It's Hard to Believe

Well, it is Monday morning here, and it has just hit me that this is my very last week here........wow. I know that you are all ready to have me home, and I hope you know how ready I am to be there. I have been waiting for this moment and wanting it for SUCH a long time. But I'm also realizing how much I'm leaving behind. This year has meant a lot. I have learned so much, and a lot of it about myself. I have made a lot of wonderful relationships, some of which I know will continue but many others which won't last past this year. That is just the reality. These people have meant so much to me this year and they have been so important in who I have become over the year but I know that the reality is that they will just stay in this year, our relationship won't continue.

This has been a really special year and Scotland and Ochil Tower are so unique, I know I won't find anything like it anywhere else. I wouldn't want to do this for another year and I am very excited about my future plans but it is hard to leave all of this behind.

At the very beginning of this term I warned my friends here that in the last couple weeks I would start to get sentimental and teary eyed. I've been pretty good until now but I have to admit, this morning I had to break out the tissues.

I was changing some things in my settings and I'm wondering if you all can leave comments now. If you weren't able to leave comments before, try it now.

Update

I don't want to jinx it but we have been having GREAT weather here in Auchterarder. It has been unbelievably sunny and quite hot since Sunday. My house father always says that Scotland doesn't have a summer it just has days, but we have had nearly a week of summer so far. And I never thought Scotland would have heat like this. Oh but it is fabulous!!!

Like I said it began on Sunday which was good for us because that was our Family Day. This was a day for all the children and their families and friends to come and enjoy stories, games and bbq together. It was a wonderful day. Most of the children came, and their families too of course. We had bbq's and tables set up on the lawn in front of Belvidere castle. After eating we had wheelbarrow races, tug o' war (Sycamore House won!!), and Scottish folk dancing. Everyone enjoyed themselves, and all of the children managed really, really well. It was great to see them with their families. Lots of fun.

This week everyone has spent a lot of time outside. Juice break in the afternoon on the picnic tables on the lawn, jumping in the paddling pool, running barefoot on the playground and just general lounging in the sunshine. It is a great way to end the term, very relaxing. Yesterday our house even went out for a picnic supper at "the pond" off in the hills. We drove maybe 10mins from the house and then walked 10ish more to the pond. It was really, really nice. These are the kinds of things I will always remember and will miss when the year is over. For those who don't know, I have just 8 more days!!!

So, you might ask what happens in 8 days. Well, Friday the 3rd of July is the official end of term and all the children will go home. Everyone will do some cleaning and then setting up for our big end of term celebration for the "adults". Then on Monday afternoon I will fly to Stuttgart, Germany with Esther. While I am there I will meet the family with whom I will be living next year and spend a couple days with them. Then on the 9th of July I will fly to Seattle and thanks to time zones (for once) I will arrive in Seattle at 8:43 on the 9th of July. Woohoo!!!!

Summer plans include family, family, family, friends, family, friends, friends, friends, family, and preparing for Germany. I will of course have lots to do to prepare for Germany and I would like that to include taking a German class, but that is still to be organized. I would also take work as it may come but my main plan when I'm home is to see all of you!! I'm just hoping that I can sort out something with my lack of vehicle situation, that I can get around to meeting up with everyone.

It won't be long now!! I can't wait to be in Seattle and to see you all!!

Until then.......

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD!!!

Make a Smilebox postcard

Camping Week II

It wasn't easy but I've survived Camping Week II. This last week I went with my youngest boy's class because there weren't enough helpers in the class already. Unlike my first camping week, with my class, this last week we just had rain.........the whole week. That didn't stop us of course from sleeping in tents (drying out sleeping bags etc. during the day), canoeing (with long hot showers when we were back to the house), or even building a fire and cooking outside on the bbq (with everyone sitting under a tarp strung between the trees). And of course we still went river walking, you can't complain much about the rain when you're up to your waist in a freezing river.

We left on Tuesday and drove to Kilin to the White House. This is a house and property that the school owns. It is great because the children can have this camping/outdoor experience but we can still cater to dietary and medical needs, special hygiene requirements and have access to much needed laundry facilities.

As I mentioned we spent the week out of doors. On Tuesday we went for a walk to a beach on Loch Tay. Then canoeing on the loch on Wednesday. We canoed out to a little island on the loch for lunch and then back. On Thursday we took the children to the Wildlife Adventure Park in the morning to see everything from chickens and bunnies to parrots, the kukuburra, peacocks, highland cats and even the popular highland coo (cow). Thursday afternoon we all went river walking and then it was Friday and time to pack and clean the house to go home. After all that you might guess what I did straight away when I got home. Yep, shower and bed, straight away, and I was out for the night.

Now I'm back and I have plenty to do. Do you know that I have just two weeks of term left here? Hard to imagine but in two weeks my year here in Scotland is finished. Just two weeks!!!

The Game Plan

So, with just three weeks of school left(!!!) here's next year's plan.........Germany. Surprised? Me too. I told some of you before I left that if I liked it here, I might think about staying for another year. I never thought that instead I would be making plans for living in Germany, but I am actually VERY excited about this new plan (I have a lot of work to do on my language skills though).

The plan does include more than JUST living in Germany. Don't worry, I will be working. I have made a connection through my friend Esther, with a family who is wanting someone to live with them and help care for their two daughters. Their oldest daughter has autism and while they have thought before about hosting someone as an Au Pair, they didn't think that they would find someone with experience working with autistic children. Enter me!!

As I said they have two daughters. They are living in Stuttgart and they sound really nice. We've written several emails and have spoken on the phone. They really sound great and I can't tell you how excited I am. I hope that you will all be excited for me as well. Don't worry though because the plan does also include a couple months at home before going to Germany and I have already told them that I want to be able to travel home at Christmas time.

The details:
-School is over on the 3rd of July
-Fly to Germany on 6th of July to meet family
-Spend a few days in Stuttgart with family and then fly from Frankfurt to Seattle
-In Seattle for July, August, and most of September
-Fly to Germany sometime in the end of September

I'm looking so forward to seeing everyone at home soon!! And I'll have much more to share with you about my plans for next year.

Lots of love,
Kaija