Rowleth End

As I mentioned previously, I did another HelpX stint at a B&B in the Yorkshire Dales.  Like Barnacre, I spent 2 weeks at Rowleth End. I really could not have asked for a better second placement. It was very different, but awesome nonetheless.

Firstly, the Yorkshire Dales has to be one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. Even in the rain (which was most of the time), I thought the view from my window was amazing. Green hills, sheep, stone fences, the River Swale. And then, when the sun came out it was like nothing else.

Beautiful, eh?

One of the things I noticed most was the use of stone in buildings. I mean everything is built with stone – houses, sheds, fences etc. But when you look around it makes sense, there aren’t really a lot of trees. Anyways, throughout the Dales there are little villages of these stone houses, with very skinny roads in between them. Also, they’re not very far apart, only a few kilometres or so. It’s also not uncommon to come across a dilapidated stone building in the middle of a field, or on the side of the road.

Typical Yorkshire Village

As for the B&B itself, it was wonderful. Roger, the guy who runs it, is a very kind-hearted man. He let us keep all tips, let us drink whatever we wanted, buy any food we wanted/needed, and if we ever went out, he’d pay for everything. He took us out quite often too – to see the Olympic Torch in Richmond (yes, I’ve seen it twice now!), to get cheese from Wensleydale, and to the highest pub in Britain

The torch in Richmond

Yes, this is where Wensleydale cheese comes from

Tan Hill, the highest pub in Britain

There are only 5 bedrooms at Rowleth, so not too much work. I slept in a trailer in the garden, which was super comfy and warm – we even had a tv and internet. Anyways, I didn’t have to be up at the house until 9am, which is when I ate breakfast and we waited for the guests to finish so that we could start cleaning. In the morning we’d clear the breakfast tables, put the dishes in the dishwasher and put them away, vacuum, clean the kitchen and do the rooms of course. Sometimes we had extra jobs, but not often and they wouldn’t be hard. There were 3 other girls, Sophie from Germany, Ailsa from Taiwan, and Jade from Hong Kong. Usually it didn’t take us too long to finish.

After the morning work was done, we were free until 7pm when we had to help serve dinner, and then clean up afterwards. During free time I did various things. Sometimes I went for a walk with Buster the dog, watched movies, made Canadian dishes (Butter tarts, Nanaimo Bars, and Poutine), or took a nap. After dinner was finished, we often all watched a movie together

Going for a walk with Buster

Some steers giving us the stare down

Buster

The two weeks spent with Roger and the other girls went by way too quickly. I had a great time, and had lots of laughs.

Barnacre

I've been in the UK for just over 5 weeks, and I cannot believe how fast the time as gone. It's been incredible really. And I almost feel as if I'm running out of time to do all the things I want to do! But anyways, I promised to talk about the farm.

It's not exactly the farm you're picturing though. No fields of wheat or cows in a big barn. They have two holiday cottages which they rent out, a trailer storage area, and a fishing lake. They also have a number of sheep, a ton of chickens, some goats and a donkey.

Purdy the Donkey

My accommodations were either in a tipi, or a trailer. I opted for the trailer. I also managed to get the only single bed and the room with a heater! There was running water and electricity, but no bathroom. We could go to the "fisherman's hut" or to the pool area. But since fisherman apparently aren't very interesting in aiming or keeping the bathroom clean in general, I usually used the one by the pool.

As for work, I did everything from helping put up barbed wire fencing, to cleaning cottages, to tearing down stables, to helping make concrete, to oiling wood window frames, to deconstructing and erecting scaffolding. Much of this was done in the dirt, mud, and rain.

This is where the stable was, and this picture is in the middle of the new one being built.

Maria showing off her muddy clothes - this is basically what we all looked like at the end of the day, or worse.

Work was from 9-5, but we did get a tea break at 11, and lunch at around 1:30, so the day was split up pretty well. We also got two days off, which was magnificent. It was nice to have the time to sleep in, and wear clean clothes!

Don't get the wrong impression though, I had an AMAZING time. The food was excellent. There was a pool and hot tub for after work. There was as much beer, wine and cider as I could drink. But most of all, the people there were incredible. Russell and Helen, who own the farm are wonderful people.

Also, there were many other helpers from around the world! When I arrived, there was a couple from Mexico, an Englishman from York, a guy from Hungary, and an American. By the time I left, there were some more Americans, a guy from Spain, a girl from Italy, two girls from France, and lastly a girl from Chile. I had so much fun hanging out with all of them, talking about traveling and languages, playing the time game, creating Barnacle Ball (basically pool volleyball with some extra rules), and so much more. They really made my experience at Barnacre.
Daniel - Enjoy Canada! Hopefully you can make it to the Island sometime
Chris - I know you'll enjoy wherever you end up, and I wish you the best. Thanks for all the games of Chrononauts!
Jody and Patrick - Good luck on the rest of your trip, and enjoy your cruise home!
Gary - I think I finally got your sense of humour! Thanks for making me laugh, and I hope you liked sleeping on my floor =) Good luck with the job search.
Mikel - Thanks for letting me speak Spanish at you while you're trying to learn English. I can't wait to visit San Sebastien some day - it looks beautiful! Lo siento para el lavado de tu móbil....
Maria - I had a wonderful time singing Taylor Swift with you, and I'm sure neither of us want to oil another window in our lives! Come visit me!
Rose, Hugoline, Floriane, Chris, and Tom - I hope you have as much fun at Barnacre as I did, and good luck on future travels!

Mikel and Maria at the beach (Tom and I went too)

My last dinner

Chris sporting his "asian" inspired look

Me and Maria <3

I miss you all, and I hope we can run into each other again some day!

And that basically sums up my farm time. I've just spent the last couple days with my Dad's cousin, and I will be heading to a B&B in the Yorkshire Dales tomorrow for another HelpX. I realize that I have some more updating to do.. but I'm going to keep the posts separate so you don't have 1000 pages to read at once!

The Countdown is on

I leave Canada for the UK in just 10 days. It's crazy how fast time has gone since I decided to go on this adventure. It really doesn't feel like almost 2 months has passed.
In that two months, however, I successfully finished my second year of university!

I'm getting really excited, but also pretty nervous.
I mean, I have to get to know a new place, and a huge city at that! (And I'm from a pretty small town, there's only one bus..)
I have to try and find a job, and a place to live.
It's a little overwhelming.
I'm sure it'll be fine though, and I've decided that if I can't find a job I'll just visit various relative's and and make my way around England.

In researching England, I've slowly realized how many things there are to do and see are in England. It's ridiculous! And I want to do everything! However, I've also come to the realization that I can't do everything, so I'm going to have to focus on what I want to do most, and then do it thoroughly. That way, I will always have a reason to go back!

Stonehenge

Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge

Bath

Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath,_Somerset

York

Taken from http://www.york-united-kingdom.co.uk/york-minster/

Stratford-Upon-Avon

Taken from http://wikitravel.org/en/Stratford-upon-Avon

I wouldn't be able to call myself a Shakespeare fan if I skipped Stratford!

Liverpool

Taken from http://www.placesonline.com/europe/united_kingdom/england/liverpool

And what sort of Beatles fan would miss going to Liverpool?!

These are only some of the amazing places Britain has to offer. There are many more cities and towns that I'd love to explore. I've found a website, called Global Goose, that is doing a "Beyond London" Guide, which will be helpful in planning trips I think.

Then of course there are all the things to do and see in London itself! Tower of London anyone? The Globe Theatre? Westminster Abbey? I want to see and do it all!

Another thing that strikes me about the UK is how old everything is. A building that's hundreds of years old is commonplace it seems. Or like, in York, there was a Viking settlement at point, and the Romans built baths there. And of course, Bath is named after the Roman baths!

Yes, Canada has history. But the really old, historic buildings are in Quebec. Here on the west coast, the best you can get is 150 years. That means nothing in England. Try 900 years, or more. It's pretty astounding, to me at least!

Anyways, I've got a busy week coming up. Sorting through all my stuff, deciding what to pack (while leaving everything else neatly in my parents house), buying stuff to bring with me (I want to show my Canadian pride during the Olympics, and have little gifties for relatives who put me up). Also, it's my brother Evan's Prom this coming Friday, and Spencer's 20th Birthday the day after. Definitely an exciting time!

Oh the Visa Process..

So, I think I'm finally going to be able to hand in my visa application. Hopefully.
As I knew it would, the Visa has been a bit of an adventure. Little did I know that it would start with printing the darn thing off...

Of course it wasn't as easy as just plugging the printer cord into my computer and pressing print, but I didn't realize that at first. So, 9 pages later I realize that it doesn't fit on letter size paper, I would have to go find some legal size. None of my roommates had some, and neither did Spencer's. I went to the bookstore, they didn't have any either. Luckily, the photocopy shop in the student union building did, because I would not have been impressed if I had to bus to Staples to buy some.. Anyways, I bought 11 thinking that 2 extra pages would be just fine to figure out how to print with legal size on my printer. Of course I was wrong. It took 6.
The manual feeder wouldn't work, it kept jamming.
I couldn't figure out how to elongate the tray until I finally downloaded the manual from the internet.
I made the tray longer, it still jammed, but less often.

I eventually had 5 out of 9 pages printed...had to buy more paper. Sigh.

So, I started filling it out. Most of the questions were pretty straightforward, and SWAP did provide me with step-by-step instructions. I had some questions, so I went to see my "travel counsellor", he emailed some SWAP coordinator, and their response was something along the lines of "read the welcome package". Thanks SWAP, I didn't think to do that first...
I think I have it filled out properly though. Fingers crossed!

All filled out!

I also need to submit a passport photo with the Visa application. It said one colour passport photo (45mm by 35mm) in my Welcome Package. I assumed that was regular Canadian Passport size, honestly, how was I to know differently? Alas, I come home with my photo (after going to Walmart, where the portrait studio was closed because my mum and I took too long eating dinner, and then going to London Drugs), and looked at the dimensions. It was not 45mm by 35mm.
Not impressed. SO not impressed...

So, tomorrow after class I will be going to get more passport photos.
Then I will be photocopying everything.
And handing my Visa application in (which includes a list of times I've been out of the country in the last 10 years. Which is a lot. I guess they want to make sure I'm not a terrorist).

Current passport, old passport, unusable passport photo!

Hopefully, everything will go smoothly after that.. but I still need to get a bank letter and go to Vancouver for biometric testing. So we'll see.