15/6 - I saw Jurassic World on Friday night. While it was very entertaining, it was a horrendous movie. There were so many things that bugged me about it, and I'd spend way too much time on here being negative and ripping into it, so I won't go there.
I've written it here before, but I've succeeded in inspiring another friend of mine. I spent some time with Alessandro (Italian) and Abby (Lebanese) Friday night, and I told them about my traveling adventures, particularly about the Wales trip, and the possibility of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Abby was so impressed she asked me to help her set up a Couchsurfing account. And speaking of her, I now need to add Lebanon to my list of places to visit. The Middle-East sounds great, though very different.
I spent the day Sunday at the Bournemouth Bobcats football game vs. Hastings, working the chains. I was able to get away from my computer for a while, and I met some people who really love being around football. They had some great stories. Sometimes, volunteering just seems to work itself out.
My dissertation is going very badly. After six failed attempts at a proposal, my lecturer finally sent me my classmate's proposal to show me what it's supposed to look like. I'm just wondering why it took him so long to do that. I obviously have no idea what I'm supposed to do, so I was wasting both his time and mine with those six failed attempts. Showing me earlier would have saved me from being a dickhead to him through email and threatening to change advisors. Essentially, I had no idea I was supposed to write an essay with references to explain why and how I want to write another essay. It's more academia bullcrap. But I just keep reminding myself to be patient. Get it done. Eventually I'll have it done and then I'll be able to travel.
That Trans-Siberian Railway trip looks like it will happen. Danny wants it to happen, and so do I. The prices aren't that bad. A train from Moscow to Beijing is about £450, less than what the Mercedes cost. The unknown comes from me needing a visa to get into all three of those countries, and how I'll get back from China. Will I fly back from Beijing, or will I keep going? What if I keep going to South Korea, Japan and then get a flight back to California? I'd literally go around the world! The most important thing to keep in mind?
It's doable.
16/6 - Last night was the final time in a while we would all be able to meet up, so we had a picnic at the beach in Bournemouth. It was one of those absolutely perfect evenings that don't come around too often. Even the water, which is normally freezing cold, was comfortable. I stood with my feet in the water, just gazing at the horizon towards France, and got a bit lost. The shouts of my friends were drowned out by the gentle crashing of the waves, and I chose that moment to take it all in. My time at this university is coming to an end, so I needed to take a few minutes to appreciate everything that's happened so far.
We ate, drank, played football and volleyball, and I got sand everywhere you can imagine. It was a perfect way for all of us to go our separate ways for the immediate future.
Currently, I'm at Brunel University in Uxbridge on the west side of London where the students from Kaichi High School have come for the week. There are six kids in my group, and they all have different skill levels of English. They flew more than 12 hours on an airplane to get here, so when we finished with dinner, it would have been about 4 a.m. in the morning for them. They're tired.
We sat down for dinner together; that was our first time meeting each other. You all know how I am; I'm quiet when I first meet you and don't talk very much. It was very awkward at first and I had no idea how I'd remember their names. I began to sweat. My mouth went dry. It was like giving an oral presentation in front of people. But they gave me a poster with a picture of all of them, their preferred name and some basic facts about themselves, so that made it much easier. What I need to do is get them comfortable with me and speaking English. The language barrier is a little tough right now, but it'll go down soon in a glorious tumble. The best thing is most of them seem interested in speaking. There is one kid who seems down and doesn't appear to want to be here, but there are kids like that in every group.
While on trips away from Brunel, they will wear their school uniform, which is a black blazer with a shirt and tie, which is essentially a suit. But this week it's pretty warm in this part of England, so I'll tell them tomorrow it's OK to take the blazers off. In fact, they gave me a gift which consisted of a Japanese fan and hand and feet warmers. Those will be handy any time but now, but they're appreciated nonetheless.
Finally, I've met the rest of the group leaders. They're all people my age, but I've joined a group where most people already know each other. It'll take a bit of time to get comfortable and open up. This little experience will be fantastic, as I'll make connections with people from a completely different part of the world. I think it'll get better and better.
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