Back in sunny, but slightly cool Florida.
I spent some time back in November researching and applying for a couple of seasonal jobs for this summer, now that I'm back it's follow up time. Make sure apps have been received, am I being considered, etc.
Need to get the RV checked out: tires, oil, service, etc., and then the harder job of getting it all put back in order, put away all the luggage and knickknacks I brought home from Europe, and secure everything for road travel. It shouldn't take longer than a week and I'll be ready to hit the road.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
Pueblo in the Snow
Yes snow! As if England was not cold enough, my minor brush with a snowstorm while driving through northern England was nothing close to the white blanket I experienced this past week.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Starting at the beginning, the culmination of my trip to the UK is a return visit to La Alberca for another session with Pueblo Ingles. For those that have followed all of this blog (OK, just my Mum) you will already know about the program. For the remainder, and smarter, of you, Pueblo Ingles is a program which gathers a group of around 20 Spanish participants, who are learning English, and an approximately equivalent number of native English speaking volunteers (hereto known as Anglos) and whisks them off together to a fairly remote (sometimes very remote) location. The purpose is conversation, in English.
The Spanish participants must attain a certain level of English, and are tested by telephone before they are accepted for Pueblo Ingles. They know the basics of introduction, and have usually had several years of English lessons in grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary, etc. Beyond that their levels can vary from very fluent, to very cautious, at least at the beginning of the week! What they have not generally had, in their English lessons, is exposure to many different accents, talking to several people at once in English, and not being immersed in the English language for 14 hours a day. That is the purpose of PI.
The Anglo volunteers are of all ages, and from all over the English speaking world. At each program the majority are usually from England, the US and Canada. North American accents alone are probably enough of a challenge to anyone who has learned to speak from predominantly English Enlish speakers, but always added into the mix are a couple of Scots, Welsh, and Irish accents, maybe an antipodean (New Zealand or Australian), Indian, Jamaican, South African, or many of the other places the English language is widely spoken.
The program is structured in such a way that each Spanish "victim" will spend at least one hour speaking to each Anglo, and much more. As well as the one to one sessions, the days are interspersed with group activities, two to two discussions, theatre skits, and of course, mealtimes. This goes on from 9am at breakfast, to the official end of the day after dinner around 10:30pm. After dinner the bar is open for several hours for those that still wish to converse, and many do. On several evenings, disco music is provided for dancing.
The idea is to keep the Spanish hearing English from dawn to dusk and beyond. The days are long, but always filled with activity. Anglos are not there primarily to teach, but more to talk, and listen. Small corrections of grammar and syntax obviously do occur, but the Spanish are required to delve deep into their memories of vocabulary they have previously learned. Any Spanish who cannot find the word they want is encouraged to describe the item, and if necessary the new word is provided.
The accomodations provided vary according to the program location, but all are very comfortable and clean. The location at La Alberca consists of chalet sytle cabins with seperate upstairs and downstairs accomodations. Generally a Spaniard occupies the upper room, with an Anglo house downstairs. The chalets cluster around a large meeting, dining and bar complex where all meals are taken. The food is good and plentifull, and always accompanied with as much wine as desired. The conversation always continues over meals, as all are taken with at least 2 Anglos or Spanish at each table. Conversations with wine during dinner, or after at the bar tend to center on more relaxed topics. The alcohol seems to loosen the tongues somewhat, however it is rare to see anyone overindulge beyond social drinking.
For this particular program, all of the Spanish participants were teachers. The Administrative areas (or Juntas) of Spain have instituted a program where some teachers will start teaching some subjects in English. All of the participants have volunteered to take part in this program. Let me make it clear that they are teaching their regular subject, such as Music, Art, Geography, Mathematics, History, or Physical education, but conducting at least on class per week entirely in English. There are no textbooks for them to refer to (excepting of course their regular curriculum in Spanish), no pre prepared worksheets for them to use, few resources for them to refer to. All of that, and they are teaching 3-6 year olds, or 12 year olds, in a language that is not their native tongue. And they volunteered!
This brave, brave group of "victims" started off the week, waiting at the bus stop in typical style: huddled together conversing in Spanish, with a look on their faces as if they had been condemned to a firing squad. By the end of a thoroughly enjoyable week of conversation, shared houses and meals, skits, group activities, special ceremonies, singing and dancing, they were laughing and smiling, joking and joining in fast conversations, and even striking up conversations in English with people they met in bars, shops, streets and bathrooms.
Despite the weather, which provided us with daily doses of freezing cold rain, which then turned to several inches of snow, back to rain and ice, and finally for our last couple of days more soft dry snow, it was one of the best weeks I have spent at Pueblo Ingles.
View more pictures at: my Picasa album
Sunday, December 28, 2008
What's that thick white stuff on my car?
Freshly arrived in England, after a Christmas spell of high 70 degrees weather. It's 10am at Gatwick Airport, and -4 degrees celcius. My rental car is waiting in the parking lot to be picked up and driven away. The problem is, it's sitting in the sun, yet is entirely covered in an approximately 1/2 inch blanket of fuzzy white frost.
Wimp that I am, I'm sitting in the warm rental office while a really nice man scrapes all the ice off, heats the car up for me and finds me an ice scraper thingy in case this happens again in the next month.
I think I'll be here at least that long. This was an impropmtu visit home, but I expect I'll at least spend a couple of weeks with each parent, try to look up a few friends I haven't seen in a while, and maybe, if the weather cooperates, do a bit of light walking to see if my knee is recovered yet.
Ok, time to put my gloves on and brave the outside.
Wimp that I am, I'm sitting in the warm rental office while a really nice man scrapes all the ice off, heats the car up for me and finds me an ice scraper thingy in case this happens again in the next month.
I think I'll be here at least that long. This was an impropmtu visit home, but I expect I'll at least spend a couple of weeks with each parent, try to look up a few friends I haven't seen in a while, and maybe, if the weather cooperates, do a bit of light walking to see if my knee is recovered yet.
Ok, time to put my gloves on and brave the outside.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
FL Trail - Potts Preserve work weekend
Spent the weekend doing trail maintenance at Potts Preserve on the Florida Trail. I love backpacking out at Potts because it's so lightly used, and if you can discount the noise of the airboats, so quiet. I had received a newsletter telling me it had been neglected, maintenance wise, for a couple of years, and I haven't been out there this year due to finishing the FT hike, and the AT "thru became a section" hike. Charles, who led the last group backpack trip I did out there last year, had mentionned that the trail signage for the backcountry river campsite was missing too. I was expecting it to be quite a mess, and hard work. There was camping available so I took the RV up for a run out, thinking I'd at least be able to get showered up and eat decent while I was there.
Surprisingly, it really didn't seem in too bad condition, to me at least. There was a good turnout of about a dozen people and several ATVs, so it was easy to get everyone out to seperate areas to work. I took on the duties of picking up behind the brush cutters, and repainting blazes. You can never get too much orange paint on you, after all! We finished the first section very quickly, and went back to the prearranged luch meet up spot, only to find that we'd been misinformed about where we should have been brush cutting and blazing. Apparently we hadn't gone far enough. Maybe that's why we thought the brush wasn't that bad!
Anyway, we found a few cleanup jobs to do around the lunch area until it was time to eat, then went back to continue, in the correct area this time, in the afternoon. By then there were many more people available to cover this section, and we had 3 of us picking and painting. We got talking and fell way behind the brush cutters, but just kept on picking up and repainting. Eventually, late in the afternoon the section leader walked back down to find us. We were only a couple hundred yards from the road we were working towards, but apparently everyone else was anxious to get finished and get home. I was surprised, because I thought there were to be two full work days, but apparently the first day was yesterday, and I missed it.
It was a good day's work though. Not a great deal of hiking, probably only about 5 miles, but all the bending to pick up, and stretching to reach up to the blazes has got me rather stiff! There was no point staying in the camping area with no electric hookup if there was no work day tomorrow. It had got quite hot in the RV last night with no a/c. But there wasn't much point driving the rig home in the dark either, so I just drove oout of the Preserve to a nearby RV park and rented a spot for th night with all the amenities. I was super tired from all that outdoor activity. I remember hearing a storm approaching at about 9pm, but it wasn't over me yet. I assume it did come over, and must have rained quite hard, becasue my bedding was wet this morning from rain coming in the wide open window. I didn't hear a thing though - very rare for me. I also needn't have worried about having an electric hookup for the air conditioner. I didn't need it on last night, and this morning I have the heat on! Incredible. It's not freezing cold, but it sure was a cooler start than we've had since I returned from the AT. Fall must be coming to Florida.
After a lazy breakfast I packed up and stripped the wet bedding and headed home.
It wasn't quite as long or hard a weekend as I'd expected, but satisfying none the less. I'll have to try to get out to Potts in the next couple of months and see if my knees are up to backpacking again. I should be able to manage the short side of the loop, even in I'm not ready for the entire thing yet.
Surprisingly, it really didn't seem in too bad condition, to me at least. There was a good turnout of about a dozen people and several ATVs, so it was easy to get everyone out to seperate areas to work. I took on the duties of picking up behind the brush cutters, and repainting blazes. You can never get too much orange paint on you, after all! We finished the first section very quickly, and went back to the prearranged luch meet up spot, only to find that we'd been misinformed about where we should have been brush cutting and blazing. Apparently we hadn't gone far enough. Maybe that's why we thought the brush wasn't that bad!
Anyway, we found a few cleanup jobs to do around the lunch area until it was time to eat, then went back to continue, in the correct area this time, in the afternoon. By then there were many more people available to cover this section, and we had 3 of us picking and painting. We got talking and fell way behind the brush cutters, but just kept on picking up and repainting. Eventually, late in the afternoon the section leader walked back down to find us. We were only a couple hundred yards from the road we were working towards, but apparently everyone else was anxious to get finished and get home. I was surprised, because I thought there were to be two full work days, but apparently the first day was yesterday, and I missed it.
It was a good day's work though. Not a great deal of hiking, probably only about 5 miles, but all the bending to pick up, and stretching to reach up to the blazes has got me rather stiff! There was no point staying in the camping area with no electric hookup if there was no work day tomorrow. It had got quite hot in the RV last night with no a/c. But there wasn't much point driving the rig home in the dark either, so I just drove oout of the Preserve to a nearby RV park and rented a spot for th night with all the amenities. I was super tired from all that outdoor activity. I remember hearing a storm approaching at about 9pm, but it wasn't over me yet. I assume it did come over, and must have rained quite hard, becasue my bedding was wet this morning from rain coming in the wide open window. I didn't hear a thing though - very rare for me. I also needn't have worried about having an electric hookup for the air conditioner. I didn't need it on last night, and this morning I have the heat on! Incredible. It's not freezing cold, but it sure was a cooler start than we've had since I returned from the AT. Fall must be coming to Florida.
After a lazy breakfast I packed up and stripped the wet bedding and headed home.
It wasn't quite as long or hard a weekend as I'd expected, but satisfying none the less. I'll have to try to get out to Potts in the next couple of months and see if my knees are up to backpacking again. I should be able to manage the short side of the loop, even in I'm not ready for the entire thing yet.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Makinson Island paddle trip
Ah, the annual Makinson Island paddle trip is upon is. Makinson is a small undeveloped island in the middle of Lake Tohopekaliga. A couple of years ago Charles started leading weekend paddle trips out to the island for the FL Trail paddlers. There is a big open field for camping, and we usually hang out all afternoon, cook out for dinner, and take a slow easy breakfast and pack out in the morning. Last fall we had an awesome time, and battled some pretty stiff wind and waves paddling back on Sunday. It was my first free weekend after leaving work, and I was leaving for Europe a couple of days later. It was like a "retirement" weekend for me, and a real blast.
This year, I had no idea I'd be able to attend. I'm supposed to still be hiking, then when I abandoned the hike I thought I would be at the ALDHA Gathering this weekend, but when I transpired that I had nothing else to do, why wouldn't I join the paddle trip? The forecast was for storms and strong wind this wekend, but after all, it is fall in Florida.
It was another great weekend, but with a totally different dynamic from last year. Charles, Ian, Rodnay and I were the only last year participants, but I got to meet some new FL Trail folks that I really enjoyed talking with. Of those that couldn't go this year I missed Mary most. She's still in New York with mom. I missed Virginia too, but don't tell her I said that. I'm sure she was busy wathcing LSU lose, or something as important. I missed the "girls night out" vibe we had had last year, but most of all I missed Mary.
Makinson itself did not seem as well groomed this year. I guess we must have caught it just after they'd mowed last year, and it was all short and lovely grass. We also had to share the island this year, where we had it all to ourselves last year. There was an extended family group having a party of some sort when we arrived. I don't know where they went, I didn't see them leave, but by dark there was just us and a boy scout group camping. The storms never materialized overnight, and we had a gorgeous bright moon all night, and lots of noisy fishing boats!
The paddle back to the fish camp on Sunday was veritably leisurely compared to last year's epic battle against wind and waves. We ended out the trip with the traditional late lunch at the Catfish house in St Cloud. Yum, but I didn't feel like I deserved the overindulgence this year like I did last!
Great weekend. Miss you Mary
This year, I had no idea I'd be able to attend. I'm supposed to still be hiking, then when I abandoned the hike I thought I would be at the ALDHA Gathering this weekend, but when I transpired that I had nothing else to do, why wouldn't I join the paddle trip? The forecast was for storms and strong wind this wekend, but after all, it is fall in Florida.
It was another great weekend, but with a totally different dynamic from last year. Charles, Ian, Rodnay and I were the only last year participants, but I got to meet some new FL Trail folks that I really enjoyed talking with. Of those that couldn't go this year I missed Mary most. She's still in New York with mom. I missed Virginia too, but don't tell her I said that. I'm sure she was busy wathcing LSU lose, or something as important. I missed the "girls night out" vibe we had had last year, but most of all I missed Mary.
Makinson itself did not seem as well groomed this year. I guess we must have caught it just after they'd mowed last year, and it was all short and lovely grass. We also had to share the island this year, where we had it all to ourselves last year. There was an extended family group having a party of some sort when we arrived. I don't know where they went, I didn't see them leave, but by dark there was just us and a boy scout group camping. The storms never materialized overnight, and we had a gorgeous bright moon all night, and lots of noisy fishing boats!
The paddle back to the fish camp on Sunday was veritably leisurely compared to last year's epic battle against wind and waves. We ended out the trip with the traditional late lunch at the Catfish house in St Cloud. Yum, but I didn't feel like I deserved the overindulgence this year like I did last!
Great weekend. Miss you Mary
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Off Trail in New York (not city)
Leaving my hiking partner at the trail and driving away was the hardest thing I have done so far on this trail. I know I had to do it: I can't ask Brian to sacrifice his hike for my bad knees, and I know it is more like me having to give up my hike to give him a chance to continue and complete his hike, but we've been through so much together already, as a team, that I felt like I was abandoning him.
He hiked away out of sight and I drove off, tearing up!
The silver lining to this cloud is Mary. By the time I reached NY she was waiting on the curb outside her house for me. Five minutes and several hugs later we were sitting on the porch catching up, Mike's hard lemonade in hand, and watching the rain fall. I know I'm welcome here for as long as it takes for my aching knees to make my decision for me.
Mary is a great friend from FL, but she is up in NY right now, and has been for several months, staying with her Mom who is recovering from a bout of illness. Like me, Mary is an outdoors person, so she's been taking Mom, and now me, to state parks for outings. We've visited Chittenango Falls and been on drives around this area with Mary as the tour guide.
Mary even loaned me some real clothes so I could get out of my stinky hiker gear. I have been trying hard to keep my weight up during the hike, but maybe I haven't done so well if the skinniest person I know loaned me a skort and shirt! I'll never be able to repay her for her hospitality this past week or so.
Today I'm returning to Florida. I have accepted that my knees are not going to let me hike any more this season. It's been a real hard decision, but necessary if I hope to recover these knees to hikeable performance in the future.
He hiked away out of sight and I drove off, tearing up!
The silver lining to this cloud is Mary. By the time I reached NY she was waiting on the curb outside her house for me. Five minutes and several hugs later we were sitting on the porch catching up, Mike's hard lemonade in hand, and watching the rain fall. I know I'm welcome here for as long as it takes for my aching knees to make my decision for me.
Mary is a great friend from FL, but she is up in NY right now, and has been for several months, staying with her Mom who is recovering from a bout of illness. Like me, Mary is an outdoors person, so she's been taking Mom, and now me, to state parks for outings. We've visited Chittenango Falls and been on drives around this area with Mary as the tour guide.
Mary even loaned me some real clothes so I could get out of my stinky hiker gear. I have been trying hard to keep my weight up during the hike, but maybe I haven't done so well if the skinniest person I know loaned me a skort and shirt! I'll never be able to repay her for her hospitality this past week or so.
Today I'm returning to Florida. I have accepted that my knees are not going to let me hike any more this season. It's been a real hard decision, but necessary if I hope to recover these knees to hikeable performance in the future.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Woodstock, VT - leaving the Trail
The last few days have not been good to me! Right now I'm sitting in Woodstock, VT behind the wheel of a rental car bawling my eyes out because I just had to leave my good friend and hiking partner behind on the trail to hike on without me. I feel like half of me is missing.
Since we left Hanover I have been in pain. My knees, which have given so much in the past 400 miles or so of rocks, roots, and high steps have not adapted to this new "gentler" sloping terrain. I feel at times like I'm having to learn to walk all over again. I may not have helped the situation by switching to new shoes in Hanover. They're the same as before, but these have not been mud soaked and worn to a flexibility like the previous pair. My feet just don't feel like they're making contact the ground correctly. Add my current situation and pain to the realization that we are now massively behind schedule, and in order to make up miles and have a hope of finishing (or at least getting through the high altitude of the Smokeys (NC)) before really bad winter weather, and we had already discussed the need to do longer days, in shorter daylight hours. We did some bigger faster mileage yesterday, and I paid for it last night. It's turning cooler, I was cold every time I stopped for breaks yesterday, and this morning was downright cold. A daily diet of painkillers is making sick to my stomach and I can't keep my food dowm. Having enough energy to hike when I can't eat sufficiently is a joke. I was hardly even able to function to get my pack packed in the cold this morning.
I'm feeling guilty that I'm slowing Chill down, he can hike much harder and longer than I can when his back isn't causing him pain and my slowing us down may ultimately cost him his hike. We had agreed before the hike that if this situation came up that we would split up. Now is the time to face up to that situation. I was so sure that the lower terrain and gentler trail would be the end of my knee problems, but it appears that my poor knees dislike sloping lower hills even more than jagged rocky steep mountains.
I told Brian to go on without me, but of course, he didn't want to leave me sitting there sick, so we managed to get ourselves to Woodstock, VT. Not the cheapest place on earth to be stranded with no plan! Now that I'm not hiking and and eating food that didn't have to be rehydrated, and sleeping in a warm bed I'm feeling physically better, except for my knees and back, but I know I'm not up to continuing. I have looked at options for getting back to Florida, staying somewhere round here a while, or skipping down the trail some miles and waiting out my knees a while. There is no cheap option, but in the course of looking at the options I did figure out that a one way car rental to somewhere, was probably the best option. We spent some time running errands in the car: picking up bounce boxes I'd mailed ahead, doing laundry and resupply for Brian, copying photos to CDs, etc., but we were only postponing the inevitable. Brian has a trail to hike, and I can't continue right now.
The question of where to drive to has been resolved by my good freind Mary. She is in New York state somwhere, and has offered a bed for as long as I need it. It's a couple couple hundred miles from the AT, but if I can drive there, I can drive back, right? I'd love to see her for a while, and it could still keep the possibility of returning to the trail alive, which is not likely to happen if I return to Florida for a break.
I'll be driving there as soon as I can clear my eyes enough to see the road.
View more photos in my Picasa album
Since we left Hanover I have been in pain. My knees, which have given so much in the past 400 miles or so of rocks, roots, and high steps have not adapted to this new "gentler" sloping terrain. I feel at times like I'm having to learn to walk all over again. I may not have helped the situation by switching to new shoes in Hanover. They're the same as before, but these have not been mud soaked and worn to a flexibility like the previous pair. My feet just don't feel like they're making contact the ground correctly. Add my current situation and pain to the realization that we are now massively behind schedule, and in order to make up miles and have a hope of finishing (or at least getting through the high altitude of the Smokeys (NC)) before really bad winter weather, and we had already discussed the need to do longer days, in shorter daylight hours. We did some bigger faster mileage yesterday, and I paid for it last night. It's turning cooler, I was cold every time I stopped for breaks yesterday, and this morning was downright cold. A daily diet of painkillers is making sick to my stomach and I can't keep my food dowm. Having enough energy to hike when I can't eat sufficiently is a joke. I was hardly even able to function to get my pack packed in the cold this morning.
I'm feeling guilty that I'm slowing Chill down, he can hike much harder and longer than I can when his back isn't causing him pain and my slowing us down may ultimately cost him his hike. We had agreed before the hike that if this situation came up that we would split up. Now is the time to face up to that situation. I was so sure that the lower terrain and gentler trail would be the end of my knee problems, but it appears that my poor knees dislike sloping lower hills even more than jagged rocky steep mountains.
I told Brian to go on without me, but of course, he didn't want to leave me sitting there sick, so we managed to get ourselves to Woodstock, VT. Not the cheapest place on earth to be stranded with no plan! Now that I'm not hiking and and eating food that didn't have to be rehydrated, and sleeping in a warm bed I'm feeling physically better, except for my knees and back, but I know I'm not up to continuing. I have looked at options for getting back to Florida, staying somewhere round here a while, or skipping down the trail some miles and waiting out my knees a while. There is no cheap option, but in the course of looking at the options I did figure out that a one way car rental to somewhere, was probably the best option. We spent some time running errands in the car: picking up bounce boxes I'd mailed ahead, doing laundry and resupply for Brian, copying photos to CDs, etc., but we were only postponing the inevitable. Brian has a trail to hike, and I can't continue right now.
The question of where to drive to has been resolved by my good freind Mary. She is in New York state somwhere, and has offered a bed for as long as I need it. It's a couple couple hundred miles from the AT, but if I can drive there, I can drive back, right? I'd love to see her for a while, and it could still keep the possibility of returning to the trail alive, which is not likely to happen if I return to Florida for a break.
I'll be driving there as soon as I can clear my eyes enough to see the road.
View more photos in my Picasa album
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