England eh?

Saturday, 1 March 2008

A visit from a funny Canuk and other short updates

This week has been going very well. I had my final interview with the University, in hopes of being accepted into a teacher training programme (good feelings all around...fingers crossed), and I have also been having a great time at my new job. It is so refreshing to be working with children again, and such a great experience to work with children from all over the world. Love love love it.
I also had a chance to meet up with my old friend Marc who was visiting London while on a trip through Europe. It's been over 4 years since I saw him last in Vancouver, so there was plenty to catch up on when we met Thursday night for some drinks in the city.
Thank you to Marc for stopping in (even if it was just for a couple of days)...you are still the funniest guy I know. Thanks for making me laugh so much.

I have added a photo below of me and Marc in London, and also a few photos that were taken with friends earlier this month.

This weekend, I am staying around home, catching up on some work and starting to plan our trip to Morocco. Next weekend, Jon is having his birthday party - which will consist of him and several guys getting together, cycling and drinking the weekend away. Needless to say I will be banished from the premises and will be spending the weekend with my mate Helen in Northampton. Helen's running a half marathon next Sunday, so I will be sure to take some photos of her at the big race to add to my blog!

Marc and me in Covent Garden, London

Andy and Oxanna, enjoying the countryside near our home in Berkhamsted

Jon and me while out for a walk with Andy and Oxanna a few weeks ago.

Me, Bella and Cameron enjoying a Sunday morning. (This was taken while Jon and I were visiting with his friends Dave and Tiffany - and their kiddies - near Southampton).

Saturday, 23 February 2008

A revival of my blog

Has it really been since September?
So many excuses - none of them very good (i.e. facebook has begun to rule my life... sorry sorry sorry.

The good news is that I have made a goal is to revive my blog and get you all caught up to date with what I have been doing.

Let's begin...

Life is good. Very very good!

It is hard to believe that I have only lived in England for 7 months - so much has happened.
Too much to go into detail about everything - so I will do my best to summarize.

Jon and I are doing well...still happy and in love. Despite some cultural differences (Jon loves marmite and I miss Kraft dinner) we have managed to muddle through the last 7 months and we have settled into our life together, and have embraced each others idiosyncrasies (let's just say he has a bit more to put up with then I do). It really does feel like we have always lived together and at times, I almost forget my former life in Korea....a distant memory.

Life in England is great- despite the dreary winter weather, it was exciting to see flowers blooming in our garden in January and I am finally adapting some of the 'local' language - which means I get teased less (I actually caught myself pronouncing the word tomato like a Brit...very strange). I love living in our little town. It gives us easy access to London where we have enjoyed many museums, great shopping and we even saw a Japanese drumming concert. I admit, I still feel a bit like a tourist when I go to London - it is just such a cool city it is hard not to be awestruck. The other great thing about Berkhamsted, is that it is located right in the countryside, with lots of trees, hills and trails to explore : there are literally deer within a few miles of our home....it is so lovely.

As I said before there were so many good parts over the last several months, but the best parts were our trip to Canada, celebrating our anniversary in Rome, getting my Irish citizenship (yep, I am a Paddy - thanks to my Grandpa Duggan), Christmas with both of our families in England, Jon's parent's 40th wedding anniversary and getting my new job as a Learning Mentor at a Primary school.

There are lots of things planned: I have applied to a graduate teaching programme, which I hope to be accepted into by the end of March. It will mean that I can begin my teacher training next fall (fingers are crossed). We are also jetting off for a 2 week backpacking trip through Morocco over Easter, which we are very excited about. In between all of this we have a few visits planned from friends from Canada and abroad. It's going to be an exciting start to this year!

As in the past, I have added a ton of photos... hope to be taking a lot more over the next few months...so check back often for updates.