Foreign Lauren

I've had a bit of time this afternoon to jazz up the blog so I've moved it over to tumblr - which gives me some better customization options.
Sorry if I've caused any confusion!

The new link is: foreignlauren.tumblr.com

See you there!

- Loz

Hi again! I'll probably be posting fairly regularly while the goings on are still fairly fresh in my mind - otherwise I'll have myself in all sorts of confusion.

I woke early this morning with the promise of a skype call to home, but by the time I'd organised myself to turn the computer on my family had decided to go out to the park for the evening! So, now that I know how to get there, I pottered around in the staff lounge for the morning before getting ready for church by 10.30 - or half 10 as the locals would say. As Fi and Paige were on Horse duty this morning they had convinced Joel to drive them in for the evening church service and so it was just me accompanying Ben, Lynsey and the boys to church. I squeezed into the back of their 4WD in-between two large baby seats, with a sleepy 9month old on one side and a grumpy toddler on the other. Apparently both the boys had woken by 5.30 (or half 5) making for an interesting morning for the family. Church was a 20min drive north to a small village called Blairgowrie, where Ben and Lynsey previously lived before moving to Teen Ranch. I didn't discover much about the church except that it is an evangelical church. The church itself is quite a small building with maybe 30 in attendance today, though Ben assured me there were at least 15 missing (including the other Teen Ranchers). There was a mix of oldies and a few younger, around my age. I met a couple who worked for Teen Ranch 5 or so years ago, one of whom was another Australian. The service was nice and simple, with a few hymns played on the piano, a children's talk and a main message. After the service I found myself a hot cup of coffee and had some conversations with some lovely older folk. I almost bowled one poor man (named Hamish!) over by bumping into him causing him to drop his stick and spill his coffee! For a terrifying moment I thought he was genuinely mad at me until after some extended fussing he made a wise crack about the Australian knocking over an old man, which he continued to do every time we crossed paths! We didn't mingle too long before heading back as Lynsey's parents were coming up from Glasgow to have a family lunch.

Back at the ranch I declined the kind offer to join the family lunch in favour of catching a ride into Dundee with Joel, Fi and Paige in the hope that I could get some groceries for my cupboard in the kitchen and be able to cook some meals for the week. First stop was the travel agent where Fi picked up tickets for a holiday Ailsa, Andy, Ross and Fi (I think that's all...) are taking in a weeks time to some Island - I haven't managed to decipher the name through their Scottish accents yet but apparently it's some place warm, and I possibly heard some mention of 'near Africa'. After Joel and I both announced we were rather hungry we made a beeline for McDonalds where I was momentarily overwhelmed by the strange differences in product names. Eventually I ordered a Chicken Legend meal - which is something like our Chicken Classic (the newer chicken burger) only in a longer bun and with a spicier crumb mix from what I could tell, I quite liked it. We then headed into a shopping mall and straight into Primark - which seems to be a favourite amongst the Teen Ranchers, though there's debate between English Paige and Scottish Fi and Lynsey as to whether it is pronounced "Prymark" or Preemark". Primark is quite a large clothing store and reasonably cheap, especially in the clearance sections! I picked myself out a nice warm pair of ug boots - which it seems are quite acceptable footwear here with many people in the shops and outside wondering about in them. After a lengthy stay in Primark we were headed back to the car and over to Tesco - which is another supermarket come cheap department store. Here I set about doing my grocery shopping picking up a little bit from here and there as I saw things I might need. I managed to spend almost 40Quid on 3 bags of groceries which is roughly $65 Australian dollars - not so bad I suppose considering that included a $20 hair-dryer. Walking out of the shop I had my second fiasco of the day - setting off the security senses with a tag that was left in the bottom of my hair-dryer box, fortunately the security man was very kind and apologised to me for the hassel! Nevertheless I couldn't help feeling like the dopey Aussie knocking over old men and stealing hair-dryers from the shop!!

Soon we were back home and unloading our groceries - the girls had also done some shopping - and after pottering around for a while began cooking our respective meals. Paige offered me a taste of makeral, which was nice enough considering I'm not a huge fan of fish but I quickly regretted eating it as I felt a bit uneasy having eaten nothing better than McDonalds for the majority of the day. I cooked up some lasagne and vegies and shared with Joel who managed to avoid cooking by also testing out Fi and Paiges fried Mackerals, and fish pie. Fi, who has just about every kind of allergy and illness you could name, soon rushed out of the room to revisit her portion of fish pie, much to the dismay of the cook - Paige, who isn't very confident in the kitchen. Shortly after dinner Paige had convinced us to make another trip into Dundee to visit the 24 hour bakery - which turned out to be more of a take-away store with baked goods. As I was still feeling squirmish from my poor nutritional choices, and extremely drowsy, I settled for a bottle of coke in the hope it would perk me up enough for a Skype chat once it became a decent hour back home.

Back at the house Joel and Paige gave me the tour of the laundry before I retreated to my room for a skype call home. Along the way I bumped into Ailsa and Strudle (the puppy) and either Andy or Ross - not quite sure which one - who had not long returned from their weekend away. And that about brings me to now, sitting in a comfy big chair in my bedroom writing this post. It's 10.30pm here now and I've got an 8am start in the morning for my first day of work! Work days here begin with devotions in the staff lounge at 8am, where the staff (me included) are given a topic and take turns to lead. I'm told the working day goes from 8.30am - 5pm with breaks for morning tea and lunch. When camps are on Mondays are the only day off, but at this time of year we work Mon - Fri. I think next weekend is the last free weekend before the camps begin again and don't really stop until after summer, so I will be down to one day off a week very soon.

Well I'd better call it a night! I'm sure there will be much to share tomorrow from my first working day experience - I'll also try to snap a few more photos to make the read more interesting and put a few faces to names.

Thanks for reading!

- Loz

After 31 hours of travel (about 36 if you count the drive to Brisbane airport) including stops in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Manchester, I'm finally here!! As promised I'm endeavouring to keep a blog so I can update you all without posting ridiculously long facebook statuses and never ending photo albums I'll apologise now if my writing gets too detailed and tedious (I think tedious story telling is in my genes) - hopefully the posts will get lighter on the further I progress.

For those of you who haven't caught up with what I'm doing - a quick intro: I've moved to Scotland to live and work at a place called Teen Ranch - www.teenranch.co.uk - which is a Christian based campsite for teens. I'll be working as the Personal Assistant to the Manager, and Graphic Design will be a significant part of my role. I have no set length of time to stay here, I've got 2 years in mind though my visa allows me to stay for up to 5!

Anyway, back to the trip! Thursday began with a 5.30am wake up, a quick shower and breakfast before jamming my bags shut and testing them on the scales one last time (thanks for the loan of your scales Amy!), and a last look around my rather empty room to make sure nothing was left behind. All my possessions were now either in my 30kgs of luggage, in a huge pile for donation to the Salvo store or packed away in boxes (or similar) in case of the unfortunate chance of Dad and Jenny having to move house before my return - which is a hardly a slim chance in their profession! By 6.45 Dad, Jenny, Charlie and I had manage to organise ourselves into the car, with a healthy amount of last minute stress and tension, and were on our way to pick up Amy, who Charlie kindly invited along for the ride, and onwards to Brisbane airport - a 2hr40min drive according to google. 15minutes down the road I had successfully unnerved Jenny into demanding that we stop the car by stating that I wasn't 100% certain I had my plane ticket packed, although I was fairly sure it was in there somewhere. A quick check of my bag and sure enough my ticket was buried underneath a parcel of chocolate and treats given to me as a parting gift the night before from the lolly loving Matt and Lexi (by the way they assure me here that UK chocolate far surpasses Aussie chocolate - I'll get back to you on that!). After checking for a couple of extra items I hopped back into the car to reassure Jenny who had begun panicking at my extended foraging. Thanks to daylight savings we gained an hour by crossing into QLD and so arrived at the airport with plenty of time to change some currency, check-in, buy a duty free camera and enjoy a farewell coffee with the family (and Amy!). Then it was through security and immigration and off to the gate where, by coincidence, the first person I spoke to, a Canadian girl by the name of Asya, happened to be probably the only other passenger also connecting all the way through to Edinburgh (judging by the mere 12 passengers on the final flight!).

I tried to embrace feeling uncomfortably hot and sticky for the last time before boarding the plane just before midday (QLD time). I was a little dismayed when I discovered I'd been assigned a window seat - but then increasingly excited as I realised the only seat between me and the aisle was unoccupied! It didn't remain empty for long as either partner of a couple with two young children took advantage of the seat to get some rest while the other was babysitting. They weren't too bad though, and periodically left the seat - although at times I was joined by the youngest child who liked to pass me her dummy or socks, or try to climb on me! She was extremely cute though so it was forgiveable! I passed the first of three 8hour legs by watching some new release movies I was yet to see (namely The Social Network, and Avatar). Our first stop was at Singapore where we were kicked off the plane while it was cleaned and refuelled. We also lost a few passengers and gained a new lot in their place as well as a new cabin crew. I had time to check-in on facebook, freshen up in the bathroom and stroll around for 5minutes while I received a quick phonecall from home to say goodnight to Charlie (yay for international roaming!). Unfortunately I didn't get to see much more of Changi airport than the gates I arrived and departed at, which were side by side. Back on the plane I had gained a permanent passanger in the seat beside me - a quiet chap, which made for a pleasant trip. After another movie or two and some dinner I squeezed in a tad bit of sleep before our arrival at Abu Dhabi - the final destination for the first flight. We landed in Abu Dhabi (the capital of United Arab Emrites and the home of Etihad Airways with whom I flew) at around 11pm local time which was early morning back home, around 5am I think. Having recieved my boarding pass for the onward flight back in Brisbane I progressed straight through security and passed the hour or so stop over by grabbing a snack in the terminal food court and wandering the shops trying to get my head around the strange new currency (Arab Emirates Dhari I think...). After re-uniting with my Canadian friend at the gate, it was soon time to board our onward flight to Manchester, another 8 hour journey.

I was again assigned a window seat, but on the opposite side of the plane. This time the chairs were grouped in threes and while there was a gentlemen seated in the aisle side end of my row, the seat between us was left empty. I took advantage of the spare blanket and pillow and should have been cozy enough to sleep straight through the majority of the last long leg of travel, but my tailbone was now aching, from the previous 16 hours, which resulted in waking every 40-60min to reshuffle into a new non-excruciating position. We landed in Manchester just before 6am local time which by now was 7pm Friday night back home. Somehow I fooled my body into believing it really was just the next morning, and it had simply been a long night so I was feeling pretty awake. Asya and I agreed to stick together through Manchester Airport as we'd had no instruction of what to do and both needed to pass through immigration and collect boarding passes for the next flight - which was leaving in 2hours time. I passed through immigration no worries - Asya however had a bit of a scare. We waited for at least 15minutes while the immigration officer went into a private room to work something out. It turns out Asya's visa wasn't valid until the 11th of Feburary but as she had no idea and the immigration officer had accidently already stamped it he arranged for her to have a holiday visa and she was eventually able to pass through - very lucky!! Here the fun began - we wondered around completely unsure of where we were headed - up 5 levels in a lift to the main check-in area where we got bounced around and eventually recieved reciepts for our boarding passes - then back down the same lift to follow the signs to our terminal, unexpectedly ending up outside in the cold which, although the sun hadn't yet risen, was quite refreshing! Although we felt like we were merely headed to the carpark we soon found our way into our terminal. More boarding pass confusion occured before we realised we were yet to properly check in in this terminal. We eventually recieved our boarding passes and continued through security with 40minutes to spare before boarding time.First thing on the agenda was a major freshen-up in the bathroom followed by coffee and the internet kiosk - not even free wifi at Manchester Airport (well at least I couldn't get it working anyway)!

Soon we were waiting to board our final flight - a 40min journey to Edinburgh. Asya and I passed the time checking the scenery below us (whenever it was more than just fog), trying to convince ourselves that we were finally in the UK, and getting excited about what the day/s ahead had in store for us. Very soon we had landed and proceeded to the baggage claim area to search for our bags and meet our lifts. For Asya this was her boyfriend, Richard, a Scot whom she met whilst backpacking in Australia. I was waiting for Ailsa, the Staff Co-ordinator here at Teen Ranch with whom I had had the majority of my email contact. We soon found each other, and my bags, and were in the car making the 40 minute drive to Teen Ranch.

As I verbablly admired the heavy morning frost around us, which I had mistaken for a light snowfall, Ailsa informed me that it has finally stopped snowing here in Scotland and they are hoping the worst of winter is behind them. She soon pointed out large fields that were still covered in light snow yet to melt, which I otherwise would have mistaken for "lochs", as well as the actual lochs that were completely iced over. And then we were heading down the driveway to Teen Ranch, with more snow covered fields and it's own iced loch. Once inside we carted my heavy bags up three storeys to my room at the top of the house (which is an old Georgian mansion). Then it was a quick tour, which to my mind was a cofusing maze of doors, corridors, and stairwells, before heading down to the kitchen to meet and join the rest of the staff for morning tea. I accepeted the offer of a hot cup of coffee and piece of toast and was pleasantly suprised when a jar of vegimite miraculously appeared in front of me. Upon admitting I had not brought my own vegemite I was relieved to find a tower of yellow and red labeled jars in the pantry!

I'm told there are about 17-18 staff living on-site, but they are not all here currently as it's one of their last weekends off before the camps start. I was introduced to, or rather re-united with, Bob and Jen Ockenden who are Australians who moved to Scotland to begin Teen Ranch here. I apparently met them and their family in Australia when I was a 7 or 8 year old, as Jen has strong ties to my Dad's family, but unfortunately have no recollection of the occasion! I was also introduced to their son, Ben, who is now the manager here and for whom I will work as personal assistant when I begin next week. Jen informed us that we played together as kids but despite Ben being 5 or so years my senior he also has no memory of our meeting. Others I was introduced to were Paige - an English girl who works with the horses here, Fiona - a Scot who is the secretary, Mareck - a Frenchman, Joel - an Aussie from Brisbane, and two married couples from Romania - Nelu & Nela and Dana & Christi. I think I also met Ross but haven't learnt anything about him yet as he left with Ailsa and her husband Andy, whom I'm yet to meet, for a weekend trip to visit Ailsa's family (apparently Ross is keen on, if not dating, one of Ailsa's relatives).

After a bit of a chat with my new house-mates and colleagues, Ailsa continued the confusing tour of the house. Then it was back upstairs to retrieve Ailsa's Jack Russell puppy, Strudel, from her and Andy's flat - which is up the corridor from my room - and then outside to explore the grounds. First stop was the caravan, or "office suite" as some like to refer to it, in which I will soon be working alongside Ben and Ailsa. Next we visited the loch which is completely frozen over and looks rather tiny compared to the large loch like fields of ice surrounding it (sorry I love the word "loch"). We spent our time here trying to keep Strudel, the puppy, from venturing too far over the thin ice. Apparently he fell in the other day but clearly hasn't learnt from his mistake! Then it was past the shooting gallery/rifle range - whatever the lingo is - and down to the barn to meet the horses, of which I believe there are 34, where it dawned on me that I had never even stroked a horse before! On the way back up to the house we popped in to say hi to two pigs which I think Ben and his wife, Lynsey, bought as tiny piglets for their sons for Christmas. Finally I was off to my room to settle in a little and have a glorious hot shower before joining everyone again for lunch. After a sandwich, cupcake, some hot tea and long chat/catch-up with Bob and Jen I retreated to my room to get some rest for the afternoon. This mostly involved the beginnings of this mammoth blog post but by 4pm the sun was setting and I was beginning to feel the weight of my travels. I managed to get a half hour nap in at somewhere between 5 or 6pm.

Shortly after slapping myself awake I joined Paige and Fi (Fiona) for a pitch black trek over ice and mud to Ben and Lynsey's house at the other end of the property. They had kindly invited us all over for Chinese take-away - Joel and the Romanians were already inside. Here I was introduced to Lynsey and her and Ben's two sons - Joel who is 2 and a half, and Seth who is 9 months. By 10pm I was making the trek back to the house where I enjoyed a lovely Skype conversation with Dad, Jenny and Charlie before crashing for the night. I managed to sleep really normal hours - going to bed by 11 and getting up at 7, only waking once during the night. Once up and moving I found myself some ceral and tea and enjoyed watching some squirrels playing outside the window. I took the opportunity while the house was quiet to do some exploring but this really only added to my confusion more than anything. I soon found Paige and had her show me the way to the Staff lounge which has couches, a TV and a kitchenette in which we each have cupboard space and can cook our own meals when needed. My first full day at Teen Ranch had me grooming and riding a horse for the first time! I rode a large Clydesdale named Ben, and enjoyed it for the most part - although I was a little unnerved by any prolonged periods of trotting. It was however a lovely way to explore the grounds, following trails behind the house and around the loch. Most of the horse trails are closed due to ice so I'm assured there will be plenty of riding left to do come summer.

The afternoon was spent eating soup and bread, and drinking tea, at Ben and Lynsey's house followed by a stroll around the loch at sunset. By just after 5 the girls headed into Dundee to do some "grocery" shopping for dinner. The supermarkets in the UK however are far more than just a grocery store - they're more like Target and Wooly's combined so we had a lengthy browse of the DVD's (which are really cheap!) and clothing before getting down to business and buying the food. Back at Ben and Lynesy's we began cooking up a Mexican feast of nachos and fajitas which was very tasty. Dinner was followed by ice-cream and "sweeties" (lollies/chocolate) which seem to be very very popular here! My alertness began fading rapidly so by 9.30 I made the freezing journey back to the house with the aide of my new green torch - thanks Charlie! And here I am now sitting in the staff lounge finally finishing this epic intro blog post!

If you've mangaged to read right through it then thank-you for your interest in my life but you probably need to get your own! Nah, just kidding - I really really appreciate the generosity, care and concern that you have all showed to me whether it be through cards, facebook comments, gifts and donations or verbal encouragement. Every bit has meant a lot and given me the courage and determination to take this massive step in my life. I am so grateful to God for this opportunity and how incredibly he has blessed me by making everything about my coming here so clarified and mostly hassle-free. I absolutely love it here so far - hopefully my enthusiasm and gratitude keeps up after a few weeks of the hard slog that I'm told is coming my way!

Well that's it for me now! I've arranged a ride to church with Ben and Lynsey in the morning and though I was pleased to here the service isn't until 11:15 I could really do with a long nights sleep before then. Oh and for those of you who only managed a skim read - I'll do my best to keep my posts shorter and to the point from now on - but I probably can't make any promises with any level of confidence!

Bye for now,

Loz