Serendipity

Challenge 4: Introduce yourself to EVERYONE (they could be your new best friend/future husband)

While I'm sure this challenge was set to encourage me to approach random strangers, many of the people I have met so far this year have sort of fallen into my life. I'm a firm believer that the people we encounter are sent to us for a reason, which is why I felt compelled to tell the stories of two of my friends in London who found me in some strange circumstances.

The first is my housemate Ben. Ben and I moved into our four bedroom flat on the same day as we are both subletting rooms. However, I was not the first candidate for my room: a Canadian girl was all set to take the let when for some reason she decided to leave the UK and go back to Canada, putting me next in line to move in. Little did I know that my sublet caused issues with another housemate who subsequently moved out too. As a result, Ben moved in and here we are!

The strangest part to this story actually started while I was still living in Melbourne and working in a stationary shop called Kikki K. One day, only a couple of weeks before I departed for London, I was reading through an instruction booklet outlining how to put up the new window display for Valentines Day. As I flipped through I was amused by the main window display, a large heart with the words 'Dear Ben, I'm so lucky to have you. Love Ellie'. Despite not knowing a Ben, I thought it was pretty cool to have my name on the shop window so I took a quick snap of the picture on my phone. I had completely forgotten about it until one day I was sitting with Ben showing him some photos when we stumbled across that one...

 Although Ben and I have our different views (mostly on whether Vegemite is better than Marmite) and spend most of our time engaged in banter, I am very lucky to have him. I have heard horror stories about living in share houses and Ben has made my move to our new home very easy. Any housemate who sends messages informing me that Haagen Dazs is on special or outlining which Ben and Jerry's flavours are at the supermarket is more than ok in my book.

My other serendipitous encounter was with Andrew, a fellow Teacher's Aide at work. On my first day at my new job I got quite lost looking for the school. The area was flooded with primary schools which made it increasingly difficult to find the one that I was supposed to be working at. After seeking the assistance of a very friendly lollypop lady, I finally located it but could not seem to find the entrance. A little panicked that I was going to be late on my first day I managed to let myself into the yard where I saw a door open to a classroom. It was Andrew that opened the door and saw me wondering around looking confused. I explained who I was so he let me in and escorted me to where I was supposed to be. 

I can't help but think that it is fitting that Andrew was the one to find me that day as he has become a very close friend at work. I always look forward to our lunch time chats and Tuesday afternoons where he and I get to take a reading group together. Apparently our closeness has been noticed by one of the children who has decided that we are a couple. This is particularly amusing as I am without a doubt, not his type. Perhaps if I resembled Ryan Gosling a little more? Regardless, he has decided to play up to the role by putting his arm around me whenever the girl passes by and I reciprocate by calling him pet names. While I may not have found my future husband when I introduced myself to Andrew, I have managed to land myself a fictitious gay boyfriend!

A Grand Visit to Ireland

Challenge 3: Go on lots of day/weekend/many day trips (don't stay in the same place, explore, travel, wander)

This week I continued to tick off challenge number three when I made my way to the Republic of Ireland for some more travelling and exploration. However, before reaching the Emerald Isle I was destined to learn a very expensive lesson in double checking bookings. Upon arriving at Edinburgh airport to catch my flight to Dublin, I was informed that I was not actually on the flight. Convinced that there must be some mistake, it was made known to me that the mistake was in fact mine as I had booked my flight for the following Saturday. Eventually, I was put on a flight for the next morning but not before giving my Visa a good workout. So much for the luck of the Irish.

Fortunately, my inability to read a calendar did not prevent me from joining my five day tour run by Shamrocker Adventures. As we travelled by coach, our tour guide Dave provided us with some lingo that we could use for our time in Ireland, including the multiple contexts for the word 'grand' and the various levels of craic (pronounced crack, meaning fun). Evidently craic ranges from 'good craic' to 'the craic was mighty', all the way to 'the craic was 91', which would describe the best night of your life.

Dave also enlightened us with information about Irish history and culture which is riddled with superstitions and legends. Our first encounter of this was a stop at Blarney Castle where we were given the opportunity to kiss the Blarney Stone, said to give you the gift of the gab. So, aided by a gentleman affectionately known as 'Gropey Graham', I eased my way upside-down, from a great height to kiss a large slab on rock in the pursuit of eloquence. Over the five days I also wished on steps, in wells, rubbed pagan fertility idols and left part of my soul on a beach. Perhaps the strangest superstition of all was visiting the fairy fort; a clearing that surrounds a stump of a 'fairy tree' which is used to get from this world to the next. We were told stories about previous Shamrockers who had disrespected the fairies while in the fort and subsequently had broken down buses and even a broken leg. Some people even claim to have photographed the fairies, as strange blue dots appear in their pictures that even professional photographers could not explain. 

Perhaps the best nugget of wisdom that Dave imparted was about the picking up techniques of the locals in a farming town called Killarney. These men are said to be somewhat deprived of female company because many of the women go off to University. So according to Dave, clad in flannelette shirts and cowered in a corner, these men will discuss tactics about how to best approach a group of girls. Once one of the men musters up the confidence to approach a female he will most likely mumble something incomprehensible at her. The female should assume the question was 'How are you?', to which she should answer 'grand!'.  He will then continue to mumble something else, which one could assume was 'Where are you from?' having heard a foreign accent. Following this assumption, the lady will answer 'Australia' (or wherever she was from) to which the gentleman will reply, 'Wow...that's really far away'.  Having heard all of this, stepping into the pubs in Killarney was like watching National Geographic and then actually visiting the savannah. Everything played out just as Dave said it would and as he so succinctly put it, when it comes to picking up in Killarney, the odds are good but the goods are odd!  

When we weren't at the pub we were out enjoying the beautiful scenery that Ireland has to offer. Perhaps the most breathtaking was the Cliffs of Moher which towered over crystal blue oceans and is home to a gathering of puffins. While the cliffs can be quite dangerous on windy days, we were blessed with sunshine and were able to stand right near the edge for some spectacular views. Just as beautiful was Inis Mor, one of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay. On the island we raced bikes through the farmland by the beach to see a seal colony playing in the water. As a group we also hiked to the top of a huge cliff covered with stone walls, where two of our group members got engaged!

On the final night of the tour it was time for a little show and tell. At the beginning of the week Dave set us a challenge to see who could get the most creative souvenir without buying or stealing it. As this blog would suggest, I am a sucker for challenges so I had spent the week accumulating various knickknacks including a drumstick used by the drummer in a Killarney pub band, some rosary beads and an American $1 bill from a bartender in Galway and a bike tire from Inis Mor. I had learnt that only one other person in the group was in competition with me, so after presenting my loot to the group I sat in quiet smugness as the other girl got up to speak. She explained that she had met a man in the street and had asked him for a souvenir. From his pocket he pulled out a pink folded receipt for a cow insemination! As those two hilarious yet haunting words rang in my ears I had no choice but to admit defeat. I still decided to bring all of my souvenirs (except the tire) back to London as a memory the mighty craic that I had in Ireland.

Haggis, kilts and hairy coos

Challenge 3: Go on lots of day/weekend/many day trips (don't stay in the same place, explore, travel, wander)

In order to explore more of the UK, this week I took a five day tour of the Scottish highlands. The tour was run by Haggis Adventures and involved being driven around the highlands in a big yellow bus that had the foreboding words, 'Wild and Sexy' down the side.

What instantly struck me about Scotland was its beautiful scenery. The snow capped mountains that towered over the lochs were absolutely stunning, so it should have been no surprise that many films were shot here. A highlight of the trip was visiting Glenfinnan, one of the locations where Harry Potter was filmed. As our group stood on a hill playing the Harry theme music on an iPhone, to one side we could see the viaduct that the Hogwarts Express traveled along, and on the other the loch where the Triwizard Tournament took place.

Now no road trip would be complete without some good bus games. As we travelled along, our guide Andy taught us some "traditional Scottish roady games", including identifying elderly people who may be embarking on their last days and yelling, 'They're next!' Our other favourite was keeping an eye out for the elusive Scottish white horse, which is said to have magical properties. If someone spotted one they were required to yell in a high pitched voice, 'white horse!' three times. If we were successful in finding 35 white horses over our five days, we would have DSL (Deep Scottish Love) with the next person we shook hands with. If we were unsuccessful, we would have bad sex for seven years. We were unsuccessful...therefore I don't believe in it.

Another highlight of the highlands was of course visiting Loch Ness, home of Nessie. The loch was much larger than I had anticipated, perhaps because my knowledge of it stemmed from the Simpsons where Mr Burns drained it. The real loch definitely could not be drained, therefore people still believe there could be a monster in there. We were told that questionably large numbers of the fish have gone missing in recent years with no good explanation, causing some suspicion that something could be eating them.

While I didn't find Nessie, I did find multiple "hairy coos", my new favourite animal! They're beautiful long haired cows which graze the highlands and are surprisingly friendly. I also managed to find the hostel bar, where our group bonded over dancing on tables and barrels and drinking incredibly cheap shots.

Overall I've fallen in love with Scotland and could easily see myself living here, desperately searching for the final four or five white horses...or just enjoying the stunning sights and amazing culture. I'd highly recommend the Haggis Adventures tours; I met some fantastic people and made some memories that I'll treasure until 'I'm next'.