November 2010

Finally, I have finished posting about my 1/2 Term Break, which actually happened a while ago now. Since then, I have started a new teaching position (Year 6 at Monteagle) and it has been a pleasure to teach such vibrant students.....Behaviour problems guaranteed, but I loved them so much.

I actually start ANOTHER teaching position on Monday, but this time it is in Year 1 (Kindergarten) so I am a little nervous about that because I was getting used to the older children being able to fend for themselves, and stay seated (SOMEtimes) When I start on Monday, I won't have time to sit down, and I'll be surrounded by runny noses and tattlers, HAHAHA! Butttttttttt, I'll let you know how it goes.

Halloween has come and gone, and of course I HAD to dress up, so I stuck white school glue all over one side of my face, applied toilet paper on top of that and then finished it off with make-up and fake blood. I guess I was a burn vicitim of some sort, but I think Crsitin said I looked like a Widower risen from the dead. Whatever I was, the costume looked great and I enjoyed my time out with sime friends (Zombie, Count Duckula, Dead Alcie in Wonderland, Angel of Death and the Insane Clown Possie brothers, lol!)
Well, if I would have known my make-up was going to affect me weeks later, I probably would have NEVR put it on.

Almost 2 weeks later, I noticed that my face was feeling irritated, and was red on one side (bet you can guess which side!) It took about 2 full days to really break out into a red rash which started under my eye and continue down my cheek until it got to my neck. WHAT A MESS I WAS IN. My second day at Monteagle, and I had to rush to a clinic to make sure I wasn't have a serious reaction to anything ( I mean, in all seriousness, it COULD have been a coincidence that the rash was on the same side of my face as the white school glue had been on, *sigh) Anyway, this horrible state lasted over a week, and by the end of it, I was avoiding public places and even considered calling in sick to work. God love the kids though, they were so used to it by the second day, that each time it got a little better, they noticed and tried to cheer me up! xo

In conclusion, I will NEVER refrain from putting shit on my face as part of an awesome costume, BUT I will NEVER put white school glue near my face again. I'm just going to have to find something better, and more gruesome next time!

Oh, and then it was my Birthday (rash never exsited then, thank god) A few of us went out to supper and had cake later on. I don't like to make a big deal out of my birthday and so this year was no excpetion. It quickly ended and life went on. :) We celebrated mine and Jennifer's birthday the next weekend by going into London for some dancing with a few great friends we met since we've been here. xo

• Well, it's 9:40 am here, and I should still be sleeping in. I know it's Friday and I SHOULD be at work, but England can't handle weather. We had a tiny snowfall on Tuesday morning, and by the time I got the bus, waited in traffic for over an hour, I arrived at school to find out it had been cancelled for the day due to conditions........3 DAYS LATER AND SCHOOL IS STILL CLOSED! I mean, comon' people. On days like these, at home, we are expected to get to work, have duty outside AND send the children out to play at recess and lunch.....Jeeesus. I wouldn't mind so much, but No Work= No Pay! and THAT is never good when you're renting, lol.

Until next time......Keep Fit and Have Fun...HAHA

1/2 Term Break: (Part 3) Paris, France

So on our way from Belgium to France, I was pretty much interrogated on the train by security (because I apparently bought the wrong pass, and I was actually supposed to pay 54 pounds MORE than I had), and was almost thrown off. It was a great first impression of what the people were like in Paris, yuck! I told him he was being extremely rude to me, and because he didn't like my comment, he said, "Why don't you go back to where you came from!" As you can see, our bond strengthened and we became life long friends!! LOL

• We had to attempt to speak French when talking to anyone because it seemed as though no one wanted to speak English to us, even if they could. Fair enough. We did a great job the whole time we were there, and by the end of it, Jennifer was reading everything she could set her eyes on! We hopped in a cab and made our way to our final hostel. It was decorated for Halloween, and of course I fell in love with it right away.
• We did the touristy things of course, and bought a hop on, hop off bus pass. I noticed that all the guys over there would make a hissing and kissing sound when they wanted to get your attention (this did NOT go over very well with me, and so on more than one occasion, I had to tell them that I wasn't an animal!!) It must work for the french chicks...huh.
• We booked a package so we could see the main things in Paris: The Eiffel Tower (including a 3 course meal up in the Tower, overlooking the city, A bout tour down the Riviera (during the night, watching the Eiffel Tower light up, as well as seeing the beautiful historic buildings, etc,)  and then going to The Moulin Rouge to see the burlesque show. It was awesome and well worth the money! We never had to worry about times, and transportation because it was all organised and ready to go!
• On our last night there, we met an extremely cute Australian guy at our Hostel, and ended up going for drinks at a bar, close by. There was live music, and the guy who was singing was amazing. He had a huge binder full of songs (like something you would see at a Karaoke bar) only, he could play and sing ALL of them himself. I requested some Pearl Jam, Nirvana and I think Three Doors Down. I had some great videos of him, but recently lost most of my files :(
• It was a great time in Paris, and I was asked out by the guy on the front desk at our hostel, but of course, time had run out and I couldn't! Maybe next time!

There you have it......our first travelling experience in Europe! Our next one is coming up over Christmas: we are headed back to France, in the French Alps for some skiing and New Years celebrations..Should be a time! I'll keep you posted!
xoxoxoxox

1/2 Term Break: (Part 2) Brussels Belguim

I really need to get this posted, so I can move onto daily posts about my daily life, haha!

• Anyway, we left Amsterdam, knowing we would be back again someday....well I WILL, anyway! I absolutely loved it there- the atmosphere and the recreational activities, hahaha!
• We left with our new Canadian friend, Chantel, and made our way to the train station. We had to run to catch our train, because we were only a little late after waiting in line for food, and being served by the slowest worker of life- no joke! It's friggin hard running as fast as you can through a crowded train station with a huge rucksack on your back, let me tell ya! But we finally made it to the platform just in the nick of time, and boarded the train.
• When we got on the train, we noticed there weren't many people around, so we had it made! Big comfy seats and peace and quiet. Well, too good to be true because we were told soon enough that we had boarded First Class, hahahaa. Shortly after that, we were sent to the back of the train with the rest of the commoners, lol. We fit right in!
• Once in Brussels, we wander around for a half hour and accidentally stumble upon our hostel.  We grab a quick nap, and then head out to a world famous bar, Delirium.  Here they serve about 400 types of beer, and if you are ever there, trust me, the cherry beer is divine!  So, we drink some beer, meet some people who barely speak English and listen to some great live music.  All in all, an awesome night!
• The next day, of course we do the touristy things:
  -Le Grand Place, which is absolutely beautiful and I cannot describe it, so see picture.
  - Atomium, this weird molecule shaped building with various exhibits, but pretty cool (ate a Belgium waffle).
  -Mini Europe (Yes, you guessed it, the sights of Europe in mini form! Exciting at first, but excitement does wear off once you hit Greece).
  - Le Mannequin-Pis or the Peeing Boy (a famous fountain in Brussels, not that exciting).
  -Supper at a nice restaurant looking out over Le Grand Place.
• Overall, Belgium is a beautiful place to visit and the shopping is divine! I loved the old architecture and I have some pictures to prove it. Hopefully I cn get my next blog finished today, so keep reading!