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Riding a rollercoaster
London, United Kingdom
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London, United Kingdom
Wow! The time has gone by so fast! I feel bad for not keeping up with my writing for you. I have been exceptionally busy with life, and have not found the time to write about my adventures. I will try to fill you in on Morocco and Ireland at some point.
But for now, I am just going to look back on the 10 months I have spent here in London.
As you all know, I suffer from immediate dislike of my surroundings, instead of following the typical culture shock/adjustment schedule. I never seem to really go through the honeymoon phase, and the same thing happened here (the one thing I did love though, was taking the tube, as public transport here is just so much more efficient, and I didn’t have to worry about road rage screwing up my morning!).
Now, just to sum up quickly what I was doing.
Sept 18th: I landed in London, and stayed with Sheridan. Had my first experience on Regent street and Oxford Street.
Sept 19th: Headed out for Munich, Germany, for a week of Oktoberfest. Ein Prosit 😉 Great times, and I must say, I look smashing in a dirndl.
Sept 27: Went to Oktoberfest London (I just hadn’t had enough beer yet…) and survived my first trip of many on the N155.
Sept 30 (through to Nov 30); Started my work contract with Impact Teachers. Let me just say, it was not was I was expecting. I was expecting the kids to be tough, but I also expected constant work, at the rate I was quoted, and Impact was not really able to supply this. Overall, my experience with them was not good. For some people I know, Impact has worked out very well, and I love the idea of what they do to support and train teachers in India and Uganda, but for myself and some other Canadian teachers, who came over with experience, Impact was a let down. Personally, I cannot recommend anyone to work with them. I felt they were not outfitted with enough positions to have as many teachers come over as they did. It was the same excuses of “we are not getting as much supply as we thought we would have” and overall, we felt lied to with our contracts. It is sad to say, but former teachers do not make good business people. They tried very hard to be the cool agency, but were lacking what makes a “good agency”. It was very rare that I would know in advance of a booking, and every morning, I would wake up at 6:30, and wait for the phone call, ready to dash out the door… Not an ideal lifestyle for me. I did however, get the opportunity to explore several parks and museums, as I had to find free ways to entertain myself while not working. It is very hard to go from being a saver, to having less than 10£ in your account on a regular basis. I don’t need to make a ton of money, but I would like to know that I can comfortably survive, and not have to tell my parents everytime I talk to them, I need more money from my Canadian account, just to eat, pay rent/bills etc. This was probably my lowest point (Oct-Dec), as I came to London, with grand ideas of going to the theatre, visiting museums and markets, and travelling around the UK, Europe, the Middle east and Africa. The only things I could do were museums, markets and parks, and thankfully Tonia was there to join me on our excursions. I think Greenwich (the Ethiopian food!) Market, and Borough market (salted beef sandwich and brownies), are my favourite markets! It was also a lot of fun to go to the observatory, and stand on the Greenwich line 🙂
Oct 6- I moved into my room in Tooting Broadway (yes, get your laughs out now). Chekufeh (British), Katie (American) and I started our London lives together. It has been a good run! We have quite a lot in common, and I hope that I will continue to keep in touch with them in the future.
Skipping ahead:
Nov- We celebrated Chekufeh’s birthday and I had my first Infernos experience. Not exactly a pleasant one. It is a big club, and packed, but the upstairs is carpet, and unless you are really drunk, it is not such a fun place to be…
Dec 2- On recommendation of another teacher, I switched agencies to Vision Teaching. (I applied to several agencies at the end of Nov, knowing that my contract with Impact was up, it was the only thing I could do to keep myself sane as I couldn’t stomach the thought of staying with them.) My first week with Vision, I was in an all boys school in Oval (very strong immigrant population). I must say, I think teenage boys are worse than girls for being catty and getting on each others nerves, tattling etc. There was always a fight that had to be broken up, and usually involved the year 9s trying to strangle each other. Although it was tough, I enjoyed the consistency, and generally the boys were respectful to me, just not so much to each other. It was the first time I had “he called me a shadow” used as an insult!
Dec 10-14: After Rachel and Craig’s Christmas party, several of Rachel’s friends had told me that if I was unhappy, I had to do something about it. So, despite my lack of cash, I told myself: “I came to London to take advantage of it’s close proximity to Europe, so I am going to travel, damnit!” And I am so glad I did. I found myself headed off to Budapest, Hungary, where I got some cold weather (glad I had my woollen base layers and alpaca mitts). I got lots of mulled wine, and saw the Christmas markets, and had a really good time. One of the things I realized, and Sheridan, a family friend has made the same comment to me, London is not different enough for me. It is too similar to home, and doesn’t have the same challenge. I was overjoyed in Budapest, trying to find my way around, not knowing the language, and picking up words. There was so much history (but not too much! The UK has TOO much history for my poor non-historically inclined brain). We had excellent nights out, and it didn’t cost a fortune! I mean, my accommodation was less than 5£ (8$) per night, and meals were accordingly cheap. I got to do all the things I wanted to in London, but couldn’t afford to do. I saw Carmen, and La Boheme, did a river cruise, went in hot springs, it was great!
Dec 15- Ugly Christmas sweater party! Some teachers, Christine (a Kiwi I met at a meetup) and Bonnie (from Calgary) came over for appetizers and drinks.
Christmas- was spent with the family in India. (see other blog for those stories!)
Now, for when my life gets better!
Jan- Every time I come back to London, I dread it. Landing in the plane, I am not happy to come “home”. I did however, start my long-term supply through Vision, at an excellent independent school, South Hampstead High School. It is an all girls school. I am teaching Chemistry to years 7,9 and Physics to year 8. The girls are, for the most part, very motivated, and aside from chattiness, I don’t particularly have any behaviour issues (one or two difficult students aside, for those at home, think Jeremy but in a 14 year old girl’s body. She was fun.) I am still supplying daily on Tues/Thurs. I am finally making enough money to sort of do things!
Aside from money, I also found some new friends through different Meetups. (I had been regularly going to language meetups since Nov). In Dec, I went to a ” Exploring Femininity” workshop, held by Jonita DSouza and Jo Mundy. What I realized, is that I was afraid of being weak, and vulnerable, and had very negative associations to typically feminine characteristics. I will not speak much to this, but that work shop was the start of what I consider the biggest emotional growth I have had in my lifetime (and I will post a lot more about this on my other blog, (http://a-musingstories.blogspot.co.uk/ ). Although the workshop was only a few hours long, it got me thinking, and using some of the tools provided. I also go to meet Claudia, from Bellydance Body Mind, and decided to go to her free taster session (sample of the classes and things that you would learn). I went mainly because she was starting a Latinbelly class (similar-ish to zumba), and since I loved zumba at home, I figured it would be fun. What I didn’t know when I went, was that my life
was going to become much more about dance. I ended up signing up for the Level 3 Bellydance, and Latinbelly, and had a blast. It was tough, especially the “down to up undulations” but I figured it out, and basically gained a family of strong ladies. In particular, Serena, Kerry, Ariadna, Angela, Natalie, Amy, Tara, Claire, Ewa, Meanca and Miwa, Artemis, Alicja (sorry if I missed anyone). I will miss their energy dearly.
Anyways, I now had a purpose again. I had a stable teaching position, and activities to do, and I often found myself saying, I have dance tonight 🙂
I also met Gunita and Eka, at a different meetup, and gained 2 new dancing/clubbing buddies! If I get back here in the summer, Gunita, you and I will definitely head out to Ibiza! We are going to be the crazy old ladies in 50 years, who are still dancing the night away!
Katie and I also went to Maroon 5 !! It was a busy month!
Feb- Tonia, Katherine, Hilary, Laura and I headed for the sunny city of Lisbon. It was fantastic. I love being near the Mediterranean, and the fish! (and wine, don’t forget the wine!). We had a wonderful time.
Katie and I snagged tickets to Taylor Swift, which was an amazing concert with Ellie Goulding. It is handy having a housemate who likes the same music as I do!
March- I don’t recall what happened in March, but I did go to the C2C (Country festival) and saw Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry and Brad Paisley, for less than I would pay to see one of them at home! Courtney, Katie and I had a blast. We were quite close to the stage too 🙂
Oh yes! I went to visit Anna in Amsterdam at the end of March!
April- Another busy month! I couldn’t resist skiing in the Alps, and headed to Salzburg for some much needed mountain time. Unfortunately it rained while I was trying to ski, but I did get some nice photos of Salzburg (a bit small for me, but so peaceful!) and relived the Sound of Music. I also got to have the freedom of the Autobahn in my rented Mercedes! It has been 6 months since I drove my car at home!
Once I got back, I got ready for my first Belly dance show! It was an amazing experience, and over way too soon! I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, by performing in front of people, something I don’t generally do, as I do not like to be judged. We rocked it, and I have watched our video several times since, always eager to show people what I did!
Then, I headed to Marrakesh, Morocco. Let’s just say, it is NOT my favourite city. I liked being in the country side surrounding it, but never fully felt safe within the city. Perhaps it is my paranoia at having been mugged before, or maybe the fact that I am a woman and was on my own. Regardless, it is one of the few times I can say that I needed a male companion. (Being a very independent person, I like to believe that I, as a female, can do anything a man can do, by myself. I did not feel that here. I was very happy for Grant’s company the first day around town). Unfortunately, the attention got worse when I was with Katie, as we were now 2 females, and Katie is quite fair, and blonde. I actually didn’t have nearly the crazy experiences or advances that others had (I found them out after), but still, I don’t think I need to go back.
May- It is really bad that my memory is going of what I did most recently. I fully enjoyed all that I did, but apparently forgot to commit it to memory. I have been quite successful at living in the NOW. I also had a break-through in my self image. I realized that I am awesome! (Yes, a bit narcissistic, but if you don’t love yourself, how can you let anyone else truly love you?) The sunshine and warm weather is also helping my affect.
Tonia and I headed out for a day at the sea, in Brighton. It was great! Then, mom came over, and we headed on a whirlwind trip around Ireland and Northern Ireland. The people are wonderful. It felt very homey (aside from Dublin, which I found less than charming). As much as I like to pretend to be “posh” I am much more a country girl, who is laid back and can’t be bothered with putting in a ton of effort into my image and clothing (although I have found that to help yourself feel your best, you do need to put in some effort).
We also had our fourth housemate move in, Jess. She is excellent, and is always willing to watch a Disney film, or go to the theatre, or have wine 🙂
I also accepted a position in Barranquilla Colombia, teaching grade 7-8 science. A new adventure is about to start!
June- Busy busy. Mostly with exams, marking and report writing. I wanted to kill someone with all the reports I had to write. My life was taken over! But it was worth it in the end, as I was complimented by different heads of year and the assistant director for my reports. We also were very busy with our activities weeks and sports day. I forgot to mention that on Thursdays, I also have been regularly teaching year 3 RE, at another “Outstanding” school (since Feb halfterm).
What else? I saw Wicked, Antony and Cleopatra, Billy Elliot, had afternoon tea with Mom, went to dinner at the Waldorf, and saw the Tower of London (along with other sites). We also went out to Bath. I have yet to see Stonehenge…
We have had fun nights out, and I am now quite tired, in July! I am still dancing, in Level 4, and Latinbelly, and am trying out Hip-hop belly (which I find quite tough! I like the music, but find locking difficult).
Erin (Canadian teacher) and I finally met at her BBQ (we’ve been facebook friends since I joined Vision). I got to hang out with Amanda (Aus) and met Sally, Molly and Phoebe, who also work for Vision (I think). Erin and I also headed out to Herstmontceux Castle for Canada Day. It is a shame we didn’t properly meet before, as we have a lot in common, especially our desire to travel, and our independence. We easily spent the entire day together.
July- Well, it has been short, and has gone extremely quickly, now that I leave London tomorrow! I have had ups and downs in the last week, as I say goodbye to people I have grown fond of, and leave my students in the hands of a new teacher. (It is always tough, I don’t know how primary teachers do it!). You spend a lot of time with them, helping them learn and grow. If I was staying in London, I would definitely want to keep working at South Hampstead, and they basically told me they wouldn’t have me working anywhere else. (There was a post, but it came up in January, when I was still in my I hate London phase). Part of me wonders if I should have stayed one more year, but then again, my dream was always South America, and the opportunity is here. Carpe Diem.
Overall, there have been ups and downs, and re-reading this, I realize I have mostly written about the ups. I suppose, like any good rollercoaster, you enjoy the ride (and I usually want to do them again!). Well, I suppose that is it for this blog. I will either start a new one for Colombia, or just use my other blog.
Thanks for reading!
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Curious Julie's Colourful Adventures 