Last Days at Work

Well, it's almost quitting time for me here at Positive East. The place that has been my home for 32 hours a week for the past semester will no longer be a part of my daily routine. No more wonderfully large lunches from the canteen. No more talking about where everyone is going for their 6-week holiday. No more taking the cramped tube from the West end of London all the way to the East end (alright I'm not gonna miss this one too much).

I know I'm being a bit dramatic about all this but I am going to miss this place. The people here made my experience so much fun and the clients I got to help really opened up my eyes to some international issues I might not otherwise have learned about. I'll definitely miss this place.

I've put some pictures up of the office I work in. I had to send an essay and some pics of me "in action" back to the Human Rights Group who gave me a small stipend to do this internship. I didn't really know what they meant by "in action" so I just took some obviously posed pictures with the help of my colleagues. Here they are:

Here is a picture of me looking intently at a file with my coworker:

These fake "pointing at words on a sheet of paper" shots are great

Another intent look from me. I love the fact that Tseguy is smiling directly at the camera when I am clearly concerned with an African Team email that is being written.

Two Posts for the Price of One!

This is basically a direct rip-off of one of Gabe's blog posts a month or two ago but I'm still doing it anyway. *ahem*

Who beat me up in the picture below? None other than Jess "The Joker" Liaudin! Okay, while he's not as famous as the guys my brother grappled with when he got his bruises (Forrest Griffin and Rory Singer), Jess is well-known in the European fight circuit and has even fought Shonnie Carter before (he was the only fighter I recognized from Jess' record).

So yeah, I went to the London Pancrase gym a little while ago to do some kickboxing and grappling and they kicked my ass. It was great! My arm still hurts from an armbar one of the guys put on me but all the rest of the cuts and scrapes have healed. It was so nice to mix it up again because I haven't done any kind of fighting for months. I've only been a handful of times to the gym but whenever I stop my internship and start a PAYING job I think I'm going to sign up for the butt-kicking on at least a weekly basis.

Nothing Much Going On

At the request of some anonymous comment I'm writing a post...finally. My lack of blogging lately can pretty much be summed up like this - nothing's really happening! Seriously, while I did have a wonderful Easter weekend in the English countryside (I'm just waiting for the pictures to be uploaded to post on that), there hasn't been much else to write about. The days in which I have some free time are pretty much the same lately. Here are a couple of things I might do:

-Discuss with Erika when we should go to Tesco to get groceries
-Cook the groceries mentioned above
-Figure out which pub we're going to after work on Friday
-Argue with Erika about whether or not we should move back to the States
-Plan future trips we're taking
-Talk in British accents to amuse ourselves

And that's about it. In all honestly I haven't done much to talk about. I'm getting ready for home next week when I fly back to America to graduate. That's exciting. As soon as THAT happens I'll probably have much to write about. Until then...British life as usual.

Back in the U.S. of A.

So I'm traveling back to Florida in about 3 weeks to walk at my graduation (please come). I can't wait to go because the thought of visiting is really exciting! I'll get to see my parents and brothers and sisters and friends and everybody I haven't seen the whole semester. My favorite part will undoubtedly be telling all the cool and interesting stories I have to the locals because anything international always garners a little more enthusiasm. Also, I can wow everyone with my knowledge about pints and Chavs!

After thinking about all this and then reading the blog of my brother and sister-in-law (the latest entry is about moving - http://modaresibeal.blogspot.com/2007/04/dilemma.html), I am really considering moving back to the states as my best option once my work visa runs out over here in London (June 27th). Much to the dismay of my girlfriend, who really wants to stay, this option has been at the forefront of my mind for a little while now. I don't think I'd move back home anywhere in Florida though (for longer than a couple of months at least). I've been thinking a lot about California for some reason lately. I guess I am still in a sort of "adventure mode" and don't quite want to find that "perfect place to settle" yet. I do want to get a more permanent job, however, and NOT spend my days in a new place doing unpaid work or waiting tables. I'm up for any kind of social work job though.

I guess I'll just keep feeling my way through all this. I've made so many pros and cons lists (again, I just saw one on Gabe and Shirin's blog) I'm really getting sick of them. There seems to be no good way to make this decision so perhaps I'll just flip a coin. I guess we'll see...

SPAIN!

We went to Barcelona a couple weeks ago and now we finally have the pictures loaded up. The trip was taken with myself, Erika, and our friend Lauren Kelley. Lauren is actually a friend from Florida State that happened to be on the same work visa as Erika and I. We all shared a small, loud hostel room and ran all around this wonderful city. Take a look:

This is us drinking some very good sangria and eating tapas at a little cafe on the main street

_

Me receiving a gift from a winged golden woman

The market we found was pretty awesome. We ended up buying some meat, cheese, bread, and wine and having a picnic in a park at the very top of a hill. Nice place.

The obligatory "Japanese Tourist" picture

Our hostel room was soooooo small. Our tiny room fit 8 beds. You pretty much see the entire room in this picture. Quality establishment.

Even though we couldn't swim in the fountain we could still take exciting pictures

Erika hates fish

Notice the golden whale in the background



The people in the background were amazed at my jumping abilities