Chapter... Lost count

So, after an incredible week in the British countryside, I am now back in my cozy nest in Oxford.

The Colne River

The country was more lovely than I could have imagined, and this coming from a Laurentian kid who grew up surrounded by forests and pristine lakes.

The Cotswolds are actually designated an "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty". Don't believe me? Check out my sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cotswolds
Yes, I am citing wikipedia.

Only in England would you find an entire region designated as AONB. I had some semantic issues with the designation though. From a Canadian wilderness perspective, it's not exactly "natural" by any means. It's been tilled, cultivated, managed and pretty-fied for eons. In my opinion, what makes it so beautiful is the fact that it has been so carefully groomed and manicured.

There are incredible stone walls along all of the roads and around every property. The animals (sheep and horses mainly) graze on these lovely rolling green hills that are dotted with carefully placed trees that have been lovingly preened so that they are pleasing to the eye.

It seems as though the British have as many names for types of forests as the Inuit have for types of snow. Copse, Wood, Spiney, Brush, Thicket, Scrub, Weald, Grove... I could go on. Really. I had a conversation with N, the man of the family about all of these words.
N: "Don't you have those same descriptions back home?"
Me: "No, we only have forests."
Ah, good old Canada.

I was taken for some scenic walks through the Cotswolds on the public footpath that winds through different estates and farms. The Cotswold Way is a public footpath of over 150km that goes through private land. Landowners are required to keep it clear and provide a way to scale any fence that blocks the path.





The Cottage, called Pigeon Close (all of these old houses have names!) was built in the 1600s and the "newer" part was built around the mid 1700s. The ceiling is criss-crossed with big old dark wooden beams that likely came from deconstructed ships.

It kept dawning on my that I was in a building that was older than... a lot of things... like... my country, my province, my city, the industrial revolution... I'm sure history buffs could find some better examples.

The garden that A has created for herself at the back of the house is incredible. Remember "The Secret Garden"? This is better. The weather wasn't great while we there, but we did get out into the garden a fair bit.

Nettles by the water

The sassy 12 year old and I picked nettles to make soup in the garden and when we had exhausted those resources, we headed to the stream to pick these prickly plants by the water. I quickly realized why they are called stinging nettles. I only pricked myself once, but DAMN did it hurt! I found out the the reason why it hurts so much is that the prickles are hollow and when you touch them, they act like hypodermic needles and inject histamines into your skin. Mean little buggers.

That being said, they have a long history of use in traditional medicine and were used for a range of ailments, including heart problems, rheumatism, anemia, allergies, prostate problems, kidney problems... etc. We brought back a huge bag-full and made soup with onion, potato, rosemary and nettle! All of this from the garden!

Aside from frolicking in the countryside, I was also hard at work, sending out applications for jobs through language schools, internships, looked into various short courses around Europe and faced the usual dilemmas of "where do I want to go", "what do I want to do", "what the f*ck am I dooiiiinnnngggg". You know, the usual.

While chatting with my friend J, I made a SHORT list of the things I am interested in. This list is my no means exhaustive and just covers my recent interests.








Here is my list of things that I could see myself working in, studying, pursuing as a career or volunteering for:
conflict mediation (interpersonal, water, environment)
land management (erosion control)
sustainable policy initiatives
welding
carpentry
medicinal botany
brownfield remediation
estuary rehabilitation
flood management
drought management
teaching (envr, english ... etc)
biomimicry
groundwater management
agricultural policies

Her response?
J: "what you need is a place that has an environmental program in the desert next to a rainforest by the ocean, close to an estuary with medicinal plants and a re-greening program where everyone speaks a different language and needs to be taught English and needs you to build them furniture."
I thought that was perfect. Now I just have to find that place.

I finally started hearing back from some of the places I've applied to. I heard back from South Korea immediately, asking me when I could start and offering to fly me out, train me more, give me a furnished apartment and pay me a lot of money. Hmmmm. If only that area of the world interested me more right now. I understand what a good career move it would be to gain experience in Asia, but I can't muster up the interest right now. Maybe it's the thought of the crowds, the cities... I don't know. I responded explaining that I am currently pursuing a research opportunity and to keep my CV on file. Which is not untrue.

I heard back from a language school based in Berlin that offers online tutoring, but the catch is that I need a private land line and I'm nowhere near settled enough to have one of those. A school in Italy contacted my in broken English to say that they need a teacher asap. I answered them with times to call me on Skype for an interview so I'm waiting on that. In a desperate attempt to have something in my future that would give me an income, I emailed my old job to see if there might be a contract available for me. I love that job and Montreal during the summer could be a hoot! Then I could clear my debts and save up to go abroad and get a full time teaching post.

The most positive news yet is that I heard back from an internship saying that I've been shortlisted for an interview that will be happening this week. I don't want to mention too much yet, in case I fail the interview miserably, or in case it actually doesn't suit me at all. I think just the interview part will be great practice. I'll talk about it after it happens. But, good news nonetheless, no matter what happens.

Yesterday, I went swimming outside at A's local sportscentre. This morning I went for a pilates class and now I'm planning on spending the rest of the afternoon researching for GIFTs... which I haven't done in a while.

In travel news, it's looking like Syria is happening, even with the political unrest in surrounding countries, apparently it's nice and calm there. Mom, don't kill me! I haven't yet heard back from my contact in Greece about possible accommodation so I'll see if I still do that. Other options are Zagreb, Croatia. Paris is still a go! I might just spend more time in France and then head straight to Syria. It's C's bday mid March so I might fix it so that I can be with her then.

Time to get to work!

p.s. movies I want to see:
http://www.wastelandmovie.com/
http://www.dirtthemovie.org/
http://www.crudethemovie.com/trailer-and-photos/