Tragically Hip: Fully, Completely Canadian

I was super excited when my friend Sarah discovered that The Tragically Hip were playing at the HMV Forum in London on November 30th -- a Monday night...in London...which means we would have to take the train and wouldn't get home until very late.  But seriously, who am I to pass up this kind of opportunity?  So I obviously, and with only a mere split-second of hesitation, bought a ticket, as did a few more of our friends. 

The Forum is quite a small venue -- much smaller than the ones I am used to the Hip playing at anyways.  When we got there the place was practically empty, and we were able to stand only one row of people away from the stage.  It wasn't until they came out that I realised how amazingly close we were. 

Gord Downie was literally two meters from where I was standing!

They opened with New Orleans is Sinking, and basically played every song I could have possibly wished for, including Poets, Ahead by a Century, Courage, Grace Too, Gift Shop, Blow at High Dough, At the Hundredth Meridian, Yer Not the Ocean, and In View.  And SURPRISE! -- Kelly Jones, the lead singer from Stereophonics, came on stage and sang a duet of Fiddler's Green with Gord Downie.  Absolutely incredible.  My brother and I freaking L-O-V-E that song; the first time I ever saw The Hip I made a sign that read: PLAY FIDDLER'S GREEN!  So, needless to say, as soon as I recognized the music I video-recorded the performance on my camera for my brother.  He just HAS to see it.  Not that I even need to mention this, but the sets (yes, there were two) were amazing. 

And speaking of amazing: Gord freaking Downie.  He is such an unbelievable performer.  I can't decide what was my favourite: Gord a) pretending he was a gorrilla b) walking through the audience c) bouncing wet handkerchiefs off his chest and then throwing them out to the audience, or d) getting annoyed with the amp on the stage in front of him so deciding to pick it up and hold it over his head - only it was too heavy for him so he fell onto his back with the amp on top of him and had to get assistance from the bouncers in order to get it off (all while his band kept right on playing).  Hilarious.  But wait -- I do know what my favourite was: the handkerchiefs.  Want to know why?  BECAUSE I CAUGHT ONE!  Yup.  All those years of being absolutely horrible at (and embarrassing my mom during) baseball paid off.  Caught that baby in the dark flying through the air.  Beautiful.  Not that I know what I'm going to do with it.  But whatever.  It's Gord Downie's sweaty handerchief.  I have one and you don't - so who cares what I do with it?

London Bridge is Falling Down

On Friday night I went to visit my friend Ashley from University who's living and teaching in London.  I left after work on the train and actually managed to ride the subway (with a transfer!) all by myself.  So proud.  When I got there, we walked and subway-ed our way through London to a restaurant called Sophie's, where I met a few of her friends.  I got to see Covent Garden Market at night, which was really pretty all decorated for Christmas. 

We went to a couple bars, had some wine (go figure), AND what was even more amazing: I got to meet JIM HALPERT!  (For those of you who don't know who Jim Halpert is, he's the man I love from The Office -- and one of Ashley's friends reminded me EXACTLY of him).  It was kind of spooky in a wonderful way.

The next day Ashley took me around London to see some of the sights I haven't seen yet: we went to The Tower of London and London Bridge, and she also showed me this pretty amazing church that a satanist built, the building where all the hangings used to take place, Picadilly Circus, and Carnaby Street.  We also had lunch at a place called GBK: Gourmet Burger Kitchen (seriously the best burger I've ever had -- and I know I say that about a lot of food in this country, but seriously...better than Little Beaver).

All-in-all it was a good couple of days.  Although I definitely came to the conclusion that I am a small-town girl at heart.  Quite frankly, I was getting a little sick of riding the subway.  It gets WAY TOO hot on that thing.

Is Football the New Hockey?

I decided I needed to have a "sport" here in England; since they don't really get into the NHL here, I thought I would try football (or what we Canadians refer to as soccer) on for size. 

A fellow teacher at our school, Bayo, is literally obsessed with football, and he kindly offered to take Sabrina and I to see a game up-close-and-personal.  We went to see Gillingham, which is a team in the 1st Division. Basically it works like this: Manchester United is in the Premiere League, then there's the Championship League, and then Gillingham comes, in the 1st Division.  There are two more Divisions after that...and the Maidstone team (the town where I live) falls after that -- apparently they kinda suck.

The game was really fun, other than the horrible weather.  It was cold and windy and rainy, and Sabrina and I immediately wished we had brought a blanket.  But whatever; we had our hot chocolate to keep us semi-warm -- and we can say that we experienced a TRUE England football game, weather and all. 

The crowd at this game was actually hilarious -- they get sooooo into it.  They sing bits and pieces of songs I have never heard (clearly "football" songs) randomly throughout the game.  I honestly don't know how they get it going; it's literally everyone in the stands, as though they got a memo upon entrance that states when and what they will be singing so everyone knows.  It was pretty cool.  They also yell profanities I am not used to hearing, which is kind of funny.  Things like, "You F***ing WANKER" really made me laugh.  My favorite, though, was when a fan was caught doing something inappropriate (although I didn't catch what) and was subsequently ushered out of the stands by huge security guards, and while this was happening, literally everyone on our side of the stadium stopped watching the game and stood up and waved at the guy.  I couldn't stop laughing.  Just picture hundreds of fans waving simultaneously at some stupid dude leaving the stands.  That has never happened at any sporting event I have ever been to before.  I wish I had gotten a picture of it!

Speaking of pictures!  So before the game had officially started, during the warm up, I, of course, got my camera out and started to document my football experience.  Well!  This horrible security bloke yelled at me from the bottom of the stairs, "You're not allowed to take pictures!!!"  I was like, "WHAT?!"  I mean, it's not like these are professionals and I'm the freaking paparazzi stalking them during their personal time.  I am a fan at a sporting even for frig sakes.  Even Bayo was surprised, since you're allowed to take pictures at the Premier League games.  Obviously though, as you can see, I took pictures anyways.  I had to be really sneaky and hold the camera low and close to my body and make sure the flash was off so that I didn't call attention to myself, but there was NO WAY I was sitting through that whole game and have no proof that I was there.  And what sucked even more about it was that pretty much all the football players are super smokin' hot, and I really wanted to take up-close pictures of their sexiness, but I couldn't, because of the stupid security dude.  Seriously unfortunate.

Anyways, the Gills won 1-0 which was pretty sweet, although it would have been nice if there had been more goals.  All this game really did for me though was make me want to go see a Premiere League game, so hopefully when my parents come down in April we can do just that.  And I'm going to take LOTS of pictures!

Wonderfully Wicked

On Thursday November 12th, my surrogate father here in the UK took me to see Wicked – the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical based on the best-selling novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. Wicked tells the story of Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West and her relationship with Glinda, the Good Witch of the South. Their friendship struggles through their opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, their reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace. The plot is set mostly before Dorothy's arrival from Kansas, and includes several references to well-known scenes and dialogue in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz as a backstory, including just how the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion became who they are.

The show was absolutely fantastic! The set was spectacular, and the music was phenomenal, including songs such as Dancing Through Life, Popular, I’m Not That Girl, and Defying Gravity (which were among my personal favorites). The woman who played Glinda, Dianne Pilkington, did a magnificent job, in my opinion – her comic timing was spot-on, and her voice was very beautiful.

It was especially awesome because I got to see the show from two different viewpoints: first, in our original seats, we were maybe 13 rows from the front and off to the side. These seats were good, as I could see the actors’ expressions quite well, but not great, because some of the things that happened in the corner of our side of the stage I couldn’t quite see. And Kevin was just not having that. At intermission he found his friends who work at the theatre (Kevin used to be in a band and he also played in a lot of shows, so he knows allllll the right people), and they moved us to the balcony. It was pretty cool to see the show from above.

I simply cannot wait to see more shows (since I can actually afford to now)...Sister Act, The Lion King, and Les Miserables are next on the list!  I'll let you know which ends up being my favorite.

J'adore Paris

My travels to Paris were a whole other story. Cara very kindly called me a “rookie packer,” which means I packed WAY too many clothes considering I needed to lug my suitcase all over the place, including onto two trains and several subways (which have about a million stairs, by the way). Now, by this stage of the trip, Cara and I have done nothing but walk (or so it seemed). By the time we got to our hostel, Oops!, I was about ready to cut my feet off. But instead of resting, we wanted to explore, of course, and thought we’d walk to the Eiffel Tower (“it doesn’t look that far on the map!”). Oh. My. God. Two hours later we were sitting (thank God) on some steps watching the Eiffel Tower light show – which, granted, was pretty cool to see, even if I did want to die from exhaustion.

On our walk back to the hostel, Cara and I decided to make our days in Paris interesting with a little friendly competition: we called it Prowling for Points. This competition consisted of each of us taking secret pictures of hot guys – if the other person agreed that the guy was hot, they got a point. If the other person didn’t agree, they only got half a point. We did actually start to keep track, but eventually lost count. However, I would like to take credit for the best picture: we call him D&G (Dolce and Gabbana), and he was taken on our second day in Paris. D&G, though, was definitely NOT the most beautiful thing I saw that day. We went to Notre Dame first, then the Louvre (definitely my favorite part of the trip), and finally the Musee d’Orsay. It was a busy day, but I was mesmerized by the beauty of the city and the absolutely exquisite architecture that surrounded me. Everything was just so captivating; I didn’t want to leave.

That night we went to a cafe for dinner -- I have to say that I much preferred the food in Amsterdam to Paris.  All they eat is baguette and cheese, and although I like cheese, I'm not a huge fan of baguette.  It's actually quite tough, and my jaw kept cracking every time I took a bite.  Not cool.  After this, it was like people with baguettes were following me everywhere I went: literally, people just buy a huge baguette and walk around eating it as their meal...what the heck?!

The next day we went to the Eiffel Tower again because I wanted to see it during the day (although it was so foggy that morning it might as well have been night again). It isn’t anywhere near as dazzling as everything else in Paris, but it was still great to see. We then walked down the Champs Élysées and went to the Arc de Triomphe. And, since we hadn’t done any walking, we decided to climb the 286 stairs to the top (needed a few breaks throughout, I admit). It was an impressive view, although it would have been better if it hadn’t been so foggy...

Later on that day we went to Montmartre and saw the Moulin Rouge (just the outside – it cost over 60 euro to see a show). We saw the Sacre Coeur Basilica, which is this magnificent church on top of a hill -- we didn't go in, but it was so beautiful to look at - the sun had finally come out!  We also went to the Pere LaChaise cemetery, which is the cemetery where Chopin, Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, and Charlie Chaplin, among others, are buried. It was soooooooo beautiful: the leaves were just starting to change colour, and some were starting to fall and decorate the cobblestone paths. I loved it there; it was so peaceful, so beautiful, and great for taking pictures!

We had Chinese that night for dinner (I needed to get away from baguette!) -- and Cara gave me a very good lesson on how to eat with chopsticks...and I did it!  I am actually very proud.

On our last full day in Paris we went to Versailles which was simply immaculate. King Louis XIV wanted a palace that was bigger than the Louvre, and he got what he wanted! Again, it would have been nicer if it wasn’t such a foggy day (we had a couple of those unfortunately), but it was definitely worth seeing. The golden gates and the gardens in particular were amazing. I wish I had been there in the summer when the flowers would be blooming and the fountains up and running. Oh well.

Although I would have liked to stay in Paris, I was admittedly happy that the trip was over (I needed a break from walking and my own bed)!  I had a wonderful time on my trip, though, and I can't wait for the next one!

I Amsterdam

I love travelling to Amsterdam -- our flight was only 45 minutes!  If only all flights lasted three-quarters of an hour...

We arrived in Amsterdam around 4:30pm, and so we decided to go exploring as soon as we dropped off our luggage at our hostel, Aviengo. In the town centre near the war monument there was a rather large carnival going on with some pretty sweet rides and games. We, of course, stopped to take pictures of this.  After a bit of walking around, it started to rain, so we decided to go to Madam Tussaud’s wax museum. It was pretty cool – the wax people look so real! I especially loved getting my picture taken with Justin Timberlake, George Clooney, and Johnny Depp (xoxo).

After the wax museum we went to a bar/café called Grasshoppers and had some wine (among other things – I mean, it’s Amsterdam)! On our journey home through the carnival we decided to be adventurous and go on the gigantic swing – basically this swing was like any swing at any amusement park, with a twist: so you sit in a seat and go around in a circle...sounds familiar, right?  Only this one went up up UP super high so that you could see all of Amsterdam from the very top. At first I was freaking out because I’m not a huge fan of heights, but once I settled down, it was pretty amazing. I felt like Peter Pan flying through the sky.

When we got off, on our way back to the hostel, we stopped and got waffles, which was probably the best tasting dessert I’ve ever had in my life. And, since we were being nutritious, we also had some fries (with mayo, of course – to be truly European), which, honestly, were THE BEST fries I have EVER had in my life. Seriously – go to Amsterdam if only for their waffles and French fries.

On the walk back to our hostel we decided to go through the red-light district. THAT was an experience. Just rows and rows (and streets and streets) of red lights framing the windows of women “at work.” It was definitely worth seeing. One street we walked down, though, had hundreds of men (or so it seemed), and no women apart from Cara and I. This was a little discomforting. This was the one and only time on my trip that I felt nervous, and admittedly a little scared. Just hundreds of men staring at these women, and Cara and I trying to weave our way through the crowd. We got out of there ASAP and carried on to our hostel.

On our second day (after a horrible night sleep because of some incredibly rude roommates), we went on the Free Walking Tour. Our tour guide, Ryan, gave us a wonderfully animated tour of Amsterdam, and even expanded our vocabulary (“this is a mysterical place”). We met some pretty fun Canadians, Liam, Molly, and Enyi, and spent the evening with them; we had dinner at a really yummy pasta place called Pizza Pasta Steakhouse, went to the Erotic Museum (WOAH), enjoyed a drink and a “coffee” at St. Christopher’s Coffeeshop - ;) – and went back to our favorite bar, The Grasshopper, to finish off the evening. It was a really fun day.

Day three in Amsterdam involved the Fun Hop-On Hop-Off Van Gogh Canal Cruise. Basically, it is what it says it is: it’s a cruise through a canal on a boat, and it stops at different places and you can hop off (and then hop on) whenever and wherever you want, depending on what you want to see. The Van Gogh part just means that we got our tickets to the Van Gogh museum included in the price. So, obviously, we went to the Van Gogh museum, which was pretty sweet. We also went to the Anne Frank house – informative and depressing all at the same time.

That night for dinner we went to a restaurant called Humphrey’s (named after Humphrey Bogart) – this was one of THE BEST meals I think I’ve EVER had. It was so incredibly good, I can’t even explain it. Just food making love to my mouth. Yup – that good. We spent our last evening – guess where? – in our favorite bar The Grasshopper, with lots of wine for company. It was splendid. Oh – and we had another waffle. Just had to.

POPcorn Poetry

On Thursday night my school hosted their annual Open Evening - a night when all the Year 6 students and their parents come to the school to check out the facilities, the teachers, and the content of each subject so they can make an informed decision about what school their children attend in Year 7.  Each school goes all out -- it's like this gigantic competition between schools to see who gets the most enrollments.  Everyone worked SO hard all week (not to mention the day-of, as most teachers, including myself, worked the whole day through, from 8am-9pm) to get everything ready and looking brilliant -- every room had to be spic and span, and most departments had some sort of fun, interactive activity going on (the history department, for example, had a murder mystery, "Cluedo").  The English department didn't really have a major activity like that, but rather each teacher did their own thing.  My room was the POPcorn Poetry room.  I had two helper students for the evening; Jake, who manned the popcorn table, and Sam, who tried her hardest to convince the Year sixes to write a poem about popcorn (believe it or not, the popcorn was more popular than the poetry).  They were great, though, and my room was definitely a favourite, as people could smell the popcorn from the other side of the school and were "following their noses" to find the source.  All in all it was a good, although very tiring, evening.

Bright and Sunny Days

This past weekend my local friend Davinia (who teaches geography at Holmesdale) took Sabrina and I on a day trip to Brighton.  Brighton is located on the south coast of England -- it's the most southern you can go before you end up in France.  And you know what this means -- BEACH!  Although this isn't exactly the best time of year to visit a beach, we did have a beautiful sunny day, and it was certainly nice to look at.  The beach is very pretty, although it's not sand, but rather stones -- not as pleasant for the bare feet I'm sure.   

There is this massive pier that you can walk down, which hosts carnival-like activities, featuring a funfare, rides, restaurants, and arcade halls.  I childlishly, and without shame, suggested that we ride the carousel -- so much fun (although taking pictures while you're moving up and down, trying to balance yourself on a deceptively slippery surface, actually proved to be quite a difficult task).  Sabrina and I had so much fun on it that we decided to ride the Crazy Mouse rollercoaster as well.  It was definitely fun to enjoy some rides.

After we spent probably far too much time on the pier, we decided to have some lunch at the fish and chips restaurant on the way back into town.  This was my first fish and chips meal, and it did not disappoint!  I have never actually eaten cod before, but I was very impressed.  It was scrumptious - and the chips were REAL potatoes, which made the meal that much better.  Also, as I was scanning the menu, I noticed a little something I've always wanted to experience: spotted dick.  I have wanted to know about/try spotted dick since I was like thirteen and watched King Ralph.  So I insisted that we get an order of spotted dick for dessert.  I have to admit, I was a little disappointed - it didn't look at all like a...well, you know.  It wasn't bad tasting - there was a strong cinnamon taste.  It isn't something I would order all the time though.

After lunch we decided to do some shopping -- let me just say that I really want to make it back to Brighton sometime soon, just so that I can do some more SHOPPING!  There were sooooooooo many stores!  It is just street beyond street of shopping - a little overwhelming, believe it or not.  And the stores were very unique as well; like, cool stuff I haven't seen anywhere else.  It was lots of fun -- and I even got some Christmas shopping done!

So after this very long day in the bright sunshine, and with our arms full of shopping bags, we had to make our way back to the car.  Oh - did I mention that all this beach and shopping is at the bottom of an absolutely MASSIVE hill?!  Well.  It is.  And I thought I was going to die.  Not just a little hill, either.  It was like walking on an eliptical machine for a half an hour, carrying like twenty pounds of stuff.  Need I say more?

Other than the heart-attack of a walk back to the car, though, I had a wonderful day in Brighton and cannot wait to go back!

(e)X(citing) Factor

One of the things I look forward to the most here in England – lame as it sounds – is watching X Factor. This show freaking rocks. And the talent is incredible – SO much better than American and Canadian Idol in my opinion. I was so excited for Boot Camp this weekend, where the judges will pick the Top 25. Before the results, here’s my faves so far (lets see how many of my picks make it):

• Danyl Johnson: Three words: OH-MY-GOD. This guy has it all and then some! He is a teacher, for one, which scores him crazy-points. On top of that he is super cute, has awesome stage-presence, a great personality, and MAN – can he sing?! Simon actually told him he had the best first audition he had ever heard. That says something.
• Miss Frank: This group of three ladies were originally soloists and were cut, but were told by the judges that if they went in as a group they could move on. I really like them together.
• Jamie Archer: Also known as Big-Hair-Dude (or Jamie Afro). This 34-year-old wowed me with his version of Kings of Leon’s “Sex is on Fire.” Very good performer; great stage presence. I just hope he can sing ballads too.
• Lucy Jones: This 18 year old beauty can sing Whitney, Mariah, and Christina unlike anyone I’ve ever heard (apart from the singers themselves obviously). I’m just waiting for Celine.
• Nicole Lawrence: After her dad passed away, this 30-some-odd year old lounge singer is determined to go further. Simon isn’t a huge fan yet, but her rendition of “I’m Not Goin” gave me goosebumps.
• Daniel Pearce: Daniel is one of the winners of the show Popstars: The Rivals – I was a bit turned off by that at first, but then I heard him sing. Great voice. Great face, too.
• Olly Murs: Love love love him! Sooooo freaking cute, and SUCH a good singer. Very charismatic…and I love his hats!

Ok -- lets watch the results!    ............*watching*............

I am awesome.  Truly.  All of my faves are in the Top 25!  I simply cannot wait for this show to really begin!

Key...Lime Pie?

For the past few days I have been trying really hard to wrap my head around England's education system, but it is a very challenging task.  The problem is with assessment -- it is TOTALLY different here than it is in Canada.  Here's a basic outline:

Years 7, 8, and 9 are grouped into what is called Key Stage 3.  They are assessed using a number system (kind of like our Levels 1-4 at home), but a little more complicated than that.  Level 3c is the lowest level, and level 7a is the highest -- "a" is bacially "+", and "c" is like "-".  So if a student got a 5a that's about a C+ at home.  Likewise, if a student got a 7c that would be like an A-.  So basically there are just a few more levels than what we have...for THIS stage. 

Years 10 and 11 are Key Stage 4, and these students are preparing for their GCSE exams.  They are assessed using a letter-grading system: A, B, C, D, E, F (oh - it doesn't stop here), G, and U (meaning Ungradeable).  So, a grade of F is NOT a failing grade like I'm used to, which is a little strange. 

So that's the grading system, but that isn't even half of it.  First of all, students never fail here -- they cannot be held back EVER - so even if they produce absolutely nothing all year, they will still progress to the next grade.  Seems a little strange, no?  Also, students are only marked on two things: their "Coursework" (which is a [one] Speaking and Listening activity and an [one] essay, a Reading and Writing activity, AND their final test of the term).  Each of these things (the Coursework and the Test - or "Assessment") take place in the final two weeks of each term.  So NOTHING that the students do during the class over the first four weeks of the term count towards their grade (which might explain why they are so unmotivated to do their work and why homework never gets done and why they don't pay attention in class, etc).  I look at the work that they produce in class and formatively assess it for their benefit only - basically to say, "This is where you are now, and if you do this, you will be here." 

Another thing: students do not get to choose what strand they take in each class.  In other words -- in Canada, if I am amazing at science, I can choose to take Academic or University science classes.  Similarly, if I am horrible at English I can take Applied or College English classes so they aren't as difficult.  Here, however, students are placed in a strand based on the combined results of their grades per year.  SO - if a student does really well in English but not so well in Maths and Science (the only three subjects that determine the strand), the school averages out their marks and places them in the same strand for all three.  So essentially a student could be in a strand way below their ability level in one subject and way above their ability level in another.  Kind of silly if you ask me.  The strands are as follows: Upper Strands are E, J, and K; Middle Strands are L, M, and N; and the Lower Strand is P.  This kind of levelling also kind of promotes segregation as well as low self-esteem, as the students in the middle and lower strands consider themselves to be "stupid."  It's quite sad, actually, and a difficult job for the teachers to prove the students otherwise.

Also, when students are 8 years old, they take this massive exam (kind of like an IQ test) called The Fisher Family Trust, and it takes all the figures and comes up with what grades these students should get on their GCSE exam (which doesn't happen until Year 11)!  So, when a child is 8, their GCSE exam results, eight years in the future, are already decided for them.  And basically all these grades are put into a big "grade bank" - and if a secondary school's GCSE results don't match up to what The Fisher Family Trust predicted eight years in the past, they are in BIG TROUBLE.
So this is it - at least what I can understand (and semi-decently explain) up to this point.  Confused yet?  So am I.

Throwing Chairs

So I survived my first week of teaching...

Teaching in Canada didn't really prepare me for the Children of England (this COULD be the title of a new horror film; one where students of different shapes and sizes viciously attack their teachers in various ways, all for their mere pleasure -- seriously consider this Darryl).

I'm teaching at a community school called Holmesdale Technology College - it is actually a nice school to look at -- two years new with all the technology a student or teacher alike could ask for. But don't let the pretty exterior fool you into thinking the students are equally as lovely. I really don't think they have EVER been told to put up their hand before they speak. I'm talking 25 kids yelling over one another at the exact same time, all while you are trying to ask them to be quiet, yet failing because, with all of their own self-generated noise, they can't hear you. Thus, the yelling begins. And it (the yelling) basically consumes you for three one-hundred-minute classes a day. After Monday I really didn't think I would have a voice come Friday. Lucky for me, I do.

Now let me discuss the ATTITUDES of (most of) these children. Three letters should do it: B-A-D.  I mean, they really have absolutely NO desire to learn. Reading this you might say to me, "Sarah, the students don't want to learn where I teach either." Believe me, your students-who-don't-want-to-learn are little learning angels compared to mine. It's like, when I ask them to write something down, I might as well have suggested they lock themselves in a room full of garbage (sorry students, "rubbish"), and spend an entire week sorting through it to find a very small dictionary which they will then have to copy out from front to back. They are DISGUSTED with me for even SUGGESTING that they pick up a pen -- that is, if they brought a pen at all. Oh yes, I am lucky if my students bring supplies with them. In fact, every teacher has to keep their student's workbooks in the classroom, because if we don't, they will be lost within the first week.

Behaviours are also quite crazy. Back-talking, refusal to do work/be quiet, flat-out SCREAMING and swearing at other students in the class who they may not - scratch that - DEFINITELY DO NOT like...the list goes on and on. AND THEN, when I give out detentions, basically one of two things happen:

1) the student argues with me about it until I end up extending their detention time (when they...)

2) walk out, usually cursing along the way

THEN - my experiences of the actual detentions themselves (if the student shows up) consist of students lying on their stomachs sliding themselves around all the desks in the room, or flat-out telling me they wish they could throw a chair at me. Like I said: lovely, right?

Don't get me wrong though - a lot of the students ARE quite nice and likeable. We laugh and learn and genuinely have a good time. So it's not all bad. Except that there is a handlful of these other students who ruin it for everyone -- not just me, but the students who actually don't mind being told to write something down.

The plus side is that I have a very supportive English and Performing Arts department who definitely help me along the way, and who have given me lots of suggestions about how to deal with these things. I probably would have cried every day if it wasn't for them.

So - that was it. My first week of teaching in England. I was so tired after every day that I could barely keep my eyes open past 9pm. BUT, on the bright side, I am learning how to deal with these behaviours, and like my parents said to me, "You'll be able to teach anyone after this." Very true, and so I am happy for this learning experience, even if it does mean I'm going to need an endless supply of honey-tea so I can actually talk to my friends and family when I come home at Christmas. Hahahaha -- what can I do but laugh?

A Little Drink, a Little Moo

So Sabrina and Cara and I were taken out on Saturday night by our friend Britny - a girl who works for TimePlan and who actually had my job last year (and, funny enough, used to live in Sabrina's current room). She's great, and when I told her we were thinking of having a movie night in, she said: "well that honestly doesn't sound like much fun." HAH - at least she's honest! So after she twisted our arms, we took a taxi to her house, had some wine (yes, I drank wine!), and went down to a bar called MuMu's. It's right around the corner from my house (which could potentially be a bad thing...) and is honestly the coolest bar I have ever been to! It has a very burlesque atmosphere - it's decorated with chandeliers and what I would call "royalty chairs" and these very bizarre pictures. All I wanted to do was take pictures of everything!
The dance floor was also awesome - flashing lights everywhere, great mixed music - and ladies -- the guys here DANCE! And I'm not talking grind-up-on-you, grab-your-body-parts, try-to- stick-their-tongue-in-your-mouth dance. I'm talking actual full-out DANCE. Dance-better-than-we-ladies-dance dance. It was incredible to see!
So after a great night of drinking and DANCING (there was also plenty of room on the dance floor, by the way - none of this I-can't-move...I-feel-claustrophobic crap we get at home), we walked down to the Express Taxi place, where basically you just get in line and wait for a cab to come around the corner to pick you up - no calling a cab and getting a busy signal and walking the entire way home crying because your feet are bleeding in your new shoes which you thought you loved but have very quickly grown to hate. Fab-u-lous.

We went to bed at 4am, after eating some nachos with salso, and I slept soundly, dreaming burlesquenificent dreams ;)

Moo

Settling In

So I survived my first week in England! Things were a little shaky at first - from my land lady failing to be at my incredibly dirty house (which we spent our entire first day cleaning) when I arrived, to the several wrong/missed buses, to our many sleepless nights due to jet leg and a semi-uncomfortable bed. But other than that (and the culture shock I am still experiencing) things have been going well.

On Monday, my mom and I, along with my roommate Sabrina, her mom Sue, and Cara, another girl teaching with TimePlan, went to Leeds Castle. The entrance fee was only £16.50, and your ticket is good for twelve months (we are thinking of going back in November for a fireworks spectacle). The grounds were very beautiful - the walk to the castle was quite long, following a path through ancient trees, gorgeous flowers, and fascinating birds, which borders along a large and shining lake. The castle itself was amazing to see - I loved the outside especially.

On Tuesday we took the train to London - it only cost £9.30 and we had access to the train, the underground railroad (“tube”), and all the buses for the ENTIRE day – pretty cheap we thought! We went to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards, although with thousands of people there we didn’t see much. Then we walked through St. James’s park to Big Ben, the Parliament Buildings, Churchill’s Museum, and Westminster Abbey (where Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married). We took the underground railroad (which was kind of tricky at first) to Harrod’s Department store - the most amazing store I have ever seen. It has five floors (with access by both elevator and escalator), and sells everything from grocery items to fancy chocolates and coffees, designer clothes and purses and shoes, jewellery and perfumes and cosmetics, home decor, sporting equipment, and so much more that we didn’t even see. They even have a pet department where you can buy a cat for £800! It was pretty amazing to see (and see is basically all we did, since we couldn’t really afford anything apart from a bit of chocolate and a couple bars of soap).

On Thursday we took the train to our school, Holmesdale Technology College. It's in Snodland, which is a bit of a distance from Maidstone (it took about an hour to get there). It is a really nice school - it has four buildings and tons of different subjects for the students. It was renovated only two years ago, so it's quite nice. Some ladies teaching in the maths department with Sabrina took us out to a local pub for lunch - so we had a fun day.

Other than that, we have been doing a lot of grocery shopping and organizing of things so that I am prepared and settled in. It has been a very busy week - but I've had a wonderful time with my mom!

The Countdown is ON

For the last two years (or so) I've dreamt of going somewhere to live and teach - somewhere different, exotic perhaps, cultured - somewhere over the rainbow (if you will).

On August 21st (a mere 18 days away!) I will fly to England to begin my fantastical adventure.

I will be living in Maidstone, Kent - a county that not only promises to fulfill my need to experience a different culture, but one that also offers such romantic scenery that I am sure to be swept up and simultaneously knocked off my feet -- Leeds Castle, in particular, is one of many magnificent museums that I simply cannot wait to see!

Maidstone is only 40 miles from London, and only 180 miles from Paris France (which, if you consider that Strathroy is about 140 miles from Toronto, is not very far at all).

I will be teaching at Holmesdale Technology College, a technology school with approximately 900 students ages 11-18. I'll be teaching English, although I don't yet know the specifics of my timetable or the courses I will have. Regardless, it will be an educational experience for me as well as for my students (I need to remember to avoid calling pants "pants" - that means underwear over there, no?). The language barrier will be interesting nonetheless, and will likely be the cause of many embarrassing stories for me to blog about.

It seems like only yesterday (such a cliche, but so true) that I had my interview with Timeplan - the recruiting company that hired me - and was offered a job. I cannot believe that in a little over two weeks I'm going to leave everything I know behind and start a life in a whole new world! This whole experience has been incredible so far, and I'm not even there yet. I can't wait to keep everyone updated on my adventures in the UK.