A New Job!

Just a quick update on the life and times of a crazy british okie - errr - ME!

Last week I was asked to apply for a senior staff position in the office and today I officially accepted. You're talking to Pax Lodge's newest Booking Assistant! I was kind of surprised that they offered me, of all people, the position. This is going to be a great learning opportunity for me though. We all know how bad I am at turning down challenges :)! Moving up the job ladder means more interaction with guests, a better schedule for traveling, a bigger room, more money, a tv, and most of all no more bed making, days in the dish pit, or early morning starts. I start training this month and I'll be in full swing by the first of May. The new job has a whole set of cons as well, but those come with any job so we'll see how it goes.

I don't have too much else to report on. I have Friday & Saturday off so feel free to try to call me. I'll be around my computer off and on. I'm going to go to Brighton on Saturday if the weather is nice.

I hope everyone back home is well - leave me comments and let me know!

Busy. busy, BUSY!!

I haven't found time to update in FOREVER! The longer I wait the more daunting a task it seems.

I can't believe I've been here for almost two months already. Time is flying. At the end of March we had a Women's Values and Leadership Seminar which was awesome! We had 21-30 year old participants from 20 countries, but they were all from different countries than any of our staff. All together we represented over 30 countries. I learned so much about guiding and scouting worldwide, especially in the Africa and Arab regions. Between schools being out in the US (where most of our visitors are from) for Spring Break, kids in the UK being on Easter holiday, and the fact that's it's finally spring-ish in London we've been packed for the last couple of weeks. It's great to keep busy though!

Last night we had a big group of scouts from Norway here for dinner and evening program. In Norway scouting and guiding (WAGGGS & WOSM) are combined so they just have coed scouting. These particular scouts were 16-20 years old and even though they spoke Norwegian (some spoke more English than others) it was just like being with my Venturing Crew back home :)! Let's just say that some scout things really are universal - I miss you guys.

Today I have the day off and I'm laying in the back garden trying to catch up on email and sunlight. mMm vitamin D! I plan to nap after this blog update and then call friends and family this evening. I'm going to try to do a better job at keeping everyone update, but as we get busier and busier it's hard to find time. Sometimes I work 17 - 18 hour days. By the time I get to my room after evening program sometimes it's midnight or one AM and the last thing from my mind is updating my blog before I have to wake up again at 6:30 the next morning. I'm going to try though!

Happy Easter to all!

Some pictures:

Women's Values and Leadership Seminar - L to R Italy, Canada, Ecuador, Brunei, Thailand, Lesotho, Sri Lanka & Pakistan:



Christa and I at Trafaulger's Square:



Me at Trafaulger's Square :)



Pax Lodge Staff - L to R, Kristen, Andie, Christa, Kailey, Me, Sally, Janet, Heather, Part of Joce's Head, Grace, Seunghee, Anna: