Better I have a voice

After I lost my voice I did not work again until Friday. I was not able to speak again until Thursday night and even then I sounded like a boy in puberty. I worked at the Catholic school on Friday, I was in a year one class and then nursery. Nursery was fun they are 3 and you just play so that is always great! On Saturday I went to Portebelo Market, the market in Notting Hill from the movie. It was crazy busy and lots of tourists. Every time I hear an American accent I kind of perk up its strange. It was fun it was a nice day and there were stalls selling everything you wanted and did not want. Around noon a friend came in to town. She went to PLU for a year and is studying in Manchester for the semester. Once Kristen got here we went and garbed lunch in my neighborhood then went into the city center to see about getting tickets to a show. We went to different booths claiming to be half price and went to theaters but they were sold out or all 60 pounds. That is about 120 dollars. We ended up going back to my flat and just watched movies. It was great to catch up and have someone who knows the same people and places as I do. 

       On Sunday we got breakfast  then went to Spitfields market. That was a really great market a lot of similar stuff to portebelo but different also and it was covered which was great because it was raining.  We went back to my flat and had dinner with my flat-mates and Marsela's boyfriend. It was so good, she made lamb with rosemary and lots of vegetables and potatoes. There was lots of wine and dessert it felt like out own little Christmas dinner. We are going to try and do that kind of a thing every once and a while. Kristen left on Monday morning and I went and worked a half day at the first school I was at four weeks ago. I was in the nursery and had a good time. There was a mix up and were to many supply teachers, luckily as I got there first I was able to stay and work, when one girl got sent home with out pay.  After work I went to High Street Kensiginten and did a little shopping. I found a dress for Dennis's wedding next week and a few other things. Today I went to a new school to cover teachers being pulled out for IEP meetings. It was a school just for students with special needs. It was amazing to see the skills students have learned and the inclusive community because the school is for students with sever learning or behavioral needs. I was in one class with seven 5 year olds that had 4 aids because of the high needs of the students. It was a much different approach then we have at home or that i have ever seen. As of right now I do not have work for tomorrow but I do on Thursday, then Friday no work because im going home! only for 10 days though, but it will be great! See some of you soon and hope to hear from the rest of you. Love lots Ang

This week

On Monday I worked at the Catholic school that I was at the week before.  But Monday night my voice started to break and go week. By the time i went to sleep i had no voice left at all. On Tuesday i had to call in to work and tell them that i could not work. I just stayed around my flat and drank a lot of orange juice. This morning I still did not have my voice so I still could not work. It feels a little bit better now and just hope that i will be able to work on Thursday. 

Weekend in Wales

This last weekend I went to Wales with a group from my work visa. It was arranged through them, so it was nice to not have to organize anything or look into anything. I went by myself and it was a little strange when I got there it was pretty   clique. I meet a couple nice girls though that I hung out with so that was good. We stooped in a few different cities. The first one we went to has a bridge that is part England and part Wales. That is the picture of me on the bridge. From there we went to a town that has an old abby that was taken apart when Henry VIII changed from Catholic to Church of England. In the hills there is an old church  that was burnt down in the woods. It was pretty amazing because the woods around it have started to grow with in it. The views from there were also amazing. At our third stop the town was called Hay on Way and has over 35 used book shops. There was one that had every book for one pound. It was pretty rad, some how I only got three books. My favorite though was this bookshop in a courtyard that was full of bookshelves full of books. You just left your money in a box. It was amazing! But sadly the books were al really wet and kind of falling a part because they were just outside the whole time. The hostel we stayed at was nice and I was in a room with 7 other girls. They were all pretty nice and normal, unlike some of the girls who seemed like they were still very much in middle school. 

    The next morning we went horse riding. Because its me I got the largest horse in the stable. I always get the horse that does not move, or wont stop eating. So it was fitting that I had the largest horse. Its because I was the tallest girl, but it was crazy. Some of the girls seemed like they were on ponies, my horse could walk over them. It was an English saddle which was strange it was raining so much and at one point it was hailing. The ride was pretty great around the area but it was raining the whole time. We were on paths for a while that had really low branches and since I was on the huge horse I had to lean back in the saddle so that I would not get hit by a branch. At one point a girl in the groups horse ran and she could not stop it. It was funny but she got so freaked out that she demanded to be taken of the horse and walked back to the stable. We found out later that it there had been gale force winds they did not even think we would be able to cross the bridge back into England . So we had been riding for three hours in gale force winds and hale. We got back to london at about  9 and then I went back to my flat. I worked today at the Catholic school that I have been at for a couple days last week. It is so nice to know where I am going and some of the people. I have one weekend before I go home for Dennis and Tessa's wedding and Thanksgiving. I might stay in London and a friend from Manchester might come down or we might go to Dublin. I hope everyone is well and doing well! Let me know what is happening with all of you, I hope everything is going well. 

Love lots Ang

The last week.

Since Sunday I have had a pretty good week. I did not work on Monday but I was able to get an appointment to try and get my National Health Insurance Number. I was able to get it, but it will not bet sent to me for about three weeks. When I got back I just hung around my flat. On Tuesday I did not work either and that got a little annoying, but I decided to go to the British Museum. I went to the museum and stayed there for a bit, but then ended up at a market, walking through some parks and then by the buildings of parliament. When I got home I went to the mexican restaurant with my flat-mates. It was pretty good, it was kind of fancy and had different food on it. It seemed like it was Spanish food but was very good! On Wednesday I did work and went to a Catholic school I was with four and five year olds. They are so young! It was going well and there is a teacher assistant in the room so that is great because she knew what was going on. But at lunch i felt real sick and ended up throwing up in the bathroom. Sorry if that is a TMI for some of you ( to much info) but there it is.  After that I felt so much better and almost finished out the day. With about five minuets to go, the TA was out of the room I started felling sick I had the kids start singing, then ran to their little bathroom and threw up. Again after that I felt so much better, no one new though and the head teacher was asking if I would want to go back to the school. I was went home and thought I was feeling better but then I threw up again outside my tube stop. But at least I found a trash can. I got to my flat and just laid in bed drank water and ate pringles, because those were the closets thing I have to crackers.  I just sat around for a while and just drank sprite and ate breadsticks. It was the fifth of November and that marks the anniversary of when Guy Fawkes failed to blow up parliament.  So people light of fireworks to celebrate. Rory bought some down the street and we light them from atop balcony upstairs. It was fun and they were just little rockets that burst in the air. They were all good and great, until one fizzled and went right into the street.  With that we stooped and ran into the flat. It did not hit anyone or any so were ok. On Thursday I worked at a school pretty close to me and that was fine. Again there was a teacher assistant so that made it so much better. It all went well and there was nothing to special about it. I found out that they wanted me back at the St. Anthony's school I was at the day before. The one I was sick at. They wanted me for Friday and two days next week. So thats good. I went back to St. Anthony's school today and it went fine again nothing special but nothing ridiculous either. Oh however in the staff room the head teacher and second head teacher brought in a bottle of whine and offered it around to all the teachers, that seemed a bit strange. But no one else seemed to think so.  I just got back to my flat and am going to pack for tomorrow when I leave to Wales.  Im pretty excited about it. 

Sorry this is so boring, just not a lot going on at the moment. Hope everyone is doing well and having a good November. Have a Pumpkin Spice latte for me, I miss those! 

   Love lots Ang

The photo is us lighting the fireworks of on Wednesday. 

Sunday

When I got back from traveling I was super tiered and just hung out at my flat. There were fireworks going of around my flat because of some kind of fair that was going on. But there will be more this week because on November 5th it marks the anniversary of when Guy Fawkes tried to blow up parliament and failed. On sunday I woke up and went to High Street Kenisginton so do some shopping. But since it was Sunday they did not open until 12:00, so I had to wait about and hour and a half. I found this cute little place that had omelets which I have never seen here before it is always the gross English breakfast.  I got some jeans and a few sweaters from H& M and a pair of flat boots that will be nice when it rains and also when I go horse back riding this weekend in Wales! I came back home and cleaned my room a little then went the the grocery store with a flat-mate. 

     Last night I went to a church that I had found online. It is less then a mile from my flat which is really nice. I really liked it and will definitely go back. They had greeters at the door and when I sat by myself a few girls a little older then me came sat with me and introduced themselves. Everyone seemed really nice and down to earth, and not creepy; so I will be going back! Right now its Monday morning here and I just called into work and am waiting to see if there is anything. Since last week was a holiday I thought it might be slow so we will see. I want to work just so I can start getting used to it and get in a schedule, but that will come with time. Hope everyone is well and love yall lots!

Copenhagen, Brussels and Paris! This is why I am here.

On Saturday night I went out to dinner with my flat-mates to celebrate one of their birthdays. We went to an Indonesian restaurant in Chelsea up the road from my flat. I was leaving for Copenhagen the next morning. I had to get up the next morning at 3:30 to make my flight. I found a really cheap flight but it left really early. But the tube does not run that early, I had to take a cab to a train station to take the train to the airport. My flight was fine and I got into Copenhagen safely. I took the metro down town and meet Jen and Allen down town. They were at a fashion designer showcase where you can get designer for pretty cheap. It was raining so hard and really cold, so they took me to a museum that the best in the city. The museum was really cool and had an amazing court yard inside the museum. When they were done they came and picked me up and we went back to their apartment.  We hung out at their apartment and just watched T.V. they have a ton of American sitcoms but with Danish sub titles. The next day it was nice out and Je and I walked around their neighbor hood and went to a cemetery where hans Christian Anderson is buried. It was a really beautiful day the leaves had all changed it was amazing.  The cemetery was really neat because it was a so old. There were so many old stones and family plots. There were also red squirrels in the cemetery which was very strange because I have only ever seen gray ones.  After we left the cemetery we headed back to their apartment. We ended up running back to the apartment because it started to rain so much. They are having their kitchen redone and had to wait for the countertop to be delivered. So Jen walked be to the bus stop and told me where to get off to see the little mermaid statue. I was able to find it and walked around for a while. There was a fortress by the statue that was just amazing. The weather was much better, it was cold but it was not raining. I found the statue and really liked it but at the same time was expecting something larger.  I liked Copenhagen a lot, although there was a language barrier the people were so nice and helpful. Everyone spoke english and when I would ask them if they did they would all just say yes of course we all do. I got a few questions about the election which is just as big over here as it is at home, but here they do not have control of the outcome. 

       I made my way  from the statue to the palace and to the cannel in downtown. I ended up in a major shopping center area and ended up sitting at a cafe and people watching. Jen came and meet me and then we just walked around and went into the shops. We went back to the apartment and hung out. I planned the rest of my trip and found my hostels. 

     The next morning I took the bus to the airport and flew to Brussels. I took the a train and a metro from the airport to my hotel. The hotel was a little hard to fine because I cam out of the wrong exit from the metro. I was able to recall enough french to be able to ask if they speak english. I found my hotel and checked in, it was a very tiny room but was nicer then a hostel. I walked around for a bit and looked in shops and saw the grand plaza. It was strange because it felt like most other large city's. It was very multicultural and I heard tons of different languages being spoken. I had a really good dinner, I could not read the menu but just asked the waiter what he would recommend and it was beef with onion sauce. It was really good. After dinner I had dinner I went back to the grand plaza which gets all lit up at night. I left Brussels the next morning and wen to Paris by train. 

    When I got to Paris I did not have directions to my hostel and did not want to try and figure out the metro with all of my things. I took a cab to my hostel. I left and went to lunch, I was a little nervous about it but the waitress was really nice and found someone who could speak english with me so that I could ask about the menu. I decided to go and walk by the river, it was a really nice day but freaking cold.  I walked a while and found Notre Dame, found I mean I got to it. I was not expecting the walk to take so long. I decided to take a river boat thing. It is a hop-on-hop-off boat and goes to all the major sites. It was a really pretty way to see some of the city and was also just very relaxing. I took the boat for the whole loop and got off at the Eiffel Tour. I have never been one of those girls who has wanted nothing more then to see the Eiffel tour, but sitting there and looking at it I was in Aww. I got a crape and just sat and watched all the people, and the guys selling you little Eiffel tour figurines.  I did however realize that my dislike for pigeons is only greater for the kids who kick at the pigeons and cause them to fly, normally at me. It ended up getting incredibly cold and starting to rain so I took the boat ride back close to my hostel and then walked to my hostel. I grabbed dinner at a cafe and the waiter was supper nice to me. He was helpful and was able to provide me with a menu in english.  I tried to go back to the Eiffel tour because I wanted to see it all lit up and sparkly.  I got lost in the metro thought and decided to just get a coffee. I was sitting outside just enjoying being in Paris when I had my only real rude experience.  I had a coffee and he wanted be to pay right away but I asked but what if I want something else? He responded with I do nut understand your English, I am French, I speak French. With that I paid and walked away. He was the only rude person that I encountered. I decided to go back to my hostel and hang out and plan kind of what I was going to do the next day. 

    On Thursday I got up early and took the metro to the Eiffel tour. I wanted to go to the top but did not wait in the long line that gathers during the day. I got in line at about 8:30 and it opened at 9. I went all the way to the top. I had never felt like that was something that was important to me but it was amazing up there. It was so windy and you could see how huge Paris is. Because I was there so early there were not a ton of people. From there I just walked around and took my time enjoying the city. I ended up at the Champs Elise and took some time there. I went into the Louis Vuitton store, it was like 4 stories tall and there were so many people in there. I grabbed a quick lunch at McDonalds it took me 10 minutes to order becuase of how busy they were. I walked a bit and when in and out of shops.  I sat in Starbucks for a while and rested in the warmth and dryness. I walked back down to the river and took the boat back to Notre Dome. I took a tour inside and sat for a while. It is so strange to me that these huge massive kind of dark places were created to reflect God, when they seem so depressing. I did appreciate the history of it and the massive scale of which it was built. I grabbed dinner at a cafe nearby and had onion soup, which makes it French onion soup. It was really good! I also had tiramisu that was incredible. I then caught the boat and went to the Eiffel tour. I saw it sparkle from the boat and then it stays lit up. After that I went back to my hostel and rested. 

     On Friday I wanted to go to the Louvre. I knew it was massive but did not understand how massive. I got lost so many times and I had a map. I saw the Mona Lisa which was cool, but at the same time makes you wonder why is it so famous. It just did not seem like anything that remarkable its just famous. I walked around for about 4 hours until I felt overloaded. I grabbed lunch at their cafe and then discovered there are shops in the Louvre. There was a Starbucks and other cloths shops that was strange. I sat for a bit and talked with an American couple. When I left the Louvre I went to the train station to buy my ticket back to London so I would not have to worry about it today. I then went back to the area around the Eiffel tour and grabbed dinner and just sat for a while writing in my journal and watch people go by. I then went and sat by the Eiffel tour for a while and took it all in. I grabbed a crape and waited for it to light up. 

     All the guys selling their little figurines ran past because the cops where coming, that was funny because they just grab their blanket with crap and run. I was able to see it sparkle and it was amazing. At one point it got a little to much but was really cool. I then went back to the Champs Eilese because I wanted to see that all lit up also. From there I took the metro back to my hostel and packed up my things. I chatted for a while with a girl in my room, she has been traveling by herself for a month and has the rail pass that I want to get so it was great to ask her questions and get honest answers. 

      This morning I took the train from Paris to London and got back to my flat about 12:30. It is nice to be back because I was not here very long before I left, so it is nice to have my own space. I had a really great time and cant wait to go back to Paris. I really liked Copenhagen and would like to go back but maybe in the summer next time. I would not go back to Brussles thought, all though the country side looked amazing from the train. I hope everyone is doing well keep me posted!

    Lots of Love 

                  Ang

The Photo is of my flatmates and one of their Friends. From Right to left, is Rory and Kate teh couple from Austraila, me, Marsala from Prauge in the Chech Republic, and her friend.