A year in review

This week has been a week of many celebrations as on Wednesday I turned 24!! I had such a good birthday! I've really reflected on this last crazy year I've had here in London, and I can't believe how much has happened in this past year!

Last year for my 23rd, I just went out with Jim and Nadia because they were really my only friends here. That birthday was fun because it was seen as "my one off birthday in London!" Little did I know what was in store for me in the future! A month after my birthday last year, I had my crazy yacht adventure spending a month sailing along the south of France. That's where I met Nick and everything changed!! I didn't go home in September, and instead I started my job here at the special needs school. It's been a whirlwind year work-wise as I'm learning so much about how to best teach my students, learning more about autism, and on top of everything it's been my 1st year of teaching!! So overwhelming!! I got "deported" back to the States and spent a month between New York and Arizona in December. Came back to London for New Years, almost died in the winter because it's so dark and so cold!! Managed to make it out alive. Went to Venice for Carnivale in February and met up with the one and only, Elyse Ault!! In May, we rode camels next to the pyramids in Cairo, and swam with the fishes in Sharm El Sheikh. I also secured my job permanently here so I'm in for another year of adventure!!

It's been a great year, really challenging and hard at times, but I've learned so much, I've grown so much. I'm in a better place then where I was last year, I have more friends, a great boyfriend and a good job. I'm looking forward to what will be thrown at me this year. I know if it's anything like last year, I have a wild ride ahead!!!

Here's a smilebox of the celebrations that went on this past week. Last Saturday Nick and I threw a Birthday BBQ on the river in Richmond (his bday is June 14th!!) and then had an after party at our friend Iovanna's. On Wednesday went out to dinner with Nick and watched movies at home. On Friday some of my friends at work threw me a little party during lunch. This past Saturday I went out with my girls to Notting Hill Arts Club. Almost every day has been a party!! I'm so grateful for all my friends and wonderful people I have in my life this year!! :)

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Walk like an Egyptian

I just got back from Egypt late Sunday night. It was a really great holiday! We spent 4 days in Cairo and 4 days in Sharm El Sheikh. It was all really interesting and worth seeing. Our first stop was the pyramids which were absolutely amazing and completely worth the trip alone! We stayed in a hotel near all the embassies. The area is known as the rich part of Cairo, which really surprised me because it was really dirty and run down! I was really surprised at how "developing" of a country Egypt really is. The city is extremely polluted, very dirty and very poor. It was shocking being in the taxis and seeing how crazy they drive around (and don't crash!) Cairo wasn't my favorite place to be, but part of the point of traveling to see completely new places than what you're used to. The people were absolutely lovely and I learned a lot. The food was great, but I got a bit of a stomach bug that lasted basically the whole time. I just think that our stomachs aren't ready for all the changes in diet! We stayed 4 days, but I would really reccommend only going for 2. You can see everything that you need to see in 2 days and it's better for your health to get out of there asap! :)

On Wednesday we took a 1 hour plane ride to Sharm El Shiekh. It was SO nice to breathe fresh air when exiting the airport! There we stayed in Naama Bay. This area is 100% for tourism, it a relatively new area with loads of nice hotels and restuarants all set on the Red Sea. It was really nice and relaxing! There's not much to do there other than the beach, but the water is absolutely gorgeous!! There's isn't much of a tide and beautiful fish swim right up to the shore! The water is crystal clear and the perfect temperature! We had a great time snorkeling around and spending time on the beach. We took a boat out for a day to snorkel around Turin island which is quite close to Saudi Arabia. It was a lot of fun. Nick climbed Mt. Sinai in the night, he took a 3 hour bus to the mountain and from 2am-5am he hiked up, stayed there till sunrise and walked back down!! Sounds like an experience, but not one that I fancied having!! I was in bed watching Mona Lisa's smile while he did that. It would have been cool however to be on the same mountain that Moses received the 10 commandments! There also at St. Catherine's Monastary is the burning bush! Egypt has it all!

We had a great holiday, it felt super long, but I'm glad to be back! Work has been great and I'm glad to be home here in my Chiswick flat! Below is a slideshow of my trip, I plan on posting pics here via smilebox as I think it's a much better experience!! :)

Make a Smilebox slideshow