5 reasons you still underestimate Norwich

1. You still believe in the ‘Normal for Norfolk’ story

Every person from Norwich who has ventured out of the county will have been faced with the oh-so-hilarious jokes about webbed fingers, 6-fingered or 6-toed individuals and any kind of generic inbreeding/ incest joke that any person devoid of humour can come up with. I have tried to find any kind of evidence of where this may have come from, but Google (and even Google Scholar) offered me nothing. All seems to go back to doctors describing patients as N.F.N. (Normal for Norfolk), if they appeared intellectually-challenged. If anybody has any kind of better historical source on that, please leave a comment! I want to know!

And - please - stop these jokes. We have all stopped laughing politely two decades ago.

2. You think that independent food places are a thing of the past

Is going to an independent coffee shop for you synonym to cramming yourself amongst all the hipsters typing away some dreadful new book/play/song on their MacbookAir?

Well, here it just means going to a coffee shop. If you want a chain retailer, you can get them of course – but there is also plenty of different choice! Just a couple of examples:

The Bicycle Shop, The Birdcage, No 33 Cafe

3. You think that Norwich is a village

I know Norwich still likes to remind us of its reputation of once having been England’s second biggest city (ok, that was before the Industrial Revolution), but it’s big enough to have all you need. In fact, being the only reasonably sized city in East Anglia, you get lots of artists gigging in Norwich, which wouldn’t come to equally-sized Walsall. For everything artsy, literature, visual arts, music, come to Norwich!

4. You’ve been to Great Yarmouth once and made up your mind about Norfolk

Ok, arcades may have been cool when you were a kid but there is much more to Norfolk than that. While Great Yarmouth has its tackiness, it also has some cool stuff going for it – e.g. International Festival of Street Arts and Circus. Plus, the rest of the Norfolk coast is very different and diverse – you can visit the seals at Blakeney Point, walk along the majestic cliffs of Hunstanton or the long beaches of Holkham.

All I can say is, come back for a second impression!

5. We don’t actually want you to come here

This is a pure conspiracy theory: I think that people living here like the place so much, they don’t actually want to share it with anyone. Imagine hordes of tourists walking down the Lanes – what a horrifying thought (surely Londonders you know what it’s like!). We are happy in our little place, not having to queue for tickets, not having to book every restaurant table in advance and actually getting a seat in a bar!

So, maybe don’t bother coming- it’s too nice!

Cromer after the flood

Cromer is a lovely little seaside town on the North Norfolk coast. It’s just a 40-minute train journey from Norwich and very popular amongst newly arrived exchange students as well as anybody in Norfolk owning a dog – it seems.

I could tell you about the seaside nostalgia you get as you walk down the the small cobbled streets of Cromer. Indeed it seems that the town has been mostly spared by arcades and amusements. Cromer takes its charm from the impressive seafront, its distinctive pier with a lifeboat station at its far end, quaint beach huts and the rough cliffs on either side.

However, at the moment there is something else to see in Cromer. December 2013 was a disastrous time for the Norfolk coast, as a storm surge attacked seafronts, destroyed cliffs and the houses that found themselves too near the water.

Here is a BBC report from right after the floods.

Six weeks after storm surge, the consequences are still visible. Here are some of the pictures that give you an idea of the destructive force of the sea, that has in some way been more clement to this coast than it has been to the South of England in the past week!

The worst part is that this isn't the end - Can we talk about Climate Change now?

On Naples

Before I came to Naples, I didn't really have any expectations. I mean, I had an idea of what to find in Rome, Milan, Florence, but Naples, what’s in Naples? Well, lots of things!

Firstly I was suprised to find how big it is! In fact between 3 and 3.7 million people live in the urban area.! You can walk around in the centre, but be prepared to walk quite a bit! On that note, I will say outright that visiting Naples and its region definitely is great exercise. After the first day my legs were in real pain. Appropriate shoes are essential! (I'll remember that next time!)

Pompei is only a 40 minute train journey away. Be prepared for a crowded train, because it stops in many places, going up to Sorrento. Pompei huge! Make sure you get a map from the audioguides (just take the map if you don't want to take a guide). Under 25s will pay a discounted price! (young people's discount is more common than student discount). Pompei is great - you can spend 2 hours as much as you can spend 6 hours! There's plenty to see. I thought you'd 'only' see ruins. But you see old mozaics, leftovers of fountains, paintings and even the plaster cast of the people of Pompeii who were surprised by the volcano eruption. It made the terrible disaster a lot more real!

After Pompeii, I spend the rest of the afternoon in Sorrento, the terminal of the suburban train called Circumvesuviana.It's about 35 minutes from Pompeii (so, around 80 minutes from Naples). It's a beautiful little town, with impressive cliffs and lots of stairs (although there is a lift to come up from the port). You will also find a beach a little further. 

For evening entertainment, you definitely should try the pizza, which is considerably better and considerably cheaper than anywhere else ( in the UK and many other places in the world! - I have no formal evidence to back this up - but I'm just going to go with it!). Da Michele  is where we went. It's very good. I'd just like to prepare you for a few things: there will be a queue. We were given a number (just like at the post office) and were waiting to be called - it helps to know your number in Italian! Also, there were only three choices of pizza: margherita (simple or double mozzarella) and marinara. This made the service very quick! There are other places you can try such as Di Matteo and Sorbillo!

On my second day, we wanted to go to the top of the Vesuvius. However, we changed our plan due to the weather. The way we were planning to go up was train to Pompei, then bus to the top - around 700m I was told. Then you pay entrance to the national park and you can walk up to the crater. On the day we wanted to go it was raining cats and dogs and apparently the national park was closed because it was too windy. On the note of rain, yes it rains! And when it does, it lasts a long time. Make sure to take an umbrella if it's said to rain on the day. You will need it! 

Instead we spent the day in Naples. One of the interesting things we visited was the Church of S. Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco). It was very impressive. The church was built on 2 levels, with the lower level representing the purgatory. At the bottom, you found many skulls and bones, decorated with pictures, crosses, prayers, flowers and jewellery! Very eerie! Read more about the cult here!

Chiesa Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco

Just next to the Church is the entrance to Napoli Sotterranea . You get to discover what started as a Greek mine for tuffo stone, to then become a Roman aqueduct, then after a cholera epidemic was not in use anymore then became a dump for about 100 years. Then in the Second World War it was turned into a refuge from bombings. It was too costly and complicated to get rid of the rubbish so it was simply covered with sand and soil. We therefore stood on 5 meters of rubbish!  Some of the caves were big, but others were smaller than us, as we had to duck and walk sideways. The Two meter tall Dutch man in our group had a blast! We even got to see a reservoir, which was used with amphoras being put down through wells (either private for rich households or public on squares). The wells were closed up when the aqueduct was changed into a refuge, apart from one, which was in a church. They expected nobody would bomb a church (How wrong they were!). At the end of the visit we entered what formerly was a typical Neapolitan house. However under the bed was a trap door that led to what used to be the family’s wine cellar, but now was the passage behind the stage of a huge amphitheatre that could hold around 6000 people! It cannot be fully uncovered as the city has been built on top of it. Uncovering the amphitheatre could in fact risk modern houses to collapse.

We also had the chance to visit the beautiful island of Capri, also known as the very expensive island of Capri! After an hour ferry ride, we got to the ‘marina grande’, the main harbor, from where we took a cable car (funiculario) up the hill. From there we walked along the little streets, leaving Dolce and Gabana behind us and getting slightly lost! We made it to the Faraglioni, in English ‘stacks’ that sit in the water of the coast of Capri. The coast walk took us down and then up what felt like 10.000 steps, and then down and then up again! We walked in silence, both exhausted and at the same time mesmerized by the beauty we were witnessing! As it got dark, we embarked on the our ferry journey back. Our last surprise of the day was a huge moon emerging behind the mountains.

Faraglioni

The moon

My last few hours in Naples could only we described as exhilarating! My Napolitan friend Miguel (or Michelangelo) took me for a ride on his motorbike across the city. With pedestrians, scooters and other bikes coming from all sorts of directions, amidst lots of cars in the, at times, narrow streets! It was definitely a lasting last experience!

There’s so much more I want to see of Naples! I can’t wait to go back!

I have miles to go before I sleep.

Red Bike Ride - Our 100km fundraising challenge !

Every year hundreds of people across the UK support the work of the Red Cross over one week, Red Cross Week. This week celebrates this incredible organisation by raising money in a thousand different ways from dying your hair red to wear your onesie to work day!

What did we decide to do? Cycle 100 km across Norfolk and into Suffolk in support of the British Red Cross but - here comes the twist- on our old rusty bikes! (see our teaser)

As we set off yesterday morning the problems started: Chris' bike chain was jammed between the gears. An hour later with our hands covered in black oil we managed to pull it out and we were off with a bit of delay!

We set off through Norwich city centre towards Whitlingham Country Park while the sun was intermittently accompanying us. We even ran into Amber, a friend from Uni, at the Water's Edge pub. Unfortunately we didn’t have the time to stop but it seemed to be an amazing spot and only a short bike ride from Norwich (about 6miles)! Then we cycled along small roads towards Claxton, where we stopped for a quick picnic. Off we were again towards Loddon, where we turned towards Haddiscoe and Alderby. It was a beautiful ride. We suddenly had to come to a halt, when a when a herd of cattle was slowly crossing the road. Unfortunately the cows were so curious they decided to stop and look at us – which did not accelerate the process! Cow-whisperer Chris helped the farmer get the cattle towards the stables and we were off to Beccles. It was all going well until the heavy rain started!

We waited under a tree for it to stop and looked for a short cut. As we followed a small country lane that my phone assured me actually was a road to Beccles- we reached a closed gate to a path that lead to a grand, old estate. We had no choice but go around. As we wandered into the field we were full of hope that it would be easy to do. However, the third field was covered in clay. Soon our bike wheels were completely stuck and the clay was also sticking to our boots… We headed towards a road we could hear and descended a small hill in the mud before arriving on a busy street. Our trousers and shoes were covered in mud and clay, so were our bikes! We were just outside Gillingham and from there it was only a short ride to Beccles, where we stayed overnight! The miles tracker app said 50.8 km as we checked into the lovely B&B. 

On day 2, we were off early and under a timid sun as we complained about sore muscles! Through the Suffolk then Norfolk countryside, it was a lovely ride across yellow rapeseed fields with very few cars! 

We lunched next to old church ruins in Kirby Bedon before setting off again. As my tracker showed just above 90km as we reached King Street in Norwich  we decided to cycle home via Eaton and Cringleford. Unfortunately my tracker app decided to crash at the most inopportune moment – so we don’t know how many km we exactly cycled but we sure did more than 100km!!!! We were exhausted and definitely in pain - but we were on such a high as we realised that we had done it - even more importantly, that our bikes had made it as well!

We want to thank everybody who has sponsored us! It has been an amazing experience -full of laughter, lovely people on the way and most importantly lots of exercise! On top of that we are thrilled to contribute to the great work of the British Red Cross! And I mean... WE DID IT!

If you haven’t sponsored us yet – and want to –  you have two months to do it! The link is http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/redbikeride !

Northern Ireland

My second visit to Ireland took me to the North. Over Easter Chris took the time to show me around Fermanagh and beyond. After a walk around the farm, we decided to visit Enniskillen, which surprised us with quite an impressive museum inside the castle. A very insightful collection of military equipment and interesting stories from the Napoleonic era! Overall, Enniskillen was quite a nice city, where you always run into people you know, although we missed Colin Farrell who was shooting a film in a nearby estate!

On the second day we went to county Donegal. As the street signs changed from miles to kilometres, we reached the Republic of Ireland. In Donegal, the town, we found the most impressive tourist office I have ever seen, with the vastest collection of ‘Visit Ireland’ flyers: we were literally overwhelmed with a multitude of green clovers and ‘failte’s. After the friendliest women told us about all the beauties of Donegal – and believe me there are loads! – we were quite confused as to what to do. With a map in hand, we went off to the town centre to stop at a small market, where they sold local products and an old guy was singing Irish music. As we got into a conversation with a local, we decided to stick to our original destination: Sliabh Liag (pronounce something like Sleave League). We took a few detours on the way and it was difficult not to stop every 10 minutes to look at the amazing panoramas (see picture below)! After a break at a beach, we finally got to Sliabh Liag.

 Sliabh Liag are claimed to be the highest marine cliffs in Europe - although Google seems to deny this fact. In any case, they are pretty high! We decided to park at the bottom to make the most of the walk – a very very windy walk! The views were amazing and we even discovered a lake on the cliffs, which just looked amazing! It’s definitely worth a detour – preferably on a sunny day!

Sliabh Liag

the lake on the cliffs with the ocean in the background

We had the chance to visit Florence Court, a National Trust estate right next to Enniskillen. The entry price was quite expensive, as it was £4.50 to get into the gardens and another £4.50 to visit the house – a National Trust membership would have been quite handy! Thus we only walked around the gardens, which was actually much more fun than I expected, as we fought our way through the woods climbing over trees that served as bridges over little streams – although my suggestion to act out the Dirty Dancing scene was unfortunately rejected!

Fermanagh was full of little places for lovely walks, the most impressive place was probably Lough Navar where we had the most impressive view onto Lough Erne at sunset (see picture below!) All in all I was really impressed by Fermanagh! After having concentrated on the South and the West of the island last time I came here, I am glad I rectified this lack! It is definitely worth a visit and I myself can’t wait to come back here!

From Norwich to the Lake District

Our first trip of 2013 took us to the Lake District. A crazy idea you might think, as January is the rainiest month, with a temperature generally below 5°C. However, our short roadtrip happened under a lucky star. 

We didn't want to drive all the way straight to the lakes, so we first visited Hunstanton, on the North Norfolk coast. Its cliffs were as impressive as they had been described to me although the walk along the beach was very cold and windy. As it got dark, we made our way up to Horsforth, just outside Leeds, where we stayed with Chris’ lovely friends.

 The next stop was Harrogate, a hidden gem from the North (hidden to me at least!). Its posh little streets were filled with small boutiques and finely dressed ladies. While we didn’t have time for the Turkish baths, we stayed for an afternoon tea at the famous tearoom called Betty’s. The decor was very quaint, even the waitresses were dressed like in the early 1900s!  Two more hours on the road until we reached Kendal hostel, where we were welcomed by a lovely hostel owner and her two black Labradors. Kendal is just outside the Lake District, although it’s just as cute as the towns and villages in the national park.

On day three, we were on our way to Grasmere. However, as we were driving along Lake Windermere, something astonishing happened: the sun came out! Thus, we stopped as soon as we could and enjoyed our brunch with a breathtaking view (see below!).

As we got to Grasmere, we visited William Wordsworth’s grave and one of his most famous poems was quoted at the entrance to the garden dedicated to him.

"I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils"

After a bit of wandering around, we found what we came for: the coffin route. It leads from Grasmere to Rydal and is not very steep but relatively hilly. It bears that rather morbid name because Rydal didn’t have a church, so the Dead were brought to Grasmere to be buried. Walking along the path was easy, but we imagined that it would not be the same on a stormy night carrying a heavy coffin up and down the path. As we walked back from Rydal, night suddenly fell and as we reached Grasmere it was pitch-black. The downside of January holidays in this part of the world are the short days, especially when you’re walking in the countryside. We passed by Ambleside, where we saw the famous house on the bridge and the beautiful unpretentious Christmas decorations.

On our last day, we headed towards Bowness-upon-Windermere, where after a rather exciting stop at the Peter Rabbit Shop, we caught a ferry to cross the lake. Unlike the cruises on Lake Windermere, the ferry is very cheap (£1 return per person) as it is run by the council. Once on the other side, we walked through lots of mud, up and down the hilly landscape enjoying beautiful panoramas. Our objective was to reach Hill Top, a house where Beatrix Potter had lived at some point. The house was closed as it was winter, but the villages on our way were absolutely picturesque. As we took a break on a bench overlooking the valley towards Hawkshead, an old man walked by. He asked us whether we knew Beatrix Potter’s stories. However, for both of us they are a vague childhood memory. He continued to tell us, that Miss Potter sat at that exact same spot and drew the signpost that was at our side. Both the bench and the signpost had been replaced since, but it was a great feeling.

In the dusky light, we walked back to Bowness, prepared for our last ride. Seven hours from Lake Windermere to Norwich!

Although, we were extremely lucky with the weather, with really mild temperatures, I would really recommend to venture a visit to the Lake District in winter. It was really quiet, mostly locals were around, so that we had the national park to ourselves! If you wanted to visit the National Trust houses and the Beatrix Potter attraction, winter isn’t the best time to go, as most were closing over January/ winter. However, if you want some quiet time in nature and a great deal of fresh air, the Lake District in January is the place to be!

Venturing South

Over two consecutive weekends I visited my friend Jude who is working in Lewes over the summer. I had never been to East Sussex before and I was very impressed by the sights I encountered.

First of all Lewes. It's a beautiful town with picturesque houses and graceful gardens. You can find the ruins of an old monastery with an extremely well developed toilet system so that no monk had to queue for the latrines (Yes, that's the detail I picked up on...). There are many independent cafés with organic and original food. The one we went to didn't even serve coke. A respectable town should always have a castle, which Lewes does have. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to visit it, but the view over the valley was also worth the steep walk up the hill.

We did a quick trip to Brighton, which is only 15 minutes from Lewes if you take the train. We arrived there a few hours after the world-famous gay pride parade ended. The atmosphere had gone from festive to rather drunk and merry, which was interesting... We walked up the Pier, tried a few arcade games, watched the scary-looking rides from the safe ground to finally sit down on the free deck chairs on the Pier. Before I had to embark on my long journey back to Essex, we also took the chance to wander Brighton's artsy streets. It is definitely a place I want to go back to so that I can explore more of it!

Brighton

The next Saturday was part of the heritage open days, which take place every year in September and that way we had the opportunity to visit Bodiam Castle for free. Built in the 14th century this edifice is 'what a castle should look like'(Jude) and that is the exact same observation I made. If I had to draw a castle I would draw something very similar. The castle is located in a beautiful valley and anachronistically a steam train suddenly choochooed past us, as we were having both lunch and a hysterical fight against the local wasp community.

Bodiam Castle

Our next brief stopover was Rye, which is an adorable little town, with cute tea houses, gorgeous shops and small cobbled passages. After visiting the local craft fair, we had to get a move on as the sun was setting.

The Grand Finale of the day was the view onto the Seven Sisters. These legendary cliffs are a beautiful background for pictures and we definitely took advantage of that with a mildly embarrassing photo shoot. However, I have to say that we were extremely lucky with the weather and a dim sunsetting light illuminated the landscape. Jude knew of a great shortcut towards the view, through a remote residential area of Seaford, which shortened the usually 25 minute walk from the town to about 5 until we saw the Seven Sisters. The view is worth a detour (and was definitely worth me being really late for my train and nearly missing it!).

Seven Sisters

For anyone who wants to see a beautiful part of England I would definitely recommend East Sussex, as you can just drive around and see gorgeous scenery, cute cottages and impressive country houses before you even get to the many sights that are just waiting to be visited by you!

Essex Tales

In the past two weeks I've been exploring one of the most talked about counties in the UK. Beyond the general stereotype of the 'Essex girl' with which I had been confronted with when I first came to the UK, I decided to also watch the infamous TOWIE (The Only Way is Essex) as part of my 'research into the local culture'. In all fairness I got quite bored with it and it didn't teach me much... So rather I felt it to be my duty to write about my experience here, in case you also relied on these stereotypes.

Romford Market Place

 It's market day in Romford, there is a soft and constant drizzle and a man is sheltered under a roof, playing a gloomy melody on his trumpet, occasionally water splashes from the tarpaulin that covers the market stands. Romford being a historic Markettown, shopping is obviously the local sport. I surrendered and am quite thrilled to explore the various malls, which are definitely confusing for the foreign visitor. As I get out of the shopping centre, I hold on tight to my shopping bags, keeping my head down as it seems the rain just got heavier. I can't help but notice the footwear of the locals. Half of people, though mostly women, are wearing flipflops or Birkenstock. Some less crazy ones are wearing sandals... and here I am, wondering why anyone would look out of the window, see the grey sky and think that flipflops would be a good idea. But really, what I should admire is the people's immune systems. If my Mum saw me wear open shoes in such weather, she would run after me with a frying pan threatening me into changing into sensible trainers or boots, because I would otherwise catch pneumonia... and I'm rather inclined to believe her.

But I am being slightly unfair here, because I have actually really enjoyed my stay in Romford. I was lucky enough to find a home in Collier Row, a bit outside the city centre and rather near the countryside. The weather has been really nice ( it even went beyond 30°C -God bless swimming pools), much nicer than the climate I know from Birmingham. And also, green spaces are only a short walk away, the number of parks is just incredible. With my bike I explored the surroundings and quickly found myself in the middle of fields, literally surrounded only by fields. Here is a picture that in my opinion represents Essex well: two horses in the middle of field and in the distance you can see the London skyline. 

It's the countryside, half an hour away from the big smoke. And although I like London and its seemingly uncountable opportunities for entertainment, food; drink, culture and intellectual exchange, I realised when I was coming back from a day out there last week, that I really appreciated the peace and quiet in Essex. - Maybe I'm just getting old?

Havering-atte-Bower

Hon(n)i soit qui mal y pense

As I am writing this I am somewhere between England and France. I am on my way back 'home', France anyway. This is the end of my time in England, for now. I can still remember arriving here, about 4 years ago, being really scared and feeling quite lonely at first. I didn't understand most of the people, they had all sorts of different strange rules - these were my first and unhappy encounters with health and safety regulations. But I got to know people, students from all over the world as contact with other foreigners was much easier at the beginning - making British friends took a bit more time, but I've got them now! Speaking with people became easier as well and Birmingham had suddenly become my home. Birmingham and I had our ups and downs, more downs during the extremely busy final year, even though the last two months I spent in England passed by in the blink of an eye.

In a very franco-british way, I believe that I have developed some kind of love-hate relationship to the country, which makes me hate the weather above all and complain about it constantly (I’m sorry!) but I could not stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks as the ferry left Portsmouth harbour.

Living in England is easy, you don't really feel foreign because there are so many different people of different origins, that I have never felt excluded. I mean I felt right where I was.

I have seen great places in Britain over the three years I have lived here. I will just mention a few which I haven't talked about in other posts. There are two places I'd like to recommend, these are York and Aberystwyth. I had never been told to visit York until a few months ago and I was intrigued, thinking that the only nice thing north of Birmingham was Scotland... how wrong I was. York was just so lovely with its little streets, its seemingly infinite amount of cute cafes, the different historic monuments and the walk along the city walls. It is a nice daytrip destination I believe, possibly in 'summer' :)

Aberystwyth is foremost a challenge for every foreigner when it comes to pronouncing its name. Luckily, I heard it many times in lecture, as we were informed by possibly every member of staff that international relations first emerged as a discipline in Aberystwyth in 1918. I then discovered that this oddly written place was in Wales and actually one of the nearest coastal places if you are in Birmingham! Off we went on a sunny but cold November day... to this beautiful and peaceful place. I admit there isn't much entertainment , but for a daytrip it was definitely worth it! The castle ruins, the walk up to the National Library of Wales and the promenade also offer many photo opportunities! Not to forget the panoramesque train journey from Birmingham!

Now, I just have a few concluding remarks to my time in England on various things that I saw, that I got annoyed at or that I laughed at. A few odd observations, that might make other people who have moved to the UK nod or smile, while making our British friends think about some of the peculiarities of their own country (if they haven't heard it from me before that is!)

Boots: Yes, I mean Boots, the store. I love it. And a lot of other people from abroad do. Why you might think, it's just Boots! Well, I think for us it's because it doesn't exist at home, no store has everything from medicine, other health products to beauty products... it just makes any woman happy!

Health and Safety: As I mentioned it before, this was a big discovery of mine, more annoying when one is trying to organise an event, or when they tell you that electric appliances need to be ‘PAT tested’, but rather entertaining in the public space. For example, this sign. ‘Slippery when wet’, which you can find on the staircases of many train stations. I cannot imagine it in French ‘glissant en cas de pluie’ or in German ‘rutschig wenn nass’ hanging in a train station in continental Europe. For us that sign makes as much sense as saying ‘cold when snowy’ or ‘bright when sunny’.

Plug socket switches: Why you need a switch on plugs is beyond me... and at the beginning of my time in England many devices were left uncharged, as I forgot to turn switches on. Terrible. More importantly they have created a generation of OCD people, who have the compulsion of turning them off when nothing is plugged in (You know who you are!).

Separate water taps: Really? I mean still? Why? I love getting up in the morning and having to decide whether I want to freeze or burn my hands today. 

The food: I think when my (French) Mum left me in England, she was quite worried about what I would eat and even in the following months she needed regular updates on my eating habits, as I was not only living on my own for the first time and but also in ENGLAND, where the food, according to good old stereotypes was just dreadful. I had a few bizarre encounters with beans on toast, which I still don't like, as well as Marmite, cucumber sandwiches and breakfast sausages. But there are certain things which I will deeply miss very soon, like real tea, like cadbury and galaxy chocolate, a cheap pub meal, curly fries, coffee at every street corner…

British Humour: What is British humour? Judging from what most British people I know laugh about, it's dirty jokes, but maybe I just have the wrong kind of friends... However, even sarcasm, self deprecating humour also exists abroad, but I guess British people are simply the champions of it. Just next time somebody understands British humour, don't be surprised, it's not THAT hard to get.

Systems: I mean, I could complain about driving on the left and not using the metric system, but in the end it's just a different while still equally efficient system to ours. However, when it comes to height, I have little understanding for the usage of feet and inches, and even less for the usage of pounds and stones for weight... I mean... what ? Stones? It confuses everybody. Now for all those who aren't familiar with this :

1 Stone = 14 pounds

65 kg (probably the average weight of a woman) = 10 stone 3.3 lbs

 What I see when people talk about weight in stones

Anyway, I have nothing more to say. I will miss this country and its people dearly and who knows maybe my ‘Au revoir’ will become truthful sooner than I think!

Crossing the Sea... a Youth in Action training course

I have just come back from a wonderful week at a Youth in Action training course On ‘Crossing the Sea- Euro-Med Dialogue’ and I just wanted to share my thoughts about this course with you.

It is so difficult to describe, yet there is so much to tell.

Participants came from the UK, Portugal, Slovakia, Palestine, Israel and Egypt. It was a rather random mix, with all sorts of languages being spoken when I arrived. The week was filled with team-building and trust exercises, reflections on what good communication is, opportunities to learn about each other’s culture and a lot of laughter! It was like living in a comfortable little bubble.

Together we also visited the Grange, a Camphill village, which is a community that takes care of adults with special needs by really including them in their daily activities. The Grange produces its own fruits and vegetables, they have different farm animals, a bakery, and residents also weave baskets, make pottery and different decorations in their wood workshop, which they sell locally and internationally through the Camphill network.

We then visited Bristol, and despite the rain, which was only appreciated by our Middle Eastern friends, we had some beautiful views of the city, with a strange mix of old buildings and its famous street art. We had the opportunity to pursue our own artistic streaks through a workshop with painter Jeroo Roy, who showed us her work and guided us through our own inspiration. We also helped organising ASHA’s open day, for which the group prepared typical food, dancing, crafts, sports, an interactive theatre play where the audience acted out a variety of Egyptian stories through the different civilisations and a Palestinian wedding as a grand finale.

  

Art Workshop*

One of the exercises -I know that I have never been blindfolded this many times in my life!*

The place where we stayed, the ASHA centre, is a little oasis of peace in the middle of the Forest of Dean. The smells of the rose garden, the taste of the fresh fruits and vegetables, the sounds of the stream that runs next to the property, the sensation of wet grass under your feet and the beauty of the people and the place I will never forget.

the ASHA Centre

The sun sets on the rose garden

A last night of dancing, clapping to Arabic rhythms, singing, sheesha smoking and laughing and it was already the end!

As I stepped out of Birmingham train station and stepped into the hustle and bustle of the city centre, I suddenly felt alone, lonely even, alone amongst all these people, after having spent a week in the middle of nowhere, it was quite odd. At ASHA, every person you meet makes eye contact, smiled, had a friendly word for you, or even a made-up song purely consisting of the repetition of your name. Here, I am alone, you have to look out not to bump into anyone, you are aware of the people, but you see them as obstacles.

As I unpack in my room, I can still hear the voices of the friends I made, the way they pronounce my name, the words they invented, their laughter... now I really feel alone.

Get back to real life? No. I'll first watch the pictures :)

Adrian, Zeiad, Ameed, Jad, Peter

Mark, Antonio, me, Tareq

Haythem, Elisabete, Moataz, Abed

Gina, Linda, Monica, Lucie, Ahmed

Lubka, Denisa

Mahmood, Nasr, Kawther, Gabriela, Alex, Areej

Alex

and Hayat is taking the picture :)*

*Pictures courtesy of ASHA

http://www.ashacentre.org/

http://www.facebook.com/#!/AshaCentre

Across the Hadrian's Wall

After last year's travels, final year has condemned me to become a sedentary working hermit, whose natural habitat is the library. Now, my feet were getting very itchy, so I decided I needed a change of scenery; I jumped on a train and off I was to Scotland!
A charming 5 hour journey later, I arrived in Edinburgh. The dark eerie buildings on the colourful evening sky (we are talking 3pm here) enchanted me the minute I got there. Edinburgh is beautiful from all its angles, but the absolute highlight is the view from Arthur's seat, a 822 ft extinct volcano in the middle of the city! There was loads to visit in the centre, such as the National Museum of Scotland with its curiosities, the Museum of Childhood, the Castle of course.

The view from Arthur's Seat

I also had the delight to see Tian Tian and Yang Guang, the two Giant Pandas who were new to Edinburgh, just like me. They have become such an attraction that we had to book a visiting slot online! What celebrities! The other highlight of Edinburgh Zoo was the penguin parade. A few years ago, the zoo keepers had accidentally left the door to the penguin enclosure open (in my opinion such inadvertence is not acceptable in a zoo!) and a few penguins had then decided to take a walk through the zoo before diligently returning to their enclosure. Today, the zoo keepers organise it, forming a sort of moving path with the visitors. The slightly clumsy humanoid walk of the penguins is just endearing!

Then, off I was to the lovely countryside. All you need is a half decent map, a small car for the small roads and a warm set of clothes! We just chose to wander off to random places, as in West Scotland, no matter where you go, you are almost certain to find beautiful scenery. That's my kind of place!
My personal recommendation is to take the east road of Loch Ness, which was much more exciting than the west road, which runs along the lake. We suddenly ended up in a winter wonderland, with a snowy island in the middle of another loch. Then down to Foyers. (which was originally chosen as destination for lunch for its resemblance to my name, as my original plan was to claim the place!) A huge waterfall can be admired there and less tourists come here, but then again, it was January, so there weren't many people anywhere!

The journey ended on a great culinary note, with the best fish and chips in Britain in a little harbour town in Fife called Anstruther. It was a perfect goodbye, although it's probably just an 'au revoir!'.

The Good, The Bad and The Funny: Jordan

Here are just a few general remarks on life in Jordan :)

Men. There are good days and there are bad days. On a good day, a Facebook message saying things like this makes me laugh :

“I love all the stars in the sky, but they are nothing compared to the ones in your eyes!, ...... Only I need to know are you still single???.. ???..... i am looking for making a relationship..... i hope you like me ……...i want to be your real friend if you do not mind ....i live at Amman .... i see your photos... if you do not mind let us know each other first at internet ... ...i have master degree with Electronic Commerce ... …I will tell you more about me …. …I like your photo very much …. I will do anything for making you happy, ...if you need any help,, I am ready to give you my hand…… you are more beautiful than moon, i can not forget your eyes... There are 20 angels in the world,…..10 are playing,…..9 are sleeping,…..1 is reading this message…. Please add me and reply me soon ..... if you are not single please accept my apology .... god bless you .... thank.. “ (Wadaa Salim, 13^th July)

So do random love declaration, grammatically incorrect remarks. However, the constant starring, the kissing noises, the 'tstststs', the 'are you married?' are exhausting, especially on a bad day. That is one thing I haven't got used to in the four months I have been here, it annoys me just as much as on the first day. There are a few ways around some of the things, but they are pretty inefficient. You can dress modestly, but unless you're hiding under a ninja outfit, they won't leave you in peace. What I find amusing is to tell taxi drivers various stories when they question me. The one I use most is the one where I am married to a Jordanian from Irbid and have a son called Mohammed. If you wonder why I don't just ignore their questions, well, there are two reasons. First, I feel it's impolite (even if I know it is ok not to answer, I just can't help to feel rude) and also, taxi drivers are the only ones who speak in Arabic to me.

One could probably write a book on taxis in Amman. In summer, a silent 'masha'Allah' crosses your lips when a Taxi with closed windows stops: it has air conditioning! The others have a different way of “creating” air conditioning: they drive as fast as they can while leaving all windows open. The only problem: the increased traffic in summer, thanks to all the khalijis (people from the Gulf) who are enjoying the “cool” Ammani climate! What I love about taking taxis, is the way one gives directions. No one knows street names. In fact I have no clue about the name of the street I have lived on for three months. Not that I ever needed it. I was once asked at border control, as I was re-entering Jordan, what my address was. I had no idea - I just told them my neighbourhood- Al-Yasmeen. To get to a certain place in Amman, it is necessary to indicate a landmark near the place you want to go, unless you're lucky enough to be going to an obvious place, such as city mall or a specific hotel. In the vicinity of that landmark, you need to indicate to the driver where it is you want to go. The great thing about that is the fluency you acquire in taxi arabic. I can convince a taxi driver to go on a one way street, explaining that there is no traffic and that it is only a short bit, but I can only buy about 6 different fruits and vegetables without pointing.

Another means of transportation I enjoy is the bus. I have taken the one to Jerash many times and it has helped me to become more patient. The way it works is that the bus leaves when it's full, knowing that there are about 20 seats. Sometimes you're lucky, sometimes you're not. The unpredictability can be mish kwayyis. (not good)

The recent uprisings in the Arab world have confused people back home even more I feel. Nothing major happened in Jordan. At the various demonstrations that occurred during my time here, quite a number of protesters were beaten up, but nothing severely threatened the regime. I usually avoided risky areas such as downtown after friday prayer, so I haven't seen much. Just police getting ready on Friday morning in the balad, various protests in front of the Prime Ministry at fourth circle and protests in front of the Syrian embassy, back in May and June, when people cared.

Before I got to Jordan, I was so excited about the food! I figured I would put on a stone ( I rather lost a few kilos – due to a various digestion issues) . Hummus, falafel, tabbouleh and so on being the standard dishes in most places, become less exciting and are only convincing when they are really good. I know I will miss them at some point, probably when I will be facing toad in a hole, smothered chicken and fish and chips on a menu. The traditional Jordanian dish is Mansaf.(Wiki page: Mansaf ). The best Mansaf I've eaten was the one the women in the camp prepared. Jabri's is nothing compared to that! My favourite drink in the Middle East is Lemon and Mint. It is simply the best. It is refreshing, helps you digest and goes with anything. If, however, you are a fan of Coca-Cola, you will have difficult moments in Jordan, where Pepsi is the leader on the market. It was always a moment of exhilaration whenever a shop sold real coke. And although some might deny it: Pepsi is no Coke! (even when you are really REALLY thirsty!)

Getting dressed in Jordan was one of the most annoying things. It was hot enough to walk around in a swimsuit and yet, better cover your elbows and knees. I have never dressed that much for other people as I have in Jordan. Although you get used to knowing what is acceptable and what is not in certain neighbourhoods of Amman, I often checked with a friend whether I was dressed appropriately enough. I am looking forward to the UK, where you can wear whatever you want, because there will always be someone weirder.

One of the most frustrating things in Jordan was service. Most expats complain about it. In shops or restaurants, there is either one guy, who is really slow and totally overwhelmed or there are five guys and they are totally inefficient, because they are either all helping you or none is helping you. Waiters in restaurants generally never deserve tip and client satisfaction is a notion that is lacked in many places. Of course, in some restaurants and cafés people were friendly and effective, but they were the exception.

My favourite time of the day in Jordan is sunset, especially if you are sitting at Old View Café in Jebel Amman. The city is slowly infused in a myriad of orange, yellow and pink tones. Kids are flying kites. Trained pigeons are flying in circles and the call for prayer starts all over the city. It's divine.

My favourite experience in Jordan was meeting the women at the Gaza refugee camp. I went there several times to teach English in a gym. Sometimes they were 20, sometimes 7, but they were always the most genuine and nicest people I have met in Jordan. I didn't feel like a stranger in their group as we talked about life, food, sports or clothes. I found the female solidarity I was looking for in the Middle East. It broke my heart when I had to say goodbye and if anything will make me come back to Jordan, it is what I found in the camp.