Santa Claus is Coming to Town

December 25, 2010

This past weekend was CHRISTMAS!!!! To celebrate on Wednesday I went with Sarah, Kristi, Rachel and Richard to see the movie Little Fockers which was hilarious. I also got to eat at Burger King which is not as good as the American one but was good enough. Rachel and I also got asked about the differences between America and here by a gentleman and his two sons.

On Thursday Sarah, Kristi and I took Rachel to Heathrow Airport to see her off and pick up Kristi’s boyfriend Joe. It is a loooonnngg ride to get to Heathrow. About two hours on bus/train/tube. It is a little ridiculous but we said goodbye to Rachel (a sad goodbye) and said hi to Joe (a happy hi). After picking up Joe we made our way back home to relax a little before heading back into London to see Big Ben, Parliament, the London Eye, the London Bridge, eat dinner at a pub (fish and chips) and The Tower Bridge (which you could see from our restaurant and we walked across it!). We went home and drank a little bit and chatted before bed.

Friday was Christmas Eve! However, everyone had left either to go home or into London. Therefore I was all alone at the Palace. So I cleaned my room, watched movies, packed my bags and made myself a delicious dinner. I made stuffed peppers with a salad and French fries. It was wonderful and I didn’t mess anything up! Or set anything on fire! I enjoyed my dinner then Chris and Tim picked me up and we went to Richard’s house for a bit. We ended up watching part of the Christmas movie with Chevy Chase. After that we went to Anna’s parents house where we stayed the night (I was given my own room) and waited for Santa to come!!

Saturday- Merry Christmas!! This morning Anna woke me up and I went downstairs to eat breakfast. Then we went into the living room to do stockings. Ken and Sue had made a stocking with my name on it just for me. They had put little presents inside. So we all took turns opening our gifts. It was so sweet of them. I took a nice long, hot, shower (finally a nice shower compared to the ones in our building), then Richard came over and we headed to the pub. After a Christmas drink (I had already had one at home and here another I was already a little tipsy) we picked up my Christmas presents sent to me from home and went back so I could skype my family! It was so exciting being able to see them for Christmas. They opened their gifts I sent them and then I got to open my gifts. Santa (a.k.a. my mom) packed a lot into a little box. I got some scarves, a hat, lotion, gloves, nice warm socks (for Scotland), a bracelet and ankle bracelet, a movie, and some things to hang around my room. But the best part of it all was seeing everyone on Christmas! After skyping we hung out for a while before enjoying Christmas dinner. Before we could eat we had to open our crackers (a traditional beginning). Basically its a tube that you pull both ends of and it cracks open revealing a clever joke, a paper crown hat (that you must wear all throughout dinner) and a little prize (mine being a little deck of playing cards). Dinner began with a salad and prawns (a traditional starter) then the main course was Goose, roast potatoes, regular potatoes, purple cabbage, mashed carrots, asparagus, green cabbage, and much more. It was all wonderful! We had two helpings of it. Then we needed a little break. We went and opened up more presents! I even had some. I got a bath set from Chris and Anna, and tissues, chocolate, and cookies from the Jarvis’.  After presents I skyped home again because my Uncle Tony was over and I wanted to see him. It was really nice talking to him, even though he cried J. Then we decided to do dessert. The tradition is to have Christmas Pudding (which really isn’t pudding at all its more like a cake) and pour brandy on it and set it on fire. Our fire lasted forever until we had to put it out lol. I tried some of the pudding although I was informed you had to have a special taste for it which is completely true because I did not like it even with the cream on it. So instead I had the Chocolate Mousse pie, which was really, really rich. I also put cream on that. After dessert we lounged around in our jim jams (p.j’s) watching television until bed.

Sunday- Boxing Day (don’t ask my why I can’t remember why it is called that but a lot of people go shopping). Phil (Anna’s brother) took me home. I was going to go visit my friends in Central London but there was a tube strike so I couldn’t get into Central London. Instead I lounged around at home all day. Then Richard called saying they were going to a friends house to hang out. So I went with him and we played Scene It (on the wii- which was really fun) and I had a good partner Tim who knew the answer to the billboard about Mean Girls by the first drawing on it, and he also knew the sequel to Dirty Dancing was Havana Nights! Then we played wii tennis. I was partnered with Jon (the guy whose house it was) and we beat everyone about 20-30 times in a row until finally Tim and Richard beat us (even after we had switched wii remotes/players/sides of the court to make sure it wasn’t any of those things being the reason we were winning). I even continued playing and won while talking on my phone on skype with my cousins! After tennis we decided to try bowling. Again I kicked butt with a 181 and beat everyone else playing. Then Richard brought my home where I video-skyped with my cousin Toni Rae and her babies Madison and Mason (who do in fact remember who I am…despite what my mom says ;) .)

Monday- Today again I lounged around not doing much, until Tim text me saying to come over and hang out. I did and his friends came over and we watched all three pirates movies in a row. All seven hours worth! It sounded like a good idea and it wasn’t too bad, but by the end I was definitely ready to not sit on the couch!

Tuesday- And finally here we are today. I am getting ready to go to Scotland. Packing everything! My next blog will not be for a while, since I am going on a 7 day tour, I will not be back until the 5^th of January. However, I will have lots of stories to tell!  So HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!!!

Until next time,

~D~

‘Tis the Season

December 11, 2010

This past weekend, on Friday Rachel and I went into Romford after work to do a little shopping. Then we met Jen at the pub for dinner and a drink, before heading off to see the new Narnia movie!! It was really good! Then we went home and hung out with Sarah and Kristina in their room drinking, chatting, and playing cards.

Saturday morning we got up and made our way into Central London to Hyde Park. Of course it took us forever because there are always lines closed down. We finally got there and made our way to the ice skating rink in the middle of the park. The skates are all blue! We didn’t fall down either! We skated about an hour then decided to walk around to wait for Sarah and Kristina. We made our way to the pond and saw all the ducks/swans being fed. Swans fed by HAND! They are mean too and greedy. So we took some pictures/videos of the birds. Then Kristina and Sarah met us and we walked around Hyde Park looking at all the shops and then ate a lovely waffle with chocolate sauce…yum, yum. After we walked around we headed to Piccadilly Circus to walk around. We passed a war memorial, then two outdoor markets (one we stopped at and shopped) and finally arrived at Piccadilly Circus where it was all lit up. We then walked to Chipotle to eat dinner then went to Covent Garden to walk around that market. Then we headed home and stopped at McDonalds for ice cream. I got a text to meet at the pub so I headed over there and hung out with the gang for the night.

Sunday morning Rachel and I went with Brandy to church. It was very interesting, kind of long and weird at times, but alright. Then we went to a café for lunch/breakfast and had an English breakfast! Afterward we headed home and watched a movie with Jen. She got a call from her friend inviting her to the pub later. We quickly grabbed dinner and headed to Ilford for some drinks at the pub. Her friends were Irish so they were so funny to listen to J On our way home we trusted Rachel to get us on the right bus. So we just got on a bus. We were on there forever and finally realize it is not going home. We get to the last stop in the middle of NOWHERE!!!! The driver tells us we have to get off and we were like oh my god what are we going to do!!??? So Jen went to talk to the driver and somehow convinced him to take us to another bus stop so we could get home. He had to turn out the lights and we had to scrunch down so no body could see us. He took us to the other bus stop and hurried us off the bus to catch the last bus going to home. We got on and finally after about 2 hours we made it home. Always an adventure when you travel with us!

These past two days I have been sick, but finally got medicine so I am starting to get better, which is good because I have an eventful weekend planned starting Thursday! Can’t wait.

Until next time,

~D~

A Cheap Weekend Out

December 4, 2010

This past weekend was really fun and I didn’t spend a lot of money which was great, since I booked my trip to Scotland for New Years and I don’t have a lot of money to spend now. So until I get paid at the end of December, I am trying to have fun weekends without spending a lot of money.

Friday- After work, I came home and ate dinner and got ready to go out. Brandy, Jen, Rachel, Brandy’s two friends, and I went to Mad Dog’s house for a party. There we listened to music and waited for the rest of the crew to arrive. We drank and talked. Then it began to get interesting. Mad Dog said there should be dancing so I mentioned that I took Ballroom Dancing. Well the music kind of lended itself to ballroom dancing so I grabbed Mad Dog and tried ballroom dancing with him. It was really funny and didn’t work out so well. Afterwards, everyone wanted to see just me dance. I told them the only way I would do that was if they played cotton eye joe because that is my favorite song to dance to. So after looking forever, they finally found it. I told them my version of cotton eye joe was different then the British version. But no one knew the British version so I was golden J They played it and I got Mad Dog to join in and then Anna finished up the song with me. It was really fun. Then some people started to leave, but the rest of us there were just getting started. A friend of theirs brought a smoke machine and strobe lights. He put those on and we rocked out forever to the songs, dancing in the strobe lights and smoke. It was really fun.

Saturday- We were debating what to do for the day Saturday but we didn’t want to spend a lot of money. So we looked up free stuff to do in London and decided to go to the National Gallery in

Trafalgar Square

. It took us forever to get there because all of the tube lines were down but we finally made it and guess what???? We DIDN’T get lost!!!! For once, lol. We even took a picture at the station to prove we made it! We began walking towards

Trafalgar Square

and became mesmerized by how pretty it is. We began taking pictures of the Christmas Tree, the giant statues including ones of Lions (I was just saying I wanted a pet lion). We also took pictures of the fountains and the pretty buildings and the ship in the bottle and the giant menorah. Then I told Rachel we needed to find some street and she asked me what the name of the museum was and I said the National Gallery. She pointed to the giant building I had just taken a picture of….and there it was! We went inside, it was huge! There were over 60 rooms for all the paintings. It was so cool. I took a few pictures….well I snuck a few pictures since we weren’t supposed to be taking them, so they aren’t that great, but it was really cool seeing all of the famous paintings. After walking around for a while looking at all the artwork, we decided to head back outside and took some more pictures of the beautiful scenery in the dark/lit up. We even got someone to take a picture of the both of us by the big tree. Then we decided to walk towards Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament since we could see them from where we were. We headed that way and took some pictures of Big Ben and Houses of Parliament all lit up. It was really pretty. Then we walked by the London Eye which was also lit up. We were trying to figure out if it was still open but we could see people taking pictures using their flash out of the bubbles. Then we walked down the Thames River towards the Tower Bridge. We found the Millennium Bridge and crossed over that. It is the only bride in London that is only a footbridge. It is also the bridge in the movie Harry Potter 6 that gets destroyed by the Death Eaters. I told Rachel while we were on the bridge that if we saw any Death Eaters we had to run! It actually wasn’t that bad to walk across although I only stopped once to take a picture then kept walking. We walked under the other side of the London Bridge which was cool because there were restaurants and stores and attractions underneath the bridge itself. Therefore, if London Bridge really did fall down it would be really bad. We continued walking towards the Tower Bridge….of course I took pictures the whole time. Although I limited myself this time, even though last time I wasn’t taking pictures at night with the bridge lit up and this time I was. When we got to the bridge we crossed back over the River to get to the tube station. Therefore I have officially crossed the Tower Bridge! I even took a picture at the part in the bridge where it is raised or lowered, since that is the scary part lol. We found the tube station and began our journey home, taking multiple trains because most were closed down. Then we arrived in Romford and ate dinner at a pub before heading home. We got home and watched a movie and ate ice cream.

Sunday- Today was a relaxing day, like all our Sunday’s are. We did stuff around our rooms and then watched a movie, ate dinner, and hung out.

Overall it was a really great weekend and for not a lot of money.

Until next time,

¬D¬

 

Snow??? WHAT??

 November 30, 2010

The first snowfall occurred in London this week. Unlike back in the states, here the country falls apart when there is snow. They do not have snow plows or salt to put down. Everything gets shut down for two inches of snow. Schools were closed. It was so chaotic. Granted it did snow all day/night and the snow did then turn to ice (since it started off more like slush than show). So for the most part of the week, people were wondering whether their school would be open or not. I have found that wearing snow boots in the snow is not such a great idea. It is better to wear willies (or rain boots) since the snow is more slush than snow. People were making snowmen (including mini snowmen on their windowsills like Rachel!- His name was Mark after the wonderful customer service we received from Mark at the internet store). Despite all of this, only 5 days later and most of the snow is melted and gone away. It is really different from being at home. Apparently it is not normal to get snow this time of year, although it is still cold.

Now to explain the wonderful customer service we received. I guess I should first tell you about the terrible customer service we received just moments before. Rachel and I ventured into Romford to try and find internet (actual internet) to put in our rooms. We had done our research online and also talked to other people who had already ordered internet through a company called Sky. Sky also does t.v. We were walking through the mall and found a little kiosk with Sky. We decided to stop and talk to them about internet. I told the guy working there that I just wanted internet and a phone line and I heard you could get it for 21 pounds a month with a 49 pound installation fee. He looked at me like I was nuts. First he told me I could only get a package that included t.v, even though I don’t even have a t.v. in my room. I explained I didn’t want the t.v. He said that was all Sky did. He also said that the cheapest we would find would be 30 pounds a month. I told him we looked online and found it cheaper and we knew people who had ordered it already. He said that we wouldn’t be able to find it cheaper anywhere else. If we went to a different company then it would be more expensive and there was no way to get Sky without t.v. and that he wished our friends good luck because that wasn’t possible. I explained that they had already ordered it so it obviously was. He assured me that it wasn’t and that if I could find it cheaper anywhere else he would pay me. He said that we could even go to the Phones 4 U Store and they would tell us the same thing. So I said ok, fine that is where we will go. We headed there and as soon as we got in I asked if there was any way to get just internet and a phone line without t.v. Mark said, yes. I said is it going to cost me 30 pounds a month. He said nope only 21 pounds a month with a d 49 pound installation fee. We both were so relieved. We told him that is exactly what we were trying to find and that the Sky people told us we couldn’t do it. He said that was ridiculous and helped us set up the whole account. He was wonderful and even gave us a copy of the contract to take back to the Sky people and show them they were wrong. We were so frustrated with the guy we walked back showed him the paperwork and said that he shouldn’t work for them if he didn’t even know what his company sold and that this was exactly what we were looking for no thanks to him. I really don’t understand how people here can have such bad customer service and still work. At home, people would get fired for the things they do here. One person text on his phone for a good 5 minutes before serving me and then messed up my order because I told him what I wanted while he was texting. It is just ridiculous.

However, there are a few who know what they are talking about and truly want to help you. For example, Mark. And that is why Rachel’s snowman made that day was named Mark.

Until next time,

 ¬D¬

Been a while

November 17, 2010

I know it has been a while since I last wrote. I have been pretty busy. These past few days have been great. Saturday morning I got to video skype with my family. I was very excited since this was the first time in a month that I have seen them and the first time in about a week or more that I actually had a conversation with them. I have to admit I cried a little, but overall it was wonderful to catch up and see all of them!

Later we had a Thanksgiving dinner in our building to celebrate the holiday that was not celebrated on Thursday. It was really good. Not only did the Americans join in on the celebration but also people in our building who had never celebrated Thanksgiving before. Everyone brought a dish to pass; mine of course being store bought haha. We had turkey (of course), mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, grilled asparagus, cooked carrots, rolls, stuffing, cranberry sauce, plus more. And also tons of desert- pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie (which I had never had before and loved!), kiwi pie (gross don’t try it), peach and pear pie, cookies, brownies, banana bread, and more! And of course there was alcohol, which is always nice. We went around the table and each said our name and what we were thankful for. Then we ate more food than we could ever imagine eating. It was wonderful. Afterwards, a lot of us went into the lounge to continue drinking and decided to play apples to apples. All in all it was a great night….despite the crazy drunk French guy who took a million pictures of me, followed me around all night, almost killed people with knives while serving his pie, spilled alcohol all over the place (including on me) and didn’t care, cut himself with a butter knife then threw it at another girl, finally passed out and puked the next morning by the couch where he slept. Besides that whole fiasco, it was a great night!

Sunday, I went to see Harry Potter again! Just as good the second time around if not better. Although this time I knew when it was going to end and was dreading it the whole time.

And finally, today I was back at the school where I had the terrible class that made me never want to teach again. I walk in and find myself in that same class. Needless to say I was terrified. However, whatever happened in the month since I have been with them, they have changed dramatically. It was such a great day. They were wonderful and we got to have fun all day because they are getting ready for their Christmas play, so we practiced that all day and just had a lot of fun. I was super surprised at how good they were and very excited about it. I also came up with a great idea for their play. Since the teachers were having trouble with the children remembering when it was their turn to do something, I created signs with pictures and words for each character/characters and that way the teacher can hold them up and then that person/group of people know it is their turn. I am also going to be returning to that classroom tomorrow. Hopefully the children will be good again. And I have a feeling I am going to be in charge of holding the signs…..we will see.

Other than that, I have just been enjoying hanging out with friends, reading my books, writing in my journals, teaching children, and living it up in London.

P.S. I have decided to go to Scotland for New Years since I have no plans for Christmas. I am excited!!

Until next time,

~D~

Subbing

November 22, 2010

I have come to realize that I really do not enjoy subbing. I enjoy being with kids and teaching them. But the jobs I love the most are for more than one day or longer. I do not like being in a classroom for one day and that it is. The children do not listen, the planning is all wacky, you don't know anyones name (child or adult), you don't know the schedule or what to do for anything. It is just too confusing and hectic and really turns into more babysitting than anything. This has nothing to do with the country I am in, because thinking back I did not enjoy regular subbing at home either. I do not like waking up early and I do not enjoy going to work. These past couple weeks I have been wondering why I would rather stay home and sleep then go to work, when teaching was supposed to be my favorite thing to do. Thinking about it, I have come to this conclusion. I LOVE teaching, when it feels like it is my own classroom. I do not like teaching when I am in someone elses space, pretending to be them. Therefore, I cannot wait to get my own classroom and for now will suffer through the one day subbings knowing that on the weekend I get to visit places like the Tower of London, London Bridge, and hopefully soon places like Paris and Rome.

Until next time,

¬D¬

This weekend

November 20, 2010

Friday-

After work we went into Romford to shop before Harry Potter. After shopping we decided to go to a pub to eat before the movie. Rachel didn’t bring her passport with her because she didn’t want to lost that as well as her id. All we wanted was to order food. Apparently you can’t even be in a pub without id because as soon as we went to order they wouldn’t let Rachel order food. Then they said we had to leave. So we decided to go to another pub that we had been in earlier in the week where Rachel had been without her id and had even ordered a beer without her id. We went there and the same woman who waited on us last time came over and asked for our ids. Rachel said she had lost her but all she wanted to order was food. The woman said we couldn’t be in there. I said that we had been in there earlier in the week and got served and Rachel even bought alcohol without an id. The woman said “that was then this is now.” And whoever served you was wrong. I almost said, “It was you!” It was sooo funny yet sooo annoying at the same time. So we finally gave up and went to McDonalds instead. Then we went to see Harry Potter 7. In the theaters there are reserved special seating, with comfy chairs and in the best section of the theater to sit. It was so weird. But Harry Potter was AMAZING!!!! I didn’t want it to end! But unfortunately it had to. Although I might go see it again!

Saturday-

We went into London for Nicole’s birthday! First we went to earl’s Court to see the Tartus (a blue phone booth). Then we walked around a bit to Regent’s Park. It was beautiful. We saw so much wildlife. There were birds and swans, and ducks and squirrels (Rachel even got to feed a squirrel by HAND). She was soooooo excited! We saw a fountain and a waterfall and pretty trees. It was just so nice to walk around and take pictures. I’ll try to get them online as soon as I can (which will probably be a while). After the park we went to a pub for lunch. It was cool to get a meal and alcoholic drink for only 6 pounds. It was a really good meal too. A breaded chicken burger with chips (fries). Then some wine. Next we went to Hyde Park to see the Winter Wonderland. It was really cool. There were lots of people there but it was still cool. They had lots of rides and places to eat and lots of little shops. It was so cute. There was a talking reindeer and talking tree haha. It was nice to walk around the park. After that we went to Covent Garden. It was almost closing time (5 pm) so there wasn’t too much to see. But I bought a hat and we walked around a bit. Then we got some cupcakes to eat on the train for Nicole’s birthday! We headed to seven kings to go to a pub to drink. We got there and tried finding the pub but it was in a shady part of town and we couldn’t find the pub. So we decided to get on the train (it was free at this point) and go to goodmayes. As soon as we started pulling away, Rachel saw the pub we were trying to get to. We all laughed so hard. Got off at goodmayes and headed back to seven kings. We tried finding the pub again but accidentally walked in the complete opposite direction. Well like I said, it wouldn’t be an adventure if we didn’t get lost. So we finally made it to the pub. It was hoppin’ A fight within the first 5 mins of being there (guy’s nose bleeding). We had a few drinks. I had a nice green drink called Fat Frog haha. It was really good. Then we decided to leave. We stopped at a pizza place for food then headed home. Not even sure what time we got back lol. But I was a little tipsy and it was lots of fun!

Sunday-

Today I slept in, then went to Romford with Rachel. We did some shopping and looked at the interesting things in the mall…like snow globes you can get inside and get your picture taken, or hair being done in the aisle of the mall. Oh and I was in a store, after shopping at other places so I had bags in my hand, and this guy that worked there came up to me and said, “You need a bag” I thought he was asking me if I needed one and was going to get me one. Apparently he was telling me I needed one because after I said ok he said, “They are up front you can go get one now.” I was so flabbergasted I went to get one. But then was appalled thinking about it. That was soooo rude. After we came home and I wrapped Christmas gifts and uploaded picture to facebook and got to watch Desperate Housewives!!! But now that it is 0.01 (12:01 am) I really should go to bed.

Until next time

~D~

Weird Day

November 18, 2010

Today was one of the strangest days I’ve had since I’ve been here. And you know your day is going to be weird when at 4:40 in the morning you hear this loud sound that you can’t figure out what it is. You grab your alarm clock which then turns on and not only do you have this loud sound ringing in your room but your annoying buzzing alarm clock is going. You push some buttons and try to unplug it from the wall (while really unplugging the fan). Then you grab your coat and shoes because you realize it is the fire alarm. You go outside in the freezing cold with everyone else in the building, but can barely recognize anyone because you haven’t grabbed your glasses so you can’t see. You find out that it is a false alarm and return to your room. But now you have to pee. So you quickly pee and try to fall back asleep, knowing that you will have to be up in less than two hours and your heart is still racing from being jolted out of a deep sleep. So you finally fall back asleep only to be woken up 20 minutes later to an annoying buzzing sound. This time you don’t wonder what it is, you curse the person setting off the fire alarm and grab your coat and shoes. You go sit in the hallway because you know it is not a real fire and discuss with the whole building whether or not its worth it to go back to bed.

Well that’s how my morning started. Once finally awake and at school, I saw a sign on the door saying the school was closed for some inset thing. I was really confused. I walked to the school next to it and realized I had been at the right school to begin with. I was just about to call my employer when I saw someone approaching the building. I asked if the school really was closed today. She responded with “No” in a way that make me think I was stupid for asking that. Even though there was a sign clearly on the front door. I met the deputy head…who is basically like the vice principal, since the head teacher would be like the principal. And she was wearing a regular long sleeve shirt, black stretchy pants and sneakers…weird. My first placement was in a reception class. The TA in the classroom was wearing a blue sweater with blue knit shorts with black leggings underneath and leg warmers up to her knees with sneakers…weird. The teacher only left me to teach for about 30 minutes then came back and did p.e. with the class for over an hour (which I helped out with- basically helping a child who had no clue what was going on find his clothes because he lost them). Oh and some of the boys wear tights to keep warm under their trousers….weird. Then I went into the staff room for lunch and find a cat in there. Yes I said CAT; a cat just eating his/her dinner while we ate too. WEIRD. After that I was in a Year 1 class which actually went really well. The children were all good and we got through everything we needed to. The highlight of my school day was not having to mark any of their work because at this school they don’t mark everything….fine by me!

Came home and got a package from my mummy. I was super excited!!!! She sent me sweatpants (one that I asked for and one as a surprise) a card, a stuffed animal giraffe and CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER!!!! No wonder I love her!!

Until next time,

~D~

When in London

November 16, 2010

I was in the same school for two days, not by choice, but when they wanted me back I decided I might as well so at least I’ll have work. The reason I didn’t want to go back was not only because the children were not very good, but also because the school drove me nuts. I had to get all my information from the teacher across the hall who was a lunatic. She didn’t give me any sort of schedule for the kids so I never knew when things needed to be finished by or when things were happening. Then later she yelled at me for not picking the kids up from outside (well I had no clue what time to pick them up). I was given the lessons 10 minutes before I had to teach them. The children did not listen at all. Then during lunch I had to go to the crazy teacher again to get the plans for the rest of my day. She wanted me to do the copying…thank god I didn’t know how or where to do it. Then she decided to send me her TA from her classroom who did absolutely nothing except stand there. I was like yea you’re a big help! Not. Yet at the end of the day the teacher across the hall went to see if I could come in the next day so I guess I didn’t do such a bad day.

I went back today and one of the first things the other teacher says to me is “Can you not leave right at the end of the day today? I need help getting some things together.” Because apparently someone else is supposed to help her and isn’t so I have to. I was like great….. Then like yesterday I got my plans 10 minutes before I had to do them. Then during lunch again I had to go to her room, where she decided to talk about vibrators with her fellow teachers. Then had me do her planning for her on her computer and do the copying for all of the Year 1 teachers. When it was time to go home I took the kids outside to meet their parents at 3:05, since that is when the TA told me to. However, on my way out the other teacher stopped me because I was taking them out too early. So she made me stand there with my kids, who had no clue what was going on and were being rude and rowdy, in front of all the parents. I felt like a horrible teacher and that all the parents were thinking this. Plus she didn’t give me a list of students who were going to clubs so I had to trust that the kids knew where they were going and one mom freaked out because I didn’t know where her kid was. Then I go to the other teachers room to get ready to help her (mind you she had all afternoon without kids because they had art so she could have done the work then) and she says “oh never mind, you can go home.” I was like thank god and I left.

When I got home we decided to go into Romford to see the turning on of the Christmas lights/Christmas festival. I wasn’t too sure what to except, but it turned out to be really cool. They had a guy singing songs; they brought Santa out to sing/act around. Then Santa brought Frosty the Snowman and Jack Frost and some bird out lol. They all sang. Rudolph and his son came out. And we all sang along. Then finally they turned on the Christmas lights. We all did a countdown from ten and at one they turned on the Christmas lights on the lamp-posts and they had AMAZING fireworks. I thought the fireworks last week for Guy Fawkes day was amazing, these were even better!!! I’ll try putting pictures up but it will take me forever since facebook and my internet do not work well together.

Until next time.

~D~

Sightseeing

November 13, 2011

One of my favorite parts about being in London is sightseeing. Not only is it very cheap to travel around Europe, but there is so much even here to see. Yesterday we ventured into the city of London to Tower Hill. We were on our way to the Tower of London. However, one of the first things you see when you get out of the tube station is Tower Bridge. If any of you know me at all, you know that I am IN LOVE with the Tower Bridge. It is my favorite bridge. I even told the girls if I could marry it, I would. Therefore, when I saw this bridge I was in heaven. I immediately began taking tons of pictures. Then we decided to walk partway down the bridge even though we didn’t have to. This was the one bridge I wasn’t afraid of walking over…..although we weren’t walking up top (where they used to walk while the bridge was up) and we didn’t get to the part in the middle where the bridge goes up for ships. However, the part we walked on, I was not scared, lol. So we walked part way across the bridge, which means I have been underneath the bridge and halfway over it. Then we turned around and walked to the Tower of London. It was really cool and really big. There were lots of places to walk and see. We saw the Bloody Tower, the Jewel House and much more. We got to see the statues of the horses and Kings. We got to try on a helmet to see how hard it was to see or hear out of them. We got to feel how heavy their weapons were. We got to see the torture chamber where people were sent to be tortured. There was a contraption to pull their legs and arms. We got to see the holding chambers where they were sent to be held until it was time for their death. A lot of them carved into the walls to leave their final words. We heard a story about a poor young 17 year old girl who was thrown into the chambers and had to watch them bring her husband to his public execution. She then watched them bring back his chopped off head and later his body to be buried. All the while, watching through the other window the building of her own execution stand, where she was executed the very next day. However, throughout the whole Tower of London, it says it was not built to be a place where people were killed. Yet, that is what it turned out to be. One guy wrote a message in orange juice, which could only be read when held up to a candle. One person even escaped by dressing up as a woman. We saw the ravens which are popular there; although they could not fly because their wings were clipped. We also saw the guards who guard the tower. We were informed that to become a guard they must have been in the Military (not navy) for 22 years and made it to Sergeant. Then they must live with their family in the Tower of London. They were wearing their blue and red uniforms because their black and gold uniforms cost so much money (I believe it was 12,000 pounds) that they only wear those for special occasions now. Overall it was really cool and we took lots of pictures. Check my facebook for them!

After Tower of London we started walking and could see the top of Big Ben and the London Eye (also pics on facebook). Then we took the tube to Covent Gardens to look at the shops. We got to see the lighted Christmas tree and the living statues. We even got to see the living statue of Johnny Depp in Pirates! Plus I saw the dog in the basket which I finally understand. I never got what the fascination was until I saw it. Go check it out on my facebook. Then we walked around the shops for a bit before heading home. We couldn’t get on the tube at the station we wanted because it was overcrowded. So we followed a woman in red to the other tube station. Yes we were being creepers but if we didn’t we would have definitely gotten lost. We finally made it home.

And this is why I love London!

Until next time,

¬D¬

 

Getting Lost

November 11, 2010

So Rachel and I decided to try and walk to the pub ourselves Friday night. However, because it is Rachel and I, of course we ended up getting lost. We were going to take the bus, but we waited forever and it never came. So we were like it’s only straight with one turn we can do this. Yea…..no. It’s not straight with one turn. It’s straight with two turns. We missed the vital turn. Instead, we kept walking straight FOREVER. Finally, we figured out we were going the wrong way. We were going to turn around and find out turn and go to the pub. However, along the way, my shoe broke. The bottom came off and I was practically walking in my sock. It was also raining so we were soaking wet. We decided to get a Rolo Mcflurry at McDonalds and walk home. Half way home we found out bus stop that would take us home. We were in the middle of the highway ready to cross our last street when we saw our bus coming. We dashed across the street and ran to the bus. We just barely made it. We got on and laughed the whole way home. It is just ridiculous how bad our luck is with directions and getting lost. So we bought a bottle of wine and drank it on the way home. Since here you can do that! Then we decided to watch a movie to take our mind off of our horrible luck.

Until next time,

¬D¬

Differences

November 9, 2010

There are many differences between England and America, although you wouldn’t think it because they both speak English. However, the English spoken over here is like a whole different language. Not only are some words completely different, some are spelled differently. I will make a list of the different words and their meanings at the end of this blog. But for now I want to skip the language and talk about everything else. One thing of course would be the drinking age. Over here it is 18. You also have to be over 18 to buy any kind of knife….even butter knives. The eggs over here are not refrigerated and that creeps me out so I probably won’t ever buy eggs. There are meat shops with the whole chicken/pig just hanging in the window. I even saw one with a pig head hanging in the window….needless to say I’ll never go there. There are also meat stands like that as well. Tea is offered with everything and all throughout the day. Religious education is taught in schools (apparently it is about all religions not just one). There is a holiday called Guy Fawkes day which remembers when a guy tried blowing up parliament but failed. And also Veteran’s Day is called Remembrance Day. Math is called Maths. All the children must sit up nicely. In Math the ones column is called the units column. The children have to take the public transportation to school there are no school buses. Internet and phones cost a lot more. Food is a lot cheaper which is nice. There is free healthcare to everyone so you can just walk into a health care provider and get service. Phone numbers are really long and hard to remember. Dryers don’t do much and most places don’t even have them and the electricity over here is more powerful (p.s. don’t try to use the curling irons from America over here, it kills them). The plugs are different so you need an adapter. Military time is the time on alarm clocks so when it says 0.00 it is midnight (which I still can’t get used to, I always think my alarm clock is broken lol). They do not understand sarcasm. Overall there are small differences between America and Great Britain, however the word differences are a lot greater…..

Different words:

Bin- garbage

Full stop- period

Trousers- pants

Pants- underwear

Jumper- sweatshirt

Rubber- eraser

Rub off- erase

Toilets/loo- bathroom

Tuck in- push in (ex: tuck in your chairs)

Sensible- respectful

Silly- rude/miss-behaving

Dodgy- sketchy

Zed- letter Z

Medical Office- Nurse

Register- attendance

Corridor- Hallway

Cross- Mad

Playtime- recess

Are you alright?- How are you?

Investigation- Experiment

Mind out- Watch out

Tick- Checkmark

Biscuit- cookie

Bloody- Damn

Blow Off- Fart

Bobby- policeman

Bonnet- car hood

Boot- car trunk

Candy floss- cotton candy

Car park- parking lot

Cheers- goodbye

Chemist- pharmacist

Chips- French fries

Crisps- potato chips

Dummy- pacifier

Fag- cigarette

Faggot- meatball

Fairy cake- cupcake

Fizzy drink- soda

Flat- apartment

Football-soccer

Fringe- bangs

Fruit machine- slot machine

Give way- yield

Hob- stove burner

Holiday- vacation

Ice lolly- popsicle

Lolly- lollipop

Jelly- Jell-O

Knackered- exhausted

Knickers- ladies panties

Knock-up- wake up

Mental- wild

Nappy- diaper

Petrol- gas

Pillar box- mailbox

Pissed- drunk

Plaster- band-aid

Pram- baby carriage

Public school- private school (ironic huh)

Pushchair- stroller

Queue- line

Randy- horny

Fanny- Vagina

Rubbish- bad

Settee- couch

Shag- intercourse

Snogging- kissing

Soda- soda water (not pop)

Spend a penny- urinate

Starkers- buck naked

Stone- 14 pounds (weight)

State School- public school

Telly- TV

Tight as a fish’s bum- cheapskate

Tin- can

Torch- flashlight

Wee- urinate

Whinge- wine

Wind up- tease

Yob- hooligan

Zebra crossing- crosswalk

Now can you see how an American can get really confused or really confuse a British person over here??

Words spelled differently:

Favourite

Tyre

Mummy

Colours

Labelled

Programme

Centre

Therefore, living in a different country, even if it speaks the same language as you can be a bit difficult! But I will figure things out as I go along.

Until next time,

~D~

Let No One Steal Your Dreams

November 5, 2010

The other night I was sitting in my room, wondering why I was given such a terrible class as one of my first teaching experiences. As I reflected back on my day I remembered a poem I saw in the classroom as one of the school’s philosophies. I remembered the name of the poem and I looked it up and immediately I realized why I was sent to this school, even if it meant going through a day of hell. Here is the poem: Let No One Steal Your Dreams

Let no one steal your dreams
Let no one tear apart
The burning of ambition
That fires the drive inside your heart

Let no one steal your dreams
Let no one tell you that you can't
Let no one hold you back
let no one tell you that you won't

Set your sights and keep them fixed
Set your sights on high
Let no one steal your dreams
Your only limit is the sky.

Let no one steal your dreams
Follow your heart
Follow your soul
For only when you follow them
Will you feel truly whole

Set your sights and keep them fixed
Set your sights on high
Let no one steal your dreams
Your only limit is the sky
 

Written by Paul Cookson

After reading this poem I remembered I am following my dreams and one bad experience is not going to take me away from that. I decided to be more positive about my teaching situations and not focus on the bad but learn from it. Until….

The next morning I got a call saying I was going back to the same classroom. I couldn’t believe it. I honestly did not think I could do it all over again. Then I began thinking, this negative thinking is not getting me anywhere. So the whole bus/walk to school I decided to be positive about the day instead of immediately making it a bad day. Once at the school I was informed I was not in the same classroom, but instead a year 2 for the morning and a year 1 for the afternoon (a different year 1). (Btw, the grades over here are about one year higher than the grades back home so Year 1 is kindergarten and year 2 is first grade). I went to my year 2 classroom and it was actually a lot better. They were very chatty but no screaming! Plus I had three criers (2 b/c they wanted their mums and 1 b/c they didn’t feel good) But overall not a bad class. Then I went to year 1 who were also very chatty and a little bad, but I had a TA with me the whole time. I did get two little boys in trouble for stealing candy however, but they weren’t’ doing their work anyways.

After my day I remembered that just yesterday I was in a terrible classroom and then today it got so much better. I tried having a better outlook on the schools.

Today I got called to teach a reception class at a different school. I was very excited because I figured since Year 1 was difficult for me and nursery was a little too young for me, that reception (pre-k) would be great! And after being in two different receptions I confirmed that reception is my favorite grade over here. The children are 4 going on 5. They get direct instruction roughly 3-4 times a day for about 15 mins each. The rest of the time in play time and during play time you work with one or two children to accomplish a task. The rooms were connected so the children could play with the other children. And despite the fact that during the morning a girl literally had to be picked up and carried out of my classroom and during the afternoon two children were in time out for being rude and disrupting the class and me, I had a good day. I came home feeling like it went great and to me that means that this really is my class. ‘Cause even when things are bad, they’re good. This to me feels more like American kindergarten anyways and that is where I thrive at home.

Other than that, I have been beginning to pick up on some cooking skills….don’t laugh. I am trying! And so far I haven’t burnt anything down…although I am rarely left alone with any food. My friends and I have also started mini work outs in our rooms (to keep from looking like fools for the whole rest of the building). And last night my friend Rachel and I wrote down every place we wanted to go inside London, inside Great Britain, and inside Europe (a couple even outside of that). We spent a few hours ranking them from cost and writing down where they are located.

We are planning on going into London tomorrow for the premiere of Harry Potter 7 (wish us luck it is supposed to be crazy!!!) and also going sight-seeing on Saturday. We are thinking mainly the free ones for now, although there is the London Dungeon that we want to do in the next few weeks that looks really awesome.

Well, as time flies around here, it is almost time for me to settle down and get ready for bed. Working in these schools is pretty tiring and the weekend looks promising.

Until next time…..

~D~

Another day in another town

November 3, 2010

Today I had my second placement in a school. I was in year 1 so 5-6 year olds. I figured this was going to be super easy, I love kindergarteners! However, I love American kindergarteners, not English ones. It also didn't help that the school I was in was so disorganized. First of all they couldn't even remember who was out then when they figured it out they weren't sure who the teacher was I was even subbing for. They acted like they didn't know her! Then nobody introduced themselves to me so half the time I didn't know who I was talking to. Then the kids came in and all they did all day was yell. Not talk, yell! They didn't know how to carry on a conversation without yelling. I asked them repeatedly to talk quietly. I offered them stickers if they did a good job, I tried bribing them with a book (which I ended up reading anyways and they barely paid attention to that), I tried threatening them with punishments from their teacher if they didn't do their job. Nothing worked. At one point I literally sat down and said I give up. Of course the kids didn't notice or care. So I got up, turned off the lights (un-knowlingly also turning off the lights to the classroom next to me...ooops), told the kids to put their heads down and close their mouths and for once in the day I had ten minutes of silence. They say silence in golden....my was a fricken gold bar! We're allowed to pick one school we don't want to go back to and despite this terrible day I'm afraid to pick this school, because I have a feeling it could get worse and probably will. Therefore, I will hang in there. Well that is all for today, not much else happened and it's been a long and exhausting day. I have had a headache from all the screaming. Hopefully tomorrow will be a new adventure and a better day!

Until next time,

¬D¬

Online Journal

November  1, 2010

So even though I am keeping four journals over here, I figured I'd keep a blog for you all to keep track of me while I'm gone. I'll try to update this as much as possible, but the internet over here sucks and I rarely get service. But feel free to comment on my posts and of course you can try to skype me or im me which are the two fastest ways to talk to me.

I have been here for about a week now and am realizing that every little thing I do is a new experience for me. Being in a different country definitly changes your outlook on things. The things that took up most of my time back home now don't seem as important. But change is a good thing and I am embracing each new experience. It has taken me a while to adjust to the time change, living conditions, new people, and of course the stupid technology. But things are coming together.

I live in a dorm like building with communal showers, bathroom, kitchen, living room/lounge, but I do have my own room. My room is a nice size, it actually seems bigger than the one at home. And for the most part the people that live in my building are nice.

I am currently 5 hours ahead of all of you, so don't be surprised if I don't answer you right away as usually it is late at night before any of you have time to talk.

I have traveled throughout London this whole week. Getting lost almost every time, but having fun while doing it. I have been to Romford, Barking, Kings Cross, and everywhere in between. It had definitly been an adventure and soon I'll be traveling a little further.

I am learning the British accent and also all the different words. Even though everyone speaks English, sometimes it is like they are speaking a new language. For example, "Excuse me miss, can you pass me a rubber and the bin for my rubbish?" actually means "Miss Soda I need an eraser and the garbage for my trash" But I will get there eventually, and if I mess up the kids definitly let me know. Like when I told the kid he didn't have any periods in his paragraph and he gave me a blank stare, I remembered they were called full stops.

The schools over here definitly need our help. There are a lot of things that I learned during school that would help make these children better in school and I look forward to when I get my own classroom and can implement them. Until then, I will continue going from classroom to classroom and seeing the differences in each school. I had my first day with nursery (3-4 year olds) yesterday and enjoyed it for the most part. Of course the children are adorable but they can also be stubborn and rude at times. I had to tell them they were being silly and not sensible lol. But overall it was a good day, although I do think I prefer 5 year olds over them all.

Well I think that is all for now, if you want to comment and ask me any questions I'll answer them in my next post, whenever that may be. Miss you all!

Until next time,

¬D¬