Alright team, time for an update! I got home from work about an hour ago and was feeling so altogether positive about everything (which is a bit of a change, I must admit!) that I thought 'Hey Allie, time for a blog entry!' (perhaps my brain said it less cheesily than that just sounded though) So, time for an update on everything that has 'gone down' since my mysterious sudden disappearance in the South of London at the academy, and my miraculous reappearance in North London at a much more 'normal' school. I have just started my second week at my new school, a lovely Church of England school in Greater London (about half an hour out of central London) in this cute little suburb called 'Ruislip Manor' (pronounced like rice (the food) and slip (the thing women put under their clothes to be ladylike). There are squirrels in the trees outside my office and classroom (and incidentally, in the rubbish bin, on occasion), there are lovely birds tweepling in trees all the time and the children are yet to yell at me. It's altogether close to perfection, for a school anyway! I feel so much better about everything here now that this (major) part of us being here is more settled. When I get up for school I'm positive and the only thing playing on my mind is the lessons I'm going to teach and whether my trains will run on time, rather than the behaviour I'm going to battle against or thinking up new ways to protect my valuable thumbs. It's a world of difference when you say to a student 'Sarah, that's not your seat. I want you to move' and their response is 'Sorry Miss' rather than 'Shut up Miss. What would you know? You're a cow!' (or my personal favourite: 'Who does this Miss think she is?' said under the breath but just loud enough to antagonise). I actually secretly love that one, sometimes I even say to Ross if I annoy him 'Who does this Miss think she is?' before rolling my eyes ceremoniously. I am, however, still getting used to the whole 'Miss' thing (which even teachers call each other - 'Hello Miss, how's your day?' 'Hello Sir, Good thank you, and you?'),In all seriousness though, this is a really lovely school and they've really assisted me in settling in. For the past two weeks and the next two after our half term break I have a mocked up timetable where I'm taking lots of senior classes that other teachers have previously been doing, then about two weeks into next term, there will be some more upheaval as the school re-organises classes to manage another maternity leave and another new Australian teacher. At that time, I'll have a few new classes and bits and pieces changed, but I'm really not worried at all. The kids I've met here have been lovely. I love them so much I have amped up my impersonations, all of which require me to put on a British accent ala 'Oliver'. My coworkers aren't quite amused. I think they feel I am mocking them. But how can 'I'm terribly sorry to interrupt you Miss, and I don't mean to be rude, but this is our break' sound any good in an Australian accent? Much of its charm is in my pathetic attempts at a cockney English accent. Enough about school, on to the reason we're here -exploration! Before my official start at the school, we headed out on the weekend to Brick Lane Market with Bek and Brad. Brick Lane Market is in (funnily...) Brick Lane, a trendy and hip (and somewhat dodgy at night) area of London which has experienced quite the 'cool' facelift in recent years. Each Friday, Saturday and Sunday they hold a market with incredible street stalls featuring everything from Indian Currys to stunning Japanese food to meals from Nigeria and Spain. The attraction of Brick Lane Market is fabulous food (we headed there for breakfast, but deliberately stayed til lunch) and an amzing collection of works from independent artists and vintage gear from all over the world. We spent the whole day meandering around, eating fabulous donuts and just soaking up the area. It's definitely a place we'll head back to! Markets are something we absolutely love so we headed to Borough Market (a place we had passed by a few weeks earlier on the way to Shakespeare's Globe) the following weekend (just gone)! Last week we caught up with a lovely couple, Lelita (who suffered with me at my last school but got out just days before me) and her partner Ryan, both from Adelaide. We headed out to dinner with them on Thursday night in Wimbledon, then met up again on Saturday morning for Borough Market. It's an incredible place and an absolute feast for the eyes. The first thing that caught our eye as we entered the market was the skinned rabbit, the upside down dead pheasants and ducks, and some beautiful fresh bread. The market itself is in a very historical area so it was really quite amazing experiencing all these stalls in a very authentic setting. Where Brick Lane Market is in a more trendy 'Brunswick St' kind of area with gorgeous hot food and an eclectic mix of antique, vintage gear and the work on independent artists, Borough Market is in a much posher part of town and is almost exclusively fresh food. Both were fabulous. At Borough Market we bought up on fresh cheese, olives, good bread, and organic bits and pieces. It was cold, but such an unpredictably sunny day that we took advantage and did a bit of exploring. We headed to the river to show Lelita and Ryan where 'The Globe' is situated. From there we walked across the river to St Paul's Cathedral - a majestic building that we'll definitely return to when we have more time. We spent the afternoon exploring the (at times dull, but still overall good fun) Clink Prison. This is an original prison site and the reason that all other prisons have been, throughout time, nicknamed 'The Clink'. We learnt such important facts as nuns were some of the first ever pimps, using their profits to support charity efforts, and that priests who were taken as political prisoners in the Clink often had keys to their own cells so they could come and go as they please and help others take confession. We also pretended to chop each other's heads off. :) We had a quiet Saturday night and a relaxing Sunday - an awesome chance to finally catch up with Bryn after so long. It was just so lovely to spend time with him, chat about old times and new times and be around someone really familiar. (There's an appeal in there for you guys to all come visit us!) And so begins our new week, as we finish off our first half term, and get hyped up about our trip to Prague and Budapest (and possibly Vienna if we can squeeze it in), starting this Saturday! Very exciting. Half terms are the most amazing invention ever - who says Aussie schools shouldn't take a break every four-five weeks? Not me!
Thanks for listening guys, enjoy the photos. xoxo