Loch Lomond park 

Julie and I at the site of the Loch Ness monster! 

Whisky tasting in Edinburgh! 

One week down, and only 3.5 more til Christmas break!!


So its been a relatively uneventful week but that is a good thing! I did have these terrible children again on Tuesday and Wednesday but by Wednesday they had gotten remotely better. I do have to say one thing about supply teaching is that the yelling never ends, I think usually if you had your own class the yelling could stop by mid-october...or at least slow down. I have yelled more in these past two months then i have ever yelled in my life, and it is no surprise to me that i have a sore throat again.

But still it was a good week. I was at really nice schools for two of the days....and i taught the grade two kids some french on friday and we got to make christmas pudding decorations in the afternoon so that was nice....except it was slightly bad that i missed an assembly because no one told me

Yesterday went shopping yet again. But it was a different kind of shopping! Second hand clothing shopping. Tasara (a fellow teacher) and myself went to the Oxfam second hand stores in two really nice neighbourhoods aka Soho and Covent Garden Market. Sooo good....must go back soon, its so annoying that everything closes at 6pm though! We did see a chanel bag that someone was donating...I got a miniscule black Miss Selfridges dress and a red satin skirt (possibly part of a new years outfit?) And then we went to this great vegetarian restaurant because we were famished from our shopping!

I must post pictures of me Brit-ified but I'll have to get some.....i think there will be some photo taking next weekend as there are some birthday celebrations...but for the time being finally a pic or two....scotland pics: ( i don't know if they're going to show or not...hmm)

Finally it's the weekend!

Well it has been a long week. I think I have to share some of my teaching stories. I haven't talked about the teaching at all, but thats really what my whole life is wrapped around right now. There are good days and there are bad days. I was lucky because for the two weeks after half term break I only had good classes, so I thought I was probably going to get a terrible class this week as a result and I was right! So far I have been teaching primary which I do like, with the exception of the bad classes when spending 9 am til 3:30pm with a class is torture....but this past Monday I taught my first official secondary school class, and it was not fun. I won't go into details but I will say it was the worst teaching experience of my life, and the highlight of the day was when one student viciously stabbed another student multiple times in the back with a pencil...so you can only imagine how the rest of the day was.

Then on Wednesday I had this class that I will be going to supply at once a week, and it was chaos, and its the deputy headteacher's class and she doesn't know what to do with them! And at some point during the day someone jimmied the blade off a pencil sharpener to cut another student!

But then again it's not all bad. The school I was at on Friday was so nice, the staff were actually welcoming, and the kids were well behaved. It was a complete pleasure, and they asked me to come back on Monday. So at least I can ease into the work week.

I think tommorrow I'll be doing more shopping yet again, and I will be going to a market I haven't been to before with another supply teacher Nicolette....Hopefully I will manage self restraint! You should all see me though, I'll have to post a pic sometime, I'm fully Brit style now! I have my knee high boots, and funky tights, and stylish skirt and my pashmina of course! I do have some photos from Scotland so I will post those soon, and I think if I can get a cheap ticket I will finally be off to Switzerland next weekend. :)

Fantastic Fireworks

This past weekend I got to see the Guy Fawkes fireworks at Battersea Park. For everyone who has no idea what i'm talking about (most of you) Guy Fawkes is someone who tried to blow up the British Parliament way way back in the day and they caught him on November 5, and so since then they celebrate that day....Usually there are bonfires and they burn effigies of Guy Fawkes, and fireworks as well. So thats what I was up to Saturday, Julie and I headed down to Battersea Park along with 40,000 other people! It was really nice though, the weather was good, and we drank some nice cold beers (oh i do love that about England, public drinking, sigh..) and we enjoyed some really spectacular fireworks. After we headed to Leicester Square for a couple more pints.

There's actually been so many fireworks this week...every day i've been watching them at night from my window. Its not just Guy Fawkes its also Diwali (Syke and Hindu celebration) and since its the festival of lights they've just been everywhere. Its pretty cool.

I also checked out the markets again on Sunday, went to Petticoat Lane market and to Old Spitalfields market. I liked them very much but I don't have the money to spend. I have to save up for travelling.....there are so many tempting things at the markets!

Scotland fun!

So, last week was half term break, a glorious week in which I did not have to teach miserable children at all! In that week I travelled to Scotland with three newfound friends; Julie, Adele, and Jenn. We rented a car, and Adele offered to do the driving...which was good since I was leery of driving on what seems like the wrong side of the road.

Our car was so cute, and actually really comfortable, and we started off our journey very excited and stocked up on way too many snacks for the road!

Saturday we drove all day until we got to Edinburgh. Then we proceeded to get lost in what appeared to be the housing projects, and we were without a map of the city....just directions that get confusing with all the roundabouts, and streets veering off each other. Finally we did make it to our hostel, and it is the nicest hostel I have ever seen! We were pretty tired and so we stayed in for the night. We got up early the next morning and went into the city...Unfortunately we were ill prepared for the weather of Scotland, and all had to buy gloves once we were there. And we all got wet and cold since it was raining constantly. We walked the Royal Mile, saw Edinburgh castle, ohh and we had a tasting at a whisky bar. I am now very clear that I do not like whisky! I'll have to post the pics later when i get them from the girls, the looks on our faces post sips says it all. Then for dinner we went to a pub, and my friend Heather met up with us. Heather went to Queen's for one year on exchange and I hadn't seen her since then so it was really good to see her! After that we went on to another pub, and then caught the shuttle back to our hostel....

Next day we made our way to Inverness, and we stopped in St. Andrews so Julie could take a golfing pic, and also so that we could buy some very much needed wellies! (aka rubber boots). We were so so thrilled to have wellies, i think it might have been the highlight of the trip. Anyways, we also had tea and scones at a cafe ( how very British of us!) and went on our way. By night fall we made it to Inverness, home of the Loch ness monster. We really underestimated all these windy scottish roads, and driving took us a lot longer then we thought, so much so that we had to eliminate the Isle of Skye from the trip for the next day. Inverness is very boring, I think that about sums it up, and we were only able to find one open grocery store. We hung out in the tv room only to be accosted by this very old, annoying, crazy man....only to later find out that he was sharing the room with us! In the Tv room he was sharing with Jenn the language he created...hmm interesting, and then the next day he was wearing a sweatshirt with the crazy language written all over it! He was very creepy/weird, and we were glad to be rid of him.

Next day we travelled to the site of where the Loch ness monster is presumed to be, and went to exhibition which basically said its all a hoax....but i still like to think maybe, just maybe its true

Then we had more driving....and more driving......We were on our way to Glasgow...We did manage to stop to get a photo next to a Highland cow...but the thing that sticks in my mind most is the sheep! Sheep everywhere! On top of huge huge hills, tiny little sheep....We saw some of the most beautiful scenery on the drive back down, as we drove through Loch Lomond....just stunning red hills and waterfalls.

Finally we got to Glasgow, got lost yet again... bought an A to Z map, and found our hostel....also a very nice hostel, in an older building. Making dinner, Julie and I met a couple of cute German boys, but we were uncertain whether they were high school students (troubling) or university students! haha.......But we sorted that out later...we met up with them again by chance, and all of us ended up drinking with them at the hostel ( they were university students) but unfortunately they couldn't come out with us, having spent all their money all ready. Since we hadn't really hit the town since the beginning of our vacation we decided to go out anyways....Of course, on the way there Adele sprained her ankle, and so headed back to be cared for by the Germans, and Julie and Jenn and I still went and partied it up! A good time had by all....We spent the next day shopping, and I also saw the Glasgow School of Art which was very cool. We tried to go out again the next night, but I kind of hampered things by being entirely crippled by my new shoes, they were burning my feet because they didn't fit properly! I could hardly walk!

Anyways.......the next day we were on our way back home. We stopped in Liverpool for a day/night...saw Penny Lane, and other requisite stops. Then our last stop in our vacation was an outlet mall in Bicester. Julie and I proceeded to spend whatever money we had left, perhaps a little too hastily, but I do have a new coat now...woo hoo

My adventure took me a bit farther, I travelled to Nottingham the weekend after our trip as well. Home of Robin Hood and associates! Nottingham is not quite as exciting as London, but it was really nice to see my friend Will...and so that made it all worthwhile. Plus got to see a very cool bar in a former church....

Ok this is a terribly long post, but so much to say! Well, as I might say to my Year 6s...if you've gotten through this post give yourself a pat on the back!

It has been quite some time since I posted, my apologies! Time and life has been getting the better of me. However, I think am really finally getting settled in and so I should be posting more.

Anyways, I suppose I should write a bit more about London and England since I haven't very much.....so this is going to be a long post, since I also just got back from Scotland! So i think this post will be about London, and i will add another about Scotland

Ok but more about London.....Well I have been to see lots of the touristy things on the weekends. I have seen the London Bridge and I saw Buckingham Palace ( the outside only), and the changing of the guards, and the Queens Gallery...hmm and the same day I saw Tower of London but I didn't actually go inside since I think my parents will want to go inside when they come so I thought I might as well not waste the ticket price. So that was one busy Saturday, because after I did all that I went to see the Tate Modern.....but that was pushing it perhaps since the place is 4 stories tall. All this I dragged my friend Lisa around with me, and she was a good sport. She was giving me the inside British track as she's actually an authentic Londoner. And afterwards we were famished so we went to a pub to have a pint and some food. So all in all it was a good day.

I also have been really really enjoying the markets that London has. I went to Camden market with my new friend Julie, and we absolutely loved it....luckily we hadn't been paid yet and so we couldn't spend the fortunes that we otherwise would have. I bought a fantastic skirt from an independant designer, and a nice huge beaded necklace. They have so many great food booths there I really want to go back just to gorge on food. I did introduce Julie to Falafels and now she is hooked! I guess they don't have those things in Orange County.

Hmm, i've also been to Brick Lane market, and I would like to go back there.....Lots of food stalls and household goods, and then behind it all there is really funky stores that were converted warehouses.

But lately I haven't been here on Sundays or Saturdays....so probably I will go to Brick Lane Market or Petticoat Lane Market this coming weekend or Topshop maybe....because thats my new weakness!

Ok to sum up a bit more......

Memorable Moments in London so far:

• Being in Hyde Park and seeing what i thought briefly was a squirrel, and wondering why does that squirrel have a skinny tail? ........ then realizing it wasn't a squirrel but a rat!
• Walking down old cobblestone streets, peering into little shops
• Always having just missed the rain, as every time I do go outside it appears to have just rained
• Getting to see all the crazy eccentric styles of the Brits ( i love it!) and also being astounded seeing teachers wearing stilletos to class and other very stylish things we wouldn't consider very teacher-like back home!
• Everyone I meet thinking I'm American

More on London in another post.....and later today or tommorrow I will add in about Scotland...which was very good!

So. I'm finally here!

Well, here I am in England. I have to admit that at first it was all a little bit surreal, but I'm settling in now.

Its been a long and rough week trying to find a place to live that was reasonably priced, in the right neighbourhood and with decent flatmates. But finally I have... So now I can relax...and I can do some of the touristy things I've been meaning to do. I started work today, and that was a bit of a shock to my system. It's been a long time since I taught primary school kids, but it went fine (shockingly!). Well, as fine as supply teaching ever is! Tommorrow I'm doing general cover for primary so I will be in and out of the different years, and I'll see what its like.

Already looking forward to the weekend, and I hope the good weather keeps up. If it's still warm next sunday I'm going to head over to Hyde park to lounge around, and I'm bound to spend some time in a local pub as well!