Poppies at Tower of London

A few of our friends have told us about the poppy display at the Tower of London and all wanted to go before the installation ends on November 11th. The poppy display marks 100 years since the first day of Britain's involvement in World War I. Each poppy represents a British military fatality during the war and more poppies are added each day. A girl I work with told me you could buy one of the ceramic poppies with some proceeds going to charity but unfortunately for me they were all sold out. The display was so beautiful and a really nice way to pay respects to those who fought for Britain.

We had been warned to purchase tickets online before you go as there is always a huge queue (I'm not surprised) if you wait and buy tickets at the Tower. I would definitely recommend going to the Tower of London on a weekday when I would assume it would be less busy and like we were told, to buy tickets in advance to save yourself time.

There are tours offered which is included in your ticket price and we all wanted to get a proper tour from one of the Beefeaters (Yeoman Warders.) I am so glad we did because I really learned a lot and the man we had for our tour was hilarious! After our short tour we went to The White Tower which displayed the royal armours, then in another building saw some of the torture instruments, including the block and axe that was used on Anne Boleyn. We waited in a long line to see the crown jewels and then ended our tour of the Tower with the ravens.

I actually didn't take many pictures but here are the few that I did take..

Borough Market

I am currently home sick from work with a horrible cold which has left me with no voice, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to get caught up with what I did last weekend.

Saturday was another rainy day in London, but despite the weather we decided to go to Borough Market in Southwark London which was recommended to us by Shauna. Borough Market is known as London's most renowned food market. There were all sorts of stalls selling fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, baked goods, and just about any type of cuisine you can think of. My favourite part of the market was this somewhat hidden area where there is a bunch of colourful umbrellas hanging in the air. Of course the market was super busy with a long queue at each stall, but I think that's just London - queues everywhere! Katy and Kylie got smashed potatoes with cheese drizzled over them, whereas I just opted for some sweet potato fries. I'm sure we will go back again and I will try to be more adventurous with my food choices.

Umbrella display 

A better shot of the colourful display

We walked a bit from the market to see Tower Bridge

The Shard, Western Europe's tallest building. Still not as tall as the CN Tower..

Since Kylie and Katy didn't come out last weekend to Shoreditch, we decided to go there Saturday night. We tried to go to one of the places I went last weekend but it was so busy as we went out later than I did the Friday before so just stuck to one place but had a fun time!

Roomies in our new dresses

Art Gallery/Thanksgiving

Saturday was a crappy day so we decided to take advantage of London's free museums and go to the National Art Gallery. I think it is great that most museums here are free as it's made accessible to anyone and allows you to indulge in some culture without having to pay, although you do have to pay a pound if you want a map of the gallery.

I'm not much of an art connoisseur but they had some amazing pieces. I took pictures of my favourites, including some famous pieces from Van Gogh, Degas, Seurat, and Monet. There is also an upcoming Rembrandt exhibition in the next few weeks that we will be checking out.

Sunday was Thanksgiving in Canada (well technically Monday was, but we had to work Monday) and we were all feeling a little homesick but luckily we were invited to Shauna and Matt's place for a Thanksgiving dinner. Although my family and all my friends are back in Canada, I am so thankful for the people that I have here and all the support from family and friends back home. I couldn't have done this without them! During dinner we all went around the table and said something we were thankful for. Everyone mainly said they were thankful for this amazing opportunity to live in London and to be healthy and safe. While I am thankful for that too, I am very thankful that my visa went through and for the iPhone app "City Mapper" which has been a lifesaver! Without this app, I would for sure never be able to find my way around London or find the schools I've taught at. I was really glad to spend Thanksgiving with some great people and felt really grateful that Shauna and Matt had us over!

Shoreditch

My friend from home stayed with us for a few days as she was ending her 6 week backpacking tour around Europe. I felt bad as during the week I wasn't able to do much with her because I had to teach and would come home from teaching exhausted. She left early Saturday morning for a friend's place in Southern England, so we decided to go out on Friday night. Before moving to London I had heard that Shoreditch was a really fun area to go out in London so I thought we could check it out. We went to 4 different bars throughout the night, each giving a very different vibe which was great! I would definitely recommend that area to anyone who wants to experience a night out in London as there were so many options to choose from!

I only took two photos that night, one of us on the tube and another of Brontie in the last pub we went to. We took the night bus home, which was an experience in itself. Met lots of cool people throughout the night too. Loving the nightlife in London!

Miss

I named this post "Miss" because that is what I am commonly referred to by the children and staff when I am teaching at school and I hate it. For some reason it really bugs me to be called just "miss."

Anyways, last week was my first week of supply teaching, which was quite the experience. I started by going to the same school on Monday and Tuesday, it was about a 25 minute bus ride from my place and drops me off right at the school which is nice. I had a Year 4 class for both days (which is equivalent to Grade 3 in Canada.) There are some major difference between schools in Canada compared to schools in London. Basically every class has at least one Teacher's Aid (TA) most have two which is really helpful when I get in a class and am unsure what to do. They are also really helpful when I am trying to say the register (attendance.) I will usually get a student to help me with the register as I never know how to pronounce their names. This school is very multicultural so they have really unique names and I have no idea where to begin to try and say their names. Then they have a "dinner register" where they say if they are getting a meal at school, going home for lunch or bring a packed lunch.

Wednesday I was called to a school in more central London. This was my first experience taking the tube at morning rush hour - not a fan! The tube is like an oven to begin with, so imagine it being as jammed full as possible and it gets even more hot and smelly. Once I got off the tube I had to catch a bus to take me closer to the school. I passed by Big Ben and Westminster Abbey on my way to school which I thought was really neat. I taught a Year 6 class most of the day, and filled in for a Year 4 class before lunch.

Thursday I was back at School #1 in the same class which was nice as it was all familiar and I knew the students names and routine. Friday I was called to a different school, which was in the most beautiful building I've ever seen. The staffroom had a balcony and lounge and the classrooms were all  very modern and huge. I had a Year 2 class and a wonderful TA and loved it! The one thing I did find weird is that the children all call their teachers by their first names.  I had a few little troublemakers but it was a great day and I even went home with some drawings the kids made me.

Classroom at School #1

Staffroom at School #1

Year 2 Class from School #3

I am still finding it hard to get used to British terms vs North American terms. I came up with a short list of British terms I have encountered in my teaching and corresponding Canadian term.

British Term             -                   Canadian Term
Speech mark               -                    Quotation mark
Full stop                      -                    Period
P.E.                             -                     Gym
P.E kit                         -                     Gym clothes
Toilet                          -                     Bathroom
You ok                        -                     How are you
Torch                          -                     Flashlight
Rubber                        -                     Eraser
Register                      -                     Attendance
Head Teacher             -                     Principal    
And I still continue to call "football" soccer... the kids are not forgiving on that one. There are plenty more British terms I've come across but those are the main ones I can think of.

This week I was requested back at School #1 so have been working there in Year 3, 4 and 6. I spoke with the Head Teacher today and he told me that I will now be coming to that school every Thursday and Friday from now until June and likely for the other days of the week too.

Exploring the City of London

We are finally more settled into our place in Wanstead and getting used to our London lives.

Front of our place

Backyard

I didn't end up getting called in on Friday, so just did some cleaning up around the house as there was a lot to do! On the weekend we had our first night out to the Maple Leaf Canadian Pub in Covent Garden. All we wanted was a pint of Canadian, but unfortunately they didn't have any. Pubs here are so much better than in Canada, such a different atmosphere. We had to take the tube home so had to leave around 11:30 as the tubes close after midnight. What I found strange was the bar was closing around the time we were leaving - seems early to me.

Before our first night out 

Our first night out in London - to the Maple Leaf Canadian Pub

Sunday we went to Buckingham Palace and toured around St. James' Park. There was a little river along the park and birds all around! We didn't get up early enough for the changing of the guard but they did some marching. After we got some pictures around Buckingham Palace, we went to Trafalgar Square then to Neil's Yard, which is actually quite small, but such beautiful colours!

Swiss Chalet in St. James Park

Some of the many birds in the park

Buckingham Palace

The National Gallery

Trafalgar Square

Neil's Yard

Moved In!

We are finally moved out of the Travelodge (thank goodness) and into our beautiful home in Wanstead, London. It was quite stressful as there were other people interested in the house and was hard trying to figure out how to get a large amount of cash out from our Canadian banks in such a short amount of time as we had to pay for our first and last months rent. We ended up doing a money transfer through Western Union, which seemed to be the easiest way. Luckily the Western Union in Wanstead had just enough money for all of us. We signed our 12 month contracts and got the keys on October 1st - definitely the first 'big girl' thing to happen in my life so far. Our place is about a 10 minute walk away from the tube station and the main strip of restaurants/stores which is nice. So happy to finally unpack and get organized.

Our place is furnished, but we needed to get things such as plates, utensils, bedding, cleaning supplies, towels, etc. which meant we had to take a few trips to the mall in Stratford as we couldn't carry all of the things to our house. Primark and Wilko are the best places for cheap stuff, as well as Poundland and the 99p store.

We were supposed to start teaching Thursday, but only Kylie got called in so hopefully Friday will be my first day of teaching. Overall, this week has been very successful - we all got bank accounts set up, we all have cellphones now and have a place to live!

As ugly as our grandma trolley is, it's been so convenient for grocery shopping

Our ugly kitchen backsplash