Looking for a Shoulder to Cry On

I am ready to cry. I have had more difficulties with my money situations than I could ever have anticipated or been made aware of. Let me warn anyone who would like to come abroad to beware. The delays in approval for a bank account, the limited availability of funds, and limited access to those funds makes it very upsetting whenever you need to spend your money. It took me almost three weeks to get access to my money and then only at a UK bank in branch as I needed a pin code to use an ATM machine but because I moved from London to Oban during that time my pin code went to my london BUNAC address and sat there while they waited for me to come claim the letter. Then in Oban there was no National Westiminster Bank at all for me to go in - branch to. They were partnered with Royal Bank of Scotland but you can only withdraw money at an ATM with your pin which mine was in London. Then there was the added expense of moving to Oban. It cost me $224 US because the train company did not take my UK card with a pin code and it could not be used as a credit card. Then you have to be prepared to survive until you get paid in a month after you begin working. And you have to accept that you are going to get screwed financially as minimum wage is only 5.52/hour. Imagine working in the US for only $5.52/hour. You cannot live on that wage in either country. Because it is so difficult to live on that wage, I have been living off my travel funds for Europe. I set aside $6000 and am almost down to $4000 in savings. Once I convert that money to Euros I will lose 1/3 of my money. This means I may have to cut my European travels in half. I had hoped that my UK earnings would go farther and I would be able to reimburse myself but that has not happened. If my paychecks are not sufficient I dont know what I will do as my school advised me that I need to stay in my job until October to show length of work experience. Yet to do so could mean I have to potentially completely scrap my travels to the EU. I have been praying every day to have things improve. I am grateful that my flatmates are being extremely understanding and patient but it is embarrassing to commit to paying a deposit and not be able to pay it until the month is out. My flat mates still dont have all the deposit. I still owe them 100pounds and now I also owe them rent of 350. I am scared that my paycheck wont be enough to cover it and leave me enough to live until next payday at the last day of July. As it is, I should have been paid by direct deposit today and there is no money posted to my account. I have 18 pounds to my name right now. Part of me is ready to just chuck everything, quit my job,and just start traveling to the continent until my savings runs out. I see no silver lining or light at the end of the tunnel. I could go on. Yes there is more that I havent shared. There is so much s^%t and my hands are hurting just trying to get it all out. I still dont feel any better. I am watching a review of Star Wars on TV and I am reminded of all the lessons I learned from Obi Wan and I am feeling a little better. I will go and mediate on his teachings. May the force be with us all.

Things you cannot live without

So it is perhaps inevitable that after 3 months of trying to get by in the U.K. without certain niceities, it seems that I am going to give in to temptation and a desire to save money, and I am going to ask my family to send me anouther care package. This time I am going to ask for things that will help me feel better and fit in at work. I am also going to request their help to fulfill a request that has the potential to change my life forever. So the things we girls sometimes need to help us feel better are cosmetics. As I have not gotten paid yet, will not have enough in Pounds to buy anything good, plus the fact that I have a small suitcase full of cosmetics, I am hoping my mom will send me what I need. I was lucky to get my brushes, a mascara, some lip balm, and my perfume however I really wish the mascara was black,and that my perfume was actually my Estee Lauder Intuition lotion and perfume. I have also found that due to the grey and wet weather that my bronzer does little to cover the sallow look of my skin so it would be good for me to wear foundation make up. Thankfully I already have some color-matched in my Mary Kay collection. I will probably go through a brand new tube since even though it is now summer here, the weather is more winter to spring like. I am not surprised that all the women at Harvey Nichols wear make-up. It is a High Street fashion store so they all want to look their best. It will help me to use my Mary Kay color kit since it is a small, cute, silver case that holds 3 eye shades, 1 rouge, plus a matching lipstick all together. I think my mom sent me the lipstick already so the kit will be complete. Once I have my pretty face made pretier I will need to have the essential products to take it all off. A selection of Mary Kay products specific to each purpose will ensure that my skin stays looking young and more lively than it does right now. The purple bottle of eye make-up remover, a white bottle of cream cleanser, a blue bottle of toner, and a smaller white bottle of moisturizer are the basic tools of a great skin care regimen.

In case anyone has not figured it out yet, I am not this journalistic. The truth is that I still cannot afford to go to the cyber cafe and I do not yet have the ability to email people from home so, I have to write somewhat cryptic and more entertaining blogs that hopefully are informative and get my messages out to those I need to reach.

Something else that should help a single and searching girl attract her man is a stunning dress. I am really wanting to have my family send me my Coffee and Cream Zebra Print wool dress, White dress blouse, and Yellow Polka Dot belt from my J.Crew clothes. I also have to give in and realize that even in Edinburgh a girl is nowhere without her best handbag. I am going to risk using my Burgundy Patent Leather bag I got at Nordstroms instead of the cheap brown purse I brought. I am also going to upgrade as this brown bag is now falling apart due to a pin in the handle falling out. I have already had the pin replaced once before and now that the bag is scratched up on the outside, I would rather let the bag go for a newer one. I hope that Ian and his eco-friendly friends will not hold this against me. I figure that the dress, shirt, belt, and a short slip will all fit in the red handbag for easy mailing. I also imagine wearing this outfit when I am traveling around France, Spain, and Italy in October and November.

The most important request I have to make of my Mom, Ian, and Sarah is to search my storage unit, gather, carefully wrap and ship my entire Baroness Scrope Golden Gown Ensemble, hat included. I have been telling people at the Palace at Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh Castle, Mercat Tours, local booksellers, and also the current General Manager of Bolton Castle all about my interest in Mary, Queen of Scots and her relationship with Baroness Scrope, and all of the people I talk to have told me to participate in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August and the GM at Bolton is considering hiring me to play the Lady Scrope at the castle as well. Wearing the golden gown with all the accessories and presenting my storyand the story of Queen Mary Stuart and Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk could mean greater opportunites for me to start my hotel/restaurant concept here in the UK instead of having to copy and duplicate what already exists here.

I am worried about the expense of sending all of these above items overseas yet I don't see how I can go without them as they could have a direct effect on my future dreams of success and happiness. I would love to hear peoples opinions about this. Encouragement is also greatly appreciated.

Living and working abroad for six months and living like a backpacker is not recommended. I am looking forward to my travels through Europe with Ian and our friend Richard when living out of a backpack will make more sense. I still plan to go and look my best. And in talking to Richard by mobile phones recently it seems we will be staying in places better than hostels for backpackers. Thank you Richard. xx

Stay tuned everyone as my next blog will outline all the places I/We plan to travel in Europe with a day by day itinerary. For anyone who would like to see how I am organizing this trip feel free to check out RickSteves.com. I bought his Europe through the Back Door 2008 book, and used it, along with his website itineraries and suggestions about sites to see and places to stay, as the foundation and inspiration for what I hope will be a dream trip to the continent.

The Best Parts of Living Abroad

The best parts of living abroad are when you win the contest at your new job for getting the most correct answers on a cocktail training quiz and get a cocktail shaker set and corkscrew. It is great to be the new kid on the block and win the prize. I asked my manager if he had heard who won the prize, he said no, I told humbly told him it was me. He smiled and congratulated me. I subtly asked him if I might be able to be considered for cross training in the bar and he said it might be possible. We will see.

The other cool thing about working abroad is when you get to meet foreign celebrities. Today I met and served lattes to J.K. Rowling!!! I s*^t you not. OMG! You will all be proud of me, I kept my cool. I was polite and unassuming. She was kind and very quite as she was only in for a bit to work on her lastest novel. She brought with her a large journal and was writing quite diligently in it the whole time. I left her to work, only disturbing her when her cup was empty. She thanked me on her way out. In actuality I did not recognize her. It was only when I let my fellow server, Brie, know that I would take care of the new guest on table 70 that she told me who it was I would be helping. Ms. Rowling was very reserved dressed in her navy blue suit. Truthfully, I was not that excited to be serving her, it was just neat to know that she comes in to our brasserie. I am a fan of hers, but not a die-hard one.

What have I been up to?

So, another week has passed. What have I been up to? Working. I just got a job at a place called Harvey Nichols. I work in the Forth Floor Restaurant and Brasserie as a full-time waitress/receptionist. Harvey Nichols is an upscale department store that also has high-end restaurants at all of their locations. I am at the store in Edinburgh, Scotland. I have been on the job since Monday June 11, 2008. It is a challenging position I am in as the company has set up the staff to only be responsible for small parts of the running of the business. For example, Waiters only ever take orders, and stay on the brasserie/restaurant floor. They are not required to go back to tables to check on guests or anticipate their needs for additional food/drinks. Instead, a head waiter is supposed to check on guests and see how their meal is and to get them any extra things. In addition, waiters rotate to the kitchen Pass area once per week to run food out to guests. This would be helpful to the waiter except that there is no way for the Pass person to know who ordered what food so the Pass is made by auctioning off the food at the table to whoever claims it. This is a huge no-no in upscale service. But of course when I ask about this at work I am told that service in the Brasserie is more casual. Maybe so, but we are supposed to be an upscale brasserie. I dont get it. Oh yeah, and at reception desk the hostesses just let guests completely dictate where they will be sat even though it upsets them that guests are so forward. They say that because we are an upscale brasserie and there are great window views that guests expect to get window seats always. But what about what I said a bit ago about auctioning off food not being upscale? Also, because they let the guests sort of decide where they want to sit, waiters can get multiple tables occupied in their section all at one time. This means they are sometimes triple-sat within 5 minutes time!!! When I asked why we don't make the guest wait a bit or sit elsewhere than by the window, they say , "We cant do that the guest will get angry." Yeah well I say, " What about the guests getting angry because they get bad service due to being ignored by an overworked server?!" The receptionists make it very bad for the waiter and very bad for customer service. No wonder guests are always saying that they are left waiting to be served and do not know who or where there waiter is. And then of course everyone complains about hospitality service in the UK as being shity. No wonder, the staff do not support each other. Be lucky you live in America my family and friends. It may cost more to eat out back home but it is worth it.

The Middle of the Beginning

So my friends and family, here is the beginning of my international blog. It is entitled the middle because I am now three months into my trip and am just now beginning this blog that was to have been started the day I arrived abroad. If I had been given more accurate information by BUNAC, the visa agency who helped me to come over, I would have known that it is easier, cheaper, and more convenient to bring my own lap top computer. As it is I have been very busy looking for work, actually working, or out sight-seeing. I have not been at a computer keyboard much at all. But I will endeavor to update this blog on a weekly basis at least. I cannot promise this however so I appreciate your patience and understanding. Please feel free to send me messages via this blog as I am having email difficulties now too. Oh what fun it is to travel abroad!!

So it is now 945 pm Edinburgh time, it is raining heavily, and my roommate Chiyo and her mother just returned home from a trip to London. I will be in touch soon.

Hugs to all.

Adina