Congratulations Andrew and Oxana

Definitely one of the best weddings I have ever been to!!
Congrats to the bride and groom for inviting us to share in their special day.



Andy and Oxana
The beautiful church. The reception was held at Andy's parent's house. Complete with a Mediterranean dinner served inside a Marquee and a live band, it made for an excellent evening of celebration!
Jon and me (that smile is somewhat champagne induced...well mine was for sure!)
Jon and me outside the church

This week I've been busy at the gym each night...yes I have found Body Pump and it is my new love!! Yes it is difficult but yes it feels sooo good when I am done!! Love it!

Anyways, we are going to Windsor tomorrow to visit Jon's sister and then off to another wedding this weekend near Birmingham...yeah!

Another fun weekend ahead!

It's been a few weeks since my last post and to say the least, they have been interesting.
I spent the majority of my weekdays job hunting, which basically means harassing temp agencies and applying for anything that looked like it might pay , or possibly if I was lucky, pay well. Our weekends have been spent touring from coast to coast (literally) with our first trip to the east coast of Norfolk to visit Jon's parents. They live just outside a lovely town called Kings Lynn, in a small village called North Wooten. Since they are just a few miles from the sea we spent the Sunday walking along some of the seaside trails, and enjoyed the incredible autumn sunshine. Our second trip (the following weekend) was down to the western coastal village of Croyde in North Devon. We met 4 of Jon's friends and spent the weekend enjoying one of Britain's most popular surfing destinations. I even tried to surf (which basically meant I bobbed in the water while clinging to my surfboard for a few hours), thanks to Jon and Steve who patiently gave me my first lessons. Luckily for us, the weather continued to be perfectly sunny, with those deep deep clear blue skies I have written about before. Seriously, it has been over a month and I am still in awe every time I look at the sky.

This week, Jon and I went to a beautifully restored art deco cinema in our town called The Rex to celebrate our 10 month anniversary from when we met in India (I know...is that all??).
It was such a fun experience to watch a movie, drink red wine and relax in large comfy velvet chairs seated around our own table.
Last night we went to a birthday party at a bar in London and later walked around Leicester Square and Soho. It was really nice to spend some time in the city, and enjoy some of the nightlife. London is really an incredible city and I can't wait to spend more time there!

Today Jon and I are off to Kent to his friend Andy's wedding, and next weekend we are going to his friend Simon's wedding. So I apologize if I don't get time to update my blog again for a few weeks.

Also, the job hunting has paid off (well a little), I have got a temp job working at the same company as Jon. Which is nice because we go to and from work together. It isn't my dream job, but it is a start. University applications are due in February and there seems to be an endless amount of red tape involved with practically everything I want to do - so I imagine the next few weeks and months will be filled with jumping through hoops (figuratively of course).

We are also planning our trip to Canada which is in just 3 weeks!!! We are so excited to see everyone again!
Enjoy the photos below and I promise there will be more to come soon.

Our seaview, Croyde , North Devon
Jon and me at Croyde Beach
Steve, me and Jon doing our best 'surfer' impressions
Ready to go Surf'n!! (Steve, me and Jon)

Baggy Point, Croyde
Jon and me at Baggy Point
The beautiful countryside of North Devon
View of Croyde Bay, North Devon

The beach in Norfolk
Jon and his parents
The quiet streets of Kings Lynn,Norfolk

My new life

It's been just over 2 weeks since I have moved to Berkhamsted and I am already settling in. It is fair to say that I did experience a bit of culture shock after leaving Korea...my first trip to the grocery store was more exciting then I can remember (a vegetarian's paradise). I am no longer the tallest person when I walk down the street, nor is the fact that I speak English a reason for strangers to break out with laughter. There are no fish vendors or melon trucks driving past with their loud speakers blasting at 7 in the morning nor is there any piles of rotting garbage outside my window.

In fact, there are deep, clear, blue skies (that seem to almost swallow you up), rolling English meadows dotted with white sheep, and friendly (smiling) faces everywhere I look. I can run along the canal without choking from the pollution. I can shop for clothes that actually fit and I can understand what everyone is saying to me...well almost. It feels like a completely different world. Everything seems familiar (even though it isn't).

Jon and I are enjoying the fact that we no longer have to think about the time difference and instead are loving the fact that we get to see each other every day.

We have been busy meeting with my friends, his friends and family, and he has been showing me around the countryside.

There will be a lot of new things to come in the future. I am still looking for a job and we will be busy visitng friends, attending weddings and planning our trip to Canada over the next month.

In the meantime, here are a few photos for you to enjoy of our first few weeks together.

This is a view of our street on a typical cloudy English day.
This is the canal that is in front of our house. The pathway runs from Hemel Hempstead to London...which is good if I ever feel like running 40 miles.

Photos of Berkhamsted

View of Berkhamsted...aka: ' Berko'

This is our front door (exciting eh?)

Our beautiful back garden

This is a photo of my friend Helen and I a couple of weeks ago when she came to visit me.

Our trip to Bristol

Jon and me at the Clifton Suspension Bridge
A View of Clifton and the Avon river
Joanne, Neil and baby Leo in front of a large redwood tree, near Bristol

Jon and me happy to have found the big redwood tree

How it all began...

How did it happen? How did a young Canadian girl, teaching for years in Korea, end up living in a small English town?
Well sit back and I will tell you the story....all of it.
It began last fall, as I was travelling through the Indian desert. I had taken a few months off from my teaching job to do some travelling and perhaps 'find myself'.
I had had an incredible 3 and a half months touring Thailand and India and I was deep into travel mode. My backpack and myself were equally dirty and I was gearing up for the final 2 weeks of my travels through the state of Rajasthan. It was a hot, cloudless, dusty day when I arrived into the city of Jodpur. Hot and tired from my half a day bus journey I made my way to a guesthouse that had been recommended to me by another Canadian I had met. She told me it was cheap and as I had already overspent my budget, cheap was what I wanted. The guesthouse was amusingly named Heaven. After bartering with the woman at the guesthouse about the room rate I decided to go up to the roof for a beer with one of the guys I met from the bus earlier that day. It was during this beer, that I met Jon. He had come up to the roof and we had invited him to join us at our table.
For the next 5 days Jon and I travelled through the city of Jodpur, then onto Jaisalmer, where we took a camel safari together through the Thar desert. Since Jon had to return to Delhi, we parted separate ways, with him literally walking off with his camel into the morning desert sun while I stayed for one more night.
We agreed to email, but neither of us really knew what to expect. After all, we had just met for 5 days. I returned to Canada soon after and Jon and I realized how much we were beginning to fall for each other. Within a month of meeting each other he had booked a flight to come and visit me once I returned to my job in Korea.
Our first visit went so well that he quickly booked up another...and another.
After countless hours on the phone, emails and 4 wonderful trips together we realized it was too much to be apart any longer. We made the decision to move in together.
So after some planning, I left my job, my apartment and the country I called home for a few years and moved to live with Jon in England.
And now the real adventure has begun....