Welsh Words of Welcome

Oi! Just under a month since the last update! We've been slacking lately it seems, but, a good excuse would be the fact that we are both working full time, and it is getting quite busy as the end of term approaches.

This past weekend, we had the opportunity of taking an overnight trip into Wales. Wales is an odd place, because it is both a separate territory within the UK, yet it is considered still part of the British empire. It is a very beautiful place however, situated on the western coast of England with lots of beautiful scenery and history.

We had the chance of touring a castle (the name would be impossible to type out...it is a Welsh name, and VERY hard to read or spell) that was built around the year 1260 -- it is technically a ruin, but for the amount of time it has been standing we thought it was still in pretty good shape.

This castle was used to protect the Welsh people from the invading Romans and later the Anglo-Saxons. It was raining on the day we toured it, but, here are a couple of pictures to help do it justice.

We also got to take in a football (or soccer for you Canadians) match between Ireland and Wales. This was also another very cool experience -- imagine sitting with 40,000 Irish and Wales fans, not knowing who to cheer, and hearing both sides chant their usual cries of support! The game was a 2-2 draw however, fitting I suppose, since both countries are very Celtic in their origins. Here is a photo from the game

Well, the Internet we have here is absolute crap, so even though I promised to put up a couple of pictures from each different thing we visited, the net is not letting me upload anything to the Blogger website. Anyhows, whatever pictures that are up are up -- we'll have to work out another way to post more pictures. Until next time!

Our Spain Experience: Torremolinos, Morocco, and Gibraltar Among a Few

So, due to the fact that we did not have a stable internet connection in Spain, the blog has been neglected and not kept up to date. That being said, we've returned to England, and now I feel the need to post some timely information on this website for all our family and friends.

We left for Spain last Thursday (October 18th) - after staying up all night in Gatwick airport, we were finally in the air around 6am and arrived in Spain to a balmy 26 degrees later that morning. We checked into our resort, only to discover that we had been assigned an incorrect room (a view of a busy street instead of the sea view that we had requested) -- so after some arguing and persuading with the front staff, we were assigned our new room with the sea view. The resort was also supposed to be all inclusive, but, we soon realized that our travel agent mislead us because no drinks of any sort (from Coke to any type of alcohol) were covered in our full-board arrangement. This was a disappointment, but, we tried to put it behind us and enjoy our break. The resort itself was in very convienient location -- very close to the main shopping areas in Torremolinos, and less than 5 minutes from the beach, where we spent a lot of time. All in all, the resort wasn't that bad - but, if I were going back to that area again, I would choose another resort.

While in Spain, we decided to take a couple of day trips to different regions by booking with local travel agents. The first of these day trips was to Tangers, Morocco, Africa -- so we offically stepped on another continent! Tangers was interesting -- a lot of building taking place, but many areas looked very poor and run down. The street vendors were VERY aggressive -- they kept in your face, and chased you through the streets until you finally went into another building or decided to buy something off of them. We did have a traditional Moroccan meal at a fancy restaurant and it was quite good. So, the day was long, and perhaps not as good as we would have liked, but we can now officially say we were in Morocco and Africa.

Another day trip we did during our vacation was the Rock of Gibraltar, which is essentially a huge piece of rock connected to Spain by a thin strip of land. What's interesting about Gibraltar is that it is offically a territory of Britain -- complete with the British Pound, all the shops, and everything else British. Gibraltar is a duty free island, which means the shops all sell things VERY cheap, including booze and tobacco (i.e. we bought a litre of Lamb's for 4 British pounds). Gibraltor also had a lot of cool tourist attractions -- there are wild monkeys that live at the top of the rock, and tunnels in the rock itself that were made by the British to defend against the Spainish and Germans during the war. Many other cool things as well, but it was raining during our visit, so it was difficult to enjoy the day. We were quite happy with the Gibraltar trip, and would definitely conisder going back there again at some point (for the shopping, if nothing else!).

That's all we'll write for now -- more pictures tomorrow, and perhaps we will add more to this post.

Vacation Time in Torremolinos, Spain.

Sunset in Torremolinos.



















Ryan on the beach.

Kelly on the beach.

A beautiful day at the beach.

























The Promenade along the main beach. A beautiful area for shopping and dining.

One of the many shopping areas along the main beach












Photos taken from our balcony...

Dinner and Fiddler on the Roof

Tonight we ventured into London for our first theatre experience -- although the show we did end up watching was not what we originally intended to see. Our goal was to see either The Lion King or Wicked -- however, no tickets being available for either of those shows, we decided to take our chances on Fiddler on the Roof.

What could I say about this production? It was amazing! Fiddler on the roof is a musical performance, and this one didn't disapoint at all. Kelly and I were both extremely happy with the play, and we decided to go all out and have dinner and a theatre experience. So, after getting off the tube, we dined at an Italian restaurant in Leicester Square and then walked down to the Savoy Theatre on the Strand - just a minute away from the Thames River. It was wonderful -- the food, the music, the stage, and the seats, which weren't that expensive at all. Overall a great night, and much better than Friday night (I'm sure Kelly would also agree with that).

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the theatre, but we took some pictures from the outside and just in Trafalgar Square in London as well. Since it's 1am here now, and I'm beat, I think we'll wait until tomorrow morning to put up pictures.

Until then,

Ryan and Kelly

Work, Vacation, and All Other Things English

Well, it has been a busy week to say the least -- both Kelly and I have, in fact, worked non-stop during the past two weeks! It has not been all work however -- this past week, we officially booked our trip for half-term break, and decided to take an all-inclusive vacation to the Las Palamos resort in southern Spain for one week. We leave on Thursday (the 18th) and return on the following Thursday (25th) and will no doubt enjoy the barely-under-30s temperature, 25 degree water, and FREE food and booze for the entire week! We'll be taking lots of pictures, so expect to see some of those on this blog as well.

Now, for a quirky little feature, we present some of the interesting things we have encountered in England since arriving here. We'll put a couple of interesting things on here, and sort them by category:

Sayings

a) "You al'right?" -- Apparently this just means hello, but, EVERYONE says it to you in the school. Very popular saying....we still haven't got it completely.

b) "He's taking the micky out of me!" -- Popular one with the kids in the classroom, apparently means that someone is taking the 'piss' out of you - by annoying, teasing, or just being a plain old nusiance. Expect to hear this one at least 5-6 times a day.

Foods (we've run into some interesting ones over here)

a) Rashers -- British version of bacon, you can get either the full-back or 'streaky' variety. We personally prefer the streaky.

b) Bakewells -- A delicious dessert....like a tart filled with goodness (probably fat/calories) and topped with a cherry. Must try with tea!

c) Sticky Toffee Pudding -- Again...delicious...words cannot explain! Must try with coffee.

Anyhows -- there is SO much more we could write and tell you about, but, safe to say you need a dictionary for some of the things they say!

We're hoping to head into London shortly, pick up theatre tickets, and see a show. If we do manage to get tickets, pictures will hopefully follow soon thereafter.

Until next time!

Ryan and Kelly

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

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.

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.

Overseas Teacher Induction: Subways, Supermarkets, and Sermons!

So today we explored out further into the area in which we live -- day 1 of our induction meant we had to take the london subway (often called the "tube" or "underground") to the event location. This was an interesting experience -- the subway travels really fast, and we're guessing that it's the fast moving air that moves by the train that makes your ears pop constantly. Anyways -- we got there OK, and experienced our first subway ride.

The induction itself was fairly boring, and the fact that our body clocks still have not completely adjusted made it much more difficult. That said, we mucked our way through, applied for UK bank accounts, and left at 4PM very tired and anxious to get home. After looking forever for a store so Kelly could try and get new shoes (blisters....need we say more?), we were walking back towards our subway station and FINALLY found an ASDA -- the UK version of the Wal Mart. It was a happy moment, and I'm sure that we'll return to make many more visits over the coming weeks.

The ride back on the subway was even MORE eventful, as we were subjected to the preaching (or rants) of a black man in a suit telling us about our life, how Jesus walked on the subway, and that love was the answer to everything. Poor Mel and Martin definitely suffered the worst on this one. But, we once again made it home alright, and after dinner, headed to a local pub to meet up with some more Canadian friends and catch up over some tasty local pints. After trying to order food through a Burger King drive thru (with NO luck -- despite making "vroom vroom" noises in the order area) -- we came back home, and relaxed together once more.

So...tomorrow holds day two of our overseas induction, and who knows what other adventures!

PS -- This one is for Mel's mom: Mel says HI!

Some Photos From The Journey

We're here!

We are finally starting to get settled, its been a rough two days trying to get our body clocks adjusted but we're doing good. To be honest this place reminds us a lot of Toronto... just that the cars are on the wrong side of the road and the steering wheel of the car is on the other side too. Other than that it's just as expensive and the bus drivers are just as crazy same ol' same ol'. Our contracts are signed and dated for the 28th of August and we offically start on the 3rd of September, despite that we have plans for some "informal" social events we need to take care of. Oh, which remids me (kel) if anyone has any useless sofas laying around we could really use some for the living room! We have one three seater for six of us, a bit of a problem. We shifted the sofa closer to the window to acess our free internet kindly provided by our new neighbours. We went for a walk yesterday to the nearst grocery store, which is about an hour away (THANKS MARTIN!) We took the bus back. The gocery store was fun, it's a place for you mom. The more you buy the more you save, buy 5 cartins of Orange Juice and save 2 pounds - what a deal!!! We are finally starting to feel comfortable and are hoping to take a tour of the town tomorrow. We'll keep you posted!

Kelly & Ryan

England Tomorrow...

So...the summer has seemingly flown by, and now with about 2 weeks before school officially starts again, we find ourselves trying to remember last minute things to cram in the suitcase. Tomorrow, at about 6PM, we leave for England and for a teaching and travelling experience of a lifetime. This past week has been a blur, and one that I don't want to relive anytime soon! Between errands, packing, and converting Canadian dollars to British Pounds...well, let's just say it has been insane.

The next post that'll appear on this blog will likely be made from across the pond. So, keep checking back, and to all friends and family, don't be shy and keep in touch. As soon as we are settled in our own place, we will have phone numbers and mailing addresses at the ready.

Ciao for now!
Kelly and Ryan

A Journey Soon To Begin...

This blog is designed to keep our friends and family informed about what is going on in our lives during our stay in England. Seeing as telephone calls overseas are anything but cheap, this blog will hopefully make keeping in touch much easier. Now, about this England thing...

On August 26th, Kelly and I leave for England. We fly from Toronto to London Gatwick, and I believe the flight is about 7 hours in total. In terms of our accomodations, our plan is to stay with our agency (TimePlan) temporarily until we find our own apartment somewhere nearby -- a two-bedroom apartment, preferably furnished, is what we all have in mind. Quick searches have given us an idea of the places available and the approximate rent, so hopefully we can lock down a place soon after arriving.

We've both decided to teach overseas during our first year as certified teachers in the Essex area of England, which is a short distance outside of London. We plan on doing a fair bit of travelling while we stay in England, and some places that we've identified already are Ireland, Scotland, France, and Italy. Hopefully we'll get to see many more places and interesting things during our international teaching experience.

So, add this blog to your favourites, and keep checking back regularly to stay in touch with us.