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