mostly just something to talk about.

However, it's not the infrequent buses or the monthly train strike that's got me all riled up. That would be silly, for annoying as these things may be they are fundamental to transport in Rome and anyone dwelling in this historic hub of society must accept them as normal and part of the city's eccentric charm. No, today I'm ranting because without giving ANY reason whatsoever this evening I had to walk home- across the whole city- because there was no Metro B Line during the RUSH HOUR.

Yes, in an hour when every bus and train carriage in the city is packed tighter than a can of sardines, and probably not smelling much better either, no explanation was offered as to why there were no trains. There was a bus replacement service though, with buses being half the size of a railway carriage. Madness! My 25 minute commute took two hours. Two hours from Testaccio, past the Colosseum, through Domus Aurea, past Santa Maria Maggiore, to Termini, all the way to uni and then my normal walk home. Thank you very much.

It's not all doom and gloom though. As I mentioned before I often end up walking most places, and quite like it. I was mostly upset about not getting my Kindle time on the train. I'd so been looking forward to playing with my new toy and getting lost in 'Wuthering Heights'. I'm such a geek!

So, sorry for the pointless rant, but now you know how transport works in Rome. Basically, not quite as it should and sometimes not at all!

p.s. TFL is much better than ATAC, but here's proof that not everyone loves them.