I have worked TWO days and already gotten sick! Granted, 90% of England is sick right now (including my house), plus jet lag and drinking on Saturday night probably didn't help, but still... I think I really need to develop a stronger immune system. They say that as a teacher, you get a stronger immune system after like three years of teaching. You get sick ALL the time those first few years and then you become SUPER immune. I wish I had that super power right now.
I worked in a nursery as an assistant on Monday, starting my job off easy and simple. I was with the Under 3s, but luckily for me, there were only two babies and the rest were two year olds (the best age! They are so hilarious!). I.e.
Kid holding a toy saw: "I am going to make you something"
Me: "Oh yeah? What will you make me?"
Kid: "A Sandwich"
It was a long day, but at least it wasn't very hard. I didn't have to do any planning or marking and just played with the kids. Yesterday, I went to a Year One class at one of my favourite schools. The kids were pretty wild. well, 5 out of 20 of the kids were wild. The rest were great and I felt SO bad for not paying much attention to them. That's the problem as a supply teacher. You learn all the bad kids names (Lily, Mustafa, Chelsy, Dylan) but none of the good kids names because you don't HAVE to learn their names. :( Its a shite role for them. They slip through the cracks. I did make note of some of their names though, so that at the end of the day when I wrote a note to the teacher, I could praise them for helping me out. Also, three kids lost their teeth that day... whats up with that? They wanted to join the trend after one kid lost his? Good thing I'm okay with blood!
However, after I came home, I was exhausted and starting to feel shitty. Fell asleep early (for me) and called in and told them I was unavailable for work today. Slept til 1:45 but I am starting to feel a bit better. Hopefully I can get back into the hell of the classroom tomorrow!
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Stones and Baths!
I have only been here two days and already gone on a mini-trip! We (Monica, Chris, Melissa and I) went to Stonehenge and Bath for Melissa's birthday!
It was a lot of fun and I'm glad we finally did it! Monica and I had tried to go to Stonehenge about three times last year, but the early morning departure time on a Saturday always deterred us from actually doing it! We left our flat in Lewisham around 7 am and headed to Victoria to catch the tour bus. The trip there was about 2 hours and of course, I fell asleep.
Stonehenge was much more impressive than I thought it would be. The rocks were HUGE and it was pretty interesting to hear how they transported them there from Wales and the theories behind their use or why it was created. There were a lot of "theories" but not a lot of evidence which I thought was still interesting. With all our archeological tools and scientific methods, we still can't fully understand it. Some things will remain a mystery I guess. Until we develop Doc Brown's Delorean at least.
Next, our tour lead us to the city of Bath where the main attraction was the Ancient Roman Baths (Hot springs and temples). I thought this was much more impressive than Stonehenge and I got a lot more out of it! We had audio guides that explained everything and were able to walk around the ancient waters and structures and actually see them CLOSE UP (unlike Stonehenge where you had to walk around a circle so far away!). We couldn't touch the water though because the pipes were made out of lead, they do not treat the water, and pigeons / seagulls do their business in there. It was pretty grimy and green, but nevertheless, I had such a strong desire to touch it. However, my sense of "I get sick from everything" overcame my curiosity and I had the common sense NOT to stick my hand in the water.
We were there for so long wandering about, learning things which I won't reiterate here (as I know history is not necessarily as exciting to others as it is to me). When we were finished, we went to a pub and I had some lovely fish and chips (my traditional bangers n' mash wasn't on the menu). We also bought some amazing delicious sweet buns from the world famous Sally Lynns next door to eat on our bus ride home.
While we were in the pub, we noticed that there was a television on that was showing riots that were going on in Central London! During the day there was a peaceful march to protest the British Coalition Government's spending cuts (from social programs and services like education, daycare and health care) and 250,000 people showed up to march!! IT was so impressive!! However, just like with the G20 thing, there were splinter groups the broke off and started rioting. They were upset about the fact that a lot of major corporations don't pay tax in the UK, so they started vandalizing shops on oxford street! TopShop got its windows smashed in, 150 people did a sit in at Fortnum & Mason, HSBC in Covenant got vandalized, and apparently the Ritz was on fire!! It was pretty intense and when we came back to the city, we couldnt' get dropped off at our pick up point because it was in lockdown. Luckily, we ended up at a closer spot (London Bridge) and got home safely, but still... a very eventful day!
It was a lot of fun and I'm glad we finally did it! Monica and I had tried to go to Stonehenge about three times last year, but the early morning departure time on a Saturday always deterred us from actually doing it! We left our flat in Lewisham around 7 am and headed to Victoria to catch the tour bus. The trip there was about 2 hours and of course, I fell asleep.
Stonehenge was much more impressive than I thought it would be. The rocks were HUGE and it was pretty interesting to hear how they transported them there from Wales and the theories behind their use or why it was created. There were a lot of "theories" but not a lot of evidence which I thought was still interesting. With all our archeological tools and scientific methods, we still can't fully understand it. Some things will remain a mystery I guess. Until we develop Doc Brown's Delorean at least.
Next, our tour lead us to the city of Bath where the main attraction was the Ancient Roman Baths (Hot springs and temples). I thought this was much more impressive than Stonehenge and I got a lot more out of it! We had audio guides that explained everything and were able to walk around the ancient waters and structures and actually see them CLOSE UP (unlike Stonehenge where you had to walk around a circle so far away!). We couldn't touch the water though because the pipes were made out of lead, they do not treat the water, and pigeons / seagulls do their business in there. It was pretty grimy and green, but nevertheless, I had such a strong desire to touch it. However, my sense of "I get sick from everything" overcame my curiosity and I had the common sense NOT to stick my hand in the water.
We were there for so long wandering about, learning things which I won't reiterate here (as I know history is not necessarily as exciting to others as it is to me). When we were finished, we went to a pub and I had some lovely fish and chips (my traditional bangers n' mash wasn't on the menu). We also bought some amazing delicious sweet buns from the world famous Sally Lynns next door to eat on our bus ride home.
While we were in the pub, we noticed that there was a television on that was showing riots that were going on in Central London! During the day there was a peaceful march to protest the British Coalition Government's spending cuts (from social programs and services like education, daycare and health care) and 250,000 people showed up to march!! IT was so impressive!! However, just like with the G20 thing, there were splinter groups the broke off and started rioting. They were upset about the fact that a lot of major corporations don't pay tax in the UK, so they started vandalizing shops on oxford street! TopShop got its windows smashed in, 150 people did a sit in at Fortnum & Mason, HSBC in Covenant got vandalized, and apparently the Ritz was on fire!! It was pretty intense and when we came back to the city, we couldnt' get dropped off at our pick up point because it was in lockdown. Luckily, we ended up at a closer spot (London Bridge) and got home safely, but still... a very eventful day!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Second Time's a Charm!
Well, here i am, en route to London to teach and travel for the second time in my life. I wasn't sure if I was going to return though as I had lost my way for a bit, but I really feel ready now. Ready to go on a new adventure.
This time however, i will be flying over by myself. Left airport around 11:30 pm instead of the original 9:10 departure due to snow removal on the runways, a backup of other planes waiting to fly AND then bc we were waiting so long, the fuel tanks melted the snow that should have easily blown off the wings but now turned to ice and we had to de-ice. Yeesh!!
I have a great window seat (perfect for the view of the de-icing process!) and a nice Indian woman beside me ( yay for no fatties!). Had some small talk and watched the first few episodes of 'community' (thanks for the recommendation Bao!).
Ate half my meal but wasn't too hungry, watched half of 'Sex in the City2' and then fell asleep uncomfortably for most of the rest of the trip. We finally got here around 10:30am in London times...
More to come.... Get ready for the SECOND EDITION OF SUSAN IN LONDON!!!
This time however, i will be flying over by myself. Left airport around 11:30 pm instead of the original 9:10 departure due to snow removal on the runways, a backup of other planes waiting to fly AND then bc we were waiting so long, the fuel tanks melted the snow that should have easily blown off the wings but now turned to ice and we had to de-ice. Yeesh!!
I have a great window seat (perfect for the view of the de-icing process!) and a nice Indian woman beside me ( yay for no fatties!). Had some small talk and watched the first few episodes of 'community' (thanks for the recommendation Bao!).
Ate half my meal but wasn't too hungry, watched half of 'Sex in the City2' and then fell asleep uncomfortably for most of the rest of the trip. We finally got here around 10:30am in London times...
More to come.... Get ready for the SECOND EDITION OF SUSAN IN LONDON!!!
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