Blog #1 - Thanks for waiting. :)

Well hello everyone! I'll take a quick moment to apologise for the long wait you've had to experience these past few weeks. Release your bated breath, ladies and gentlemen - Blog entry #1 is here! So, we've arrived in London, found a home and started at a couple of schools, and I think each day we experience a renewed sense of 'settling in'. I'll go back to the very beginning.....
We left Australia on Christmas Day (thank you Stefanie) and arrived in London on Boxing Day, travelling on Qatar Airways and travelling via Doha, the capital of Qatar, in the Middle East. We weren't long in Qatar, our flights being slightly delayed but still flying out to London about an hour after we'd landed, but Qatar did pique our interest. One day..... The flight itself was awesome. Amazing service, very comfortable, great food, outstanding entertainment. Our only complaints were the loopy woman Ross had to sit next to (thank goodness I'm married and can force my husband to sit next to strangers for me) and the incredible entertainment that kept me awake. How could I say no? We made our way from the airport to Willesden Green, a suburb in North London which looked absolutely picturesque. Actually, everywhere here looks like something out of a Dickens novel or Harry Potter. It's just super quaint. I'll post a few photos here on the blog but as always, the main collection will be updated regularly on Facebook.

Our studio apartment in Willesden Green was old and a bit creepy, but fine for a start and booked for ten days, just long enough to find a 'real' home. Despite jetlag, we started househunting and running errands on our first day, wary of the fact that we'd be starting work on January 4th. We did a little sightseeing in the first few days: Camden Town and the markets by Camden Loch, dinner and wandering through Trafalgar Square after catching up with Brad and Bek, Portobello Road Market (of Notting Hill fame) and a fair bit of eating out, but the weather and our jetlag made it really challenging. Our priority was getting stuff sorted, so we actually spent a fair bit of time in an are we've now come to call 'bloody Hammersmith'. The area itself is quite cool, it's just that our agency is located in the area and banking, jobs, etc needed to be based in that are too...we spent a lot of time lining up in Hammersmith. We know where all the 'good toilets' are in Hammersmith (and trust me, in London, there's plenty of bad toilets!). Some of our 'sightseeing' in those early days was actually as we searched for a home. Our focus was on somewhere temporary (and Ross wanted to live somewhere with a funny name - Tooting Bec) so we could 'sus' out what suburbs we really took a liking to. We found the perfect place on day 2, a great apartment in Stockwell (about 3 stops from Victoria Station, Central London) which is known as a bit of a rough area, but we love it. We've lived in Juso, so I think we'll cope. :) A lovely guy from Melbourne whose been living here for 12 yrs, has headed back to Australia for 3 months and we are taking on his place until April - perfect. The place looks and feels great and we're just thrilled to have a place to call 'home'...Ross even told the guy he didn't think we'd be able to give this place back to him. I think he's serious. :)
We moved in on Monday 4th January, after my first day of teaching. I think everyone's keen to hear how my first day of work went - did you get knifed? How many chairs were thrown at you? What nicknames did they make up? Did he kids push you over in the snow? We've all heard the rumours about London kids.....and they're true! OK, I didn't have any chairs fly past my head, I stayed clear of snowballs and I didn't see any knives, but yes, the kids are, as I have come to call them, mental. My first class, Yr 8s was fine, some difficult behaviour, but manageable. My second class, Yr 10s was MENTAL. The kids completely ignored me, walked round the room hitting one another, came up and went through the drawers of my desk, shouted at me and each other and generally went loopy. They're the kind of kids that stay with you all day, in your head, as you try to relive the way the lesson went, and try to figure out how you would've dealt with the behaviour if you'd had your chance again.....but there aren't actually any easy answers. Most of the teachers respond by yelling, lots of yelling. The school is state of the art with lovely teachers in my department, lots of support from heads of the school and most importantly YOU PAY FOR YOUR LUNCH WITH YOUR THUMB. I know, biometrically purchased lunch via credit you load onto your thumbprint. Some stay state of the art, I say 'Otherwise the kids would steal my money and my lunch...come to think of it, they may steal my thumb.' i better report it to the POLICEMAN WHO WORKS ONSITE AT MY SCHOOL. Yep. I'll let you know how it all pans out.....I actually haven't had much time to check out school as I had two snow days following my first day, and a peaceful Friday with all my 'top set' (smartest kids) classes. I'm sure you've all been hearing about 'The Big Freeze' in England. It certainly has been very cold and the snow has been gorgeous (and much appreciated since snow=day off school- I feel like Bart Simpson!) but I tell you, the Brits have really made this weather more extreme than necessary. On my first snow day at home, the TV had ALL DAY snow coverage with countless interviews with people: 'Yes, I'm very cold' and 'Yes, it is snowing a lot'.
Ross has had one mental day in a school and two good days. He's currently doing a week of supply (CRT) at a school that may soon offer him a full time position...but I think he's still weighing up what he'd like to do.
The good thing is, there is so much fun to be had in London! This city is incredible. Everywhere you look is just so picturesque and buildings are just breathtaking. We've shopped on Oxford Street and frequented major department stores Harrods and Selfridges. Last Thursday we checked out 'Les Miserables' on West End, on Friday night we headed to Brick Lane for Indian food and on Saturday we met up with Brad and Bek for dinner, drinks and a catchup in Soho.

Some quick notes on these....
West End is amazing. You can head to the ticket shops near Leicester Square on the day of the shows and bu half price tickets for almost every show. Tons of posters all over London have grabbed our eye in the last couple of weeks and we're keen to check out a lots of stuff. Les Miserables was fantastic, especially for Ross who had not seen this show before.
Brick Lane is really fun. To me it was like a combination of Chinatown and Bali - not foodwise of course (how ignorant would I be?!) but because as you walk down the street past countless Indian restaurants, men outside call out to you 'Come and eat here!' and bargain with you in the most excessive manner. 'Ok, I'll give you two free rounds of drinks and 30% off and if you don't enjoy you don't pay me a cent, ok?' We ate a good Indian meal there, though we'll have to go back and try other restaurants. To be honest, the appeal of Brick Lane is more in the fun of it than the need for a good Indian meal...GREAT Indian food is everywhere in London.
Ross discovered Soho (though to be honest I had accidentally discovered it myself three days earlier when I got very lost) on Saturday when he went shopping for his new guitar. It's a major entertainment area in London and has loads of clubs and bars and theatres. It's a cool area. For more on these places (yes, I am your virtual tour guide), check out the links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_End_of_London
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick_Lane
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soho