Corfe Castle

Today George and I decided to take advantage of the sunny (yes! I said sunny!) weather and took a trip to Corfe Castle. Well, it would have been a fantastic idea had we remembered that it was the Bank Holiday, being the end of summer and school just about to start in England. There was a ton of traffic, but finally we made it and got to enjoy the sun up on the top of the castle's hill and had lunch in the grass. Corfe Castle is unbelievably old and it's history is full of interesting stories. They think that it may have existed before as a wooden castle and it was in personal possession of a family up until the 1980's when it was given to the national trust. There is a sweet little town below the castle, Corfe, that is a classic stone english village that even has a sweet shop. I loved that you could walk all over the castle, climb some of the stairs and go through little passages. Basically it felt like you could do whatever you wanted. It was also nice to see that families were allowed to bring their dogs. Here are some of the photos I took:

(walking up the path to the castle)

(walking up the path again)

(AND AGAIN)

(Entrance to the remaining castle)

(Inside the front entrance)

(The view from the top was amazing and yes it really was that green)

(a little taste of the english country side)

(One more)

(My Australian pal George, she is awesome!)

(Inside the castle walls, or at least what is left of them)

(Inside)

(Inside the castle)

(Inside the castle again)

(It was a bit windy, but we had a good time)

Bournemouth!

So I'm currently taking a course at the University of Bournemouth as the last part of getting my license here in the UK. It's called to ONP- Over seas Nursing Program and basically it means I go to a class 3 days over a 20 day period and then in my free time I have to complete a giant workbook. Let me just tell you, I feel like I'm back in college with all the moaning I've been doing and all the procrastination I've had. Either way I'm already making good headway in this book, but the material is so dry! So far it's been about legislation in the UK, how the NHS (national health service) works, what it does and how it's all FREE! Yes, it's still a little bit wild in my mind, I mean come on look at where I've just come from. The land of sending you a medical bill for thousands of dollars expecting you to pay up NOW! But enough about that. Anyway, so I went to my class and then after did a little bit of exploring. Here are a few photos of downtown Bournemouth, it's so cute.

(A hot air ballon that sits in the down park, which is beautiful. You can pay 12.50 pounds and it will take you up in the air. It doesn't go very far, but hey you could always pretend you were flying around the world)

(Shopping in Bournemouth. Like most towns in the England, the shopping almost looks like a little village setting.)

(More shopping!)

(Random building on campus at Bournemouth. You know all that fancy stuff)

Poole

So like I said before I'm staying in the town of Poole, just by the sea. It is along with Bournemouth and Christchurch the boroughs of the Dorset country. Poole is fairly small and has been a little erratic with its weather. Sometimes it will rain for 5 minutes and be cold and then after it has pasted the sun will come out and you will be ablaze with warmth. It just feels like it's not sure what exactly it wants to do. Either way I'm enjoying it, learning a little bit more each day and taking adventures around town with my nursing pal Georgina. She has a very adventurous spirit and I'm trying to learn something from that. She's also great at trying to defuse stress, yes I know the poor girl has hardly known me for 4 days and she's already seen the ball of stress I can become. Anyway, here are a few photos of Poole I've taken over the last few days.

(Secretly hidden shopping center)

(View of the harbor on a rainy day)

This is ASDA, in case you are wondering what it reminds you of, think no more! It's owned by Walmart and is basically the UK's answer to the superstore. We went to explore it the other day and as soon as I walked in I noticed it even smells like walmart! They have some of the same brands that they have back home, but ironically enough, it looks a little bit better.

basically...

This is all I have to say...

HERE!

I'M HERE!!!!!!!!! Finally, I've made my way to Poole! This is where I'll be staying for the next 4 weeks while I take a class at the university. After that is completed I'll be heading for London for my first assignment (if all goes right)!

What am I doing you ask? Well I'm spending the next year-year and a half roaming around the UK as a travel nurse. The pay will be crappy, but the experience will be worth it. I might have to opportunity to work in all the UK countries (Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and of course England), but due to everyones economy being in a downfall I might just stay in England. Either way I'll be a happy camper, I am loving being in a new place, but I can't lie I do miss my friends and family already.

So on my way over I was mid-flight when my entire body broke out into hives, I'm talking palms of my hands, throat, chest, stomach, arms, legs, back, even the soles of my feet! I'm fairly certain it was stress induced since I hadn't consumed anything new or different that day. Once I got into London, I took the coach into Poole and have been enjoying the sea side town.

Here's a photo from when

I was attempting to pack all my junk into 2 suitcases and 1 hiking pack. This photo of me (and Frankenstein) was before I jammed too much stuff in it and then killed my back lugging it around England. (Excuse the crappy iPhone photos)

This is a photo of all the things I brought to the UK, only 3 bags and of course my wellies!

Currently I'm living in a house that a very fun couple own and rent to nurses coming for the class at Bournemouth University. They are really kind and have 2 fuzzy cats they let me love on endlessly. Do you see why I love them? haha! There is another nurse living here for the next 4 weeks as well. She is working with the same agency as I am and her name is George (yes, it really is). She is Australian and I'm really enjoying her company. At the class today I found out I was the only American there! There were 3 Canadians and then the rest were Australians and Kiwis, it's insane. I love hearing all the different accents, but then I feel a little left out ha.

So all together, everything so far has gone very well, hopefully I'll do a little more exploring around Poole tomorrow and have photos for you all. It is a really small and quaint sea side town. Did you know, they have the second largest natural harbor? It really is beautiful.