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Once again I'm on a train (All I seem to do this week is travel!). While I write this I am struggling to keep my eyes open despite it being 11am, yes, AM! I am of course on my way back from Project trust training that is held on the isle of Coll in Scotland. (Google it, it's beautiful!) So here's what happened -
When I wrote the last blog I was on my way to Glasgow where I stayed with Emma for the night. The day I arrived happened to be Emma's mum's birthday so I had an amazing spag bowl and a couple of cheeky glasses of champagne! Between the excitement and the continuous licks on the face I received from Emma's dogs I did not have the best night of sleep, but it didn't matter, the next day the excitement kept me going!
Tuesday was the most exciting day of all, Emma and I travelled to the ferry port town of Oban where we would stay the night. (Like Coll, Oban is also beautiful, check out the pic on here!). Even though it was very exciting, it was a very odd day. Meeting people that you'll soon be very close with and that you'll be travelling over seas with for the first time. I also met Brian and Gina, two people that I expect will feature quite heavily in this blog throughout the year!
Skipping over all the meeting people and the getting to know each other conversations, we were soon trying to get to sleep in the hostel. (Again, excitement made this very hard!) But before we even knew it, our 4:30am alarms were going, and we all had to drag ourselves to the ferry that we would be on for 4 hours. The ferry seemed to take forever, but it gave all the volunteers the opportunity to properly meet. (Including the Chile and Cambodian volunteers that shared our training course).
As soon as we stepped off the ferry we were carted to the Project trust centre on the other side of the island and were thrown straight in to our training. Considering we had been up since 4:30, we trained all day until about 6. At the time, we though it would be the hardest day, but we were so wrong haha!
Each and every day that we trained was very very intense. Back to back lectures with some very heavy subjects such as child protection and reducing risk of theft and mugging. Even though it was very intense, it didn't mean it wasn't fun. When appropriate, we made sure we were all having a good laugh. (Especially when we had to teach a 20 minute English lesson, to other volunteers who had to pretend they couldn't speak English. Hilarious!)
The last night (Saturday) was one of the best nights I have ever had. All the volunteers, and staff, had a lovely drinks reception and then a three-course meal (The food was lovely, as it was for the whole week). Then ladies and gentleman. We had a ceilidh. For those of you that don't know what a ceilidh is, it is basically a room full of people attempting to dance, by throwing each other round, to crazy Scottish music at 100 miles an hour. It is just as fun as it sounds, even if I did rip my jeans… (Yes, it's that crazy!).
Before we even had a chance to blink it was time to get on the ferry and all go our separate ways. I don't want to talk about good byes, because per usual they were very sad. For all of you that are going to China I will see you in the airport on the 20th of August (Yes, I got my flight dates!) But for the Chillian and Cambodian volunteers I wish you all the best of luck for the year and will hopefully see you at debriefing next summer!
[Cheesy alert coming up]
So as I sit on the train back home, all I can think about is how much of a good week it has been. Per usual Coll made me feel relaxed and so so excited for my year away. An intense week, but a week I will never forget, a week that starts the countdown to a year of no regret.
(Remember to check out the "Photo" tab for my selfie challenge!)
(If you want a reminder e-mail when I post a new blog, simply e-mail [email protected] with a blank message and I'll let you know!)
Speak soon,
Reece.
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