The Redhead Jumped Over the Pond (And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon): First Week of 'Work' Part 1

Apologies for not posting consistently. From now on, my plan and hope is to post about every two days. Not only does it make it easier on the eyes when reading, it also means I don't have to write so much at once and the little memories won't be lost! So here we go, the last time I posted was Sunday..

So onto Monday...

I was up at 6:30 AM to ensure that I could shower and be ready for a phone call, should one come in to go out to a school. As I'm sure I've mentioned before, this causes me a lot of anxiety. Waiting for a call between 7 and 8 is torture and also the not knowing where I'm going in the morning, if I can figure out bus routes on the fly, etc. For anyone that knows me, knows I'm a worrier! But back to Monday, no call came in, Liz was up and gone for her half day morning job so I was waiting on my own. When I didn't get my phone call, I thought about what I should do... I began by responding to emails that I'd received a few days prior.. Most of these emails were jam packed with emotion as they were goodbyes from friends. I'd read them over and over again and wasn't responding because I didn't want to, but because it was a lot of emotion that I couldn't handle.. But on Monday I was feeling good so I responded to Sarah, and Tyler... They took me a while to write but I felt better once I did. By this point it was about 20 after 9. I thought about going back to bed but then my phone rang and it was my landlord calling about taking me to go and set up a bank account. He picked me up and we went to the bank. However, turns out we needed to make appointments to be seen. Luckily, it worked out that Liz was able to come and set hers up as well. In the time before she was home, I took Sarah's advice and set out while wearing a cute scarf and a hot chocolate.. As I was approaching the city centre, she messaged me. We were messaging back and forth and it felt like old times. I am still in awe of the history and architecture in this part of the world.. I mean, there's a castle in the middle of the city centre! Who could not love that?! I hope my awe never disappears. I remember moving to Ennismore and getting so excited that we got to drive over the causeway... and now it seems like no big deal. But it is! These are the little moments and there is beauty in them!!

During my walk around, I found the post office that will actually allow me to communicate with home via mail because the other stamps I bought aren't international just for within the UK and who do I know in the UK that I will mail a letter to!!? (Can't remember if I mentioned this or not.. I bought stamps at the drug store and the woman asked me if I wanted 6 first or 12 second.. and I stared at her blankly.. I later found out that first stamps get whatever is being sent there quicker... theoretically..) SO, Monday was good. I also found the library.. Though couldn't register for a library card as I didn't have proof of address. That will come though.

Tuesday...
Was up at 6:30 AM again today.. I waited for a call to come between 7 and 8. About 8:10, I put my pyjamas back on and at 8:13 my phone rang-- it was TimePlan calling. She said that we could go into a school to observe today which was great. And even better because it was later, one of the guys from the office would drive us! When I say us, I mean Hannah and I as she got the same call to go in.. So we walked over to the TimePlan office together and got a ride to the school. The mixture of nerves, lurchyness of driving a manual vehicle and stop and go of UK drives (or so I've noticed) had me feeling nauseous by the time we arrived. Hannah was in a year 2 (our grade 1)class while I was in a year 1 (our SK, I think). It was a good experience, I got to work with a few groups but was mostly observing. I felt quite comfortable in the class and the kids were cute. It reminded me of why I love teaching and that primary classes are my comfort zone.. Being the doofus that I am, I realized at break that I'd forgotten my lunch at home.. I did manage to eat half of a cookie I bought in the staff room... The kids laughed at how I tried to pronounce some of the new-to-me names in the class. One touched my arm and asked what "those were"-- she was referring to my freckles! I laughed and told her it came from being in the sun. Later, I asked the student teacher if British people had freckles and she assured me they did... I don't know why this little girl was so surprised haha

Finishing the day, Hannah and I walked home (It was a good walk and we got to chat. However, my feet were sore in my low heels 40 minutes later!). Anne also messaged me and it was so good to talk to her. I'd tried calling her a few nights before and she messaged saying how she couldn't believe it when she heard my voice on her machine. I like to think that being in the school took the pressure off of the "first day".. But we'll see.
Once I arrived home, Liz and I left again to walk back into town and register ourselves with a GP and we also got library cards! Now I've got lots of reading material to look forward to along with my knitting!

I also chatted with my Scates girls (missing Jillian!). As soon as I got the incoming call and Jenn and Tessa asked how I was, I started to cry.. It felt good to talk to them and vent but I feel bad for monopolizing the conversation in that sense.. I also called home and managed to not cry. I guess I emptied it all ruing my conversation previous. Chatting with Emily Vance tonight, mentioned to her about my anxiety and she said something very smart: stress like this has an expiry date... I will become comfortable at some point. Thanks, Em! I just wish I knew when that date was...

Wednesday...
Was up, as usual waiting for the call.. But this time nothing came.. Liz and I both went back to sleep for another 3 hours. Must've needed it! She was out and about for the later afternoon and once I got moving, I realized I needed to get something printed off, sign in, and then scan it in again.. So I messaged the girls downstairs to see if they wanted to walk over to the office to do the task. We walked over, and while there, a call came in for 2 days of supply work in a year 6 (grade 5) class. So I took it.. I'm comforted by the fact that I know where I'm going for the next two days. However, nervous about the idea of having an older class. Though my second placement was in a 5/6 class, I found that I enjoyed being in younger classes more. After being at the office, Hannah, Liz and I walked over to the Pitcher and Piano, a bar right along the water. They introduced me to a cider called Symonds... usually I don't like beer ciders at all but this one was easy to drink, though not as fruity as I usually go for. We ended up sitting around and chatting over 3 pints!! It was good to chat with the two because I felt better about my emotions... It seems like I'm going up and down.. Earlier in the week it felt like I was kind of coasting in a good way not too up and not too down.. but in the second half of the week, it seemed I was constantly up and down, mostly down. I find Hannah and Liz very easy to talk to and it makes me feel better about being so emotional. Roommate Liz joined us for the last pint and then we came back to the flat. We were all chatting and I tried to figure out bus routes to the school tomorrow. Hannah told me that Maggie (another Canadian teacher in our building) would be heading to that school in the morning so I could bus with her... That's one stress off.

Thursday...
I met Maggie at 7 AM outside out flat and we began our trek to the school. We walked up to the city centre but via a back route. Once we got through, the area look familiar but I couldn't place it. It wasn't until the bus ride home that I realized where we were! We caught the bus and arrived at school about 7:50. Maggie took me up to the year 6 class and I was left to fend for myself. I didn't immediately see any lesson plan on the desk so I ventured around to one of the other year 6 classrooms and introduced myself and asked about the plan for the day... She told me I'd be working with another teacher and to just rummage around in the room for anything I might need... Can anyone say awkward...? haha so I met the other teacher and he basically told them for the morning, Maths (yes, MATHS...) and Literacy, he'd pull both groups together for a big lesson and then I would work with them back in the classroom. So that went well though they were doing rounding and I hadn't done it in a while! Also the teacher who did the lesson apparently told them to write their answers in a slightly different format than their classroom teacher had... I wasn't sure which to tell them to do so I said to do whatever they felt comfortable with... meaning I had to mark two different ways.. (yes, over here supply teachers do the day's marking). If the afternoon the schedule posted on the wall said that we had PE in the hall and science... I went down for lunch to sit with Maggie... I'd forgotten my lunch (again! ugh) so did my marking instead. I got back upstairs, and didn't see any other teachers. The students were asking about getting into their PE kits etc. So I finally told them to get changed the girls in one class and boys in another. It took them forever to get changed. I ld them downstairs and met one of the teachers on the stairs. He asked where we were going and I said the schedule said PE. He asked "in the hall?" and I said the hall was busy so I guess we were going outside (I was going to wing it!). He ended up taking them down and running the gym lesson... I didn't understand the uniform situation (I've never been at a school with uniforms).. Some students didn't have their gym clothes on, and he wouldn't let them participate... Not a rule I was aware of.. While he did this, I went upstairs and tried to figure out what I was going to do for science.. I was able to ask one of the other teachers and she directed me in the right direction. The rest of the afternoon went by and I survived! The kids were chatty though! Maggie and I were at school until about 5pm doing marking and then we caught the bus home..
I was surprised that I wasn't hungry but when I found out that the bus let us off right in front of a gelato shop, WE had to go in.. I got a chocolate milkshake! The rest of the night was spent relaxing at home reading and laying in bed. I called home and chatted with them for about half an hour... For a day with no lesson plans, I survived!