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.