San Francisco

San Francisco, what a city and what good friends to be there with.

Alex, Dickie and I arrived in San Francisco on the evening of the 7th of May, after a rather stressful days travel. We missed our connecting flight in Charlotte by 5 minutes, I repeat, 5 minutes! It was due to fog and so we had to wait 8 hours there for the next flight. Great fun. However, I am glad to say this was the only bad thing that happened on this amazing trip, apart form maybe Alex always checking his ATM or Dickie always eating ice cream!

Everyday we got up at 7am (except Alex who always slept) and left the hostel at 8.30. We did almost everything we could have in the week we spent there. We must've walked about 10 miles every day and covered just about every inch of San Francisco.

Some of the highlights of the trip were cycling across the Golden Gate Bridge;

Visiting Alcatraz with all the GRSP's in San Fran at the time;

Going to The Castro;

Seeing the Japanese Tea Garden;

And ofcourse taking our photograph at all of these places playing with our frisbee!

As the year draws to an end this happened to be one of the last times I would be with a group of GRSP, and what a way it was to finish the year. The times I spent with Christian, Alex and the others in San Fran were some of the best moments of my entire year and I am going to thoroughly miss spending such quality time with them when the year finishes.

I am currently in New Orleans for the Rotary International Convention but the memories of San Francisco are fresh and reminiscing on the year past makes me sad to think it is coming to an end but also it makes me excited to think what the next year will bring! Moving to a new city to study a fantastic course and meet new, amazing friends is just an amazing prospect and I cannot wait! But a bit nearer than that is the thought that my beautiful girlfriend Claire is coming to visit in June and I cannot wait for that either, we are going to have an awesome time (I hope... if the Icelandic volcano doesn't have anything to say).

Anyway I shall keep you updated. Talk soon.

God bless, Andrew x

Loving And Leaving

The District Conference this weekend was amazing. Around 30 GRSP, a pool and no organised activities it really could never go badly. Each day consisted of sunbathing, swimming, frisbee-ing, partying with and without Rotarians, and ofcourse the compulsory GRSP rendition of the Backstreet Boys (video coming soon), it was incredible may I say. The best way to finish a superb year.

This years conference was in a place called Callaway Gardens which was a beautiful 13000 acre area with cabins and hotels dotted around. The GRSP all stayed in the hotel and had an amazing time. Thursday - Sunday doing whatever we wanted and having as much fun as possible, I loved every minute of it. The only down side was that we had to say goodbye at the end which I found particularly difficult, and I wasn't the only one. These people are among the most interesting, fascinating and amazing people I have and will ever meet. I love them all.

To make matters worse the day I got back I had to move all of my stuff (I had SOO much stuff) out of Georgia State and say goodbye to the place I had called home for the past 9 months. Very sad. Great memories will always be remembered when I think of Atlanta and GSU especially.

It has just hit me that the best year of my life is nearly over. I have had my last GRSP official meeting and I am completely moved out of Georgia State University. It is hard to comprehend that it is finishing and my normal life is fast approaching. However, there is nothing to be sad about! I have so much to look forward to and I can almost certainly guarantee that I will be seeing most of the GRSP again in the not too distant future. For example this afternoon I am heading to Piedmont Park to see Anders and Anton and chill, cannot wait. Oh and I am heading to San Francisco on Saturday with Alex Duthie and Christian Dickenson (link to his blog) so no need to be sad at all!

Shall talk soon!

God bless, Andrew x

Spring Break #1: Roadtrip, Mardi Gras and New Orleans

Hey y'all it has been a fair while since I last updated you, sorry about that!

My Spring Break to New Orleans was amazing fun! This was definitely one of my favourite trips of the whole year. Alex, Freja, Charlotte and our leader Frida embarked on our roadtrip from Atlanta on Saturday the 5th (which began with the car being unfortunately clamped...) and after stopping in Macon Georgia and Alabama and after countless Swedish pop songs we arrived in the city that was New Orleans.

I was expecting there to be a lot more damage to the outskirts of the city but although there was some damage, there was not as much as I had thought. We were staying across the river from the French Quarter in a hotel and so when we needed to go to the main area of Mardi Gras this involved a shuttle and a boat ride.

Bourbon Street was the epicentre of the celebration and partying. It was filled with people, wall to wall, it was crazy and so much fun! On the Monday morning we were awakened by another Swede who had decided to join our motley crew. Sara Rywe had flew in from Las Vegas and it was great to see her. So the group consisted of four Swedish girls and two Brits, perfect combination I'd have to say. Monday was called 'Lundi Gras' and it was amazing fun. We met up with lots of other GRSP's and then chilled listening to some Blues and Zydeco which was probably my favourite part of the week. The standard of music was unbelievable! I loved it!

The next day was Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras and the parades that day were just fantastic! We watched them throughout the day and had a great time. The Tuesday was not as much a party day as I had imagined, I had expected it to be the craziest day of the whole festival but it turned out not to be which was a surprise. So the whole group went to a small bar place for some food and it ended up being the best pizza I have ever had. It was incredible words cannot describe.

The next day we set off for Pelham which was the next Official GRSP Conclave which was approximately 11 hours away. We had 6 in the car this time so Alex, being the legend he is sat in the boot of the car for most of the journey, well played. We stopped in Mississippi for lunch and Alex and I had the BEST meal ever, the Cajun food was so good but the girls decided to go for a Chinese buffet... They missed out!
We then stopped in Pensacola, Florida for the night before we made it to Pelham.

The trip was just fantastic it was my first proper road trip and I had such a good time. New Orleans is definitely one of my favourite cities in the world, it is well worth a trip. The people, the food, the chat, the location couldn't have been better and I would do it all over again, an amazing adventure.

Next up: Pelham Conclave

God Bless, Andrew x

Song Of My Week: High Contrast

In this edition of my favourite song of the week, I have delved into my drum and bass past. One of my favourite DnB artists High Contrast with Racing Green. Such a TUNE! The full version is better but this is a cool video likes. Enjoy.

Song Of My Week: The Joy Formidable

My song this week is by The Joy Formidable. A band I have been listening to for quite a while now. This song, 'The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade', is a great tune. Give it a listen! Enjoy.

The Bahamas

THE BAHAMAS! Yes, The Bahamas.

It was on a sunny Tuesday when we set off to the airport. We arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson and soon enough we were on the plane, but not without our fair share of excitement. First of all, our ride to the airport was in a Limo. Yes, a Limo. Which to me was incredibly exciting but my American comrades were not quite as excited, this was just life for them. Next piece of excitement was that Dave, my host dad, managed to bring the wrong passport... bad start. He didn't realise this until the check-in lady said the words "Is she travelling too?". Luckily after breaking the speed limit Pam managed to get the right passport to Dave in time.
We got to our resort and oh my goodness, this place was something else. The hotel was HUGE and the situation was incredible. The island was aptly named 'Paradise Island.' We had the evening to settle in before our real work started the next day.
Our trip was mainly to help out the school children in Nassau with their eyesight. We had brought hundreds and hundreds of glasses with us to give out.
You may not think testing kids eyes and giving them glasses is that big a deal but just imagine not being able to see anything clearly or watch tv or read because of your eyesight. A lot of the time teachers in schools can think a child is not very smart when in fact the simple reason was that he can't see what he is supposed to do. So I'm extremely glad I could help out with these children and possibly change their lives.

We visited around 4 different schools and a community centre treating around 200 people in total, which is an incredible achievement. None of this could have been possible without the help of one outstanding woman, Dr. Anne Higgins. She was with us in all we did from the transport, to getting into schools and she also helped us get involved with many of the local activities which was great fun. She and her husband run a community centre in a very rough area of Nassau which had funding cut by the new government but still they keep it going through their own wages and the work they are doing is unbelievable. She is a truly inspirational woman.
Some of you may not know, but my mum was born in the Bahamas and she still has plenty of family there so one of my most favourite parts of the trip was getting to meet my great uncle and aunt, Jeremiah and Barbara Sawyer. They took me out for a fantastic meal, where we chatted lots and caught up with each other. Then they took me to their house and then to another one of my relatives Debbie, Brian and Stephen Nutt. I had an amazing time talking to them all and felt very blessed to feel part of a family even though I am this far away from my home. I really hope to see them all again soon and will definitely have to bring my family their next time!

As well as meeting my family I managed to meet two rather famous people. Errol Brown, the lead singer of Hot Chocolate and Sir Durward Knowles, the first ever Bahamian Olympic gold medallist.
My trip was unforgettable. The people I met, the people I came with, the weather, the food, the children, everything about this place was incredible. I really think this was one of my favourite and most rewarding trips I have ever been on. I am very thankful to Rotary for letting me experience this and am so grateful for everyone on the trip being so great to me!

The next few weeks bring quite a few activities. First of all is Mardi Gras in New Orleans which shall be amazing! I leave on Sunday and I cannot wait. Then there is the next Official Conclave with all the GRSP's which should be equally as good! After that I have St. Patricks day in Savannah which is supposed to be an amazing experience and because I am Irish this should be even better!
I am also hoping to go and see my cousins in North Carolina soon too which will be great as they are a really amazing family. So much to look forward to.
I CAN'T WAIT.

Sorry it's such a long one, hope everyone is doing well.

God bless, Andrew x

Song Of My Week: The Gaslight Anthem

My song this week is by The Gaslight Anthem and is called 'The Diamond Church Street Choir.' It is from the album American Slang.
TUNE.