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!
Monday, August 30, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
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!!
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!!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
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!
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!
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