Dressing the Part

I have a mission to accomplish here in London before I'm home in Ontario in July. I need to find an awesome dress to wear to my friend's wedding. I'm well aware that all eyes will be on the couple exchanging vows and on the wedding party, so it's absolutely not essential or appropriate that I am the centre of attention with whatever I'm wearing. However, I do want to take advantage of the shopping opportunities that I have here in London. And if I'm making an appearance at the wedding, I might as well look good while being there, right?

Londoners definitely have a fashion sense that isn't really seen at home.  It's hard to describe, but I remember noticing the way people dress when I first arrived in September and feeling quite inadequate with the items that I had carefully chosen to bring with me. It is much more eclectic than home, with people combining all kinds of prints, colours and styles in one outfit.  I personally don't feel like I can pull that type of look off with any kind of confidence, but that could be my boring, standard, no frills Canadian fashion sense rearing it's un-trendy head.

Accessories are a much bigger deal here. Men and women frequently wear hats and scarves (not the scarves that protect your face from frostbite, but trendy ones with patterns and fun colours) much more than people at home. Women wear necklaces, ear rings, bracelets with more frequency, and they are often a bit bolder and brighter. There's a fantastic store here called 'Accessorize' that sells only accessories. Bags, necklaces, rings, scarves and headbands - with and without feathers attached. It's a great place, and I'm definitely going to stock up before I'm home permanently.

It's great though, because there are definitely the trends that people follow, but if you're confident in what you're wearing, whether it's 'in' or not, it's not a big deal.  That might have to do with the fact that London is so big, that you see all types of people wearing all kinds of things on any given day.

There are areas in London that have a definite 'look' to them.  In The City and Canary Wharf, which are the two big financial centres of the city, 99% of the people you see on a weekday will be in a suit. Around Camden, it's a definite alternative/punk look, with pink spiked mohawks, leather jackets, facial piercings and ripped jeans as the norm. In East London, the chav look is predominate - think velour track suits, baseball hats with straight beaks tilted to the side, and big sneakers with the tongues sticking out.

I've been looking around for the past little bit to find a dress that is flattering, trendy, in my price range, and not too casual. I've had no luck yet, but will continue to search through the 'shops' of London in hopes of finding something appropriate. Wish me luck!

Time flies when you're having fun

Every time I've had to write the date recently, I shake my head a little bit. How can April be over? I feel like this month barely got started, and now it's over. I think a lot of that has had to do with the extended Easter Break (2 weeks!) that happens in London schools. Even with that break accounted for though, I don't feel as though it's time for May yet.

This super fast passing of time is different to how I perceived the time to pass in January/February. During those short, grey, wet days and long, dark nights, I felt as though every day lasted about a day and a half. Now that the days are longer and brighter, and the temperature has gone up a bit, I feel like each day lasts about half a day. It's also quite crazy to me that I'm going to be back home in Ontario for a visit in just over 2 months. Even crazier is that I've been here for 8 months now. At times it feels like I just got here and am still figuring things out, and other times living in Toronto feels like an entire lifetime ago.

One thing that has been interesting is experiencing spring in a different climate. Winter weather wasn't that far off the mark, just more rain instead of snow. The warmer winter temperatures were a welcome change. Short days (very short!) and long nights, similar to Ontario. Spring, however, has been a little bit different. In Ontario, I  would spend a good deal of time paying attention to weather reports - being excited as the temperature slowly creeps up, and depressed when surprise spring snow storm hit.  Always watching for the snow banks to melt and disappear, and the trees/grass getting greener as well. Here though, since the temperature is much more moderate, it hasn't been such an extreme change. The trees have been a little bit green with buds for a while, and then about a week and a half ago I was walking down my street when I realized that leaves were out in their entirety. 

I feel like the rest of this school year is going to fly by as well. My sister is coming for a nice long visit from mid May to the beginning of June. We've got another (yes, another!) half term break at the end of May, and I'm going to spend a bit of it in Ibiza.  There is some talk of my parental units coming over in June as well. No slam dunk plans from them yet though.  School life is going to be kicked up a notch as well - Year 6 SATS tests, Sports Day, School BBQ night, Talent Show and a whole school trip to the beach in Joss Bay. Whew!

Decisions, Decisions

After spending a long weekend in Paris at the end of March, I returned to school on Monday expecting a normal, run of the mill day.  I was in the Nursery out on the playground when the head teacher came and found me. I thought there was a schedule change for the day, or something like that. I was a little bit off. Here's how our conversation went:

"How long are you planning on being in the UK, Heather?" she asked. 

"I was planning on coming back for the fall, and then going back to Canada at Christmas, and staying there permanently then" I reply. 

"Hm, not sure if that's going to work for me" she replies.

"Why is that?" I ask. 

"Well, I was thinking about offering you Year 4 for next year. But you'd need to be here for the whole year" she explains.

"Oh wow"

After telling my head teacher that I'd need a few days to think about it, I was in definite shock. I had never expected to be offered the opportunity to have my own class here in London. I had made my previous decision about when to head home, based on staying as the PPA teacher at my school. I carried on as usual, because I had to continue teaching for the rest of the day.

It wasn't until I was at home, that the enormity of the decision that I had to make became real. I was perfectly happy with my plan to come back for the fall, because I know that if I was staying home in July, I wouldn't be 'done' with London and traveling around.  I figured it would be a perfect compromise, since I'd still be able to get a bit more of London life and then head back, to reconnect with friends and family, move back to Toronto and the job I had before moving to London.

However, the offer of having my own class in a school that I'm familiar in, really changed all that. Especially knowing that the opportunity to have my own class in Ontario in September is pretty much not possible at this point, as there are very few jobs.

After considering all of my options, I've decided to take the job, and stay in London for another year. I'm apprehensive, because I know it's going to be a very different year than this year, and I know I'm going to learn loads. I'm also really excited to do the things that I've always wanted to do in my own class, and have some ownership over the class.  Plus, it's going to look great on my resume. 

I'm nervous and excited for next year. I think it's the right decision for me right now. It'll be great to fully take advantage of my visa being valid for 2 years. I can't wait to travel around to the places I won't get to this year. It will be a lot more work than this year, but I think it will be worth it in the end.

Here vs. Home - Educational Edition

I posted a while ago about some of the general differences that I noticed between Canada and the U.K.  This post is the same kind of idea, but with a specific focus on the things I notice are different in schools here vs. home. Not an all encompassing list by any means, but a bit of a heads up to the adjustments I had to make when I arrived. Enjoy!

• Paper sizes have different names. Normal, letter sized paper (8.5 by 11) is called A4. Bigger paper (11 by 14) is called A3. Don't ask me why the bigger paper is 3 and the smaller paper is 4.
• Periods (as a form of punctuation) don't exist in the UK. They're called 'full stops'.
• Erasers do not exist either. They're called 'rubbers'. This also means that the verb 'erase' does not exist. When asking a class of Year 4 students to 'erase your white boards', expect them to look at you like you have 3 heads.
• There are Learning Intentions with every lesson that you teach. This is written right after the date, in their workbooks. e.g. for a literacy lesson a it could be 'L.I. I am learning the features of non-fiction text.' followed by the work for that lesson.
• It's not math. It's mathS.
• In mathS, when multiplying a decimal by 10, 100, 1000 etc. - instead of moving the decimal point to the right, you move the number to the left. When I taught a lesson on this, the teacher had a power point slide that said "THE DECIMAL POINT DOES NOT MOVE!!!" This shook me to the core.
• Don't expect to be the only adult in your class. Each class has a teaching assistant (TA), and depending on the profile of your students, you could have some people in for one on one support.
• The date is written differently (all over the UK, not just schools) - the number of the day comes before the month. eg. April 3, 2009 is 3 April 2009. 
• Teachers get specific time out of class to do planning, assessments and marking. This is called PPA (planning, preparation and assessment). If you are the PPA teacher (like me this year) you are the one that covers the class while the teacher is out. Plans are left for you.
• Smart Boards, or Interactive White Boards (IWB's) are standard in all classrooms.
• You never have more than 7 weeks of school without a break. I've mentioned this before, and I totally love it. Breaks are longer as well - like the Easter one. We break up on Wednesday the 8th (a little odd, something to do with being in a Catholic school) and aren't back until the 23rd. Whoo hoo!

Re-Visiting London

This past week has been March Break back home in Ontario, and I was lucky enough to have some friends who spent it in London this year. It was great to visit with them and reconnect, but still carry on with my day to day life here.  

Kyla and Brent were here with their high school's March Break trip as chaperones.  Their schedule was pretty jam packed, but we managed to meet up for drinks the Friday they got in, and then again briefly on Monday before they were off to Paris.  I'm not sure if chaperoning a group of high school kids  would be my number one way to travel, mainly because there seems to be so many opportunities to get annoyed with people. You are also really stuck to a schedule/the whole group and can't necessarily wander off and explore something you see that's interesting, which is how I've ended up seeing some of the neatest stuff while in new places.  They were coping well though, and definitely saw loads of stuff while in England.

A big thank you to Kyla, for schlepping over some treats from my mom.  I can only imagine what else she could have packed instead of bringing over insane amounts of red licorice, coffee crisps, and jujubes.  

Lindsay, a friend from teachers college, was here with her sister and met up with their cousin who is doing an exchange in Italy.  Their schedule was much more flexible, and we were able to hang out a few times during the week. On Wednesday we went to see The Phantom of the Opera, which was amazing. It was my third time seeing it, and honestly the best.  I've been singing the songs all week, and think I will finally cave and buy the CD.

It was definitely interesting to hear about the differences that my friends noticed from home while over here for the week.  I've gotten used to lots since being here for the past 6 (!) months that just seem normal now. A lot of the things were the exact things I noticed when first over here as well, such as: night life happening about 4 hours earlier than back home  (pubs are often closed before 12am), few garbage cans on the street, crazy crowdedness on the tube and people walking on the opposite side of the side walk.

Having people from home here also made me realize that there is loads in London and around that I have not done yet.  Some things that I definitely want to tick off my list, and that were recommended to me by Kyla/Brent/Lindsay include: Windsor Castle, Bath and Stonehenge, Westminster and The Tower of London.  Hopefully I can see those places with my next round of visitors.

And next weekend, I get to be a visitor, as I'll be staying with my second cousin who's doing an exchange in Paris to wrap up her degree .  I should start seriously reading up on the things I want to see/do, since I leave right after work on Thursday. Yay!

A Drunken London Weekend

Well, another weekend here in London has come and gone. And much too quickly I might add. Luckily, I did my best to soak up take advantage of the London life and spent a good portion of the weekend consuming alcohol. Not good for the waistline or wallet, but quite fun every once in a while.

Friday started out well. I went to 'The Space', which is a pub that is no more than a 5 minute walk from school. It was good to hang out with people you spend every day with in a more relaxed and social setting. It was also nice because we were able to vent about work stuff, which I'm not always able to do with people that know what I'm talking about, since my Canadian friends all work at different schools.  Learned that one teacher is/was a palm reader (she hasn't 'read' in 5 years), so we were all examining each others hands. Also found out that our deputy head is turning 38 this year, and has a list of '38 new things' to do before her birthday.  After 3 pints with them, I went up to North London, and meet my friends Jess and Jordan in a pub near Angel station for some more drinks.  We talked about how glad we were that it was Friday, and how annoying work is. We also spent a significant amount of time discussing whether Michael Jackson is talented or just more of a freak now. Either way it was unanimous that we'd all love to see him live (just announced 10 dates in London in July). After 3 more pints (!!) I made my way to Angel station and caught the last train home.

Saturday started out a little rough, no surprise there.  It was nice to relax and veg out for a bit though. I managed to catch some 'Scrubs' on t.v. which was nice, because there can be some pretty horrendous daytime t.v. programming here (think Snooker, horse races and Antiques Road Show, a show that I will never understand the appeal of).  Then I got myself together and met up with friends for a bbq in Canada Water (area of London, where a lot of Aussies, and South Africans live, oddly enough).  It was great to hang out with people in a house party setting, which I'm used to from back home. We ate some great food (I was missing yellow mustard on my burger, but survived), and played a great game that I know from home as 'The Bowl Game', but the person who was teaching it calls is 'Names in a Hat'. Either way, it's awesome. It was a bit tricky for him to get the instructions out though, as some members were already a few drinks in. The game has 3 rounds, and we barely made it through the first. I'm looking forward to playing again, in a more 'serious' setting. I'm also a bit psycho when it comes to games, and not playing them properly. I realized that about myself Saturday night. We had an interesting bus ride home, where we were on the top level of the bus, at the front, trying to show the whole bus we were having way more fun than them by cheering and laughing, pretending the bus was a roller coaster, and lifting our arms up and then not talking and shushing each other at red lights. Not sure how that came about. Then the bus broke down (not the first time, thanks for the reliable transport London) right outside London Bridge station, and I hopped on the second last train again. Whew!

Sunday, I went to Clapham, which is an area more south of the river than where I live. It was nice to wander around a new neighbourhood, and see what's there.  There is a huge park/green space/open field area there, and when I was there, the sun was shining and the sky was blue and everyone was taking advantage.  One of the great things about London is the frequency and size of parks and also in how they're used. In Toronto I would gladly walk through the parks in the downtown area, but would never really spend any significant amount of time in them. Here, people pack lunches, bring blankets and frisbees and make a whole day of it.  Then, I met up with Jess and Jordan again in Shoreditch which is a trendy area in East London. We had some drinks at a bar called 'Ziggy von Underbelly'. Really cool bar in a neat square, with lots of other cool bars around. About 2 pints in we renamed Sunday, Funday.

So thats about it. Exciting things coming up include visits from Kyla and Brent, and Linsday from back home, who are visiting over March break and my long weekend in Paris at the end of the month. Looks like Cousin Jeff will be visiting over the Easter break in April, and we're thinking of hitting up Ireland while he's here as well. I'm having a hard time believing that after this week, there is only 4 full weeks left until the Easter holiday.

Until next time!

~h

One week down, five more to go

Well, it's been one week back at work since the half term break. Surprisingly the week went back quickly, which was nice. We had an inset training day (no kids at school) on Monday about building learning power, which was interesting.  The whole focus was to thinking about learning as a process and building independent learners instead of just getting work done. Some interesting points brought up about the language teachers use, and what it conveys to the students.  

I really like how the school system is set up over here, with the breaks spread out more throughout the year.  This means that I've only got 5 more weeks until the Easter Break, which is two weeks long.  Because I'm teaching at a Catholic school the two weeks are somewhat split up; our first day of the break is April 9th, and then our first day back is April 23rd.  Then it will only be 4 weeks until the half term break in May. I know the summers off school are longer at home, but I almost think they're too long.  Kids get bored with 8 weeks off and forget a lot of things taught in the previous year. 

I don't have any definite plans as of yet for that time off in April, but do have some ideas. My cousin Jeff is planning a visit over, so he will want to see all that London has to ofer, but we have talked about possibly visiting Ireland during that time as well. Details still need to be worked out.

I'm really looking forward to my long weekend in Paris, coming up at the end of the month. I'll be staying with my second cousin Erin, who is doing an exchange to wrap up her degree from Ivey (at Western).  Her apartment is very close to the Garre du Nord, which is the train station I'll be arriving at on the Eurostar. I plan on doing the free walking tour - have done one in Berlin and Amsterdam and both were great, as well as consuming baguettes with brie and red wine!

I've also got some visitors from home coming over in March as well, which is exciting.  My good friends Kyla and Brent are traveling to England and France with their high school's March break trip, and will be in London around March 13th. Another good friend from teachers college is coming over on her March break as well, so it will be great to connect and catch up with familiar friends. 

Can't wait!