Hiya,

I moved to London and started working with Right To Play on Monday 9th February. So far, so good.

Right To Play is an athlete-driven international humanitarian organisation that uses sport and play as a tool for development of children and youth in the most disadvantaged areas of the world.

During my three month placement with the charity, I'll be primarily based in an office in Soho, which is Right To Play's headquarters for the UK.  Having never had what I'd call a 'proper job' in my entire life and certainly never been office bound,  I don't think I can convince myself I'm experiencing the real daily grind of the working world just yet. 

Though everyone here is clearly passionate about what they're doing and work really hard, it's a very pleasant, relaxed and informal atmosphere.  Everyone is quite young, energetic and friendly.  Also, since I'm just finding my feet, I've hardly been laden with duties just yet.

Whilst I'm here, I'm renting a room in a house near the Oval Cricket Ground in south London.  It's fine, but being used to my own things and my own space in my own home, it's taking some adjustment! 

So is the transport system.  The Tube is great, but getting literally sqe-ee-ezed into the cylindrical metal carriages during rush hour and standing nose to nose with complete strangers is not exactly what I'm used to in Edinburgh, where I can jump on my bike or into my car and get to most places with relative ease.  I'm sure I'll adjust!

A little more bit about Right To Play, if you don't already know;

They do fantastic work in 23 countries around the world, across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.  Basically, like myself, RTP believe in the power of sport and play and are using its powers to create change for the better in communities in some of the most under-privileged areas of the Globe.

They implement sport/play based programmes for children in these communities to educate and enhance the children's lives.  You can find out loads more of what they do and their specific areas of strategic focus on the website; www.righttoplay.co.uk

I became involved when I saw an advert for a fellowship program in the Olympic village when I was competing at the Beijing Olympics last summer.  There was the opportunity for five Olympians from around the world to work with the charity on a voluntary basis for three months. 

The work they were doing really appealed to me, so I made an application and was awarded one of the fellowships.  I was given a choice of working in either London, New York, Rotterdam, or Toronto.  Though a post abroad appealed, I opted for London, since I have too many existing commitments to be completely severed from home for such a long time.  And since it's a voluntary, I need to keep to keep some work (freelance massage and personal training) going myself, which is easier to do in the UK.

A part of my placement which I'm really looking forward to is when I will make a trip to see and get involved with how they implement the programmes in the field.  It is my choice where I go and pretty much when, depending how it fits with what's going on in the UK office at the time.  So when I learn more about what exactly is going on at the various locations, I'll make that decision...

Thanks to anyone reading this for showing an interest.  I'll keep in touch, and if you have any ideas, let 'em flow!

Bye for now.  Take care.

Michelle.