I honestly don’t know where to begin, or where I left off even. The past three weeks have been crazy. I went to Butlin’s in Minehead for the EF position, which I’m extremely disappointed in but will talk about later, and just got myself settled back in Dublin, where I guess I’m supposed to be home? I was so excited getting of the coach from the airport and walking to my studio. I came right in and unpacked my dirty clothes to start washing, then walked around the corner to the SPAR and got some things for dinner and breakfast tomorrow. On the way I even stopped in this cute salon on the corner and made an appointment to get my hair done tomorrow. I came back to the studio and kept unpacking but realized I left my mozzarella at the store so ran back out the door to get it (it’s just so close there would be no reason not to.) When I finished unpacking I made my dinner and started the second load of clothes, but only after ripping the front panel off the washer because the buttons were all messed up so I thought I’d play “Bob the Builder” and yes, I did fix it. I ate my dinner and sat down to write Mom’s birthday card and bam, it hit me.
Before I get to all that though, I’ve got to tell you about what I can remember from the past three weeks of my life. I left Charleston on a Sunday afternoon, got stuck in New Jersey of all places, and on the way to the airport on Monday morning got the job offer for EF. I flew to Dublin, spent the night, and left for England on Wednesday. I arrived and met a few other “local leaders” as they called us, but I refer to us as slaves. I went to my room which I was pleasantly surprised with, not because it was nice by any means, but because it was three bedrooms so spacious, and I figured for three weeks, it’d work. The next morning while the other LL (local leaders) were testing the kids, I went to a meeting with the course leaders (those who brought the children from all the countries). I got a little information about what I’d be doing but when I say little, I mean minimal, next to nothing. After lunch I went on an excursion with the kids into the town of Minehead (as far as I know it is one street and maybe three blocks long, but I didn’t venture out much).
The next two weeks are a blur. I got two roommates which aggravated me, but they were fine and had separate bedrooms. I taught to the best of my ability (which I can say is pretty good; I’m confident as a teacher), but it was slim pickins for materials. We were given one book for each child, one white board and a marker, and a CD player for the listening activities. I had to use scrap papers to make my own word searches, flashcards, etc. We were told we wouldn’t be reimbursed for anything we purchased but we weren’t given anything else to work with so I bought a pack of paper and some pens, etc. We were never given any standards to go by, never asked to assess (and actually when I asked about assessment I was told something along the lines of “we don’t do that”), and at the end when the kids took their final evaluation (the EF version of the ESOL test from Cambridge) the “secure” test was given with 15 students in my room at three card tables and no pencils to use, although the directions clearly stated use a pencil only. It was ridiculous. I was furious the majority of my teaching time because I know how to teach and teach well, and we were not able to do so. It upset me also that the other teachers (I’m not saying everyone there, but for the most part) were kids in college working to make a little extra money, with little to no teaching experience. They were good with the kids during the activities, but not teachers if you get my drift. And about the money, I’ve not been paid and won’t until I get my bank account set up here, but I can’t do that without some other things taken care of first, so one step at a time. The money I will get paid is such a small amount. The girls at Somerset figured it out with the amount of hours we worked each day and apparently it’s less than minimum wage in England!! Yeah, great.
So I have to complain for one more minute about EF and then I’ll move on to another topic…still complaints mind you. One major problem I had with the EF “camp/school” was the lack of organization. I like things to be done correctly and for everything to be in order. I understand the importance of being flexible and when it comes to working with kids or traveling, I am. In London, I was fantastic. I mean that. I’m not bragging I’m just saying I did everything with confidence and my group was able to do a ton while they were there the day and a half. We saw Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Madam Tussauds, Westminister Abbey, Tower Hill and the Crown Jewels, a play, and even did a little shopping. Even when I was unhappy about things, I went forward with a smile. For example, we went in for our “dinner” at Burger King our first night. There were about 200 other EF students there at the same time so it was a mad house trying to order (see pics). I helped get orders for a few kids to shorten the line; we ate, and moved on. The second night we went to dinner at a place called Baker Street Station so even though I had no idea where the place was, I led my kids in the rain and we eventually found it (right next to Madam Tussauds randomly). We went in and sat down, but were told we would have to leave because our reservation had been postponed. I told the manager we couldn’t do this, we either ate or left because A-we were never told the reservation had been changed, and B-we had a play to get to that night. After I told him I wasn’t upset with him but with EF and explained the situation, he allowed us to sit down for a quick 30 minute meal of pizza and chips, pizza and salad, or spaghetti. It was very kind of him to do this, but I wouldn’t send anyone to eat there again. The pizza was frozen with oregano sprinkled on top, but sorry, not fooling anyone. The food the past three weeks hasn’t been awful but hasn’t been spectacular either and I was so happy to go in SPAR tonight and pick up some pasta to cook for dinner. Anyway, I did enjoy most of the kids in my group and I did have a good time in London the past two days. We got a lot accomplished while we were there and I was able to get everyone from A to B to C and back in one piece. Today when I took the kids to the airport I got a bunch of hugs and several magnets from Moscow so my little studio has one Charleston magnet and three from Russia, but whatever! I’m excited to go back to London with my sister when she comes to visit me in two months. I enjoyed doing a few things this time with the kids that I’d never done before, but T’Lene and I will enjoy a day there with friends and hopefully get to watch a little Gamecock football somewhere too!!
As soon as I left the kids at the British Airways check in, I made my way to Aer Linguis. I ended up having to pay quite a bit for my very overweight baggage, but since my bags were not delivered to me before I went to England there wasn’t much I could do. EF is reimbursing me for my flights so I’m out $150 or something for my bags. No big deal. I’m just glad I’m here. Especially after we came in over Dublin and our pilot announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are approaching our final descent into Dublin. Please check to make sure your seatbacks and chair tables are set in the upright and locked position and that your seatbelt is securely fastened. Please also locate your nearest emergency exit, keeping in mind it may be in the rows behind you.” Ummm, I’m sorry, since when do the pilots announce emergency exit info at the end of the flight?! Was he trying to tell us we would be crash landing? I laughed out loud, just another “bump” in the road.
So back to the “bam,” and it’s not from the landing, but because of Mom’s birthday coming up. For those of you who don’t know me well or don’t know my family’s traditions, you need to understand that in my family, you are with each other for every birthday, Christmas, Easter, special occasion, whatever. We are close and we celebrate big; actually that’s an understatement. My dad made sure that special occasions were extremely special and he went over the top, and probably had to twist Mom’s arm to do the same, but she was and is amazing at all holidays. There is no one like her. So here I am, writing her a birthday card to put in the mail tomorrow and I realize it will be the very first birthday I’ve ever missed. EVER. Writing her card made me realize that there will be a lot of things I miss while I’m gone. Babies born, friends’ weddings and some getting engaged I’m sure, birthdays and even the small things like dinner with my sister and her dogs.
I have missed all kinds of things these past three weeks, but I’ve been busy, so sitting in my studio tonight with no TV and no one to call (my phone and internet aren’t hooked up yet), I got sad. I am sad. I’m ok, but it’s something that I’m going to have to realize. My life will be an adventure here, no doubt. I’ll have some great times, but I’ll also have moments where I doubt myself and this move. I should have known this feeling was coming. I tried to check my CCSD email today and it wouldn’t let me on, then T’Lene said I got my last check from the school district. It is official; I no longer work for SPES. That’s depressing enough as it is. I don’t want it to be though. I’ll remain positive as best I can. I’ll try to keep myself busy until I figure things out here and get started working. I’ll email and call as much as possible to keep up with my friends and family back home, and I’ll be as outgoing as I can here to make new friends. I’ve already bugged my neighbors to death about things so maybe I can invite them all to dinner and win them over with my southern charm. That reminds me though, some guy from PA stopped me on the train today and chatting he said “You’re not originally from Charleston are you?” I told him I was and he couldn’t believe it because I didn’t have a drawl. Two people in England thought I was Irish and were shocked when I told them I was American. It’s funny how quickly your accent changes.
One final thought and you’ll love this. I found this studio on the internet and emailed several times while still in America trying to get details. I ended up meeting a letting agent when I arrived that Tuesday, but not the guy I’d been emailing. The agent, Alan, had given me keys and nothing else, no info on the place. I think I already wrote that I had to ask one neighbor how to turn on the hot water and another neighbor about the internet. So tonight I went up to meet Sean and ask him how to turn on my heater (yes, it’s July, but I need heat in this frigid night air). He kindly told me (and I’m sure died laughing inside) that we don’t control the heat, that it is turned on automatically in the winter and off in March. Yes, another surprise for me. The good thing is I don’t pay for heat, the bad thing is, I’m going to freeze. He was kind enough to give me a space heater because he had several. Y’all, what am I going to do?
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