Last blog of the day ... just a bit about my life in general!
Life is good! I'm so happy here! My crankiness has toned down and I'm just trying to live each day to the fullest! My friend Niki has been a massive help in getting my life sorted here. She suggested I join some clubs or societies to make new friends. It's hard meeting people because I'm gone for work all the time. The only place we meet people is usually the bar, they're usually boys, and they usually don't just want to be our friends. Haha. I signed up for an online community and said that I was looking for FRIENDS because I was new to the city. This hasn't fared too well as I just typically get a bunch of creepers hitting on me and asking me for drinks and various other things. I have, however, made a few new friends here and there so it's good. At least I've usually got somewhere to go and people to hang out with! Awesome!
We go out a lot on the weekends. I'm sure my mum will be thrilled by this news, but seriously. C'mon! I'm a single girl living in London. I go to museums and musicals some weeknights so when the weekend rolls around, we head into town and check out the nightlife. I'm nearing 30 and seriously, when am I gonna have the chance to party in London ever again? I won't. So I'm taking advantage and having fun. I love this city - every night out is a fun one. I've stopped taking the night bus home for the most part, as I had a sketchy experience one night. If I do take it, I take it to the main shopping centre near my house and get a taxi from there. Much safer. Typically, us girls have learned to travel together and stick together so there are a lot of weekend sleep overs.
Things are pretty good with the living situation as well. My roomies are cool chicks and we get along really well. (Check out Crystals' blog for more regular blogs and general witty-ness) I love our house and our neighbourhood - they're really nice. The only problem is the distance. It takes me 1.5 hours at least to get to work, but it sometimes takes 2 hours as I have to take the overground train and they're fairly unreliable ... blah. Now that I've accepted the job, this means that I might have to move somewhere closer for work. I wanted to move closer into the city but I thought I'd do this after Crystal and Marlee headed back to Canada in June. Not sure if I can handle these 5 am wake ups every day. I get home at night, eat supper, pack my lunch, and I'm so tired I head to bed. We'll see what happens tho.
Anways, we're out of "loo roll" so I gotta run to the shop. Hope everyone is doing good. Miss you all lots but I'll be home for Christmas in a week and a half (Holy crap! Time flies!) So I'll hopefully see you then!
xo Megs
Sunday, December 6, 2009
PARIS, Je T'aime <3
So, I was fortunate enough to jet off to Paris last weekend and it was fantastic! I took my suitcase to work at the Academy with me last Friday and I headed straight from school to King's Cross Station. It was an absolute gongshow. It took me aeons just to get thru the train station. By the time I'd gotten thru, made a phone call, and ordered a crepe, it was time to get in line! I went thru customs, on to the train, and faced 3 of the most unhappy looking people I've ever seen. C'mon people, we're going to PARIS! Like cheer up! The Eurostar trip was pretty uneventful. Everyone gets so excited about taking the train thru the chunnel. I think it's pretty boring. You're on a train, in a concrete tube, under the English Channel, and your ears won't stop popping. But, it's better than the flying tin can, so ... meh.
I arrived in Paris at about 9h45pm and there was Miss Becky, waiting in front of EVERYONE for me at the Gare du Nord train station. It was so exciting to be in Paris and to see her, and to have someone waiting at the train station - felt very special! Within seconds of walking down the platform, I saw people making out like there was no tomorrow around the station. Welcome to Paris. We went over to Becky's flat which is really close and dropped off my bags and got ourselves ready. I met Becky's flatmate, Claire, who is probably one of the nicest people I have ever met. She's (I think) 25 and a doctor and just ridiculously cool. She and Becky are a good match. We headed over to Pigale and grabbed some drinks with some London girls who were in town for Becky's friends' birthday. I made new friends! Exciting! We had a pretty low key night drinking beers (not classy in Paris) and chatting. It was fun!
I'd forgotten about the intense male attention received in Paris. I really had. Throughout the night, there were a few suggestive comments and winks from the waiter with the really long ponytail (yuck) and a few guys outside, but nothing major. The next morning, we wake up with wine headaches and head to the grocery store. I'm wearing the grubbiest outfit possible, no makeup, and a hat over last night's hair. Within 5 minutes of entering the grocery store, I'm accosted by a male demanding to know my name and if I'd like to go out some time. I pretend not to know French which doesn't deter him at all. I finally break away from him and continue shopping. We get to the beer and wine section, where two men are talking. They both give me the most blatant full-on up and down I've ever gotten and start telling me how gorgeous they think I am, etc etc. I was too out of it to even think of anything witty to throw their way so I just continued on. When we left, the first guy was standing forlornley (sp?) outside and gave a sad little wave my way. C'est la vie. I could get used to this!
That night was Becky and Claire's housewarming party. Wow can these girls throw a party. They had about 30 people crammed into their Parisian studio and we had a blast. There was a lot of alcohol being consumed and a lot of dancing going on. At one point I went outside with Becky and her friend Fahdi and got molested by two strangers in the street. The one kept trying to kiss me and put his hands on me so Fahdi had to get rid of him ... scary! He insisted on giving me his hat and told me he loved me before continuing on his way. I still have his hat. It still has the tag on it. Stolen presents. My favourite.
The next morning we could barely get up. We'd danced the night away, and part of the morning as well, but I had things to see and do! I jumped on Becky to wake her up, but this was a difficult task. Becky is a DEEEEEEP sleeper! We finally got ready and headed out ... we went to Montmartre and saw Sacre Coeur which was incredible ... until the sky opened up and DUMPED on us. Instead of taking the lift, we walked up the 80 billlion stairs only to find everything gated and locked up and we couldn't get around. So, being Becky and Meaghan, we CLIMB A FENCE with big spikes and spires on it in the pouring rain. At one point, I was straddling a 20 inch long steel spike. Things could have ended very very badly, but I only got a little knick in my jeans. Fun times. We took some pics, got too wet, and sought shelter in a gift shop. I got a really cute purple Paris umbrella and off we went. We hit a LOT in a day! Thanks to Becky for her excellent tour guide skills! We went to the Champs Elysees and saw the Arc de Triomphe (my favourite) and some boys breakdancing in the street. We also saw the Moulin Rouge and Pigale (the red light district of Paris) Finally we headed to the Eiffel Tower where I had a few tears in my eyes ... I've seen it dozens of times but it has been 3 years since I saw it and it reminded me of all my great times in France ... I love that country! Was so so happy. After all that, we had to head back to Becky's, grab my bags and jet off to the Gare du Nord for my train ride home. I wasn't able to buy a regular class ticket for the trip home so I had gotten a ticket for one class higher. Wow. For a few extra pounds, this was the life! Big spacious seats, lots of room, free booze and a yummy supper. A girl could get used to that! I also sat next to a tailor who had gone to Paris that morning for a special fitting with a client ... I'm guessing Jeremy the tailor caters to celebs but he kept mum on his clients. Atta boy.
Pulled into town at about 9h45 and went home to bed! A whirlwind trip but it was fantastic! I loved every minute of it! I'll be back, Paris!
xo Megs
I arrived in Paris at about 9h45pm and there was Miss Becky, waiting in front of EVERYONE for me at the Gare du Nord train station. It was so exciting to be in Paris and to see her, and to have someone waiting at the train station - felt very special! Within seconds of walking down the platform, I saw people making out like there was no tomorrow around the station. Welcome to Paris. We went over to Becky's flat which is really close and dropped off my bags and got ourselves ready. I met Becky's flatmate, Claire, who is probably one of the nicest people I have ever met. She's (I think) 25 and a doctor and just ridiculously cool. She and Becky are a good match. We headed over to Pigale and grabbed some drinks with some London girls who were in town for Becky's friends' birthday. I made new friends! Exciting! We had a pretty low key night drinking beers (not classy in Paris) and chatting. It was fun!
I'd forgotten about the intense male attention received in Paris. I really had. Throughout the night, there were a few suggestive comments and winks from the waiter with the really long ponytail (yuck) and a few guys outside, but nothing major. The next morning, we wake up with wine headaches and head to the grocery store. I'm wearing the grubbiest outfit possible, no makeup, and a hat over last night's hair. Within 5 minutes of entering the grocery store, I'm accosted by a male demanding to know my name and if I'd like to go out some time. I pretend not to know French which doesn't deter him at all. I finally break away from him and continue shopping. We get to the beer and wine section, where two men are talking. They both give me the most blatant full-on up and down I've ever gotten and start telling me how gorgeous they think I am, etc etc. I was too out of it to even think of anything witty to throw their way so I just continued on. When we left, the first guy was standing forlornley (sp?) outside and gave a sad little wave my way. C'est la vie. I could get used to this!
That night was Becky and Claire's housewarming party. Wow can these girls throw a party. They had about 30 people crammed into their Parisian studio and we had a blast. There was a lot of alcohol being consumed and a lot of dancing going on. At one point I went outside with Becky and her friend Fahdi and got molested by two strangers in the street. The one kept trying to kiss me and put his hands on me so Fahdi had to get rid of him ... scary! He insisted on giving me his hat and told me he loved me before continuing on his way. I still have his hat. It still has the tag on it. Stolen presents. My favourite.
The next morning we could barely get up. We'd danced the night away, and part of the morning as well, but I had things to see and do! I jumped on Becky to wake her up, but this was a difficult task. Becky is a DEEEEEEP sleeper! We finally got ready and headed out ... we went to Montmartre and saw Sacre Coeur which was incredible ... until the sky opened up and DUMPED on us. Instead of taking the lift, we walked up the 80 billlion stairs only to find everything gated and locked up and we couldn't get around. So, being Becky and Meaghan, we CLIMB A FENCE with big spikes and spires on it in the pouring rain. At one point, I was straddling a 20 inch long steel spike. Things could have ended very very badly, but I only got a little knick in my jeans. Fun times. We took some pics, got too wet, and sought shelter in a gift shop. I got a really cute purple Paris umbrella and off we went. We hit a LOT in a day! Thanks to Becky for her excellent tour guide skills! We went to the Champs Elysees and saw the Arc de Triomphe (my favourite) and some boys breakdancing in the street. We also saw the Moulin Rouge and Pigale (the red light district of Paris) Finally we headed to the Eiffel Tower where I had a few tears in my eyes ... I've seen it dozens of times but it has been 3 years since I saw it and it reminded me of all my great times in France ... I love that country! Was so so happy. After all that, we had to head back to Becky's, grab my bags and jet off to the Gare du Nord for my train ride home. I wasn't able to buy a regular class ticket for the trip home so I had gotten a ticket for one class higher. Wow. For a few extra pounds, this was the life! Big spacious seats, lots of room, free booze and a yummy supper. A girl could get used to that! I also sat next to a tailor who had gone to Paris that morning for a special fitting with a client ... I'm guessing Jeremy the tailor caters to celebs but he kept mum on his clients. Atta boy.
Pulled into town at about 9h45 and went home to bed! A whirlwind trip but it was fantastic! I loved every minute of it! I'll be back, Paris!
xo Megs
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Work I Go!
Heya!
Can't believe I haven't written a blog in nearly a month! Sorry! Life has been NUTS! I decided to split my blogs up and write one for each part of my life so you can read about what you want to read, or you can ignore a blog that you're not interested in. So ... WORK!
I have been working like crazy. It's fantastic. I'm tired but I just love it. I got offered a job in a class last week and I had a tough decision to make. I was offered a job at an Academy near where I want to eventually move in London ... The commute from our current home is about 2 hours. Yuuuuck. So, I get up at 5, out the door by 5h45 or 6 , get to school at 7h45. Staff meeting at 8, kids come in at 8h30, classes go until 4. You do your correcting and planning for the next day, leave, and get home around 7. I'm gone from my house, for work, for 13 hours a day. Wasn't that fun, I promise.
The school itself was incredible. It's a new building that's won awards for the architecture. It's just mind-blowing. It has recording studios in the basements, big open common areas, tons of windows, big spacious classrooms, balconies, skylights, the whole 9 yards. Just incredible.
Academies are tricky because they typically host some extremely troubled kids. My 1st tip on teaching in London was to look around outside the school to figure out what kind of school it was. If it's surrounded by tons of low income housing units (massive massive apartment buildings that look really dodgy) the school probably hosts most of the kids from those apartments. This academy is literally SURROUNDED by them. The other thing about it was that it's a secondary school, not a primary school. I always swore I'd never teach high school, and here I was, stuck in the middle of teenage ignorance.
The kids were incredibly difficult. Just walking in the halls, I was forced back to high school. Once again I was getting teased and laughed at in the hallway, kids were making rude comments behind my back, etc etc ... and this time, I was a TEACHER! It wasn't really fun. My first day, some kid was just like beaking me off cos I asked him to stop hitting another student. He told me to F off and mind my own business. As a teacher, I thought this WAS my business?!
The class that I would have had was a group of 8-10 (depending on how many decided to come to school and weren't suspended) 11-12 year olds with the academic ability of 5-6 year olds. They were 12 years old and in math, I taught them shapes. Wow. They were all borderline autistic which meant they weren't able to be diagnosed aka medicated and placed in a school specific to their needs. They all had severe ADHD, as did 90% of the school population (literally - not kidding) I worked with them for a week and a half and was offered the job. In that week and a half, I had totally fallen in love with these kids. I felt like this could be one of those jobs that was really rewarding, and where I could make a difference. After a week and a half tho, I hadn't really impacted any of them. They still couldn't trust me, they didn't listen to me, they were constantly running away, out of the classroom, and finally, on Thursday, one of them started punching and clawing me and it kind of reminded me of where I was and what I was doing and that this wouldn't work. This was the type of position that would lead me to hate my career and I'm far too early into my career to hate it. I didn't come around the world to not love my job. So, I turned them down. It was the hardest decision for me. I feel guilty all the time because I know I could have at least been a constant in their lives but ... it just didn't work out.
In the meantime, however, I had been teaching at a school near Camden, which IS the neighbourhood I plan on moving to. The school is an old building with 800 flights of stairs and no lift. All the classrooms that I teach in are on the top floor so I get my excercise! Haha. The staff is young and fun and we get to wear JEANS to school! AMAZING! I worked 3 days at this school and they booked me for the rest of my time here before Christmas. I heard they had 2 jobs opening up and they said they'd love to keep me on ... so I have a job! Yay! Now I have to decide between a full time nursery (preschool) position or a 4 day a week subbing position, covering the staff's PPA time etc. I'd be the regular sub for the school, essentially. Some weeks I would get 5 days but every week is guaranteed 4. On the 5th day, if my school doesn't book me, I could call my agency and get placed somewhere, or, I could take a long weekend and jet off somewhere. It's all really exciting! I think I'll take the sub job. Seems more my thing.
So that's it for work right now ... I'm pretty happy with where I'm at! Let me know if you have any questions or comments!
xo Megs
Can't believe I haven't written a blog in nearly a month! Sorry! Life has been NUTS! I decided to split my blogs up and write one for each part of my life so you can read about what you want to read, or you can ignore a blog that you're not interested in. So ... WORK!
I have been working like crazy. It's fantastic. I'm tired but I just love it. I got offered a job in a class last week and I had a tough decision to make. I was offered a job at an Academy near where I want to eventually move in London ... The commute from our current home is about 2 hours. Yuuuuck. So, I get up at 5, out the door by 5h45 or 6 , get to school at 7h45. Staff meeting at 8, kids come in at 8h30, classes go until 4. You do your correcting and planning for the next day, leave, and get home around 7. I'm gone from my house, for work, for 13 hours a day. Wasn't that fun, I promise.
The school itself was incredible. It's a new building that's won awards for the architecture. It's just mind-blowing. It has recording studios in the basements, big open common areas, tons of windows, big spacious classrooms, balconies, skylights, the whole 9 yards. Just incredible.
Academies are tricky because they typically host some extremely troubled kids. My 1st tip on teaching in London was to look around outside the school to figure out what kind of school it was. If it's surrounded by tons of low income housing units (massive massive apartment buildings that look really dodgy) the school probably hosts most of the kids from those apartments. This academy is literally SURROUNDED by them. The other thing about it was that it's a secondary school, not a primary school. I always swore I'd never teach high school, and here I was, stuck in the middle of teenage ignorance.
The kids were incredibly difficult. Just walking in the halls, I was forced back to high school. Once again I was getting teased and laughed at in the hallway, kids were making rude comments behind my back, etc etc ... and this time, I was a TEACHER! It wasn't really fun. My first day, some kid was just like beaking me off cos I asked him to stop hitting another student. He told me to F off and mind my own business. As a teacher, I thought this WAS my business?!
The class that I would have had was a group of 8-10 (depending on how many decided to come to school and weren't suspended) 11-12 year olds with the academic ability of 5-6 year olds. They were 12 years old and in math, I taught them shapes. Wow. They were all borderline autistic which meant they weren't able to be diagnosed aka medicated and placed in a school specific to their needs. They all had severe ADHD, as did 90% of the school population (literally - not kidding) I worked with them for a week and a half and was offered the job. In that week and a half, I had totally fallen in love with these kids. I felt like this could be one of those jobs that was really rewarding, and where I could make a difference. After a week and a half tho, I hadn't really impacted any of them. They still couldn't trust me, they didn't listen to me, they were constantly running away, out of the classroom, and finally, on Thursday, one of them started punching and clawing me and it kind of reminded me of where I was and what I was doing and that this wouldn't work. This was the type of position that would lead me to hate my career and I'm far too early into my career to hate it. I didn't come around the world to not love my job. So, I turned them down. It was the hardest decision for me. I feel guilty all the time because I know I could have at least been a constant in their lives but ... it just didn't work out.
In the meantime, however, I had been teaching at a school near Camden, which IS the neighbourhood I plan on moving to. The school is an old building with 800 flights of stairs and no lift. All the classrooms that I teach in are on the top floor so I get my excercise! Haha. The staff is young and fun and we get to wear JEANS to school! AMAZING! I worked 3 days at this school and they booked me for the rest of my time here before Christmas. I heard they had 2 jobs opening up and they said they'd love to keep me on ... so I have a job! Yay! Now I have to decide between a full time nursery (preschool) position or a 4 day a week subbing position, covering the staff's PPA time etc. I'd be the regular sub for the school, essentially. Some weeks I would get 5 days but every week is guaranteed 4. On the 5th day, if my school doesn't book me, I could call my agency and get placed somewhere, or, I could take a long weekend and jet off somewhere. It's all really exciting! I think I'll take the sub job. Seems more my thing.
So that's it for work right now ... I'm pretty happy with where I'm at! Let me know if you have any questions or comments!
xo Megs
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Freak Out!
I have not been a ton of fun. I think all my poor friends and and roomates are ready to strangle me. I'm not 100% sure why I'm such a cranky kid, but I think it has something to do with the fact that I'm completely incapable of sleeping lately. SO ANNOYING! If I'm even lucky enough to fall asleep, I wake up about an hour later totally ready to rise and shine. So, by the time 5h30 or 6h00 am rolls around and I actually DO have to get up, I'm not too freakin' stoked about it. I think I'm on some weird delayed jet lag thing or something. Anyways. Yes. I'm a crabby kid. So, to all my lovely UK buddies ... here's my apology - I'm sorry! Hopefully I start sleeping soon!
I didn't work yesterday. Not gonna lie, it was a nice chillaxed day off. I went to the Museum of London with Crystal and Lindsey and it was awesome! So interesting! Learned all about the London Fire and the history of London in general - amazing! After that, we strolled around St Paul's Cathedral and snapped some shots. I'm a bit of a moron and left with no jacket. London can be nice during the day, but once 4h30pm rolls around, it's like someone throws a switch and we're all thrown into instant darkness that is very very cold. I'm from Saskatchewan and I think it's cold! So, it's cold! So I'm wandering around London with no coat, and Lindsey points out the Millenium Bridge. So, we wander across it. I got about halfway across the River Thames on this thing and pretty much turned into a popsicle. So, we wandered into Pizza Express which is a delicious little pizza joint that doesn't believe in cutting their pizzas but really enjoys watching you trying to cut them yourselves with butter knives. The pizza is worth the effort.
After that, we strolled towards London Bridge to get the tube back. We discovered a really beautiful little part of London that's really tucked away from everything - I can't wait to go back there to explore!!
Today, I worked. I was tired, but I had a great day with this Year 5 class. (Grade 4) Aside from a child impaling another child in the head with a pencil, we had a pretty rad day. I was at a Roman Catholic school. I've found that I actually much prefer teaching in Catholic schools here - they just seem to have so much more structure and order ... makes for a more enjoyable day.
I've been toying with the idea of getting my own classroom. Some days, I commute up to 2 hours each way to get to work and back, and I usually don't know where I'm going. This can get old really fast. At the same time, however, I love leaving my job at the end of the day and ACTUALLY leaving it ... No going back to burn the midnight oil for this girl. So, both ways have their ups!
Anyways, back to me being cranky ... I should probs go to bed. I also think I'm getting a bit of cabin fever. I'm so close to all these incredible places in UK and Europe in general and I'm like a little kid - I just want to get out there and explore. It's stupid because I've wanted to move to London for 12 years and now that I'm here, I can't wait to leave and go on trips! I'm torn between heading to Brighton with some other Canadians in London or heading to visit Becky in Paris this weekend ... Who knows?! I'll keep you posted.
Until then ...
xo Megs
I didn't work yesterday. Not gonna lie, it was a nice chillaxed day off. I went to the Museum of London with Crystal and Lindsey and it was awesome! So interesting! Learned all about the London Fire and the history of London in general - amazing! After that, we strolled around St Paul's Cathedral and snapped some shots. I'm a bit of a moron and left with no jacket. London can be nice during the day, but once 4h30pm rolls around, it's like someone throws a switch and we're all thrown into instant darkness that is very very cold. I'm from Saskatchewan and I think it's cold! So, it's cold! So I'm wandering around London with no coat, and Lindsey points out the Millenium Bridge. So, we wander across it. I got about halfway across the River Thames on this thing and pretty much turned into a popsicle. So, we wandered into Pizza Express which is a delicious little pizza joint that doesn't believe in cutting their pizzas but really enjoys watching you trying to cut them yourselves with butter knives. The pizza is worth the effort.
After that, we strolled towards London Bridge to get the tube back. We discovered a really beautiful little part of London that's really tucked away from everything - I can't wait to go back there to explore!!
Today, I worked. I was tired, but I had a great day with this Year 5 class. (Grade 4) Aside from a child impaling another child in the head with a pencil, we had a pretty rad day. I was at a Roman Catholic school. I've found that I actually much prefer teaching in Catholic schools here - they just seem to have so much more structure and order ... makes for a more enjoyable day.
I've been toying with the idea of getting my own classroom. Some days, I commute up to 2 hours each way to get to work and back, and I usually don't know where I'm going. This can get old really fast. At the same time, however, I love leaving my job at the end of the day and ACTUALLY leaving it ... No going back to burn the midnight oil for this girl. So, both ways have their ups!
Anyways, back to me being cranky ... I should probs go to bed. I also think I'm getting a bit of cabin fever. I'm so close to all these incredible places in UK and Europe in general and I'm like a little kid - I just want to get out there and explore. It's stupid because I've wanted to move to London for 12 years and now that I'm here, I can't wait to leave and go on trips! I'm torn between heading to Brighton with some other Canadians in London or heading to visit Becky in Paris this weekend ... Who knows?! I'll keep you posted.
Until then ...
xo Megs
Sunday, November 8, 2009
I'm livin' for the weekend and working for the cash machine ...
Heya everyone,
I know, I know. I'm terrible. We FINALLY just got internet in our house on Saturday night, however. So it's really not my fault. I couldn't be arsed to sit in an internet cafe next to a bunch of creeps writing about my life. So yeh ... hmmm .. where should I start?
I think I finished with Halloween ... but what I forgot to mention about Halloween were our trick or treaters! We didn't really prepare for Halloween cos we weren't planning on being here. However, as were about to walk out the door, I opened it to a massive group of 7 or 8 trick or treaters. WTF were we gonna do?! Luckily, I little lunch snack things that are like kit kats. We handed those out, but we were already in our costumes and these trick or treaters were with their dads. Their dads were WAY too interested in us being Canadian and asked if they could come back for beers later that night? The morals of this country astound me.
I worked a lot last week, which was great. I worked 4 out of 5 days which isn't AMAZING but honestly, makes for a nice week. It gave me a week day to get my banking done and pay my bills which I desperately needed to do. None of the schools reallllly stand out in my mind - I think they were all pretty good. I actually forget most of them already. HAHA. On Friday, I taught in a school in Camden. Camden is my FAVOURITE neighbourhood in London. I just absolutely love it. I love our little house and I think my roomates are rad, but I think when they move back home for the summer next year, I'm going to go and look for a place in Camden. It just doesn't feel like we live IN the city by living so far out of central London. Our neighbourhood is GORGEOUS, as is our house, but the commute is really getting to me. Between walking for 15-30 minutes, taking a bus, and riding the tube for at LEAST an hour every day, my commute typically takes me 2 hours each way. I'm losing 1/6 of my day by travelling. I worked my butt off in that school on Friday and did my best to impress because it would be great to get a job in Camden!!
My birthday was on Thursday, which is Guy Fawkes' Day here in London, also known as Bonfire Night. I've been waiting to have my birthday in London for about 3 years, ever since I first heard of Bonfire Night. Those who know me well, know that I like to celebrate my b-day in style. I love b-days! This year, not so much. The day started off really cute ... I came down for breakfast in the morning to discover that my flatmates had snuck downstairs at 5h30 am to decorate our house for my birthday! That was so nice and SUCH a good start to the day - thanks so much girls - I loved that!! I got called into work, and off I went. I was going to come home and change and then go out for dinner but, with the commute, it just didn't make sense. So, I headed straight down to Clapham Common, which is where they were having a massive free fireworks display. I got to Clapham and waited to hear back from people about coming for supper. As it turned out, no one could come for supper. I said I was going to make my blog honest, and not to glam it out. Well, lemme tell you, there's nothing glam about eating chinese take away by yourself on a bus stop bench. It was definately a lonely feeling but it gave me the push I need to get cracking and go and make some friends!! I had a chat with most of my family that night and I had cards from my family and my auntie's family to open which was really nice. The fireworks themselves were AMAZING. I was so impressed. It was great. Almost got a bit teary watching them as I'd waited for that moment for SO long and it was one of those "OMG! I'm actually here!" moments. So great.
Friday night was spent housecleaning like a mad woman. I scrubbed and scrubbed. We still don't have a vaccuum ... our landlord says it's coming but it's been a month and our carpet is scary. Everything gets dusty so fast so yes, I scrubbed away. Saturday, Niki came into London and she was so lovely, she took me for a proper grocery shop in her car. I stocked up on EVERYTHING. It cost me nearly 100 pounds, but I don't need to get groceries for AGES now. So happy. Thank you, Niki! After that, we finally got our internet/cable/landline phone set up. We don't have an actual PHONE yet tho, so we'll keep you posted on that number!!!
Saturday night was our housewarming party as well as my flatmate Crystal and mine's birthday parties. Gongshow. I think we started partaking in beverages much too early. The theme was 'ugly mug' party so everyone had to find a hideous/ridiculous/funny cup and bring it as their drinking cup. We got some amazing finds for sure!!! Nice work people! We had a really good turnout, met some new people, and saw some hilarious drinking cups. We had a really great time and I was so happy that my friends Niki and Andy came into London from outta town just to come to our party - that was great!!
Sunday was spent recovering from Saturday night - I was not a happy camper and spent most of my time curled up in bed with my laptop. Haha.
Well, it's Monday now and I'm waiting for the phone to ring to get called into work. Crystal and I feel mutually that today would be an okay day to not get called in, but ... Murphy's Law. Haha So we'll see.
I hope everyone is doing well. Missing you all back home like mad!
xo Megs
I know, I know. I'm terrible. We FINALLY just got internet in our house on Saturday night, however. So it's really not my fault. I couldn't be arsed to sit in an internet cafe next to a bunch of creeps writing about my life. So yeh ... hmmm .. where should I start?
I think I finished with Halloween ... but what I forgot to mention about Halloween were our trick or treaters! We didn't really prepare for Halloween cos we weren't planning on being here. However, as were about to walk out the door, I opened it to a massive group of 7 or 8 trick or treaters. WTF were we gonna do?! Luckily, I little lunch snack things that are like kit kats. We handed those out, but we were already in our costumes and these trick or treaters were with their dads. Their dads were WAY too interested in us being Canadian and asked if they could come back for beers later that night? The morals of this country astound me.
I worked a lot last week, which was great. I worked 4 out of 5 days which isn't AMAZING but honestly, makes for a nice week. It gave me a week day to get my banking done and pay my bills which I desperately needed to do. None of the schools reallllly stand out in my mind - I think they were all pretty good. I actually forget most of them already. HAHA. On Friday, I taught in a school in Camden. Camden is my FAVOURITE neighbourhood in London. I just absolutely love it. I love our little house and I think my roomates are rad, but I think when they move back home for the summer next year, I'm going to go and look for a place in Camden. It just doesn't feel like we live IN the city by living so far out of central London. Our neighbourhood is GORGEOUS, as is our house, but the commute is really getting to me. Between walking for 15-30 minutes, taking a bus, and riding the tube for at LEAST an hour every day, my commute typically takes me 2 hours each way. I'm losing 1/6 of my day by travelling. I worked my butt off in that school on Friday and did my best to impress because it would be great to get a job in Camden!!
My birthday was on Thursday, which is Guy Fawkes' Day here in London, also known as Bonfire Night. I've been waiting to have my birthday in London for about 3 years, ever since I first heard of Bonfire Night. Those who know me well, know that I like to celebrate my b-day in style. I love b-days! This year, not so much. The day started off really cute ... I came down for breakfast in the morning to discover that my flatmates had snuck downstairs at 5h30 am to decorate our house for my birthday! That was so nice and SUCH a good start to the day - thanks so much girls - I loved that!! I got called into work, and off I went. I was going to come home and change and then go out for dinner but, with the commute, it just didn't make sense. So, I headed straight down to Clapham Common, which is where they were having a massive free fireworks display. I got to Clapham and waited to hear back from people about coming for supper. As it turned out, no one could come for supper. I said I was going to make my blog honest, and not to glam it out. Well, lemme tell you, there's nothing glam about eating chinese take away by yourself on a bus stop bench. It was definately a lonely feeling but it gave me the push I need to get cracking and go and make some friends!! I had a chat with most of my family that night and I had cards from my family and my auntie's family to open which was really nice. The fireworks themselves were AMAZING. I was so impressed. It was great. Almost got a bit teary watching them as I'd waited for that moment for SO long and it was one of those "OMG! I'm actually here!" moments. So great.
Friday night was spent housecleaning like a mad woman. I scrubbed and scrubbed. We still don't have a vaccuum ... our landlord says it's coming but it's been a month and our carpet is scary. Everything gets dusty so fast so yes, I scrubbed away. Saturday, Niki came into London and she was so lovely, she took me for a proper grocery shop in her car. I stocked up on EVERYTHING. It cost me nearly 100 pounds, but I don't need to get groceries for AGES now. So happy. Thank you, Niki! After that, we finally got our internet/cable/landline phone set up. We don't have an actual PHONE yet tho, so we'll keep you posted on that number!!!
Saturday night was our housewarming party as well as my flatmate Crystal and mine's birthday parties. Gongshow. I think we started partaking in beverages much too early. The theme was 'ugly mug' party so everyone had to find a hideous/ridiculous/funny cup and bring it as their drinking cup. We got some amazing finds for sure!!! Nice work people! We had a really good turnout, met some new people, and saw some hilarious drinking cups. We had a really great time and I was so happy that my friends Niki and Andy came into London from outta town just to come to our party - that was great!!
Sunday was spent recovering from Saturday night - I was not a happy camper and spent most of my time curled up in bed with my laptop. Haha.
Well, it's Monday now and I'm waiting for the phone to ring to get called into work. Crystal and I feel mutually that today would be an okay day to not get called in, but ... Murphy's Law. Haha So we'll see.
I hope everyone is doing well. Missing you all back home like mad!
xo Megs
Sunday, November 1, 2009
C'est l'Halloween, C'est l'Halloween ... HEY!
Howdy-ho everyone!
Hope you had a spook tacular Halloween! Here's my story ... I don't usually enjoy Halloween. I was SUPPOSED to be born on Halloween, but being typical me, I came a few days later. Five to be exact. So, my birthday parties are ALWAYS the weekend AFTER Halloween. Unfortunately, the majority of people are still recovering physically and financially from Halloween so no one ever wants to come and hang with me on my b-day. This year, I couldn't really care about my birthday - Crystal and I are having a joint party and making it our housewarming party as well next weekend so I already know I'm gonna have a good time. This year, we put together some crazy outfits and lived it up, London style to celebrate our last taste of the half term break. Wow. It was AMAZING! Such a good night!
We bought Canadian flags and made various costumes from them. I turned mine into a dress with some leggings. I fashioned a belt out of some random fur that Crystal cut off a Santa skirt for her costume, and Crystal made me a 'Miss Canada' sash out of a pillow case (Sorry, Sandra! Haha) We pouffed up our hair, put on red eye shadow and entirely too much liquid black eyeliner, some red jewlerry and my 'Miss Canada' costume was complete. Crystal dressed up as the well-known super hero 'Captain Canada' and Marlee dressed as her sidekick, 'Maple Leaf.' WE WERE A HIT! Walking to the subway, cars were honking and people were cheering and waving - it was great. The thing is, England isn't nearly as crazy about Halloween as we are. It's not really a big deal. So, we looked pretty bizarre in our little neighbourhood. So, I convinced the kids we needed to go to ... CAMDEN! (My favourite part of London)
We first went down to Goodge Street to gather up some other Canadians we had met the night before at a 'Canadian Get Together' at the Canadian Pub (I had a poutine and a pint of Coors - delicious!) We saw their flats that were like cute little dorm rooms and then we wandered down to the Tube. Coming out of the tube stop in Camden, we knew we were in the right place. There were people in ridiculous costumes EVERYWHERE!
We went to the pub 'The World's End' and eventually wandered down into its basement club, the Underworld. I've gone to the Underworld before with Niki and Andy, so I knew it would be fun. The not fun part was waiting in line for a drink for about 20 minutes. Total fun-sucker. But the DJ was great, so we danced and chatted up new friends. I met about 20 NBF's which is always a good time. Haha.
Hmmm what else to tell. I wound up not doing ANY travels this week ... I actually got a bad cold and my sinuses were MESSED. I felt like crap and still am not 100%. I did, however, go to the Phoenix show with Steve on Wednesday and it was AMAZING. Totally blew my mind. I was so impressed! Best lighting I've ever seen for a concert of that level. Just incredible. On Thursday, I went and did an adventure on my lonesome and went to see the musical Chicago. It was so good and I really enjoyed it. I hate doing things alone but I put on my big girl pants and it wasn't as bad as I anticipated. Haha.
We were supposed to get our internet set up in our house on Friday but the dude called in sick so we still have no internet. Every person who has sat beside me in this internet cafe has felt the need to befriend me which is really irritating when you're trying to post a freakin' blog. Haha. I'm becoming a total Londoner ... don't talk to strangers. Just be a bag and keep to yourself. Haha. You learn this rule quickly in this city. I would always try to talk to randoms on the trains, etc. but they just ignore you if they can in any way. The last guy who sat beside me just told me that he tried out for Britain's Got Talent today ... he finds out in February if he made it. So, if you hear any news about 'Dwayne Duncan' ... that's my new internet café friend. He's the one I didn't MIND talking to cos his story was actually interesting! The old creepy dude who asked if I'd teach him about computers at his house ... not so much.
I booked my flight home for Christmas the other night. I'm pretty excited by that. I can't believe how calm I am about flying now. I'd normally be having panick attacks about this. I'm going to take an emtpy suitcase home and bring it back full of Kraft Dinner, Cheeze Whiz, Salsa, Clinique skincare, and licorice. Haha. I'll be home for two weeks and will make it back just in time to head to Paris for New Year's Eve. Yeh! Can't wait to see the family.
Anyways, I think I'll head out for now. Back to the daily grind tomorrow! Hope everyone is doing well. See some of you at Christmas!
xo Megs
Hope you had a spook tacular Halloween! Here's my story ... I don't usually enjoy Halloween. I was SUPPOSED to be born on Halloween, but being typical me, I came a few days later. Five to be exact. So, my birthday parties are ALWAYS the weekend AFTER Halloween. Unfortunately, the majority of people are still recovering physically and financially from Halloween so no one ever wants to come and hang with me on my b-day. This year, I couldn't really care about my birthday - Crystal and I are having a joint party and making it our housewarming party as well next weekend so I already know I'm gonna have a good time. This year, we put together some crazy outfits and lived it up, London style to celebrate our last taste of the half term break. Wow. It was AMAZING! Such a good night!
We bought Canadian flags and made various costumes from them. I turned mine into a dress with some leggings. I fashioned a belt out of some random fur that Crystal cut off a Santa skirt for her costume, and Crystal made me a 'Miss Canada' sash out of a pillow case (Sorry, Sandra! Haha) We pouffed up our hair, put on red eye shadow and entirely too much liquid black eyeliner, some red jewlerry and my 'Miss Canada' costume was complete. Crystal dressed up as the well-known super hero 'Captain Canada' and Marlee dressed as her sidekick, 'Maple Leaf.' WE WERE A HIT! Walking to the subway, cars were honking and people were cheering and waving - it was great. The thing is, England isn't nearly as crazy about Halloween as we are. It's not really a big deal. So, we looked pretty bizarre in our little neighbourhood. So, I convinced the kids we needed to go to ... CAMDEN! (My favourite part of London)
We first went down to Goodge Street to gather up some other Canadians we had met the night before at a 'Canadian Get Together' at the Canadian Pub (I had a poutine and a pint of Coors - delicious!) We saw their flats that were like cute little dorm rooms and then we wandered down to the Tube. Coming out of the tube stop in Camden, we knew we were in the right place. There were people in ridiculous costumes EVERYWHERE!
We went to the pub 'The World's End' and eventually wandered down into its basement club, the Underworld. I've gone to the Underworld before with Niki and Andy, so I knew it would be fun. The not fun part was waiting in line for a drink for about 20 minutes. Total fun-sucker. But the DJ was great, so we danced and chatted up new friends. I met about 20 NBF's which is always a good time. Haha.
Hmmm what else to tell. I wound up not doing ANY travels this week ... I actually got a bad cold and my sinuses were MESSED. I felt like crap and still am not 100%. I did, however, go to the Phoenix show with Steve on Wednesday and it was AMAZING. Totally blew my mind. I was so impressed! Best lighting I've ever seen for a concert of that level. Just incredible. On Thursday, I went and did an adventure on my lonesome and went to see the musical Chicago. It was so good and I really enjoyed it. I hate doing things alone but I put on my big girl pants and it wasn't as bad as I anticipated. Haha.
We were supposed to get our internet set up in our house on Friday but the dude called in sick so we still have no internet. Every person who has sat beside me in this internet cafe has felt the need to befriend me which is really irritating when you're trying to post a freakin' blog. Haha. I'm becoming a total Londoner ... don't talk to strangers. Just be a bag and keep to yourself. Haha. You learn this rule quickly in this city. I would always try to talk to randoms on the trains, etc. but they just ignore you if they can in any way. The last guy who sat beside me just told me that he tried out for Britain's Got Talent today ... he finds out in February if he made it. So, if you hear any news about 'Dwayne Duncan' ... that's my new internet café friend. He's the one I didn't MIND talking to cos his story was actually interesting! The old creepy dude who asked if I'd teach him about computers at his house ... not so much.
I booked my flight home for Christmas the other night. I'm pretty excited by that. I can't believe how calm I am about flying now. I'd normally be having panick attacks about this. I'm going to take an emtpy suitcase home and bring it back full of Kraft Dinner, Cheeze Whiz, Salsa, Clinique skincare, and licorice. Haha. I'll be home for two weeks and will make it back just in time to head to Paris for New Year's Eve. Yeh! Can't wait to see the family.
Anyways, I think I'll head out for now. Back to the daily grind tomorrow! Hope everyone is doing well. See some of you at Christmas!
xo Megs
Sunday, October 25, 2009
This Fire Is Outta Control ....
WOW! Franz Ferdinand was SO amazing last night! I'd have to put it in my top ten concerts fo' sho! Brilliant! The opening band, which I think was called Music Go Music was also really good. We went to a really famous venue, the 02 (Brixton) Academy, which was one of the coolest and most interesting venues I've ever been to. It was all standing room only and it had ridiculously sloped floors down to the stage so everyone could see most of the time, even me. Until really tall drunken frat boys jumped into me. The whole thing was just really really cool and I'm stoked that I got to go. Franz Ferdinand didn't even go on until 11h30, tho, and the tubes stop running at 12. Here's the story about Brixton ... it's the gun crime capital of London. We had to wait for the night busses with hundreds of other people. Interesting experience to be sure. We managed to not get shot, and began a process of bus taking which got us pretty lost. No matter what Steve says, I know we were lost. After a 2 hour voyage, we eventually found our way. Phew. It was an amazing night tho for sure! I'm a concert fanatic so going to a show in London was just perfect!
I've had a tough few days of working, I can't go into detail because of the whole confidentiality thing with schools but I can say that I literally got attacked by a 10 year old one day which was overwhelming but I was working at the greatest school - I've been there a few times and the staff was phenomenal. They even invited me out for drinks after school and I got to make some new friends which was awesome. No matter what happens to me, I try to take it in stride. I came to London because I knew it would make me a better teacher, and that's exactly what's happening. I've already experience and learned so much ... it's insane.
It's half term, 9 school-less days. Hope I'll do some travels! I'll keep you all posted! Thanks to those of you who comment! It's nice to know people are reading!
xo Megs
I've had a tough few days of working, I can't go into detail because of the whole confidentiality thing with schools but I can say that I literally got attacked by a 10 year old one day which was overwhelming but I was working at the greatest school - I've been there a few times and the staff was phenomenal. They even invited me out for drinks after school and I got to make some new friends which was awesome. No matter what happens to me, I try to take it in stride. I came to London because I knew it would make me a better teacher, and that's exactly what's happening. I've already experience and learned so much ... it's insane.
It's half term, 9 school-less days. Hope I'll do some travels! I'll keep you all posted! Thanks to those of you who comment! It's nice to know people are reading!
xo Megs
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