"The Nightmare Before Christmas at No-Go Heathrow"

A brilliant title taken from one of many London newspapers covering the nightmare of Heathrow. Over 500,000 people were affected by the weather disruptions in Europe and, naturally, I had to be one of them. The end of term (which seems so far away right now) finally arrived and, with that, a wicked cold for travelling and a staff party at a club in Northampton. I had a great time and it was fun to celebrate with my staff before heading for home the next morning.

Saturday morning at 4AM, I leave Northampton for London. At Heathrow, I arrived a couple hours early and thought "Well...I'll have a coffee, check my bags, walk around a bit, and I'll be on a plane before I know it." I look up at the departures board and everything--everything--reads "Cancelled." Nobody understood why, or understood what was going on. A few minutes later, an announcement was made over the PA system saying that due to "adverse weather" Heathrow was going to be closed...welcome to the start of my very long day. The first thing was to wait in a re-booking line for 2 hours or so before a Heathrow worker walked by and handed out a piece of paper saying, essentially, that the airport workers would not be rebooking us there, we had to do it over the phone (a line that always automatically hung up because it was overloaded with calls) or online (a website which crashed and the WiFi wouldn't connect on my laptop) and we had to all go home.

After many frantic phone calls to Kristian later, he managed to book me a hotel room about 5 km away from the airport and I decided to hang around for the day to see if, just maybe, I could somehow get on a flight home. No dice. While waiting in yet another line, I started chatting with a couple girls and then 4 other guys arrived and we started to chat and hang out to pass the time. Tara, Jillian, Matt, Praveen, Brendan, JD and I were waiting in line when a BA worker, Soky came along with her personal cell phone and let us use that to call British Airways to rebook our flight. After securing a seat on the flight to Boston leaving Tuesday morning, the group of us decided we all deserved a drink and dinner. After about 14 hours in the airport, I was more than ready to head to the hotel. Praveen managed to jump the line for a cab (accidentally, but I wasn't going to complain) and then the cab driver told us the ridiculous amount it would costs us to get away from Heathrow--for me, the 5KM journey would cost me the equivalent of 50 dollars. Nothing like naming your price and squeezing all the money you can out of a bad situation.

I got to the hotel and collapsed. Not much excitement over the following two days, Sunday and Monday, except for me developing an unhealthy obsession with following the news, weather and frantically checking the Heathrow website to see if my flight was still a "go." As of Monday night, my flight to Boston was still scheduled to leave and the weather was looking promising. I woke up at 2:30 Tuesday morning and went online to check--still a go! I woke up at 6 on Tuesday morning and checked the Heathrow website--a pdf document listed all the flights that were going to leave Heathrow that day...my flight was not. on. the. list. Well. I called my airline and they told me my flight was still scheduled to leave so I decided that enough was enough. I was going to Heathrow and I was getting on an airplane and I was going to be in Canada by the end of the day or I was going to die (or end up on a no-fly list for the next 10 years) trying.

I got to Heathrow to see about 5,000 people in the terminal with hundreds of people asleep on the floor. I lined up (again) to get my boarding pass and I couldn't get the self-serve check-in to work. I flagged down an employee who then told me that my rebooked ticket hadn't been confirmed in the computer and I was, essentially, not going anywhere anytime soon. Somehow, he must have know the dangerous potential for the situation to become hysterical, because the man figured it out and printed me my almighty boarding pass. I was on the flight! I started chatting with a guy in the US Air Force and found out he was on the same flight as me, one row behind. We started hanging around together, standing in yet more lines and, in general, freaking out that we weren't going to make our flight. We were waiting to check our bags for so long, that we were pulled out of line and pushed to the front.

Next 45 minutes: check bags, run to security, through security, train to terminal, final boarding check--on the plane! At that point, I was excited, but trying not to get my hopes up. I had heard too many stories about flights that were taxied on the run-way and then pulled back and the people were told to get off and go home. My flight to Boston was one of 5 scheduled for that day and the only one to go out. An hour after our departure time, I finally took-off from Heathrow--I was on my way home! And in a seat upgrade to boot--thank you very much BA and, yes, I will take advantage of your complimentary bar service!

After becoming reacquainted with my good friend Bacardi, I landed in Boston and headed to my next terminal. While checking in, I was told that my connecting flight from Boston-Presque Isle hadn't been rebooked with my existing flight on Saturday. I'm not sure what the woman thought with me bursting into laughter at the counter, but, at that point, it just was too funny. Anything that could go wrong, did. Somehow, again, it got straightened out and I was given my almighty boarding pass. I went to my gate, 3 hours early and sat there, staring out the window at the plane to make sure it didn't leave without me. At 7PM that night, I was on my last flight home.

3 days, hours of waiting in lines, lots of tears and two flights later, I was on my way home. Getting off the plane in Presque Isle, I saw Dad, Susanne and Sarah waiting inside for me. I was home and I was so, so happy. The past couple of days haven't been too eventful--which is fantastic for me. Visiting family, eating, watching hockey again(!!), my first Tim Hortons in 4 months (AMAZING!!) and just generally loving being home.

Looking back over the time at Heathrow, I realize I was one of the lucky people who had a hotel room. There were thousands of people that just had no place to go and were sleeping on the marble floor of Heathrow for days on end. The airport had these yellow plastic raised platforms that people were sleeping on (lovingly nicknamed "banana boats") and were handing out blankets (after they ran out, people were given tinfoil emergency blankets), food (the packaged sandwiches from the airplanes) and bottles of water. It was just such a confusing few days...Terminal 1 & 3 were closed down to new arrivals--people weren't even allowed in the airport unless they were on a confirmed flight, Terminal 2 was shut down for construction, Terminal 4 was closed and Terminal 5 was running at 1/3 capacity. What is really frustrating about it all, though, is the fact that it snowed 10 cm on Saturday and that shut the entire city down until Tuesday, really. Heathrow is still not at capacity and will be a mess for the next week or more. I am so lucky that I got home and my deepest sympathy goes out to all the stranded people who will be spending Christmas at Heathrow airport.

And that, dear friends, is how this little Canadian found her way back home for Christmas. Merry Christmas!!

Never a Dull Moment...

For my under-age readers, this is your one and only warning. This post contains adult content.



...





I warned you.



So, the days are winding down before Christmas break and the atmosphere in the classroom is, naturally, slacking a little bit. It was only in 2nd period that I realized just how comfortable my students are with me.



3 quiet girls, who are oh so polite and nice to me in class.



"Miss?" They beckon me over
Me: "Yes??"
"What does 'cheuz' mean?"
Me: "Cheers?"
They repeat the word with several different inflections and pronunciations and me asking several different words: "Cheese? Chez? Jez?" (You may guess where this is heading right now..)
"No!" They say. "Like...in your pants. Jizz? Like jizz in your pants. We saw it on Youtube."
Me: "Oh dear God."

For any of you that are unawares, Andy Samberg and other Lonely Island boys made this music video called "Jizz in my Pants" that tells the unfortunate tale of a man who suffers from...premature ejaculation. And, apparently, this term "jizz" did not translate from American English into Her Majesty's English.

Well. Didn't we all just learn a fun little linguistic difference between England and Canada?

And the students were so curious as to why I couldn't stop laughing.

For Lack of a Witty Title...7 days to go!

So, here it is, 7:30 on a Saturday morning and I'm wide awake. Ugh. Why is it seemingly impossible for me to sleep in now? Most weekends, I am awake by 8, 8:30 at the absolute latest. Yes, it lets me get my shopping, errands, etc, done for the day early, but I miss being able to sleep in until 9:30 or 10, like I could do as a student. It's not for lack of exhaustion...at the end of each week, I'm ready to fall asleep at my desk by the end of the day.

It's now exactly a week until I will be home in Upper Knoxford and I'm thinking about how I felt, 3 months ago today (September 11). I thought I would never ever make it until Christmas. My job seemed too difficult, the kids too much to handle and home seemed so very, very far away. It's only been 3 months, but I can already sense a big difference. Instead of fighting me on every little thing, a group of my toughest students said they would miss me if I didn't come back from Canada after the Christmas break (a tempting thought at times).

I'm trying to figure out what it is, exactly, that makes teaching these kids so tough. I've been told that not all schools are like this, that not all British students make you want to pull your hair out. The students that make up the student body of my school come from really tough backgrounds and are, apparently, mostly "working class" (the British class system is something that I don't exactly understand yet and think it's a load of...well). The students that I teach, and at the Academy as a whole, are just more...vocal. More aggressive and argumentative. It doesn't help that lots of my students are bigger than me, and I look younger than some of the 6th-form students, but it's the same for most teachers. The students here are more likely to challenge us than the students I taught (albeit for a short period of time) back home. Whatever the differences are, I'm pretty sure that what I was told my very first day at the Academy is true: If I can survive here, I can survive anywhere.

One week left until I return home to Canada with a suitcase filled with more presents than clothes (including a jar of Marmite for my family to taste...and then destroy), lots of pictures and stories to share and a huge list of "to-do" things to accomplish while back home. Granted, most of those include drinking Tim Hortons and watching Hockey Night in Canada with my Dad so it won't be too stressful. I've been keeping an eye on the weather for back home, and I demand a white Christmas. If I do not get this white Christmas of my dreams that I have been building up in my mind since I boarded the plane for England back in August, I will be most upset.

Unfortunately, the England experience hasn't been as good for Joel. My roommate has not managed to land a job here as of yet and has made the difficult decision to move back to Canada. He's leaving on the 20th of December so, in the new year, it looks like I'll be flying solo. Joel, Zoe (a colleague) & I went out for supper and a movie last night. We went back to Red Hot, a world buffet that I went to with my English department, and then to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader afterward. God, I love Narnia. When I get home, watching The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe will be in order. Along with drinking lots of Tim Hortons. By the time I get back in January, my blood will consist of mostly coffee.

7 days & counting!

ATTENTION!

10 DAYS LEFT!

That is all.

13 days & Counting!!

Almost into single digits now--can't wait to get home! I'm more excited for the holiday break than my students, I think. It snowed--less than an inch, and now it's all melted, but I was still so happy to see it in the morning! I've had a good week and am able to cross some things of of my "Living in England" bucket list. This list consists of all kinds of things I want to do/see/experience while living in England or while traveling in Europe.

First experience: Marmite. A colleague of mine was having some Marmite spread on cracker-bread and I decided...well. It's a very English food, why not try it! She spread some out, it looked to have the consistency of molasses. The tip of my tongue touched the brown stuff and I almost gagged. Never. Again. Marmite is one of those foods that you either love or hate--no middle ground. I am firmly in the "hate" camp. I can't even really describe the taste aside from really, really salty. Gross.

Fortunately, yesterday, I had a better experience with traditional English food. I went to London again with Angela and stopped at a pub for lunch. I tried the steak and kidney pie and found it was really, really good. Not quite up to the standard of my steak & Guinness pie, but still great. I'm trying to pump myself up enough to try tripe...or black pudding. I'm not sure I have the nerve for that quite yet.

London yesterday was great--incredibly crowded, but great. Angela & I went to Madame Tussaud's wax museum and had so much fun (As most of you who are reading this--if anyone is reading this--you are probably on my Facebook and can find pictures there). Some of the statues were so lifelike, it was incredible! My favourites...Winston Churchill (of course), Barack Obama, Robin Williams, Jim Carey and Shakespeare. Oh, and Patrick Stewart...just for fond memories. After the wax museum we went along Oxford Street, which is decorated so beautifully for Christmas. There are lights strung everywhere, evergreen boughs covering the sides of buildings, big Christmas-y figurines everywhere...beautiful :). After was lunch in the aforementioned pub, then to Tower Hill (where I had actual hot chestnuts that were roasted on an open flame!!) and onto Camden Market after that. It's a great open-air market similar to the old Halifax market, with venues both inside and outside with lots of street entertainers.

On Thursday night, my school held an advent Christingle service in the chapel and I was able to go to that as well. It was really nice. We sang some carols and lit the Christingle--which I had no sweet clue what it was before going. A Christingle is an orange, with a red ribbon tied around it, a candle pushed in the top of it and 4 toothpicks shoved in it with dried fruit, sweets and nuts on it. There is symbolism to each part of the Christingle and apparently it's a tradition going back hundreds of years in Europe. After the service, I tried mulled wine for the first time (not sold on that either, but a definite step up from Marmite) and mince pie. All of this makes me excited for my Christmas Eve service at home.

To end this post, some interesting questions/quotes I have gotten from my students:

Student: "How do you say hello in Canadian?"
Me: "Hello...eh."
Student: "Oh. It's the same...ok, well, how do you say goodbye?"

Student, during the 20 minute fire alarm outside in the snow and below zero temperatures: "Miss, you must love this! You're Canadian...you like being cold," he said, noting that I had to leave the school without outdoor shoes, gloves, coat or anything to keep me warm.

Student: "Canada. The country of snow."

20 Days!

Yes. Please expect every post from now until Christmas (which, I will admit, probably won't be astronomical in number) to start off with a count-down numbering the days to my return to Canada. As of today, it's 20!! It still seems sooo far away but, in reality, the time will (hopefully) go by incredibly fast and before I know it, I'll be home :)!

The most exciting event to occur in the last few days is the dusting of snow I saw when I woke up yesterday. I was so excited! And by "dusting" of snow, I literally mean that. There was barely enough to make footprints in, but I still was pumped! This is a great little preview for my trip home at Christmas. I've also been told by most of my colleagues that, if we are to get oh, say, 5cm or so of snow, life as we know it comes to a screeching halt. England isn't prepared for the "wintery" weather.

Seeing the snow really put me in the winter mood and, with that, put me into holiday mode! On my excursions out and about yesterday, I bought 1) A book titled The Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill and 2)...

A little Christmas tree!

I've named the tree Charlie, after Charlie Brown, and he (it?) is sitting happily and merrily on my coffee table. Meet Charlie!

I realize I won't actually be in England on Christmas day, but the little tree just is a little holiday cheer while I count down the days.

The town center is decked out for Christmas and with lights and Christmas trees and stores are already blasting the holiday tunes. I'll have to make sure to get some pictures! I'm starting to get over the touristy-phase of living here and am not taking as many pictures as I first did upon arriving in England.

I'm experiencing my first set of long reports at school...the Canadian equivalent of report cards. Luckily, all my classes aren't due at once. Rather, the long reports are issued by year group so I only have to tackle it one year at a time. This is extremely helpful as I am having difficulty finding the right wording on reports. I'm nervous about my first parents evening. I've already had a parent tell me over the phone I sound too young to be a teacher...I can't wait until they meet me face to face.

The weather is beautiful here today and it is calling for another chance of "snow" and I think that is my cue to get outside and enjoy the sunshine, while it lasts. I'd take a snowstorm over the more-common rain and grey skies any day.

35 Days to Go!

The most important countdown has begun! Actually it's been in progress for a few months now...
The countdown to Christmas! Only 5 more weeks until I return to the true North strong and free(zing). I'm already looking forward to being home and being back with family and friends. And, another major part of my life that was left behind.

I'm speaking about hockey, of course.

I had a dream last night in which Mike Cammalleri, the closest thing to a Greek god that plays for the Canadiens, came over to my apartment for a cup of coffee. There are several things to be noted:

1)Why is Michael Cammalleri in Northampton, England? Not that I'm complaining...
2)I would never want to serve him English coffee...yikes.
3)This is a sign of major coffee and hockey withdrawl.

Dear Lord Stanley (cup),
Please, please, please, grant me my Christmas wish, and put Mike Cammalleri under the tree for me.

In other news...actually, this is literally about the news. Or the newspapers, to be more specific. As I was flipping through a local newspaper the other day, I began to pay attention to the descriptive adjectives (God, I really am and English teacher...) used in the articles. I've come to realize that British newspapers, despite the prim & proper British image, are rather...explicit in their descriptions. There was an incident in which a man exposed himself while relieving himself in the park. To describe this man: Pervert Flashes Passers-By. What?! Since when is it not slander to refer to someone as a pervert? I started to pay closer attention to the titles of other articles:

Boozer Wants Kids Back
Pervert Shows Porn
Psychotic Teenager Arrested

For an opinion column, they list the address and occupation of the respondent:

24, of no fixed address, unemployed
38, without employment
and so on and so on.

I began to realize that British newspapers really take their gloves off for their stories (I also realized that Northampton has some really questionable people living here...). This is yet another difference between Canada and England I'm just coming to notice. The British reporters seem to have free range of the adjectives they use to describe those they are writing about. Yikes. Remind me to never interview for a story.

Last weekend, I took my first tourtist-y trip to London for the day with another girl from the agency. It was lots of fun. We went to the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Globe theatre, a walk along the Thames, and lots of other places. However. The greatest place that we went to turned out to be Piccadilly Circus. Why? Because there is a coffee shop that serves...




TIM HORTONS.

Mind. Blown.





Elspeth had told me about the existence of this wonderful place and I could only pray that I could find this personal Mecca of mine. Angela & I met up and took the underground to Piccadilly Circus and were able to find this glorious coffee shop. A slight dissapointment, when it turned out to be a coffee machine serving Tim's coffee, but still. It tasted good...remarkably close to an actual double double. And, to top it off, they had Tim's doughnuts!





Boston cream, you complete me.



You can certainly bet your double-doubles that the Tim Hortons coffee-cup holder is now proudly displayed on my dressed in my apartment. For those really tough days when I need a visual pick-me-up.

Those days, while they do still exist, are starting to become a little-less frequent in occurance. I'm not sure when it happened, or how, but I've found myself starting to actually fit in at the school and not be so worn down by what takes place during a day. I'm starting to talk with other teachers about getting involved in the extra-curricular activities (the Glee club I currently help run is anything less than glee-ful) and the school musical is at the top of the list.

We had another faculty-night out on Friday and, instead of being completely exhausted and overwhelmed at the end of a week, I found myself laughing and sharing stories along with the other staff members. There are still rough patches (really rough patches) but it's starting to become more routine and less soul-shattering to deal with.

A new list of questions I have been asked by my students...

1)"Miss...Why are you so short?"

2)"Miss! Have you met Justin Bieber?!"
Me: "Ahhh, no."
Student: "Oh. Well, have you met his mom?"

3)"Can I come back to Canada with you? Like, in your suitcase or something?"

4)"Miss...Will you sing to us? Please? We'll be good!"

5)"Miss...do you go home every weekend?"
Me: "I go home every night...I don't sleep at school, you know."
Student: "You go back to Canada every night?!"

Ahh yes. Our future generation.

I also experience my first bonfire night in England last weekend and, I must admit, I never realized just how serious this occasion was. When out walking on Saturday night, I could see fireworks in the sky coming from several different directions around the city. And these aren't the DIY firework kits you buy at the corner store. These are professionally-planned and orchestrated displays happening here. They are beautiful. I found them significantly less beautiful when I still could hear the gunshot-like sound at 3 o'clock in the morning while trying to sleep, but a cool thing to have seen, nonetheless.

Well. I should probably get to marking the pile of books I brought home with me this weekend. But, first thing first. I need to go buy some gourmet coffee in case any dashing NHL players show up at my doorstep and demand refreshments.

Home Again, Home Again

From fjords and lefse to puddles and pudding, I have returned to jolly old England. Actually, I was anything but jolly at 2AM on Monday morning when I finally collapsed into bed in Northampton following a (delayed) flight and (delayed) coach ride. School was a tough reality I had to face Monday morning.

I had an amazing visit in Norway, yet again. I am quickly falling in love with the country. I'm starting to think that Norway will be my "happy place." A decent runner-up to my current happy place, which is home.

Throughout the rest of my break, I went for walks and did absolutely no schoolwork while Sarah & Kristian were at work and then spent some good time with them in the evenings. On my last weekend there, we spent it re-organizing the new kitchen, visiting with Sarah's colleague and her adorable new baby boy, visiting Kristian's family and doing some more sight-seeing around Stavanger.

The 2 most beautiful places that we went to visit were:

Brutte Lenke (The Broken Chain Memorial)

The memorial is located along the coast to mark the sinking of an oil rig in 1980, killing almost all crew members on board. It is a huge monument and located overlooking the sea. The walk to the monument took about 20 minutes along the gorgeous Norwegian coast and the view was spectacular. Along the way, we passed a small beach where there were hundreds of jellyfish congregating…gross. I was maturely poking at one with a stick when Kristian decided to put his funny pants on and scare the living hell out of me and I screamed loud enough to probably wake the dead jellyfish I had just been poking.

and


The 3 viking longhouses.

On the way back from Brutte Lenke, we stopped at a site where there once was a Viking longhouse settlement dating back from the Iron Age (around 350-550AD)! It was so neat to see them…I had to imagine how the country must have looked thousands of years ago to those trying to make a living and survive off of the land. The entire thing was made even more “realistic” (or funnier…) by the presence of 4 or 5 young men doing real-life role-playing…kind of like real-life Dungeons and Dragons. Seriously. Complete with costumes, shields and swords. I have my suspicions though that if these guys were to meet actual Vikings, they would be on the losing side of the battle. Big time.


So, another wonderful trip has come and gone and I find myself back at school and back into the same routine. However, it makes me happy to think that there are only 47 more days until I am back in Canada for Christmas. The countdown is on!

Day 1: I Kill a Television.

It's the first official day of my half-term break and I have already managed to screw up something technological thus far. Kristian has a very nifty all-in-one remote control that controls his TV, the Wii, audio system, DVD player, etc, etc. Annnnnnnd, in the company of yours truely for about 30 seconds, I now can't get the damn TV to turn on. I am a death sentence to all things technological. Sarah's laptop is taking its life into its hands by allowing me to be on here at the moment.

My visit has been great so far! I landed around midnight on Friday so came to Sarah & Kristian's and headed to bed. Saturday, Sarah had First Aid training at school and Kristian had some errands to run so I had the place to myself for awhile. After coming home, Kristian opened up his birthday presents I brought with me (a Metallica towel and the Dave Mustaine autobiography) and we headed for a walk downtown. Our 'quick walk' led us to the Stavanger Museum which was really cool! There was a Darwin exhibit on and lots of other exhibits showing Stavanger throughout history...supergeek in me is coming out now.




There was one exhibit in the basement that had all kinds of animals, both in skeletal form and stuffed form. One such creature is...



...This furry little friend. I knew it was long-since dead and stuffed...but I was still waiting for the eyes to blink or something.


After stopping for coffee and supper, we headed to Cardinal, the pub that we went to on my first visit here. Thankfully, I wasn't ID'd as Cardinal is 24+. We left Cardinal and went to another little place where the only people there were....the 5 of us. Sarah, Kristian, Per, Arthur & myself. And, to make it even better, the music was all country and classic rock. Score! After our wild night on the town, we ended up at home at the nice late hour of...9pm. I guess that's what happens when you start your day on the town in the mid-afternoon.

Yesterday, we went to Hallestø beach and took Sarah's colleagues dog, Theo, with us. Theo is a St Bernard 'puppy.' I use that term very loosely as Theo's head is about the size of my torso and he is capable of knocking me over with a well-aimed nudge. And the drool on that dog...I had a sudden flashback to the old Ghostbuster's movie where the pink slime was coming out of the bathtub, trying to snatch the baby. After a windy walking on the beach, we dropped Theo off and came home. Kristian's mum, Sidsel, came over for tea & coffee and it was really nice to see her again. She and her husband, Jon Einar, had been up in the mountains skiing over the weekend. She told me a saying often applied to Norwegian's and I'm starting to believe it: Norwegians are born with skis on their feet. Probably true.

I brought no schoolwork with me this week so I plan to relax for the next few days. I may head into work with Sarah at some point this week...we'll see if my nerves are up for that.

The Final Countdowwwn (Insert 80s hairmetal dance sequence)

Instead of doing something frivolous, such as marking notebooks or lesson planning, I have decided to spend some time with the blog read round the world. Ok, perhaps a little pretentious...a blog that is read in at least 4 countries. Obtaining world-wide fans aside, this blog has another major perk: decompression. It helps to be able to write everything down, keep my friends and family updated and just have a place to record some memories of this pretty big adventure I've found myself on.

This week has been the most stressful week yet, without a doubt. Last week all my students completed assessments and, this week, the task of marking them naturally had to be done. That was a big enough task. Add to that...

--Staff meetings/co-curricular activities every single day after school
--Two open evenings for parents and potential future students
--Re-interviewing and re-applying for my job to continue past Christmas--which included a 3-hour interview process, a lesson observation, a formal interview, a formal application and setting cover work for the time I would be doing the interview
--Lesson planning (apparently that's an important part of teaching...)
--Dealing with the cold/flu bug I found myself gifted with last Sunday

Hmm. Oh, yes. I tried to sleep every now and again.

Somehow, with the help of lots of over-the-counter cold medication, a few breakdowns here and there, and lots of raging moments of "I can't do this! Get me on a plane back to Canada!" I survived. The assessments are all marked, the open evenings are over (rather successfully, I think...the young kids looooved making me say things in my "funny" accent), I'm feeling much better thanks to lots of sleep over the weekend, the lessons were somehow planned and I successfully was signed on with the academy until the end of the academic year. I celebrated Friday night by getting take-away, eating the first proper meal I'd had all week, and going to bed by 11pm. I know. I'm livin' the rockstar dream.

After all of that, it felt like it should be mid-term break. But, oh no. Not yet. I have a 4-day week this week with the students and a morning of staff training next Friday before I head across the sea to Norway for my mid-term break. Can't wait!! Kristian's birthday is this Wednesday, so I'll be just in time for birthday celebrations on the weekend. Aside from that, just looking forward to having time to relax, not think about school (as if that will happen), spend time with Sarah & Kristian and hopefully discover some long-lost Viking tribes that happen to be kicking around Stavanger. I promised Zach I'd try to bring him back a pirate ship from England, but maybe a Viking shield or helmet would suffice.

I'm missing home, missing family, hockey, TIM HORTONS, and the beautiful fall weather I'm accustomed to in Canada. It's nice enough here...starting to cool down, stay grey-skied most days and the weather is tending to lend itself towards wet and raining most evenings, but not what I'm used to. I miss the smell of a fall morning (as cliche as that sounds) and the warmth of a wood fire. Oh, dear. I think I'm turning into a Harlequin novel. I suppose that is a sign I have to drag myself to marking notebooks and prepping for school tomorrow morning.

T-minus 5 days!

I'm pretty much Jack the Ripper...of computers.

Yes. The (apparently) inevitable event has indeed happened. I've killed my laptop.

I killed it.

DEAD.

To forego the many curse words I would like to apply to my current situation, I will, instead, just have a moment of silence for the latest victim of my computer-killing spree. It's quite sad, really. This laptop was still just a baby. Only 4 months old. I'd like to say a few short words about it...

Dear Laptop.

At the tender age of 4 months, you decided to leave this world in a blaze of glory and crashed hard-drives.

You were a good, if short-lived, friend, that provided many a hour on Facebook and MSN. Hours that should have, probably, been devoted to lesson-planning.

You survived the trans-atlantic journey to England only to lose your life tragically one grey Saturday morning when I pressed the power button, unknowingly delivering the fatal blow to your system.

O, woe is me, dear laptop. Just so you know, I will always remember you.

I will always remember you as the POS laptop I bought from Futureshop, the store which is currently on the receiving end of some seriously violent thoughts from me at the moment.

In closing, dear laptop,

I hope you burn in the eternal fires of damnation.

Is It Mid-term Break Yet??

Ahh, the end of another week. Thanks be to God. The weeks, in retrospect, go by really fast, but man I am exhausted at the end of the day and dead on my feet by the end of work on Friday. Continuing on with the weekly tradition of "screw cooking!" Fridays, Joel, a colleague, Zoe, and I went back to O'Neills for a (few) drinks and some supper. It's such a relief to know that I don't have to even think about school for the next 48 hours (nevermind the fact I dragged home about 15 pounds of marking in my bookbag today) and I can enjoy my weekend.

Hmm. The biggest news happening recently is my upcoming trip to Norway on my mid-term break. I fly out Friday afternoon & return 9 days later, just in time to crash for the night and head right back to school that Monday morning. I refuse to take--or even think about--schoolwork with me, so I'll be slightly manic (and incredibly cranky) by the time I board the flight. I've made up my mind and decided I refuse to spend a break, whether it be a mid-term, Christmas, or otherwise, here in Northampton. I'm heading to Norway for this break, going home for Christmas, hopefully Greece for my spring break and we'll see what other adventures I can find myself on for the others. I want to be able to look back when I'm 50 and finish a story to my grandkids by saying "...and when I woke up, it was just me, the goose and I was lost in Italy!” or something else amazing along those lines. I was to have as many great, crazy and terrifying adventures as I can while I can still get away with the excuse of being young and irresponsible.

Not too many random adventures happening as of late. As part of my job requirements, I help run a co-curricular club afterschool on Thursdays and it just so happens to be a Glee club. It is lots of fun, so far. Although my little Gleeks just enjoy making me repeat words back to them in "Canadian" for the hour we're there. I did a nice little Michael Buble duet—by default since the rest of the students refused to sing—with a kid this past week (which may have been slightly inappropriate and I'm sure Ray Williams is screaming somewhere '701!! 701!!!). Speaking of Michael Buble, I was going to buy tickets to his show in Birmingham this weekend but they are sadly all sold out. So. The moral of this story is that I would probably sell a kidney if I could get a ticket to see his show. Cause, when I think about it, it'd be a little hard for him to propose if I'm not actually at the show. See? Always thinking.

While talking to a colleague this morning, I realized that I actually had to concentrate to pick up on her accent. I was amazed—did this mean that I really was growing accustomed to living in England? Was I actually beginning to understand the British accent? I was so proud of myself! …Then I had to ask a kid to repeat the word “football camps” about 5 times before the rest of the class, in unison, shouted back “he said FOOT…BALL…CAMPS!!!” and I was knocked off my high horse pretty quickly. I’ve also had the first awkward student-add to Facebook. I came to realize pretty quickly that I should probably not have lied and told my students I didn’t have Facebook because that lie apparently doesn’t hold up well. Damn this Gen-X and their Facebook frenzy.

To add to the list of strange questions I’ve had from my students…

--“Miss? Miss?! Do you know you’re not wearing any pants?!” (This came today from one of my Year 9 girls who saw me wearing a skirt and wanted to make sure I knew about the change of my wardrobe)

--“Miss…how do you drive in Canada? Like…do you have cars yet?”

--Student: “what’s that thing on your flag?”
Me: “A Maple leaf”
Student: “What’s it do? You know…what’s it grow on?”

--Student: “Do you have those things in Canada…you know. Like reindeer. Only not. You know!”
Me: “Moose?”
Student: “What the hell is a moose?!”

--“Is there ever any sunshine in Canada?”

And, yet again, I’ve been asked if I know Justin Bieber one too many times. I really, really hope that he falls out of the limelight soon. Or hits puberty. Either would work fine.

As always, I must end with yet another brilliant story about my grace, wit, or impeccable sense of timing. I was doing duty at afterschool detention today (FYI: kids love doing detention afterschool on Friday afternoon. Love it. They don’t resent you at all) and had diligently shown up on time, spoken to the students I had put on detention for some silly little reason (such as throwing a book at someone’s head or something equally as inconsequential) and stepped out to speak to a member of staff. I walk back into the theatre (the only room big enough to house the number of students we had on detention) and bump into the vice-headmaster who looks at me and says “Alright Jess? You just showing up now? A little late, aren’t you?” and walks away before I thought of a coherent enough sentence to respond. Damn damn dammit.

T-14 days until Norway!

It's a Miracle!!

It has finally happened! It's wonderful, glorious, life-changing!!

Did I finally find peace at my school? Hell no!

I have the Internet! FINALLY! It has involved many phone calls, many foiled and frustrating attempts and me vowing to burn down a couple of public buildings, but the wonderful day as finally arrived! It makes everything so much easier...keeping in contact with my family, lesson planning....everything!

Speaking of lesson planning, I suppose, brings me to school. School is so difficult. The behaviour of the kids is so challenging; I was not prepared for this, nor do I think I will ever be fully prepared for this. I have such limited experience teaching, but I have never encountered this type of situation before. So, in times of trouble, I like to turn to prayer.

God, give me the strength to carry on,
Grant me the patience I need so I don't throw a stapler at a child's head
And, dear Lord,
Please keep my fridge stocked with delicious Irish cider.

Until next time,
Amen.

Just a Quickie...

Dear Blog.

I am sorry I have been neglecting you. The fact that I still--yes still--don't have Internet makes it hard for you & I to spend time together.

Happily, I will (supposedly) have Internet as of Monday. We will have a good reunion then. I miss you dearly.

Love,

Jessica

PS--School is enveloping so much of my life that I am not able to enjoy England as much as I would like. This, also, makes me sad. The paycheque I got yesterday that was transformed into new clothes today helped. A little bit.

Hello, My Old Friend

Ahh, to be online again. How I have missed it. I still don't have Internet access full-time...I'm currently relying on a one-day pass that I bought in desperation to dispel the boredom of a Saturday night at home.

Onto happier pieces of news, Joel & I are out of the hotel and settling into our new apartment. We moved in last week and I am loving it thus far. Most of last weekend & a good part of the day today was spent running around town, buying the little odds and ends that really completed our place. Pictures will be posted to FB soon...as soon as we get the Internet hooked up. I'm loving this apartment. It's so much nicer than any apartment I've ever lived in before, and a really reasonable price as well.

I've started work as well and am happy to say that I survived my first week of teaching. However, I have to say that I feel I barely survived. Monday, I only taught 2 periods. I felt like it had been very successful, my 2 Year 7's classes were great, and I went to work Tuesday feeling good. Tuesday, I met my 2 Year 9 classes and my year 8 class as well. Afterschool, I told my department that I didn't want to come back Wednesday. We'll just leave it at that and, it is safe to assume that my first full day of teaching can best be summed up by the word "catastrophic" and lots of tears were shed. The week improved, thankfully, and now I'm looking toward another week coming up. Last night, the English department all went out to a restaurant called Red Hot, which is a buffet place that features food from around the world. It was fantastic. There are so many new restaurants and little places to see and go. The market in the town center is so awesome...full of wonderful stalls selling everything from silver jewellery to fresh-ground coffee to fresh produce and flowers. It's lots of fun to just go and people watch...however, I am quite concerned about the abnormal amount of pigeons found in the market square. And these pigeons seem to have it out for me....I'd best be on my guard.

So, aside from the stress of school, I'm settling in well. I'm missing home and would kill for a Tim Horton's coffee on my way to work in the mornings. On the up side, it's 99% confirmed that I'm heading home for Christmas, so the countdown is on!! I'm so looking forward to being home when there is tons of snow instead of lots of rain, lots of Tim Horton's available and I can see my cats, get Tim Horton's, see my friends & my family!!...and get Tim Hortons. AND watch hockey with my dad!! I think the first true day of homesickness to come will occur when the NHL season starts and I am not watching the first Saturday-night Hockey Night in Canada with my Dad.

On a geeky update, I'm looking forward to the release of the new Harry Potter movie in a couple of months. I think it would almost be worth the train ride to London to go and see the movie.

To end the post, I'll list some of the funnier questions I've been asked by my students:

--Do they speak the same language as us in Canada? (I've gotten this one several times)

--Are you Australian? Are you American? (Not funny, the last question, but expected)

--Do you have a dog in Canada?

--Are you really 23? I thought you were 15!! (No word of a lie, a student told me this)

--What is ice hockey?

--Do you know Justin Bieber, since he's Canadian too?

I'm sure this list will get longer and longer as the year progresses. Stay tuned!

My first Euro-trip...Followed up by less-fun induction.

I have to start off by thanking Sarah & Kristian for an amazing visit to Norway and all the hospitality that they showed me during my stay. I had such an amazing time, it was so much fun.

Thursday night, landed around midnight so went to Sarah & Kristian's and went to bed. I went to school with Sarah on Friday and got to experience a day in the life of a kindergarten teacher. Two words: never ever. Sure, the kids were pretty cute and they were really funny, but I don't think I will ever ever have the energy--or patience--to step foot into an elementary school classroom and teach children anything productive. After school, we picked up some groceries and headed home to BBQ for some of Kristian & Sarah's friends that were visiting. It was nice to meet the people that I've been hearing about for so long. After some drinks and epic Wii battles, we all head downtown in a taxi van, which is better known as the Maxi Taxi...everything is better in Norway. The club we went to was 24+ and, just having turned freshly 23, I was worried I wouldn't get in. So, taking full advantage of my not-so-full height, I walked in between Kristian, 6 feet, and his friend Per, 6'3. Basically, I was invisible.

Saturday started off with a late breakfast and then followed by cake & coffee with Kristian's parents in the afternoon. I got to meet Kristian's parents and brother, about whom I've been hearing for the past 5 years, so it felt strange to just be meeting them for the first time. It was so nice to meet them and they were really great. I tried out the (very) basic Norwegian that I know and they all were very appreciative. How do I know? They all cheered. No quicker way to make me blush to my hairline. We went to the mall & my wonderful sister bought me a beautiful sweater to help ward off the damn (oops...I mean damp) English cold. One of Sarah's colleagues, her husband, and Per came over for dinner followed by drinks and a serious Google Earth party.

Sunday was exciting!!! Out comes the geek in me. Sarah & Kristian took me to all these wonderful places in Stavanger...we started off at a beach with WWII bunkers still standing from the German occupation during the war. Kristian & I went inside...him crouching down and almost crawling, me waking in and wondering what there was to hit my head on. Next, we went to a church that is one of the most popular to get married in in all of Norway. Some of the stones have gone missing throughout the various rebuildings over the centuries and have been replaced by glass "stones" so a good part of some of the walls are see-through, including the back of the church that overlooks the oceans. One thing that is needed to be know about the Norwegians: they take their views seriously. If you don't have a good view of the water, you have a problem. After that church, and my uncomfortable encounter with the building where bodies are prepared for burials, we headed to a church in downtown Stavanger that is over a thousand--that is 1000--years old. It's a huge stone church with architecture that blends Pagan & Christian traditions (at least that's what I was told) and has artifacts there that are centuries old. The carvings, plaques, pews, pulpit, sanctuary...everything was so beautiful. We walked through Stavanger, along the waterfront and through old Stavanger before heading to a huge monument on the shores of Hafrsfjord where there is a huge monument--3 stone swords, at least thirty feet tall each--commemorating the Battle of Hafrsfjord, when Norway was united under one ruler for the first time. It was awesome...the view, naturally, was beautiful. The picture is Sarah & I in front of the swords. The landscape, architecture and scenery is so beautiful there. If anyone reading has not been to Norway yet, you need to go. Now. Well...finish reading this first and then book a ticket over. It's just amazing. I can't wait to go back.

A short plane ride and not-so-short coach ride later, and a very few hours sleep, I was back in Northampton and ready for my first day of induction yesterday. Heading to Luton on the train, I was 1)trying not to fall asleep and 2)wondering what the day was going to bring. We met the other teachers from the area and had a good, but long, day of talking, hearing stories about previous Timeplan teachers and learning all the things we needed to know about our school. Today brought a more relaxed day of induction where I learned that I have my first day of staff training at the academy tomorrow...so we'll see how that goes. I could be teaching as early as Friday. Go go gadget panic button. I imagine the day will go something like..

--Get to school

--Greet the students

--Panic, feel like quitting

--Teaching, somewhere along the way

--Go home and crash.

Repeat for the next 190 days.

At least I'm remaining consistent.

Takin' this Birthday to International Proportions

It's my birthday! :)

While I have celebrated my birthday away from home before, this is the first birthday that I have celebrated away from home while on a different continent. According to Canadian time, it's not my birthday for another few hours...but I still count it. Sarah & Kristian have been amazingly kind enough to invite me to their place in Norway to celebrate my birthday for the weekend--I'm so excited :). I fly out tomorrow evening and, if all goes according to plane, will arrive back Sunday evening, tired and hopefully ready for orientation Monday morning.

On another happy note, I do believe that we've found an aparment! Joel & I went to view it yesterday afternoon and, for the cost of rent, bills, etc, all included, it's a great price and a really good location. 2 bedroom, both with ensuite bathrooms (score! No sharing my bathroom!!) and fully furnished. I'll post pictures if (hopefully when) we move in...the letting agent still had a couple viewings yesterday afternoon, I just hope, hope, hope that it wasn't let after our viewing.

I haven't had any more embarrassing blunders that I know of. Oh, wait. I was trying to buy a bottle of water the other day, and it cost 46 pence, or something along those lines. Instead of having just pennies, nickles, dimes, quarters, etc, there is also a 50pence piece here. Mistaking them for my more-familar Canadian quarters, I tried to hand 2 of the 50p pieces to the clerk and couldn't understand him when he kept telling me, "too much! Too much!" It turns out that I also cannot pronounce the names of streets. There is a street just up from our hotel called Leicester Parade. Reading it and pronouncing it as I would normally, I assumed it was pronounced along the lines of "Lie-kester"...oh, I couldn't have been more wrong. Chatting to the guy who was selling me my mobile phone, I was informed, amidst his many chuckles, that it was pronounced "Lester." Oh. Obviously. Lester.

Other than that, things have been going exceedingly well. Although I did walk out into traffic last night when we were coming back with supper. Oops. Uncle David's mantra of "look right, look right, look right" just doesn't seem to be sticking.

Looking forward to seeing Sarah & Kristian, meeting his parents & seeing some of the Norwegian landscape this weekend! Here's to hoping I 1)make it to the airport on the train successfully--it's my first trip solo and my first trip on the train system, period and 2)by the time I return, I'm living in my own apartment! Also...if I have an address, it will be much easier for my parents, and loving friends, to mail me some decent coffee. I'm still holding out hope I can find a decent cafe around Northampton. Stay tuned for updates. Trust me. When I find a decent cup of coffee, my shouts of joy will be heard across the Atlantic. If all else fails, I will have to replace coffee with Irish cider for my morning wake-up.

Hello, my name is Jessica, and I'm a Gleek.

I may be cursing myself in just a few minutes (I'm quickly realizing how suddenly the weather can change here in Northampton) but today is the first day since arriving in England that it hasn't rained. Not one single drop. It's been beautiful and sunny all day. Unfortunately, I'm slowly going a little crazy in the hotel we're staying at. I'm very anxious to get an apartment and have a little more room to move around.

The past couple of days have been tame (AKA boring as sin) and consisted mostly of me watching the entire first season of Glee--I am now addicted to that show. It is just wonderful. I don't like walking too far since I'm unfamiliar with the area and there is really no sensible pattern to the street grid...that I can figure out. Knowing me, I could get myself lost and end up walking to Scotland. I guess I should keep in mind, if I start to see kilts, I've gone too far. Other than that, I can probably figure the rest of it out. I also got a cell phone for the time that I'm living here...I have no idea how to read the phone numbers I'm given...usually North American numbers can be read 459-4242, or whatever, with a certain rhythm to it. The numbers here are about 10 digits long, all grouped together with no dash in between to break them up. I'm going to 1)have a hard time remembering my phone number and 2)learn how to read/say a phone number aloud.

There is some absolutely amazing architecture in this part of England so I plan to spend a lot of the morning/afternoon tomorrow just walking around to see some of the sights. Of course, weather pending. I can't get over how old some of these buildings are. In the market square area, there is a church, All Saints, which dates back to the 13th century. Just up from market square, there is a building dating back to the 1700s that now houses...a Subway restaurant.

Aside from enjoying the beautiful buildings and Glee, I have also fallen in love. Yes. I realize that I have been here less than a week, but my life has been changed forever. Actually, my love & I were introduced my second night in England, and we had a second meeting last night.

Obviously, I'm talking about steak and Guinness pie.

Joel & I went to an Irish pub last night, O'Neill's, that had a pretty amazing steak and Guinness pie served by a waiter with the thickest cockney accent I've heard so far here. There is just so much to see while I'm living here (the rest of Northampton, England as a whole, the larger UK and, ultimately, as much of Europe as I can), I have no idea when I will find time to work. I guess if I want to keep steak and Guinness pies a part of my life, I will need to work to provide myself pie money.

There are so many people from back home that I know would just love it here. I wish that so many of my friends could be here with me, exploring and having fun. Again...I extend an open invitation to all who wish to take a quick trip across the pond.

If I don't post again for awhile, it's most likely because I am begging in market square with a sign saying "will teach Canadian slang for steak and Guinness pie."

Please, Sir, Can I Have a Room??

I have to begin on a on a sad note, I extend my condolences to the Cole family on their loss late last night/this morning. Rest in Peace, Brian. You will be very much missed.

Today's adventure began with my first encounter with a "full English breakfast." It, Victoria may be sad to read, did not include any form of pudding--which made me rather happy, as I wouldn't enjoy throwing up my poached egg all over the nice dining linens. However, this "breakfast" was so generous that, after eating at 8:30 in the morning, my next meal was supper, at 6:30 this evening. The rest of the morning took Joel & I on a flat-viewing expedition around town. The first apartment that we looked at was rather far away, not conveniently located to...anything...and, I doubt, will be our first option. The second flat was in an amazing stone building, a former hotel, and had actual chandeliers in the hallway, "reception room" and the master bedroom. A little exorbant for a first-year teacher's budget, but it is definitely an option. After frantically searching most of the afternoon, we have discovered some more lettings that are available to look at...hopefully very soon. And hopefully they are not very expensive. I will not be sad to say goodbye to living on a student budget.

Tomorrow will hopefully bring a viewing close to the fantastic pub we ate at last night, the Thomas Becket. It's close to the train station, (did I mention close to the pub?), located near a lot of primary schools for Joel and, most importantly, located close to the pub. Also on the agenda is getting mobile phones...I don't think the hotel is going to appreciate all of the letting agencies calling us to book viewings.

Some little cultural things I'm starting to realize I should have looked into before moving here include:
--Tipping in pubs
--Traffic laws
--Ordering in restaurants
--Asking for directions (a woman on the sidewalk this morning apparently thought I was ready to mug her when I asked, "Sorry, could you please tell me where Upper Priory street is?")
I'm sure there's more that this little Canadian is culturally ignorant of, but I'm sure those fun little lessons will be discovered in time.

I love listening to the pouring rain outside my window. Hopefully I don't get sick of it over the next year or so, but I guess we'll see. I'm missing my family & friends back home, but am starting to get excited for the, hopefully great, experience ahead of me. Lots of (mis)adventures to come.

Yeah, We're Canadian...eh.

Well, it has been a couple of hours since my last (and first) post, but already I've had another great experience. What experience?

The traditional English pub experience.

Joel & I went to the Thomas A Beckett pub for supper (tea? dinner?) tonight and it was, simply, wonderful. We had a very, very friendly bartender--so friendly we sat at the bar to eat and talk with him during our meal--who was very helpful in choosing a nice mild beer, Greene King, for me to drink. I ordered the steak guinness & mushroom pie while Joel had the fish & chips. My life will never be the same. The food was amazing.

As we were waiting for our meal, I happened to glance up and see a man across the bar pointing directly at me. Now, I'm thinking, "So. This is how I die. I am about to be abducted by a bunch of Scottish men." Turns out, I was being a bit dramatic (no kidding, eh) and a man named Dennis walked over to introduce himself. He is moving to Canada in a couple of weeks and wanted to chat for a bit. He's travelled through Canada and had nothing but nice things to say. He told us the best places to live, the places to avoid altogether and lots of other helpful tips. He said it was his "fatherly side" coming out and wanted us to do well. He gave us his mobile number to contact him if we want advice or any of our questions answered. He invited us back to visit anytime or to call him if we needed anything.

The bartender & I chatted for a bit and he made my entire night when he said that he could probably get NHL games during the hockey season. I have found my second home. He also invited Joel & I back to watch the socc--I mean, football--match on Saturday afternoon and plans to teach me the rules...as it is painfully obvious that I am completely clueless when it comes to the rules. Or the teams. On the way out. another man stopped us and offered us a viewing of a house that he just bought and plans to rent out.

A successful second day, with high hopes for the third.

The Adventure Begins

Well, our adventure and life in Northampton, UK, has begun.

Joel & I survived our flights with some interesting memories to take with us..
--In Boston, we had to take a shuttle bus from one terminal to another and this is around the time we realized that American drivers (maybe just Bostonian drivers?) are nuts! All I'm saying is I'm glad I wasn't the one driving and the drive was, thankfully, short. While getting off the shuttle, I bumped into someone and apologized. He looked at me and asked "Are you Canadian??"...glad to know that one Canadian stereotype holds true.
--One of the qualifications to work at Logan International Airport in Boston seems to be a thick accent. Think the stereotypical Boston accent portrayed on TV...times that by 5. You will now understand the thickness of 95% of the accents I heard while on our layover.
--The flight to Reykjavik, Iceland, was uneventful and I was sitting next to an Icelandic woman, who told me a bit about the country and the things to do there. We had a short layover, so we didn't have time to look around. But, from the view I got while the plane was landing and taking off, the country looks beautiful.
--On the flight to London, I was sitting next to a young guy who was from Dublin. I didn't care if he read the in-flight safety manual, I just wanted him to keep talking. I loved listening to his accent. He was a very nice, just returning home from 7 weeks at sea.

We landed at Heathrow, got our luggage and took a bus to Northampton. We went through customs & immigration and, thankfully, the UK let me in. I am now a resident of the United Kingdom...woah!

I wish I had been able to stay awake for the bus ride, but the 24 hours of travel caught up with me and I fell asleep for a good part of it. While I was awake though, I saw some beautiful buildings, some great landscape and some places that I would love to visit...if I ever get my bearings around here. I slept for about 14 hours on my first night here and probably could've slept longer without too much trouble.

Today, our second day, Joel & I went and walked around Northampton for a bit, trying to locate a place where we could buy a power converter for my laptop. We walked to the market square, stopping for lunch on the way. While trying to order lunch, my "accent" was apparently so hard to understand, I had to point to what I wanted on the menu, and the waiter couldn't understand me when I asked for more water. While paying, the cashier asked where I was from and told me that my accent was difficult to understand. We found a power converter, which made my laptop happy.

Tonight's adventure is going to take us to a pub I saw on the way to town center. In the days to come: find a place to live, find where I will be teaching in a couple weeks time and try not to get run over by cars and double decker busses.