Thanks MOM!

I am missing my turkey and pumpkin pie! No Thanksgiving for me, which is okay, I have to make up from the over-eating I did when mom was here.

I just said good-bye to my mom, who had been staying with me since Sunday (Oct.3). It was a real treat to have her and Rod here.
Another thing to add to my things learned;

• It is so easy to take for granted the things our parents do for us. It isn't until a person has to go without, they truly learn to appreciate it more. Thank God, I am fortunate to still have my mom here to spoil me!

I now have soup in my freezer, cookies baked and more groceries than I have had the entire time I have been here. My bathroom is a little more purple, thanks to the new bath mats. I have a picture in my kitchen and a blossoming plant on my kitchen table. I am not sure mom was thinking about the fact that I can't bring all of this home with me. She and I are too similar, we just buy things that will make us happy not really thinking of the long term.

While they were here we went out to eat a few times, drank beer in a few pubs and made some really good homemade meals. Both Rod and my mom love my little town, which makes me feel more settled. They spent a couple of days while I was working touring around and shopping. They really like my flat, except Rod isn't too keen on not having a tv.

I loved being able to come home after work and have people here to talk to, to vent to and to describe my day to. Unfortunately, I learned quickly that my mom (being a mom), offered to stay behind and help me move back home. She is having difficulties envisioning her daughter at the type of school I am at and she wants to protect me. She offered on a really bad day, I almost considered it!

We went to London on Friday. It was my first time in the big city. We saw the play Jersey Boys and it was fabulous. The theatre itself was old and beautiful. I felt like a rich person being able to experience something like this! After the show we walked onto the streets. Holy **** were there a lot of people. This was not my favourite part. I am not too big on crowds like that. Especially in a place I know nothing about. We were able to go for some munchies at TGIF's (an American restaurant). So I made sure I had chicken wings, potato skins and nachos. So good! On Saturday we toured around a little. Unfortunately, we didn't have tons of time as they were leaving to Manchester so they could catch their flight home. I will be going back at some point (definitely not alone) to see more of the tourist places (Mom and Rod had already done them, so there wasn't a point on repeating).

We parted ways at the tube station, mom and Rod heading to their train in one direction and me heading in another direction to come home. Of course there were tears, and that feeling of being alone all over again. But it wasn't until I was on the train home that I truly felt alone. There was work being done on the train that goes back to my town, so I was to get off at this other station and take a bus. I thought no problem. Until I realized there were two stops with the same name, the second having "parkway" added to it. So I assumed I would get off there. Well when I did, it was dark and deserted with no signs of any cabs, or buses. I stood on the platform and laughed. This was great! I had to wait 40 minutes until the next train in the middle of nowhere in the dark. Instead of taking 1 hour to get home from London it took 3. And the learning continues!

I am very lucky that I don't have to wait a long time before my next visitor. A couple of weeks and my friend from Calgary will be here. We are off to Italy for 7 days as it is half term break here. We will be taking a train from London (hopefully I can find the station) and spending one night in Zurich. The next day we depart by train to Venice for two nights. Then off to Florence for 2 nights and ending in Rome for 2 nights. We will fly back to London from Rome. I am extremely excited as travelling was one of the main reasons for this journey.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is all a Process of Learning!

I have officially been in the UK for a month. There are more than a few things that I am sure to learn as I continue on this path. But three things I have learned so far are:

1) appreciate all the small things that are easily taken for granted. For example having a bathtub, being able to turn on your heat and not have to worry about how much electricity it is going to use. Having a television that doesn't cost you 150 pounds just to license it. Not having to worry about whether you have grabbed all of your knickers (underwear) from the school's washing machine before leaving for the day.

2)enjoying your time, not having the constant feel that you have to be doing something. There is nothing better than laying in bed on a weekend morning, and not feeling guilty for doing so. As selfish as it is, it really is rejuvenating to run on a schedule that suits you. I know most of you back home can't do this because of family obligations, but you owe it to yourself to take one morning and just lay there not worrying about anything except maybe how long you can stay in bed before you will burst from needing to wee (pee) so bad.

3)there are massive spiders that move really fast. They require multiple stomps to kill and sometimes an additional stomp when you just want to make sure they are dead before laying back in bed. Screaming helps too!

To keep you up to speed on a few things that I have been dealing with. I have given up on the whole television idea, it has been nothing but a hastle and expense. So I will go without a TV for the year. That is okay because I am able to watch somethings on the Internet. (For those that want a great British comedy look up The Inbetweeners, and watch an episode). My land line is working, but apparently not all the time. If you do phone and it rings for ever, or you get nothing don't give up, just try again. I am still sleeping on the mattress on the floor as my bed frame is still yet to be delivered. I am almost too afraid to ask about it as this point. My washing machine has been brought into the flat and the plumber has been here, but now there is an issue with a fuse, so yes my knickers are still coming to school with me.

Thanks mom for bringing with you some Kraft Dinner, Lipton Chicken Noodle soup, Kraft peanut butter and Ranch dressing. Somethings are irreplaceable in one's diet.

Best purchases thus far: My slippers, two throw blankets, and my king size duvet for my double bed!

To be more serious now, what I miss the most from home (besides the food), (and the bath tub), (and the luxury of having my own vehicle). I miss all of you, my friends and family! Loving you all from across the pond!

Another Year Older!

Well I am no longer 30! I am now on my way to my 40s, how sickening. It was more than hard being away from family and friends on my day. I was lucky to get a few phone calls and some cards in the mail. My students gave me a card and we had yummy chocolate cake at the end of the day. Yum! Thanks to a few ladies at work I wasn't alone for the evening. I went for a few pints and then some Thai. I have never had Thai before and I will be going back for sure. Super yummy. I enjoyed the company and the red wine.

I finally bit the bullet and joined the local gym last weekend. But, I didn't drag my sorry butt there until today where I had a fitness assessment. I guess it is time to get a bit more serious, as my bodyfat index is pretty bad. Plus, it really will be a great stress reliever. I can't go to the pub after work everyday to relieve stress, as I have a feeling each work day will be very stressful.

Speaking of school, wow! I am in a whole new environment! It is an extreme eye opener and it is quite draining to be on alarm all day. Today though was the first day that I got kicked and called a name. I became Miss Wanker today. I know I shouldn't think it, but I did find it humorous to be called this. I knew I would find the little accents to be cute. How can you not smile when a kid says Bloody Hell while doing an art project, or when you are told to go back to my country because I don't belong here. According to the students I don't speak English, well I do, but they can't figure out what type of English I speak. Truly it is cute. Currently I have 4 students and will have another boy starting next week. I will have a sixth boy starting at the beginning of November. I find it difficult when a new student starts when the year has begun. It keeps changing the dynamics in the room. With some of these children it is hard to deal with change, and it is hard to have to share their time with someone else. The challenge of the job is something that I am enjoying as stressful as it is. I have now played football with some of the boys, and I must admit I am not too bad. It must have been those years on a soccer team. I was pulling out all sorts of swift moves. Another fun activity that we do is play hide and seek on Fridays. I love chasing the kids through the trees. They think they are so tricky, but the teachers seem to most often come out on top!

I am off to Manchester this weekend. I am looking forward to getting back on the train and seeing more of England. My mom and Rod will be flying into Manchester on Saturday. I am so excited! I am in need of seeing a familiar face more than I ever thought I would be. Unfortunately, mom's trip was planned before I knew I was coming here. So they are off to Scotland and then to watch the Ryder Cup. They are trying to squeeze me into their already packed schedule. I will take the few hours that I get to see her on Saturday, even if I have to ride a train for almost 4 hours. I gave her a list of a few comfort things for her to bring for me, and of course they are food related.

I am not too happy with the way the recruitment agency I went through. It has handled some of the important things really poorly. I just now have finalized my bank account and have not been paid yet, which is very annoying. I swear the agency doesn't talk amongst themselves and I have had to send documents numerous times. I thought I was going to have a land line set up, but the used phone I was given didn't work so I bought a new phone and guess what it still doesn't work. I guess I will get back on the phone and see when the telephone company can fix it. I bought this sate lite thing called free view. I should be getting many channels for no cost. This is the thing that many people told me to buy. So I bought one for 60 pounds and I get 2 flipping channels. I can't believe it. It seems that many things I have invested in haven't all worked out. I am still sleeping on my mattress on the floor. I am still waiting for my washing machine to be installed. I am tired of dragging my laundry on public transit and then washing my two work shirts at school. I know things aren't all going to happen at once, but for those that know me not having control over everything is really hard.

I have found some great sweets here and have started to live off chocolate. I think if nothing else I will return with a greater sweet tooth and some great British phrases.

Class is in Session!

The honeymoon stage is lovely! We are 3 days into the new term with only 2 out of the 5 students. And we have had no incidents to report. It has been a great beginning to a potentially stressful job. I have been privileged enough to be paired with a teacher (only until the end of the month) who really "gets it." What I mean is really gets dealing with the special population. Actually the entire school is like this and it is phenomenal. The potential for danger and intense situations is extremely high every moment of the day. But the staff is a solid team at this school and they work together so that no person would ever have to deal with a situation on their own. I have seen some of the behaviours that a few of the other teachers are dealing with and I am feeling fortunate that I get to be eased into the whole situation. I am sure the dynamics will change later this week as we will be getting a new student to the school who has a reputation of violence. He will be in my class. I am a bit nervous, but confident as I know I have the support that I need.

It is strange and I haven't figured it out, why I haven't seen this severity of behaviour in the children back home. Even in the special needs classrooms I have taught in. I have seen some intense behaviours, but nothing to this extreme. I am glad that the children here are provided an environment where they are safe and cared for. They are treated as individuals and are allowed to be part of the team.

I have had a few laughs with the boys in my group thus far, and I find the humour makes for a lighter mood. I think I am still mesmerized by the accents. They are so cute! As specific as I would like to be so you can all get a picture is not something I can provide. I will keep you posted on the many events that we will be doing as they unfold.

The school has a pet rabbit. An animal that I usually am not too fond of, but I found myself snuggling with it today. It is black and white. It made me think of my Corona! I miss him tremendously.

I can't wait till my mom arrives on the 18th in Manchester. Although they are coming for tourist reasons, and to watch some golf. I hope to meet up with them on some of the weekends so I can get my fill of hugs until the next person visits me. (Anyone want to visit? I have room for you to sleep?)

P.S. Work life/routine is no different here then it is back home. Not sure what I was expecting. I know I can't travel all of the time, and that I need to make money in order to travel. But coming home after work and making supper and sitting around feels the same here as it did back home. Lonely! I am on a mission to find some sort of club to belong to, otherwise I may give into one of my many bad habits.

HOMESICK!!!!!!

Okay so I can't be having the time of my life the whole time I am here. And if this blog is really about me and my journey then I have to include the not so awesome parts.

I woke up this morning feeling not quite right. I didn't feel like getting out of bed, but I did. I decided that I was going to take the bus to a town called Aylesbury, about 30 minutes from Thame. I figured I would look around and see what kind of shopping I could find, plus I have a few more things that I want to get. I was hoping to come upon an ASDA (which is part of the Walmart group).

I showered, made my coffee. Got ready and had some breakfast. I left for the bus still feeling... well sad for myself. I met a nice lady on the bus who told me about Thame and she even showed me how to get to the main street in Aylesbury. I walked through the mall and I happened to find a shop that makes sweets that my aunt has been telling me about. So I got excited! I went in and bought some of the toffee. I thought alright, it is looking up! I walked out onto the streets and just started walking because I had no idea where I was going. The whole time I was not feeling it, I could feel that my face did not have the usual perma-grin that it has had for the most part since I got here. I even thought buying some clothes would help. But no, even though I did find some sweet deals. Like a vest for 8 pounds which isn't even $16. Two pairs of jeans for 25 pounds. I walked around some more and realized that there was no point me being there if I wasn't enjoying it.

I got back on the bus and headed home. When I walked into my place I went directly up the stairs dumped my stuff at the top. And crawled into bed. Maybe a nap would help. I slept for about 45 minutes and here I am still in bed, surrounded by junk food and not really feeling it still. You know it is true about human contact being truly important. It can really make a difference in how someone feels. I am craving a good meaningful hug right now!

I even have plans for tonight, I am going to a local pub with some girls from work. I should be looking forward to that. I am sure that is what I need! I am hoping in the next 3 hours I can pull my head out of my a** and go out for a good time.

Sorry for the realness of my post today, but I needed someone to talk to and who else better than those that are joining me virtually on my journey!

I am sorry but that is not a pancake!

I just made myself supper, banana pancakes. I tried very hard to find pancake mix. I found a Betty Crocker mix that comes in a jug. Just add water and shake. I am sorry, I think I wanted pancakes not crepes. So I guess I am going to have to make them from scratch, if I have any hope in spreading peanut butter over it. I should mention too, that when I was looking for syrup the kid was showing me corn syrup. The other worker, said like Maple syrup and I was like yup. So they have one brand and the label reads real Canadian Maple Syrup. Not made in Canada! I am learning so many funny things here. Not that they are weird just that they do things differently. I went to a sweet shop yesterday and they sold Lucky Charms, apparently you can't buy this cereal in the grocery store because of the sugar content. It is considered a sweet (candy). Yet, you can buy cocoa puffs and Frosted Fakes at the local market. The garbage system here is something to get use too. They have a bin for food waste only, which I pleasantly smelled this morning. A bin for mixed recyclables, including pop cans etc, and a bin for non recyclables. It is hard to get my head around it. I finally caved and asked for more specifics so I didn't make a mistake.

Every Tuesday they have an outdoor market, all year round. So I walked through it yesterday. I loved it. Fruits and veggies, bakery goods. I bought a pair of warm slippers. And if I really wanted to I could have bought some parts for my vacuum. I spent more time walking through the town itself. I found both of the fitness facilities. One is too far to walk to everyday, and I would use that as an excuse so that one is out. The little one by my place is cute, but little. They offer spin classes (which makes me happy) but they only have 6 bikes!

I have emptied my suitcases! I think for the first time in 8 months I am finally out of a suitcase. Not everything is hung or put away, but I don't care. I am suppose to be getting my bed tomorrow and my head teacher is going to loan me her futon. I promise to take pictures and post them. I just want to wait till I have more things and I don't look like I am living like a savage.

I started work today! I took pictures of the school which I will post on facebook when I am done here. What an amazing staff. So friendly and welcoming! It was a little stressful as I started the first day of two learning the Team Teach stuff. I think I was a little disillusioned about the type of students I am going to be having in my class. Lets just say I will be ready to handle escalating physical behaviour. I knew as soon as they said the windows only open one way so the kids can't jump out, I was in a true behavioural setting. I meet the students on Friday. I am fortunate enough to be job sharing for the first while with a teacher that has been at the school and knows the ins and outs. So I will have a nice gradual transition. The classroom is just being put together as it was under renos as was the whole school. So it is a bit scattered. After work today, I talked myself into going for a beer at a local pub. I met two people one lives in a small village around town and the other actually just moved to Thame last week. She actually is from New Zealand, but has been in the UK for a year. She told me to come back as there are lots of nice people to meet. I hope to talk more with her and find out about the interesting travelling she has done.

Well as you know I just finished eating flat pancakes and I must get the dishes done before I can settle in with a pot of tea and my book for the night.

I'll let you know how Friday goes with the students! Say a little prayer for me!

Getting Settled!

I apologize for my lack of posts over the past couple of days. I have been busy! Where to start...

I travelled by train for the first time on Friday. I went all the way to have tea with the Queen at Windsor Castle. Can you believe she forgot about having tea with Princess Tiana! So instead I walked around the castle and looked at some very beautiful things. It is too bad that I couldn't take pictures on the inside. The town of Windsor itself is small, but cute. Too see pictures, I will post some on facebook.

Saturday, I got keys to my new flat. I love it! I am so happy to be in my own space. It is slowly coming together. Having an unfurnished place is quite difficult. I have gotten a few odds and ends from a few people. I have also bought a few decorative things to make it my own. As I was putting the sheets on my bed, I had to laugh because I subconsciously bought red and white. Including my duvet cover. (Canadian, eh!) Some of the other things that I bought were a white with purple polka dot teapot. Red wine glasses (essentials) with berry coloured bottoms. A few picture frames so I can plaster all my family and friends all over. I found a great little store that had household things so I bought 3 throw pillows, a purple lamp and a stand up mirror. Needless to say I have spent a small fortune. But, I am here for a year and I need to be comfortable. The people here seem so much more friendlier than in Oxford. Just on my first day, I had many conversations with the shopkeepers, I had a girl personally take me through the grocery store. (I couldn't find anything, everything is in different packaging), I even had a shopkeeper carry my mirror back to my flat with me as I had too much to carry. Like that would ever happen back home. I met my neighbour, I think we will get along smashingly well. She is the manager of one of the oldest pubs in town! My landlord is great, he has already gone out of his way to find me some furniture. So life I think will be grand here.

I went by train to Bristol on Sunday, to meet up with a friend who I met in Saskatchewan. Together we went to a football club, the mall, a local pub and then a bar. It was great to people watch. The clothes that some of the girls wear, wow! I think most boys would like to come and spend some time here. I will have to go back to tour around Bristol. It looked amazing, but very busy. I will need at least a weekend to see more sights.

I must tell you that I had a little scare the other day when I went into my wallet. I didn't have my visa! I remembered that I had used it to buy a mobile Internet stick. I hightailed it back to the store. They had it locked in the safe. WOOHOO!

I'll end with this:
Moving away from everyone: scary as hell!
Going out for supper alone: Very lonely!
Realizing that you have miss placed your visa: Holy %#*&!
But having the Internet so I can share my journey with you: Priceless!