4th January - Today I woke to the perfect news that my brother and Tanya had got engaged
whilst away for Christmas in Vietnam! A perfect start to the morning really and everyone knows
I love a wedding!! After the excitement of that, i got organized for my day of meeting with the
agency I had signed up with whilst still in Perth! When I arrived in London I also registered my
interest with another agency here too and managed to score and meet and greet with them
today also. So I battled the tube alone and made my way out to Liverpool station. The agency
was great, so organised, informative and very interested in finding me work (they get commission
from the schools for it)! I met my consultant Davina who was lovely and pretty much assured me I
would have plenty of work which was encouraging! I then set back off on the tube for about 40
minutes in the opposite direction to meet with the second agency. They weren't as information but
will still hopefully find me work. I'm settled with two agencies for now and will see how I go with them
before I decide if I want to sign up with any more. I also opened a bank account today which which was
much easier than expected. After a long day of traveling it was off home for a quick change before heading
out to Jaimie Olivers "FIFTEEN" restaurant. The atmosphere was perfect, the service I couldn't fault (it was
great knowing they were troubled kids that had been given the opportunity to turn there life around and our
waitress was excellent, I told her so too!) And the food was as good as you can imagine. I had soup, pasta and
of course dessert (my favouirte)! We drank red wine and finished with a class of limocello. Definitely going back.
A great day!
5th January - Today we booked in to visit Madame Tussauds which was a must see for me! People had said its a
waste of ££ but I disagree! It is what it is and I was very impressed! Most wax figures looked very real, some not so
real, but over all the work behind them is incredible! Takes 140 hours just to put the hair on. We got to see the history
behind it all and learn about Madame Tussaud herself, which was pretty cool! We also saw a 4D show with spiderman
and hulk etc set using all the iconic London places and they made it interactive, things touched your feet and water
sprayed down etc which was also pretty cool. I then had to head to the payroll company that actually pays me! It's easier
to be paid through one of these as they work all your tax and that out for you. I get paid a little less that expected but
hey, I'm here to spend money, travel and have fun! Not to come out on top, as long as I can afford rent I'll be happy : )
our lease is up soon so hopefully i can stay with the same people in the same area, as its perfect and super safe! After
this we came home and I turned into a good little house wife! Did washing, swept and sorted out our cupboard space.
It was super cold today and I decided I needed a good home cooked meal as I hadnt had one yet and was craving lots of
veggies! So I whipped myself up some chicken, mushrooms, carrots, zucchini and capsicum and was very proud of my
efforts, considering I'm not really a cook... I'm learning!
January 6th - Today saw us getting up super early to get organised for a big day tour to Windsor castle, Stonehenge and
Oxford! The sun was shining and the weather was very kind to us today. I didn't have any expect ions of what to expect
but was blown away. Windsor was pure breath taking! I can't get over how amazing it was. The china, decor and architecture
was beyond explaining! Windsor itself was a beautiful country town which we are going to go back for the weekend soon, as
apparently the pub life is great! Emma and I had a very 'OMG we're in England experiencing this' moment! I had such a good
sweet potato and goats cheese pie too... Healthy eating starts next week : )) Then an hour ride out to Stonehenge in Wiltshire.
The country side was beautiful just like the movies, as green as the eye could see with some sheep thrown in there.
The history of Stonehenge was impressive as we had an audio tour and I knew my brothers would have been proud I was very into
the history side and how it all came about! But at the end of the day it is a bunch of rocks so it was perfect that we weren't there
long : ) plus it got freezing out there! Then we were off to Oxford which after Windsor I didn't care if it was terrible my day was made
already! Oxford was great, as dumb as it sounds I didn't actually realize they were all little unis making up the whole Oxford university! The
buildings were beautiful, certainly no ECU joondalup, it inspired me to want to go study there! Our tour guy was a bit of a loser so Em
and I did our own thing... The highlight was the open campus and the gardens were impeccable. The icing on the cake was going
exploring to find my uncle Paul's old college, Magdalen! Very much made me smile, you couldn't wipe the smile off my face and was like
deja vu! Knowing he had studied there many moons ago and now having seen where it all happened was awsome! Had some photos
which I can send him and I think he will be proud! I found out it is one of, if not the best campus at Oxford which was pretty impressive!
Let's just say the tour was ££ well spent and we both had a ball! I Also got some great news today, I have a permanent position at a school
about ten minutes away on a Wednesday and Thursday which is great and will last all year, or as long as I want, and the position will be kept
while I'm away over summer! Apparently the person that left the position lacked enthusiasm so I've got plenty of that and if I hate it I can leave
when I want. I think it's a multicultural school, but let's face it every school in London is. The fact it's one tube stop away is perfect! Im also doing
relief at the same school in the pre primary on Monday and relief at a different school on Friday this week! So far only Tuesday off but that's
likely to change! All very exciting stuff to cap off my day. To celebrate we went down the road to a pub in Fulham for dinner and drinks.
Roast veggie salad with a side of bussed sprouts ( yes mum I ate Brussels sprouts)!! I have decided I need to drink vodka lime and soda here as
if I drink cider or wine ill be the size of a house, as people here drink all the time! Plus it's like £3 a glass which is like $5!
January 7 - I had a great sleep today after such a big day yesterday. I walked Emma to work and then went and did some food shopping! I spent
about an hour just browsing and stocking up on things we needed. 2 huge and heavy bags later I was on my way home, walking of course which
was an effort and a half! The pantry and freezer are now stacked full of veggies and food for the week. The rest of the day I socked up some vitamin
d outside reading and then sorted some photos out. I stayed in tonight and cooked dinner again! I'll be Jaimie Oliver before you know it. I got to
Skype with my little girls and Lee-Anne today which put a huge smile on my face. They were almost as excited as I was and I now know they will not
forget me and plus they will love the parcels and postcards in the mail.
January 8 - lots of Skype dates and emails this morning! I got to speak to Mum and Dad, Luke and Tanya, and Eden and Felicia so it was a great morning.
I then ventured out with my housemates Rosa and Andrea for brunch at the local cafe whilst we did some work and read the paper... What a life!
Gettingnervous about school tomorrow but I'm sure it will be great, I have per-primary students so im sure they will be super friendly. Another
quiet night tonight getting organised for school. Hope I sleep well!
January 9 - my first day of teaching in London, how exiting, nerve racking and daunting! Off I went to the bus stop and made it to school well before
8. The staff were very friendly which made life a lot easier, the kids names not so easy! Think Aadya, Tanzilla, aleezah, rayan and safwaan! Let's
just say Chad and Daniel were my helpers for the day! The kids were great and super cute with there little British accents! I had two teaching
assistants which made life so much easier and an hour lunch break... Pretty cruisy really, although there was some challenging students so I earned
my wages! I'm back at the same school Wednesday and Thursday for what I thought was a permanent position but turns out its a trial for the position!
I've never had a trial for anything in my life so that's a little daunting. But hey if I don't get it there will be other jobs around! After a hard days work
Emma and I went to he pub for a drink as you do and headed home to a beautiful dinner she had made me... My turn tomorrow. We booked Dublin for
St Patricks Day tonight so that is super exciting and will be so much fun! Another tick off the bucket list! Also contemplating Gallipoli for Easter but
need to research it further!
January 10 - So what I thought was going to be a nice day off as I didn't have any work, soon changed when I got a call at 8.30 calling me into a school.
So a quick change and half an hour in transit and I was at St Stephens Catholic Primary school. A very nice school and the kids where well trained. Not
so strange names today, rufus and aqua were as crazy as they got. I had them for PE Computing and music, three of the toughest subjects a relief teacher
can take, but they were actually pretty good and the yoga I did with them in PE highly benefitted myself so everyone won : )) they wated me back
tomorrow but I'm already booked, hard being so popular Haha, I won't be saying that when there's no work next week! Tonight was my turn to cook and
I made a lamb curry! Pretty good by all accounts!!
Things I've realised about London - you can take your dogs into the pub. Like its what people do which is a little strange. Everyone litters here as there
are few bins and even fewer public toilets, so every pub or cafe you go to, a toilet stop is a must! The public toilets that are here you need to pay for,
but they are hard to find! It's normal to walk your dogs super late at night and drinking on the street, tube or in the park is common here!
Week two sees me fall in love with this city a little more. I miss the people at home, but not so much the place just yet! Looking forward to what
the next week brings me at school and hopefully booking a week trip to spend with Shayna skiing in France!
The blogs from now of will be short and sweet as unfortunately I have to work and thats a little boring, but don't worry there will still be one no
matter what!
Until next time xxx
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