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I’m back at work this week: week 37 in pregnancy. It’s absolutely the most exhausting thing ever. After my first day back yesterday, I got home and felt like I hadn’t slept in two days. I also had flash backs to the time Katie and I returned from Japan to Saipan just two hours before we had to be at school and had absolutely no sleep beforehand and were still somehow able to teach for the day. I was younger then and not pregnant. Even though I have started this week with the teacher who is taking over my class, I still feel ready to drop after lunch. I leave right after school and am already depending on her to take on some of the planning and teaching. I am not in any condition to play the ’super teacher’ role as I have played in the past. We are going to try to make it another two and a half weeks, so I’ve got to pace myself. Yes, that’s right, working right up to the due date, if possible! I love my job, but I also don’t get maternity pay since I just started said job in August. I get home and crash on the couch for at least an hour and feel ready to do so just an hour later. So much for getting that paperwork done at home!
Our housing situation has gotten even better since I last wrote. Not only have the landlords given us an extension until the end of June, one of our good friends that we lived with when we first arrived in London over three years ago has been able to offer us a room in his large flat for the months of July and August. The rent is also half what we pay here, so that is a huge bonus for a soon to be single income family! We are still waiting to hear from Reuters about Ali’s posting, but we no longer need to worry about where we will lay our three pretty little heads come end of June and again, this is another blessing.
We are getting excited about baby Sharp arriving. And spending lots of time together, relishing in our couple time, like everyone says we should and like we love to do.*
Time to get dinner ready.
* Due to being ‘heavily’ pregnant and experiencing loss of energy issues, my brain has also taken a holiday and at times I lose entire strings of words that I have just placed together in my brain to make a sentence. This also produces garbled thoughts at times. It’s true. This does happen. After all, there’s a lot of blood pumping through my body and brain to help this baby grow. But just in case I don’t make complete sense, well, that’s why.
Wow. I took a look at the calendar and it seems the month of April has crept up on me. The Divozzos left yesterday after a week filled with excellent conversation, laughter and lots of walking! I’ve been having some Braxton Hicks (we call them BH) contractions, although they have slowed down since I have slowed down as well. I had my 36 week antenatal appointment yesterday and according to the midwife, the baby’s head is engaged. She said that it could be two weeks now for the baby to come, depending when it became engaged. I think it was Monday night. I felt a lot of movement down there and then when I looked in the mirror before bed, it seemed the belly had dropped a bit. I don’t understand how this baby has any more room to move around, but it does! We are really hoping it will continue to roost and grow, as my mom arrives on the 24th and we really want her to be here for the birth. Of course, it’s not up to us, so I will do my best at putting my feet up when I can.
It’s hard to believe I have to go back to work on Monday! I love my job, but as we all know the commute is horrid, so I’m not looking forward to that. It will be strange as well to be working alongside the new teacher, but I think the transition will be smooth and it’s necessary. I have some paperwork to do at home this week as well. I’ve been looking through more baby catalogues as we are still gathering necessary bits for the arrival. I have my hospital/labour bag nearly all packed, just a few bits and bobs to add to it. My goal is to have it all set this weekend, just so I don’t have to think about it. The crib was delivered last week, but we are waiting to put it together until the room is painted.
Ahh, painting the room. We, the Sharps, in our glorious and adventurous life are in for another one. Our lease is up at the end of May. We thought it was end of June, but alas, it was not. Our baby may not even be a month old by then, depending on when it’s born! We’ve asked for an extension to stay through the summer, but our landlords are ‘thinking about it.’ We need to have the living room painted since we hung a few things on the walls and want to have the bedroom painted as well since it is filthy and last year the landlords refused to paint it. The filth comes from all the dust which comes in off the street through the window, which even though it is closed most of the time, the dust still accumulates. Not exactly excited about our newborn sleeping there, but this is city living! We have been waiting for weeks to hear from the builder that the landlord sent over to get a quote about painting both rooms so we can decide whether Ali will do it himself or if it will be reasonable (financially) enough for the builder to do. But our baby is due in four weeks, we can’t really wait much longer to get it done!
So. It’s a long story with the landlords, but we may have to move at the end of May and we have no where to go!!! We are still waiting to hear about Ali’s posting with Reuters, both the where and the when. So don’t ask. As soon as we know, we will sigh a breath of relief just for the knowing. And then take another deep breath for the planning of it all. Yes, we Sharps, love to live a life of spontaneity! I try not to stress or worry and Ali has done a great job at taking everything on board and doing his best to get everything sorted. Everything that he can do without knowing what we can do. I think back to every time I have finished up a job and gotten ready to move. Saipan. Thailand. Israel. Switzerland. With the exception of leaving Switzerland, each one before I had no idea where I was going or what my job would be when I left or until the week I was leaving. And. It all worked out. So I trust. I have faith. And I let go. As my mom would say, “Let go, let God.’ It’s pretty tough sometimes, but some things are just beyond our reach.
As always, life moves forward. Even when we aren’t sure of the direction.
No matter who sings that song, Depeche Mode or Tori Amos, it’s always a good one. Remixed or old school, you always sing along and know the words to the next line before it comes.
And it’s been too silent here at Free As Trees. I do apologise. I have been hibernating beneath the new school year and all the work that has come with it, staying at work until 5pm, which I must say I have NEVER done in all my — now eight — years of teaching. Wow. I must really like my job. And it must be lots of work, that I hardly feel I’m coming out even on. Or both. I’m also being trained in a new literacy programme called First Steps through school which adds additional homework time, but very effective information that I can actually use in my teaching which is fantastic.
I’m also buried beneath this online Research and Evaluation course that I signed up for to work towards the completion of my MA in Education. Unfortunately so far it’s proving to be a lot of reading and I haven’t even begun the research yet. Sigh. I also find it boring. Sorry, but really I would rather be taking a photography class ( I tried, but it was too expensive because I don’t qualify for education as a resident here, only as an international which means add a couple hundred pounds onto that price tag, please.) OR a literature class. I miss reading novels on the commute to and from work. Just need to hang in there until December. A guy I work with said to me Friday, ‘what are you working so hard for, life is too short really’. And I thought yeah, but I can’t give up, I only have until 2009 to finish this degree and didn’t I take a three and a half year break already? But then you get into the reasoning behind the actions and in the end, whatever. I want to finish what I started, even if I look forward to starting something else later. Like that children’s book I got the idea for while I was teaching in Switzerland. And I miss taking pictures.
There is also a new development in our personal lives that I haven’t divulged yet, which is the main reason for keeping quiet. Secrets are fun, unless you really want to tell everyone about it anyways but can’t all at once.
Anyways, life is good. Ali is enjoying Reuters. Autumn seems to have arrived. I’ll do the summer and winter clothes exchange this weekend and hang our burgundy velvet drapes we bought in Chicago. Although I’m still waiting for a pallet of colours to unfold, they don’t exist here like they do in Michigan. My nephew Parker turned four on September 16th, and his little sister Addison seems to keep on growing, days of her infant-hood only a mere memory. Ethan is enjoying school, his first grade teacher was my sixth grade teacher years ago. And she still remembers me and probably the battle we had over that journal of mine she tried to take away because I was writing in class rather than listening. Who me? Logan is spending time at my mom’s and enjoying Kindergarten. Everyone is growing up.
It feels good to write again. Even if it is just a bit of a babble. Just enough to break the silence.
And behind all of the daily grind activities are thoughts of the Burmese people, rising up against their military dictatorship this week. I’m remembering the time I spent there and the people I met. And I’m glad that the world is finally watching and paying attention to what has been happening for years in a country that has been cut off from the outside world by its military junta.
I’ve entered exciting times in the world of education. I’ve just signed up to take one of my MA Ed courses online this semester. I’ve put off completing the programme since living in BKK. It hasn’t been financially viable and it’s probably not right this minute either, but I can procrastinate no longer! I have until 2009 to complete the degree for a MA in Education with a focus on International Education and I just discovered that I can — thankfully — take three of the courses online, while finishing an additional two onsite somewhere. Hopefully the courses I need will be offered at one of the sites in Poland, as that is the closest and most affordable location for me to get to.
The class I will be taking is Research and Development and I am actually looking forward to it. I will certainly be kept busy, but I seem to enjoy life in London that way. I will have a variety of assignments, but one large research paper on a topic of my choice. Today I was toying with the topic of brain research and education, while delving into the difference in the way that boys and girls learn. I’ll keep you in the loop. I know you are excited and waiting in anticipation for my every move.
In other education news, my new job starts tomorrow! For my first week back, we have teacher training. In case you weren’t aware, I have gotten a job at a very good international school in north London, in a very posh area. After our week of training we have a nice three day bank holiday weekend. Then open house — where the kids come in and meet their new teacher with their parents the day before school begins — what a novel idea. The first day with the kiddies will be a week from Wed. I feel ready. Well rested. Relaxed. And excited. All that good stuff. I’ll be teaching grade 2, a new grade level for me. I’m happy to be working with kids a bit older than the age group I worked with last year. Different is good!
We also have booked our evening for our FIRST ANNIVERSARY, which is on September 7th, the same as our friends the Divozzos!!! I’m getting pretty excited about getting the cake out of the back of the freezer and finding out how much of it is plagued with freezer burn. I remember the story my friend K told me about her first anniversary and the state of the top of their wedding cake. But it’s the sentiment, right? It will be the Friday of Ali’s first week at Reuters. We will rendezvous at a theatre near Southbank, the Old Vic, to see the play All About My Mother; I missed the film version when it came around to the cinema in BKK years ago. We’ll have dinner beforehand and toast to a year where we will be able to enjoy theatre and the arts beyond the “free events” section in Time Out.
So, back to the reality of the present. The smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies is calling me to the kitchen for one more treat before bed time. Because now I have one, a bed time that is. And a wake up time. Back to the daily grind of the commute. But now I have more choices. Over line train (above ground) or tube (underground). Which will it be? I’ll tell you all about it. The next time I have a free moment…
Many of you have inquired about my job since I began in August. I was never very keen on discussing it much with anyone. I tried to shrug it off and talk about something more interesting, like the weather in London. Ha. One of the reasons for that was because ‘the job’ was in a constant state of flux. And perhaps it still is. But I am hoping that the current situation is one I will get to iron out and enjoy. To make a long story short, due to the numbers of enrollments in the school, my job changed. A few times. It really kept changing all the time and each time I figured it out, it was time for something new! I began as a team teacher for Year 1 (kindergarten) and Year 2 (first grade), then worked directly with Year 1 only and as I prepared to switch over to work with Year 2 for the second term, the tectonic plates shifted again and I now find myself working my way through a new position as EFE/ESL (english for education/english second language) support teacher for Year Groups 1, 2 and 3. It’s working out nicely — just completed my first week in said new post — and I hope that this one stays consistent. I will also be helping out with the PYP (primary years program) and assisting the PYP coordinator. I know, a lot of educational jargon, but it’s ok, at least I know what I am talking about.
With the job shift, also came a change in my schedule. Which was good for me, since on a whim I applied for an intern/volunteer position with the Free Tibet Campaign in East London, not too far from where we live. A week ago Friday I went in for an interview and on Monday I was offered a position. Friday was my first day and I loved it. I will be working in the fundraising department as a ‘merchandising intern.’ It’s a complete change from what I have been doing since I graduated college and dove into the world of education. International education. The world is wide open and I am just getting started! Again. I will be interning one day a week, unpaid. The other four days, I am still living strong in the world of international education.
The shift in my schedule feels good. So do the things that are happening around me and that I am getting involved in. I’ve been attending our local group Amnesty International meetings and Ali and I enjoy participating in various film and human rights events at the Amnesty International Human Rights Centre. I’ve also finally gotten in touch with the V-Day organisers in London for this year’s V-Day Campaign; there was a lot of email and phone tag going on there but things are coming together. Having a balanced home and personal life has really made the work situation less stressful. I just seem to let things roll off my shoulders and that feels so good. So new.
Getting this in writing is good for me. I’m trying to make time to write at least once a week and want to work up to writing daily again, even if it’s in my own personal journal. I now also have a block of time set aside for Friday mornings before I head to the campaign office, since those ngo workers don’t begin work at 8.30am like teachers do! I am hoping this helps me get back into the creative swing again. I’ve also been reading the current Myslexia Mag on the commute to work, and that’s been doing nicely as well. Tomorrow’s Sunday. Perhaps I can visit again. For now, it’s time to visit the world of dreams.
Bonne nuit.
…to go. Does it begin today? The count down?
I just have the weekend and then my new job starts. In the middle of my first week of work — a full week of training before the kiddies arrive to school — Ali and I jaunt off to see Radiohead in Edinburgh for a quick two day trip and then it’s back to work for me. After finishing out my week of training, one more three day weekend and then classes start. I don’t know exactly what I will be doing but I do know it involves team teaching children ages five and six, in possibly two classes. I am both nervous and excited about the new position, it will be unlike any other job I’ve had before, and we know I love change and new beginnings!
Towards the end of my first week of work, my mom and Aunt Chris arrive for a week travelling around England before heading to Little Gidding for our wedding…three weeks from TODAY, [when I began the post]. Wahoo. I have been working hard to get everything in order for the wedding and the arrival of our moms before I start work.
We are doing alright.
The first task of the week: the cake.
We ran from the train station to the bus station at Victoria to catch the 9:30am bus leaving for Cambridge — I had gotten mixed up and thought we were leaving from one when in fact we were leaving from the other. We had a 1:00pm appointment with the baker. The wedding cake maker. Exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before, our feet hit the pavement of this historical college town, taking us in the immediate direction of food. After fueling our bodies, we next located the tourist information office and the bus station which would take us to the baker. We passed cathedrals, spires, and archways leading into hallways and hedges hidden from the public who hadn’t paid the visitors fee. That would be us.
Cambridge is a beautiful town. Cambridge is the home of one of the oldest universities in the world. I would love to live there. It would be an amazing place to wake up in, walk down to the bakery through cobblestone side streets, sit facing the window gazing at one of the many campuses located within walking distance of wherever you are in this city. The buildings are old, beautiful and full of character. They are also unattainable unless you have about £2.50-£4.50 EACH to pay entry fees just to walk the grounds and through the halls of the campus buildings. We tried to sneak into a couple and had a framed view of a few from the doorways before getting turned away or asked for a ticket. We found a couple that were open to visitors. We entered, listening to our feet tapping the stones beneath them with each step. Everyone was quietly observing the request to vist without making noise or bothering the staff or students, even though they are mostly on holiday.
My favourite was a large red building tucked behind one of those free entries. On the left we passed a pond with a jumping bright orange fish. Wooden benches tucked away in tall overgrown grass were nestled on either side of the pond. To the left of the large building, was a private entrance to a house with a witch’s hat tower where I imagined myself curled up with a hot cup of tea, looking out below at the students and professors to-ing and fro-ing about their daily business. The grey skies keeping me snug under a heavy blanket wrapped around my legs. A journal in my lap, the pages filled with squiggly, blank ink. Thoughts that only come in hours of aloneness and contemplation. I wanted to visit that world.
But not today. Today we were here to meet with the cake lady. We boarded a bus and weaved our way to the outskirts of the city into the woman’s home style bakery who would be in charge of our beloved wedding cake. After a discussion which key words included icing, cutouts, flavours, edible paint and other such business, we walked away happy with what will greet us and our guests just three weeks from now.
Check that one off the list. Oh yeah.
Note to self: visit Cambridge again, with some pocket money for entrance fees, on a full night of sleep. And bring the camera you don’t own yet.
I’ve signed and faxed the contract. I begin my employment with an international school in Central London on August 21st. They’ve agreed to give me the week of our wedding off, unpaid.
What will I be teaching? Well, that’s still not concrete yet, although I am hoping for Year 3 (7 year olds), they are now asking me if I would be interested in team teaching Year 1 (5 years olds). Twenty-two of them. I’ve never team taught before. And I’ve never taught five year olds. I’m trying to be open-minded to a new opportunity – and I will be – but I am also more keen to teach children how to write stories, rather than how to write the alphabet. Plus, I really do have an awful singing voice and I know those little kiddies love music. So, we’ll see.
But I have to say, it has been fantastic knowing that after two phone interviews – one including a very lengthy presentation with pictures and everything – that I have a job. In August. At an international school. With other young teachers. In Central London.
And the sun shines on.
Guess what I did this weekend? I completed a lengthly application to an international school and included in that I wrote this…
Recalling childhood, I realise that my relationships with educators were extremely strong. My hunger for knowledge led me to where I am today. My goal is to engage the students in my classroom so the they too will feel this hunger for knowledge. Students needs vary. Learning styles differ. Each of these aspects of a child’s life needs to be addressed as she travels through school. Through discovery in my classroom experiences, my philosophy continues to evolve.
Establishing a positive, safe and caring learning environment together is essential in creating a successful community of learners. When children feel safe, they are willing to take risks in their learning. I also incorporate cooperative learning groups into the classroom, giving children the opportunity to take on varying roles of responsibility as well as learning how to listen to each other and work together in different learning situations. It is important to me to listen to and guide children in their learning rather than stating the task and what they must accomplish.
When you visit our classroom, you will find a student-centered community where children are involved in creating an integrated curriculum in which they have the opportunities to learn with real life experiences. The children are challenged to grow critically, academically, and socially, while taking and active role in their learning. Service learning is also integrated into our units, encouraging children to be active in the world around them, making connections with individuals and communities around the world.
Implementing active and effective problem solving strategies through role-play and open dialogue within our classroom community is essential. It is my goal to teach children how to think and solve problems rather than what to think.
While implementing my philosophy, I always remember that every child is an individual who needs encouragement in developing positive self-esteem and in gaining confidence. I enjoy creating strong student-teacher relationships with each child on an equal basis. All children deserve an equal education and that is what I strive to create for them every day of the year.
Since this, and extended wedding planning/research (I LOVE writing that!!!), took up most of my weekend, I thought, why not post it?
When it’s been so long and weeks of events and thoughts and feelings have passed, where do I start from here?
First, let me shout out: MY REPORTS ARE FINISHED!!! I am sure I will have a few touch-ups next week, but after a long, tiring week, I have my weekend. Free from the reins of SCHOOL.
School. Flashes of my students faces, actions and learning experiences ran through my mind all week, day and night, while writing their reports. As I finished my last two, I wondered if my boss would be able to tell who I like the most. Anyone who says teachers don’t have favorites has never been a teacher. We just know how to keep our favorites to ourselves. But there are certain kids who make you smile, laugh and sometimes, even cry more than others. It’s all about the heart being coupled with attitude, their attitude.
A few funny things worth mentioning that I heard in the classroom this week:
Let’s talk about sex. Every week we have word family words. This week, we hung out with the “it” family. The first thing we do is brainstorm words that have “it” as an ending sound. A couple of the boys were getting pretty excited about the words “clit” and “tit.” I mentioned that we might want to keep to words we know the meanings for, and then turned my back to write another example on the board while hiding the smile on my face.
I almost forgot about the “willy” story. One of my students tried to gather a crowd, “Come and see our willy!” He exclaimed. I immediately went over to inquire as to what he was talking about. Two boys had drawn a penis on a man they had drawn and were about to place clothing over it, but wanted to share with their classmates their anatomically correct drawn man. I asked them about the importance of drawing that for their story board. His mischievious smile was enough for me to plan a conversation with his mother later.
Sex ed at age six is too early. It is also not a part of my job description.
Then, today, another student ran to the bathroom and after being back for about ten minutes he came up to me again and said, “I need the toilet again, this time I have to poo.” With desperation, he ran out the door and down the stairs. Thank you for that information. Seriously, I don’t always need such indepth insight into your six year old lives.
Today we did art centres to finish up our week. It was calm. Colorful. Even relaxing. I didn’t have much energy left after putting in about five 14-15 hour days with doing reports at home at night and doing some serious Writer’s Workshops in class. The kids had worked hard. I had worked hard. We deserved a break.
Now I’m at home, having just finished a long skype and cam conversation with ali. He’s left me with some hostels to look into for our trip to Granada in two weeks. A week in the sun. A week with each other. A week in Spain. A week of discovery and oh the sweetness that life brings. That’s the break I’m searching for. It is in these moments, that despite the grey, cold, and lonely Schaffhausen evenings, I feel happy and content.
It’s time to heat up leftovers of the Thai green curry from last night, read a little and head out for a movie with coworkers, “Mrs. Henderson Presents.”
Ali has sent me a cd of nyc pics, and reports are done, so this next week I will be able to tackle some of the previous holiday events and post lots of yummy pictures! Here’s a sneak peek…courtesy of ali…Happy Friday everyone!
nyc reflections
freezing our way to lady libertyUnbelievable!!!! Just as I sent the previous blog to post, Ali sent me an email and then called and then I received an email from the director of a school in Schaffhausen, Switzerland whom I interviewed with prior to leaving London. I called her back and she offered me the job. I am flying so high right now. Feeling lost and confused one moment and the next suddenly knowing where I am headed!
AAAAHHHHHHH!!!! Thank you God!
I will be teaching a PYP1 (Grade 1, age 6/7) class of 11 kiddies in a town just outside Zurich. Flights between Zurich and London are cheap and quick. I will have 15 weeks of holidays and Ali works every other week (until the Observer decides they can’t live without him). So, from being totally lost a moment ago, I am now totally employed! (Funny how they correlate…)
I need to arrive a few days before August 8. So I will return to London before that and then fly from there. I still get my summer here and now I can really enjoy myself, albeit still needing some summer employment!. I can’t even think about the logistics at the moment. I am so happy.
I will be taking PYP training in Greece in September and the school will pay for it!!! My newly learned French will come in handy and I can re-learn German!!! And one of my best friends from Thailand, Liz, will be living in Germany!!!
Here’s the amazing thing: I didn’t even apply for the job. I applied to another school in Switzerland. They hired someone else but then sent on my CV to the director of ISSH, without my knowledge, and she contacted me out of the blue, just before we were leaving for Scotland to collect our things. If she had called a day later, we would have been out of town.
Is this what fate is?
Do I dare mention how much money I will be making? More than I have ever made, more than twice what I have made in a year ever in my life thus far. I can live comfortably, travel, learn languages and pay off my debt. Exactly what I need. And Ali will just be an hour plane ride away…Apartment in London. Apartment in Shaffhausen/Zurich. Rock the freak on.
My thoughts are like a spiderweb. Criss-crossing and bouncing left, right and back again. Glimmering in the morning dew as the sun rises on the horizon. I need to take a deep breath and revel in the thought that good things do happen to good people and my angels were talking to God again for me.
What You are Saying