Saturday night Jonny and Nat invited me out for a night on the town. We hit up Brick Lane which is a street in the East End of London (busy nightlife). We began our night at The Big Chill which had a social vibe to it, then we walked to Exit Bar which was a small, cozy lounge feel (except we didn't lounge) and then we ended the night at Beduin which was more of a club type venue. All these places had DJ's too!
My night ended much earlier than Jonny and Nat's though (they took care of me). Somehow I forgot what my limit was or maybe it was that Jägerbomb (those that party with me KNOW that I can't do shots) - this night proved it!
So, aside from knocking over a tray of drinks, getting yelled at by the female toilet attendant, stopping the cabbie twice and recouping in bed until 4 in the afternoon the next day...it was a great night!
Click on the map and try and find Lewisham station, that's where I live! (psst, I'm in the south east area)
Celebrating Aussie Day in Clapham
Last weekend Bardy cooked up a lamb with rice, potatoes and veggies! Mmm. The best home cooked meal I have had in England. Too bad it was his last weekend with us, leaving us for the land down under. We miss you!
Bardy spent hours cooking
Classy eaters
According to Johnny we are such girls for taking pictures of our food (this was take 3, hence some not impressed expressions) Some of the boys' buddies came over for Poker Night which comprised of about 2 tables because there were 12 of us. Finishing with one table once more people were cleaned out. I wasn't the first one out which was my goal for playing for money for the first time. Susan on the other hand came in second, what! Poker shark...
Definitely a solid night can't wait for another poker night!
Last weekend Susan and I ventured out for a night of rock band and an Irish pub in Leicester Square with some Canadians and Americans.
We're pro at taking the tube
Leffe in the 's backseat of a cabbie
Someone was crackin' jokes...or not
Posing with the boys
Love the top Susan!
*Photos courtesy of Susan ♥ (I told her I would only put up a couple but I couldn't help it!)
I was a floater today which was a nice break from teaching one class all day.
In the morning I taught a year 2 class which went very well. All the classes in the school are incorporating the story of Matilda into their subjects which is awesome because I love that movie.
There was one student who has 'undiagnosed Autism/Aspergers' according to the teacher and I realized that he is quite bright. He understood all the tasks but just took a while to complete them and well, got easily distracted and acted silly. Within the first few minutes of the morning he said to me, "I usually get told off by the teacher. Miss, I am usually quite naughty." I didn't know how to respond except to tell him that he wasn't being naughty right now.
The afternoon was a year 5 class who were also very good students. What luck I had today! Some students acted out the role of a character from Matilda and while in the 'hot seat' the rest of the class practiced their interviewing skills on that particular character. It was quite entertaining.
One thing that really peaked my interest today was when I was handing out the students' school photos I noticed that each child had an owl sitting on their shoulder which looked extremely life-like. Well it was! The students had pictures taken with an owl! How fun!
Oh and I lost my voice mid-morning...how not fun.
Laying low tonight with pizza and Lost.
Last night I could feel sickness coming on. This morning I woke up with a sore throat and that weird pressure in my ears. This is a familiar sickness for me and a part of me knew I would get this after Susan was sick just the other day. I live with her, it was inevitable. Even though I had to miss a day of work that was booked at least I can have a day to regenerate and relax. Thankfully Bardi had honey I could put in my tea. :)
My week of teaching has been going well. I had to wing the day on Monday teaching year 1 because there was no lesson planning in the afternoon as well as no EAs...the morning was productive though. To waste time be productive I taught the kids about Canada and we talked about England leading into an activity where they create a postcard for me from England telling me things I should see/do. I realized some of the students had difficulty just forming words but some of the pictures of the English flag and Big Ben were impressive.
I read them a Robert Munsch book, "Cookies" - which they loved! The popular choice of cookie biscuit among the kids seemed to be shortbread.
Yesterday was my first time teaching in Central London (literally walking distance to Tower Bridge where not too long ago I was a tourist taking in the impressive architecture). The nursery kids have a lot of energy that I need to keep up with and sitting on the carpet is a mission (unless it's a story of course - which is my favorite part of the day).
I like working nursery because it is a break from the lessons, marking and attitude (well for the most part) but the disciplining is tough because you can't negotiate behavior with the kids and when you say one thing they forget it a few minutes later (i.e. "no running in the classroom").