Voiceless.

So, week one done..only hundreds more to go!
I really have mixed feelings about my experience so far. On the one hand, I am having so much fun, I'm loving my PE classes - mostly lower-leveled groups that are so uncoordinated but play with so much heart- the staff I work with both in languages and PE are so helpful, supportive and friendly. But on the other, there are many differences in the system here that are making my start a little more challenging.

I teach 2 grade 7 classes, 1 grade 8 and 4 different grade 6 classes for a total of 13, 50-minute periods a week. That's 7 groups of almost 30 kids I have to learn the names of...and that's French. In PE I have an addional three groups that I teach so that's a total of 10 different classes equating to about 250-300 names I have to learn. sweet.

I've already lost my voice.

My two grade 7 classes are known by teachers all around the school for being so bad and I feel anxious about teaching them again. I'm really trying to figure out where I stand on the whole disciplinary scheme of things; I am really struggling to comply to strict school codes while remaining true to myself...

Last night a bunch of us got together at Joelle's (another Canadian co-worker) and it was just really nice to just have some time to laugh and hang out...This week was pretty tough and like I said it's turning out to be a tough adjustment so I would really appreciate your continued prayers and thoughts:)

-Nat x

Lovin' Leeds!

Hey guys!
Just thought I's post some pics from our trip to Leeds this past weekend:)

 This is the huge indoor market-apparently the biggest in Europe where you can get anything from art to clothes or fresh local foods

 Millenium Square-lined with retaurants and it even had a huge screen playing soccer so everyone could watch from their tables!

 Some new friends...or strange men just wanting to be in the picture...

 The Corn Exchange Plaza filled with specialty food shops-too expensive for our budgets but it made a good picture!

 My first taste of a Belgium, strawberry beer-so good!

The crew in front of a mini Big Ben

Some sweet cathedral in Millenium Square...

I can't believe that it's already Wednesday and I have training tomorrow! I get to meet my department heads and the rest of the faculty (I'll try and take some pics if it doesn't seem creepy or unprofessional...) and we'll start planning courses for Monday! I am so nervous to meet the kids; apparently Tollbar is pretty intense about discipline (their school motto being "Tollbar Means Buisness!" - yikes)..Our hostess Angela was telling Mandy and I stories about the kids she's made cry and was laughing the whole time so I am guessing things may be a little different over here. I wonder if they're gonna be able to wipe my smile off and I'll come back a very serious, no joking kinda woman...?

I've been trying to picture how day 1 is going to go..trying to imagine how much trouble the kids are going to have with pronouncing Dumoulin..maybe I'll give a prize to the one who come the closest-I've never heard Brittish kids trying to say it! 

In preparation for PE (not called phys.ed. here - Angela set me straight on day 1) I have been watching youtube videos explaining Netball rules, positions and tactics cause apparently I'll be teaching lots of that to the girls classes..the PE people told me it was similar to basketball and I shouldn't have trouble and I believed them until I watched these videos and saw 7 girls on each team running around a court with specific positions displayed on their jerseys, shooting at a net with no backboard! Right, just about the same as basketball. This should be interesting...

I'll let you know how training/week 1 goes-I appreciate your prayers/thoughts:)

p.s. It seems I was wrong in saying you could post comments so feel free to message me or just comment on the wall for this group!

Cheers,

-Nat x

It has begun!

I can't believe I have finally arrived and this adventure has begun!

Right now, Mandy (housemate, co-teacher and definite sidekick you will be hearing much more about) and I  are staying with the wonderful Angela Taylor (another Tollbar teacher) in Grimsby, UK until we find our own appartment-a search which has turned out to be much more trying than we'd expected it to be.

      Mandy out in front of Angela's place

I can't believe I have only been here for three days.
We've been running around trying to open a "hach"SBC bank account, getting SIM cards and groceries, going out for dinner (which is lunch) and tea (which is dinner-ya, my head is spinning too) with new friends and co-workers all while trying to keep up with going for runs and keeping in touch with home..

Out for dinner with new friends Laura, Angela and John


At a local pub with Mandy, Chris, Angela (taking the pic) and John

I saw Tollbar for the first time yesterday and it is MUCH bigger than Google Earth led me to believe. When we pulled up (Angela refuses to let Mandy and I take a bus anywhere-apparently its not something they do much here as Angela cringes at the mention of it saying she wouldn't want to be caught dead sitting beside "commoners"haha) I saw the front of the school as I had on Street View but, as it turns out, that is one block of NINE that this school of over 2,000 students is made up of. I am going to get lost. Thankfully, my boss Carl, (a Kareoke Master as we found out recently) assured me we'll be getting maps at orientation this Thursday. PHEW. But I know what some of you are thinking...THAT is not going to help Natalie...you're probably right.

Tomorrow Mandy and our new friends Chris and John and I are going to check out the shopping/restaurants in Leeds which is apparently a cool city. I'll post pictures fo sho!

Oh and before I end this first post, I think I should start listing the things I have learned here so far:

1.Stuff is CHEAP here!!! Groceries, household stuff and eating out costs nothing compared to Canadian prices-I'm not coming back.

• Rent on a three bedroom house between Many and I is going to be abount 250 pounds/month each
• I bought a bottle of Fair Trade Merlot for 4.99 yesterday
• Iphone monthly plans for 13/month
• Groceries and toiletries always offer crazy specials:

(crisps aka chips buy 1 get 2 FREE and Budweiser 3 for 20.00 oh and STELLA-2bottles for 1 pound?!)

• At a fancy restaurant, I got a drink, haddock/risotto dinner and a specialty coffee for 30 dollars

2. I am destined to pick up Brittish expressions (on the phone yesterday describing a place Mandy and I had just looked at, I told Angela it was "absolute rubbish"..haha)

3. People in Cleethorpes/Grimsby LOVE Canadians and are generally super friendly people.

4. It actually isn't ALWAYS rainy.

5. Flying kites is a big deal here (spent the afternoon flying kites on the beach with Chris and John and plan on getting good enough to move to the "sweet spot" known by locals for kite flying).

6. I need to learn how to play netball. Two reasons: I will be teaching it and there's a league teachers play in and I OBVIOUSLY want to join.

That's all for now,
Next week: seeing Leeds and York and I start Tollbar training!

Cheers,
Nat x