Another post?

Two entries in a row. Weird, I know. I guess it's because I happen to have a little bit more time now. That, and I don't really want to go out into the streets of London by myself in the dark. I'm not THAT crazy.

This morning, I went to church at Westminster Abbey, where the Queen got married, where Prince William's getting married and where countless other people have married and been buried there. Quite something! The service was alright...it was like the BCP order with some BCP words, some version of the BAS. Still had that handshaking though. I kinda had to do it. Not like when there's a BAS service at the Cathedral and I can just immediately start singing before someone comes to shake my hand.

What's crazy though is the amount of people around, tourists, just snapping pictures. I know, I should be used to it by now, but this was even crazier. I think that because on the one street we have the Abbey, Houses of Parliament and Big Ben...and there's just a sidewalk. So everyone's cramming around and trying not to get by a car. Most other places I've been to was mostly pedestrian areas, not a lot of traffic, people could spread out. So it was interesting to wander through crowds that were going the same way but only I wasn't stopping.

Also, after singing only a few hymns, I've realized how terrible my voice is! My voice was so tired after just a small amount of singing! I need to get back to the choir!

In the meantime, here's the plans for the rest of my time here:

Monday - British Museum most of the day

Tuesday - Westminster Abbey (paying for the tour, probably go after lunch)

Wednesday - British Natural History Museum/other museums in the area

Thursday will depend on what the other girls want to do. I haven't decided what I wanted to do yet. I'll have to do a google search and see what's up. Friday...well, we'll have to be at the airport at like 12, since the flights at 3, so not much time to do stuff.

I'll be home soon!

Amy

Near the end

Well, the internship is all over. I am no longer in Harlow. It feels kinda surreal to think that in less than a week I'll be back in St. John's. Crazy!

It was so sad on Friday! I got so much chocolates that I'm surprised it all fit in my bags. I got so many hugs, offers to stay on couches (without the kids asking their parents of course!) and so much else. It was all so amazing and sad. The best gift without a doubt was the handmade thank-you booklet. They had "Thank You!" written on the outside in the school colours. Inside, all the students had drawn a picture of themselves and most of them had a thank you/miss you/good luck message written inside. It was then later signed by the rest of the staff. I was ready to start bawling when they gave it to me in assembly. Oh, and they also gave me the Star of the Week achievement card. The whole thing was just so emotional.

In the past week, I also had a very difficult decision to make. I had to decide if I'd have one last week of fun with my friends in Spain or stay in a hostel in London alone, saving a lot more money, which is quickly dwindling. I'm currently in London, in the sketchiest hostel I've ever been in. I'm here for 4 nights, but I only paid 50 pounds, so I'm getting what I paid for.

It's outside central London, so it's quiet. The bed is comfy. There is free wifi and free towels. The goodness ends there. There's a bar downstairs, in the lobby, where I currently am. I'm thinking that they made the bar and decided "hey, let's make a hostel upstairs!" and it's not quite finished.

Again, the beds are comfy, and there are 6 people in a room. However, it's a 3-level bunkbed. I purposely picked the one on the bottom. The bathroom's kinda dirty. The kitchen is terrible. There's only a microwave and an oven...hardly any cutlery. I had to get a glass from the bar so I could drink my orange juice. *Sigh*.

They're playing Slumdog Millionaire on tv now though, so that's a win. I actually just turned my chair around so I could watch some of it and still be on the computer. What a wonderful movie this is.

I think that's all I'm going to say right now. I'm kinda watching the movie now, kinda doing other random internet things.

See you soon in Canada,

Amy

The End is Near

I had a post. Blogger screwed up. I'm too emotional to write another. Damn blogger...

Apparently, I lie

It seems like I lied. It's been a month since my last entry. I really didn't want it to be! Really! I mean, I'm done my internship in 2 and a half weeks, home in 3 and a half weeks. Can't believe it really, but it's true.

There are some things I like about being here, and somethings I'll be glad to leave an ocean behind. I'll miss the school and the kids there. For the most part, my kids are good kids, but sometimes you just want to smack them. Sorry, but you do. And I know we're not suppose to have favourites, but I do. Some of them I just love and I wish I could be with them all year because they're just great.

I'll miss how close things are here, how easy it is to get from one place in Europe to another. Another place in England is a different story, particularly if you don't have a car! There are trains, but they like to do work on them during the weekends. Damn engineers.

I won't miss the toliets. Seriously, if you're coming here, beware the toliets. They don't always flush right away and you have to wait like five minutes for them to fill up before you flush again. Drives me nuts.

Somethings I look forward to are Tim Hortons, Mom's mac and cheese, mac and cheese in general (seriously, the macaroni's different here so it's not the same!), snuggling my kitties, WoW and my friends.

Still haven't found where I belong, but I think I've found a bit more of me. This trips been good for me, for the most part.

I have really noticed how much work teaching is. You wake up in the morning, get ready, eat breakfast and go in early so you can prepare for the morning class. During break, you're getting ready for the next class if you don't have playground duty. During the hour of lunch, you're scarfing down food as you're in a meeting or working. If you can get 15 minutes to just sit, you're lucky. You teach in the afternoon and then you're either in more meetings when the kids are gone or you're preparing for the next day until 5pm. You get home, get something to eat. By the time you take the time to call your mom, check facebook, e-mail, etc, there's another half an hour gone. If you're lucky, you'll get the planning done and maybe you can get a television show in before bed. Seriously, it's a LOT of work. No wonder we need two months off.

Went to Dublin and Paris! I thought Dublin was nice, but it was too much like home. We went on a pub crawl which was pretty fun. Met people from all over. A series of books I'm reading takes place in Dublin, so it was nice to put the places in my mind. There's a few other things that would have been interesting to see but we didn't have time, and that's ok. But it was too much like home for my liking. We walked into a store and I think we knew all the songs on the Irish music CD they were playing.

Paris was awesome. It was so big and cultural, you'd need another week to see everything! Most of that time would probably be in the Louvre. Yes, myself and two of the girls went there, saw Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa herself. Pretty cool. Went up in the Eiffel tower too. That was something! I also went to Espace Dali...a museum dedicated to master of the surreal, Salvador Dali. It had lots of his sketches, sculptures and the Surrealist Living Room, which was pretty neat. None of his major works though, but that's ok because it was other stuff that you don't really see, which was neat. It was hard to find, but that just seems like Dali. Also saw Notre Dame, which was pretty amazing.

I really don't know what else I can be writing in here. At least right now. We're going to Spain in our week before we go, so I've been talking to Emma about what to do and travelling within Spain. I'm excited to go! Other than that, it's back to the grindstone. With luck, I'll update before leaving again.

Ooops

So I am the WORST blogger in the world! I start by saying I hope to write everyday and what happens? It's been a month since you've heard from me (unless you're on Facebook or Twitter). It's been busy here in Harlow! Basically, I get up in the morning (aka drag my ass out of bed), go to school, get home in time for supper, eat, do a few errands if necessary (which basically consists of grocery store, laundry, other randomness that needs to be done), work on what needs to be done for tomorrow/the next day, shower, watch a show if there's time and go to bed. Really! I could not watch tv, but then I'd be so behind when I get home it won't even be fit. With that said, the only shows I've managed to be fully caught up on are Fringe and Glee.

So what has been happening in the world of Amy? I've been teaching more and I'm not doing too bad. I taught math for two weeks, english for two weeks and after mid-term break, I'll be teaching math AND english. Scary, but exciting. I'm not sure what I like better, teaching math or english. It depends on what the subject is. I loved doing poetry with them because I loved coming up with examples and reading what they wrote. One of my students has such a creative mind. I love reading his work, it always makes me laugh. Some of my girls write such beautiful imagery. Biographies and non-fiction haven't been as fun, but I think I'm stuck with them.

I didn't think I'd like Year 6 because they're 10 years old and I tend to have a great rapport with younger kids. But I love these guys! I can joke around with them, can talk to them like they're adults, and they're just great kids. However, my co-operating teacher has reminded me that the class last year was not good, and she's anticipating troubles from the class coming up next year, so I'm lucky to have such a great class. There are some problems though. When I'm teaching and she's not there, they're a little more chatty and harder to regain control. Though reminding them that I can give out red cards just as much as she can gets their attention.

And I love their enthusiasm for learning about Canada! Of course, I had to get the map to show them the size difference between England and Canada. "WHOA I thought England was big!" one boy exclaimed as I circled it. Nope. Canada is the largest country in the world according to size. "But miss, I thought Russia was the biggest." It USED to be the biggest, but when different parts became their own countries, Russia got smaller. I circle Newfoundland and Labrador (yes, I circled Labrador as well!) and said that this was my province, and that I lived on the tip here, as I place a dot on St. John's. I then put a dot on Toronto. Justin Bieber lives here, so for the last time, no, I don't know him or live anywhere near him. Being 10 year old girls, they immediately made the connection that since Justin Bieber and I were from the same country, it was a possibility that we knew each other.

I've often compared the school to Harry Potter, since it's the easiest way for me to figure out how things work. The school has houses, but I'm not sure what determines you go into each house. The younger grades use the colour names while the older grades use the names of the school and town founders. I was looking at the board and made the connection that colours were the same as for Hogwarts! Red, Blue, Yellow, Green - Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. I've often wondered what house I'd be put into if I went to Hogwarts. Let's see:

Gryffindor - valuing bravery, courage, loyalty. Most likely not.

Ravenclaw - intelligence, creativity, learning. Good possibility.

Hufflepuff - hardwork, tolerance, fair play. I'll take the tolerance, but not so sure on the hardwork. Besides, I'm more for acceptance than tolerance.

Slytherin - ambition, resourcefulness, leadership. Better chance of getting in there than in Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. Besides, green's my favourite colour. But there's the pure-blood supremacy thing. Being someone who's big on acceptance would probably not get accepted into that house.

The sorting house may take a few minutes, but the mostly likely home for me in Hogwarts would be: Ravenclaw. I can deal with Ravenclaw. Luna Lovegood lives there. She'd be awesome to hang out with because she's a little eccentric like me.

Enough about Hogwarts! Though it's a great segue since Hogwarts is supposedly in Scotland and guess where I'm going! Oh yes. Scotland.

I've already been to Scotland, seeing Edinburgh and Glasgow. I'm in love with the country and have been itching to go back (plus, the cute bartenders and seemingly generally attractive male population is a lovely factor! I mean, Sean Connery, Sean Biggerstaff (Harry Potter again!) Gerard Butler, Ewan MacGregor, James McAvoy....all good looking Scottish men!). So when trying to decide for a place to go for mid-term break, the Scottish Highlands seems like a great idea. Loch Ness is up there, it's a beautiful place...and I've been reading a series of romance novels (but they're not JUST romance...the women are strong, independent women, there's fantasy elements, time travel, and it links to another romance series that is more action and fantasy than romance! It's a series about another world, really, who happen to have hunky male leads that are great in bed).

I'm going there by myself on Tuesday. Yes, alone. I know there are drawbacks to going alone, but I don't mind. I know how to keep myself safe. It's not that hard. The others are going to Italy, four of them already gone. As much as I'd love to go to Italy, I need more than five days lol. I enjoy my time with the other girls here and do love travelling with them, but once you get more than a few people, things can get tough, with some wanting to do one thing, others want to do another. I was going to go to the Highlands with Tiff, but she said to go without her, since she'll be too tired coming back from Italy. I think I asked her about 10 times if she was sure she was ok with not going. Besides, we'll have a lot of time to do things all together soon! We're all going to Dublin and Paris, with all but Sarah coming to Spain. I PROMISE updates on those!

And guess what?! 3 things that I've been wanting to do for a long time happened!

1) Stonehenge. What an amazing place, even if it's just rocks. There's something...unearthly about that area. Maybe it was the foggy day, but just knowing that somehow these giant rocks were placed thousands of years ago by unknown methods, that no one fully knows how or why they're there (I'm still going with either aliens, human sacrifice or both)...it just adds something.

2) Les Miserables. The best musical ever! I loved every moment! One problem was that Fantine seemed to go too fast during I Dreamed A Dream and the orchestra had to keep up with her. But it was a wonderful play. Please see it.

3) I FINALLY met Emma! I've known Emma for about 10 years, meeting online on I THINK a BSB chat, but I'm not 100% sure. We've been friends ever since and it was just great having her here for a weekend. We got on like old friends because we are old friends. It was a sad to see her go but we'll see each other again when I go to Spain. Hopefully it won't be another 10 years before we see each other again.

What else have I done? Oh, I saw Avenue Q with Sarah. Funniest thing I've ever seen on stage. Look up "The Internet Avenue Q" on youtube. So funny. I won't give away the title of the song, because it'll give away why it's so funny. I've also found a love for H&M, since clothes there actually fit me! I'm wearing a bit more make-up and *gasp* I've changed my hair. Since the beginning of time, my hair has been parted in the middle. Now, it's part on the side. The left, actually.

Anyways, Sarah and I are on the way to Starbucks! It exists here, somewhere and we're off to find it! We have a good idea of where it is, and we're going to do a little shopping while we're out.

I PROMISE my next entry won't be in a month. It'll be much sooner.

Thanks for being so patient,

Amy

Just some things

I want to start by saying that a few things in my last post didn't come off too well, and it was not my intention to hurt people. However, I did. These people know who they are, and we have talked, leading to my apology. I would now like to make a public apology to them. We all now can move past this, move on and continue having fun.

So, now let's just put it behind us and get on with the blog.

I've started doing some teaching. It was a little scary, but it's getting easier. I started with working with small groups and transitioned to bigger groups. I think I'm pretty much taking over RE. Religion was my focus area and, I won't lie, finding out we're doing Hinduism excited me. Hinduism is a fascinating religion to me, so I'm enjoying sharing my knowledge of it to the students, who really don't know much about it at all. I just have to watch myself, since my knowledge goes beyond what they need to know. But I guess that's the same for many subjects when you're teaching at a primary level.

I did math this morning, and it went well. I like to think I could have done better, but my teacher said I did fine, pointed out some flaws, and all was well. Like last time, most of my flaws include pacing, keeping watch to make sure everyone's paying attention (which is NOT easy at all!), little things like that. So my goal for Wednesday's lesson is to keep up the pacing.

In non-school news, we have some fun trips coming up: Glasgow this weekend, Dublin the first weekend of November and Paris the 20th of November. Should be some good times.

I also found a bar that will give me coffee in my own Tim's mug if I ask. Awesome.

I think that's all for now. Time to do some RE lesson planning.

Until next time,

Amy

Differences

Is there anything wrong with being different? Some people think different is weird and generally not good. There are differences in the British school system and the Canadian school system. Does that mean one is better than the other? Here, everyone wears a uniform. Of course there are varying debates on that issue, but I'm not getting into it right now. The students do a lot of group work, which is very interesting. The schools are very family orientated, with parents coming to meet their students outside the classroom door. These are just a few examples. But what about me? Is it ok with me being different?

I've always been slightly different than others, though not always knowing how or why. Sometimes, it's just a feeling inside that says "know what? You're not like the rest of these people. It's not bad, you're just different." I see it now in my ways, in my interests, in how I like to spend my time. I'm not the most social of creatures. I'd rather read or listen to music, watch television, then go out shopping for shoes and clothing just because. It's not enough for me to just "look" at things. I want to know all the details and get to the nitty gritty. My taste in music is pretty different than a lot of my friends. In general, all of this seems fine.

But when you're stuck for four months with others who aren't like you...well, there can be some lonely times. Some times you're just thinking, "can't we do something that I want to do? Why must I be the one left out?". I know deep down it's ok that I'm not like the others, but that doesn't mean I don't want to be left alone all the time. Maybe I should take a listen to Nick Carter some more. I'm closing with excerpts with his song "Not Like You".

I don't care about the summer breaks

Don't know much about love

And I don't care about the look of my hair

Cause I'm not like you

My TV set gives me tenderness

The cab driver guy is my friend

I look around me and all I can see

Is that I'm not like you

Don't tell me it's hard to believe

there's something out there

Cause no matter how much I believe it ain't true

I'm not like you

Day in London

Yesterday was an amazing day in London. After a night of dancing in a club (so we're doing all this on maybe 4 hours of sleep), we wake up bright and early for a day-long trip to London. We leave at 8 am and grab the bus to the Harlow Bus Station. Then we took another bus to Epping, a small town where there happens to be a tube station, which links up to the rest of the London Underground. We board and we're on our way.

We come up at the Holburn station, close to Covent Gardens. After a few minutes of wandering, we eventually coming to a market square. We decide to get some breakfast, since it was 10:30. Everything was great, eating outdoors watching other tourists run around until we actually got the food and discovered that the eggs were...well, not too good. They were a weird pink-orange colour and probably not cooked. The salmon I had was quite delicious, on the other hand. I just did not eat the eggs.

We do a little exploring in the open market and I found the Disney Store. My inner child woke up and I had to go inside. It made me a little sad though, since if Michele was alive, I'd have to get her something. Though what, I have no idea. She'd want pretty much all of it. I did manage to get a cute top for going out. It's slit down the side though, so I'll need to make a trip out to Primark (it's a cheap clothing store, not far from the bus market) to pick one up. Maybe a few more tops too, while I'm there.

Anyways, after getting slightly lost, we're in Trafalgar Square, which has some beautiful views, by the way. Behind there, there's a stand where you can get discount West End show tickets. Original, the girls wanted to see The Lion King. Not my first choice, but I figured "ok, it's supposedly a good show. I'll check it out." It's sold out. We agree on seeing We Will Rock You, a jukebox musical based on the music of Queen. Sounds great to me. So we pay £33 and off we go. It's only around 12 now and the show's not until 2:30. Knowing we want to see the London Eye as well, we decided to make our way to the theatre, because it'll probably take longer to see the Eye.

So we're walking along, making our way to the Dominion Theatre on Tottenham Court Road. We stop prior to this for a bathroom break at McDonald's (where I had a banana milkshake! Banana! I'm loving this country more and more...) and we saw this giant guy in a bear suit walking around. I get my picture taken with him. Oh yes. I'm a dork.

It only takes us about 30-40 minutes to make it to the theatre from Leicester Square (it's probably shorter, but we stopped to look at things, take pictures, consult the map etc). We're way too early for the show, but learned that the British National Museum was only up the road. We hike up there and split into two groups for a quick 45 minute look around. If you haven't been, put it on the bucket list! I was so disappointed when my camera battery died just as we were getting there. It was so fantastic, amazing, historical. I could feel something inside me well up and I partly wanted to cry at everything I saw. I don't know why. Maybe because I was looking at things that were so old, and I wondered so many questions; what the story was behind the objects; who used them and what were they like; what happened to make this Goddess statue break; what sort of people thumbed through this book; what did that pharaoh do? It was so overwhelming, and we only saw a small fraction of what was there. We need to go back and spend a day or more there.

Around 2, we made our way back to the theatre. Again, we were split up into two groups, a group of 2 sitting in row J, a group of 5 in row....A! Oh yes. I was in the first row. Right at the end, but I was in row A nonetheless. Sure you could see the actors spit as he was enunciation his words and see up the dancers skirt, but it was front row at West End! I will say this: it's a little cheesy, but I think it has to be to connect all the songs. Basically, it takes place about 300 years in the future where everyone has learned to be clones and consumerism as it at's best. All music is made on computer and musical instruments (particularly rock and roll) are banned. A young man rebels and gives himself the name Galileo Figaro. He meets a girl (who has no name) and he calls her Scaramouche. Galileo hears things in his head (which are song lyrics) and they're considered part of an ancient sacred text. They meet other rebels called Bohemians (who have names based on other musicians, which changes based on the music of the moment...and it's pretty funny) and he learns what rock and roll is. They're fighting the evil corporation in charge (we don't really know what they do...they're just "the man" I guess), who's leader is....Killer Queen. Cute. A prophecy, that the rebels believe was given to them by other rebels from a band called Queen, from long ago, says that there'd be a time in peril and only the heir of the "Hairy One" (not sure if it's Freddy or another member) can bring it back by going to the land of the living rock (i.e. Live Rock, which in London means Wembley Stadium) and finding the instrument, playing it to destroy the Killer Queen.

I won't comment on the ending of the play but it was great. Despite it's cheesiness, it makes you believe in the power of rock and roll. Awesome. The cast was great too. At the very end, after the final bows, across the screen comes "Do you want Bohemian Rhapsody?" (since that wasn't played). The audience screams and the screen says "Oh. Alright then." Then the cast comes out to sing. Then, the most amazing thing of life happens. Oh of the front of the stage, in a cloud of smoke, rising from below is Brian May. THE Brian May, lead guitarist of Queen. Oh. My. God. He did the solo for Bohemian Rhapsody and the cameras were out flying, snapping all sorts of pictures, even though picture taking is not allowed. Brian apparently only comes to play for special occasions, such as an anniversary. In this case, it was a casting change. But, I paid £33 to sit in the front row and watch Brian May play Bohemian Rhapsody. That's priceless. What the amazing odds.

After we're still being blown away (I'm still in disbelief!), we took a tube and found the London Eye. It was almost 6 when we get there, and just after 6 when we get our ticket. The line-up seems to go forever, both getting the ticket and getting on. We got on about 20 after 6, so that wasn't too bad. The view was amazing! You could see pretty much the entire city and it was beautiful. I was little scared because you're over the Thames, and I hate being over water. It's about half an hour long and at 7, we're looking for some supper. We decide to go to TGIFridays, since we don't have one and the commercials make it look good. Unfortunately, everyone else in London decided to go too. We were waiting probably half an hour for a table, but when we got there, the food was so good (oh, and we split up again...4 and 3, since they couldn't do a table for 7). The burger could barely fit in my mouth! A bit pricey though. The price in pounds wasn't too far off what we'd pay in dollars for it. Good food though.

After we're done, it's close to 9:30. So, we board a tube and make our way back to Harlow. We got back about 10:15. Not too late for buses, we figure. Nope. We just missed one and another one wasn't coming for another hour. For some reasons, a lot of buses don't run past, 7 or 8. I really don't know why. People still go places, or maybe that's just a North American thing. So we're waiting an hour and then we get the bus, just at 11. We get to the bus station, and we're waiting....still waiting. It's almost 11:30, and we're waiting for a bus to take us home. It's just about midnight when we finally see our route...which drives right past us. Noooo! We have no idea what to do now! We tried calling a cab but one wasn't available for another hour. Just then, a cab that can hold 8 people (and we were 7) pull up down the road. We ran for it. Two of the girls ran faster and luckily managed to convince the cabby to drive us home. Usually, they won't do it like that. You have to have the cab already hired and can't just hail one. But, really, we look tired, we're all disheveled, we don't sound/smell/look drunk...we're obviously not British! He took pity on us and luckily drove us home.

So that was the day in London. Hopefully, there'll be more to come. We're going to Glasgow at the end of the month and Dublin in November. So look for updates for there too. In the meanwhile, it's almost bed time. Back in the classroom tomorrow.

Amy

First Days of School

I've been a little slack on updating the blog, and for that I apologize. However, I'm also not sorry because me not on the computer means I'm out doing other things. With real people. A little scary, but it's ok.

Us here in Harlow have been doing things like shopping, going to the pubs, watching cheesy romantic comedies and planning trips. We're going to London this weekend which should be good. We're also going to Dublin in November for a weekend. That should be a good time. They have a Tim's there!

The school system in England is...well, very different. At least here in Harlow it is. I'm in a very posh school that has high expectations. At the staff meeting yesterday, I was tempted to just leave and run home back to Canada. There's just so much to comprehend and grasp. But I've been reading the manual and things are getting clearer. In general, there are some similarities: the students are the most important, help those who need it while finding extra for those who are advance, etc. One of the biggest things is how behaviour is dealt with. Remember Harry Potter and how everyone's in Houses? Well, this school is like that. Everyone's in they're own grade but within that grade and the school, the students are separated into four houses. Good and exceptional behaviour is given a token, to be given at the teachers discretion. At the end of the week, the house with the most gets special prizes, in both the classroom and school as a whole. Bad behaviour is a bit more complicated. There are different coloured cards and they mean different things. I guess it's like soccer/football.

The head teacher (think principal) is a little strict/nice but overall a nice person. The teachers are all really nice to me, and I'm liking my teacher. She's sweet but the students know she's in charge. The students are very nice too, at least in my classroom. They'd say things to me like how they liked my accent and ask me questions about Canada and Newfoundland.

Two weird things: the parents wait for the children outside and most of them walk. There are also short assemblies every day. I guess it's an equivalent to announcements, but more general.

Well, the girls want to watch a movie, so I'm keeping this short. I'll give more details later.

Live from England,

Amy

Made It

So, we've made it! I didn't have internet for a bit, so I wrote a blog to copy and paste. It's in two parts. Here we go:

Part 1:

Well, I’ve made it to London, and thus Harlow, Essex, England. I’m writing this at 3:26pm local time, on Sunday, August 29^th using Microsoft Word, rather than using the actual blog. I won’t have internet access in my room until Tuesday, which sucks but what can you do. I do have a computer account in the computer room (of two computers, using Windows XP and Internet Explorer of all things. It’s not even the new Internet Explorer. I’m cringing here until Tuesday!) so I will be able to check my e-mail and Facebook, but that’s about it. There are six of us living here, and two more will be joining us in a week from Political Science. Even though I’m in a single room, I have two beds. I’m tempted to push them together to form a big bed, but it’s unlike I’ll do that as I’m lazy.

Getting to the airport last night wasn’t much rush or trouble at all. I’m a little surprised by that. My checked baggage only came to 44lbs, which is great as now I’ll have room to take some things with me. I stay with Mom, Andrew, Poppa and Aunt Grace (Poppa’s sister who’s visiting from Ontario for a few weeks) at the Tim Horton’s as I drink my last Tim’s for four months. I even got decaf so I wouldn’t stay awake on the plane. We said our goodbye’s at the gate, Mom bawling, of course, and I went through security. Surprisingly, my ankle didn’t set off the metal detectors. I was surprised by this, but I didn’t make a deal about it because that looks suspicious.

I met Alyson, Wendy and Sara at the gate and we’re just hanging out, talking until Madison shows up. Madison’s been there a while, she was just away from us. We were supposed to board the plane around 9:15pm. 9:10pm comes around and we hadn’t heard from Candice or Tiffany. We’re getting a little worried, but they show up. They were at the airport, just around. For some reason, maybe it’s luck of the draw, but the other 6 girls were sitting nearby each other on the plane, while I was up in the front. See, not even off the continent and I’m already being isolated :P. I also noticed that I only had one checked baggage and two carry-ons while the others had two checked and one carry-on. A difference of packing? Some overpackers or underpackers? I’m guessing time will tell.

So we board the plane. I’m in the middle of the row next to a woman from Amsterdam who had a wedding in Montreal and then one today in London and a woman from Austria who was vacationing. They were both really nice, though the woman from Amsterdam slept the entire way. I tried to sleep but failed. Instead, I watched Shrek Forever After. I also tried to watch something else, but couldn’t stay focused.

The flight was bumpy, particularly at first. I was getting a little panicked because frankly, I don’t want to die. But, I was assured that the bumpiness was normal. We hit turbulence as well and I was not a happy camper. Finally, we landed. Yay!

Heathrow airport is….well, insane. If you’ve never been, please don’t go alone. Go with someone who has been there before. We just followed the guy to safety. Before we even got to our bags, we had to get our passports checked and go through the UK Border Agency. For some reason, they took our fingerprints. They just like tough security, I’m sure. The lady I had to talk to was kind of a bitch. She asked me how long I was staying and purpose of visit, like I expected. Then she asked me for the letter saying I was allowed to come. I was taken really off-guard by this. We weren’t told we needed a letter. That’s what the Visa was for, wasn’t it? She stamped me anywhere and warned me that I better have everything with me the next time I travel. Scary.

Next, we make our way to baggage claim, securing four trollies to manage all our stuff. Everyone got all their luggage and we managed to wheel our way out to the main area. I kind of felt like a cow going through a display, with people picking out who was theirs. A lot of people had signs and we eventually found the guy with ours. We followed him through the maze that is Heathrow Airport and finally made it to the car park (or parking lot). We piled everything and everyone into the taxi and we were off.

We were each given Welcome Binders describing our school, important dates and forms we have to sign. I should get on those soon. After a couple of minutes, the majority of the ride was silent. I don’t know if the other girls were sleeping or if they were watching the scenery like I was. As I gazed out the window, only one word came to me: verdant. Everything was so green and there was so much farmland! I watched some of the cars go by: Mercedes, Jaguar, Maserati, and of course there were some Mr. Bean-like cars. I tried to understand different highway signs, but I don’t think I did so well.

Finally, we made to Harlow. Our house is so quaint! The outside door is so small we weren’t sure if we were going to fit in. But we did! Right away, there’s a staircase. On the left, there’s the common room and what looks like a bit of a study. On the left is the kitchen, the cutest dining room in the world and the computer room beyond that. Two bedrooms are downstairs but we’re all up here, except for Madison who’s in the more modern house across the way since she’s staying with her best friend in Political Science. Pictures will be posted on Facebook and probably somewhere else where those readers who don’t have Facebook can see them. Once we got our luggage to our respective rooms, every single one of us clonked out. It was probably about 10am before I fell asleep. I woke up again around 1:30. Soon, everyone else was awake and we started to put our luggage away. Now, people are trying to decide what to do, clean-up, shower, etc. I know I’m hungry, but we might try to go to the supermarket to buy some food.

I can’t believe I’m here! It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but I’m here. This is going to be awesome. Now to find out what the plan for the evening is. Talk to you later!

Part 2:

Well, here we are to blog number 2 of the day. I’m going to try if I can alter it so that it appears that I’ve written these on the actual day instead of copying and pasting them after.

This afternoon, we decided to do a little bit of exploring. We wanted to find Tesco but knew we’d get lost. We asked these kids and one of the girls said “we ain’t got one”. So rude! However, the boys were more helpful and directed us to Tesco and to the small supermarket. We made it to the small one and found that it’d be open until 10. We decided to go find Tesco again, but realized most of us were way too hungry. There are a few pubs around so we stopped in this one called the Marquis of Granby or something like that. The prices were really good and the food was good. Looks like we’ll be going back there again soon!

After we ate, we continued our trek to Tesco but failed. We learned from other people that that it’s closed today so there was no point, but we just wanted to find it. We never did. It’s probably best that we go look for it when it was opened and see what’s inside then.

Now, people are putting the finishing touches on their rooms. Not really sure what’s going to happen tonight, since some of us are way too tired to go do anything. Still haven’t figured out which cord is my internet cord. Either way, my next quest is to find the thermostat. This room is freezing! Then it’s probably shower time.

Good night all.

Less than 48 hours!

It's t-minus 48 hours until I'm leaving on a jet plane. It's kinda of surreal yet amazing, scary, nerve-wrecking at the same time! I can't believe that I'm actually going to be going to Europe. I've spend my whole life in Newfoundland, except for 4 weeks....once in Parry Sound, a trip to Ottawa and a Pathfinder Camp in New Brunswick. (St-Pierre doesn't count!) Yeah, not a big traveller. Yet, anyways. It's going to be amazing over there. So much like home, yet not like home at the same time. It'll also be the first time I've really been living away from home.

Needless to say, everything's in a mess right now as I've tried to get everything straightened away. Clothes are slowly getting packed as well as washed prior to packing. I don't have anything in my backpack and carry-on yet, so I'm going to pack those as well. I need to manage to stuff in several boxes of Kraft Dinner.

Here's what I have left to do:

- See the doctor to get my prescriptions straightened away

- Change some money

- Finish packing

- Suspend my cell phone account

Packing's going to take the most energy. But it should be ok.

I'm getting quite excited here.....I'm not even sure what to right! I just know that now, in 47 hours, I'll be sitting on a plane, saying a temporary farewell to my life here and starting a 4 month stint in Harlow, England.

It's gonna be good.

We're really getting down there now! In 13 days, I'll be boarding the plane, on my way to England. It's a little unbelievable, but it's actually happening! I'm getting close to having everything ready. I have my universal plug for my laptop so I can use this in England, as well as update during various trips that I'll undoubtedly take. Tomorrow, I have an appointment to get my computer set-up for their wireless system and to make sure everything is up to date (which I'm pretty sure it is).

Some things I have left to do:

- Call my credit card company to let them know I'll be travelling and ask what the rates are for foreign currency. Some companies charge for the conversion.

- Based on that, go to the bank to get some Canadian dollars changed to pounds.

- Call my cell provider and tell them that I'm going to England. Therefore, I want to know if I can keep the number for when I get back.

- Go to the doctor to get enough prescriptions for four months.

- Go over the British curriculum documents so I can have an understanding of what to do there.

- Buy a suitcase.

- Pack.

There are a few other things, like shopping, figure out how batteries work there (can I just buy some?) for my camera, etc, as well as a few other small things. I also have my Backstreet Boys concert, my going away part, seeing various friends for coffee, family things. It's going to be a busy two weeks. Good thing I'm done work now.

Time's getting short! Getting excited now :).

Amy

Less than 30!

It's less than 30 days now until I leave for the UK. I'm getting more and more excited as the time continues to count down. I can't believe that in a month, I'll be in England! Wow! I'm excited about the internship too, teaching all these little kids, getting to know them and having an influence on their life. It's going to be amazing!

The Visa has arrived, tickets are paid for and book, accommodations are paid for...there's very little stopping me for getting there. Some exciting things to look forward to (besides the trip/internship):

- Lacuna Coil! They're having a UK tour during September/October. I need to check out the dates and where they all are and find the best time to go. But excited about seeing them!

- Traveling! There are several places I want to see while I'm in Europe. Thanks to the week-long breaks, I should be able to see something.

- Emma! Hopefully, I'll finally meet Emma! We've known each other for something like 10 years maybe. It'll be great to finally see each other off a computer screen. I don't know which of the weeks I'll see her, or if we'll be together in Spain or the UK. More things to work out.

- Walking down the street and have people know of the bands I listen to. Ok, that's just me being a nerd.

I think that's all for me right now. I need to get going, go to bed so I can go to work. More work = more money.

Until next time,

Amy

Almost ready!

Well, things are almost done! My visa application is sent off, and while it took longer than I thought, it's done! I got there in time for my appointment, but the guy was running like an hour later. Once I finally got in, it was pretty simple. He basically went over my forms to make sure I have everything signed, took my picture, took my finger prints and went on. He didn't take my soul, which I thought he might :P.

Of course, since it's the way it goes, there was a snafu. We thought that we'd give our applications to Hayward, our main contact here in St. John's/on campus, and send them all together but apparently we couldn't do that anymore. That sucked because now, we have to send a pre-paid, self-addressed priority post to them in a priority post envelope. They won't take Express post, which means paying over $60 to send it off. Grrr.

But, now it's off! Assuming that things go well, which I don't imagine happening, I'll get my visa sometime this week. Then, it's just saving my money, getting things packed, probably getting some new clothes until it's time to go!

'

I know what school I'm going to! I'll be attending Fawbert and Barnard's, either in Kindergarten or Grade 3. I'm liking that it's about a block away from campus, which is pretty cool.

I'm thinking about having a going away party before I go. I'd have to open my house to fit everyone in. That's what sucks about having a small house. I'd have to invite my friends, friends from work and friends from school who I'm close to. I can't invite all 75 of my class because I just can't fit that many people :P. I might stop work on August 20th, ask to work the morning shift, have the party in the evening and then go to the Backstreet Boys concert on August 21st. That leaves the week to get everything ready.

I think that's all I have to update for now.

41 days and counting....

Getting closer

The ticket is booked, the biometrics appointment is made...the flight is only 50 days away! In 51 days, I'll be in Harlow. It's kind of surreal to think about! The only problem now is the Visa application. I can't seem to pay for it, probably due to a computer error. I'm contacting the other girls to see how they paid, since...well, I should be able to pay!

I'm really excited! I'm a little scared too, since, well, I'm going to a new country, a new continent! I'm also nervous about flying over water, since I have a fear of water. But it's still exciting!

Right now, I'm working as much as possible so I can have more money while I'm gone. Now, it's time for lunch, then I'm working again.

I'll keep you all posted as the days get closer.

It's only 50 days away!

Amy

Me vs. the universe

Boy do I have updates, and it seems like the universe is working against me.

First of all, seems like things will be ok with the bank. I've been back since, have been approved for my loan and was told that I should have the money in a week. Thank the lord.

But, it seems like I'm being screwed over in a few other ways. Applying for a visa is not easy. I have to get biometrics done, which I guess they take your finger prints, soul, first-born child if you have one, and ask everything to make sure you're allowed in the country. Fine and dandy. As far as I know, I'm innocent. However, the site wants me to give them my visa application number. I don't have that, since I printed the forms off. I'm not really sure what they want, but it's been worked on.

Second of all, I know when I'm going! We're taking a direct flight from St. John's to London, which is awesome! That means I can probably at least see my friend Angela getting married, and no overly long time waiting in another airport. Woot woot. Unfortunately, it means flying out at 9pm, getting there at 6:30 am (London time) and going straight to campus. Will. Need. Coffee. Anyways, what sucks is that I need my ticket paid for by Thursday. Now, I get paid Thursday, so that's all well and good. But, I'm working 3-11, and our cheques don't get to us until at least 1. This is also a big check: 11 8-hour shifts, Canada Day and minimum wage went up. This should mean a bigger check that I can pay for my ticket with. However, I have less than a 2 hour window to go get it, deposit it and go pay for it. Not fun. I'm going to see who's working that day, see if maybe I can tell them I can't make it until 4. Should be fine. Right?

Well, that's all the updates so far. As the days get closer, there'll probably be more. I'll keep you all posted (if anyone's reading, that is!).

Amy

There's always something

There's always something that wants to prevent me from going to Harlow. Mostly, it's financial. The deal is that the Visa people want reassurance that you won't be a drain on the social system in the UK and that you have money in case of an emergency. Makes sense. And of course, I will have that money, through a combination of my job, my student loans and my line of credit. We have that part established.

Now, here's the fun part. I go to apply for a student line of credit and I'll probably get about $7000. That's not too bad, and while more would be nice, that's more I have to pay back. Since I only have to pay the interest while in school, and then take seven years to pay back the money, it's really not so bad. And, combined with the rest, I'm positive it'll be enough. So what's the issue?

Well, they won't finish the application/I won't get money until after I register. I register July 19th. The biometrics/visa people will be here on July 15th. I sincerely doubt that I will have $4000 in the bank before that date; that's just a month away!

I've e-mailed someone at MUN to see if maybe I can get a letter for the bank asking to go ahead with the processing, but I haven't heard back yet. There's a meeting Wednesday, and if I'm off, I'll ask then. If not, I'll probably give him a call and asking. I remember them saying that if there are little issues that they'll try to work around them. Should I be surprised that I'm the one with issues?

That's the update for now. I was going to post about some things I was thinking about the other week but I was busy with work and then I got the stomach flu. I'll keep you posted though.

Until next time,

Amy

Meeting today

We had another meeting today!

So it turns out I'll be sleeping alone. I'm alright with that. It's only a few extra dollars, which won't be too bad. I'd rather spend more money and be alone then save money and want to kill myself or my roommate because we don't get along.

Got my passport last week! Yay!

The dates of the actual internship are September 1st - December 10th. We're planning on being there on Saturday August 28th (meaning I miss Angela's wedding) and we can stay an extra week for some travelling, which I'll probably take advantage of. August 28th isn't the exact date but it's the probable date.

I have some forms to fill out which I'll get done.

My major problem is the money. If we had to have all the money at the end of the summer, I'd be ok. But nope. A lot of things need to be paid in advanced. This means I really need to get going on that student line of credit. I haven't asked Poppa if he'll co-sign for me. I hope he will. I'll take him to the bank the next time I'm off during bank hours. Unfortunately, this won't be until next week.

Other things about the meeting were little technicalities, forms, etc. Not much else to report on right now.

Talk to you later,

Amy

Ball is Rolling!

The passport application is based in! I should have it by the end of the month. Excellent!

However, I have encountered a new problem. I should be getting full-time, but I'm not. Therefore, I'll be getting less money than I thought I would. Gotta love it when things don't go according to plan. However, I figured that it would be a good idea to take out a student line of credit. That way, I'll have the extra money and if something comes up, the money is there. This could work. I just need a co-signer with good credit. Unfortunately, my parents don't have credit. Not as great.

Anyways, that's where I am now. Many people in my class are learning where they're doing their internship. I know that I'm doing it in Harlow, but it'd be nice to know the school and even the grade. That way, I can do a bit of research and be fully prepared when I get there. All in time, I guess.

Well, that's all for now!

Just an Update

There's not really much to update on. I just wanted to let you all know I'm still here. I'm still working, but I've only been getting part-time hours. Well, that's no good. So this week I'm talking to my manager about getting me my full-time hours.

Just waiting for my passport to be signed. I thought I had someone but it kind of fell through. But I have found someone else who I'm meeting with on Tuesday. Then, I'm sending it in if not Tuesday afternoon then Thursday morning (I'm working Wednesday).

No big news about Harlow, since we've had no meetings or anything about that. However, I'm sure we'll meet soon as we need to get flights booked.

When there is something to post, I will post.

See you soon,

Amy

Working Girl!

I got the job! I'll be working at Tim Horton's on Torbay Road now. I've had one shift so far with two more coming this week. It's mostly training so far, watching videos and doing a bit of floor work. It's not too bad, since it's so busy the time just flies by. The only time I'm wary of the time is when I'm getting hungry. Then I'm kinda watching the clock for my break.

Last night I did drive-thru which wasn't so bad. Busy, but not so bad. It'd get a little confusing making some special orders, and trying to keep track of what order I had to make, following the little screen. I kinda liked being on the cash, taking people's money. I'm use to that with other jobs.

Some perks: free coffee. Though I didn't find this out until after I paid for a milk and a diet Pepsi during my breaks. Also, there's a nice discount on the actual food. So my $4 sandwich turns into a $2 sandwich. Love it. Plus, we get tips! I don't know about other Tim's, but when people don't take their change, we put it in the jar, and at the end of the shift, the money gets split between us. I took home $4.40 in tips! Not a lot, but every bit helps when it comes to going to Harlow!

Looks like it'll be a bit more ok, money-wise for me. I'd say a good chunk of my change will be saved for Harlow. I do need a bit of entertainment/food/bus money. But it's definitely better than it was a week ago.

Keeping you posted,

Amy

I might have a job! I had an interview at Tim Hortons on Torbay Road (not the closest to my house by any means) and it went well. Even though I told her I hoped to go to England in the fall, she said "so you need full time?". It's a busy place, so that's alright. She hoped to call me back Friday, but if she couldn't find time to call, she'd call me on Monday. So here's hoping for a job!

Now the only thing keeping me from Harlow is the volcanoes in Iceland. I'm just praying that they'll die down and the flights are back on schedule by the end of August. Of course, the prices will probably jump to make up for the lost money.

More updates as they become available.

Amy

Government isn't fun

(I wrote this on Thursday night, but couldn't post it until tonight. So please take the dates written in consideration.)

We had our Visa meeting today and honestly, I'm a little confused by things. However, I'm sure things will get more figured out as time goes on. The thing that scares me most though is that I could be refused a Visa because of this monetary fund thing. They want you to have about $4000 Canadian in the bank when you apply. Credit cards do not count. Leave it to the Canadian/British government to screw me over. See, I'm from a low-income family. $4000 is a lot! A LOT! Before my dad started working, $4000 was four months income. No one in my family has had $4000 in the bank at one time.

Besides, my plan was to work, but most of my money on my credit card (because debit is iffy overseas) and use that. But now, if I need $4000 in the bank, that kinda messes up plans. Plus, I haven't gotten a job yet. I might have to take out a line of credit, which I'd rather not to. Money, the cause and solution all the world's problems, huh?

I got my passport photo done today. Took no time at all! And cost less than $20. I showed my parents and Dad said "don't you know how to smile?". You're not suppose to smile for a passport photo. Now I just need someone who knows me and can help me fill out the rest of the application. Shouldn't be hard to find.

Well, I guess that's all for now. I'll update once the money situation clears up.

Talk to you later,

Amy

P.S. This was written at the Capital Hotel, sitting at the table for the MUN Education Masquerade Ball, on old-fashioned pen and paper, typed later. Yes, I know how to use old technology like pen and paper :P.

Visas!

Just heard, we're meeting Thursday at 2 pm in order to get started on our work visas! Exciting! I need to get that passport done soon too...

I'll update on the visa information as it comes along.

Amy

Lack of Updates

I haven't been updating lately, mostly because of the lack of things to do in my preparation. Also, my grandmother recently passed away, so my mind has hardly been on Harlow.

I started filling out my passport application, but got confused. Maybe I'll just wait until I get my picture, then find someone to fill it out with me so I know what I'm doing.

As I said, my grandmother passed away on Monday, March 29th. I love her and I'll miss her terribly. She knew I was going to England, but I don't know if she really remembered, as her memory was going. I always had the plan of going to Buckingham Palace and taking a picture of the Queen walking past a window. I'd bring it home and show it to Nan, who'd probably frame it, saying "Look, there's the Queen's arm as she goes past the window." Nan loved the Queen. Apparently the looked similar when younger, and both are named Elizabeth. But then, Nan was always interested in celebrities. This is where I'm sure I got it from.

So no real updates on Harlow yet, but there will be as the months come and I actually get over there.

See you soon,

Amy

Sleeping alone?

As far as I know, I'll be in a room by myself. There are 8 people going to England, 6 from my class, 2 from music education. That should mean that we're all paired up. Well, it turns out that one of the girls isn't actually going to Harlow. That leaves 7 of us. One of us 7 plans on staying with her friend who is also going, but with political science. That leaves 6. 4 of the girls are split up, leaving me and the other music education student. I don't know her, so I don't know if living with her is an option. I wouldn't mind it though, since it'll cut down on cost. But at the same time, I don't want to have a desire to kill someone by the end of the four months. I'll keep you posted.

I printed my passport application. I need to get someone who's had a Canadian passport to say "yes, this is Amy." I'll get that figured out soon.

First Entry

This is just a first entry, a test if you will. This is where I'll be discussing my fall 2010 internship in Harlow, England for all to read. It'll contain my preparations to get there, my experiences in England and my reflections on my internship. I hope to have this public so others may read.

Enjoy,

Amy