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).

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.

Jon's parent's 40th wedding Anniversary

Jon and me
Me and Jon's family
Jon, me and his cousins
Me and Jon's family

Christmas in England

My Mom and her partner Bill came to England over Christmas...here are some of the photos of our time together.



Mom and me in Oxford
Me , Bill and Jon at Berkhamsted Castle
Mom and me in London
Mom and Bill enjoying the view over Oxford

Romantic Rome - November 2007

Yep - we saw the Pope!
Jon and me outside the Pantheon
Us at the Colosseum
Jon and me enjoying the Roman Forum

Girls weekend

Just a few photos from a girls weekend I had in November





Jude, Joanne, Jenn, me and Helen
Joanne and me at Magooes
Jenn, Joanne, me , Helen and Jude at Magooes
Helen and me

Our trip home to Canada In October

We had such a fabulous week being home and getting a chance to meet up with everyone, and celebrate Thanksgiving!





Jon and me outside of Cindy and Graydon's house
Jon and me at the Museum of Civilisation
Me, Jon, Jimena and Mark at the Manx
Val, Kel and me at the Oak...good times girls, good times

Congratulations Andrew and Oxana

Definitely one of the best weddings I have ever been to!!
Congrats to the bride and groom for inviting us to share in their special day.



Andy and Oxana
The beautiful church. The reception was held at Andy's parent's house. Complete with a Mediterranean dinner served inside a Marquee and a live band, it made for an excellent evening of celebration!
Jon and me (that smile is somewhat champagne induced...well mine was for sure!)
Jon and me outside the church

This week I've been busy at the gym each night...yes I have found Body Pump and it is my new love!! Yes it is difficult but yes it feels sooo good when I am done!! Love it!

Anyways, we are going to Windsor tomorrow to visit Jon's sister and then off to another wedding this weekend near Birmingham...yeah!

Another fun weekend ahead!

It's been a few weeks since my last post and to say the least, they have been interesting.
I spent the majority of my weekdays job hunting, which basically means harassing temp agencies and applying for anything that looked like it might pay , or possibly if I was lucky, pay well. Our weekends have been spent touring from coast to coast (literally) with our first trip to the east coast of Norfolk to visit Jon's parents. They live just outside a lovely town called Kings Lynn, in a small village called North Wooten. Since they are just a few miles from the sea we spent the Sunday walking along some of the seaside trails, and enjoyed the incredible autumn sunshine. Our second trip (the following weekend) was down to the western coastal village of Croyde in North Devon. We met 4 of Jon's friends and spent the weekend enjoying one of Britain's most popular surfing destinations. I even tried to surf (which basically meant I bobbed in the water while clinging to my surfboard for a few hours), thanks to Jon and Steve who patiently gave me my first lessons. Luckily for us, the weather continued to be perfectly sunny, with those deep deep clear blue skies I have written about before. Seriously, it has been over a month and I am still in awe every time I look at the sky.

This week, Jon and I went to a beautifully restored art deco cinema in our town called The Rex to celebrate our 10 month anniversary from when we met in India (I know...is that all??).
It was such a fun experience to watch a movie, drink red wine and relax in large comfy velvet chairs seated around our own table.
Last night we went to a birthday party at a bar in London and later walked around Leicester Square and Soho. It was really nice to spend some time in the city, and enjoy some of the nightlife. London is really an incredible city and I can't wait to spend more time there!

Today Jon and I are off to Kent to his friend Andy's wedding, and next weekend we are going to his friend Simon's wedding. So I apologize if I don't get time to update my blog again for a few weeks.

Also, the job hunting has paid off (well a little), I have got a temp job working at the same company as Jon. Which is nice because we go to and from work together. It isn't my dream job, but it is a start. University applications are due in February and there seems to be an endless amount of red tape involved with practically everything I want to do - so I imagine the next few weeks and months will be filled with jumping through hoops (figuratively of course).

We are also planning our trip to Canada which is in just 3 weeks!!! We are so excited to see everyone again!
Enjoy the photos below and I promise there will be more to come soon.

Our seaview, Croyde , North Devon
Jon and me at Croyde Beach
Steve, me and Jon doing our best 'surfer' impressions
Ready to go Surf'n!! (Steve, me and Jon)

Baggy Point, Croyde
Jon and me at Baggy Point
The beautiful countryside of North Devon
View of Croyde Bay, North Devon

The beach in Norfolk
Jon and his parents
The quiet streets of Kings Lynn,Norfolk

My new life

It's been just over 2 weeks since I have moved to Berkhamsted and I am already settling in. It is fair to say that I did experience a bit of culture shock after leaving Korea...my first trip to the grocery store was more exciting then I can remember (a vegetarian's paradise). I am no longer the tallest person when I walk down the street, nor is the fact that I speak English a reason for strangers to break out with laughter. There are no fish vendors or melon trucks driving past with their loud speakers blasting at 7 in the morning nor is there any piles of rotting garbage outside my window.

In fact, there are deep, clear, blue skies (that seem to almost swallow you up), rolling English meadows dotted with white sheep, and friendly (smiling) faces everywhere I look. I can run along the canal without choking from the pollution. I can shop for clothes that actually fit and I can understand what everyone is saying to me...well almost. It feels like a completely different world. Everything seems familiar (even though it isn't).

Jon and I are enjoying the fact that we no longer have to think about the time difference and instead are loving the fact that we get to see each other every day.

We have been busy meeting with my friends, his friends and family, and he has been showing me around the countryside.

There will be a lot of new things to come in the future. I am still looking for a job and we will be busy visitng friends, attending weddings and planning our trip to Canada over the next month.

In the meantime, here are a few photos for you to enjoy of our first few weeks together.

This is a view of our street on a typical cloudy English day.
This is the canal that is in front of our house. The pathway runs from Hemel Hempstead to London...which is good if I ever feel like running 40 miles.

Photos of Berkhamsted

View of Berkhamsted...aka: ' Berko'

This is our front door (exciting eh?)

Our beautiful back garden

This is a photo of my friend Helen and I a couple of weeks ago when she came to visit me.

Our trip to Bristol

Jon and me at the Clifton Suspension Bridge
A View of Clifton and the Avon river
Joanne, Neil and baby Leo in front of a large redwood tree, near Bristol

Jon and me happy to have found the big redwood tree