Week 4

We've been in the UK about a month now. Things are settling down with the living situation. I am feeling more and more at home in the flat. Holly is a great roommate, and I don't think this experience would be so pleasant without her. My days are very long since I travel a few towns over for school, so Holly has continued to start dinner or take care of other things for me. Some times I'm so tired that if she didn't do this I doubt I would eat...

Last week was a very rough week with my class. They were all beginning to feel comfortable with each other and me, so their behaviour was horrible. There was some bullying going on, and they just generally were being disrespectful to me and each other. But after some rant sessions with the other staff I was able to come up with some strategies to get them back on track. There will always be those few who continuously misbehave, but this week has been much better so far.

Holly and I ventured to Windsor this weekend. It's only a 10 minute and £2 train ride away, and so beautiful. Windsor castle is amazing, although we were too late to actually go in. There is a really nice area for shopping and nice restaurants. We happened upon a theatre that was playing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat that night, asked if there were any tickets available, there were, so we went! It was a great little theatre and a fairly decent show. So all around a great day!

It's getting colder here very quickly. I know I'm Canadian and should be used to the cold, but it's such a damp cold that it seems no matter what I'm wearing I still feel it. My classroom is the coldest in the building, so once the dampness gets in my bones I can't get warm until I get into a sweatshirt and under a blanket on the couch at home, usually with a tea. Hopefully that box of warm stuff Mam-Marie sent me arrives soon!!!

Oh, and after weeks of screw up (my company's screw up...) I FINALLY got paid! So hopefully after a few pays I'll be able to figure out if we can afford that trip to Paris and Holland on our October break!! I know Tante Corry and Ome Gerritt would love for us to make it! We would too!

Back to marking...

So Holly and I have been here 3 weeks now. School is 2 weeks in. Things are going great, but it has been very busy!!

I have a class of 20 kids who are all 9 and 10 years old, which is called year 5. They are pretty great, if a little crazy! I have a class that is generally very good. But they are so chatty and can be very rude! Little things, like interrupting me when I'm talking, but that drives you nuts when the whole class is doing it. So we're working on that. I have a couple kids who cause problems, like one who comes from the worst kind of home life, but I have a TA and the rest of the staff are so supportive, so we'll find ways to get through to her. I had one kid call another student a "ginger f*@k" last week...not a good day. Then a few days later he got kicked in the face...also not a great day. They can be a really exhausting struggle sometimes!! But I can't think of a job I'd rather be doing!

School is very different here. I get a whole afternoon a week to just do planning, so someone ese teaches my kids a couple of classes. Each teacher has a TA which is someone to help with the lower abiity students, but they are also there to do photocopying and put up stuff on the walls. It's so strange asking them to do stuff, becuase we don't have that in Canada at all. They have a real literacy and math problem here, so it's a huge focus. I've basically been told by the head teachers that as long as we teach enough math and english, they don't care how much of the other subjects we teach. Obviously we try and fit it all in, but it is actually a huge challenge. But the school is great, the parents are very supportive, and with a staff this great I know I'll have a good year. They think it's cool that I'm Canadian. They make fun of the things I say differently, like how I call "trousers" pants...because they call underwear "pants". Which gets some laughs. The bell for break and lunch is a teacher literally standing there and waving around a hand held bell, which is hiarious to me. But then there is a smart board in every classroom, which are super expensive. So there is some backwards-ness...but I'm loving it!

The flat is feeling more like home. We've slowly been getting things that make it feel better, like a couple of pillows for the couch, and pictures for the walls. The commute is long for me, but Holly has often thought about, and even made dinner before I get home, which is really helpful and appreciated. And we've made a few trips into London. Yesterday we met a friend from teachers college and had dinner and a few drinks in Covent Garden.

Already looking forward to the half term break though! It's the last week in October. We have tickets to go see Sister Act with Whoopi on the 23rd!! Then we're talking about heading to Paris the next morning for a few days, then continuing on to Holland to stay with my family for a few days, before coming home. I'm so excited for that!! Also very much hoping friends and family find a way to make the trip to visit here! It's a free room, so a fairly good excuse for a cheap trip!!

Well, off to bed! Manic Monday tomorrow!!

Catch up...

Holly and I have had a crazy few days! Here's an update:

We moved into our flat on Thursday. Holly was working, so I got the keys and got in. Adrian brought our luggage, but after getting all the way here I had to inform him it was not our luggage he was unloading. So he had to drive all the way back to Watford and bring us the right luggage. At the same time I was trying to test the things in the flat, like the shower and other appliances. None worked. I already knew many things were on switches here, but couldn't get it working. So a guy from the agency came by and helped me figure it out. There is a big red power switch close to the floor in the front hallway that apparently works our shower. Makes sense, right??...

So we didn't have much in the flat, so made a run to town and got some things that we needed to get through the night. Like pillows, and blankets, and food.

On Friday I headed into my school to check it out, as Holly also went to work. My school is very cute, the staff are very helpful, and tell me my class will be a good one. The other Year 5 teacher is awesome, and decided to plan the first 3 weeks for us both so that I could focus on getting to know my class and the routine of a new school. Awesome!!

Saturday Holly and I went to London to be tourists! We decided to pick one destination and go from there. So we picked Buckingham Palace. We got on the train and tube, got a touristy map, and found out way. We got to go into some of the staterooms and walk around the garden. It was unbelievably lavish and beautiful. So after that we noticed on our map that we were really close to Westminster Abbey, so went there too! And around the corner from that is Big Ben and the London Eye. The London Eye is something we both thought was amazing! You can see all of London, and we got some amazing pictures! From there we wandered to Trafalgar Square, had some dinner, and decided to head home. A great day in London!

Today we just got the remaining things we needed to make ourselves at home, and got ready for tomorrow. For me it is meetings in the morning and more prep work and organization for the afternoon. The students start on Tuesday. Very excited to meet my bunch!! I can't believe I have to teach these kids everything, including a little French and Religion! But I guess my French will be better than most of the British who were never required to take French in school. May be calling on Cay Cay for help!! Wish me luck!

Rough day...

Holly and I had a rough day yesterday...such a roller coaster of a day that I think we were almost as exhausted at the end of it as when we first arrived...

We wandered Slough, getting things accomplished all morning and afternoon, waiting for a call from the agent, to come at 2, telling us when we could move in to our flat. The call came, but it was not the one we were waiting for... Apparently the landlord had been using more than one agent and has decided to let the flat out to someone through another agent, no matter what our agent said. So at 2:30 the day before we thought we were getting a home, we stood on the side of the street ready to cry or throw up and not knowing what to do.

BUT we didn't cry. We made a plan to walk into another agency, one that had shown us the very first place on the day we arrived. Daniel was there, and right away took us to 3 places. One was a very cute, older flat. Had all the furniture we would need, and was in a quiet area, not far from the town centre. The other 2 were maisonettes (townhouses), both newly renovated, 2 floors so a little more room, and even little backyard gardens. The one problem is that they were pretty far out of town, and the very sketchy part of the area was between these houses and the town centre, meaning we would have to walk through it all the time. SO, knowing we needed to make a decision right away, we quickly went over the pros and cons, and made the decision for the first flat. Thank GOD for Daniel.

Holly started school today, so since I don't start til Monday, I'm going to pick up our contracts. The flat will be cleaned today. And we (fingers crossed) will be able to move in tomorrow. WE NEED A HOME! Holly and I have had not a single disagreement or even angry moment. But we are in a small hotel room. And it gets smaller every day. And more expensive. So we are eager for a place of our own. And separate bedrooms...

Wish us luck!! We need it!

On a funny note. Something we're noticing is that they LOVE corn here. It's on and in everything, which is ok by us. But in the mall they have something that's just a little too weird. A corn kiosk where you can buy a little cup of corn with different spices on it! We haven't gotten up the nerves to try it yet, but we will!

Things we have learned...

We are beginning to learn a few things about the way things work in the UK. Some are ridiculous and some have caused serious confusion...

1. Everyone knows they drive on the left here. But something we have to get used to is when you're crossing a street, you have to look left, THEN right. Not right first, or you're probably going to get hit by a car. Also, when you're passing someone in a hallway or on the stairs, you have to stay to the left, not the right. We've had a few near collisions because of this...

2. Booze. It's CHEAP. And EVERYWHERE. They sell booze in all the grocery stores and convenience stores. And 24's are 10pounds! And there are people drinking it in the street and on the train! Not sure if that's technically allowed, but they definitely don't have a fear of being caught. We went to a pub last night and I had a pint of Guiness for 3pounds! Even converting that to canadian it's cheap! and there are weird combinations. Like you can get smirnoff and apple juice in a can.

3. There are betting "stores" everywhere. We haven't ventured in, but they look like casino's/off-track betting places. And there are tonnes of them. And there are even slot machines in the bars. Clearly no OLG here...

4. Their school system is WAY more complicated then Ontario's. There are so many different kinds of schools. some free, some not. All requiring different exams. And "public" means "private", so even though my school is called Alfred Sutton Public School, it's actually a private school...will be interesting to try and keep things straight.

5. There are some words we have to watch out for when talking to our students. When they ask for a "rubber" they are asking for an eraser...and we can't ask them to put their "fanny" on the chair, cause that's a female's "front"...so that might cause some confusion...especially if it's a boy.

That's all I can think of right now. I'm sure we'll come across more and more every day!

EXHAUSTION!!

We're here!! We made it safe and sound, and it's been isanity since we got here, but we're here! Here's what's happened in the last 48 hours...

Our flight was delayed, so instead of leaving at 8pm, we left at midnight. It was a long and packed flight, but very smooth. We laded arounf noon UK time on Friday. As soon as we landed and looked out the window it was raining...thank you for the welcome England. Our consultant, Adrian, was late picking us up because of some bad traffic, but he eventually got there and we started heading towards Slough to look at apartments...I mean flats. This is where I had my first bit of culture shock at being in the UK. I went to get in the right side of the car thinking it was the passenger seat...it was not. They drive on the right here...I was so embarassed, but Holly had a good laugh about it.

We met the agent and he took us to one flat that was not bad, but pretty small and needed renovations before we could move in. We could have made it work, but definitely needed to see more before a decision was made. Because of how late we were, that was the only one we were able to see that day. So we sat in Adrian's car and called a bunch more. We managed to get 2 more appointments for Satuday afternoon. Adrian finally drove us the hour or so to Watford, where we would be staying that night. We both passed out on the drive there...we'd been awake well over 24 hours by this point.

We made a game plan for Saturday with Adrian, and he left us at our hotel. We hadn't eaten since the plane so went out for pizza (how British), got my cell phone working and went to bed. Oh, and this is the point where I realized my adaptor would not work for our laptops...so once they both died, which they did very quickly, we were without computers until we figured it out...

Saturday morning was to be Induction Day at Engage Education, the company that hired us. This was to ill out paperwork and learn about the UK curriculum and school system. We headed there for 8:30 (3:30am Canada time...), provided some documents and heard the first session. Since Adrian had arranged for us to see another flat at 2:15, we had to leave early. BUT it was Adrians 25th wedding anniversary, so we had to take the tran back to Slough to view it. This is where it gets complicated...we had a hotel booked in Slough for the next few nights, but clearly couldn't take all of our luggage on London's public transit to get to Slough, so we had to pack enough for a few days in small bags and leave the rest at the Engage office in Watford. So we rushed through a whole bunch of paperwork, got a ride to the station, and caught our first train to London. From there we had to find an underground station to go across the city to Paddington station (woo). Then catch a THIRD train to Slough. Except for getting a little lost finding the underground, and still having heavy bags with us, it wasn't that bad. We made it to Slough and saw OUR NEW FLAT!

The building is new and clean. And when we walked in we were hooked. It has one huge bedroom with an ensuite, and another smaller, but still not bad bedroom, a second bathroom, a new kitchen with washer/dryer (yes, the washer is in the kitchen here), dishwasher and fridge, nice size living room and a balcony!! From which we can see a castle in the distance!! After hearing the price, which was only 25 pounds a month more than the other crappy one, we were sold! We filled out paperwork and put down a deposit! It's ready to move in right away, but because there is a bank holiday Monday, we won't get approval from the landlord until Tuesday or Wednesday.

After that, we headed to out new hotel and checked in, very happy to finally not be carrying around so much crap. We took a trip back into the city for dinner, on a double decker bus (which was really exciting to us in our exhausted state), and to get a proper computer charger, which the guy gave us for free! We wet to Tesco, which is basically Wal Mart on Steroids, as Sarah described it. And it's true. So we went back to the hotel with some snacks, to hopefully sleep...and we did. It's noon on Sunday here now. We're just waking up, and plan on not doing a whole lot besides a trip into the city centre for a better look around. From what we've seen there is everything we could want. And a train into London only takes about 20 minutes or less. so far, we're very happy with everything. We are just eager to get into our place and get started with school!

I will try and post more frequently and less lengthly now! And now that things are less crazy we will try and take pictures! Love and miss you all already!!

Almost there!

2 and a half days left...I can't believe how quickly it's come, and how much I got done yesterday, with a little help from some family and friends of course. Even though we are moving across the world, we are still only allowed 20kg of baggage on the plane. It was incredibly stressful to have to totally abandon my luggage plan at 7pm last night and figure out an alternative, BUT I think I'm on the right track now...

We leave Thursday at 8pm, and arrive Friday at 8am. Adrian, our consultant, will be picking us up and taking us straight to look at some flats. Hopefully we find a place that day, or we'll be spending quite a few days in a hotel!

The first few weeks are going to be crazy busy with lots to figure out. I'm very eager to see what my classroom looks like and to met the kids! I'll try and post as much as possible! Thank you all for the good bye gifts and, more importantly, for all the support for this adventure!