T'was the Night Before Christmas...

Gather 'round children and let me tell you the story of a very special gift.

What gift you ask?






Why, dear readers, this gift.








This gift came to me all the way from Norway from my very own sister. And what an adventure this package went on! Let me tell you the tale...



A few weeks ago, Sarah told me that she had mailed a Christmas gift to me and that I should look out for it. A couple weeks went by, didn't receive anything and didn't think much of it (considering mail was backed up for months following the Olympics, I figured I would get it just in time for Thanksgiving 2013). When Sarah mentioned it a few more times, I started checking the mail more frequently, asking the concierge at my building and still found nothing. Finally it got to Friday and still nothing (and only 2 more post days until Christmas--oh no)! This is where the story gets interesting. Or boring, depending on how limited your patience is. Mine had reached a critical low by the end of Friday afternoon.

 Sarah gave me the customer number and tracking number. I decided to stop in to my local post office to see if, for some reason, they had my parcel and just hadn't delivered it yet. No dice...attempt one. After getting home, I tried one more time with the front desk to see if it had been delivered in my 45 minute absence...nope. Attempt two. I called the courier company that Sarah shipped it with and the oh-so-unhelpful woman on the phone told me that I would have to drive to one of their convenient locations to pick up my parcel, about 300 miles away. Thanks love. Attempt three.

I then tried to see if the tracking number would work on one of the main courier services for England--it worked! Success. It seemed like I would be fourth-attempt lucky and have my parcel before bedtime! So off to the local Royal Mail depot I trundle, 10 miles away, and wait in line. It turns out that there are two Royal Mail depots in Northampton, one serving the post codes of NN1, NN2, NN5 and so on...and I had chosen the depot that served all other postal codes but mine. Fourth attempt strike-out.

The next adventure involved a 15-mile backtrack to this rather smelly little post office near my apartment where the woman behind the counter informed me that I hadn't reached the post depot, but rather just a mail office; lovely. Fifth attempt.

Patience wearing thin, the postal depot that proved as easy to find as Narnia was finally found and the line was literally out the door. After standing in line and explaining, for about the 72nd time, my quest to find this bleep-ing gift, the woman behind the counter took my information, checked her whizzy little computer and cheerfully informed me that my tracking number had nothing to do with Royal Mail and I had to contact the other major courier, ParcelForce. Sixth attempt.

On the drive back to my apartment, of course we hit heavy traffic. I found the phone number for ParcelForce and managed to get through...to a waiting line for a call centre. Teeth-grittingly wonderful. I am finally answered, explain my story for now the 117th time and the next unhelpful woman in my encounters cheerfully informed me that my parcel had been in the UK since December 3. Lucky number 7 it seems.

Without trying to sound like a shrieking banshee, I asked why I was not informed that my parcel had arrived. The woman informed me that there was a customs charge on it that needed to be paid. Fine and fair enough I replied and then sweetly enquired how in the sweet mother of everything holy was I expected to pay the customs charge if I was never informed of the package arriving in the UK?! Somewhat sheepishly, Miss ParcelForce said that there must have been a slight oversight and my letter just must have been left out. She then asked me if I wanted to pay an additional extortionate amount to have it delivered to me the next day. I politely (mentally) told her to stuff it and (verbally) asked what my other options were. I decided on a Christmas Eve delivery and then had another little spat about the concept of leaving the package at the front desk and that I was not, in fact, going to wait outside my building between the hours of 8AM and 5PM to get the.........wonderful........thing. Really, it was probably safer for Mr/Mrs ParceForce delivery-person that we never meet.

So, seven attempts and a few spikes in blood pressure later...

See how pretty it is?!

Alright, it was definitely worth it in the long run. I'm looking forward to my first truly British Christmas tomorrow; even if I am thinking of friends and family far across the Atlantic. First Christmas away from home in all my 25 years and I'm pretty excited about it. Now. I have milk and cookies to leave for the fat man. 

And, on that note...a Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

It's That Time Again...

It's that time of the year again. The countdown to Christmas is on--not necessarily for me, but for seemingly every store, supermarket, Internet and TV advert, and bargain home store. Usually I can hold out until at least the 1st of December before I start decorating and I usually don't put that much effort in, considering I'm usually going home for Christmas.

 However, this year, I'm staying in England for Christmas. This is my first Christmas in England, my first Christmas away from home. I've decided to actually put some effort in. So, on the particularly wet and miserable evening that was last night, I bought the first round of decorations. A 3-foot artificial tree for the entryway, snow globe (complete with Santa), candles, window hangings and garland. I dread to think what the place will look like when Christmas actually rolls around. Must stick to a budget. Must stick to a budget. Must not spend more than half my entire bank account on Christmas decorations...sounds like a reasonable budget.

 Work has been rolling on, as it tends to do. Not much to comment on work. It's there. It pays my rent and living expenses. The kids make it worth it. I will definitely have to make some post about those darn kids saying the darndest things, just waiting to accumulate a good collection.

  I went to see Phantom of the Opera with Leigh at the beginning of the week. This is my first experience seeing the show on the stage and I definitely loved it.

See? Really thrilled.







I am beginning to accumulate a huge amount of memorabilia from trips, events and outings since I've moved here. Plane tickets, show tickets, movie stubs, luggage tags, museum leaflets...I probably should make some type of scrapbook but, honestly, who wants to do that? You, random reader? Are you going to make a scrapbook for me?

Didn't think so.

That was quite sharp of me, apologies.

 I am in the process of looking for a new place to live. Several options, all quite feasible and would be a nice change of scenery. As always, stay tuned for new developments.

This Tuesday marked the 20th anniversary of the passing of someone I miss and love every single day. I was only 5 years old and it has changed me more than I will ever understand. I thought about finding some quaint little quote from the Internet, but rather than use the words that are not my own, I will simply say that I love you, I miss you and I hope that you are happy and at peace. That's all I could ever ask.

That could be read as all I ask of you. (Get it?)

Still Alive!

I am alive! I am sure my dedicated fanbase in, you know...Russia...have been very worried about my lack of updates. I'm just sure of it.

 Well, here I am, finally on half-term holiday. I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, this has been the helfterm from hell. Work has been, without exaggerating, absolutely life-draining. As is my unfortunate annual tradition, I became ill and missed work. Unlike other years, I was off for 3 days last week and spent most of those 72 hours asleep and/or struggling to breathe. There has been so much pressure put on us at work, from all sides, that it has worn everyone down. Utterly and completely has taken our souls, violently, from our bodies. Well...I have a week to recover and get ready for the next halfterm. Oh joy.

 There have been several noteworthy occasions over the past 8 weeks that I just haven't had the time to record. I went to the Warner Bro's Studio Tour where Harry Potter was filmed with Mary and Hannah as a late birthday gift. It was the best 4 hours that I have spent in a long time. The studio is divided up into several lots and, apart from a slightly guided tour at the beginning, it is really wander-and-experience on your own....loved it! Took a ridiculous amount of pictures and had an amazing time. I'd love to go back and see everything again.

 Last weekend, I came to Norway to celebrate my brother-in-law's 30th birthday. My sister and I bought him a bottle of 30-year-old whiskey for his 30th birthday and I had to come to help take credit for it. I've told all the other important men in my life to expect the same gift on their 30th birthdays as it is one of my better ideas (if I can get away with saying that).  I arrived Friday night and left again on Sunday and it was absolutely awesome. I saw all of Kristian's friends, met some new people and took over 400 pictures. Everything from Kristian opening his whiskey to beer pong to stacking red solo cups all over the birthday boy at 5AM. I was completely drained for work this last week, but it was definitely worth it.

 I have made the decision to stay in England for Christmas this year. It's going to be very strange for me, being my first Christmas away from home, but I am excited to spend it with my English 'crew' as it were. I will definitely miss my family, the snow, and all those Christmas traditions that I have lived with for the past 25 years but I am excited to start some of my own. I am determined to continue with my eggnog ban and plan to spread the word to the English. They just need to know--it is that important. It is strange to think that I won't see my parents for almost a year and I definitely would have been much more upset when I left this summer, had I realized it then. School ends late for Christmas holiday this year and that would mean travelling through Heathrow on the busiest weekend of the year. Busiest weekend of the year = ridiculously expensive plane tickets = my first Christmas on the European side of the Atlantic. But, hey, spending Christmas in England, New Year's Eve in Norway and a holiday quickly following in February....not such a bad deal after all. I say that now. When I wake up to a green Christmas morning on December 25th, I might be singing from a different song sheet.

 Thus far on my holiday, I have eaten food, walked the dog, been dragged by said dog, covered in drool from aforementioned dog, cooked and relaxed...a lot. I'm going back to England on Thursday night, just in time to wind down my holiday and start counting the days until Christmas break. Not that I would ever do that.

 So, let's see. Work, Harry Potter studios, Kristian's birthday, Tanja (the dog) drooling, being introduced as a Canadian terrorist at the pub and getting ill...yep, that covers the last 8 weeks. I sincerely hope that it won't be another 8 before I update on here again. I have my loyal, dedicated and amazing readers to think of....all 6 of them.

Don't Cry For Me...

...I'm already dead.

From work.

Work is to me what Dementors were to Barty Crouch Jr. BOOM. Still coherent enough for a good HP reference.

So Long, Farewell

It's about that time again. My entire six-week holiday is 24 hours away from ending and I am on my way back to England tomorrow. It has gone by so incredibly fast and I can't believe I'm leaving tomorrow. I've started the goodbyes already; really, I started them two weeks ago. It doesn't seem to get any easier--it almost seems harder each time I leave. These six weeks have been filled with lunches with friends, Tim Hortons coffee & Timbits, watching hockey with my dad, looking at shooting stars around a campfire and spending (not enough) time with family and friends. I've had a great time at home and am sad to say goodbye.

I celebrated my 25th birthday yesterday surrounded by family and friends and it was a great way to end my trip. When I get back to England on Tuesday, I'll have a couple of days to unpack, catch up on sleep and get myself turned around again before I have a second round of birthday celebrations. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone when I get back to England.

Well. Until next time Canada. So long and thanks for all the fish. Eh.

I think seeing the stars at night will be one of the things I miss the most.

Sunny Days!

It's been a week since I have left England and it feels like much, much longer than that. I've spent the last week relaxing, taking care of the gardens and talking to the cats an alarming amount. I've also spent the last week unwinding from one of those travel experiences that makes me want to take a canoe back to England next month.

After school finished, Tom was waiting to take me down to Heathrow. Thankfully, there was no traffic on the road and we made it to the airport with a couple hours to spare. No issues with check-in, security and I was lining up to finally board the plane to get home. I was sitting in the back of the plane--second row to the back, to be exact--and realized I had a window seat. Not too bad. Then I saw the women sitting beside me--a mother and daughter duo, the mother in her 50s or 60s, mother in her 80s or older. The women were Israeli, spoke very little English and seemed to have brought their entire lives with them in the form of carry-on luggage: stuffed in the overhead, piled on my seat, piled under all the seats in the row, including mine, and more on the laps of both women . What the hell happened to one piece per passenger? Nevertheless, up they get, the luggage is shifted and I'm squeezed in next to mama--and mama is one hefty woman. 

 As soon as the in-flight entertainment was switched on, Mother gets me to bring up the map of our flight on her screen (which isn't an easy thing to do when you can't see the damn screen) and then Daughter wants the same. I tried explaining I couldn't see her screen but told her step by step instructions, through which she kept shaking her head, saying "no, you--you, no me--you" and pointing to her screen. Around this time, the in-flight service started and, ignoring the looks the dynamic duo gave me, I was more than happy for an in-flight drink.

 Every time I tried watching a movie, Mama would slap her large arm down on my armrest, effectively turning off my screen and making me want to pull my hair out. About four time, I tried delicately shifting her arm which just led her to really take hold of the arm rest and I gave up. It seemed like I wasn't destined to watch The Lorax after all. Well, turns out I was wrong.

 Mama removes her arm from my armrest and I gleefully switch my TV back on. In the 30 seconds between turning my TV and my movie starting, I hear a sound. Crying. Not the usual screaming-baby-on-an-airplane-crying. But definitely crying. I look over and see Mama just wailing. Dear God. I lean forward and then seen daughter with a veil over her head, hands over her eyes and she is rocking back and forth, praying--loudly. The racket was drawing attention from, well, everyone. The cabin crew took turns coming and asking if they needed anything and were effectively ignored. I always got a sympathetic look...which didn't do much to stop the staring. The dynamic duo finally quiet down just in time for dinner. God knows that they didn't want the kosher meal specially prepared for them and they wanted to have a picnic at 37,000 feet. What a stink! I don't know if the food was prepared when Mama was still a young woman or what they put in it, but the entire back of the plane started smelling like their food...and it was not haute cuisine...just saying.


The remaining 5 or so endless hours of the flight didn't see much improvement. There was no personal air-flow control on the plane and both Mama and Daughter seemed to overheat quite quickly. So they were up about twice an hour. Every hour. And all that baggage had to go somewhere. Onto the seats, under my seat, on my lap. Good God. I couldn't get off that plane fast enough.


So, I've made it home for the next six weeks. Aside from a trip to Halifax for my Visa, I plan on relaxing at home and catching up with friends and family. I'm finally getting to enjoy some proper summer weather; it's not going to be much fun when I have to start wearing makeup or shoes again. Well...33 days left to enjoy it. Excellent.

The Home Stretch

Well, I've finally made it to the home stretch. I am barely 2 weeks away from home and the end of my second year of teaching. It's been a long year, full of all kinds of new experiences, both the good and bad. There. That's the most reflective that I'll be in this post.

 I'm proud to say that I am able to cross another place off of my bucket list. I visited Tintern Abbey, just across the Welsh border, a few days ago. To explain why this place drew me so much...

In my third year of university, I was taking an English Literature course and we had a 5 pound textbook...I'm not even close to exaggerating (I weighed the sucker). In this textbook were all of the texts, poems, extracts, sonnets, passages, soon and so forth, that we needed to have in our possession to be a successful English student. One such poem was Wordsworth's poem, aptly named "Tintern Abbey." Alongside the poem was a beautiful picture of the Abbey. At that moment, I knew that I had to see this place in person one day. It was such a beautiful, ethereal and almost too beautiful for words.

If I thought a picture of the place was spectacular, being there in person is almost indescribable. It was beauty beyond words and a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. So, another country and another site off my list.

Not much else to report...I think everyone is in countdown mode now, students and staff alike. Roll on summer.

Oh. I suppose I must now eat my words. Not only have I reconciled with Tom (we all remember Tom)...we're dating. True story.

Damn.

The British men finally got me.

Lazy Norwegian Days

It's a tough life, this holiday stuff. It's my last half-term holiday of the year and I'm back in Norway for one last visit before heading home for the summer in just over a month. Sarah and Kristian have settled into their new house and I've been busy unpacking. Well, that is a slight exaggeration...I have unpacked when I've been told where things go. Otherwise, it's mostly been me hanging out with Kristian's parents St Bernard puppy, watching movies & relaxing. It's tough.

 We went out for a joint birthday celebration on Saturday night for several of Kristian's friends. Sarah & Kristian said it wouldn't be a late night. So, at 3:30 AM, we arrive home and dig into some early-morning snacks. It was fun to see all of Kristian's friends and I had a really good time.

The sun never fully sets here this time of year so it is really hard to judge the time of day (or night) by how light or dark the sky is. Sarah & Kristian have a beautiful new home with lots of windows so I can follow the sun's progress throughout the day. Yes, that is how busy I am on holiday. Well, I have found time to do some cooking, break the cable that provides signal to the TV, almost put a few holes in the wall from opening a door too quickly and smacking into closet doors but that's just par for the course when it comes to me.

 Back to school next week and then a roll-over two weeks following that. That is when all of the current year groups move up into the next year group: year 7 students move into year 8, year 8 into 9 and so on. I have a brand new timetable with new courses on it, so it will be interesting to adjust to. I'm sure I'll come round.

 Based on the decibel level of Tanja's (the St Bernard) snoring, I can assume she is having a day just as relaxing as mine. I've said it before and I'll finish with it: it's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.

One Last Hurdle

One more half term holiday and then we're really on the home stretch until the end of the year. It's incredible, how fast time has gone by. Before I know it, I'll be writing yet another oh so sappy post about how wonderful my colleagues are and so on, blah blah blah.

 Mary, Hannah & I went out for dinner last week, as is fast becoming a weekly habit, and visited a nice Mandarin restaurant that we've been to a few times before. Everything was great, had a lot (too much) to eat and headed home for an early night. A couple of hours later, I started feeling a bit off. Over the next few hours, the pain progressively got worse, to the point where I headed to the hospital. Verdict: food poisoning. It wasn't a very fun night. The only bonus was that I felt it was completely acceptable to drink apple juice in bed all day the next day.

 Roll on Friday..I've a staff dinner on Thursday. Let's avoid the mussels this time, shall we. I don't think Norwegian air will cater very well to my food poisoning.

Dear Readers

I appreciate each and every one of you. Truly, I do. From South Korea to Brazil and everywhere in between, I am very appreciative for all the readers I have in the 25 countries that this blog has been viewed in. I never expected it to be viewed as many times as it has over the last year or so.

 I checked the stats this morning and found that a couple referring sites were google.com and google.co.uk with the search terms of my name + Northampton and then my name + Northamptonshire. Definite dedication. I either hope that I know you or...

Let's just leave it at 'I hope that I know you'...mysterious Googler.

Drip Drop

It has been raining here for two weeks. Three weeks. ETERNITY. I realize that England is known world-wide for its drizzly weather but this is taking stereotypes to a whole new level. While I'm sure all of this rain will make everything oh so beautiful in the summer, I won't be here to enjoy it and so I would greatly appreciate seeing the sun every once in awhile. I'm pale enough as it is.

 I've found myself lying in bed, listening to the rain falling on a very lazy bank holiday Monday. It has been a pretty uneventful couple of weeks, incredibly busy at work with lots of long days involved. It was Hannah's birthday this weekend, so we all went out to celebrate and have a few drinks. Mary, Hannah & I went to Birmingham yesterday and that sums up my very laid-back weekend. There is nothing too exciting looming on the horizon for the next few weeks...in less than a month, it's another half-term holiday and then it will be the final countdown to my return to Canada.

 As excited as I am to go home, it will involve a lot of headache and stress, for part of the trip at least. I'm in the middle of gathering paperwork for my Visa and I am quite worried that the 5-6 week window I have at home won't be long enough to have the papers processed and my passport returned to me on time before I head back to England. If I have to delay my trip, that could be a costly extension to my vacation. But, pointless to worry about it now, so I'll deal with that when the time comes.

 As the school year slowly winds down, I'm getting ready to say goodbye to my current classes before getting a new timetable for next year. One group, however, will be moving on and moving out of the school. My group of Year 11 students have been, above and beyond, one of the greatest perks of the job the past 18 months. I took over the group last winter, shortly after Christmas, and I've fallen completely in love with this group. The students, all of them, are absolutely hilarious and they have made my job so much better. I don't think I will ever be able to forget them, any of them. From the boy who gave me a bracelet made out of paperclips and...actually, I'll stop there. No point in becoming too introspective on what should be a wonderfully laid-back day. Sorry, lazy. Lazy day.

I sadly do have to drag myself out of bed and out into this damn rain...it's much less soothing when I'm walking in it rather than listening to it from the comfort of my big bed and warm duvet. I watched The Avengers last night and, going a little backwards, I realize I should watch all of the other movies that make up the Marvel series. What an arduous task. I do hope I'm up for it.

Easter Holiday 2012

The puke-filled field trip was over, lessons were observed, books were marked (kind of) and I was ready for a holiday! I spent the weekend not packing and procrastinating until the last minute...as per usual. As I was going literally from one holiday destination to the next, I packed for Norway as well. Hannah picked us up on Monday morning and we headed for Gatwick. A cramped and boring plane ride later, we touched down in breezy, warm Tenerife! We headed to our hotel and took some time to explore the area that we were staying in, Los Cristianos. Rather than go through a painfully detailed retelling of the entire five days, I can sum up the holiday in the following:

• Breakfast at our condo
• Beach for the day. We had to take some breaks from the stresses of sunbathing to have some lunch (AKA cheap cocktails) at one of the restaurants along the water.
• More sunbathing
• Swim in the pool at our hotel
• Dinner, drinks and exploring Tenerife by night.

It was a great holiday....aside from getting a wicked sunburn, as was to be expected. Strangely enough, it was the backs of my legs (from the knee down) and the tops of my feet that got it the worst. I stocked up on the SPF 50 and avoided the sun like the plague for the rest of the week. So much for coming back bronzed and beautiful, like Mary & Hannah. While we were there, we went to a neighbouring town, Las Americas, where all the nightclubs were. On our first night out, I met a Finnish guy named Niko who was on holiday with his brother and father. Bless him. Not sure how good your game and pickup lines can be with your dad sitting beside you. Aside from Niko, we met a couple of other very unwanted guests in the form of cockroaches in our apartment. Hot damn, those things are fast. And very, very gross. Creepy crawly disgusting bugs.

Hannah & I went whale-watching on our last day in Tenerife...there are pods of Pilot whales found off the coast, and Hannah was dying to see them. The trip took about 2 hours and we saw entire families, including little calf whales..so cute! Hannah was so excited, and I loved seeing them. For such huge creatures, there is something graceful about the way they move through the water.

The week went by incredibly quickly and we soon found ourselves on the way back. We landed at Gatwick just past 2 AM, where Hannah's friend Mark was waiting to pick us up. Mark dropped me off at Heathrow where I killed time until my flight to Norway. Thanks to a lucky upgrade, I got to fly business class...no complaints here!

My trip to Norway didn't involve Finnish men, cockroaches or stray cats that wandered into the apartment (true story, happened a couple of times in Tenerife. I wanted to keep it) but involved family, friends, movies about Space Nazi's and more food than I care to even think about again. Most of the week was spent relaxing at Sarah & Kristian's while they were at work, with trips to his parents, the cinema and out to dinner mixed in there. I went for walks around the lake, fed the ducks, had a duck bite my shoe (ok, I may have stuck my shoe out to see what the duck would do...I kind of deserve it, apparently) and visited with Michelle to meet her new little boy, Teodore.

Norway was so relaxing and a great holiday. Sarah & Kristian just bought a new house, so my next half-term holiday will probably see me back in Norway, unpacking them into their new house! Can't wait :).

So, it was back to England last Sunday, and back to work on Monday. The week went by incredibly fast, and the next couple of weeks are bound to be incredibly stressful. Great...When is my next holiday?

First Time.

I think that I have finally recovered enough to relive the first (but I am sure not only...I would only be so lucky) experience of this particular event as a teacher. Naturally, I'm speaking about chaperoning a field trip.

And what a trip it was. Let me give you the details.

100 Year 7 students...100 eleven year old boys and girls being taken into the woods of Oxfordshire to work on team building skills. And I was lucky enough to be going along. A definite bonus was being able to wear casual clothes, even if I did look younger than some of the students and get confused for an extra child a couple of times.

Within about 5 minutes of pulling out of the school parking lot, the kids were into their pop, candy and were about 27 different shades of hyper. The bus ride was about 90 minutes and it was about an hour into the trip when the inevitable happened.

"Miss......I don't feel so good." And up comes the first batch of sweets and fizzy drinks.

It was like a chain reaction and I was left walking through a mine-field of projectile vomiting children. The heat on the bus was turned up on high, there were no windows to open and the smell was just...indescribable. Once the first kid let loose, the smell and sound set off another, and then another...and then another. Followed by 2 more, just for good measure. In total, 6 kids couldn't keep their snacks to themselves and we only had 3 sick bags. I'll spare you the details. Actually, no, I won't. 3 kids were lucky enough to get their own sick bag, one needed the spare change of clothes that were brought along and the last one got to experience a type of recycling that nobody ever wants to participate in. I likened the event to a scene I watched in a Stephen King film, only it was much more...chunky.

Eventually, and with no more chunks a-flying, we arrive at Cornbury Park and spend the day watching the kids do team-building exercises, like learning to build a fire, collecting firewood, cooking over an open flame and playing some games. The kids cooked whole trout for lunch and I decided to creep a couple of them out by eating both eyes from the fish. Wasn't so bad, tastes a bit like a salty, crunchy pea. Much more appetizing than what the kids had to offer for snacks on the ride there, I'll just say.

Rounded up the kids, gave them explicitly clear instructions that they were not to eat or drink a single thing on the ride back, and loaded them back into the buses. Overall, an eventful field trip. I definitely needed the holiday that was coming up that weekend. Next time...my Tenerife trip!

Sing a-longs and Leprechauns

It took me an entire week (apparently) to recover enough from my trip to Ireland to post about my St Paddy's weekend. And what a weekend it was...

Friday night, I took a roundabout route down to London thanks to a jumper who disrupted the entire rail system during rush hour...yikes. I met up with Angela in King's Cross Station (really wanted/expected to see Harry Potter, no lie) to head to Kensington to watch Matt Andersen play a gig at a small club. Matt is an amazingly talented musician whose family lives about 15 minutes away from mine back in Canada. When there is such a taste of home so far away, I definitely have to indulge. Matt's set was awesome, and it was great to hear his voice.

At godawful early o'clock the next morning, Angela, Heather & I were on our way to Gatwick to catch our flight to Ireland! 3/4 of the way there, Angela realizes she forgot her passport. Oh dear. Heather & I caught our flight while Angela rebooked for a later flight and went home for her passport.

Land, bus ride into the city, walk through the already massive crowds and get some breakfast before checking into our hotel. Heather & I watched some of the parade, went back to the hotel and watched the rest from there to get out of the light rain. We got ready to head out while we waited for Angela, and when she showed up we were ready to take on Dublin.

Found our way to Murray's, a pub around the corner, to watch some rugby, enjoy some drinks and see how the Irish did Paddy's day. (Funny enough, it was mostly tourists that we met throughout the night..)

(PS, how cute am I, all ready to celebrate??)


Vodka, cider, Guinness, rugby, Irish kisses, German kisses and really persistent Italians, Russians and French guys. That sums up how Dublin does Paddy's day. Rather than give an entire run-down of the day, I figure that list pretty much sums it up. We met up with Heather's friends from New Zealand and we all went out for dinner before wandering toward Temple Bar. The streets were so crowded, we couldn't even walk down them, let alone get into a bar. So, we figured it was best to head back toward Murray's, which was playing live music. Angela fell asleep at the table so after she went off to bed, the rest of us wandered back across the river to see what was going on over there--a lot of drunks and more grabbing than I care to remember.

Rounding off the night with some deliciously unhealthy food, Heather & I decided it'd be a good idea to get a couple hours of sleep before flying back to England the next day. When I woke up the next morning, I decided that I shouldn't have bothered with the sleep and should've kept drinking...probably would've felt about the same.

Planes, trains and hangovers later, I was back in England and just in time for another week of work. How lucky I am.

Definite bonus to this week...Mary, Hannah & I booked our Easter holiday! We're taking over Tenerife for a week before I head to Norway for the second part of the break. Only 5 more teaching days to get through until then. Not that I'm counting down or anything.

Go For the Ruins, Stay for the Tear Gas

That pretty much sums up my vacation in Greece. This update is long over-due and so won't rattle off every single detail but will instead just be a summary of the most eventful trip I've taken so far.

We arrived in Athens around 2:30 Sunday morning and headed to bed. Sunday, we wandered around in the rain, exploring Athens and scoping out places we'd like to visit throughout the week. We went to a restaurant where a man (who I'd love to be my grandfather) loved our accents so he kept giving us free food, free wine and telling us to enjoy our stay. After lunch, we started noticing huge crowds of people walking all down some streets toward the same general area. I figured there was a football match or something on...that was until I noticed the riot police. Turns out, there was a huge protest planned that evening against the government and we had front row seats to the action. The police told us to return to our hotel and it would be best if we stayed there for the night. We got supper and started walking back to the hotel. By this time, the protest had started and tear gas had been fired into the crowd to disperse the protesters. So not only were we walking back through mobs of angry Greeks toward our hotel, we then had the tear gas to deal with.

For the rest of the evening, we started hearing the protesters get closer and closer. We went downstairs and were told that no guests were allowed to leave the hotel for security purposes and we were told to go back to our room and it would all blow over in a few hours. Angela, Heather & I spent most of the evening on the balcony, watching the fires be set in the street, looters break into stores, buildings being set on fire and the general chaos in the streets.

The next day, we walked around to look at the damage done during the riots and it was so surreal. We had watched the footage on TV, viewed it from the balcony, and it was still strange to see the damage first-hand. While I completely understand the frustration of the people, it was still heartbreaking to see a little old man cleaning up the smashed glass and rubble from his shop that had been broken into and completely torn apart by people who stole nothing but just wanted to wreak havoc. It was completely senseless in that respect.

Throughout the rest of the trip, we visited the most popular tourist spots in Athens...Acropolis, Parthenon, Temple of Zeus, museums, more ruins, historical sites, and exploring the city in general. The food was absolutely amazing, definitely overindulged in that respect on holiday.

Greece was a really fun holiday...it was sad to see all of the graffiti and destruction going on around the city, but I really enjoyed my time there (tear gas aside) and would like to go back to see some of the Greek islands and other cities. Other things about Greece that I wasn't really expecting...there are so many stray cats and dogs. Literally, they were everywhere. I started naming the cats, really original stuff too...Acropolis Kitty, Athens Kitty, Won't Leave Me Alone At A Restaurant Kitty...so nice. Also, in tourist shops, there is a huge penis fixation. I really don't understand it. There are penis bottle openers, mini statues of men with giant penis', calendars, Greek sex guides, you name it and there is a penis on it. Talk about your family-friendly vacation.

Work has been going well, keeping me incredibly busy. Only two weeks until I go to Ireland for Paddy's day, can't wait! East break is coming up in just a few short weeks, definitely need to figure out a place to go. Hopefully will be going to Norway for a few days to visit with Sarah & Kristian. Let's start another countdown...

Can't Wait!

Greece in 2 weeks

Ireland in 6 weeks

Home in 175 days!

Best countdown--EVER.

Back To...

Back to work, back to routine. Back to convincing myself that it is a good idea to get out of my warm bed at godawfulearly o'clock in the morning to get showered and ready for work. Back to walking to work in the dark and walking home in the dark.

Dammit I'm ready for winter to be over. Or I'm ready for it to be proper winter so my cold-climate body can accept it and adjust to the fact. There is no snow on the ground, it's been above freezing (well above--I'm talking like 12 degrees above some days) since I came back from Canada and in my mind, that means spring. No snow? Spring. Warm temperatures? Spring. Mud on the road when I walk to work? Spring. Damn loud birds? Spring. It's the middle of January and, to me, it feels like it should be March or April. I'm not used to having only 2 seasons in England--summer..and not summer. I may be being a little patronizing here, which isn't really my intent. I think I'm just finding it hard to adjust back to the climate. Before I know it, 'spring' will be here and the days will be getting longer and the calendar will finally catch up to the weather here.

School has been going well, I'm (mostly) back into the routine of work. My year 10 class, upon receiving their latest piece of coursework (basically an end-of-unit test) have decided that I am a very tough teacher to impress and "you basically have to be perfect" to get a high grade in my class (their words). To that...so what? I have high expectations for them. They'll appreciate it someday. I love teaching them, I like challenging them and seeing their pride when they accomplish something to be proud of. There is a method in my madness...I swear.

I've also decided to start taking BSL (British Sign Language) classes at school. A support worker at school offered to teach staff members basic sign language and I signed up. It would be really helpful to be able to communicate with my hearing-impaired students...and a good skill to have, regardless of what field I work in. Here's to hoping I don't accidentally mix up some hand gestures and say something incredibly rude. ...knowing me, it would happen.

The count-down is on again...less than a month to go until half-term holidays. Destination? Yet to be determined. Stay tuned.

Long Road Home

So here I am, back in England, and it's been just less than a week since I've left home. I really miss home, I miss my friends and family, I miss the people that mean so much to me.

My first flight from Presque Isle took off from an icy runway and landed safely in Boston. Had just enough time for some Skype, last minute gifts and buy some supper before I boarded my connecting flight to Philadelphia. After boarding my flight to Philadelphia, the captain came over the speaker system to say that there would be a slight delay and he would update us when more information became available.

...3 hours later, bored and wondering what the hell was going on, the captain told us that there was a mechanical problem with one of the engines, a replacement part was in New York and by the time it arrived in Philly, the plane was fixed and we were on our way, the crew would have exceeded their legal amount of working hours. Long story short...flight was cancelled, get off the plane and come back tomorrow night. We were given hotel vouchers...which were cancelled by the hotels about 15 minutes later.

It's about 2 in the morning, and I'm dragging around a 50 pound suitcase that is half as tall as me. I'm tired, I'm cranky and I just want somewhere to sleep. I ended up getting a room in the hotel airport, sharing with the guy I had been sitting next to on the plane. It was about 10 minutes into this when I realized that having a strange man staying in the same room with me was definitely the stupidest idea I'd had so far into 2012. Woke up the next morning with all vital organs intact, which I was definitely happy about. Oskar (my Norwegian roommate for the night) left to go see his girlfriend and I spent the day passing the time until it was time to board my final flight.

Made it back to England, and arrived back in Northampton around 2 in the afternoon. I missed staff training on Tuesday, and have spent the last few days trying to catch up on sleep and get adjusted to the time...oh, and working somewhere in between there. It felt great to finally get some sleep this morning. Seems like it's back to normal here.

193 days to go.