The second part of the week took me south to Leicester to visit Katherine and Sally, which was also very enjoyable and un-suprisingly involved more shopping! I believe there were some wonderful photos from this but there was a mysterious accident and most seem to have disappeared- I'm sure it was nothing to do with the incriminating anyone or their behaviour, just one of those annoying things that happens somethimes- right Katherine?!

Back in Norwich I worked for two days then had the dreaded tooth removal! It was very bizzare being there as a patient and being asked all the questions that the day before I had spent all day asking patients who were theatre bound! To my relief I only saw one member of staff I knew and at that point I was still fully dressed and upright. It all went fine, but there was a last minute decision to remove all four as the two upper ones looked as they would be problamatic in the future- so any hopes of wisdom have gone in to a clinical waste bag! Spent Friday evening feeling awful. I was given plenty of local anesthetic before I woke up but as this wore off the pain came on and seemed to take ages to get under control. The worst bit was how much my jaw ached as it must have been pulled open very wide for about an hour, that took about three days to wear off! The swelling was pretty bad to start with too, but has been going down since about Wednesday- now I just look fat! Still feeling very tired very easily, but I went for nearly 20 hours without any painkillers today which is a huge improvement.

Despite my condition I went to Oxford on Sunday with Mum to visit her family en route to an open day at Bangor on Wednesday. Seeing mountains again(even ones eight times smaller than the last ones I saw) was wonderful- I'm getting very attached to the idea of living with them on my doorstep- especially when the sea is on my backdoor step- something that Nepal can't offer! The uni is pretty small, which is good as it removes the need for the use of anything except my legs to get anywhere. All the student housing is in the town centre, which is mainly comprised of the uni campus, as are the shops, and train and bus staions- should I feel the need to leave at anytime. Part of the campus is very old and grand and looks like it was stolen from Hogwarts, this is where I would have most of my lecutres, and the Psychology headquarters is a brand new building which has all sorts of exciting researchy stuff. Combined with what sounds like an excellent course, with oppertunities to study abroad, Bangor being scored top for research along with the likes of Oxbridge, and its geographical position and the opportunities for extra activities that gives (paragliding, mountain climbing, kayaking (sea or river), surfing, sailing- need I go on?!), it all sounds pretty good!

In other uni news:

Still waiting to hear from Plymouth before I make a final choice, but as I'm not entirely convinced that I would be happy being a paramedic yet, then it will take alot to persuade me that going there would be better.

Had an interview and entrance exam for UEA yesterday, the interviewer went throught my paper with me and seemed fairly pleased with what I had written (as was I as I haven't planned a psychological investigation for three years and still came up with something that ticked all the boxes!), and the rest of the interview wasn't bad, but while the offer from Bangor is there I won't be accepting anything from UEA.

Cardiff are stupid- long story but basically they seem to have changed the course title and the required grades at some point, but those details were not changed on UCAS at the time I applied so I was unaware of this, and as a result no longer have the asking grades. Upon further research I have been put off clinical physiology anyway, which means Leeds is off the list as they eventually decided I couldn't change my application to human physiology- apparently working as a nurse for 18 months counts for nothing towards ones knowledge of the human body!

So really it's down to a very one sided battle between the mountains and the moors!

I have been signed off (on paid sick leave!) for two weeks so I'm going to take advantage of that, as I'm not up to doing anything more than a couple of half days, and spend the week trying to sort my self out for Africa! There have been concerns raised that I have no way of knowing how bonne fide the organisation I'm planning to go with are, so I'm being forced to look at some other options, if only to keep everyone happy. If anyone has any thoughts on this, or knows of anything that can sort out a medical-type placement for me in West Africa for a sensible price (I had been quoted £500 or so for my original placement) then do offer suggestions. Also having visa issues as I need to have proof that I'm leaving the country before they'll give me a visa- which I don't have. I'm hoping that if I speak to the Ghana embassy and explain my plans and offer to buy a flight home from South Africa then they will let me off. Flights around Afrcia are expensive at the best of times, but even more so if you buy them from anywhere other than the country you are flying from- my current quote was more expensive than my flight to Ghana from the UK! And although having a flight home will restrict me slightly, it will make everyone here much happier and give me more of an idea about how much money I have to play with! More news on this as it breaks, but I think that's all for now folks!