Living the London Life

I can definitely say I'm all settled in now. I've been here for just about a month and I've become fairly well acquainted with my surroundings. I've always been good with picking up directions and figuring out where I need to go which has been helpful in trying to navigate myself around this city. I'm even starting to memorize street names and bus routes for places I need to get to.

The past two weeks have been quiet at times and then super busy. I enjoy the busy times because it doesn't give me a chance to think about things that have been bothering me. However, the quiet times which often lead to reflection have certainly been helpful in figuring things out. So far I've come to the conclusion that this was definitely the best move for me. I'm enjoying myself out here and getting to create memories that I will carry with me forever. Now if I can only just remind myself of that more often.

Supplying has been pretty decent. I haven't worked as much as I'd like to but that's mostly because I'm not as open to different grades years here as I am back home. Still haven't taught secondary here yet but maybe there will be something this week. I've been going back to the same primary schools I've taught at which is great because I know the routines, see familiar children, and end up feeling more confident when there. I really think the kids pick up on that and respond better. If you're on the ball then they don't have the opportunity to act out or you can at least call them out on things much quicker which puts that to an end.

Of course, kids will always be kids and no matter where I am there will be those little buggers who like to test the boundaries or my patience. One thing that I've noticed a lot here, in comparison to kids back home, is that they LOVE to tattle tale. It drives me mad! Everyday I have a handful or more of kids coming up to me to say "Miss. Crawford...so and so said this....so and so did that...so and so..." I have to address the major things, such as fighting, but mostly it is just useless rubbish that eats up so much of my day. I can't count the amount of times I've had to give kids lectures about minding their own business and worrying about themselves. I just have no patience for that. Ah!

Since I haven't been working a ton I have had loads of opportunities to explore the city some more and have some fun! On one of my day's off I decided to check out the British Museum which holds many ancient artifacts from the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian peoples. Of course, the one thing everyone flocks to when you get there is the Rosetta Stone. For those of you who aren't history dorks this slab of rock has writing in three different languages including Greek and Hieroglyphics and was essentially the key to discovering how to read hieroglyphs. It was pretty neat to see something up close that I had learned about in high school and university. Although ancient history was never my favourite of the histories to study it is quite interesting. Seeing those artifacts definitely makes me more excited to see more in their original locations when I visit Italy and Greece later this year. Anyway, the museum was jammed with foreign school groups who were getting on my nerves so I decided to leave. I ended up meeting up with Chris (one of my flatmates) who works in Covent Garden area and was on his lunch. We had a good stroll around the market and watched a performer. It was a lovely afternoon.

As I'm sure my sister is dying to know, the nightlife is pretty good here. Those who know me well know that I'm definitely a pub kind of gal but I also like a little dancing here and there. London is definitely not short on pubs so that's right up my alley. Only problem is that many of these places close at 11 or 12. This is great for catching the train/bus home but not so great when you just want a late night out with your friends. If you want to stay out later you have to go to the clubs.

Last weekend Monica, Chris, and I went to meet up with their friend Jenn who lives outside of the city. We had dinner and then decided to head to Gordon's Wine Bar in Covent Garden. On the way Monica's friend Charlyn joined us and when we got to Gordon's we were lucky enough to actually get a table. This bar is really neat because most of it is underground in the cellar with these low ceilings and small candlelit tables. Unfortunately we were only able to get a table outside on the patio but it was under heaters so at least we didn't freeze. The night was awesome because the wine was tasty, the conversation was flowing, and there was great company to enjoy it with.

The next day Monica and I decided to check out a local theatre in Catford that was putting on a production of The Diary of Anne Frank. I saw this done once before when I was younger at the Young People's Theatre in Toronto. It had a great impact on me back then and maybe is what sparked my love of history. Anyway, this theatre is soo tiny. It probably seats about 50 people and the seats descend right to the floor of the stage so you are as close as can be. We sat up front which allowed us to feel like we were right in the play. It was so well done and definitely worth the 14.50 we paid.

So basically that's what I've been up to the past few weeks. This past weekend we also went to a club for Fletcher's gf's birthday which turned out to be a fantastic night. The club closed at 12 so we headed across the street to another one that closed later. I'm really lucky to have awesome flatmates that are great to hang out with.

My plans this week are hopefully to work (today is day 2 of nothing) and then on Saturday we're heading out to Stonehenge and Bath on a tour as a little birthday present to myself. It should be just as exciting as my other weekends here. =)