Relaxing Saturdays Are The Best :)

So after quite an evening out last night for Sam's birthday I've decided to spend my Saturday night indoors, watching movies, eating pretzels, and catching up with friends back in the States (plus a bit of FB stalking in there ;) ). 

Last night was fun. At first I was very apprehensive about going; I was exhausted on top of not being too sure who else was going to be there. Luckily, it turned out to be a really great time. Once in a while it's nice just to let your hair down and feel like you're back in college--when you need to act 'business like' for 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, it starts to wear a person out after a while. That's not to say that I don't enjoy playing the part of the adult and adhering to expectations of the working world, but once in a while it's nice to remind myself that I'm only 22 and I'm still allowed to act my age :). 

I'm in dire need of new running shoes. My Asics are starting to make my feet burn after running and for the past month or so my knees have been aching after every run. Thank God I'm going home in two weeks (they're far too expensive to purchase here). I've come to the conclusion, and my boss agrees, that I need to find a happy medium between work and my running. I got to a point where I was pretty much all work and my running was suffering. That's not to say that I'm about to let my work suffer, but because running a huge stress release of mine, I can't afford to let it slip out of my life; there's only so much a person can do before they start making work their priority and their health and sanity begin to slip (I refuse to be married to my job...teacher or not I'm not about to let my health and well being slip).

I took a long walk today out to Caldacott Lake (a man made lake about 2 miles--or perhaps a bit more-- from my house). I got some really good shots on my walk there (all pictures are up on facebook) and then found a bench to park myself and read more of Russell Brands 'My Booky Wook' (such a hilarious book). I'm trying to put up pictures but it doesn't seem as though blogger wants to cooperate. I'll give it a try later.

Some more from good 'ol WH...

I probably shouldn't have the energy to write a post, but I figured that I might as well since I seem to be a roll. Either that or I'm avoiding the massive amount of books that are sitting on my bed next to me that need to be marked; I bloody hate marking. I got a bit of planning done-- I'm starting to find that, despite the fact that most of the schemes of works have been planned out for me, I really need to start altering the lessons so that it fits the needs of my students. I've been worrying about marking so much that I think I'm beginning to let some of my lessons slip. Students are leaving having learned something, but I'm worrying it's too monotonous and my younger students are beginning to get bored. I let them draw and annotate today, which was a spur of the moment thing. I find some of my best lessons of the youngn's are when I just go on a whim rather than have set plans; it's for my older students, whom, if I tried that with, I would sink 5 minutes into my lesson. I can only imagine it now. Year 13, teaching Gothic Literature, spur of the moment planning in my head...haha they would eat me alive. 

I had a brilliant lesson today with my Year 11s where I held a Socratic Seminar and they loved it. That took a bit more planning than usual, but for the most part, I found they really responded well to it--until one of my students decided he was going to put both of his legs over his head...yes, you read correct...a 16 year old boy put his legs OVER his head. Well you can only imagine the uproar that he sent my classroom into. Thank G-d it was at the end of the lesson and I was just going over Keepers. I thought I was going to piss myself to be honest--I can't keep a straight face with that class and, as much as they tend to drive me crazy, I feel like I'm slowly, but surely, forming a bond with them. 

Today I sent a Year 8 out of my classroom because he was 'Heil Hitler-ing' during my lesson (ruler had sticky tack on it, put it against his upper lip, and did the salute continuously). When asked whether he knew what he was doing he said, 'Yes! Being Hitler...' and continued to do it. When I sent him out, he got bent out of shape and literally 'Goose Stepped' out of my classroom. I almost chucked my copy of 'A Christmas Carol' at him--but managed to restrain myself. My poor class was in utter horror. Needless to say, he's now in deep shit with the administration at the school... :)

My year 7s continue to be completely unbearable. One on one they're fine, but there is a distinct reason why I DID NOT WANT TO BE A MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER! I do not have the patience for students who cannot keep their hands to themselves. I did not go to school to be a babysitter thank you--it is not my duty to teach your children how to bloody share and keep their grimy hands to themselves. If I wanted to do that, I would have gone into Early Childhood Education or Elementary Education, and would not have poured hours and hours over people like Byron, Ginsberg, Chaucer, Southwell, and many others. I am here to teach English--NOT to play nanny. 

That was my little rant about my year 7s. 

I cannot wait until I begin my Masters. I'm still looking over the programs that universities around here offer. I think I'm going to need to get a car if I do end up staying here for Grad School. I'm still playing with the idea of applying to Oxford and Cambridge. Right now my main options would be one of the schools in the University of London system, Northhamton, Nottingham, and a few others. 

Okay I need to get a bit of marking done before I head to bed. All lessons planned out for tomorrow (as are Friday's lessons). This weekend will be fun--Out on Friday night for Sam's birthday (a bit of bar hopping) followed by some faffing on Saturday and then marking all day Sunday...seeing Jason somewhere in there :) And I'm home in about 18 days. It'll be really nice to see family and friends

Gobble Gobble...

Last night I held my first 'party'; A Thanksgiving meal to be exact, and what a time it was! 15 people in total, mostly from the English department along with my housemate Mel, Jason and a few significant others (of those in the English department). A 20 pound turkey, heaps of stuffing, green bean casserol, two types of mash, rolls, a vegetarian dish, three types of pudding (thats another word for pie for those of you reading this from the USA) and other yummy food were all included in last night's festivities. (To the right is Lucy checking up on her 'other baby...')

 (Me and my INCREDIBLE American Flag pie compliments of Sophie)

It was really nice being able to have everyone together for an evening away from work. A few of us went out for dinner on Tuesday evening, followed by watching the opening of the school musical 'Notre Damn.' That was wonderful, but it was still school related and, quite frankly, the fact that we had our boss about 30 ft from us the entire night and were surrounded by our students, didn't exactly make for a 'relaxing' evening. 

(Close up of 'The Beast')

Getting back to the meal last night; it really was brilliant. I truly feel as though I'm beginning to connect with these people on more of a friend level--I hated how, up until recently, it still felt just like 'work.' The people I work with have been nothing but incredible towards me and, believe me, I am so grateful for that; however, last night I finally felt as though I have actual friends here in MK. Sophie REALLY made it seem like that with her incredible creation that she brought with her for the meal (American Flag pie); I LOVED IT!!! :) 

Over all, a good time. There aren't any pictures (well any good ones) of Jason and I (for those nosey people out there who are reading this right now...you know who you are ;) ). I'll have to find some for when I return home in December (which happens to be in 3 weeks...just putting that out there...not counting or anything :-D). 

Triumph and turkey...

This past weekend I played in my first tournament since arriving to the UK with MK Ultimate. Located in LOVELY (and I say that with the upmost sarcasm) Luton, 19 teams came together for indoor Regionals. 'You make REGIONALS!?' you might be asking yourself, and my answer is 'haha of course not!' There were two brackets: Upper and lower (those who had a chance at going to Nationals and those who didn't stand a chance in hell--aka the Swiss Bracket). Regardless of this separation, we managed to take first place in the lower

                       (MK Ultimate)

bracket (aka 13th place). Lucky for us only three teams were awarded prizes this past weekend; 1st, 13th and spirit award (which, for your information, was like reading off bloody objectives of a lesson plan. For example 'Team understood the rules of the game or were open and willing to learn aspects of the game they were not familiar with. Rate 0 being poor, 1 being normal, 2 being exceptional'--o_O). Our prize was suppose to be The Plate, but being we were in the Swiss Bracket, we were awarded with copious amounts of Swiss Chocolate (Toblerone to be exact--oh sweet sweet victory :-D ).   

               

(MK Ultimate in all of our Chocolate glory!)

This weekend I'm 'making' my first Thanksgiving dinner! 'Making' because I'm having each person bring one item on my list of food, so technically I'm not cooking everything; just the main bits of the meal. I'm slightly nervous about how this is all going to fall together--it really could be a complete and utter disaster, or it could be heaps of fun (I'm really aiming for the latter of the two...). Jason will be there, which will be nice as my entire department will be there as well and I can finally start acting normal with him whilst they're all around (for the past three months, and understandably so, I've been 'sneaking around' the department, so to say, with how I act with him.). I have about 17 people coming (department and housemates included), which leaves much room for something to wrong--fingers crossed it all works out fine...

Relaxing on a cold and grey Saturday afternoon...

Saturday afternoon and I'm sitting the Milton Keynes Public Library poking about on the internet. Jason and I headed into the City Centre to mill about the acheological exhibition they have up in the library followed by lunch and coffee at Waterstones. The archeological exhibit they had here displayed artifacts that dated back to the ancient Roman period; found right here in Milton Keynes! Imagine this: Gold coins, pipes, buttons, jewlery and many other items, that date as far back as 300AD!! There's a lot to be seen right here in what seems like a very quaint and simple area. It's mind boggling to say the least.

The weather is cold and grey, but it's warm and inviting in here. There's a talk on Mosaics in the other room (we ended up back here after Waterstones), but I opted out in hopes to update this thing and look up a few pieces of information for graduate school. I still don't know what I'm going to do past this year, but I figured it was a good idea to begin looking up programs just in case I realize I want to stay here. I'm looking into Northhamton, Oxford/Cambrige (I know but my grandparents said go for it anyway), the Open University, Royal Holloway and a few others.

I have five weeks until I'm finished with my first full term of teaching. If I survive through this I have accomplished one hell of a feet. Apparently, the first term is the most difficult, and after Christmas it becomes much easier. Lets hope this is really the case and not just some crazy claim people have come up with. I had my first observation this week. I received a 3, though it was on classroom management and I wasn't expecting much more than that; to be honest I was a bit disappointed, but there's not much I can do except take the constructive critisim and run with it. God I hope I survive the next five weeks; I really hope that I have chosen the right profession. People keep telling me that I'm "brave for going off to another country and starting my first real career as a teacher at the age of 21." To be honest, I think starting a teaching job at the age of 21 is brave in itself. I take my hat off to any of my fellow collegues who have gone into teaching directly after university and are surviving (even if only just). The fact that I am in a different country just shows that I am extremely brave, rather naive and stupid, or very much a masachist (sp?).

November weather sucks...

So this past week was just about as intolerable as ever. Luckily, after being forced to go into work for three hours on Saturday, I was able to get into London, have some time to myself, and spend some much needed time with Bri and Travis--having an old friend from Towson, so close to me, is such a wonderful thing. I truly needed last night, and regardless of the fact that we pretty much were exhausted by 12, seeing an old friend gave me that much needed extra boost.

The terrible weather (SADD), PMS, culture shock, homesickness, as well as some other issues caused me (on Sunday) to seriously question whether or not I should have made the move to England in the first place; no thanks to a few friends, I quickly realized that it's silly to question a life altering decision based off of one horrible week--especially when everything else, up until now, has proven to be incredible. Though the novelty of being in a different country has begun to wear off, I don't think it will ever completely lose its effect. I am an American, always will be an American, and America will continue to be my home, regardless of my current location. I don't know how long my time here will be-- it could be another year, it could end as quickly as the middle of July when school lets out-- I really can't begin to make that decision at the moment. 

Tuesday's election will go down in history; Nationally and World Wide. While many see this election as a breakthrough for the Black community in the US (and I certainly agree, it most definitely is), I see it more as a movement towards what we once were: a strong country, acting as one, defined by our patriotism and our desire to be great. On November 4, 2008 we began our steps, though small, towards once again becoming united as one, rather divided by two. McCain's concession speech proved, once and for, all that we MUST begin to work together if we wish to uphold the reputation America once had. The booing of his supporters did not shed positive light on the Republican Party, but his message certainly made up for it. Obama, whilst I was rather skeptical about voting for him in the beginning (up until about three months ago to be honest), proved that he fully understands the task ahead; his term(s) will not be easy. His speech proved that he understood that this change will not happen over night, just as Bush did not undo all that America had, prior to his presidency, overnight. (In my opinion, along with many others, Obama's speech will go down in history). The next 4-8 years will be grueling, and immediate positive change will not be apparent (this is something that many American's need to come to terms with); however, if Obama can do so much as to pave the way for change and rebuilding of American, in my own personal opinion, he has done his job.

Nel Silenzo...

I arrived home from Italy on Friday relaxed and feeling incredibly at ease. I had ONE day back here feeling completely stress free, and I wake up today, after over half a bottle of wine, Amereto, and various other comfort foods, feeling like shit. I don't think there are words for how angry/upset/frustrated I am at the moment. It's like I've been pushed and pulled by the neck for the past month and a half, repetitively, much like one does to a rubber band, and finally I've been sent flying through the air; I have no clue where I'm going to land. 

I was told last night that I was a cynical person. That hopefully one day I'll find someone who I can open up to. And that I'm really quite immature in some aspects of my personality. 

Ouch.

At this point, I've realized 9 times out of 10 it really is me. That perhaps I am a horrible person, or at least I've been made to feel like one in this particular situation. Obviously there are other people out there, but when those people come into my life I  will probably end up screwing it up, yet again; this will come as no surprise. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I am going to be alone the rest of my life because of who I am as an individual; men don't want to be with a person like me. 

It's amazing how wine and Ameretto mixed together can really take away the pain of the initial blow and send you into that false sense of ease. I just needed that for one more night before I begin clawing my way back down to reality. As most of you know, I'm not a heavy drinker by any means necessary, but I can certainly see why people turn to alcohol if they've given up. Thank God my two (female) roommates were there for moral support. 

My brain right now is on fire--literally and metaphorically speaking--or maybe that's just my pounding headache. Regardless, I am now going into overdrive mode. This is where I busy myself to the point of having no life as a means to forget, for a while, exactly what happened. Typically, my lessons turn out the best during this time, the rate at which I accomplish things is incredible, and my over all persona, on the outside, is beaming; there's nothing worse than someone who wears his or her emotions on their sleeve at work. I think the British call it a "stiff upper lip..."