Paris!

CANADA TOMORROW!

However, last week I was in Paris. 3 countries, 1 week---it was a pretty good week! 

We decided to head over to Paris before we went for Christmas holidays because it is so close and cheap. We left Friday after work and headed back to Luton on Sunday afternoon. 

Friday 

We arrived in Paris about 10pm and mastered the metro instantly. We took a train and an underground to our hostel, got checked in, freshened up and then headed out on the town. Our hostel was in Bastille, where one would think that restaurants would be open all night but surprisingly not. We had a hard time finding food, so ended up at small shop where I --of course---indulged in crepes immediately. Nutella and banana--YUMM! After filling up on some food, we found a small wine bar that was open and indulged in some french wine. By the time we finished we were tired and made our way back to the hostel to get a good nights sleep knowing we would have a BUSY day ahead of us. 

Saturday

Early Rise n' Shine! The beginning of a busy day begins. We woke up early, got some Starbucks on the way and headed to the Catacombs. The Catacombs is an underground ossuary that is open to the public. In the catacombs, there are over 6 million remains of human bodies. We got there just before it opened so were one of the first groups to go in and were out and ready to move on by noon.

Following the Catacombs we took the metro back up to Notre Dame and began our walking tour of Paris. We walked by the Notre Dame, the Louvre, Champs-Elysees and Arc de Triomphe. 

After the Arc de Triomphe, we got lunch at a super French cafe and headed back out. We ended up at the Eiffel Tower where we walked about 700 steps to the second floor and then took the elevator to the top. Exhausting but worth the cost and line up of taking the elevator all the way up.

After the tower, we headed back to the Champs Elysees to try some last minute Christmas shopping. There was a "Winter Wonderland" esk fair occuring and before we knew it, it was getting late so we headed back to the hostel to change for dinner.

Again, because we were late for dinner many restaurants were closing; however, we found one that was still open --a pretty posh place, and ate some delicious french foods and french wine. After dinner we visited some French wine bars and then headed to the hostel.

Sunday
We again woke up early, to get some breakfast and do some sight seeing near the hostel before we had to get to the airport and head back to Luton.


Overall, the weekend was fantastic and such a great idea! I realised how much my french language speaking has slipped and some prep work could have gone a long way. The weather was gorgeous- 12degrees both days and sunny. However, landing in Luton and dropping down from the clouds into grey and rainy weather was not a great way to end the weekend.

I love Paris and can't wait for my next adventure (after going home for Christmas that is)!

Staff Christmas Dinner Fails

Hi all my dear followers!

Two weeks and I am home in Canada to see my friends and family! Minus the dreaded cold temperatures, I am excited to head home :)

This week was the same as most---worked Monday-Friday. However, after work on Friday there was a staff Christmas Party. I think I had high expectations of what my first career staff Christmas would be like. We were given an option earlier in November of two restaurants and a small Italian place in Luton town center. It was convenient for the Canadians who went because none of us drive and it is in walking distance. We had a three course meal, all good food but there was only about 15 of us and most of them were upper management in the school--so it was not the atmosphere I was expecting. However, because a few people dropped out, there was some extra money so we got some wine ordered for our table--which is always good! Out of the Canadians, four of us made it out and we left shortly after desert. Apparently, there is a bigger Federation dinner that occurs in February where EVERYONE comes out and it is a grand ol' time. So I will reserve my judgement on staff parties until then!

I spent yesterday, once again in London doing some more Christmas shopping and went to this awesome burger joint off of Carnaby. It was a Hawaiian burger place....pineapple on a burger is one of my favorite things and had awesome food!

Other than that, there was not much too my week. However, I have decided to go to Paris next weekend! We leave on Friday after work and will have all day Saturday there and early morning Sunday, coming back to Luton Sunday afternoon. I am excited to travel for the weekend and finally get to Paris after three months when it is so close and affordable!  It also means that in a one weeks time period I will have traveled in three countries (UK, France and Canada) because one week after I get back to Luton I fly out to Canada!

Final stretch is here!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

In London there is an event at Hyde Park called Winter Wonderland. It is amazing. Today I took the train into London and did some Christmas/Souvenir shopping for family and friends. After walking Oxford St (a street Sarah and I got very accustomed to while we were in London at the beginning of this adventure) I decided to go to Winter Wonderland. Hyde Park is huge. When we got there, there was a huge line up to enter the park because they didnt want large crowds all entering at once. It is a free event to enter but you pay for everything inside--which is great because it can be as cheap or as expensive of a day as you want it to be. Inside Winter Wonderland there is vendor after vendor of food, drink and shops. However, these are not just normal transportable vendor stalls. They had full blown wood-made bars and stalls everywhere. In amongst these there were carnival games and fair rides as well as many fun and haunted houses. In typical winter carnival fashion I invested in some roasted candied nuts, hot cider and a candy apple! Yumm! We spent a few hours at the Winter Wonderland just walking around, looking at the different vendors and trying to win me a minion! (Failed, but did win a prize at one of the games). There was a giant ice rink--but you had to buy tickets to enter it; but watching the people skate made me feel better about my poor skating skills. It really does make a difference having ice available to you for most of the winter in Canada. There was also a giant ice castle with ice sculptors, etc inside but again you had to pay additional costs for it and after spending quite a bit of money on trying to win me a minion...again...we just walked around and observed.
There was roller coasters, thrill rides and this amazing ride that if we didnt have bags and I wasn't wearing a dress we would have totally gone into. Its a giant barrel that spins around insanely fast. You stand up against the wall of the barrel and it starts moving. The speed of the spinning keeps you in place. Then they drop the floor out from under you but you stay in the same spot so you are literally only being held in place by the movement of the barrel. It looked awesome, I may go back next weekend to try it.

Overall it was a great day and an awesome way to spend a Sunday when I feel like I haven't gone out and done much outside of Luton in the last few weeks (hence the lack of blogging).

22 days and I will be back in Canada for just under 2 weeks! Can't wait.

Sick Day Saturdays

Its been two weeks since I arrived back from Ireland and I am still shaking off the cold I picked up there. Due to this, I decided to take Saturday as a sick day. Saturday? Yes. I am too poor to take a weekday off/too stubborn so I granted myself Saturday as a day to sit in bed and do nothing. In the long run, I ended up spending Saturday and Sunday that way...but slowly and surely this cold is going away! Woo!

However, after feeling that I was going stir crazy at home on Saturday I headed to St. Albans for a few hours. My main goal was to get a Starbucks but it ended up being a great trip for other reasons too. As it was Saturday, there was a huge market happening in the city centre with different foods, jewelry, home made clothes/blankets, etc. As difficult as it was, I did NOT buy anything minus the Starbucks. After walking around the market, we got some gelato and then dinner. We found a great restaurant called "Bills". It was a non pub restaurant, which was a nice change from the usual pub food in Luton. I got a marinated half-chicken and steamed broccoli/red chili peppers. YUMM! There was a mix up in our order and instead of 2 half chickens and a pork belly we got 2 pork bellys and a half chicken. It benefited in the long run because then we could share our meals and get the best of all meals. There was so much flavour in everything, it was great!

After dinner, we headed back to the train station however got lost and walked 25 minutes in the wrong direction where we then had to turn around and walk up hill for most of it.

Other than my trip to St. Albans, I feel that after Ireland my life is so boring. So to finish this blog off I'm going to add a list of things (food) that I miss having and hopefully my good ol' ma can hook me up with some for the day I return at Christmas. Hint, hint mom. Hint, hint. :)

1. Tostitos
2. Tostitos
3. Swedish Berries
4. Root Beer
5. Tostitos
6. Salsa (normal salsa, salsa here is weird)
7. Marble Cheese
8. Crystal Lite
9. Tostitos

Kissing Legends

Ireland...what can I say? The most beautiful place in the world. I have never seen so much pure green land, even in its off season.

For those of you who were not aware, this past week was half-term break at the school I teach at, so I decided to head to Ireland and visit my good pal Theresa who is working there for most of the year. It was a busy trip with lots of travelling, but very worth it. Thankfully, Theresa had a car in Ireland so it made our ability to travel much easier than busing/training, etc. It was a jammed packed week but here's what we managed to get through:

Sunday
I arrived in Dublin after an extremely rock ferry across the Irish Sea and was met by Theresa at the Dublin Port. From there we made our way to the house she is living at in Ashford. The house was amazing, on a giant piece of country land...it took many windy and small roads to get there but it was a great house. The family I stayed with were amazing. They included me as one of their own and made me feel so welcome to not only their house but to Wicklow and Ireland. Sunday night, we decided to head out to a few local pubs in Wicklow. We were supposed to go to a Halloween party with the daughter of the people we were staying with; however, the costumes we had planned failed hard so we did our own thing.

Bracken Beg house- Asford

view from house

Monday- Dublin
1. Guinness Storehouse- We took a Luas (transportation) into Dublin. We got a great tour of the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. Its the original building where Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease. The building is shaped like a giant barrel of beer with different attractions on each floor including gift shops, how the beer is made, marketing, taste tests and final top view of Dublin City. It was gorgeous.

2. Lunch at Grand Central- old bank that is now a restaurant. 

3. Shoppped O'Connell St. and toured the city centre of Dublin

4. Crossed the River Liffey to go to Temple Bar (an area known in Dublin for great night life and restaurants). 

Tuesday-Wicklow and Wexford

1. Glendalough park (a gorgeous park and nature trails in Wicklow County). There was an old monastery ruins on the ground followed by great trails through gardens and the wonderful Irish landscapes. 

St. Kevin's Monastery

 2. Powerscourt Waterfall

 3. Avoca (a famous Irish tea shoppe/gift shop chain)
4. Bray boardwalk

5. Greystones- beautiful coastal view where I witnessed some man massacre a fish for bait :(
6. Wicklow City- Black Castle, Life Boat Station and Wicklow County Lighthouses. The Lighthouses were interesting because they built 3 in the same area. The first one they built was the largest but was not visible from all sides (a large hill/mountain blocked one side of the light house). Then they built another one but once again, it was not visible. Finally they built a lighthouse on the coast side of the mountain and it is still used today. I LOVE lighthouses.

Black Castle

Last Lighthouse

Tuesday night we spent the night at the families summer home in Riverchapel, Wexford County.

Wednesday
1. Dunbrody Emigrant Ship Experience: a museum experience dedicated to the Irish who emigrated after the Potato Famine to the Americas. This was the first morning that I saw any major rain, and we were on the ship during most of it...although it prohibited us from doing much touring around the deck of the ship, it was interesting because it would have been the weather conditions they faced most of their 50 day journey.

2. Blarney Castle and Blarney Stone. For those who have not heard of Blarney Stone, it is apart of Blarney Castle and people flock to it with the myth that if you kiss the Blarney Stone you will get the "gift of gab". I kissed a Legend! (along with thousands of other people who also kissed that stone...but these are things I just ignore...except for the famous people who have kissed it including Winston Churchill). The Blarney Castle was beautiful with gardens followed by more gardens. I couldn't get enough of it there.

3. Blackrock Castle Observatory- by the time we arrived at Blackrock it was nearing 5 when it closed down so we decided to save money and not pay to go in. However, if we had of gone in there is an observatory where you can see space. I did however get out of the car and snap some shots while it was still light out.

Wednesday we decided to stay in Cork County, a BEAUTIFUL city with a great city centre at a hostel in a private room for two. We had a great night in Cork travelling to some pubs and the hostel was awesome about giving us great treatment and sending us to some awesome locations while in the city).

Thursday
1. We left Cork early in the morning (after a rough start) and headed to Limerick to see St.John's Castle. The Castle has a museum experience in it at the beginning and then you can travel the grounds to see the whole castle. It rained for most of the castle experience so we ran through the grounds to see as much as we could.

Theresa avoiding the rain in a peasant hut...while looking like a peasant.

2. Cliffs of Moher- famous cliffs in Ireland that are breathtakingly beautiful...but super windy. It was one of the worst days we had for weather (which was a miracle because we had unusually nice weather) and it was WINDY! Walking up the paths at the cliffs we had to hold onto ropes and fences so we would not blow away.

3. After the cliffs we drove to our hostel in Galway. The drive was now pitch dark and we had to travel down "Corkscrew Road'...I think that explains enough. Our hostel in Galway was nice, we shared it with 6 other females with the room set up in bunk beds. Once in Galway we decided to head out on the town and experience the night life where we saved a life, laughed alot and had a great time overall. It was Halloween night, we didnt dress up but almost everyone else did! Galway is another beautiful city, I loved it.

Friday
After another "late" start to the day, we went for an Irish breakfast and then walked the streets of Galway  (in the daylight this time). By the time we got headed on the road, we planned to go visit another nature sight; however the GPS got us lost so we decided that because it was a 3.5 hour drive home we would hit the road before it got too dark. After a tiring ride with a pit stop to wake up we arrived back at Bracken Beg house in Ashford where we were treated to a great home cooked curry dinner and warm beds awaiting us.

Saturday
It had arrived--the day I left Ireland and headed back to Luton to my Life with the Limeys. We decided to sleep in a bit this day and then head into Dublin to do some last sight seeing. I got to see Trinity College (a beautiful University campus in Dublin) and the Book of Kells. The Book of Kells are the first hand written accounts of four gospels. It was beautiful to see them and learn about how the books were created. After the Book of Kells tour we went upstairs to the largest collection of Irish books ever. We walked in the room and it was floor to wall (2 floors worth) and almost wall to wall books. It smelt, looked and felt like Heaven. I was in love.

After a sad farewell to Theresa, I boarded my plane back to England which was much better than the ferry I took over to Ireland. It was short (1 hour) with no weather conditions leading to sick people in my vicinity.

A great half-term break to start the next 7 weeks of teaching!

The Final Trip in total

Rocky Waters and the Beatles

Half-term break!!!
This friday was the beginning of half-term break in England (or at least my federation). As most of you already know I had plans to go see family in Liverpool followed by a trip to Ireland to visit an old friend from Trent- Theresa. Needless to say, with the excitement of the upcoming week I was out of the school by 3:30 on Friday and beginning my adventures.

On Friday, I found out my ferry to Ireland on Sunday was cancelled--there was a storm hitting Wales and the UK so the Irish Sea was going to be too rough for the small ferry to go across. Instead they transfered me to a larger ferry (and a much slower ferry) that was earlier in the day. Small change of plans, but not an issue. After a half-hour train to London (which was late and had me worried I was going to miss my pre-bought ticket train to Liverpool), I arrived in London with enough time to run through St.Pancras, tube to Euston and get on a train to Liverpool from Euston. I don't know if it was just the tiredness or restleness of a long school week but the train ride was brutal. I had my e-reader and i-pod to keep me preoccupied on the 2 hour train ride but I couldn't focus on anything. It was brutal. I finally arrived in Liverpool and after a dinner with my dad and step-mom, we went to the Cavern. (Pictures will come later). The Cavern is the place where the Beatles got started and such an amazing place to experience. Its underground, with old brick covering the walls/dim light and live music all the time. It was insanely hot and croweded so we moved onto the Cavern Club and John Lennon's pub (two pubs where Beatles magic also occured).
The following day, as my dad went off to a football game with my uncle and cousin, Donna and I hit the sites. Liverpool is beautiful and has so many different things to offer. We walked down by the docks, a cute chapel and garden and into the town centre with large street markets, buskers and pub-to-pub streets. We went back into the Cavern to see it when it was less busy but by the time we left it was insanely busy again...even though it was 1pm. That evening I had the best expereince of meeting up with relatives who I have not seen since I was four. My aunt Chris, uncle Dave and cousins Richard and Viki. It was so great to see them, almost as if we hadnt missed the last 19 years or so. As a child, we were so close with them and I definitely idolized Viki so it was great to meet her two young girls (both gorgeous with great personalities) and her husband. Hopefully, now that I am living in the UK I can keep in touch with them more often. :)

The impending storm did not cancel my ferry to Ireland on Sunday but it did make it an interesting journey. The ferry was huge---cruise ship size and it was still rocky. I immediately went to the bar once I got on figuring I could pass the 3 hours with a drink or two and lunch but after ordering my first drink I realized that drinking on that boat would be a disaster. I think most people agreed with me as water was being served more than anything. The whole ride felt like a roller coaster where my stomach was going from its original location to my throat. Although I was not sick, many people were and unfortunately not always in the toilet. I spent the first hour in the bar and then decided to walk around. As I was adventuring I discovered a cinema on the ferry and went inside...guess what they were playing--Despicable Me 2! If you know me, you know I love minions. Was I the only adult in that theatre without a kid? Yes. Did I care? No. Post-movie I went back to the bar and drank lots of water and took a nap waiting to arrive in Ireland. Half-an hour late, I arrived and was greeted by Theresa.

I'm now safe and sound in Ireland. Last night we drove from Dublin port to Wicklow, where she is living and went out to a pub at night. Today we plan on heading into Dublin and then adventuring south from there.

Photos and more blogs to come.
 

Visits from Canada Round II

Two weeks until half-term break!!!

This weekend I got a delightful visit from my dad and step mom, Donna. It was really nice to have family from home around. I am extremely appreciative of the visits I have received from my family so far---more than could ever be asked for in the first two months of being here. My grandparents made the 1 month mark easy to get through and this week my dad and Donna were here to get me through the 2 month mark. 

On Saturday, I went into London for an interview with Impact Teachers. Why was I at an interview? Don't I already have a job? Impact Teachers--the organization I signed with who got me a job in England, do 1 week long trips during school breaks to third world countries. The goal of the trip is for Impact Teachers to mentor teachers in third world countries who do have the training or opportunity to train in order to see true success in their students. In February, Impact is going to India and I am DYING to go. I went to an initial interview as a get-to-know you/are you going to fit well with the team. It is not 100% yet, and I'm not sure if my schedule will meet up in order for me to go but it is definitely an option for me right now :) After the interview I travelled back into tourist London (albeit 1 hour later than expected because of train delays and re-routes) to meet my Dad and Donna. We had a good lunch at a pub Sarah and I went to on one of our first full days in London. Luckily, they had the beer my dad had been searching for the day before so he appreciated the choice. After lunch, we walked around a bit and then met up with another Canadian teaching at my school for a few (and I use this term modestly) rounds. 

Today they came to visit me in Luton---the least exciting place in England. Once they finally arrived (train delays hit them too) we went for lunch at the Red Lion. I then took them to my house and then gave them a tour of the school I teach at. By the time the tours were done, we headed back into town and went for another round and dinner. 

I will get to see them again on Friday when I meet them in Liverpool, along with the rest of my Liverpool family that weekend! I also got a surprise gift from my sister--a make up bag with all the essentials that I need. She's the best! 

I probably won't be writing next Sunday as I will be travelling from Liverpool to Ireland but my next post will have all the updates of my adventures and hopefully some awesome Ireland photos :) 

Love you all and miss you 

xoxoxo

Things I'm Thankful For

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving to all my Canadian followers! 

It has definitely been a weird feeling not being at home this year for Thanksgiving. However, I did go to the famous Carvery for dinner with 20 other Canadian teachers. I had my turkey and stuffing fix as well as some great company.

In honour of this holiday, here is a list of things I am thankful for:

• being able to do what I love--teach
• the opportunity to live in a new country and experience the world
• great friends (both in Canada and in England)
• amazing and supportive family...this whole process would be ten times harder without their support and love throughout. 
• technology---for allowing me to communicate internationally
• Netflix
• Canadian peanut butter in England 
• having a friend live in Ireland so I can travel there and have a win-win...get to see Ireland and see an old friend (shout out to Theresa Lynch)
• supportive staff at the school I teach at
• Breaking Bad having an awesome ending
• the few awesome classes that keep my sane throughout the week
• a working washing machine!
• HOT WATER PRESSURE (yes, I finally have some)

There's so much more that I could add to this list but these are ones at the top of my mind. 

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and remembers everything that they can be thankful for this year. :) 

Grocery Deliveries and Pub Crawls

In the UK, there is a grocery store called "Tesco" and they deliver groceries for approximately 3-6pounds (depending on peak times, etc.) Last weekend, I was so busy at Ale and Cider festivals plus spending most of Sunday at the school that I decided it would make sense for me to just have my groceries delivered that week. Who has time to go grocery shopping when everything closes at 6pm? Well...this was a mistake. Other people teaching at my school had done this and had good experiences. However, my groceries never showed up. When I ordered my groceries I gave them my cell phone number incase there was an issue but all day I got no phone call. I went home that night and started lesson planning waiting for 6pm to come when my groceries should be delivered. Nothing. After an hour and a half I tried calling their hotline, but as most numbers in the UK--it was a number that my cell provider did not allow calls to because it costs so much to make the call that no one would have enough minutes to do so. Finally, I tried calling my an online account and was able to get through. After waiting on hold, they figured out that the payment never went through (the money was there, it was just a transaction issue) so the driver never came with my groceries. This would have been nice to know earlier, so I could have tried to get groceries. Instead, I spent the rest of the week making due with scrap ends of food because I had no time to get to a store again. Needless to say, this weekend, I will be making the effort to walk to the store and pick up what I need.

I did however get my hair cut this week. Nothing drastic, just a shape up. It was getting too long and knotting all the time. The hairdresser was a new place so they were offering discounts and the hair cut was good. My hair loves me a little bit more now.

On Friday, the History department (minus a few) and a few other random members of staff at the school set out for the night on a pub crawl in Angel. Angel is in London, and it was great! The pubs all had great outdoor spaces and the streets were beautiful. The more I travel outside of Luton the more I want to travel outside Luton. If I end up staying another year, I think I will be moving to another city and taking a train into the city. There are some beautiful cities/towns nearby.

The school I teach at does "Learning Walks". This is when upper management staff of the school essentially come observe your classroom for a bit during a lesson and make notes on strengths/weaknesses and following school policies, etc. I had my first learning walk on Friday. It was a unique lesson to walk into---a Year 10 class doing coursework. This means that they were all spending the entire 1 hour lesson working on templates/rough drafts of their large writing piece. The person who did the "Learning Walk" passes their comments and observations down to your faculty leader and if there are any major concerns, etc then you know about them. As mine was on Friday, there has not been time for any discussion about it afterwards but my faculty leader did say that overall I was doing a good job :) Positive reinforcement is always nice, especially when everything at the school is so new to me--not just the teaching but all the new British school systems and policies.

Future endeavours? I plan on hitting up Oxford soon and in a few weeks I will be in Liverpool with some family and then off to Ireland for a week to see my friend from Trent and Queens-Theresa. I can't wait !

Assessment and St.Albans

I hope everyone's week has been going well. I had a busy, yet good week here in Luton.

The school that I am teaching at is really big on Assessment for Learning. For my non-education followers- AFL is giving students written and verbal feedback (but not just a grade, it needs to be comments on successes and areas to improve on) in every lesson. Every three weeks we have "AFL Marking stickers" due. This means, in every students exercise books we input a sticker with feedback on their learning. Our stickers have sections for : Well done for..., Next steps, Literacy target, student reflection and teacher comments. In addition we insert a "Working at Grade" (the current level/grade they are working at) and Effort level (how well their performance/behaviour is in our classes). These were all due by the end of the week and in another three weeks, we have to do them again. Let me assure you, you almost need to start them right after you finish them because they can be a long process. I have 12 different set of exercise books to mark, most with between 25-30 students in each set. It's a long process but I found some ways to make the process more fast. I typed up and then printed various comments for different levels of students in my classes so I just had to determine the level the student was working at and then put the correct typed sticker in their notebook. Still, its a long process. For the "effort" grade, it is on a level of 1-5, 1 being the highest and 5 being the lowest. I did not give any of my students a 1, even those that do great work in the class and are well-behaved because its still the beginning of the semester and I want them to all try harder in my class. :)

This part goes out to all my Trent friends. So, as most of you have realized, I will not be at HOTT this year. Firstly, as I have often carried pictures of your faces around, I would be thrilled if someone did the same for me :) Secondly, I participated in the next closest (but no where near as amazing) experience as HOTT yesterday. In St.Albans, a town about 20 min train ride south from Luton, there was an Ale and Cider Festival. You paid a small cover fee, a fee to get a glass (which if you returned at the end of the day you got your money back or you could keep it) and then a discounted price on ales and ciders from all over the place. There was even a foreign section in the basement. The glass was engraved with information on the event, just like HOTT glasses. Outside, there was a swarm of people hanging around and enjoying the nice weather--just like at HOTT. There was music and plenty of ale and cider to be drank (although HOTT just has 1 beer choice, it also has Palm Bay--right Rob?). I went with a bunch of Canadians teaching in Luton and a few British teachers joined as well. We met some British there, who at the beginning seemed very nice but then as they kept drinking we found new spots to hang out because they got...interesting. We spent most of the afternoon in St.Albans at the Ale and Cider festival. Nothing will ever replace HOTT for me but I am glad I got to experience something similar.

While we were in St.Albans, we did a quick walk around. It is a beautiful city. I loved it there. I will definitely need to go back to do more sightseeing. We saw an old and beautiful church and went into the oldest recorded pub in England, "Ye Olde Fighting Cocks"--I think the name needs an upgrade.

Today I am heading into the school to get some extra work done so I can hopefully leave earlier than 6pm during the week. I have a hair appointment on Wednesday to get my hair trimmed, nothing crazy--it is getting uncontrollable. 

I wish everyone  a great week and I miss everyone greatly! 

My One Month Anniversary with the UK

This week I saw the official one month anniversary of me being in the UK. It is crazy to think it has already been one month. There have been tears of laughter, tears of sadness, overwhelming feelings, excitement and adventure. The beginning of this week was a little tough. I definitely missed home and the realization that one month had passed made me miss my family and friends even more. Not only were my UK friends great this week, as per usual in supporting me (as we support each other always) during the one month mark, but my students and my friends and family  in Canada also helped. I told my students that I taught the day of my one month anniversary and they were very excited. They couldn't believe I had only been in the country for one month...even for me, sometimes one month seems so long other times I can't believe one month has passed already. In addition, hearing from some friends back home was really nice. Not that I have not heard from them at all, but either sensing or knowing my longing for home I felt a sense of support from abroad. Even my best friend, Tasha (there's a shout out for you) who I know is insanely busy with lesson planning, teaching and marking for her own classes got in touch :)  Thanks friends! Also, Ashley Robinson--thank you for uploading pictures of my going away party...it was great to see them and be reminded of how supportive everyone actually is in my life :) My family abroad was great with support this week too. I received several emails from the James side of the family with words of encouragement and thoughts of prayer for my success in England as well as my grandparents (Banks') travelled to England to visit!

They spent the week at my granddad's sisters' house and all three came to visit me on Saturday. I met them at the bus stop and we went for lunch at the White House...a favourite of mine (Sarah can agree). I wanted to introduce them to the great fish and chips there but unfortunately the restaurant ran out of them the night before...they will never know. After lunch we spent some time shoe shopping, a task that my gran and I both excel at and could spend hours doing. They bought me a pair of winter boots, even when I argued that I can buy my own boots with the money I make from my career, but they are stubborn and I have learnt to accept their kind and generous gifts. I was able to take them to the school I work at and give them a tour. They were the first to see my classroom all decorated and were definitely shocked at the large and new facilities my school offered. They were able to meet a few of my fellow Canadian/American teachers who were in on the weekend doing some extra work. After the school, the tour continued with a visit to my house. I think they were relieved to see that it was a real house, in a real neighborhood and not resembling anything like the first house I rented in Peterborough during University. We ended the visit with coffee/tea and cakes. It was great to see them and almost felt like I was home again. Plus they brought me Canadian Peanut Butter---way better than the sugary/grainy peanut butter I found here in the UK. I will be eating apples and peanut butter like clockwork now.

On the teacher side of things, I feel more confident/more prepared than I did the week before. I think each week I will accomplish or master something new. This week not only did I finally decorate my classroom but I was consistent on some classroom adaptations for students with learning disabilities and for classes with social/behavioural problems. There are still tons of areas that I need to improve on and as a teacher I will always be learning and adapting my teaching to meet new things but the accomplishments of this week seem like a success and I am going to celebrate them as one. Here's to hoping I meet my goals for next week!

I'm a teacher...how did that happen?

Well readers, I survived my first week as a teacher in the UK. At times, I didn't think it was going to happen, but it has! I have my official schedule...hopefully no major changes will occur from now on. I still have 1 Drama and 19 History classes (some of those 19 are the same class of students several times a week). I have a wide range of students---some of my classes are great we can accomplish so much in a 1 hour class and others...well we need a few 1 hour classes to get through the material based on the behaviour of students. I have officially set my first detentions but have also made some great bonds with students. It is the most amazing feeling to have students say hi to you in the hallway, try to give you their homework when they see you on their way to another class and have them talk to you about singing Katy Perry in their music lessons.
At the end of the day, the behaviour problems in my classes are forgotten. The kids will move on and so will I. They will serve their detentions and some will change their ways, but some may not. I cant let the behaviour get the best of me, I focus on the positive. On those students who come to me asking for help after class, or ask to use my class to do course work after school. On the students who eagerly tell me about their day or ask me for homework to complete when I don't assign any (they do exist!). I am able to teach these students some amazingly interesting History topics (no offense to Canada, but our history is boring in comparison) and I love it.
In addition, I have volunteered to work with the Breakfast Club. As many students from the school come from low economic backgrounds, our school offers free breakfast/place to hang out in the mornings for all students. Programs like these are so important to students and it will give me a great opportunity to get to know some of the kinds more personally and maybe I can get some more kids on my side in my "behavioural" classes. I have also been asked about working on a drama club/small theater production after school which I am excited about. I have had my drama class once so far, and needless to say they are a struggle. Most of the students entered the drama room and thought that chaos was except able...in my drama classroom as long as it is controlled chaos, it is okay...this was not controlled chaos. They are definitely a work in progress..we shall see. I am hoping that getting involved in extra curricular drama will give me the drama fix I am looking for while at the school.

Besides being at the school from early in the morning to dinner time, I went to Milton Keynes with a few friends this weekend. Milton Keynes is home to a huge shopping area. It was about a 45 min bus, only cost us 7pounds for a return ticket. We managed to hit up two sections of the mall..it seems to be a series of malls all connected together but way too much for one day. We spent a while trying to find a place to eat lunch...the only non-sit down place was McDonalds and all the restaurants had huge line ups. We finally settled on one, got some food in our systems and then went on shopping. I got some new work clothes...mainly from H&M (even though there is one in Luton, this one was much larger). It was a good day overall and we finished it with a typical Sunday dinner (even though it was Saturday) at the Carvery.

Bonus of the Week: I GOT PAID! No longer taking money out of Canadian accounts!

A Week of Firsts

First Day as  Teacher
Well, they aren't kidding when they say that students in the UK are difficult to manage in the classroom. For my Ontario teacher friends/teacher candidates I can only compare it to this: almost every class no matter what year or learning level is like a Grade 10 Applied History class or similar equivalence to any subject and sometimes worse. The school I am working at is very focused on student behavior and ensuring that all students walk away with great British values, respect, etc. As a federation, there are solid procedures put into place and a huge support team. In Ontario, if another teacher has to enter your room or assist in dealing with a student or students it is taken negatively---you were not able to deal with it on your own. However, in my federation this is not the case. Teachers are constantly in and out of classrooms checking on students and learning from one another. If there is a problem, available teachers are more than happy to intervene and assist but it is a positive assistance. I have not had any serious problems in my classes thus far, but I'm not going to hold my breath for too long. Most of my students are just chatty but this can be expected in any school in any place in the world on the first days back after summer. I did keep my first student behind after school for a few minutes so he could practice sitting in silence.

So what am I teaching? Good question. With the first few days under the way, there have been changes in my department based on student numbers, etc; therefore my schedule is still being adjusted. I will have an updated version Monday morning. Now, for anyone who has ever planned for lessons or seen me plan for lessons you may think this is crazy---not knowing what you are teaching until the morning of. However, as I think I mentioned before but if not, I am now, my department has planned lessons for all the courses up until the end of the term. I have acquainted myself with each courses lessons and content so once I get my schedule on Monday I just need open up a lesson plan and teach!

First Time at a "Football" Game
I went to my first official British Football (Canadian Soccer) game--Luton versus Grimsby. The game ended up being tied and it hailed half way through; however, I can now say that I have seen a game. Even though I normally do not watch sports and cannot play sports if my life depended on it...I still find myself getting WAY too into competitive sports as a live viewer. Plus at half time they brought out about 50 little "football" players and had a few games going on. They were adorable to watch.
A major difference between British stadiums and Canadian stadiums---you cannot drink alcohol in British ones. You have to drink your beverage outside the stadium before entering and taking your seat.
I also realized that Brits have the best "shouting" voices for matches. It sounds as if they have smoked 20 packs of cigarettes a day---a really raw yet LOUD shout comes out. It is very British indeed.

First Time Eating Thai Food in England
This week marked the birthday of one of the other Canadians who came to teach at my school so we all went out for dinner. We found this great Thai restaurant, I need to find out if they do they take-out or delivery for a quick pad thai meal. In addition to going out for Thai Food, we bought a pinata for her birthday. Of course we had nothing to hang it by or to hit it with so we attempted to hold the string and then have her punch it. After a few attempts she could not break the pinata so my black belt friend round house kicked it while I held the string. Scariest moment of my life but also hilarious because she kicked the body right off the head, sent the body flying and the head swung around on the string and hit me in the face...all caught on video! So I guess I can say it was the first time that I was hit in the head with a pinata as well.

First Time having a Landscaper
As I am writing this blog, there are two landscapers in my backyard tidying things up! Am I paying for them? HECK NO.  The estates agent that we signed through have hired them. YAY!

First Time seeing the largest spider of my life
It just happened...as I was writing this entry. My roommate brought the garbage bag out into the living room and there it was, on the bag. I screamed...has a moment of paralysis, screamed again, was almost sick to my stomach and then killed it. Alisha (my roommate) thinks I am the bravest person for doing it...I almost couldn't but I could not let that thing live...it was huge. Thinking about it makes me want to be sick. **for any spider lovers out there, I am sorry if this post bothers you**

First Rainy Day in Luton
This is probably shocking to most of you, but besides a few overcast days when Sarah and I first arrived in Luton, I have only seen high temperatures and bright sunny days. There was one day when it rained for probably 10 minutes and then stopped. However, yesterday, was a very overcast day and in the middle of the "football" game it DOWN POURED! It even began hailing at one point. I think it is about time I purchase my Wellies (rain boots), good thing my roommate brought my rain jacket over with her (after I left it in Canada).

Brighton!

Well readers, today is your lucky day! DOUBLE POSTING DAY!

I had no intention of writing this blog, but I just got back from Brighton and had to document it somehow for everyone to know how much I love it.

Brighton is on the south coast of England and is about a 2 hour train ride from Luton. We took the train down just before lunch and spent most of the day at the pier. The pier was awesome. The day was a little cold and windy but the rain held off which was fantastic. The beach is long and rocky but along the boardwalk there is shops selling things from beautiful (yet overpriced) art, bracelets/necklaces, shells, to ice cream. There are also a few games including one that had AWESOME minion prizes from Despicable Me. When I asked how much it would be to just purchase the minion because we were losing at the game, he said it was 35pounds for a small one....needless to say I did not purchase one but we tried for a very long at different games and CLAW machines to win one and failed every time.

There is a giant pier on the beach with a HUGE arcade and carnival rides and games everywhere.

We didn't go on any of the rides because of the cost but we spent a great deal of time in the arcade playing games to try to win me a Minion and winning 2pence pieces on games. We won enough tickets to buy a lolly pop and glass.

Now, Brighton pier is covered with seagulls. The best moment of the day was when we were eating ice cream on the pier and a GIANT seagull swoops down in between Carmel and I and eats Carmel's ice cream cone. Takes half of it off (the good half with ice cream in it) and then drops it on a bunch of kids beneath us. In between our laughing we tried to explain to them it was a bird...I hope they believe us.

Besides the arcade games and failing tries of winning Minions, the food on the pier was the next best. They have all the best carnival/fair foods you can imagine--popcorn, candy apples, candy floss, sugar donuts, waffle cakes and slushies. I went with popcorn this time but secretly wished for all of them.

After the pier we explored some other areas of Brighton but most of the shops were closed because it was after 5pm. However, we discovered a beautiful pavilion that was donated by India to Brighton to commemorate soldiers during WWI. It was such a peaceful environment and so beautiful. Behind it was a maze, that we didn't get lost in because they wanted too much money for it but the idea was cool.

Overall, our Brighton trip was a success and I would love to go back! It was a great day trip getting us out of Luton and taking our minds off the impending first week as teachers coming up. If you ever travel to the UK, I suggest putting Brighton on your list.

Schooling in the UK

WOW. I cannot believe it has been over 2 weeks since I made the big move to England....on one hand it feels like it was just yesterday but on the other I feel like I have been here for a year.

I spent most of this week with the federation I will working for that consists of several secondary and several primary schools. We did some training programs and I got my teaching schedule!

The UK education system is very different than the education in Ontario. For my non-teacher followers, in Ontario in a standard public school they run on semesters. Which means the school year is divided into two and student take "x" classes for the first half and a different set of "x" for the second half. Most public schools have 4-5 classes a day in each semester and it is the same classes everyday. On average, most Ontario teachers only have 3-4 classes a day (with one being a "prep" period) and those classes happen every day so they are only preparing for 3-4 classes a semester. The UK is extremely different. I have 12 different classes and within this 12 I see some of them more than once a week. The school year is not in semesters but in terms so the students have all the same classes all year long. Their schedule is based on a Monday-Friday schedule, where every Monday they have the same classes, every Tuesday they have the same classes, etc. Based on how many hours their courses require them to complete they may have the same class 2-3 times a week.

Overall I have 9 History classes ranging from Years 7-11 (this is equivalent to Grades 7-11 in Ontario), 1 Year 8 Drama, 1 Year 7 Religions and 1 Year 7 Social Morals class. Social Morals has been described to me as a class to teach students to cross the street, etc. I am hoping it is more interesting than just this :) Originally I had ZERO drama courses and with drama being my passion I was obviously a little demoralized (also the concept of teaching and prepping for 10 different history courses was overwhelming). However, the school I work for is amazing and when they realized that I had no drama courses, they worked their magic and secured me 1 hour a week of drama. It may not be a lot, but it is better than nothing and keeps my foot in the door of the Performing Arts department.
I also met with head of History at my school and he gave me so much information on how the History courses are laid out. Year 7 History covers Normas, Medieval Times, Tudors, Stuarts, Medicine and Growth of the British Empire. Year 8 covers Industrial Revolution, Jack the Ripper (Thank you Modern British History at Trent University for allowing me to write a 25 page single spaced essay on Jack the Ripper...I'm an expert), WWI, WWII, Slave Trade and Terrorism. The Year 9-11 is confusing from an Ontario perspective. Essentially they are courses that lead the students to writing standardized exams in the subject. Students can be enrolled in a 2 year or 1 year track program where they cover Russia, Germany and US history (selected time periods from both) over the program. At the end they write their examinations. This probably sounds overwhelming to any Ontario teacher, but after a few days I feel better about it all. Additionally, for at least all my Year 7 and 8s, my lessons have already been pre-planned up until Christmas holidays. So the preparation work load will be much more easy to handle than previously expected.
On a bigger plus side, the History department is planning some amazing trips including the Jack the Ripper tour of London, Tower of London tour, and going to France to see the Battlefields and D-Day beaches!

I officially start teaching next week. Tuesday is a Professional Development day and Wednesday is a Year 7 Introduction Day. Thursday is the first day that I will have students in my classroom and officially teaching! I am hoping to get to the school on Monday and decorate my classroom/set it up how I want it to be. I will post pictures of it all completed next Sunday!

I am heading off to Brighton (I think) today to do some touring of other areas in England before the insanity of school hits!

The Beginning of a New Chapter

Good evening followers! (Well its afternoon in Ontario time)

Needless to say, this week has been quite crazy for me. However, for those who are following this blog and check back often for updates--I plan to blog on Sundays--hopefully this will give you a better schedule to follow than checking everyday.

Events of the Week
After the most amazing week in London with my sister, I finally had to say goodbye on Thursday morning. We left our hotel around 5am and by 7am I was officially on my own in England. Saying goodbye to Sarah was one of the hardest things thus far in this journey--for those who don't know she is not only my sister but my best friend. I don't know what we would do without Facebook and Skype!

I made it back to Luton and had the great pleasure of meeting a couple who are also here from Canada teaching at schools within my federation. When they heard that I would be back at Luton early in the morning but would not be able to move into my house until 1pm, they allowed me to store my luggage in their hotel room for the morning and met me for lunch in the midst of all their flat showings. 1pm came quickly and I met my roomate, Alisha to get the keys to our place.

I'm still in love with our house. It truly is a British roadside house---many have compared it to looking like Coronation Street from the outside. Alisha and I spent the first afternoon getting supplies for our house and then met some other teachers for dinner and drinks. Friday we had an Induction day from the agency who hired us all at the school I will be teaching at. The school is BEAUTIFUL! It is not only huge but has all new computers and technology in every classroom, different wings for different teaching areas and a huge quad in the centre with a water flowing pond and bridge to cross it. I've never seen such a beautiful school before. After spending the day at the school, we came back home and gave our bathroom and kitchen a solid cleaning then met up with almost all the teachers in our federation for a buffet dinner (a little over priced for the quality and quantity of food).

Things seemed to be going a little too good since I arrived in England a week before so of course something was bound to happen. Friday morning, before our Induction day, I woke up early with plans to shower. I turned the hot water tap on and it was cold...I waited about 10 minutes with it running and it was still cold. We spoke with our letting agency and a plumber showed up that night to look at it. He determined that there was something indeed wrong with it (not just Alisha and I being incompetent when it comes to working British pay as you go heating systems) and promised us he would be back the following day at noon. We did have plan to go to the shops and buy more stuff for our house on Saturday plus visit our new friend Carmel's new flat and help her carry some stuff over, but we obviously would post pone for hot water. We waiting around all morning and by 1:30pm there was no sign of our plumber. After calling around, the companies "handy man" came by to see if he could assist but determined the problem was beyond his control. We finally heard from the plumber---there had been an emergency at another client and he was post-poned but would be at our place around 5pm. We had an hour at this point before he would arrive, so we ran to the grocery store to grab some necessities for the night and following morning. 5pm comes around and no plumber....great. Once again we called the letting agency and they tried getting hold of the plumber but there was no response. WHAT HAPPENED? Instead they sent another plumber around to see if they could help. This plumber was from out of town and drove 1/2 hour to help us...not to mention he was the nicest looking British man I have seen since I've been here. He determined the problem but needed to replace a part and because stores close here early he could not buy one. He told our letting agency and they were going to get the original plumber to purchase the part and come by the following morning.

Turns out...this weekend is a bank holiday in England and hardware stores are closed on Sundays and bank holidays (I am actually a bit skeptical about this and just dont think the plumber wanted to work because every other store in the world was open today and tomorrow). So no hot water still. Luckily, my new friend Carmel offered her shower so I finally got a nice hot shower for the first time since Wednesday night when I had one at the London hotel. I have never scrubbed so hard in a shower to feel clean again. We are hoping that on Tuesday the plumber shows up and we will finally have hot water...if not, there will be at least one angry Canadian roaming the streets of Luton...better watch out.

Overall though, I am having a great time--the hot water is one little set back. We had a great meal tonight---it was 6pounds for a HUGE plate of different meats (pork, turkey, beef and gammon) plus as much carrots, beans, peas, corn, cauliflower, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes and stuffing as you want. It was the perfect Sunday meal. We have decided to come back at least on Canadian Thanksgiving for a little taste of home.

Living in Luton
Many people back home were a little concerned with the reputation that Luton holds in England. Trust me, when I entered my home for the first time and read the paper...the first page labelled Luton as the second worst city in all of England along with many other not so great titles. However, after living here for a few days and getting to know the area it continuously proves to me that Luton is the Oshawa of Ontario. It has a pretty bad reputation for the people living in it and behaviours that occur but there are safe and nice neighbourhoods as well. The town centre area has been violence free since I arrived and I have had no issues at all. Our neighbourhood is great and very family orientated. There are some bad neighbourhoods, just like in Oshawa, Marsh Farms to be specific where people living in the area of told us to avoid because of the gang violence in them but these areas are FAR from where I live, shop or work and are very secluded. People who have lived here all their lives love it and have never had a problem. I've lived in Oshawa my whole life (give or take 10 years) and can 100% compare it to Luton.

The town centre has great restaurants, a mall and more for us to occupy our time with. It has a clock tower in the centre and this weekend a small fair/festival happening where they have brought a beach in and a cover band is performing (very funny to hear British people sing American songs).

England 101- Part 2. 
Last blog I made a list of things that I have learnt about England thus far and in the last few days I have learnt so much more that I had to write another one!

1. Kids in England are very strange in comparison to Canadian kids. From Asian mullets to kids laying on department store floors playing video games.
2. Train doors don't open unless you push a button requesting them too
3. Train stations lack elevators and often escalators 
4. Starbucks does not carry Iced Passion Tea Lemonade (almost a deal breaker)
5. Public restrooms do not offer paper towels
6. Streets, malls and stations lack garbage cans but the streets/malls and stations are always very clean because of the overwhelming number of street cleaners
7. City buses (at least in Luton) are not standard fees, you tell the driver where you are getting off and pay a fee accordingly
8. Old Navy style flip flops are non-existent..guess I need to grow up and buy an adult pair of sandals
9. Loose sheets for bedding are non-existent...perfect for me who kicks them off in the night anyways
10. Meal portion sizes are GIGANTIC and take out containers are non-existent. 
11. Windows don't have screens---yet minus a few rare cases, bugs don't fly in often
12. Waiters always assume you are paying together, not separately...even in groups of 15
13. Never go to Marsh Farms...you will be knifed 
14. You can buy alcohol at grocery and corner stores
15. Chips come in large bags with 6 small Halloween sized bags within it...the only chips (or crisps as we Brits call it) that you can buy in a large bag are American Doritos and even that bag is small compared to the ones sold in Canada. PORTION CONTROL! No obese people in the UK!
16. Eggs are stored on the counter not the fridge
17. Smartie McFlurry's still exist! 
18. Everything closes at 6pm...everyday. 
19. If you look under 25 you will get your ID checked when buying knives or scissors...it has happened to me at least twice now. 
20. Shopping from a catalogue is very popular. An entire store is dedicated to it. 

We'll Always Have London

Third day in  London and have we ever been busy!

Down River and Back
Sarah and I have done so many things in London in the last few days...its hard to believe.

Monday

• Trafalgar Square
• Big Ben
• Parliament Square
• Westminster Abbey
• St. James Park
• Buckingham Palace
• Beatles tribute show, "Let it Be"

We went to another great English pub for dinner. I had some very very British Bangers and Mash...delicious!

Tuesday
We started the day off experiencing a double decker bus!

 We did a river boat tour of the River Thames where we saw many locations including the popular:

• London Eye (later we went back and went up the London Eye)
• Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
• Tower Bridge
• London Tower  (we got off at London Tower and went inside on a guided tour where we learnt about executions and infamous people that occurred inside!)
• St. Paul's Cathedral

We attended yet another English pub and both got the largest order of Fish and Chips ever!

ENGLAND 101
Here are some of the things I have learnt thus far while in England...

1. English drivers are the best defensive drivers
2. English people pronounce it "vit-a-mins" not "vi-ta-mins"
3. Always Mind the Gap
4. When a train is delayed they are truly sorry and are distraught by the inconvenience it may cause you---it is nearly unforgiveable
5. There is no tax
6. Tipping is not expected
7. The worst commercials in the world
8. There is a tv station dedicated to silly game shows. Plays them all day long
9. They have pay as you go for everything...heating and utilities are on a pay as you go plan
10. Starbucks charges extra if you stay and eat versus taking it to go
11. People in England cannot walk
12. McDonalds stops people before going to the bathroom to ensure they purchased something
13. H&M has a home décor department
14. Hotels don't have ice machines
15. Free refills don't exist
16. Haddock comes with skin and bones
17. H&M carries all the same clothes as it does in Canada at the same time
18. You Pay for Food before receiving it at pubs
19. Look the other way on a one way street than in Canada to see if there is any oncoming traffic...almost died several times
20. Converting everything from pounds to Canadian dollars will drive you crazy realizing how much Canadian dollars everything will cost
21. Dogs are rare sightings, but when they are sighted most are labs

London-Luton-London: There and Back Again- A Canadians Tale

Hello from across the pond to all my followers (which may be no one, or just Jordann Pool)!



Wow! These last few days have been crazy but everything is coming together.



After a 7 hour flight, that left at 8pm Canadian time and arrived at 8am England time, Sarah and I were exhausted to say the least. We lugged all our baggage from south of London to north of London (where Luton is) on a train and made our way to our hotel, which was interesting... I can now honestly say never judge a hotel on its reviews. When deciding our hotels, there was some cheap locations right in the downtown of Luton but the reviews were AWFUL. Then there was our hotel....the reviews were great and the pictures looked awesome. We got to Luton and told the taxi driver where we were staying and he was as close to laughing as possible without laughing; as did every other  driver. As we got closer to the hotel we realized our hotel was in a predominate middle eastern community. The hotel had no one, ZERO, people staying at it other than us and they still charged us 15pounds to check in early. The rooms were quite nice and large but being at a hotel in a community where you don't speak the language or understand the customs is at times nerve racking to say the least. When I asked about restaurants near the hotel, the lady at the desk told us we had to cab into town because there was nothing we would like anywhere near our hotel. The most terrifying was that we were alone in the hotel, we both slept with one eye open in case our trip was going to start reflecting TAKEN...no joke. Essentially, our first day in Luton we slept all day (or tried too) with the assistance of Gravol because of the jet lag.

The goal of our trip was to find me a place to live...and we succeeded! The first day, before sleep was induced, we went to one estate agent (in the UK--or at least Luton---instead of signing leases and viewings with a single landperson, the landperson signs up through an agency that manages all the properties. it is a much safer and reliable way to rent housing). The first estate agent was a bust---they had zero 2 bedroom properties.... There was a solid 18 hours where I thought I had made the biggest mistake of my life, but have no fear, I am highly optimistic now. Saturday we went out again looking at places to live and found a great 2 bedroom house, a little further from the school than we had hoped but its great and a great price too! We saw some interesting places though---a few were run down, most were extremely small and one had cockroaches---overall they were DUMPS! The company we signed with was amazing too! They were so helpful in finding a place and getting everything set up plus giving us tips on restaurants, shops, etc. They even drove us back to our hotel so I could pick up a suitcase and drop it off at the house before we headed to London for a few days. Such great people!

We enjoyed a nice pub dinner downtown Luton as our first meal in 2 days (jet lag messed up our appetite the most), where Sarah got some delicious fish and chips. We had to ask the security at the front how to order---apparently at pubs in Luton you order at the bar and then sit at your table (food included)…who would have thought! I guess after we sat there long enough they would have started taking bets as to how long we would wait for a server to come.

Once we had a property picked out and a lease signed, we knew we wanted to come to London stat! We started our journey early in the morning Sunday (today) and after an hour delayed train and a re-routed Underground we made it to the hotel. The worst part about travelling in the UK is that most of the stations don’t have elevators or escalators…my body hurts from lugging all that baggage around everywhere. Once we dropped our baggage off at our new hotel---right near Oxford street in the heart of London (Oxford is the best shopping street in London) we hit the shops! Surprised? Our hotel here is very nice and there are MANY people staying at it…hopefully we will have a good night’s rest tonight! The rooms are small but it doesn’t matter, we won’t be in them much anyways!

 
Tomorrow we plan on hitting the sights and seeing the area around Buckingham Palace followed by hitting up the theatre for a show called Let it Be—a Beatles tribute.


I hope people are actually reading this and that you enjoy my updates! Post again soon!