Week 20- Northern Ireland

Monday, 12 October, 2009 2:09PM Portadown, NI

My last host lived on the other side of Belfast, up in the country in the middle of nowhere, it was really nice. It took us about 30 minutes to get there, and on the way we had a police officer stop us because 2 cows had escaped from their field, so they said just to drive carefully past in case they wanted to jump out at us. It wasn’t such a strange thing after seeing it last week.

Our hosts had shower gel/lotion sets for all of us. They had bath bombs in them, but they didn’t have a bath. The girls had never seen them before so I told them we could do one in the sink so they could see how it worked, so they showered and had supper (a snack which is after dinner/before bedtime) and checked up on it every so often. It was really exciting for them, especially because it had glitter in it, so they were putting it on their hands and arms. They even woke up with a little bit still on their faces. They hosts were really great too.

So now we are back in Portadown. I pretty much know this town now. You always enjoy a place more when you can get around, it doesn’t happen much on tour, so it makes you feel that much more comfortable. Anyway, I’m with boys here for 3 nights before we head back to Larne.

These hosts have a dog and I am staying with Suprise and Siyabonga who both happen to love dogs. Only part is, they love small dogs. This dog is a shaggy dog, who is medium size, but looks larger because of all its fur. His name is Toby and he’s quite hyper. He loves to jump. So the boys ended up being quite scared. I felt really bad, but I wanted to do something because I knew they both were scared before. So I told them not to run away from the dog, he is just excited. If they stood still and told Toby to get down or go away and they were firm about it, then he would. So they immediate felt more confident about the situation and thanked me. It was really cute. So this morning they were really eager to see Toby and test it out, and it worked. They again thanked me.

Same day.... 11:11PM

Today went well, it was a school day, we reviewed telling the time, and I encouraged my class to ask whoever they stayed with to help them learn.

Our Toby situation sort of fell apart tonight :( Siyabonga was going upstairs to brush his teeth and Toby decided to chase him up and his reaction was to just run, so he got really scared when the dog chased after him. He didn’t even want to come down to say goodnight. I felt really bad, they put the dog away, and I assured him it was alright, he really didn’t trust me. I eventually got him to come down, but he told me before bed he was really scared, so I reminded him what to do and that he needs to be firm with Toby and stand still, if he runs the dog thinks he’s playing and he will run and jump. He asked that I close the door really tight, so I did :)

Suprise prayed tonight that everyone in the world would have nice dreams :) I told Siyabonga I would be with him in the morning and stand with him when he sees the dog in the morning. He’s a bit fearful, but willing to try again which is good. I wish the girls were as easy to work with, but some things you just can’t force on them. I’d say half the girls will run and scream, the rest will just avoid it usually. Puppies are a different story. I think most of the kids would react well/ have reacted well to them. Some of the boys are extremely scared of dogs too, cats as well. Most people will keep them away from the kids, but there are some who don’t.

I think learning to tell the time is more important than being comfortable around dogs, so we will go over it again in the morning before rehearsals.

Tomorrow is my day off. Jenny’s host is going to Belfast and said they could take us, there are things to do here, but we are learning Belfast, and like it. We might go on something touristy, since we didn’t get to last week.

Friday, 16 October 2009 8:12PM Culloden Hotel, Belfast

Hey everyone! So we just met The Supremes, we are currently in a 5 star hotel, everyone is dressed in black tie as they call it. We are performing for the UTV awards. The kids sang a song with them, I recorded it.

My day off went really good. Jenny and I got driven into Belfast which was really nice, and her host paid for our lunch, which made it that much better. We went on the Internet at the Apple Store and shopped a little bit at a gift shop. We wanted to do something touristy so we went on the Belfast Wheel, which is a smaller version of the London Eye, we also went to the top of Victoria Square and took some photos of the view, it was quite nice. Good relaxing day.

On Wednesday we had a concert in Belfast and after the concert we were on our way to Larne to stay all together, only to find out the battery on the bus had died. We couldn't get it charged up. We tried many things, finally a guy came and gave us enough power. It takes a lot to get a big coach going. It took almost an hour before we left, but we got it fixed in the end. Our bus now has a new battery and a charger with it, so that makes things a bit more comforting.

Yesterday we had school while we were staying in Larne, and I re packed my suitcase. It felt so good. Took me a while, but I got rid of a lot of things I didn't need and got organized. My friend is coming to visit, so I am sending a lot home so I don't have to pay baggage fees.

Tonight we are all staying in a hotel, and tomorrow we are talking the ferry to Scotland and then driving to England, we will be there until December. I'm really excited to go to a new country. Even though we have been there before, we didn't spend much time there.

Anyway, we are in between concerts here for this show, so we gotta entertain the kids for a while.

Talk to you soon!

Week 19- Northern Ireland

Sunday, 4 October, 2009 1:05Am Newtownards, N. Ireland

As you can see it's very early in the morning. I've been wanting to write for a long time, but haven't had the chance, so I'm staying up late to get it done while I still have Internet. This week has been really good, and gone by very quickly.

We were in Portadown, then we spent a few days in Lisburn, I went into Belfast for my day off, we went and saw Fame, and had lunch at TGI Friday's. It was good, reminded me of Red Robin a little bit. Days off go by very quickly when you use the train. My next day off is in Pettigo, which is far away I've heard, so I think I may just stay in. I need to buy some things, but I want to rest. It's going to be on Tuesday this week, it will go back to Thursdays again after.

I'm really excited because one of my best friends is coming to visit me when I am in England in November. It's a big deal because I will actually get to see and spend some time with someone I know from home. It will only be a day, but I'm still very grateful. I will also be able to send some things home, I won't need, which will save room in my suitcase for other things I do need or want to bring home.

Yesterday (well Friday) was awesome. We started off by going to perform at a school that a lady that works for the choir's children go to. (That was a mouthful) Then we got a special tour of their music department which was amazing. The kids learned so much, and got to see so many instruments they never knew existed. They really only know the drums and piano. Maybe a few others. So they got to play on them and learn about them.

Following that, we got a tour of the Newtownards Fire Station. (FYI- Newtownards is not said the way it's spelt, at all. I'll have to tell you when I see you if I remember. Neut-n-erds, that's the closest I can get...prob still wrong though) Anyway, they showed the kids the fire truck and how they use the equipment, then we got to use the fire hose, they had so much fun, like so much fun, we al did. It was great. The guys were great with the kids and made them laugh so much. I wish I had taken a video. I have photos though. (Shsme, I keep forgetting to put up the links)

Then we headed to Belfast for a Hockey Game! So exciting! I never thought I'd get to see any kind of sports game here, let alone Hockey. The kids were looking forward to it as well. They performed 3 songs during the first break. We got to see most of the game. It's really different than a Canucks game. There were way less people, and the crowd wasn't very loud. They weren't quiet though. I guess just because it wasn't full. It was a tie game, which was strange to me. They shook hands with the other players and that was it. I was really confused, I was telling everyone the rules, no one we were with understood it, but they were cheering like it was the time of their life. The kids got things that make noise, don't know the name, but it was good fun. They were dancing and screaming.

Today we had a concert that had sold out with 700 tickets. That's quite a large audience compared to most of our concerts. It's always good when we sell out. It went really well, lots of energy, everyone enjoyed it.

I've gotta get some sleep now. Hopefully I can write more another time.

Monday, 5 October, 2009 9:45PM Enniskillen, N. Ireland

Hey there! My host doesn’t have Internet, so I’m typing this up hoping to get it sent tomorrow. As I said this week I have Tuesday off. Where we are is very close to the border of the Republic of Ireland (Southern Ireland) They call it both names here. Some people call it all Ireland because they think the split was very silly. I’ve come across more of those kind of people while being here. Even at the gift shops they don’t really have things that say “Northern Ireland” which I found really interesting.

Anyway, I have a confession. Part of the reason I haven’t been writing in here as much is because I was reading a book. I’m not a reader, unless it’s a book about something I want to learn about. Jenny told me about a book she had and said it was really good, and I could read it if I wanted. It was fiction but I said why not. It’s easier to carry around than my lap top and sometimes I’ll have a few minutes with nothing to do. It sounded really interesting as well. It’s called When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin. Wow, I’m blanking. I think that’s the name. Well, I finished it today. I’m a really slow reader, I have to be totally focused to be able to read a book, it’s not easy to do on tour, so it took me about 3 weeks to finish. It was really good, but really sad. If you are a really emotional person, it might be hard for you to read. I think they should make it into a movie, but the author may not want to do it. I’m glad it’s finally finished, but now I feel bored. I didn’t bring books with me because I wanted to have extra weight for other things. I’m glad I made that decision. Most of the girls are trading books around, or sending them home once they are read. Jenny has 2 other books by the same author, so I will start another one when she can get it out of her suitcase.

Tuesday, 6 October, 2009 12:35PM Enniskillen

My host said there wasn't much to do in the town we wanted to go to in the Republic, so we decided Enniskillen would be a better idea. It turned out to be a nice day, a bit cloudy and cold, but not raining which is nice. We found Internet at McDonalds, it's free so I can't complain.

Michelle's host gave her money to take us all out for lunch at a cafe they like to go to here. Isn't that sweet of them? They insisted. We are so blessed. Sometimes we get treated like celebs too!

I'm off to lunch now!

Tomorrow I would really like to go into Southern Ireland, just because we are so close, it’s something different, and I think it’d be fun. I don’t want to travel to a city and spend money. I did good on my last day off. Jenny and I are both interested in doing something touristy, but we don’t have Internet to search for it, so we are going to bring our laptops and try to find a cafe that has it.

This week has gotten much much colder. It’s been raining or cloudy for the most part. If the sun is out, it isn’t for long, and it doesn’t bring much heat with it :( I pulled my winter jacket out of my suitcase on Friday. I haven’t worn it yet, I’m trying to enjoy my pleather one for a little bit longer. It’s cold enough to wear it though.

Oh! I can’t believe I almost forgot. We are going to see the Lion King in London! It’s been confirmed. The children don’t know yet, it’s a secret. I’ve heard it’s excellent, I’m quite excited.

Also, I should let you know my home address has changed. I’m not sure if any of you would need it, but if you want it please let me know. Or if you wanted to mail me letters while I’m here I have the office address you can send it to and it will be sent to me.

I’m phoning people to try and organize tomorrow, and then I will call my family and get some sleep :)

Tuesday, 6 October, 2009 10:54PM

On the way to my host’s house today we had to stop in the middle of the road because 5 cows had escaped. They were right next to the car. I grabbed my camera but not quick enough :( It was really funny though. The fence they got through was quite high, I’m not sure how they got out, but they were just wandering around. Across the street there were about 20 goats watching them very intently. Further down there was a field of sheep. Just a little taste of what the county of Fermanagh has to offer. It’s really beautiful here. I think we have now been in all the county’s of Nothern Ireland. Pretty cool. It only takes about 3 hours to get across the country. It’s just a “wee” one.

Last night 2 of the girls I am staying with lost teeth (Phephile and Tintswalo) Gabsile pulled out Tintswalo’s and about 5 minutes after getting in bed Phephile comes out with hers in her hand. It was funny how it all happened so quickly. They are on the side of their mouth, but they want to hide their smiles because they think they look silly now. You can’t even notice them, it feels different when it’s your mouth though.

I had a good day off, but I didn’t get the nap I wanted, I’m going to bed now. Early morning and we are going to Ballynahinch which is on the other side of the country. It’ll take a few hours to get there. Hopefully I can rest a bit.

Thursday, 8 October, 2009 11:46PM Ballynahinch, NI

I love the hosts I am with now, they have 3 girls, and I'm with girls. It's been really nice. We are in a nice big home in the countryside. They told me to go on the Internet and do whatever I want, then she brought up hot water for me to make my herbal tea and gave me cake and chocolate, it was wonderful.

Yesterday it was 4 C. I couldn't believe it. I put on my winter coat. All of our hands were freezing, we just weren't prepared for it to get that cold that fast. Anyway, today is was hot and sunny. I was outside with just a sweater on. The sun was shining in the classroom and the kids were all saying it was too hot. Very interesting weather they have here in the UK, the people will all say the same thing too. The girls played outside on the play park they built in the backyard, it's pretty fancy. They said everyone likes to come over to play.

We are off to Stormont tomorrow, but this time it's not the castle, we are performing at a church there. I can't believe we are going to be leaving for England next Saturday. Exciting stuff!

Got a new book to read from Jenny so I'll start that tomorrow if I can get all my work done. It's not too far to the next venue so I'll have to work quickly.

Talk to you soon!

Friday, 9 October, 2009 5:10PM Belfast, NI

Another crazy weather day today. It’s pouring rain, heavy rain. The most rain I’ve seen in a long long time. The wind is strong and blowing it everywhere. My 5 pound boots aren’t waterproof so I’m trying to stay inside. I’ve got my waterproof winter coat next to me. I’m glad I pulled it out when I did.

I’ve decided that this week I’m going without crisps (potato chips) and chocolate. They are 2 things I eat pretty much everyday, and it’s not healthy at all. I don’t want to continue to gain weight. It’s not always easy to eat healthy when other people feed you all the time. The fact that I can’t go to the gym to work it off makes it hard too. It’s really hard to not eat. I told myself I would do it last week but I gave in, but I today was day 1 and I made it through. I also don’t eat bread if I have the option. I do on occasion, but most times it’s the main part of the meal so I can’t avoid it.

I have to go eat dinner now, but I had to type this while I had a chance and still in my brain. I forget a lot of things I want to write...

Saturday, 10 October, 2009 9:02AM Belfast, NI

One night stays are awful. I always feel bad for the host families. They barely get to see the kids and yet they are so willing to have us in their home. I guess a bit of the kids is better than none.

So the other Chaparones think I will give in to the chips and chocolate, I know I won’t because I already made it through one day, that gives me enough motivation for the rest. Also, my trousers are getting tighter everyday, so I gotta lose a bit of weight, even if its 5 pounds. Weight is in stones here, it really confused me when I saw a scale. 1 stone is 14 pounds. It’s nice to see a small number when you jump on haha.

I’ve got to get some breakfast and get the boys going. We are going to Carryduff today.

Week 2 and 3 - Northern Ireland, Ireland, Scotland

Monday, June 8th, 2009 1:58PM Portadown Base Camp

So as you can see I am getting less diligent with this. I’m really tired now, and just don’t have the energy to get out my laptop and start typing away. I feel like I need a vacation haha. You probably all think I am on one, but I’m not. It’s really stressful, for many reasons.

We had our second concert on Saturday night in Portstewart, where I was last weekend. I got to meet Ray Barnett, he’s a very very nice man. He liked that I was Canadian. This concert was much better than the first.

My host family was very nice. One of the daughters friends told the girls a funny bedtime story, they liked that. My host family lived a block away from where Heather’s sister lives. It’s right next to the ocean, along The Strand. I didn’t take pictures again because I have some from last time. In the morning we went to the beach. It was extremely cold. The girls were collecting seashells. I went close to the water to wash one off and got my shoe filled with water when the tide came in, that wasn’t fun. They didn’t have internet which is why you didn’t hear from me. I went to sleep right after the girls because the mom gave up her bed for the girls so she was sleeping on the couch. It was very sweet of her.

Now we are back at base camp and I’m feeling quite tired.

I know most of the children’s names now. There’s a few boys I get mixed up from time to time, but I’ve pretty much got it.

I have to say that I’m already sick of eating sandwiches. I have bread at almost every meal and my body isn’t handling it very well. I try to avoid it when possible. but it isn’t easy when that’s the only option and you are hungry.

Today we finally started school. It’s weird but it was my favorite part of the day. I’m a tutor for 6 children. Some are at higher levels than others so it may get switched as time goes on. We did classroom rules, they copied it into their notebooks and then we did some literacy (English).

Tuesday, 9 June, 2009 4:27PM Paddy Wagon Limo Bus

I just realized I wrote the date differently. That’s how they do it here, and I have to write it a lot for administration stuff, so I’m just getting used to it. I’m not yet used to the way they say the time. Something like 4:30 would be said “half past 4” where I would say “four thirty.” I don’t even use the terms “quarter to” or “quarter after” I guess that’s why it seems so foreign to me.

Anyway, today we went to Dublin, Ireland to meet the President. We first went to the Dublin Zoo, which was cool. I got some neat pictures. The children were filmed and aired on the afternoon news. The presidents house is connected to the zoo. Part of the land was given to the zoo so they could have more space for the animals.

You may not know the President of Ireland is a female. Her name is Mary McAleese. She’s extremely nice. The choir sang 2 songs for her. They were planning on doing a “pop/soda can dance” but the performance was done on carpet, which doesn’t work for the dance.

They made us fruit platters and juice, and there were some really yummy desserts. We got a group picture so hopefully I will get a copy.

Right now we are on our way back to our base camp in Portadown, Northern Ireland.

I didn’t realize it would be this long that I wouldn’t have communication with anyone. It really really bothered me yesterday. I tried to not let it show, I told Michelle, but I eventually got over it. It still bothers me greatly, but I really don’t have a choice so I just have to deal with it.

We are going to Belfast on Thursday to the Parliament buildings and doing a concert for a Business in the Community event. Friday or Saturday we are heading to Scotland and are there until July 13th. Then we are off to Dubai! I was told we are there for 2 weeks. Our next concert isn’t until August 10th, so we may take a week off and do a fun camp for the kids. I can’t believe how much time has gone by already. I think my time here will be finished before I know it. In ways I’m very happy, but in ways I am sad. I want to enjoy all the time I have with the children. I’m doing this for them, it’s not about me at all.

We are getting going again, and I’m using up my battery power so I’m going for now.

I honestly have no idea when I will even have the possibility of having internet. I’m guessing my next host family or possibly at the next church we perform at, but I don’t know when that is. Probably Friday is Scotland if I had to guess.

Wednesday, 18 June, 2009 11:32PM Motherwell, Scotland

So it’s been a while since I’ve written. I’ve gotten a hold of internet, but not too much. So I have ignored this for a while. It’s late and I’m tired, but I know if I don’t do it tonight, it might not be til next week. We have 3 concerts this weekend so it will keep me quite busy.

Last Friday we did leave for Scotland. I’m here now and there is a big rain storm. I haven’t missed the rain. I talked to my family and so I’m feeling much much better about things. I stayed with a wonderful family in Carstairs. I had 4 boys with me, I was quite nervous, but it ended up being fabulous. I really enjoyed them. They behave much better in host families, so it’s quite easy. The hardest part is getting them in and out of the shower and into bed. They seem to think its play time still. Boys will be boys.

I’ve had internet 3 times, 2 of them were on someone else’s computer which is why you STILL haven’t seen this. I’m a bit mad at myself for not being able to do it when I had the chance, but I was replying to emails instead. They were important. I just feel like this is so outdated, and if i was more diligent you would have more info.

Our first days in Scotland were wonderful. We went to the beach in Ayr, and the children loved it. There was also a really great swing park, I got a few pictures, which I am finally uploading onto my computer as I type this. There are a lot, so I am using the time to do this, even though I’d rather sleep.

My last host family was in Carstairs, where I had the 4 boys. It’s a very very small village where everyone knows everyone. I love it. The people at the church were just amazing at how much they supported us with everything. So loving. They set it up that all the children got bathing suits and they got a pool reserved for us to all swim together. We had our first 3 night stay here, so the first night the boys went out to play football in the village park across the street, and literally ALL the children from the village showed up. Everyone knew we were there, a few other host families joined us, so there were about 12 of the choir children. All the girls were talking pictures and interviewing the boys. It was really funny to me. We were pretty much celebrities to them. The people there said it was nice to see everyone get together to play with them.

It was on my day off that we went swimming, but I don’t regret going at all. It’s cute because all the children just latch on the adults and want to be pulled around. It was only their second time in a pool, so they are still somewhat getting used to it, so they aren’t too adventurous yet. None of them are afraid to be in it, though some will stay in the kid pool still. It’s nice that way because I didn’t feel too nervous knowing they pretty much all stayed near an adult on their own. I think Dubai will be different because it will be public pools with a lot of people in them, so we are going to have to be watching them all like hawks.

The earlier part of my day off was spent with Michelle. My great host family woke up the boys and got them all ready to go, so I got to have what they call a late lye. (sleeping in) I woke up just to make sure everything was smoothly and to remind the boys what clothes to wear. It’s a daily thing to remind them of what clothes they need to wear.

My host family drove us into New Lanark where we did a little bit of shopping and looking around. It’s a very small place, but quite cute. We wanted to go out to eat just for something different. So we went to a pizza/fish n chips place. We ordered our food and the seating area was separated, then they put our food in bags and we asked if we could eat it there, but she said no. We had to sit there and order it on the other side if we wanted to eat inside. It was strange. So we ate in a Tesco’s parking lot. Tesco is one of the major supermarkets here. It’s closest to our Super Wal Mart, but its more of a grocery store, the other departments aren’t very big, but bigger than a normal grocery store. They have a store called Asda, which is owned by Wal Mart, it’s supposed to be better than Tesco and it’s 24 hours. I haven’t yet been to one. I’m excited though. There isn’t really malls anywhere. I’ve been to 2 so far, but didn’t spend much time in them, they are quite similar to ours, just smaller. Most towns just have the stores on the side of the road in old buildings.

It was really hard to leave Carstairs, it’s my favorite place so far. I actually got teary eyed leaving. I wouldn’t want to live there I don’t think, but the people are infectious and make you want to stay, I didn’t notice that there was nothing to do because I just enjoyed my time with the people, it makes you realize what you really need and don’t need to survive. This whole trip I’ve been realizing that more and more everyday.

I also heard there is a slight chance we will be going back, everyone is really excited. We all pretty much felt the same way about the experience. We also will get to stay with the same host families.

I am now in Motherwell, and staying with 3 girls. Two are quite noisy, still good, so it takes a bit of extra effort to get things done. One of them is my partner on the bus, she’s soo soo sooo cute.

My host family is very nice and let me use their phone and computer, they are rather shy, so I wasn’t sure if I should stay down and talk to them, so I just told them I had things I needed to get done and they were fine with it.

The wind is quite strong here, at least right now it is. It also just got dark. It took forever for the girls to settle into bed because they still think its daytime. It looked like it was Noon outside when they went to bed at 9ish tonight. It’s sometimes hard for me to get used to as well.

Anyway, things are getting a lot better for me, I feel more comfortable everyday, and enjoying myself more, and learning so much. It’s really nice. I’ll fill in any other details I may have forgotten later.

Oh, four of the children got sick on the bus coming here because we were driving along the coast in the bus, the road is very curvy, it wasn’t a pretty picture. Pictures are done downloading, I’ll have to name them another time.

I burnt my hair on my curling iron... I got a new converter and it is obviously too powerful for it, my other one says the same voltage, and it didn’t happen with it, so I don’t know what the issue is. My flat iron turns on, but it doesn’t get hot. I don’t want to leave it in too long and have it blow up on me or something. I might buy a cheap one here, haven’t decided yet. I don’t get much time to do cool things with my hair. Busy waking the children up. I’m totally living the life of a mom. Moms deserve more love people. You don’t realize what they go through until you have to do it yourself.

P.S. Yogurt is Amazing here! I love it. It's soo soo much better. Sorry people. It has way more flavor to me. Ive tried so many brands too. They are all so yummy.