ALS Ice Bucket challenge

I did it, after much deliberation I decided that it was well worth pouring a bucket of ice cold water over my head despite all the criticisms that the fad has been getting. I was lucky in that the person that nominated me asked if I wanted to do it first, so I had some time to really think about it and decide if I was willing to take part. A part of me was temped to stand in the side lines and continue being the person who judges such internet trends but I think that sometimes, taking part in what everyone else is doing is not so bad, but only sometimes.

I did some research and I came to the conclusion that despite whatever claims were being made about the money not going to the correct places or whatever other accusations people were making, I decided that it was worth it because of the awareness that was being spread. Had the challenge not become a trend, I would not have known as much as I do now about ALS and I would never have been compelled to play a part in spreading awareness, to however small an audience.

So here is my challenge. It was oddly refreshing despite my body almost shutting down because of the cold. But I survived. :)

That's all, Bye! :)x

Plans and things

Now that I have caught my breath after a crazy amazing fortnight in London, I can give this here blog a little update (note that the incorrect grammar is purposeful.)

It is the most surreal and strange feeling knowing that I am going to be leaving in two weeks so I actually have to say goodbye to people. I have been planning a sort of farewell type thing just so that I can see people and say thank you to them personally for having me in their wonderful country and making my stay here an absolute blast. I also have to stop myself from becoming weirdly sentimental about everything, which I am doing a horrific job at.

Lets just make a leap to a completely different, slightly shudder inducing, topic shall we?... University

Throughout the course of this year I have always had universities and the like in the back of my mind and I have been constantly tracking applications and doing whatever research needed to be done. the next step for me is to do an interview and a portfolio for Wits, which is my first choice. This is slightly nerve racking but I think that if I just sit down and finish it off (I started quite a while ago) it should all be fine.

On a slightly less worrying note, I have been accepted to my second and third choices so there is always that. These choices being Rhodes university and University of Pretoria which are located in Grahamstown and Pretoria respectively.

Also coming to the surface now is what I will do when I get back to the land of my people (take that and do with it what you will.) I will probably do some work, by some I mean a lot, to save up for Uni and just to get that little bit of extra experience. I will also just spend some time with my family just to catch up on where we all are at in life.

I realise that this post is mostly just me speaking about plans and such, but its kind of nice because now I have to follow through with it seeing as I have written it down and shared it with people. Who knew that this blog would serve a dual purpose?

That's all, Bye! :)x

As Promised: London!

My ticket to London. Is this relevant? No, but why not. 

BS: (Which is like PS but before. probably not the best choice of letters but, yeah.):  I am sure that this is the longest post I have ever done so sorry about all the reading.

As promised, here is a "cheeky" post about my 2 week stay in London. But first, I would like to point out, that I am disappointed that no one, and I mean no one, uses the word "cheeky" like I thought they would. So UK, boo on the false advertising, man.

The London eye, in passing, at night. 

Moving along. Yes, London, for the two weeks I was in the city that is so often referred to as the black smoke, I was doing an internship at a PR company. It was crazy though how much of my actual intellect and thought was required for this internship because I was actually doing actual things. Well, actual research, but it was quite a big thing which was really nice to get stuck into. let's play guess how many times Nomsa says "actual".

There was another intern there as well at the time which was cool because then I didn't feel like I was the only newbie who didn't know what was going on, although I am sure she knew more than I did about things because unlike me she was in the process of being educated at university. The best thing though, is that all the people at work were really cool and really nice and I was able to chat to them about things and ask for help where I needed it.

I did my internship at a PR company called Gong. The people are really cool and not to brag, but I sort of organised this internship myself so I was quite chuffed when it worked out. 

This is a view from the office, they are right next to Marylebone High Street so lunch time was always an adventure. 

But, my two week stay wasn't just an internship. A big part of it, was that for the first time ever, I stayed in hostel. Like a hostel with random other people from all over the world. It was great because I met a million and one new people, most of whom were impressed with my South African accent- I really don't see the appeal, but I'll take it. I also met a few South Africans- who would have thought?

It was decided that my nails were the same shade of blue as the Caffe Nero brand. My conclusion: I am Italian and fabulous. 

Beautiful things at the Covent Garden market.

This thing. 90s kids, you know, right?

I spent an hour trying to figure out how intentional this was.Mad architecture.

I don't know what or where exactly this is but yeah.

The hostel I stayed at is called The Generator and the best thing is that they are a chain of hostels so they have more scattered in various cities in Europe and the first rule of the hostel is: "Have fun" and then all the other health and safety stuff. They have a bar that always has something going on- DJs, Live music and game nights, so there literally is never a dull moment and you do not have to be worried about having to go out in London by yourself because you are bound to meet interesting people who are willing to hang out with you.

One of the bartenders does really cool things with glasses and bottles and he throws things and it's quite scary but it's really cool. 

Some cool people that I met. From Belgium and Italy respectively.They have successfully convinced me to go and visit Europe. 

To end off my stay in London, I did something called a pub crawl. Essentially, you buy a ticket which gives you free entry into various places, reduced drink prices and a free shot at every stop, all at a reasonable price. So you save money, meet new people and have a good time, what more could you need? I think the general idea of the pub crawl is that by the end of the night people are crawling between the pubs, and rolling themselves home, which I wasn't because: sensibility, right? And also because I was accompanied by a lovely (then stranger, now friend) called Sofia... she's from Italy so she's obviously great.

Overall I had an incredible time, an exhausting time, but incredible none the less. So for now, I am taking a hiatus from city life in the beautiful countryside of Somerset.

That's all, Bye! :) x

P.S: just kidding there isn't a PS, you've been punked son! Ok, I'm done.

England in Summation

Although there are still a few months of my gap year left, my stay in England is drawing to a close and it is the strangest thing in the world. I think that after living in a place for almost 6 months, it does start to feel a little like home, especially if you get a chance to meet the amazing people that I have. I have done more things than I could have ever imagined and I have learnt so much about who I am as a person- I am actually a person.

This being said, I do miss home and I do miss my family so I guess that is the bright side to leaving this amazing country. It will be a bit strange though to go back to what seems like a completely different world and I am sure that I will seem like a completely different person, which I am not, I am just a more enhanced version of myself.

It’s funny because at first I thought that taking a gap year was a bit of a crazy decision, and that I would get halfway and be like “I should have just taken the university option.” When in actually fact, I realise that it would have been crazier for me to not have taken a year off.

Anyway the purpose of this post (she says 3 paragraphs in) is to a give a short timeline/summary of what I have done while in the UK so here it is:

• Arrived(obviously) on the 21st of march to freezing cold weather to which everyone referred as fresh... Anyone who's never been to the UK, fresh= arctic conditions, but colder. 
• Did some work experience with a web designer where I did some of the copy for one their clients’ page, and learnt how Google AdWords work.
• Volunteered at an organisation that was building a bereavement garden at the time. It was incredible to also see how the final garden looked, it was absolutely beautiful.
• http://participatearts.org.uk/ 
• I then went to watch HMS pinafore by Gilbert and Sullivan, possibly one of the best plays that I have seen in a long time.
• Went to a lovely place called New Quay for a short 1 week holiday. I didn't do a post about it (unfortunately) but here is a picture of the lovely people that I met. 

• Went to do my internship in London at an advertising agency called Publicis.
• I then went to visit a very good friend of mine in Birmingham (Hannah(pictured below) and John and Vanessa and JJ( not pictured below)), we have been friends since we were like 3 basically which is incredibly amazing.

 This is a picture of as looking super flawless.

• I then went on a tour of London which I made a video about, I was taken on said tour by some friends (the lovely Sandy and Thomasina.)
• I then did a two day work experience thingy at a productioncompany in London. It was for the Marks and Spencer’s summer campaign (I think I can mention it now.)
• I then went to the lovely, amazingly beautiful city of Oxford. And while in oxford I attended an African conference which I will do a very late post about because I think I learnt a lot of important stuff there.
• I then read a tale of two cities and I say this because it really was an important part of my whole existence.
• I then held, planned and hosted my own social media course which, ironically, I didn’t do a blog post about but I will do a very late one because I think it’s necessary.
• Possibly the least expected part of my gap year was going to a place called Embercombe and doing possibly the most incredible leadership course imaginable. I also went back to Embercombe a while after as a volunteer which was also incredible.
• We then went to the lowland games which is a “family” tradition of sorts. Blog post here.
• Most recently I was in Stroud doing a work experience/internship sort of thing at a company that accredits various degrees and courses.
• And now I am in London again doing an internship at a PR company and living in a hostel for 2 weeks. I will make sure to post about that at the end of the two weeks.

I am sure that there are a million and one things that I haven't included in this list, but if I did this list would just go on forever. It kind of blows my mind just looking at all the things that I have done, it seems completely surreal, almost as if these aren't my own experiences. My only hope is that I continue having more and more of these adventures, for the rest of the year and for the rest of forever.

That's all, Bye! :) x

And also (although I'm still here for a bit) the massivest (it's a word now) thank you to the Drewells who are basically my second family, and who contributed at least 99.9% to the amazing time I have had (the other 1%,  is everyone I have met/seen/connected with)

Also also, if you click on the underlined words it will take you, either, to a link with a blog post about said event, or its a lame ad. If it's the latter, it's not my doing, blame google.

Stroud

It seems as if now, more than ever this year, I am zooming around all over the place doing different things. Last week I was in a lovely town called Stroud, which is in England in case you hadn't guess. Basically, while there, I was doing some work experience at a company that is involved in the accreditation of various educational courses.
What they do is, they have a look at whatever proposed course that is brought to them by their clients, they will then assess the course based on standard and they will then certify the course. There is a lot more to it than I have explained in one sentence but it is quite an interesting field. Mostly because of the holistic approach that these courses take on education. It means that people can have a certified and credible certificate or level of achievement for whatever course they do.
My job for the week, amongst a few others, was to redesign a banner on a flyer that was being used to advertise a new course that was being developed. I then had to send the flyer out to various organisations and people that would be interested, which was slightly daunting but it was nice to be involved in a whole project and follow through with it.
What I did in my spare time, besides sitting at home (home = a spare room in a very generous lady’s house) browsing the internet, was spend it in a pub making friends with strangers. There is a funny story as to how I came to meet “said random strangers”: basically I walked into the pub, alone, ona Wednesday or something, and I asked for food, which they weren't serving, so I stayed for a drink and started chatting to random people.
So for all you shy people out there wanting some #newfriends, all you have to do is walk into an establishment that isn't serving food, ask for food, get denied said food and stay for a drink instead.

Some pictures for your eyes.

Some may describe this picture as ill compused but I think its obscure and artistic. And also it is the only picture I had of the view from my office space. 

That’s all, Bye!

Lowland Games

Heading to Somerset for the weekend of the Lowland games has been an ongoing family tradition for the past 3 years. Whenever I am here (in England) it is a tradition for me too and it is such an amazing weekend to catch up with old family friends and new family friends from all over the country.

Another tradition that comes with it, is for all the children to take part in a raft race which is always great fun. As part of the raft race, the partakers have to dress up to a specific theme and a prize is always awarded to the best dressed, and for three years in a row, we have won. Well, not me specifically but the children that are a part of my crew... *throws around some gang signs that represent my "crew"*

The weekend was a great success and can I commend whoever is in charge of the weather because it was absolutely beautiful. I'm pretty sure it only rained once and that wasn't even relevant because we weren't outside at the time. So thank you to the Queen or the Prime Minister or whoever it is that sets up the weather.

Some pictures that were taken using an extremely incredible lens which I was barely able to carry. 

That's all, Bye! :) x

Why I have been neglegent.

As per ushe I have been off on various adventures and I have failed to keep this blog updated, and I realise that every other post is just me apoloigising for being so negligent and as always I plan to redeem myself with this post. So without further ado:

So, the past few weeks have been a blur of business and relaxation and somehow they all got intertwined so I feel as if I have just been busy, in a good way though. A few weeks ago, the end of June actually (wow seems like ages ago) I went to an amazing place called Embercombe to do a leadership-type course called Catalyst. 

The reason I say "leadership- type" is because it was not your typical "Great leaders are strong willed and good planners" type of course. It was more of an experience and a journey into who you are as a person and the type of leader that you can be. It's all very hard to explain, but it was an amazing time with amazing people in a beautiful place. 

The course is rightly named because it was indeed a Catalyst of sorts. If you don't know what a catalyst is, then don't worry, I got you ;). Basically, a catalyst in scientific terms is something that helps a reaction to happen the way it should. The reaction is always there, the catalyst just helps it along *self five for suffering 3 years of chemistry.* Like a scientific catalyst, the Catalyst course is designed to give you an experience that does just that.

There will be links to everything because if I tried to describe everything, even briefly, I would end up writing a thesis. 

And pictures:

The beautiful lake.

A path to one of the Yurt villages. Yes, we lived in yurts for the week and they were super cozy and super lovely. 

A few shots of the pirate ship, on which some people took it upon themselves to act out Titanic.

Some beautiful faces

And one of the many fires that we sat around. 

Here are some links and things:

• Embercombe
• Catalyst Website
• 3D panorama of Embercombe that I took using Photosynth

That's all, Bye! :) x