We Found The Loch Ness Monster!

So one evening in November I received a message from my dear friend Bethany from back home saying "My friend Jenifer and I are planning a trip to Scotland in March. We're planning to fly into London. Wanna join us?" Without any hesitation I said "yes!"

 They gave me some ideas of where they wanted to visit. I quickly searched them up on Pinterest and simply agreed to everything. I had no high expectations on anything. I just knew that I was going to see gorgeous views.

Between the time of November and March I went to see my family in Florida. I arranged with the girls to meet up and discuss our trip. I got my Mum to tag along since she's my personal travel agent. In one afternoon,  we got our whole trip figured out. We left with hugs, smiles and a sense of excitement. For we knew that in less than 30 days we would start the #jfbgreatscotlandadventure!

As soon as Bethany and Jenifer landed in London the adventure began, literally. We had some problems with our car rental. Since most people in the UK drive manual, we had to wait for a few hours till an automatic car came along. 😐 Then having Bethany drive from the airport to my house (being jet lagged and having a few cups of coffee) sent my heart through a few roller coasters. Let's just say we almost went on the right side of the rode. But we got home safe, had a homemade Italian dinner (maybe Sainsbury had a lot to do with that dinner) and got ready for the start of the adventure.

Our trip actually started in Birmingham. And yes, Bethany was a safe driver the rest of the trip. I had my sign language assembly there. So the girls attended half of the assembly and then sight seed. While I  continued to watch fingers flashing at my face, lol. But they enjoyed it. They got to meet a good chunk of the people I know here in the UK. The day after the assembly we set off to our next leg of the trip, Glasgow. 

I heard so many negative things about Glasgow. People told me it was boring and not a lot to do there. Even though we only spent one night there, I quite liked it. It had a small city urban feel to it, but still homey. It was raining through most of our drive up there. But we had Disney tunes and 90's classics to keep us going.  As soon as we got into Glasgow it cleared up (but still cold.) We were welcomed but the sweetest lady at the reception desk. She gave us pointers about some places we wanted to see. "As soon as they opened the curtains and I saw the castle ruins, I cried." We knew had to see Castle Urquhart. The next morning we had to say goodbye Glasgow and head over to Fort William.

This was right outside our hotel room in Glasgow.

When we met up to discuss the trip with my Mum. She told we had to drive through Glencoe on our way to Fort William. Jenifer and Bethany already had it on her list. As soon as we got in the car my Mum said "your grandmother loved Glencoe. It was here favorite place to visit for our holidays." If my Nanny Isobel and Shasha loved it, so would I. 

I think our drive to Fort William was my favorite part. Anytime we saw anything breathtaking. We would stop the car and take pictures. No words can describe it and the pictures don't do it any justice.

Our whole trip was full of scenery like this. Just after every corner something beautiful and jaw dropping. I understand why my grandmother loved it here so much. I felt like I was personally getting to know her and understand the person she was. Also coming from a Scottish background, I got to understand that part of my hertiage more. Especially since my family actually use to live in Glenco. 

The rest of the trip were full of scenery like this. 

We met these sisters in Edinburgh.

The castle we trespassed on.

Castle Urquhart

Fairy Pools, Isle of Skye

Brother Rutherford gave a talk in front of this door!

But the whole trip was full of laughter, inside jokes and memories to share for the rest of my life. We went to the Isle of Skye and saw the fairy pools, went to Edinburgh and saw gorgeous men playing the bag pipes, went to Wisky disterally and nearly got drunk, trespassed onto Castles, visited my family's friends in New Castle, met an Asian with a Scottish accent, renacted a scene from Monty Python . At one point we had the front desk had to call us to say that our neighbors complained that we were too loud. All we were doing was laughing.

Since I was having such a great time with friends from back home, it made me a little home sick. But I am not done with my adventures here in London. It's crazy that it's been a year aleady. But, I still have to much to see and accomplish.

It's That Time of Year Again!

Phew it's been a while since I have written on here. I have been so busy and a lot of things have changed within ONE year!

Here is a recap:
I hit a mid life crisis (yes, I know. I am too young for that. But, it's what I like to call it.) In order to get things in my life going again- I decided to take advantage of my dual citizenship and move to London. That's right, Big Ben is in my back garden!

There was a series of events that triggered it all. For a few months I thinking about going back to an English congregation with my parents. I was tossing some ideas back and forth with my family. I thought it would be a good idea to England for the summer- jus to get away for a bit. The idea was, I'll apply for some jobs- if it works, great. If it doesn't, no big deal I'll come back to Florida. Until some horrible events happened at work. It really hit me hard to the point I wasn't my normal self. I barely ate (and that's strange, because I love food) and just slept all day. Then I decided "I just need to get out of Kissimmee." And the idea to move to London was born.
I pitched the idea to my friend who also had dual citizenship. She thoguht it was a great idea and decided to join in. She talked to her family and they invited her to stay with them until she got things sorted. They even extended the invitation to me! So in June I packed my life in a suitcase and moved to London.

I was still tossing the idea of going back to an English congregation. My friend suggested the idea of writing to the branch and seeing what congregation in the area needed help. But I have been helping a congregation for a few years already, I just wanted to find a place that felt fimilar with- that felt like home. So I went to a few English meetings. But, it just didn't feel the same. Not that the brothers and sisters weren't lovely. But if you ever been in foreign language for a number of years, you know what I mean. I had a friend who was in the BSL congregation. She knew I just moved and asked when I was going to come visit. So I went to the meeting and it felt like home. I knew it was the right decesion to move to that congregation.

Now getting a job was not easy. I have a lot of experience working with children with Autism. When I talked to Teaching Agencies (almost every job here is done through agencies) they seemed really eager to sign me up and send me to interviews. Except there was one tiny problem, I needed a background check from the US. It never even crossed my mind to do that before I left. So when I contacted the FBI to file for the check. They informed me it would take me 3 months to go through the entire process. THREE MONTHS?! I didn't have time for that. I was already overwelcoming my stay with family I was living with. I didn't know what to do. Every time I talked to my family, I was just overwhelmed. They threw ideas out. But the major one was "Go on a nice holiday for a week or so, then just come back home to us." But the thing was, I didn't want to leave. I was attached to my congregation already. So I prayed a lot and was clear on what I wanted. I told Jehovah: if I meant to stay I will have an interview this week for a waitress position. Even if I don't get it. I know I am meant to stay. Later the next day, I got an email to come for an interview at a little cafe. I got my answer. Within a couple of weeks I finally got a job with a catering agency (see, everything is done through agencies.) But, I knew in order survive money wise, I needed that job at the schools. I was entirely grateful for the family for letting me stay with them. They helped me out so much. Words can't describe how grateful I am. But, I knew I had to go. I had a friend who had a room available with some other sisters. So jumped on the opportunity and moved in with them.

The teaching agency with getting really antsy with the whole US background check. The schools that I interviewed with kept asking about me. So the agency found another alternative. They said I could file a background check with my state instead of the FBI. I filed it with the State of Florida and with in minutes I got an email saying I was cleared. I sent all the info to the agency and the next day I got a job with a school.

Jehovah has really blessed me through this entire experience. I don't know what I would with out him. They're moments when I really miss home. I missed some pretty big moments:being a bride's maid at my best friends wedding, seeing my brother get baptized. Plus losing a close friend to the world isn't fun to deal with on your own. But knowing I have Jehovah has made it a lot better. Also knowing the fact that my parents love me and are proud makes it a whole easier as well. They make sure they say it everyday when I talk to them.

Wow, that was a bit of a rant. Next time it won't be so personal. I have had many intresting experiences. Most of which have a funny story to tell.

Francesca xoxox