Family: new and reunited

Dear family and friends,

There is no need to send out search and rescue for me. I do apologize that I have not written a blog in far too long! It has been quite busy here with teaching, lesson planning, traveling around England, preparing for Children’s church, participating in a Life Group, and moving to a new home. Once again I have felt so blessed! Where should I begin? 

Let’s start with my new home because many of you have asked about that. Two Fridays ago I moved to a new house. My first week has been absolutely fantastic! I truly feel like part of a family. I live with R and A and their 2 boys B and J (3years and 15 months). They are an absolutely beautiful family and have welcomed me with opened arms. I get up at 5:30 and leave the house by 6:40 in which time the boys are awake and wave bye to me from their living room window. When I come home, the boys greet me with big smiles and hugs and because I am often not home in time for tea at 5pm, they prepare me a plate and set it aside for me with a cover on it and my name on it. I then eat my food and hang out with the boys until it’s time for them to go to bed. Once they’re in bed, I mark papers and lesson plan in front of the tele with the company of R or A, depending on who’s home and who’s not at a meeting or volunteering somewhere. 

Today was the first Saturday that I was living here. I thought I would be able to sleep in and chill out… but I just couldn’t sleep in much longer than 7:30. I heard my new ‘nephew’s’ and wanted to play with them right awayJ. But it was not a problem at all, it was just perfect for me today. B and I had a cuddle this morning while the tele was on. He’s told me that he likes me, which makes me feel so good. 

The Stewarts have only known me for a short time and have already invited me to their family Christmas this year and told me that their expectation is that I join them for family events and things on their calendar. They also clarified that if I’m able to join them, not to feel bad because they do understand that I am still young and will have my own plans. I just feel so blessed to have a family in England.

Speaking of family… for half term break (26 Oct – 4 Nov) I had the opportunity to visit some family in northern England. First I went to Sheffield to visit some friends of dad’s – she used to live on the same street as dad’s family when he lived in England. I had such a good time with them. She is a retired teacher and has recently taken to researching ancestry. She has done so much work for find our family tree on the Ollies’ side and on the Buchanan’s side and found people as far back as 1850s. It was pretty neat to read about their jobs and their travels. By reading through census and other papers, she even found another Ollies (generations ago) who moved to Hamilton, Ontario. She also found one who ended up in Southern England (where I am now) – It’s sort of like a circle. Unfortunately, that family never carried on. She also found that the name Ollies has had several variations… Hollas, Ollis, Olliss, Ollis… so it still is a unique name J.

 

Looking through a window.

Family friends (Barbara and Brian)

Hardwich Hall

John Ryland's library

Uncle and Autie

After Sheffield, we drove through the bleak, yet beautiful Pennines to go to Manchester to visit dad’s Uncle and Auntie. We did so much in 3 days. We visited an art gallery, a historical library still in use, the Manchester Cathedral, had fish ‘n chips, watched Les Miserables – an opera version- in the comforts of their home, and drove through the peak district to visit a picturesque village surrounded by mountain peaks. It was all so brilliant. 

 

The next leg of my journey was to Chester to visit my long lost Ollies’ relatives. What a superb end to a great week! I got off the train in Chester, I knew right away who my cousin (2^nd cousin to be specific) was – Andy looked just as I thought he would from his facebook photos. It was not awkward at all meeting him because we had so much to talk about – family, jobs, and friends. He brought me back to his house where his girlfriend had Mexican food ready for us. After tea, they took me to a pub overlooking the town from a hill… it was dark, but the house lights still made the view gorgeous. We were at the pub for just over an hour and were talking quite comfortably during that time. The next day, we took his girlfriend’s family’s dog for a walk by a river, went for a walk around Chester, and was treated with a bottle of Champaign from his uncle at a local pub. 

 After being warmly welcomed by Uncle, we went to the Cathedral in Chester. It may have been the best Cathedral, I have visited so far. It was so elaborate and huge. We explored during the right time, because there was an evensong while we were there and lots of organs and singing. After our little adventure into town we got ready to meet the rest of the family at an Indian restaurant, but first we quickly skyped mom and Michael so they could be introduced to some other Ollies. The meal was delicious and the company was grand. Tony and Paul were talking about the taboo happenings of the family and about their memories of their cousin, my dad. 

Indian food with the Ollies

After tea, Andy, his girlfriend and I went to meet their friends. Guess where we met them…. That’s right at another pub (the third one in 2 days J). Though the music wasn’t the greatest, it was just fun to play fuse ball and to mock the music. 

Mocking the 'Heavy Metal Music' at the pub.

Andy (my 2nd cousin), Mal, Tony and Paul (cousincs to my dad)

We left the pub kind of early and went back to Andy’s place. That evening we stayed up to the early morning hours and talked and talked about life and so so much. Finally, on Sunday I met the rest of the family, showed them the Ollies’ family tree, exchanged stories and took family photos. When Andy’s Auntie first saw me she commented that I looked just like Clive. I love hearing that… 1^st someone who knows my dad and 2^nd someone who comments that I’m like him. They all took me to the train station and wished me well. It was actually pretty hard for me to leave. In fact on the train, Andy and I were texting each other and each time I received a text from him I just cried. It was just so surreal to visit people who were related to me for the first time and who shared some mannerisms with me. I will absolutely visit that family again in Chester and I hope they will be able to visit Chichester sometime soon!

Half term was a well needed break from school and was a great time to rejuvenate… though I admit that this week was pretty hard to get into the swing of things. Though, as for school, things do seem to be settling down. I hope to write about all of the ins and outs of teaching at the Academy next post. 

Till then... keep being yourself, find something to give you hope and continue loving.

Lots of love,

Kristen

ps. Hopefully the next post won't be so far away :).

One Month In!

Hiya!

So 1 month has passed! Wow!! Some hours, days, and weeks have gone faster than others. I'm definitely beginning to feel settled... settled in the school, at the church and in Chichester. However, my housing situation does not feel very homey. Last night was a bit of a rude awakening of that. Before I talk about this story, I do want to say that I am fine and all is well.
So I met up with a friend from Grebel in Bath on Friday evening! We had a great time Friday night and Saturday morning/afternoon touring around. We had a true English Breakfast, visited the Jane Austin Centre- dressed in Regency clothing and had creamed tea-, drank from the Roman Spa Spring at the Roman Baths, and explored the city. It was great! Then we caught the 5:35 train back to Chichester. I wanted to meet up with my teacher friends in a local pub, and wanted to introduce Sarah to them. But first we wanted to drop our bags off at my house to carry a lighter load.
Unfortunately I left my key to my house at the school (with my USB stick :P) and had to knock on my door so that my landlord could let me in (the 2nd time this has happened). He was quite upset. He was even more upset when I asked if Sarah could stay over for 1 night. He scolded me and told me that guests were not okay and that we had to find another spot for Sarah. I apologized for misunderstanding and told him that we would do so. By this point it was half 8 (aka 8:30). So if you can imagine, I was a little taken back by that and quite stressed that we then needed to find a spot for her to stay for that night.
We walked to the pub where my teacher friends were and luckily they weren't all drunk and asked my friend, Kate, what to do. (I had called T&E, but they weren't home) She suggested some hotels and so we picked up my key that she found at school Friday before she left (Praise God, I now had my house key and my USB!) and ventured to check out the vacancies of these hotels.  We tried the first one that was located above a bar... no vacancy. Then we checked the one a few doors down... full, due to a wedding. Then we phoned another from this hotel, 1 room available... 83 quid... we'll take it! Before we committed to it, I rung up another mate, but her house was already full. So the hotel for 83 quid it was!
After going back to my house, grabbing our things and having a taxi take us to the hotel, we were hungry. Next to the hotel was a restaurant I had been in before (Belle Isle), we thought it would be the perfect place for a meal... Bell Isle is a nice Cuba/ Sea town inspired restaurant... I loved it when I was there last. Unfortunately, after waiting for 20 min we learned that the kitchen closes at 10:00pm, at this point it was 10:25.  Now what were we to do? So we stepped out back on the streets and found my friend Kate (the pub where they were was quite close).
She was all concerned that we still didn't find a place for the night and was adamant that I get out of my current house. Mind you she has heard only my complaints... of not being able to freely use the kitchen, of having no dishes to cook with... and the list could go on. She invited us in for drinks and said that in the last 30 minutes she found 3 places for me to stay for the next 2 months and a permanent location starting the end of November if I was interested. Wow what amazing friends!
Now back to the food... She rung up the local Dominoes and we ordered a large pizza to be delivered to the pub... just 1 min to our hotel.
While we were waiting for our pizza, Kate bought us drinks. She ordered me a pear cider and Sarah a lemonade (aka. Sprite). We had some fun chats and she introduced me to my potential new land lord... Andy... 24 years old...attractive son of the previous Head Teacher at my school. So this is where the praying bit comes in.... 1. Pray that I make a comforting decision about whether to leave my accommodation, 2. That if I do move out, I find a house that is right for me, 3. I will continue to see God's hand in all circumstances. and 4. A praise that God can work through non- Christians (aka. my teacher friends) in amazing ways, as they helped us find a place to stay for that evening and are helping me as I search for a different accommodation! While this adventure was quite stressful, it ended up better than we could imagine - we were able to enjoy pizza, chocolate and crisps in our hotel room while watching Mamma Mia!  A great end to an evening of uncertainty.

I am now back at my house where I'm paying rent, at least for this week. I am going to spend the week praying about my housing situation. In other news... I've become quite busy... with school, zumba, playing clarinet for the school pit band, and life groups with the church. The church has also asked if I would be able to lead kid's church once a week... I am going to pray for that this week and I ask that you do the same.

Lots of love,

Kristen

I live in England.... wow!

Hiya mates!


Things finally seem to be settling down a little. I have been quite busy, but just the norm... with lesson planning, marking, going to church, and trying to take full advantage of my weekends... IN ENGLAND. I've know I've been in England, but today it just hit me. I was sitting with a friend (Hannah) from school outside at a pub in Arundel. We were overlooking a river, a field with cows and part of the South Downs and saw a train passing. It was the most epic realization... This is where I'm living for the next year.  Arundel is a beautiful place and I will definitely visit there again. Hannah and I met at the castle entrance, walked around a beautiful lake, visited the Cathedral and ended at Black Rabbit. What a glorious day. The weather was perfect!

 There are cows in that photo. In the background is the castle.

 Here's the Black Rabbit... a great pub. Hannah was a photographer before a teacher and so she loves to take random photos of me... and I do enjoy just playing along. Also, I love the woman's smile in the background of the photo. I'm glad I entertained someone.

Those are the South Downs in the distance. I took this while waiting for the train back to Chichester. Funny how when I arrived to Chichester, I felt like I was home... or at least in a familiar city.

A zoomed in photo of the previous one. 

Hannah took this on our walk around the lake. There were so many interesting trees as this along our walk. I do love this photo. 

Another view of the castle. Next time I visit Arundel I do want to visit the castle. Anyone up for a visit with me?














While I do have loads of fun on the weekends, I do work very hard during the week! I find teaching a challenge, especially having to deal with the behaviour of the students. To lighten the stress I face at school, for our Open Evening that we had for Year 6s looking to come to The Academy, I dressed up in a roulette wheel - it was Hannah's idea :). Here are some photos of that dress. The students definitely enjoyed it. And some of my students told me the next day at school that I was pretty cool. At least some of them can appreciate me.

  I was a roulette wheel because of the dice, money and numbers. The other teacher was the Mad Hatter from Alice and Wonderland.

This was at Fancy Dressing Up? - the shop where we got this hideous dress. 

This was the other roulette dress... but it just wasn't appropriate for school as there were no sleeves and it was too short. Ah well, I still had fun trying it on.












Okay, there you have it for now. I'm doing well. I'm so blessed to have awesome friends at school and at the church I've been going to. I would still appreciate prayer as I figure out how to engage my students at the school.

Love to you all,

Kristen

Arrived to a New Country, Bought a Phone, Found to Church, Had an Interview, Got a Job, Met Some Friends, Started Teaching all in one week!

Hiya! The last week has been such a whirlwind! I’m sorry I haven’t updated my status since my arrival to England… I literally have had no time. Let me quickly run through all of the new things that took place this last week.

Thursday August 30: Mom and Michael took me to the airport… we had almost 2 hours at the airport to wander and make sure I knew where I was going when I had to go through security. We spent those 2 hours shopping, people watching, eating, and praying. They sent me off through security a little after 5. So here I was on my own… something I am learning may become a regular for me. After making a few last minute texts, my flight left Toronto at 7pm. On the plane, I was seated next to a young gent from Ireland- he was in Toronto to work with his older brother. During the flight we exchanged some funny looks as the woman beside him was much older and constantly needed his help- whether to turn on her TV, put her food tray up, or open the wrapper. So within 1 hour of our flight, they served us a hot dinner. I was not expecting this so I already had dinner – but I couldn’t refuse to eat some more- I mean I didn’t really know if and when I would eat again – but I suppose humans, unlike squirrels, can’t save it up. There was quite a bit of turbulence – a lot more than I’ve experienced before- which was a little nerve wracking.  In fact the crew couldn’t serve us full breakfasts when we approached England, they did however, give us each a muffin. That night went by so fast… I tried so hard to sleep so I was ready for orientation day, but with the interruptions by the crew and with the turbulence, sleep for me did not really occur. 

Friday August 31: My flight landed at 7:30, a few minutes after the expected time of arrival. It was really easy to follow the signs to arrivals and luggage pickup, so that was nice. Before I picked up my luggage, I stopped in the washroom and quickly changed my clothes for orientation day. After finding my luggage, I went to arrivals, where loads of people were standing there waiting to collect their correct people. I was told to look for a TimePlan sign with my name on it. I couldn’t see one anywhere.  I continued walking along the ‘runway’ and finally saw a sign with OLLIES on it. I asked the gent holding it who sent him and had to trust it was the taxi driver I was to go with. After a 40 minute drive, we arrived to my hotel to check in. Luckily they were ready for me. So I dropped my bags off and this taxi driver then took me to the school for Induction day with TimePlan.  

Induction:

Jade and Paul, the people I was in contact with greeted me and served me a cup of tea and some biscuits. Then I put on my excited face and was ready to make friends with the others who were there before the day officially began. The thing with teaching is that there is always something to talk about… so after some introductions  and discussing when people arrived to the UK (I was the newest arrival, 2 hours before the day started), we were discussing our expectations for teaching in England and why we chose England. Many of them said that they eventually want to teach back in Canada, but for the time being that wasn’t an option so coming to England only seemed fit.  I also found out that I was in fact the only teacher through TimePlan in West Sussex. The others there will be in Kent District. It doesn’t bother me too much, yet.

When most everyone arrived, TimePlan gave their introductions, then we had loads of paperwork to complete, we opened our bank account, had a British lunch of pastries and had some workshops on the difference between the Canadian school system and the system in the UK. That seminar was a little too short for my liking. There are so many difference, and I don’t fully understand what’s what just yet. I’m hoping that when I have to assess my students it will all make sense. 

After a long day, they took all of us out to a local pub and served all of us a glass of Heineken and kept giving out free drink passes. I wasn’t even going to drink one because remember I had no sleep on the plane and well the night before, I could barely sleep because of nerves. However, I did have one glass. An hour or so later, they served us more pub foods. My table was quite chatty and seemed like great teachers to connect with -they seemed passionate to teach their students and to learn about the culture. Some of the teachers that were there (there were like 30 in total) complained a lot about TimePlan and just didn’t seem to be here for the job, but rather for the pubs and clubs. Regardless, the crew I sat with were great! I collected their contact info and if I ever visit Rochester, I have at least 3 people I could stay with. Many of us were at the pub from 3:30 to 8:30 – and the time went by so quickly. I found 2 others who were staying at the same hotel as I and knew their way back so I walked with them, which saved me a lot of hassle. Once I arrived back to my hotel room, I checked my email quickly and fell asleep immediately.

Saturday September 1: I slept in till 9, had a delicious continental breakfast and was off to buy a phone. The guy at the counter of Carphone Warehouse helped me out so much. Unfortunately because I don’t yet have an address, I couldn’t get a monthly contract, so at the moment I’m using pay as you go, which is so expensive… it’s like 20 pounds for 500 texts … with calls and such it only lasts about a week. Mind you I have had to make lots of calls this week to view rooms for let and such. Then I was walking back to the hotel and I was a little turned around so asked a couple for directions. They instead offered to drive me back to my hotel, which I was grateful for. An hour later, a taxi collected me and my luggage to take me to the train station to go to Chichester. I arrived in Chichester with no problem, walked to my hotel (only 5 minutes away) and dropped off my luggage. Then I started to phone the rooms for let so I could view them. I viewed a house of a friendly family – mum, dad, and 3 boys under 8 years of age (not sure about that). When I was walking back to my hotel, I happened upon a Community Church, took a note of the location and a picture of their contact info and decided I would go there the next morning. 

Sunday September 2: I made my way back to the church, but I was like 30 minutes early. A lady saw that I was standing outside of the church and asked if I was interested in attending the service. She told me that they now met at the school just down the road and she pointed me in the right direction. As soon as I entered, I heard some very familiar choruses, which made me so good. They were all very welcoming, asking if this was my first time, where I’m from, what I’m doing , where I live and so forth. When I told them that I came from Canada for a teaching interview in Selsey, they all thought I was crazy. When I told them that I was currently staying at a hotel and didn’t have a permanent place to stay, one young couple of 5 years (Tom and Emily) told me they would love to host me until I could find more permanent accommodations…. Now that’s what the church is supposed to be like! I told them I had a few houses I was going to view and would give them a shout if I needed a place to stay. I met at least 4 couples who I am sure I will spend some time with over the next year or so. 

Monday September 3: I left my hotel nice and early and walked to the Chichester Canal to sit and relax for a moment before I had to catch my bus to Selsey for my interview. I was all dolled up in my new business skirt, a white blouse, and a scarf. I was going to wear my blazer, but it was just too hot… and I remembered that the week before when I had a telephone interview with the head, she said she would be in shorts and a polo shirt. Anyway, after about a 30 min bus ride, I arrived to the school with no hassle. In fact I was 30 min early. The interview was with the head and the assistant head/head of the maths department. They were both quite friendly. They took me on a tour of the school and kept talking as if I had the job…. Yet they didn’t right out offer it to me until I was about ready to leave. They asked if I would like to accept, I said yes, signed some paper work and left 1.5 hours after I arrived for my interview with a job (starting the next morning at 8:30)!  See what I mean by a whirlwind?!?! 

I returned to Chichester ‘s city centre to take care of some banking and called a few more places to let.  I also texted my new friends from church telling them that I got the job and they were all thrilled for me. One of them, Michele, also had a room available and asked if she could collect me to show me her house. When we arrived to her house she had berries and cream ready. Her nice was very nice… there was even a view of the water. We then went on a little bit of a walk and then she dropped me back at the hotel. She was too kind. The reason I have decided not to live with her is that it is a bit of a hike to get to the bus station to catch the one bus to Selsey.  I’m hoping I will find other options.

That evening Tom and Emily came to collect my luggage to bring them to their flat, though I still had one more night that I paid for at the hotel. Their flat is quite lovely! They have a purple wall with a purple accessories… I think I will get along quite well with them :).

Tuesday and Wednesday September 4 and 5: Today was inset day at the school where the teachers at The Academy, Selsey got back into school mode and prepared for opening day which was Thursday. The teachers all seem very nice. All of them was ensuring that I had a place to stay and told me to let them know if I needed a home. They continual asked to make sure I understood what was happening and I felt very excepted… though also quite lost. After school, I walked to Tom and Emily’s and she had started to prepare dinner for us. They are both teachers and so we had lots to talk about. I unpacked 1 suitcase and settled down as soon as possible. 

Thursday September 6: Day 1 of school!!! For the first thing in the morning I have a Year 7 (Grade 6) tutor group. So far these students are very well behaved- mind you, this is their first year at this school as well so they are a little timid. The idea of the tutor group time is that these students have a teacher they can speak to if they have questions or are concerned about a class, a teacher or about how other students are treating them. During this time we also discuss person learning and thinking skills. As you can imagine, I love having this! 

Throughout the day I was introduced to the most challenging groups at the school (according to many of the teachers) Year 11 set 5. Year 11 is equivalent to Grade 10 and set 5 means they are the lowest students academically and behaviorally. In England they stream abilities groups in the secondary schools but to the extreme.  In Canada we just stream applied and academic. In England they may have 6 different groups of Year 11s for example. So while the students in my Year 11 set 5 class, are in Year 11, they are really doing the same work as my top year 9s. And in England, whether or not you passed a Year level, they still move forward. Anyway, you don’t really have to understand, but I’m trying to paint a picture of this class. After some brief introductions to myself and to my expectations of the class, I wanted to begin the lesson.  We were to discuss integers (whole numbers) and adding and subtracting them. They didn’t know how to do that at all. No one wanted to take down notes, or do any practice questions at all. The remainder of the class was spent with me trying to manage behaviour. I felt as though I was the teacher from “Freedom Writers” who entered into an intercity school and the behaviour was atrocious. Somehow by the end of the movie, her students were on her side and enjoyed her class. I hope that I can convince this class that I am there to support them, that math is fun and that math is relevant. 

I had a few other classes, but none as intense as my Year 11 set 5 class. If any of you have any idea of how to engage 15 to 16 year old students who are at the bottom and who don’t care about learning, please do let me know. 

This day I also had an NQT period. At The Academy, Selsey, I am considered a Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) which means I get the privilege of having extra time to observe other teachers and having extra planning and marking time. I have a mentor and have lots of support by the teachers around me. 

Friday September 7, 2012: Day # 2 of school. Today was a little better. I had my tutor group and then a top Year 8 class and a low Year 9 class. While these students were testing me, their new teacher from Canada, I was able to deal with them and reminded myself that it was only the first day. If we didn’t get many notes down that’s not the end of the world, I always have next week and beyond. Talking about telling my students I am from Canada… several of my students ask if I fly from Canada every day. I even showed them a map and explained that it was a 7 hour flight. These students just don’t seem to understand. I have my work cut out for me that’s for sure.  Friday afternoon I could have had 3 hours to plan, because I had an intervention time (meaning that it would be time that the maths’ department meet to discuss a strategy or some other professional development activity). Unfortunately, I was interrupted a few times to be a parking location for students who were misbehaving during class. 

The behaviour plan at The Academy: 1)Warning , 2)name on board,  3)time out outside of class for 2 minutes,  4)Students are ‘parked’ in another class, or with another teacher, 5) detention slips. I am not used to having to deal with behaviour in this way. Prayers are much appreciated as I learn to manage behaviour, but also learn to teach these students. 

The first time I had time to feel a little home sick was Friday after school. I had some free time as I didn’t want to plan lessons all evening. Since I’ve just been here for a week, and that week was spent preparing to teach, I’ve been so busy and didn’t have time to meet new people. I didn’t know how I was going to spend my Friday night. So I texted Tom and Emily and asked what they had planned. I hated to do that, because I know they also needed time on their own, but they did tell me that if I was ever stuck just to ring them. They ended up calling me then and invited me to go with them to Bognor Regis (on the coast) and order fish and chips in newsprint. It was so yummy! We ate it on the rocks along the coast. I should have taken a photo, but I left my camera home… silly me! Oh well, I do believe I may do that again while the temperature is still warm enough.  Then we went for a bit of a walk on the coast and talked about our families. This couple is so dear to me! I do hope that they won’t get tired of me. I’m so grateful that they let a random stranger (me) stay with them for the time being! What awesome friends! 

Saturday September 8: This morning my dad’s cousin, Andy from just north of London came to visit and help me find a permanent place to live. We viewed at least 5 houses and flats. The room was tiny in many of them and the house was unkept and needed lots of fixing.  Two of them were older men (which we didn’t realize until we went to visit them) who on their post in the paper said looking for mature female. How odd! One of them said he had a wife, but there was no evidence of a wife and in the room I would be in, there was a large picture of a nearly naked women… right away that was my clue to leave! I was very glad Andy was with me! We visited the house I visited last Saturday again so I could show Andy. I’m certain I am going to go with it. It’s in a quiet area of town, it’s close to the centre, the Chichester family church, and the bus stop. I’m waiting for one more viewing Monday night and on Tuesday I will make my decision!  After looking at some houses, we drove to Selsey so I could show Andy where my school is and then we walked along the coast. I love that I only ever have to drive like 10/15 minutes and I’m at the ocean. How perfect! :)

 

FYI, Andy told me that I appear to be calm about everything and I do believe that is quite accurate. I do get a little stressed – more so about my classes then about my accommodation, but I do feel God’s loving arms surrounding me and giving me peace.

Anyway, that is my first week living in England. Don’t worry, the rest of my blogs will not be this detailed or long. There was just so much that happened this week!

I will let you all know when I move into a permanent location and will hopefully post some pictures soon.

Peace, love and prayers,

Kristen

Some thoughts

I haven't written on my blog is so long. Oops, perhaps I'm just not a blogger. However after I've been reading my friends, I decided I would try it again. Let's see how long this lasts.

Here are some things I've been thinking about...

1. I can't wait to teach!

I just finished a TESL course and it made me ubber excited to become a teacher. It was so awesome to hear about everyone's passion to teach and the way people intend on doing that. I thinking putting the students as the centre of the classroom is the key. I mean it's about what the students are getting out of the class and the bonus is what the teacher learns from a class.

Also, I am volunteering at a very cool grade 7/8 school and I very much enjoy it. Just when I thought I had my mind made up that I wanted to teach grade 3s and 4s, one of my mentors from the first school I volunteered at suggested I try older grades to help me be absolutely certain I knew what stream in teacher's colleges I'm interested in. So I reluctantly gave it a shot and went to a grade 7/8 school. Three weeks into my time here, I've become more confused, because I do like this age group as well. I realized that a student is a student is a student, and that in all age groups you will have students who enjoy learning and some students who just find it difficult. And that no matter how old a student is, they are all special and I want to help all students learn.

So I'm pretty sure I will apply to the Junior/ Intermediate (grade 4-10) stream in the Bachelor of Education programs at several institutions. Any suggestions of which institution I should think about?

2. I am desperate to find a community for when I graduate.

In December I'll finally be done my undergraduate degree! This gives me a lot of mixed feelings. a) I'm excited to have some time to read for pleasure and not have assignments I have to worry about and b) I'm not sure if I'm ready to leave Grebel. Grebel has been a huge part of my growth as the people here have cared so much for me. They've grieved with me when I was grieving and they laughed with me when that's just what I needed. I thank God so much for this awesome experience! Because I'm leaving the Grebel Community, I feel it is neccessary that I connect with a community that I can contribute to and feel loved and cared for. I realize that Grebel is unique and other communities I may build will never be the same, as the people in a community is what makes the community and each experience is different.

Also, it's so sad to see that many of my close friends are moving away from me and I will never be surrounded by the same group of people again. As you can tell, I cherish past experiences so much and I need to learn to let experiences be great but not to dwell on the past. I need to be opened to knew and awesome experiences and I am so excited as to what they will be.

Anyway, these are just some of the things I've been thinking about and this procrastination has lasted long enough time to get back to reading for school (I just have to hang on till December:D)

Peace,

Kristen

Where did the time go? It's now July 1st and I'm sitting in the Heathrow, London airport waiting to fly to Toronto on my way home from Zambia. I am terribly sorry that I haven't kept my blog up to date, the internet in Choma was extremely slow and I was very busy. So I'll write a few things, because keeping you updated with everything would be like a novel for you to read.

First, the teachers came back for the last 2 weeks of my stay. It was good to see them again and to have a more managable work load. However, I learned a positive from the whole deal, the 5 teachers that taught through out became my close friends. They would show me around town and take me to some sketchy parts. There was one time we saw this traditional dancer who would chase after the children and the children would chase after him. The teachers were a bit scared of this dancer, they feared that he would beat them for being with a makua (white person). So we hid behind a house so the dancer wouldn't see us. What an adventure.

The last Friday of school for me, was games. All the children were excited that they didn't have to wear their uniforms to school. The teachers had a luncheon for me of chicken, nshima, soup. One of the men, even made me a cake in the shape of a Canadian flag saying Farewell Kristen on it. The school gave me 2 chitanges (fabric that the women use to make outfits, as aprons, to carry babies...) and we did a bit of a traditional dance together as a farewll tradition.

I have much more to write, but right now, I should make sure I'm in the right spot to catch my plane in 1 hour. So I will see some of you very soon.

Leza amuleleke,
God Bless,

Chileleko

A brief update

Hello All,

I'm so sorry I haven't updated my blog for a while. I don't have much time now, but I should say a few things.

This last weekend I went to a village called Nakumpa to visit a Salter there. It was a great experience, even with the latrine and kitchen being outside under thatched roofs. One minor thing to note is that I slaughtered a chicken, and the saying, "running like a chicken with its head cut off" is so true, they keep moving for quite some time. I, too, have pictures to proof this :)

Also, the teachers are now on complete strike and aren't aloud to even show up to school. There are 6 teachers left- 3 student teachers, 2 undeclared teachers and myself (who has had no training). This all means that I have 2 additional classes that I'm in charge of, grade 9 English. I am also supposed to do as the head commands, even if that means taking on 2 extra classes when he asks. I can't believe I have all of this responsibility, even so, I still am enjoying my time. Anyway, I am definately learning lots and getting a great experience.

Blessings,
Chileleko (my Tonga name some of the teachers gave me meaning "blessing")