On quitting

Hey everyone!!

I'll try and keep this brief (because it is 8:45 am and I have a hockey game in a bit...) I am playing with the Ladies 4's now...the team above the one I used to play for...and it's a permanent move. I'm flattered, of course, but certainly sad to be leaving friends on the other team. (Tonight we are going to a comedy night, so crazy pictures will follow!)

Where did I leave off...Sami came to London last weekend, and we had a short-lived, but awesome time. My friend Carmine and I threw a Pub Crawl in our neighborhood because no one every really comes up here to hang out with us. (I'll admit...where I live is SLIGHTLY off the beaten path.)

We decided to make it a crazy hat event. So...we wore crazy hats from pub to pub. Naturally, I was the only one (besides Matt who is always up for anything) that really got into it, so most of the hats are mine. Clearly, I presumed other people would lame out, so I preempted the possibility that I might be the only one in fancy dress, and I brought out extra hats to force people into wearing them :) I'm such a good friend, eh?

Sami and Jason came to watch our hockey game (in the pooooouring rain), and we WON!!! Our first win since I've lived in this country! I know sports aren't about winning (but DAMN it felt good)! WOOOHOOOOO. (Okay, it STILL feels good, one week later.) And I had the assist! I was feeling greedy for a goal, but I'll certainly take an assist on a win.

This is a photo of us, soaking wet, post win. I'm going to treasure this photo forever...since I don't plan on winning again any time soon. ;)

Things kind of went downhill after Sami's visit. I had been talking to him and others about how I wasn't feeling fulfilled in my job. The students are SO difficult, and I just felt like, I've spent five years teaching/crowd controlling kids that don't want to learn...when do I get to actually better my teaching practice by actually TEACHING? In addition, I don't have qualified teacher status in England the way I do in the US, and without that, it is very difficult to get a job in a decent school. I have been thinking that I should start looking for schools that will let me do my teaching practice and get my Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) which will allow me to stay in this country (should I choose to do so) and not limit my options in my career. Furthermore, I have been having very serious problems with The PPP, and how they overwork their staff by taking advantage of workers and not adhering to the contract. We all know that one thing I don't lack is the ability to be vocal, and on numerous occasions, I (and others) have brought up these contractual discrepancies, and nothing has ever been done. People constantly say they will talk to their superiors, but nothing ever happens. Long story short, through lots of tears and lack of sleep, I resigned from my job on Monday.

I don't have another job to take it's place, but the term ends at Christmas, and I planned to stay on until Christmas while I looked for a new job for the next term. It is common for teachers to leave at the end of term, so there are a fair amount of positions available. In any case, on Wednesday I was told that I cannot stay on until the end of term, but that my last day will be Monday, November 30th. I was absolutely shocked. It is highly unconventional to turn a teacher down that wants to stay until the end of term. They will not be able to find a teacher in time, and they will have to higher a substitute...when I was OFFERING to stay! This shock made it all the more clear to me that I made the right decision in resigning because my organization does not have the best interests of the students at hand. (I was in the middle of finishing final drafts of papers that they need in order to graduate with them, for goodness sakes!)

Now, my company prides itself on honesty, and non-oppressive practice. I decided that in order to follow in the ethos of the company, I should be honest with the company about the reasons why I was leaving. So, I wrote a formal resignation letter explaining my reasons (listed above) to the company. I decided to email the letter to everyone. I figured, everyone has the right to know why I've left, instead of speculating about the reasons after I'm gone. Apparently, people don't exactly DO this. (Kidding, kidding, I know people don't exactly do this...but I'm a bit fiery, and I like to protest when things are unfair. I should have been a suffragette...) The letter detailed how I feel that the ethos of the company is brilliant, which is why I accepted a job at The PPP, but I think the CEO is out of touch with what actually happens in his buildings, and the ethos is not actually being practiced. Decisions are made based on money, and not based on the best interests of the students. (Don't worry, believe it or not, I was very tactful...as tactful as you can be when you are writing a letter to an entire company, and a CEO, of a company of only 80 people, who has never bothered to meet you.)

Let's just say, I was shocked by the responses. People I hardly know sent me emails thanking me, applauding me for my courage, and telling me that they too have been raising similar issues and nothing is happening. One guy who I've spoken to only once, from a different building than mine (he works with ESL kids), came over to my building after work to kiss me (on the lips!, but don't worry, he's verrry into his boyfriend) and thank me for bringing the issues out into the open. The CEO of the company responded to the email and has called a meeting for people to address these issues (after I've left, of course). Basically, I wrote the letter for my own personal gratification, but it felt really good to see it responded to in such a positive way. (Not positive for everyone, of course. My boss is truly thrilled about it because he agrees with me, but HR are horrified because I raised some issues about things that could be taken to the press and shed a not-so-flattering light on our organization.)

Moral of the story...I'm still out of a job, come Monday. I am in touch with about five teaching agencies right now to get me work for January. My old agency is giving me substitute teaching work up until Christmas. I sent out two applications to schools on my own, schools that I am really interested in working at (socio-economically diverse, relaxed atmosphere where students don't wear uniforms, young progressive staff, but with a population of students known for wanting to learn). I never expected to get a call back from these schools because last year I sent out about 50 applications, and not one of them responded to me. The only jobs I was able to interview for were with an agency. Anyhow, one of the two schools called me for an interview this coming Monday. (And they BETTER have! I spent 5 hours filling out their application form and crafting the most amazing cover letter in the history of cover letters!) I know I have a 1% chance of getting this position, but I'm over the moon at being given the opportunity to even interview! Then, I have interviews with schools through agencies on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Let's just say, I panicked when I didn't have a job anymore, and contacted every agency I've ever heard of.

This has been lengthy, even after my attempts to make it short, but if you made it to the end, think happy thoughts for me on Monday!

Love you!!!

Sarah

PS: This is what my schedule looks like for Christmas break...who is going to be around??

December 20-25--Connecticut
December 26-27--New Jersey (Bouncing Souls wootwoot!)
December 28-31--New York (I'm TOTALLY going to Oxford Street today and splurging on a ridiculous dress for new years even though I have no real excuse to wear it...)

I have the best friends in the world

PHOTO
I ran a marathon. I ran it in 4 hours, 19 minutes, and 39 seconds. I am fast. I am amazing. I am a rockstar. (I am getting the photo cd for christmas because I was SO cold after the race that I have no good pictures of me even holding my medal. Now I guess I have to run another one!)

I could probably end this blog there, but I'm not going to :)

It's a bit hard for me to write this post because I have been on such an upswing with London lately. Since I came back in August, as you all know, things have been really good here. I'm happy, my friends are cool, I have a permanent job, and I'm settling nicely. BUT (isn't there always a but?) being back in the states was a reminder that, even when things in the states aren't quite perfect, it is still my home. It is where the people that I love the most in the world live. Home isn't where you hang your hat, apparently, it's where the love is :) No seriously, I know it's cheesy, but I feel surrounded by love in the states, and that is a feeling almost worth moving back for. Almost. Almost, but not yet. I guess what I'm trying to say is...London rocks...but I've been feeling huuuuge amounts of home-sickness, not for home itself, but for the people there. Marisa, I miss your futon ;)

Anyway, back to being back. I decided this week that I don't like my job. Yes, YES the kids are crazy (CRAZY!), but it's not that. I don't feel supported by my administration. The PPP, first and foremost, is a therapeutic organization. Academics come second. I am an academic. I don't feel like they really care about my job or the roadblocks to teaching in such a difficult environment. The admistration doesn't understand the difficulties presented to teachers in such an environment, and therefore, I don't feel like they are helping US to do what's best to help the young people. I'm feeling frustrated. And slightly taken advantage of. And kind of over it. In addition, and maybe more importantly, if I want to continue teaching in England (and let's be honest, I never have a clue what my future holds), I have to do my "Qualified Teacher" year in the next three years. I cannot do it at The PPP because it is a "special school." I may be limiting my options for the future if I continue to work there. I am sending out my CV to some agencies today...and we will see what happens. Having permanence in a position (and a fairly good wage) is not something that I'm willing to give up at the moment, so let's not all hold our breath for any action to be taken towards me getting a new job. Perhaps I'm just angry at the moment. Perhaps it will pass.

My weeks here have been TOO crazy since I've been back, which may be the reason that I feel constantly over tired. I play hockey on Mondays and Saturdays, I have a late work day on Wednesdays, and now I am taking a mentoring course on Thursdays after work. Tuesdays are my "I'm going to hangout with people midweek day." Luckily, it usually involves either a run or someone making me dinner (I never have time to cook anymore!), so I can kill two birds with one stone. Leigh (for those that are trying to follow who's who--American Dan's housemate, "The Beautiful Kiwi") has been promising me a home-cooked vegetarian meal since the day we met (He used to be a chef), and it finally came to fruition this past week. I feel very lucky to have the friends I have here already, but it is especially nice when they do things like make you amazing ravioli, FROM SCRATCH! (I wish I had the pictures to back this up...but they are all on his camera.)

Despite all of the "lack of time insanity," anyone who has ever met me knows I'm not willing to sacrifice fun for work. SO, much fun has been happening in London since I've been back. Last weekend it was Bonfire night so I went to, HANDS DOWN, the best fireworks I have ever seen in my life. I realized that the majority of fireworks nights in my life have been spent on a blanket in the summer but the fact that it was winter-coat cold did not stop them from being absolutely spectacular...SEE??

This weekend was "uniforms fancy dress" at the hockey club, and my team went as cheerleaders. I think we did an amazing job. (Yea, I designed those t-shirts!) Fancy dress night at the club is generally known as the most fun social of the year, and this year did not disappoint. We danced until the wee hours.

The next few weeks are going to FLY by, and pretty soon I'll be home for Christmas (and my, as yet unborn, niece)! Next weekend Sami (from Oasis in central park...we went to Portugal together...) is coming over from Ireland, so I've promised to keep him highly entertained. (What I mean is, he's going to come to our hockey game and watch us get our butts kicked by a team a million times better than us...) Then, Aly is coming from Arizona to be all smart and give lectures at the British Museum. I'm going to steal her away from Academia as much as I can while she's here. I'm coming back to the states on December 20th. I'm staying for New Years. I will be at my parents until Christmas, and then I will be in New Jersey for the Bouncing Souls until the 27th. After that, I'm looking for a New York host. Who wants me?

Love you all (and miss you times a million),

Sarah

Oh, PS:

#1 reason why London is better than NY: People actually WALK up the escalators in the Tube/Subway. It KILLS me to be back in NYC standing behind people who are too lazy to walk. It is excruciatingly slow. At least in London if you aren't going to walk, you courteously stand on the Right so people can pass you!

#1 reason why NY is better than London (besides the pizza): My NY postman opened my mail, and sometimes stole it, but at least he didn't try to kiss me or sing opera. REALLY loudly. Early in the morning. And wake me up. On my one morning to sleep in for the whole week. JERK.

Hello, Autumn

Hey everyone,

First of all, I'm SO sorry that I haven't written in a very long time. It seems that my weekends have been taken over by life, and I've lost the will and time to write. It's a shame and I'm going to try to be better. Basically, hockey is in full swing, which means that my Saturdays now run into my Saturday nights, and leave me no time for a little peace and reflection. On Sundays I have been running...and I mean...running for 2,3,4 hours at a time, and when I come back I am so drained that I just have to sit on the couch and stare at the wall, or take a nap. My brain cannot function at a high enough level to blog. (Luckily, the serious marathon training ended last week!)

Instead of trying to tell you about EVERYTHING that has been up in lovely London, I will just give you all a short summary of each section of my life--Work/Hockey/Life in General.

So Work. Yes, notice, work comes first on that list because it is taking over my life! Work is HARD. And, completely different from anything I have every experienced. I had my first crying episode at work the other day, but I took that to be a good thing, since all the other new staff cried before I did. (How harsh is that?) Basically, a day in the life of a PPP staff member includes having horrible things yelled at you, having something thrown at you (sometimes, not always), and not being listened to, a lot. I cried because class hadn't even started yet, and the students were playing pool. (Yes, we have a pool table. DON'T ask. It drives me up a WALL that they have so many "privileges" that my increasingly right wing mentality does not think that they deserve.) I asked one of the students to get off the pool table because it was not his turn to play. He flipped OUT on me and screamed a lot of really mean, loud things to me, for about 5 minutes. I in return replied, "All right, Abdi. We will talk about this later, when you have calmed down." I then walked into the office and burst out into tears. They were not tears of hurt, but tears of anger. I was SO angry that I was shaking. Basically, I wanted to yell back at him (or hit him) so badly, and I didn't. The anger had to be relieved somehow, so I cried. It's just that, you can't reason with someone who has reached the level of anger (for no reason) that Abdi had, so there was no point in trying to talk with him at that moment. But that doesn't make ME feel any better for being treated in such a poor manner. And basically, that is a day in the life of a PPP staff member. Luckily, I have managed (so far) to not get that upset about a student again.

On the flipside, when I teach a good lesson, it is far more rewarding than teaching in a mainstream school. For example, I taught a brilliant poetry lesson (we are currently studying pre WWI British War Poetry, and afterward, a couple of my students came up and told me that they enjoyed the lesson. Now, these students do NOT enjoy school. They are with the organization I work for because they have never enjoyed school. Narcissistically, it feels SO good to have them appreciate a lesson, and then TELL me that they appreciate it. I can smile at little things like that for days on end (and it's a good thing I can do that, because stuff like that does NOT happen very often)!

So now for hockey. I've said it a million times and I will say it again--if it weren't for hockey, life here would be very dull. I stick to that. My weekends are filled with hockey, and I usually run with my friend Matty from the club at least once a week. (He's also vegetarian so he cooks for me afterwards. I'm so spoiled!) The hockey girls (and some of the guys) are suuuuuch fun people. Last week, for example, I played a hockey game (we tied...which is a big deal for us), went back to the club house and had teas (we get food cooked for us after games, how British is that!), hung out with a bunch of the other teams, and then went to Anna's, a girl on my team, and we watched X Factor (The original American Idol). It doesn't SEEM like the ultimate Saturday night, but words cannot describe how good it feels to finally be comfortable enough with people in this country to be able to say, "Nah. I don't want to have a crazy Saturday night out at a club. Lets stay in and eat takeaway pizza and watch crappy t.v."

A couple more things about hockey...I have somehow managed to take-on the Social Secretary position on our team. I'm the one in charge of planning fun stuff for us to do. How do I always end up volunteering for things? (I think I'm going to plan a night when we dress up 80's style and go to a roller disco. Take THAT for making me social secretary. :) )And THEN, my captain asked me to be assistant captain, so, I'm that too. Unfortunately, there is a large chance that I'm going to get pulled up to the team above mine pretty soon. It might not happen, but I've been practicing with them, and, though it's nice to have a challenge, I was just getting to know my team! :(

And now, for a commercial break: PLEASE come see me run the NY Marathon. It is November 1st. I will be in NY/CT from THIS WEDNESDAY October 28-November 2nd. It's going to be a whirlwind, and I can't stay up late or do anything too exciting because I'm going to be running 26.2 miles on November 1st, but please please please let me know if you're going to be around because I want to hang out!!!

Okay, lastly--I haven't blogged about life in general yet. I think you can tell from what I've written already that, despite work being a struggle, life in London is gajillions of times (yes, gajillions) better than it was last year. The positive outlook that I have forced myself to have this year has really been paying off, so far. I'm not forcing it anymore--my outlook is just positive!

I was worried and sad about spending my first birthday ever away from my friends/fam in the US, but, it turned out to be such a blast, and I was reminded that I DO know wonderful, fun people here that care about me and want to help me celebrate.

Here's a picture of us. It was a 1920's themed bar, so we dressed up. I loooove the culture of British dressing up!

I don't think I'll ever stop missing everyone at home (which is a good thing, right??) but, things here are really good right now, and I'm thankful for that.

Sorry this blog was so general, but it's been SUCH a long time since I've written, and I just wanted to get it out and done with...the next one will be better. Promise!

Looooove, Hammer

PS: TRAVEL!


1. I forgot to mention that I have this AWESOME (though married, which sometimes means "lame and goes to bed early") new friend from work, Lisa. Her, Jason and I are doing 9 days of the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage walk in Spain over April break...anyone want to come?

2.The last weekend in May my team is going to Holland for a hockey tournament, and conveniently after that is my school holiday, so I'm thinking of traveling around Holland, Belgium, Denmark?, and Germany? I need a travel buddy. hint hint hint.

3. Finally, I have February break from Feb 13th to Feb 21st. I have no thoughts about where I want to go...though I was thinking maybe Egypt? Jordan? Syria? I'm not going by myself...who's coming with me?

Laughter that makes your stomach hurt

Hello,

I just want to start this by saying that the worst week of my life turned into one of the best weekends in recent history...so life is on the up and up. (I don't want to be TOO negative to start this blog off!)

Basically, the week started off really roughly. Clearly, I didn't sleep much on Sunday night because I was worrying about my family and everything happening at home. The car accident put into perspective the reality that I am so very, very far away. My parents reassured me that "everything was going to be okay and everyone was going to be fine" but that didn't change the fact that this is the first time I have encountered the realization that choosing to live far away means being completely and utterly helpless. There is absolutely nothing I can do if anything bad happens in the United States. It is really hard to be this far away, and this past week was the first time I have felt that in the year that I have been gone. Of course I've wanted to be near my friends and family and have missed them, but put in perspective, it has all been rather superficial: "Oh woe is me. Woe is me. Boys hurt my heart. Wah Wah Wah." That's all been nothing compared to this past week.

On Wednesday I finally lost it completely, and called Regina in hysterics. I can honestly say that I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. Being far away from my family was getting to me, work was rough (a student of mine is going to juvy for assault and he is taking his anger out on everyone, myself included), and there was some other stuff going on here that was causing me a lot of stress. It proved to be more than I could handle. I considered calling my mom but I didn't think she could handle me being so upset, so far away. (sorry mom!) I'm so thankful that there are people I can always count on regardless of the time of day that I call them and the fact that I'm blubbering into the phone and they can't understand a word that I'm saying. Also, I'm seriously thankful for my housemate Jason, because he has now seen me cry, and has taken over the James role in my London life. (The James role = Boy that awesomely lets me babble on about girl things and supports my nonsense even if I am being a "crazy girl.")

After four nights of hardly sleeping at all, I woke up on Thursday feeling worse for wear, to say the least. Apparently, a naturally happy person can only be miserable for so long. (I'm currently thinking my absolute maximum is four days of hell.) I woke up from a tortured sleep, and though overtired, I had the feeling it was going to be a good day. The day did not disappoint. Some things here that were going poorly straightened themselves out, I got an email from my mom telling me that things with the sis and the smirky-monster were doing well, I taught a brilliant poetry lesson at work, and then Hanne came to town! Thank you to everyone who has been keeping me in your thoughts. Life is very much on the up-and-up right now, and all the emails and telephone calls have been so much appreciated.

Friday at work was a write-off...not the best day, but Friday noneless. After work I met up with Jason, Hanne, and our friend Milena, who was also staying with us. I would just like to say that my housemates are ROCKSTARS who constantly cook amazing meals, and I get to eat them! Lucky me! Anyway, we went out to Adam's leaving do. I'm sooooo sad he's gone, because now he is the last of my two lovely Irish friends here, gone forever.

Here you can see my amazing art skills. We all had to draw ourselves for his leaving card. This photo is a clear reminder that I.Am.Awesome.

On Saturday I braved Oxford Street with Hanne, who is a shopping fiend! We got a fabulously 20's dress for my birthday party, which I'm SO psyched for! Have I explained that the Brits LOVE their "fancy dress" parties? Basically, they love any opportunity to dress like it's halloween (except for halloween, which they don't really celebrate). Anyway, we went to a "double denim" fancy dress at Dan's house (my american friend from the Israel trip) on Saturday night. Double denim, for those of you that are unaware, is also called a Candian Tuxedo.

We didn't look ridiculous...at all...did we? I think I had a very serious J-Lo thing going on...

It's always nice to have guests around, because it is the perfect excuse to be a tourist in your own city. On Sunday we went to the Globe (which I've been dying to do!!!) and saw Troilus and Cressida. First of all, it was only 5 pounds in (what a steal)! Second of all, it was Brilliant. And third of all...I had no IDEA there was so many attractive men in London. The entire cast was made up of scantily clad, handsomely chisled men. Who would have thought?! Every single person in the audience was seriously giddy. It was pretty hilarious.

That pretty much sums up last week...and I know we are playing catch up...but I'll get this week up soon.

I'd love to get some comments. What happened to comments???

Love,

Sarah

Freaking Out

Two blogs in one day, aren't you all lucky!?

No, seriously though, I'm just writing this blog to let everyone know that just after writing my blog about how I'm going to vow to make England my home for the year, I found out that Mal and Maela were in a very serious car accident (involving being hit by a truck) earlier this past week. My parents had been (unsuccessfully) trying to contact me to tell me, so I found out today.

My sister is seven months pregnant (surprise, to all of you that don't know), and she was life-starred to the hospital, while my niece was taken by ambulance. Miraculously, Mal escaped covered in blood, but with only very painful whiplash. The doctors thought that Maela may have broken her neck...as she could not move, but her neck is not broken. She does, however, have a fractured skull and lots of stitches. Shockingly, she is now up, moving around, and talking a lot. She is in high spirits and does not appear to have any brain damage.

At the moment, it just seems like an ocean is too great a distance between myself and many of the people that I love. I'm not relinquishing my vow to be happy here this year, but I am feeling so, so far away. My parents didn't tell me immediately because they didn't want to worry me about things that I could do nothing about. If I were closer, at least I could have been there with them. It is a very frustrating experience, one that I know many people deal with every day, and one to which there is no solution.

I hope everyone is enjoying what my parents tell me is a beautiful, sunny Sunday in New England, and I am thinking of all of you, and missing you horribly.

Love, Sarah

Indian Summer

Hey everyone!

Sorry it's been so long! It seems that the only free time I have these days is spent running ridiculous amounts on blistery feet. I noticed yesterday, as I was scarfing down a bowl of risotto that someone in the house had the kindness to cook and then share with me, that I have sat down to eat a leisurely meal only ONCE in the past ten days (dinner on Wednesday). Anyway, apologies.

I've been back in London now about three weeks, and it has been an absolutely spectacular three weeks. Basically, I didn't want to be here last year. I wanted to be in Ireland. I could not stay in Ireland (stupid visa), so I vowed to be miserable in London. What a stupid thing to do to myself. I spent so much time complaining about this city, that I rarely genuinely enjoyed it. Point being, this year, I have made a pact with myself to love London. I am going to put a smile on and go out and meet people. I'm not going to say "no" to any opportunities, and I'm going to make an effort to "put myself out there" and be social. I'm going to be the Sarah Hammer that I always have been, that I absolutely REFUSED to be last year in this country. The moral of this mini-diatribe is that, it's working. These three weeks have been some of the best I've had out of the nine months I have lived here.

I got back and tried not to be too bummed that my two closest friends here, Jill and Adam, were both moving back to Ireland. Jill is already gone, and Adam is having his going away party next weekend. I'm staying positive about that, and trying to meet lots more people. The weekend that I got back, I played Dodgeball for charity which was set up by the company of a woman on my hockey team. I THOUGHT that I would get to the pitch and know lots of people...but when I showed up...my dodgeball team was made up almost entirely of people I didn't know! As it turns out, my team was made up of people from the field hockey club that I just didn't know. They kept saying things like, "Really? You played last year? Where have you BEEN?" It was a bitter reminder that I didn't try at all last year to get to know anyone. I think dodgeball was a jumpstart to turning over my new "I love London" leaf, because it was a HUGE amount of fun, and the people on my team were just great. Since then, I have seen them nearly every weekend, either at the hockey club, or out in the city.

We had to "fancy dress." In case you are wondering...we are "No Shit." Clearly, I had no say in the matter.

That following Monday (August 24th), work started. I was unsure what to expect, because I knew that the students weren't coming for another couple of weeks. Basically, we spent the two weeks leading up to school just planning for the year. I have my English lessons planned until the end of the term (in December!!). I will also be teaching Science, but someone else is planning those lessons for me. (Thank goodness, because I'm a science idiot!) I was supposed to be teaching Drama, but no one signed up for it, as it is an elective, so I think I'm going to be helping out in the teaching of P.E! We will see how that goes!

I guess I should give a little bit of background now about the new place that I work, since I haven't really mentioned it to many of you. I am working at a place called The Parent Pupil Partnership (The PPP). The PPP is a non-profit organization that has been around for 14 years. It was created to fill a gap in the London school system that lets "troubled" kids slip through the cracks. Basically, my "school" is for behaviorally and emotionally disturbed 15 and 16 year olds who have been kicked out of school for various reasons. When they get kicked out of school, they get referred to us. The PPP is not just a school. It is actually, primarily, a therapeutic and holistic environment for students with behavioral issues. The staff is made up of Group and Family Workers (social workers), mentors, and teachers. Part of the week the young people spend working out their issues, and part of the week they spend learning. The idea is that they can't really get ahead academically if they are emotionally stilted in some way.

Here is a picture of some of the staff at the residential we had during our second week of planning. (Left to Right-Ketorah, Li-Shan, Eliza, Me, Lisa) We went away to a beautiful hotel in Windsor. We worked really hard, ate really well, and bonded. The bonus was that I got to go running outside of London for a change!

The students started this past Wednesday. I think it is a little bit early for me to attempt to explain my job to you, since it is just getting started, but I will be honest in saying that I was prepared for the absolute worst students ever (in terms of their behavior), and I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, I feel like they will eventually talk back to me and swear and take out their cell phones, etc., but is it anything worse than anything I've already experienced? No, I don't think so. One of our students has already been arrested since the school year started three days ago (for attempted robbery), but, in terms of their behavior actually in the building, I am well pleased. The PPP has 4 different sites around the city, though, and not all of them have fared as well as we have. On the first day at one of the sites, some kids were throwing knives around. So, yea. There is no doubt in my mind that it is going to be tough, but it is also certainly a worthwhile experience (not to mention that fact that having a permanent job here, instead of being a substitute teacher, is REALLY going to improve my quality of life).

Now back to the fun stuff. It would have been hard to hate London these past few weekends (if I had still been trying) because the weather has been absolutely, uncharacteristically beautiful. We are talking sundresses and flip-flops here. For England in early September, this weather is unprecedented. I know global warming is going to kill us all, but I've been thoroughly enjoying soaking up the British sun.

Here I am with Jason and the twins, Michelle and Teresa. We are at Notting Hill Carnival...the biggest street party outside of Rio. The Carnival was complete with scantily clad Brazilian dancers, Capoeira, LOUD music, delicious Caribbean food, and lots and lots of Rum.

I've also been seeing a LOT of free/almost free music. I just discovered The Locke Tavern in Camden, because Chris Richter's friends from Glastonbury, CT were playing there (didn't get to see them cause they went on too late on a school night :( ) Bands play there for free every night of the week. Last Tuesday Eamonn and I went to see Vampire Weekend DJ. They weren't playing a set, but it was cool that they were DJing, for free! I also was recently introduced to The Dublin Castle. I went with some friends from hockey, and the bands there are consistently great. Kate Nash and Blur played there before they were big...to name a few.

Speaking of hockey...the season just started last weekend, and we played our first friendly match yesterday. A loss...but we scored one goal. This one goal is a big deal because it TIES the amount of goals we scored in the ENTIRETY of last season. Yes, we were that bad. I expect bigger things from us this year!

Here's a picture of our first hockey social last weekend. It was Hawaiian themed...clearly. I know I've said this before, but I'm SO happy that I play a sport. If it weren't for the hockey team, I think I would spend a lot of time in this city being very, very bored.

Alright, so, that is the abridged version of what's been going on in London since I've been back.

And now, back with the Top 5--Top 5 upcoming events to look forward to hearing about:
1. Dan (my friend from the Israeli trip) is having a "Double-Denim" fancy-dress housewarming next weekend.
2. Hanne is coming to visit from Norway.
3. School and my crazy kids are getting into full swing.
4. Jaz and I are throwing a 1920's fancy-dress birthday party.
5. 27 is going to be a really, really good year.

Love, Sarah

Bisqueets and BedOHwins

SO, Israel.

To try and make this short would be impossible, so, bear with me.

Israel was an amazing and confusing and heart-breaking and fantastic adventure. As many of you know, I have never really been too keen on going to Israel, or Israelis in general, to be honest. It's a prejudice I've had since traveling in South America and meeting so many "post army Israelis" who are traveling after their service is over. Also, politically, most of you can imagine, I'm not exactly a Zionist, to put it lightly. SO, deciding to go on a birthright trip was definitely much more of a "yay free trip to a foreign country" decision than a "I really identify with my Israeli brothers and sisters" decision. However, it turned out to be a spectacular experience.

Rather than tell you about everything that I did, I'll tell you about how I feel changed by the experience. (Scroll to the middle of the blog if my political rambling bores you...there are LOTS of photos.) I feel changed in a few different ways. The main thing is, I don't have a predisposition towards disliking Israelis anymore, which I think is really important. (Clearly, being racist isn't a good thing!) Basically, I went to Israel thinking, "How can one country and it's people so blatantly/violently/completely take over/oppress/dominate another group of people and think they are in the right?! What is WRONG with them? Well, truth be told, after this trip, I've got a ton of dislike for the Israeli government because the children of Israel are brought up only seeing one side of the argument (Up Israel, Arabs are monsters who suicide bomb and kill our children). The propaganda is SO blatant in the country that it is sickening. We went to a museum of Israeli history which I can only describe as a propaganda museum not unlike something that might have been used in WWII to rile up German citizens. Basically, I could go on about this forever, but here is the story of the turning point of my decision "to dislike the government but not the people":

On our fifth day in Israel, our group of 41, plus our 8 Israeli soldiers that joined our group to be part of the "birthright experience" went to a mosque. My birthright group "Kesher Birthright" is the only birthright group to go to a mosque. We were given an opportunity to ask the Imam (leader of prayer) questions about the religion of Islam. One of our Israeli soldiers, Ben, asked a question. Ben is a combat marine, so keep in mind that seeing battle from the front lines is his job. He asked about the belief that suicide bombers have, that they will get to paradise because they have done God's will. The Imam basically responded that the religion of Islam DOESN'T believe that, and that things get misconstrued. The Imam's response isn't the point of this story, though. The point is that Ben is 21 years old, fighting and killing "for his country and it's people," and he doesn't even have the resources to ASK questions that he might have about the opposition. He doesn't have ANY knowledge about REAL Palestinians or any outlet to learn about what they believe because they are fed the propaganda of hate from the time that they are children. My realization in the mosque that Ben (and maybe the other soldiers too) actually WANT to know more about the conflict and have nowhere to turn for that information, made my heart break. How are ANY conflicts ever solved if there are no means of communication and no avenues with which to learn about the opposition. How can there ever be peace if BOTH governments only feed their people hatred.

Let me break up this entry with some pictures before I get to the other major reason why I feel changed by going to Israel.

Day 1: We got to Jaffa-Tel Aviv, Israel on Shabbat Friday. The elevator stopped on every floor. I have never seen a shabbat elevator though I'm told they exist in some apartments in NYC. For those of you that are unaware, from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday, Jewish people have their day of rest. If they are very religious Jews, they take that to mean that you cannot do any work at all, including pushing the DAMN buttons on the DAMN elevator. :) Most of the Israelis I met were what you would call, somewhat ironically, secular Jews. They identify with Judaism, but don't actually practice or go to synagogue or anything like that...much like Christmaster Christians, they only really "practice" their religion on high holidays. I did not meet anyone that was pleased that the elevators totally suck on Fridays and Saturdays.

Day 2: Apparently, most people who live in Tel Aviv go to the beach on Saturday because it is Shabbat, you can't do work, and everything is closed. I would like to live in a place where the "day of rest" is treated as a day at the beach! From left to right: Me, Jenny, Jenna, Diana, Emily H, Chelsea.
Emily and Chelsea, and another Emily were my closest friends on the trip. They are so great and we will definitely keep in touch.


Day 2: Tel Aviv at night. We had services on the rooftop of our hostel before we went out dancing. This is the view from the roof.

Day 3: We walked around Jerusalem all day. This is a photograph of two domes--one representing where Jesus was apparently crucified, and the other one representing where he was buried.


Day 3: Obviously, while in Jerusalem we went to the Western Wall. Here I am writing a letter to put in the wall.

Day 3: We rode camels in the desert. It was SO hot and SO scary. I won't ever do it again...or so I say now.

Day 3: After the whole camel extravaganza, we ate Bedouin food (on the ground) and slept in Bedouin tents (on the ground). Definitely the best meal of the trip...but certainly not the best sleep!

Day 4: There is nothing quite like waking up at 4 am to hike up a mountain and watch the sunrise. This is Masada at sunrise.

Day 4: After our long, hot hike at Masada, we hiked through the Ein Gedi nature reserve in the middle of the desert and swam in this oasis! I had no idea oases actually existed!

Day 5: Someone decided that, even though we weren't allowed to go clubbing alone in Tel Aviv, that we could scale down the cliff side of Arbel Mountain. I'd be lying if I said there were no tears around me from people who were so scared they were crying...I'm not exactly sure this was one of birthright's most brilliant idea.

Day 5: This is the poets and artists cemetery.

Day 6: This is soldiers manning their posts at Golan Heights. (Right out over the edge of the photograph is Syria.) Could someone please explain to me the genetic predisposition for complete and utter hotness that Israelis seem to possess?

Day 6: Hiking in the Tel Dan nature preserve. Meet Dan, he just moved to London from Glastonbury, CT 5 days ago and now we are old Israel friends. It's going to be fantastic to have him here.

Day 6: At the artist colony in Tzvat. Tzvat is an amazing village FULL of VERY serious Jewish people.

Day 6: Another photo of Tzvat had to be included because it is an absolutely beautiful place.

Day 6: Don't worry, we danced a fair amount as well ;)
From left to right--me, Ben (an Israeli), Emily, Dan

Day 7: This is at the mosque in Ein Rafa, an Arabic community in Israel. That's Liz.

Day 7: It was kind of an intense day. After the mosque we went to Har Hertzl, the war cemetery. This is Michael Levin's grave. He is the only American citizen to die fighting for Israel.

Day 8: Yad V-Shem, the holocaust museum in Israel. This is one of the many outdoor memorials.

Day 8: This is Mahane Yehuda, the crazy market in Jerusalem. It was Friday, so everyone was doing there last minute shopping before sunset.

Day 8: Goodbye to our Israeli soldiers. From left to right: Greg (one of our leaders from NY), Ben, Tal, Dima, Elad, Yufal, Dana, Anna, Liz (our other leader from NY)

Day 9: We went to this nature reserve that I can't remember the name of. We planted trees as a "new beginning" for Israel.

Day 9: Goodbye Israel, home of the original?? chip butty.

Alright, so the second major way I feel changed has to do with religion. Being brought up Protestant and not really identifying with my "Jewishness" is never really something I have thought about. We never went to synagogue, we stopped lighting menorah candles when I was young, etc. As it turned out, there are many different Birthright programs you can choose from, and I chose one that was very religious. (My group was lead by the Cantor of a synagogue in NYC and the synagogue was the major financial supporter of the trip.) I did not know this when I signed up, and most of you would guess that I would never have chosen to go on one of the "more religious" trips. Retrospectively, I'm very glad that I ended up on the trip that I ended up on (and as my cousin Missy will say, "There are no coincidences...") because I got to learn a lot about Judaism and I found it all very interesting. Most notably, I KNEW that Judaism and Christianity were similar on many levels (hello, old testament) but, I had never really seen how that panned out in actual religious practice. As it turns out, much of the practice is the same--singing during services, prayer, a "sermon or lesson" that you can ponder during the day or week--it's all there in both religions. Additionally, a lot of the traditions of Judaism are very interesting to me--the lighting of the candle, the drinking of the oh-so-horrible wine, etc. I found services to be beautiful and relaxing, and I think I was just expecting it all to be strange and unfamiliar. I plan to learn more about it in the future. (Don't worry everyone, I'm not about to don a long dress and long sleeves and not talk to men. I still think orthodoxy of ANY kind is a little bit insane.)

SO, now you've both gotten to see a "trip in pictures" and read about my inner-thoughts on the trip. I'd love to get some COMMENTS ;)

If anyone is interested, Paul kept an official Central Synagogue trip blog.

I promise I will now attempt to catch you all up on being back in London.

Love Sarah

Back Logging!!!

Soooooo, I wrote this blog two months ago, and then never sent it. Yea. But...I think there are some useful/interesting tid-bits hidden away in it (namely, that I have a job, incidentally starting tomorrow...), so I thought that I would post it anyway.

Enjoy...

Sitting in Newark Airport waiting for my Tragically (and severely) delayed plane to Minneapolis (Mini-Apples??), I thought I would catch everyone up on my whirlwind last week in London.

Last weekend was a return to the raucousness of hockey-hang-outage. On Friday night the Ladies 5's (that's my team) went Bowling (incidentally at the same bowling alley that I worked at for exactly one day...Did I tell you all that I worked as a waitress in a bowling alley for exactly one day? Yea...it didn't work out.) Anyway, I got ROCKED by everyone on my team. It was a low-scoring, high-embarrassment kind of a night. The girls are always fun and I can't WAIT for next season to start. My captain, Rowena, came out as well, and informed me that because I am "dependable," I will be going to some hockey conference with her in the fall to learn better short corner techniques that I can then teacher to the squad. Go me!

On Saturday we had a club day (people from our club played in a mini tournament against each other.) Club days are always fun because it is basically 30-40 guys and girls out in the sun playing hockey. Inevitably, it ends up with us heading to the club afterwards for food, drinks, and rugby/football. This time around it was rugby. (Have I mentioned lately how much of a fan I have become?? It doesn't hurt that a few of the British/Irish Lions are extremely good-looking.)

England has been shockingly summer this past week, so on Sunday a few of us went for a picnic in Finsbury Park (the park one block away.) Those of you that have been subjected to playing "Rack-O" with me can have a little giggle at the fact that we played for hours! I also went and saw a movie called Looking for Eric. It is British so I don't know if it will come out in the States, but, it stars Eric Cantona (hello United fans...???) and it was BRILLIANT. It really showcased British city life and what it's like to be down and out.

Basically, after the weekend, this past week has been a week of saying goodbyes. I have surrounded brief periods of work with lots of eating too much and staying out too late.

Here is a picture of Tristan and I on Monday messing about in the Royal Music Hall. We were playing in the fountain and got completely soaked. Whoops! (So...there WAS supposed to be a picture here, but since I wrote this so long ago, I have since put the photos on my external hard drive which is currently god-knows-where. Sorry!)

Our dear and forgotten Eamonn hurt his neck quite badly at the weekend and has been bed ridden. Even my friends who aren't his biggest fans (and of them there are many) felt bad for him and didn't give me tooo much trouble for heading to South London to eat ice cream and watch movies on Tuesday event though I'm going away and prooobably should have been busy doing other things. I guess I'll never stop wanting to play "fix it" with things that are broken. I know it's a weakness, and I'm working on it. Or, at least I say I'm working at it. Sometimes, wanting to fix what's broken isn't such a bad quality, but sometimes it means you get walked all over. If anyone comes up with a way to strike the perfect balance, enlighten me.

Another reason why I was feeling so charitable on Tuesday is because I got a job. Let me back up. My agency conned me into going on an interview that I had NO interest in whatsoever. It was at a school called the "PPP" which stands for Pupil Parent Partnership. It's actually not quite a school at all. It is a non-profit organization unrelated to the department of education that runs classes for students with serious behavioral/emotional disorders. All of the students at this "school" have been kicked out of the London school system. Many of them live in residential homes for kids who have nowhere else to go because they have been kicked out of their houses. They are the students who need the most help (and of course those are always the ones that receive the least help).

In any case, I ended up going on the interview (quite begrudgingly), and as soon as I entered the building, I felt comfortable. I just got the feeling that it was the place for me. The interview and demo-lesson went well, and later on that day, they offered me the job. Needless to say, I accepted. I am excited to have a full time position for next year, but I can honestly say that I have my doubts about it. The school is only 90 students and 12 teachers. The organization has about 60 other staff members--most mentors, psychologists, and therapists. I am nervous because teaching English is not going to be my "main" objective. I will also be taking a course to get a special mentoring qualification so that I can help to guide the students emotionally. Yes, that is one of the many hats that we as teachers wear, but to actually have it be a written part of my job description is nerve wracking. I mean, what if I mess up? What if I make a child MORE depressed than he already is because I say the wrong thing? It is very scary to have that kind of responsibility (and teaching comes with enough scary responsibilities as it is)! Also, because this is a "special" environment, we have different hours and vacations than mainstream schools. I will be working 9-5pm Monday -Friday, but I have 2 weeks less vacation than other teachers, though I am being monetarily compensated for that. (Don't worry folks, I will still be making nowhere near as much money as I was in NYC!)

That pretty much catches us up to the present (and by present, this means, two months ago, of course). And now jet-lag sets in, and I haven't even finished flying yet.

Cheers for the summer,

Sarah

A poem in 46 lines

Moved into the new house,
hated it a little bit,
now it's growing on me.
(This is my ridiculous master bedroom.)
(This is our tiny kitchen...)
(But we have a dining room!)
(This is our lounge.)

Got home from Greece to sunny English weather,
Felt angered that the pasty Brits had tans too,
Felt angered that I was super broke,
Felt angered that the new place has carpets. yich.

Remembered that sun in England is a rarity,
Remembered to enjoy it,
Remembered that running is fun when it's not raining.

Applied for a non-teaching job,
Thought about a 9-5 (or 7-3 as the case may be),
Wondered if "recruitment" will bore me,
Still considering it (if they'll have me).

Went for a post-work bite with Jill,
Eamonn was there,
Remembered that I love his friends,
had an awesome night.

Ate amazing French food,
Drank Brooklyn Lager (yes!),
Saw a free funk gig in Brixton,
Hated on South London.

Made it an Eamonn weekend,
Watched Ireland draw Bulgaria (in footie),
Bowled two games over 100,
Danced to Born in the USA,
Ate at Cafe Lemon (the best brunch in N.London).

Napped in my awesome new bed,
Read the Sunday Times,
failed at the Crossword,
Napped some more.

Taught a little girl how to eat an ice cream cone,
Taught a class how to play bench-ball,
Lamented that American kids don't have benches,
Considering teaching elementary school next year.
Seriously.

Went for a five mile run,
Decided the park near my house is too small,
thought about joining a gym,
Laughed.

Bought plane tickets home,
Got excited for Dan's wedding,
Cursed myself for ever considering working for my mother,
Vowed to be penniless all summer.

Wrote. This. Poem.

Comment :)

Love, Sarah

PS: I will be in the United States in twelve days for thirty-five days. Hang out with me, please.

Greece!

Greetings from sunny London (no, seriously!),

Here's to Greece (two weeks too late).

I waited too long to buy my tickets, as is my M.O. (LOVING the Wiki lately. AND the parentheses. As always. And the full-stops, as they call periods here in London-town.) I ended up having a five hour layover in Frankfurt which, in case you were wondering, is not the most direct way to get to Greece from England. I only mention this layover for two reasons: 1) Half the people in the airport in Frankfurt were wearing face-masks. Oh, swine flu (which, incidentally, my housemate's cousin has, and they just closed her school), and 2) I broke down and ate McDonald's. For the first time in probably about eight years. I just REALLY wanted some fries dipped in chocolate milkshake. I thought it would be good for my bikini-ready body. Ha.

So, I got to Athens at about 3am and found my way, fairly effortlessly I might add, to my hostel. Julie and I were to meet up the next morning, and when I was on the metro/subway/tube equivalent on my way to the hostel where we were going to be staying, I actually ran into her. Quite literally. I was getting off at the wrong stop, so it was serendipitous that we ran into each other. I think that set the precedent for Julie to be the one in charge of getting us NOT lost on our trip :) (Props, Jules!)

We spent our first day in Athens meandering around and lamenting the fact that Greece was in the middle of an unseasonably warm Spring. And by warm I mean that I wanted to rip off my skin because it was an unnecessary layer. We hiked up to the top of a hill near Socrate's prison to look down upon the city and the Acropolis.

It was a nice view, (that's the nice view right there in the picture) ,but I can honestly say that Athens is a pretty crappy city. It's got lots of cool ruins, but that is it's only draw. The ruins can be seen in a day and then I recommend getting yourself out of Athens. It's boring. And hot. And fairly expensive too. (To be honest, Greece is the most expensive country I have ever been to. Yes folks, more expensive then France. By FAR.)

The following day we did a full day tour of Athens and saw every ruin in the entire city. The Acropolis was as spectacular as everyone says: Some of the temples were pretty amazing as well, but after about 6 hours of the hot sun (have I mentioned yet that it was BOILING??) everything starts to look the same. We quickly realized we had overstayed our welcome in Athens (2 days!!) and headed off for the islands the next day.

Our first stop was Mykonos, where we spent two nights. I'm going to be honest here: Rumours have it that Mykonos is a bit like the 2nd ring of Hell...and folks, i couldn't agree more. It IS covered in 22 year olds trying to fulfill all of their post-college alcohol-infused fantasies, and 62 year olds trying to take advantage of that fact.

Luckily, it also happens to be stunning, and have amazing beaches and wonderful weather. As soon as we arrived, Julie and I dropped our things at our hostel/hotel? and booked it to the beach (a 1 minute walk). We lazed around on the beach for the day and then made our way to the "city" for some night-life. We tried to hack it with the kids (you know, the 22 year olds I mentioned earlier ;) ), but we called it a night before most of the city even came out to party. We ARE getting to be a bit like grandparents, I guess! Plus, we couldn't afford the stiff price on the stiff drinks. (TWELVE EUROS FOR A COCKTAIL? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?)

Early the next morning we rented an ATV (four-wheeler), and headed out to explore the island. We saw some spectacular old monasteries, and we went to about seven different beaches. Oh yes, one of the beaches in the ring of hell was called "Super Paradise." Rock-on.

Being on the ATV was a blast, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't frightened. There was a small-mountain that we went down to get to one of the beaches, and I thought we were going to die. However, it turns out that the scary/tricky part was getting back UP the mountain with such a tiny engine. Feel free to picture Julie and I, Dumb and Dumber style, leaning into the wind WILLING our little Lolita up the mountain. She made it, but not without a fight.

After ATV-ing it, we attempted another night on the tiles with out new friends Rosie and Elizabeth, and I think we were slightly more successful.

After Mykonos, we headed to Santorini. HERE is where I FINALLY stop complaining :) (I know, I know, my life is so hard. "Is Sarah actually listing things she doesn't like about places she visits? What HAS the world come to. Spoiled Brat!") So anyway, Santorini. Loved it. LOVED IT. Beautiful, laidback, friendly, and fun. It is just beginning to be tourist season and all of the restaurants and bars were hiring for the summer. Don't think I didn't think about it. Our hostel was about 300 metres from Perissa Beach.

Perissa Beach is also known as the black beach, because it has black volcanic sand. It is beautiful (though the sand is unbearably hot)! We explored other beaches, but OUR beach was by far the best.

During our first full day in Santorini we went on a boat tour. We ended up befriending two awesome Canadians, Melissa and Kim, who we hung out with for our entire stay in Santorini. They were SUCH good fun!

Right. Boat tour. We went on a "traditional Greek boat" to visit the still-active volcano, bathe in some muddy "medicinal??" waters, and out to Oia, which is a city on the other end of the island from which we were staying. Oia was the clear highlight of the boat trip, and probably the highlight of my entire Greece trip.

Oia is what you think of when you think of picture perfect Greece. It IS every bit as mind-blowing as the postcards portray. The white houses contrasted with the blue ocean are absolutely breath-taking.

But, Oia is known for more than just it's houses--it is also known for it's world famous sunset. Our crew camped out for 3 hours before the sunset to have the best view in the house. And we did.

The next day we rented an ATV (yes, again, they ARE that cool!) and we explored Santorini. This time, I drove. Woohoo.

We went to the famed Red Beach (see the red rocks?) and hung out for a bit. It was stunning, but OUR beach was better ;)

We also drove into the main town, Fira, and did some shopping. Apparently, everyone else goes there to do shopping as well. (Not to trivialize it though. It was very pretty. Just not as pretty as Oia.)

Our day on the ATV was lovely, but bittersweet because it was Julie's last full day in Santorini :( I spent one more day on the beach hanging out with Melissa and Kim, but it wasn't quite the same. Unfortunately for Julie (yes, I've got to rub it in a bit), our best night out by FAR was definitely the last night on Santorini, which she missed.

I ended up dancing Salsa until 5am, and then watching the sunrise over the beach. (This is a picture of the sunrise.) I then got on a ferry for a nine our boat ride back to Athens to catch my flight to London. It was the perfect ending to a beach vacation. Sun and Salsa--it doesn't really get much better than that.

All in all, Greece was gorgeous. I would definitely head back again, but I would skip Athens all together. I'm now one blog closer (and one blog away) from being caught up to the present.

Keep tuning in. And comment, will you?

Love,
Sarah