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 !