Saturday, September 29, 2007

A Whole 'Lotta...Nothing!

Yes, that's right. Since the last time this blog was updated, we have done very little, except work long hours and earn far less than we deserve! Ah, but yes -- the work has been going steady, and both Kelly and myself have been working full-out for this past week.

Despite the amount of work, we've decided to make some travel plans for our upcoming weekends. Next weekend, we plan on taking a three-day trip to Wales (Cardiff) to do some more sightseeing in rural England and during the October break (officially called "half-term break" in England) Kelly and I have decided to take the week and relax in southern France and Italy.

So, over the next few weeks we hope to make up for the lack of excitement that has gripped us lately! Stay tuned for more pictures, and more exciting blog posts we hope!

Cheers!

Ryan and Kelly

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Ah yes...the city of London


You got it. That is a double decker bus and boy are they fun to ride in! From the top it looks like you are going to hit everyone and everything in its path, and you are pretty close to it! Most of the streets are less than 4 cars wide (mind you there are cars parked on either side of the street) with 2 small lanes in the middle. Imagine...you in your little BMW and this big boy coming right at you! Most of the Londoners response is to lay on their horn as they BARELY skim past us. Its a heart attack waiting to happen!


Thats Kelly with one of the Bobbies who is guarding the Prime Ministers house. His house is in the middle of the hustle and bustle of downtown...and yes that is an icecream in her hand.

























Thats us with Big Ben in the background. We just learned that the big bell that rings on the hour has been replaced for the first time in almost 150 years.











The Westminster Abby church is absolutly breathtaking. We hope to make it back there soon so we can look around inside.

















Westminster Abby Church.




Sunday, September 9, 2007

Out of the subway and into the Canadian pub!


This Canadian pub is located in the center of the hustle and bustle of downtown London. We questioned Quesadilla's as a Canadian food but it was all good and the potatoe skins were even better.
Moosehead?! Where's the Canadian?
Oh Ryan....
Jeff is a happy camper feeling right at home.

Buskers in the streets of London

These are all street performers dressed up and when you give them change they move about. This was so cool!



This was taken at Covent Garden Station. At one point we were 15 stories underground. We could take the elevator or 192 steps to get to the street (Katie and Jeff only did that once).

England!? Watch out for the Bobbies!


Jeff, Ryan, and me waiting for the train to come to take us to London. Java Java!

School has started!!!....ughhhh now what?






So school is officially underway and has been for a week now. The both of us have taught...well Ryan has taught more than me. Actually....everyone in the house was eager to jump into the class, and well me..I wanted to enjoy the first 2 weeks sleeping in and listening to what everyone else had to say about it. So..after 3 days of listening what everyone had to say about it I reassured myself that the 2 weeks holidays was a good thing to get myself rested up for what I had coming to me. However. The phone rang Friday morning and I foolishly picked it up thinking it was Ryan...it wasnt. On the other end was Morris..."Oh Kelly you sound perky! Get ready because I got work for you. Here's where your going." My first instinct was to hang up but I knew he would just call back. Panic rushed through my head as I thought about how I should address the class, classroom management...what else did i learn in the last year and why can't I remember any of it!! I quickly got ready and what was supposed to be a 10 minute bus ride was actually 45. I got off the bus and followed the sea of backpacks and uniforms to the school. I walked through the gates and asked the next tallest person I saw where I could find the year 3 classroom. The man looked at his colleague then laughed and pointed to the next building. Ah... got there 15 minutes before class started and was informed i was giving a math exam after the assembly..that was fun! But seriously...all in all it was a really great day and the kids were a lot of fun. They were eager to please and fascinated with my accent. When I got home Ryan asked me if the kids asked me were I was from..I said yes but they were guessing I was from America. He looked at me and schook his head and told me how kids guessed he was from America, Austrailia, and Mexico...hmmmm. Well one week is done and its Monday again tomorrow.......... yay.