More from mid-term

Now, I can't remember if I mentioned this, but Wednesday night Ryan, Megan, Tom, Katie, and myself went to London to see a theatrical production. We went to see "Blue Man Group". If you've never heard of them, they basically don't say anything, they just look at each other and do silly stuff. They were hilarious, and I highly recommend seeing them. We even got our picture taken with the guy afterward. If I ever get pictures up here, I will put them on.

Thursday we went to see Stomp. That was a fantastic show, although it was super super loud. We had great seats, but we also had the stage sound and the speaker sound all at once. And it didn't help that the lady in front of us had the biggest hair EVER, or that they guy beside me practically sat on me the whole time. But it was still a great show. I would love to see more theatre in London. You can get tickets pretty cheap (like, practically the same price as it would be to see a movie).

We didn't do much on Friday, it was a nice, well deserved, lazy day. Then Saturday Ryan suddenly got the urge to do lots and lots of shopping. We went back to Lakeside (the super huge mall that's far away from our house) on the bus, did tons of christmas shopping, then took the train home. We had to sit and listen to a whacko the whole way home fight with his girlfriend. Literally, ever three seconds his phone would ring, he would yell something, hang up and she would call right back. It was kind of funny, but totally not funny at the same time. Lucky for us, the train ride was a lot faster than the bus!! The train still confuses me though. When were were at Lakeside we bought tickets from Trafford Hundred to (what I stupidly assumed was) Romford. Turns out that our tickets were not to Romford, although there is no one to tell you otherwise, you just hop on the next train. By the time we got to Romford, the guy was all mad at us because we didn't buy another ticket (stupid me thought I did buy tickets to Romford) and when I said what happened, he said I would have to take it up with the girl I bought them from. So, what? He wants me to get back on the train and pay again to go and yell at the girl?? Seems like an easy cop out for him to tell me that I am screwed over and too bad for me. Although I suppose we got off easier than we could have. He didn't fine us the 20 pounds it could cost for not having a valid ticket, we just had to pay 1.80 each. Whatever.

We watched a pretty good movie on Saturday too. "Love Actually". Once we started I realized that I had seen at least part of it before. There were some points when Ryan had to cover his eyes, but I really enjoyed it. And I also finished two books this week. I have a new favourite author, Jodi Picoult (I think that's how you spell it). I am addicted to her books. They are sad and exciting and tear jerking.

I just looked outside and realized how dark it is. Not that this is a bad neighbourhood (read between the lines, it is a bad neighbourhood) I don't want to walk outside alone. So, I will continue this later. Love you all!!

Mid-term break excitement

I know it's been awhile since I blogged, and for that I apologize. I've been using internet at school, which is nice, but then once the day is done I don't really want to stick around to write about my day, I just want to go home to bed!! We still don't know when we are getting internet at home. I heard a rumour of next week, but this new company that Megan insisted that we go with requires us to buy our own wireless router. I think it's easier just to do internet at home and not have the hassle of having to divide all the assets and then decide who gets to keep them at the end. Long story short, we have signed up to use the internet at the library. Hopefully it works for the short term.

Enough complaining, I want to tell you about our week so far! Our mid-term break officially started on Friday, and believe me, I didn't stick around to see how long I could wait before I got out of there. Megan and I were offered a ride home by one of the teachers who happens to live just down the street, and we were home in record time. Ryan and I went out for dinner, then came home and vegged. I needed that after the week I'd had. Oh, I guess I should mention, I had parent-teacher interviews on thursday. They went ok, better than I expected, but the build up for that night and the stress of actually having to meet with the parents was enough to make me really need this week off!! Most of the parents that I didn't actually want to meet with ended up not coming anyway, so it's all good. Anyway, Saturday we slept in, had quite a lazy day, went to the market and bought some christmas presents and just took it easy. Sunday was supposed to be more of the same, but we ended up going on a tour with Megan, Katie, Tom, and Emma. It wasn't too expensive, so we hopped a bus and headed to Stonehenge, Avebury, and Devizes. It was supposed to be fun, but in all honesty, it wasn't really. It poured rain the entire day (and I mean, we were soaked from our shoes all the way to our waists). It was far, and there was supposed to be a market at Devizes, which was the reason to go, but it was closed on sundays. Why would they run the tour on a day that it was closed? I don't get it. We didn't go into Stonehenge because we knew that we were going on Tuesday, so all in all it was a bit of a wasted day. Actually, that's not totally true, we did have one fantastic "Amazing Race" moment. We have started downloading this season, so please please please don't tell me what happens if you know. We were back in London, and were just hopping on the tube to go home, when an announcement came on saying that the District Line was backed up, and to expect significant delays until at least Whitechapel. Read this to mean that the train we needed to get home would take forever. The nice thing about the tube system in London is that they all interconnect at some point, and so Ryan and I started plotting the fastest route home. We had decided that we would hop off at the next stop, jump on the Picidilly Line, take that five stops to the Circle Line, then take that five stops where it would re-connect with the District line on the other side of whitechapel. Megan wouldn't hear it, she wanted to stay on the train, insisting that it wouldn't take too long. Meanwhile we had already been sitting still for 5 minutes. I said, fine, but we were going to do our plan, and let's see who gets home first. We hopped off, ran to the next train and were on our way. We would have beaten them home too, except the 86 bus that takes us to our house was severely delayed because of a car accident. If we had walked when we first got to the station we would have done it for sure. Anyway, Monday we had our first experience with the overland train. It is much more complicated than the tube, and is not nearly as clearly marked. It took us awhile, but we figured it out. We went to our national insurance number meetings, which took forever by the way, and spent the rest of the day wandering London and just having a good day.

Yesterday was the best day of the week so far. We went on our originally scheduled tour to Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, and Bath. I do have pictures, but the computers at the library don't let us plug in the usb key, so you will just have to wait. We started with Windsor Castle, which was a blast. The queen was even there while we were, and left while we were there (we know because the flag changed) but she didn't invite us in for tea. I can't imagine why not. We saw the chapel, St. Mary's doll house, and some of the rooms of the castle. We even saw where the queen eats dinner. It was pretty cool. Then it was off to Stonehenge. It is much nicer when it's not pouring rain!! We were surprised though, it was different than what we expected. Firstly, it was a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be. Also it was much better protected (as in, you can't touch it, you are at least 15 feet away at all times). We got some nice pictures, and the sun was starting to come out, so it was turning into a nice day. Finally we saw the Roman Baths in Bath. That was super cool, and amazing to think that we were walking on the same ground and seeing the same things as people were thousands of years ago. Bath is a beautiful town, and we want to go back again, but probably not until we have seen other things first. We didn't really have time to do much sightseeing in town, and we could spend a whole day there just looking through shops and at the scenery. The scenery along the road was magnificent. It looked like what I expected England to look like. Not like where we live, it's not representative of the landscape as a whole. There were lots of sheep too.

That brings us to today. We are going grocery shopping, and then we just found out that we have tickets to see "blue-man group" tonight. Should be a good time. Oh yeah, and we are going to see "Stomp" tomorrow.

We are getting two new roommates tomorrow also. Two girls (as far as we know) are taking the two empty rooms in the house. Everyone (and by everyone I mean Megan and Katie) keep complaining that there won't be enough room, and the fridge is too small, and how will we cook with 7 people in the house? Please. Give me a break. First of all, Megan has a fridge all to herself. You can't tell me that four people can share one fridge, but she can't fit three into the other one? Right. As for the cooking, we will just have to come up with a system. Or at the very least, keep doing what we are doing and let the others fit in around us. I don't know what all the complaining has to be about. Honestly.

Ok, that's it for now. I'll post again for sure when I get back to school.
Love you all.

one week to go

I don't know why it is that I only ever find time to write on a Friday. Actually, I shouldn't even be writing now because I should be getting ready for PE, but such is life. I don't like PE. It is my least favourite class to teach because I feel like I have the least amount of control over the kids. The unit we are doing right now is on striking and fielding, and we have to do it outside, so the wind takes my voice. They take forever to change into their PE kits, and they never stop talking. Especially since it is after lunch. I think if it was before lunch it wouldn't be so bad.

I had one kid come in from lunch the other day and ask me if we were going home now. I said "do we ever go home right after lunch?" "yes" came the response. Whatever. If you want to go home, please, be my guest. I can't handle much more of this craziness anyway.

We have "meet the creature" night next thursday. There is only one kid who I am not looking forward to meeting her mom. This was the same mom who told her daughter that she didn't like me because I wasn't the teacher that they were supposed to have. Unlucky break for them I guess. She is rude to me on the playground, and I am just not looking forward to having to defend myself and her child to her for five whole minutes!!!!

Ryan helped me put up two beautiful displays yesterday. I will have to get a picture and put them up, because I am so proud. They are fantastic. Too bad it took me six weeks to get them up!!! There is still a lot of stuff lying around my classroom that needs to be dealt with. Perhaps this afternoon is a good time to do it. Oh yeah. PE. Darn.

Mid term is in just one week. Five more school days until I get to sleep in. I really have respect for teachers who do this for a living and still have children of their own. I wouldn't be able to handle all the work and having a demanding child at home. It's a lot of pressure!! Not to mention a drain on me. But enough about me. I am just counting the days! Is that a bad sign as a first year teacher??

I should go get ready for PE. Love you all.

Complete and utter chaos

This is how I felt at 3:00pm today. My classroom was a disaster. And not just a regular disaster like it is most afternoons, no this was a FREAKIN' disaster. We had design and technology this afternoon. Some of you teachers out there are probably already shuddering because you know what is coming next. DT is a very hands-on kind of class. In the last few weeks we have been talking about sandwiches, fillings, breads, labels, everything leading up to todays class. They had to make their own sandwich. This may not seem so bad. Believe me. Chaos.

Just imagine for a moment if you will, 28 bodies all trying to get your attention at the same time. Even though they all had other tasks to do, they all wanted you to know that they had yet to make their sandwich. What do they think I am, stupid?? There was a lot of noise, and even more mess. The kids were not too bad with the actual making of the sandwiches, it was the organizing and the convincing them that once they were done that they should complete the written part of the assignment. I don't think I had 3 kids who actually finished the written part. Once they were all done the plan was to take them outside for a picnic, to enjoy the sunshine and eat their creations. They couldn't stop talking long enough for me to give them instructions to go outside, so we sat inside and ate them. Not as much fun, but honestly, they never stop talking.

Immediately following that class was hometime, and immediately following hometime was a staff meeting. I really hoped that no one went into my room while I was gone, but lucky for me (unlucky for her) the cleaning lady cleaned it all up for me while I was in the meeting. She is a blessing in disguise!!!

So now I am tired, and smell like marmite, chocolate spread, and ham, and want to go home. It's been a long day.

Happy Turkey Day!!

It's thanksgiving, but it's no celebration! Since we don't celebrate thanksgiving here, there are no pictures of turkeys at the store, or decorations, or cornacopias, or delicious smelling turkey dinners. So sad. Although, Ryan and I did score big yesterday when we found "real Canadian maple syrup" at ASDA. We bought it right away (didn't even look at the price) and made french toast for dinner. It was soooooo good. Reminded me of home.

We haven't had internet at home for nearly a week, so there are lots of funny stories to tell. I'll do a few here and there and do my best to keep you all up to date.

Most of the funny stories have to do with the bus. The bus is the place where the crazies live, I am convinced. If you ever want to meet a crazy, just jump on a double decker!!

Last weekend, Ryan and I decided that we were going to venture out and try to find the Big Tesco. For those of you who are wondering, this is a very exciting adventure since this Tesco was supposed to be chock full of teaching supplies, and we would get lost it was so big. This was the rumour. It turned out not to be true, although we did pick up a couple of other things at great deals. But the most exciting part didn't even happen at the store, it happened on the bus. FYI, we generally stick to one or two buses. We don't generally have any use for buses that take us to places we don't need or want to go. This particular day we had to take a different bus to a different part of town, and in doing so we were (or at least I was) a little bit nervous because I don't like to be lost. While we were waiting for this bus to arrive, we stood at a bus stop. It is not so unual to have rude, inconsiderate, loud, stupid teenagers at a bus stop, or on a bus for that matter, and there isn't much we can do about it. Kids ride free, so they hop on and off of the buses like they have nothing better to do (they probably don't). These three teenage boys were no exception. They were pushing each other into people and swearing, and making fools of themselves for no particular reason. When the bus came by one of them jumped in front of the bus and held his arms out, like the guy was going to run him over, or at least stop on a dime because he was in the way. I said to Ryan "they are going to get themselves killed!" Meanwhile the bus driver would not open the door. He finally got the kids attention and said to them, "you are not getting on". Ryan and I were secretly laughing, while the bus driver let everyone else on except the three boys. After everyone else was on, the boys were standing at the door and saying "why won't you let us on?" The classic answer, and the answer that the boys should hear more often: "because you are acting like idiots!" Good for you mr. bus driver, good for you!!!

Ryan and I laughed all the way to Tesco.

I am trying to write this and eat lunch at the same time, so I am going to say goodbye for now. I promise that I will continue the stories soon!!