Hi yall!! It's me again posting for the first time in AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGES!! I now have a face book visit www.facebook.com and search me (Christa Jayne) to see photos and such coz it's easier to put photos up there.

Anyways, today I have a day off and no excuse not to post a nice long informative and hopefully not boring post for you all who aren't in UK here at the ever busy world of Pax Lodge.

So Im nearly fully trained now, I only have things that I need to practice like office stuff and that before i can pretty much do evreything (except house tours) without my notes which is a fandabulous place to be! Working at Pax is both fun and work. You have your long days and your short days and then your days off where you're encouraged to go run around London looking at things and believe me, there's alot to look at. It's definately a challenge working with not only your work mates but your bosses as well. But the most important thing Im learning is that there is too much to do to bother getting upset about things. In this sort of pressure cooker enviroment if you have a problem you need to sort it coz you can't run home and cry about it, you run to your room and there's 8 people all living in the same hallway who want to know why you're acting strangely and in some ways thats a nice change for me as Im usually very good at running away. Unfortunately it doesn't get you very far. You also grow up quickly here. You can't ring up and sound sick on the phone just coz you're tired. You can't slack off. Everyone carries they're own weight and people notice when you're slowing up. It's a huge family here and we all keep an eye on each other. you can leave notes for people to make sure you're awake by certain times if need be!!
The guiding aspect is fantastic too. You get to attend everything important and sit in VIP seating and you feel so important in your formal uniform being able to say, "Hi, Im from New Zealand!" and having people look at you in a different way because you've come so far to be there. Also, you get to meet VIP's. Like Two nights ago I got to meet the new CEO of WAGGGS!! The CEO of the whole guiding world baisically!! And that was awesome. Being asked your opinion on things by her is such a priviledge, it really makes you feel like you can actually make a difference in Guiding.
In a few days (when she gets back from holiday) Im going to go next door to the World Buroue (?? cant spell) and meet up with the region co-ordinator for the Asia/Pacific Region which will be VERY cool too. It's amazing to finally see the bosses of my bosses back home.
I don't know what else to say except that it's a previledge to get to do some of the things I have been doing and I've only been here 2 weeks!! I still have 5 more months of this and more that I wouldn't have otherwise got to do and it's definately worth the hours you put in at the Lodge, cleaning and making beds.
The other thing I'd like to do before I leave is get more involved with Guiding UK and maybe attend a guide meeting or something.
Anyways, so that's my update,
Keep emailing,
Keep writing.
Love always
And Rock on!!

Yours in Guiding,
Christa. xxx

After one whole week at Pax I have to come to these very philosophical conclusions and Im sorry if they make no sense:

*The world is a very silly place.
*No matter how hard you try you cannot change human nature.
*People will be how they are and you have to learn how to deal with that.
*Stating the obvious and having people stare at you like it's not obvious is really frustrating.
*Never tell a see through lie, it's better and less time consuming to just tell the truth in the first place. People will figure it out.
*People aren't as stupid as they look. No matter HOW stupid they look.
*7am is a stupid hour to start work.
*It's very hard to separate personal lives and professional lives when both live in the same corridor.
*Doing something right by doing it yourself maybe good for you, but consider those of us who don't know how to do it right as they're the ones left in the dark.
*Many hands do make light work but never forget that too many cooks spoil the broth.
*BALANCE
*No matter how hard you try, you will NEVER get on with everyone or get everyone to like you. Some people will even not like you for trying.
*Sometimes 5 mins of webcam can ease 2 months of heart ache. This can be applied to a lot of things.
*PERSONAL SPACE RULES. Thats why they invented locks.
HOWEVER.....
*You cannot hide forever
*You cannot Run forever
*Running and hiding is exhausting.

*Trust must be earnt, not given away. If you earn it, Don't break it or you might not get it back.
*Some people are like nuts, they have hard shells but once you crack them a little you see how much more is really there.
*Don't be swayed by others opinions, If your friend says "jump" you should still check for low ceilings. Even if they say it's clear.

Other than that Im looking atm into doing an adult ballet class while Im here when I can. And also mum? Can you please email me the instructions on weaving the Maori head bands please as I can't remember ho to do it. TA

Love to all, Im going to sleep for an hour.
CJ XXX

peeps at pax, hope its not too big, never done this before

from left to right,

Christina (Germany), Zoe (UK), Me (NZ), Jocelyn(AUS), Sarah(US), Sally(South Africa), Anna(US), Kaylee(canada), Shanghee(South Korea), Andie(Tas),Kristen(US) and Maki(Japan).

there, finally a photo

cj xx

Well.. What are we?? um... I think Im in day 3 now?? Its the 24th anyway and we all went down to Westminster Abbey today for the Founders day/ thinking day ceremony and the WHOLE of Westminster abbey was full!! I videoed the whole thing but it's really amazing that the whole thing was so good!! The speeches were short and to the point and nobody woffled and the presentations were short and nothing went wrong and it was so great!! Westminster Abbey was such a beautiful location and we had VIP seats by where the Queen and her convoy would have sat had they had been in Westminster Abbey!! SOOOOO loverly!! we were in with the Commissioners and that and were dancing and cheering and doing the actions and slowly the stuffy high ups started clapping and stuff too which was funny!

Training hasn't finished yet but was interrupted because of thinking day stuff. Lots of people and lots of places. Very cool though, going to make an interesting movie.
The people here are nice and warming up to us. Unfortunately Im getting alot of "oh well the LAST person we had here from NZ did this... and that..." which is a bit annoying but I guess I'll leave my own mark on this place and there are things that they're relying on the Resident Volunteers (thats me) can do like painting the RV lounge and stuff. It's cool.

Sarah's nice as I thought she was and there is also Jocelyn who is 24 and loverly too and motherly which is good coz I need a little looking after atm.

other than that I miss everyone and you all rock and I want to go home sometimes but not all the time.

love to all
CJ xxx

Just letting you know that I got to Pax ok and Im fine and people are great and food is good and there's alot to learn but I'm surviving. Busy days ahead, taking lots of photos. Will correspond soon. Sorry i havn't yet.

Happy thinking day!!

Love to ALL!!

Cj xxx

Hello again!! Today was exploring day. With already done everything we came to do already we spent today being explorers and discovered..... the disney shop again (this time we actually BOUGHT something but they were playing the "high school musical" Soundtrack so we didn't stay long) and..... the "Scot Shop" where we got t-shirts and presents for peeps. and ... forbidden planet which sells comics and stuff (like skeleton animals "coz dead animals need love too") and.... a GHOST TOUR!! (ooooOOOOOoOOOOOoooo) which is what we're doing tonight. It's going to ROCK!! late night, through the vaults under the city, through the streets, through the graveyard and its adults only!! No softening so as not to scare the kiddies!! EEP!! I'm getting Pre- tour jitters! LOL.

I'll be ok, tomorrow is train home, then repacking stuff then train to Kings Cross, then Pax Lodge!! EEEKK!! Can't wait.

Ah well, not much else to say until then,

Love to all and to all, Good night.
CJ xxxx

Today is Shrove Tuesday, Big sis' birthday and our first full day in Edinburgh, Scotland. That means Pancakes, parties and Scotsmen all in one day!!! YAY!! EXCEPT! We have only actually met maybe ...... 2? 3? Scottish people since we've been here!! How appaling is that?!! I mean, We're in SCOTLAND afterall!! *sigh* Well, begin from the beginnign I guess although I'm sure my second by second narratives are getting old but you gotta start somewhere right??

Soo..... Monday (yesterday) we get on the train and train from Stevenage to Peterborough. In Peterborough we were um... *blessed* with the company of two rather intoxicated ladies who had just got out of prison. Sen seemed to survive alright being badgered by them and their antics of trying to get every guy who came onto the platform to kiss them was pretty hilarious but all up I was rathered weirded out. Well anyways. Train to Edinburgh was LOOOOOOONG but we learnt how to battle Sena's Spiderman Marvel Battle cards in the process so Emz!! Watch out!! ^_^

Then we got to off the train and found the hostel really easily and climbed the 74 steps all the way to the top floor where we checked in and then set out again to explore. We found lots of not useful things and then a couple of useful things like supermarkets, movie theaters and ....... (wait for it......) THE DISNEY SHOP!!! OOOOOOOO yes!! I'm in love!! I know Andy used to work in the one in London but I havn't found that one yet so for now, EDINBURGH RULES.
We had Pot noodles for tea and spent the evening watching "Hot Fuzz" which is a very funny movie, it's a serious parody which is cool!!

Today was Castle day! Looked ALLLLLL Around it, saw places that we have on film from 15 years ago. And we saw the cannon fire. ( a silly lady bumped my elbow and it looks like I jumped a mile in the air!!) and then when we were cold and hungry we found this awesome pub who gives discounts to hostel stayers and I put the tealight on our table in the middle of the pancake plate and sang happy birthday to ness and gave her a card and she blew out a candle and I have to go coz im outta time!!

ttyl CJ

Hi All! I know I havn't posted in a while so I thought id catch you up on whats been happening in the last few days.....

lets seeeee...... ???

Things have been pretty quiet really round here in the last few days.
I came back from Stroud on the train all by myself for the first time, That was pretty momentus. I would also like to add that Paddington station (where you can buy all the Paddington bear merchandise you like) is MUCH cooler than kings cross which all it has to show for itslef is a silly little platform 9 3/4 with half a trolley sticking out of a brick wall that HP fans can pose at and pretend to be going to Hogwarts!! Sad really....
Anyways, I then proceed to go home and got off in Stevenage, got my Youth card (DEFINATELY reccomended) and then Ness and I went to the movies and saw Epic Movie. It as alright I guess. Very predictable and in my opinion tried to put too many movies in but it as also very funny in parts. Then we went to Tesco and got conditioner for me coz i only had one little one which isnt enough and they have self service machines where you scan the product and then put it on these scales nd then put your money in the machine and leave! You dont een have to talk to anyone!! Its quite scary really. put all those students out of a job anyway evetually.

Then yesterday we were going to go to London but it was raining and cold and we checked the weather report and it said today would be sunny (or at least clear) so we decided to wait. good thing too coz we got hardly any sleep th night before and we both fell asleep in the afternoon! then e had Enchiladas for tea with VEGETABLES and rice and we cooked for four and invited Robert and Adele. Took alot longer than expected because the chicken thighs I bought thinking I was being clever and saving money, turned out to have bones in them so Robert and I had to de-bone them all!! yikes! Very nice tea though, very filling.

Today Ness and I went to LONDON!! We got up nice and early and got out of the house and decided to make it quicer we would bus. SO we went to the bs stop and waited..... and waited.... and waited .... for half an hour. By this time I realised the error of wanting to wear my 3/4 pants so we dashed home to change and got back just as the bus was pulling out of the stop!
So we walked and got there an hour after we could have if we had just walked in the first place.
Lesson learnt e cashed in some of my travellers cheques and purchased our tickets for Edinburgh next week!! YAY!! Is going to ROCK! then we got day passes for the train and headed out to London.
First stop was Camden. Very awesome, very scary. lots and lots of cool stuff. could have spent a fortune there but didnt. Only bought a new wallet which is very cool and im very proud of. and NessandIgotcorsets. *cough* But they're SO beautiful! and flattering! and cheaper than we expected. After that we headed into East Kensington. Very nice place, and went to the Natural Science Museum and the Victoria Albert Museum. Both of them I highly reccomend going to if your ever in London but I also reccomend setting asie a day for each and not trying to rush it as there is 4 floors of stuff to see in the NSM and 5 in the VAM! Too much for one day!

By 7pm we were both exhausted so stopped off for some tea and headed home.

And thats about it really. Not much else to say.
Off to bed now.
Good night all!

Day whatever-it-is of my holiday. (aka: Sunday)

Today was spent in Stroud where Alex lives. Actually, alot of it was spent in Alex's house watching "Top Gear" (awesome show) and being cuddled up in a blanket with a bottle of coke. This was, ofcourse, after exercising the little monster that lives in his kitchen. Dangerous animal that dog. Would lick you to death in a second!! LOL! Nah, Elle is adorable really and loves me bestest coz she came to me not Alex (so :P to him) but she is VERY energetic and alot of fun. And likes being walked at un-godly hours of the morning. Actually, any hour in the morning seems bad round here as nobody seems to want to DO anything until at least 11am which is Brunch really. (Very good brunch too courtesy of my loverly host)
I htink this is because (A) its Sunday (B) its FREEZING (C) its dark until about 10am and then dark again at 6pm and (D) ... well... because Stroud is generally rather quiet so nobody really has a decent reason to get up of a morning EXCEPT to walk said Animal/Dog/Elle thing. Thankfully. The mops owner is rather glad of the something-to-do-ness of the walking bit as she walks him as much as he walks her (though he doesn't stop every 2 meters to pee on a lamp post thank goodness!!)

Weather is depressing. Who knew that society and people really do function around the weather?? Today is officially my first day of home sickness. Alex has a Lonely Planet Guide to New Zealand that Im tempted to steal. Knowing that I can't physically get any furthur from NZ without going back towards it is really depressing. England is very grey. Very lonely. It has this thing where all the buildings are 3 stories high and you walk down streets feeling very small and muggable. Especially at night.
Now don't get me wrong, it has beautiful country side and trees and awseome houses with gables and that but there's no togetherness like in NZ, everyone keeps themselves to themselves. well that's my obsivation anyway, feel free to disagree.

So there you are!! not much else to say except that its FREEZING

Write again soon, CJ

Ok so ...

Friday 9th: Alex's 22nd Birthday.
Party: Fabric aka: REALLY expensive night club
Location: LONDON (Rock On!!)

ok so Im not looking entirely beautiful because Im on a limited wardrobe and its FREEZING and being from a warmer climit I have almost nothing to choose from that wouldn't result in hyperthermia. But for London Pub standards im the bell of the ball!!
So we start out at The Castle, after I have to waste £15 taxing home to get my ID which I left behind (wooops)and finally get to London. Nice place, lots of people and lots of people smoking inside which you're still allowed to do over here. Randomly I start talking to these people who, it turns out, have been on holiday in NZ just recently and so we got on like a house on fire which was cool. Turns out every man and his dog was going to Fabric as the club holds about 2000 people!! So we go in. Don't even GET ID'd after spending that money getting the blasted thing! Hang up our coats and cruize round for a good night.
Ok, so im not one for Drum and Bass Music but this wasn't actually too bad. So yeah. Lots of dancing and partying and that and then I grab my bag to get my lipgloss outand notice that the zips undone. Im like, WTF mate?? and suddenly see stuff out of it on the floor. Im like, oh BOTHER ^%&*^%%&^**& and grab as much as I can see but in a room full of at least 500 people its hard to see and that. So I ran to the toilets to see what was missing and found that my Wallet and Cellphone were gone. Oh and my hairbrush coz it was on top.
So I look again, can't see anything. So we go out and talk to the security gaurds who just tell us to see another guy who tells us to go to another place and we just end up walking in circles till I've had enough and ring Ness and Alex rings his Step-Dad and that but in recolection; I only really lost the cellphone (can be claimed back on travel insurance) and £20 (no biggy) and my NZ drivers license(.... remind me why I took it again??) but we still had our train tickets to Alex's (£30 worth) and my passport (thank GOD!!) and nobody was hurt so all round it wasn't as bad as it could have been. So now all you people can stop worrying!!
After that we departed and went for a 2:30am tour of Farringdon (London) which was very....... enlightening. We saw superman style telephone booths and lots and LOTS of taxi's and double decker busses. Some how we managed to waste enough time ot get us through to 5 am when the underground opened and took the tube to Paddington (we were going to walk but the tube was safer.). There we got hot drinks and sat in the almost warm-but-warmer-than-outside waiting area until our 10 am train, spending the last of our combined money on a sandwich!
Train was warm and comfy, Swindon was ... small. And we were there a total of 1 minute. and then snow then Stroud. Very old, very nice. Went in to Alex's work to gloat coz he wasn't working then met up with his Mum (they're very similar) and went back down these narrow horse track one car lane road things tothe beautiful Belvedere! Got bounced on by an over excited mop the thinks it's a dog, climbed 2 flights of stairs to Alex's so called "Pent house suite" which turns out to be a renovated attice with a cupboard that you can' open incase everything in it falls out!! Cool. The rest of the day.... I think only one word sums it up.....
SLEEP.
Goodnight!!
CJ xx

Hey Everyone!!This is CJ reprting from the ever snowy England!
ok, first to catch you up on the journey so far...
The flight was ok, REALLY long and REALLY boring but Emirates has a fantastic TV and movie selection so you can't really complain. I as sitting next to an Austrian guy from sydney to Dubai who was quite grumpy and didnt talk much but from Dubai to London I was next to these middle aged women ho had been on hoilday together (about 5 of them) who laughed at me alot for being weird and over excited aout mundain things that british people take for granted like traffic jams and big ben and being able to see London really clearly and how flat england is and seeing Ness and Ducky and stuff. But as I said we had a perfect vie from about 20,ooo ft of Londons city centre and the ladies ere pointing everything out for me so I had sort of in air tour guides which was cool.
When we landed my friend Megan (who I met in the airport when we were both lost and was on my flight) and I got our luggage and went out and there were all these strange faces looking at me and then Nessies head bobbing up and down above them and this suspicious character in a big black coat who both dissapeared and ran all the way around the barrier and charged me which was awesome.
The black coated man turned out to be a guy from Gloustishire called Alex who was no where near as creepy or weird as i thought he might be.
oh, Dubai airport is very big(though not as big as heathrow which has 4 seperate terminals, each as big as CHCH airport!!) and very modern and very flash. though not very exciting except that it had irish pubs and things which is a little weird to have in an airport.
ANYAY then Alex Ness and I all jumped on the tube and ent to Earls Court whic is one of many places in London and had Burger King which consisted really of Fries and hot drinks as it was 0 deg when I arrived!! thank goodness I put those trackies, scarf and beanie in my hand luggage!!
Then Alex went home and Ness and I went back to Stevenage for tea. I was grateful for a meal tha didnt come wrapped in foil! I went to bed about 7:30 pm and woke up this morning at 7:15 am only to find that it had SNOWED overnight!! I mean, come on, my first day in England and it snows!! So naturally we made the most of it and built a 8ft snowlady as you do. (we being Me, Ness, Adele and Robert from upstairs). Just as we were getting too cold to continue Ness and I went to the supermarket which is conviently very close and bought £32 worth of food which means her cupboard, fridge and freezer now have food in them. (yes mum, you're welcome)
The rest of the day up till now we have been watching people admiring out efforts and taking photos of themsleves in front of it!! Its so funny, we built a tourist attractiion!! One kid decided to start icking it and Ness banged on the indow nad glared at him and he ran away so fast!! *snigger*
So anyways, its 10 to 4 now soI dont know what Im going to do for the rest of the day but its nice to be warm and dry again after playing in te snow this morning.

Love to all, hope you have fun with your summer, snow is so much cooler though.
Toodles!!
CJ in da UK.