Apologies

To all who tried to convince me with no success that Poatina was a strange Christian cult village where they suck out your brains and turn you into robots - it's all true.
My main piece of evidence for this is that everybody not only claps during worship but also 'dances'. And by 'dances' I mean: throw themselves around in an ungainly and uncoordinated sweat inducing frenzy.

Anyway that aside today is the first day off since foundations started, as predicted the days ran from 7 am until around 11 or 12 at night and have left me a miserable and gibbering wreck. Everyone else on C4 did adult foundations which means that they've had a lot more free time than me (ie more than none) and they look fine. Judging by my housemate's response to the way I looked earlier today I probably look something like a mutant malnurished goblin. That was just after I'd managed to climb back to the top of my bunk bed having thrown up all my stomach contents after a profitable night of zero sleep.

It is possible that a number of factors have contributed to my current less than human state. The first is the aforementioned foundatiosn course which I was thrown straight into approximately 2 minutes after arrival, the fact that I had a youth leader to train during said course, the fact that it is way too hot over here, the fact that some bugger has stolen most of the ozone layer over Tasmania so you get burnt at some ridiculous rate, the fact that I participated in 'The great Tasmanian wheelbarrow race' and then got up at 6 am the next morning to go swimming with Bron (she was so cute I just couldn't resist). And a certain amount of strange meat last night.

For those who may hold some scepticism concerning the wheelbarrow race allow me to expand: 4 people with less than the normal amount of sanity form a team; 1 of them sits in a wheelbarrow and the other 3 push said wheelbarrow along a 3 kilometre course through a mudhole, a river, over a fallen log and then up what is affectionately known as 'heartbreak ridge' - by which they mean a 1+1/2K stretch of hill in a temperature of something around 30 degrees. If you're really clever you also choose to do it with a team mate who has injured her leg and so can't manage to do much pushing.

Needless to say I decided to take part and then promptly nearly died. I am so stiff that I can hardly move.

I think a lot has happened in the last week but I can't really remember much of it. I've already learnt more than I probably would in a month of living in Oxford (including the hassles of my Jamaican roomate who was nearly killed this morning - saved only by my inability to move), and had some amazing times with the young people in my group. That said I miss everyone and everything about England and feel generally awful. Time is still a premium but hopefully will get better soon.(?)

To anyone I haven't managed to e-mail or text my apologies. If you could e-mail me with your numbers that'd be great since half my luggage is still missing and so I don't have anyone's number. I haven't even managed to phone my parents yet so you may not want to hold your breath for a call.

God has already said a lot of stuff, Matthew your stones picture seems to be pretty dead on the money, and it does certainly feel like I'm being hit with a meat tenderiser so if someone could tell Emma and Jude hopefully they will find that funny.

love to you all