The past decade has been one of enormous change and transformation.
2000
Graduated high school, worked my first job(s), and moved away for university.
2001
Made a serious commitment to nutrition and exercise for the first time in my life and began to take pride in my appearance.
2002
My first big love and heartbreak.
2003
Bought a car, started swing dancing, decided I needed a break from university and went to live in Alberta with my dad.
2004
Changed my career path to HR and experienced my second big love and heartbreak.
2005
Moved back to Ottawa.
2006
Started a "real job" (only to get laid off three months later), started another "real job," and helped to found Swing Dynamite.
2007
Lost my second "real job" and decided I didn't want a real job anyway, visited Europe for the first time.
2008
Took some time off to work on myself and eventually moved out of my luxury downtown condo, went back to school part-time, and re-entered the arts and culture sector (through Bluesfest and the Ottawa School of Speech and Drama).
2009
This has been the biggest year of change for me...
- Teaching prospects at OSSD took off, leading to awesome opportunities there and elsewhere
- Finally earned my BA
- Sold my car
- Moved overseas
- Changed careers
- Started a great relationship
- Travelled to 3 new countries
In particular, this year has been about experiencing being a minority. As a Canadian, I am a minority in London. As a caucasian, I am a minority in the communities and schools in which I work. As an English/French speaker, I have been a minority in every country I have visited this year. It has been a good and important experience for me, and I'll probably write more about it later.
I look forward to the next decade bringing more change, more joy, more love, more challenges, and more hope. May it bring the same to you.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
7054 words
Unimpressed with the rain.
Geese in the Cathedral garden.
I love my caga tio!
Christmas Day along La Rambla.
Together by the Mediterranean sea on a beautiful Christmas Day. Does life get any better?
The incredible Sagrada Familia.
View from the top of the Sagrada Familia.Back in London... safe, sound, and well rested.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
I needed that
I had two missions yesterday: pancakes and dancing. Both were accomplished with brilliant success.
Pancakes were found at Milk Bar in the Gothic Quarter. Milk is a delightful little lounge with tasteful, vintage decor and (I couldn't believe it) trad jazz streaming over the speakers. They even served me real Canadian maple syrup! It's one of the most popular spots in Barcelona so we were lucky that it was Boxing Day, when Catalonians don't seem to leave their homes, and we didn't have to wait to get in.
Dancing was found at Sala Apolo. The Barcelona Jazz Orchestra was playing a Christmas concert and the event was described as "having room for dancing." I had pictured a smallish bar with an even smaller dance floor, with perhaps a handful of dancers in attendance (knowing my luck, they would all be follows). Boy was I ever in for a surprise! The place was huge, with two levels and a dance floor that could rival most ballrooms'... and it was absolutely packed. I could barely squeeze through to the other side of it, much less dance on it. It was hot and sweaty and I stepped on people every 32 seconds, but it felt absolutely incredible to dance again (after not lindy hopping for close to a month) and the band was on fire.
Anyhow, off I go to enjoy one of our two non-rainy days here. Sagrada Familia and maybe some shopping? This holiday is all about rest and relaxation, and I like that a lot.
Pancakes were found at Milk Bar in the Gothic Quarter. Milk is a delightful little lounge with tasteful, vintage decor and (I couldn't believe it) trad jazz streaming over the speakers. They even served me real Canadian maple syrup! It's one of the most popular spots in Barcelona so we were lucky that it was Boxing Day, when Catalonians don't seem to leave their homes, and we didn't have to wait to get in.
Dancing was found at Sala Apolo. The Barcelona Jazz Orchestra was playing a Christmas concert and the event was described as "having room for dancing." I had pictured a smallish bar with an even smaller dance floor, with perhaps a handful of dancers in attendance (knowing my luck, they would all be follows). Boy was I ever in for a surprise! The place was huge, with two levels and a dance floor that could rival most ballrooms'... and it was absolutely packed. I could barely squeeze through to the other side of it, much less dance on it. It was hot and sweaty and I stepped on people every 32 seconds, but it felt absolutely incredible to dance again (after not lindy hopping for close to a month) and the band was on fire.
Anyhow, off I go to enjoy one of our two non-rainy days here. Sagrada Familia and maybe some shopping? This holiday is all about rest and relaxation, and I like that a lot.
Friday, December 25, 2009
White (Sand) Christmas
Barcelona knows how to do Christmas:
- Bright, sunny skies and 14 degrees celcius
- Vegetable paella
- Coffee
- Stroll down La Rambla
- Mediterranean beach
- Gelato
- More coffee
- Crash at hotel
- Nice, long Skype convo with the fam
- Olives with pickles sticking out of them - strangely provocative, yet delicious
- Antioxidant fruit juice
- More crashing
Soon:
- More food
- More crashing
In truth, it doesn't feel at all like Christmas... but life could certainly be a lot worse.
Bon Nadal a tots!
- Bright, sunny skies and 14 degrees celcius
- Vegetable paella
- Coffee
- Stroll down La Rambla
- Mediterranean beach
- Gelato
- More coffee
- Crash at hotel
- Nice, long Skype convo with the fam
- Olives with pickles sticking out of them - strangely provocative, yet delicious
- Antioxidant fruit juice
- More crashing
Soon:
- More food
- More crashing
In truth, it doesn't feel at all like Christmas... but life could certainly be a lot worse.
Bon Nadal a tots!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Lazy Barcelona
We arrived in Barcelona Tuesday afternoon and so far have done little aside from indulging in incredible coffee, food, and the free wifi in our cozy hotel room. This is the life!
After our crazy London transport adventure the night before, we decided to play it safe and hire a car to drive us to Heathrow (thank you, dad!) a full two hours earlier than strictly necessary. It meant we arrived two hours earlier than strictly necessary, but I'm still really glad we did. I'm also really glad that we were booked on the 11:25 flight, rather than the cancelled 9 am (or any time the night before, which would have meant being two of hundreds sleeping on pathetic-looking mats in the airport corridor). It was all smooth sailing for us!
We quickly discovered a delightful little café across the street from our hotel, where we have taken to eating our breakfasts. The server is friendly and speaks perfect English (apparently, he lived in Memphis, Tennessee for 13 years). He also smokes behind the counter. We're obviously not in Kansas anymore.
Another clue that we're no longer in Kansas? Nude window displays and nude art in restaurants. It's all really beautiful and tasteful but takes you aback if you're not used to seeing that sort of thing.
I have succeeded in acquiring my very own caganer and caga tio, have seen a quick glimpse of the Gothic Quarter, and have been in to visit the geese in the Cathedral garden... but the constant rain has been reinforcing our tendency toward laziness. We're waiting for the promised sun to appear tomorrow so we can spend Christmas Day by the seaside.
In the meantime, we've stocked up on all the important stuff: bread, cheese, fruit, tomatoes, olives, chocolate, juice, wine, and apple liqueur with tonic. Yesterday, we had a picnic lunch that we enjoyed so much, we decided to continue the tradition while all the restaurants are closed or fully booked over the next couple days. Our only concern will be finding coffee. The quality of the coffee here is so vastly superior to London's, I'm determined to drink as much as humanly possible while we're here.
That's about it for now. Pictures to come, but potentially not until I'm back in London, as I am lacking a suitable card reader. Bones festes, as they say!
After our crazy London transport adventure the night before, we decided to play it safe and hire a car to drive us to Heathrow (thank you, dad!) a full two hours earlier than strictly necessary. It meant we arrived two hours earlier than strictly necessary, but I'm still really glad we did. I'm also really glad that we were booked on the 11:25 flight, rather than the cancelled 9 am (or any time the night before, which would have meant being two of hundreds sleeping on pathetic-looking mats in the airport corridor). It was all smooth sailing for us!
We quickly discovered a delightful little café across the street from our hotel, where we have taken to eating our breakfasts. The server is friendly and speaks perfect English (apparently, he lived in Memphis, Tennessee for 13 years). He also smokes behind the counter. We're obviously not in Kansas anymore.
Another clue that we're no longer in Kansas? Nude window displays and nude art in restaurants. It's all really beautiful and tasteful but takes you aback if you're not used to seeing that sort of thing.
I have succeeded in acquiring my very own caganer and caga tio, have seen a quick glimpse of the Gothic Quarter, and have been in to visit the geese in the Cathedral garden... but the constant rain has been reinforcing our tendency toward laziness. We're waiting for the promised sun to appear tomorrow so we can spend Christmas Day by the seaside.
In the meantime, we've stocked up on all the important stuff: bread, cheese, fruit, tomatoes, olives, chocolate, juice, wine, and apple liqueur with tonic. Yesterday, we had a picnic lunch that we enjoyed so much, we decided to continue the tradition while all the restaurants are closed or fully booked over the next couple days. Our only concern will be finding coffee. The quality of the coffee here is so vastly superior to London's, I'm determined to drink as much as humanly possible while we're here.
That's about it for now. Pictures to come, but potentially not until I'm back in London, as I am lacking a suitable card reader. Bones festes, as they say!
Forget London Bridge... the whole of Greater London is falling down!
I thought I was being clever by opting to stay at Nathan's the night before taking off to Barcelona. In retrospect, we really should have crashed at my place (in Central London rather than Zone 3). Apparently, London totally freaks out at the slightest hint of snow. In the course of our journey, the trains stopped running, traffic halted to 0.5 mph, and buses pulled over to the side of the road. All for absolutely no reason that we could see... the roads weren't at all covered in ice or snow. In the end, we trudged 5 miles on foot (with luggage in tow). In a weird way, it was actually kind of fun. But I hope I never have to do that ever again.
Enjoy this annotated map of our crazy adventure, courtesy of ze boy:
View Crazy Night of Travel in a larger map
PS - Nathan's version of the story involves a little bit of actual snow on the roads. I will swear all the way to my grave that this never happened. There was a bit of slush on the sidewalk, but only water on the roads.
Enjoy this annotated map of our crazy adventure, courtesy of ze boy:
View Crazy Night of Travel in a larger map
PS - Nathan's version of the story involves a little bit of actual snow on the roads. I will swear all the way to my grave that this never happened. There was a bit of slush on the sidewalk, but only water on the roads.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Downs and Ups
I have been on one heck of a roller coaster this week.... and not the fun kind you queue up for while chowing down your candy floss. Several big things in my life were threatening to go very, very wrong. I was really trying hard to accept it, and to remember that everything happens for a reason, but I was still deeply depressed about it. Now (hopefully... knock on wood) they seem to be going right again.
Long days at school, too. The kids know that Christmas is coming and they're unwilling to wait. We're supposed to get 20 cm of snow tonight (gah... I came here to get away from snow!), and that may well mean our Christmas break will begin early, after all. Despite being totally wiped, I'm not happy about that at all. I really can't afford not to get paid and I still need to say a proper adieu to everyone.
On the bright side, the British Airways strike has been blocked so we're still on for Barcelona. Now I just have to pray that we don't get snowed in. I had a dream that we would, and I've been eerily psychic about some things lately.
On another bright side, I finally had coffee with Amie yesterday, after many weeks of saying we should. It was great to have a chance to vent with another Canadian TA who's going through a lot of the same stuff I am. And, of course, to hang out with her--she's super fun and awesome. I can't wait for Saturday's potluck at her place!
I apologize for the messy rant; my mind is messy this week, so this is what you get. I'm off to enjoy some spaghetti and mulled wine, and to write my Christmas cards... on the off chance I actually get to deliver them tomorrow.
Long days at school, too. The kids know that Christmas is coming and they're unwilling to wait. We're supposed to get 20 cm of snow tonight (gah... I came here to get away from snow!), and that may well mean our Christmas break will begin early, after all. Despite being totally wiped, I'm not happy about that at all. I really can't afford not to get paid and I still need to say a proper adieu to everyone.
On the bright side, the British Airways strike has been blocked so we're still on for Barcelona. Now I just have to pray that we don't get snowed in. I had a dream that we would, and I've been eerily psychic about some things lately.
On another bright side, I finally had coffee with Amie yesterday, after many weeks of saying we should. It was great to have a chance to vent with another Canadian TA who's going through a lot of the same stuff I am. And, of course, to hang out with her--she's super fun and awesome. I can't wait for Saturday's potluck at her place!
I apologize for the messy rant; my mind is messy this week, so this is what you get. I'm off to enjoy some spaghetti and mulled wine, and to write my Christmas cards... on the off chance I actually get to deliver them tomorrow.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
TA vs. LSA
In the short time I've been here, my job title has shifted from Teaching Assistant to Learning Support Assistant. These terms can sometimes be used more or less interchangeably, but at my school, it's an important distinction.
Every classroom has a TA. TAs assist in teaching and controlling the whole class. LSAs, on the other hand, are assigned to specific pupils who have been identified as requiring one-to-one support. There is some overlap, of course... I do help out with other things, but my assigned student is usually my first priority.
The required qualifications (having experience working with children) are technically the same for both roles, but I think most people are probably better suited to one or the other. I, for example, am definitely better off working as an LSA. I just like it better. But during my interview, the Head Teacher told me that there's no way she'd be able to stand working with the same pupil day in and day out. Different personality types, I guess.
So what does it take to be a great Learning Support Assistant?
Patience
When you're working with a child who has Special Educational Needs (SEN), learning and progress are bound to be part of a gradual process. Patience, understanding, and the love of a good challenge in this regard are absolutely vital.
Adaptability
Often, children with SEN require information to be presented to them in a variety of ways, and you may find yourself having to think up many new tricks on the fly. A solid understanding of pedagogy, as well as knowledge the child's individual needs, will help with this. Depending on what their needs are, their behaviour may also be unpredictable and you must be equipped to deal with that.
Ability to multitask
Your official role may revolve around one particular child, but that child does not exist in a vacuum. You will find yourself having to get involved in classroom management, administrative tasks, and teaching or assisting other pupils. You may also have to work in small groups with children who all have wildly different needs. Rarely will you find a moment when you don't have 5 or 6 children all trying to get your attention at the same time. You must be able to manage all of this at once, while still ensuring that your assigned pupil's needs are being met.
All of those qualities could be applied to being a TA, as well. But there's one more magical ingredient that's difficult to put into words.
What I love best about being an LSA is forming a bond with my student and watching her grow. It is a very personal experience and, for me, a very rewarding one. There have been days when I've gone home absolutely glowing, all because she successfully spelled a word, remembering to put the letters in the correct order. She and I celebrate many small victories together. She's rewarded with praise and stickers; I'm rewarded with big toothy grins.
To be a really great LSA, I think, you need to believe there's nothing better in the world than that.
Every classroom has a TA. TAs assist in teaching and controlling the whole class. LSAs, on the other hand, are assigned to specific pupils who have been identified as requiring one-to-one support. There is some overlap, of course... I do help out with other things, but my assigned student is usually my first priority.
The required qualifications (having experience working with children) are technically the same for both roles, but I think most people are probably better suited to one or the other. I, for example, am definitely better off working as an LSA. I just like it better. But during my interview, the Head Teacher told me that there's no way she'd be able to stand working with the same pupil day in and day out. Different personality types, I guess.
So what does it take to be a great Learning Support Assistant?
Patience
When you're working with a child who has Special Educational Needs (SEN), learning and progress are bound to be part of a gradual process. Patience, understanding, and the love of a good challenge in this regard are absolutely vital.
Adaptability
Often, children with SEN require information to be presented to them in a variety of ways, and you may find yourself having to think up many new tricks on the fly. A solid understanding of pedagogy, as well as knowledge the child's individual needs, will help with this. Depending on what their needs are, their behaviour may also be unpredictable and you must be equipped to deal with that.
Ability to multitask
Your official role may revolve around one particular child, but that child does not exist in a vacuum. You will find yourself having to get involved in classroom management, administrative tasks, and teaching or assisting other pupils. You may also have to work in small groups with children who all have wildly different needs. Rarely will you find a moment when you don't have 5 or 6 children all trying to get your attention at the same time. You must be able to manage all of this at once, while still ensuring that your assigned pupil's needs are being met.
All of those qualities could be applied to being a TA, as well. But there's one more magical ingredient that's difficult to put into words.
What I love best about being an LSA is forming a bond with my student and watching her grow. It is a very personal experience and, for me, a very rewarding one. There have been days when I've gone home absolutely glowing, all because she successfully spelled a word, remembering to put the letters in the correct order. She and I celebrate many small victories together. She's rewarded with praise and stickers; I'm rewarded with big toothy grins.
To be a really great LSA, I think, you need to believe there's nothing better in the world than that.
Confessions of a summerholic
I have a deep, dark secret to confess.
I hate winter (no, that's not the secret... everyone who's ever been within a 20 mile radius of me knows that). I hate winter and I hate snow. I have declared, on many occasions and with vehement passion, that I hope to never see snow again. It's not pretty and it's not fun; it's cold and boring and a pain in the arse. That's truly how I feel about it.
But... do you remember the way you felt the first year after you finished school, around the start of the year and then again around exam time? How it felt completely weird to not be going through that? And then you'd start hallucinating that it was actually fun to study for exams and that you missed it?
That's kind of what it's like right now for me and snow.
I hate winter (no, that's not the secret... everyone who's ever been within a 20 mile radius of me knows that). I hate winter and I hate snow. I have declared, on many occasions and with vehement passion, that I hope to never see snow again. It's not pretty and it's not fun; it's cold and boring and a pain in the arse. That's truly how I feel about it.
But... do you remember the way you felt the first year after you finished school, around the start of the year and then again around exam time? How it felt completely weird to not be going through that? And then you'd start hallucinating that it was actually fun to study for exams and that you missed it?
That's kind of what it's like right now for me and snow.
Monday, December 7, 2009
On Love and Fanship
I was an early adopter of blogging (although it took me many years to say that word without breaking out in hives). In fact, I began blogging long before that term had even been coined. In 2000, I was among the first to own a shiny new LiveJournal account. As the word "journal" would imply, this was back in the days when the majority of blogs were personal spaces -- used to share and deal with one's thoughts and feelings -- rather than the mass media phenomenon blogging has become.
Nearly a decade later, my reasons for blogging have changed... but not by much. They now straddle that line between personal and public: I write as a convenient way to keep my family and friends updated on my new life in England, all the while remaining conscious that I have anonymous readers who have never met me and have no reason to care about my personal life. As a result, I struggle with the content of this blog a great deal. Ultimately, though, I've decided that the most important reason I blog is for myself. It's a way to immortalize memories of this exciting period in my life, in the same way that I can now look back on my university days (so dutifully recorded in LiveJournal) and immediately be transported back in time. So, I write about whatever happens to be on my mind that day while hoping that I'm interesting enough to not lose too many of my readers.
Victoria Westcott (of Teach in London and Canadians & Americans in the UK) has just nominated me for Edublog's Best Individual Blog Award. I am flattered, surprised, humbled, and... am also feeling quite a bit self-conscious because of it. Although I do appreciate my anonymous readers (thank you, anonymous readers!!), this blog really isn't targetted for public consumption, and I'm worried I'll be criticized for that. I'm probably over-reacting (but just in case I'm not, this post is my disclaimer!).
In any case, this turn of events is good because it has lit a fire under my butt to get going on a couple of edu-relevant posts that I've been meaning to write. Stay tuned for an update on my experience as a longterm Learning Support Assistant, as well as an essay on my personal principles of teaching. I've also added tags, so you can now search for posts that interest you by clicking on the appropriate tags in the right hand menu.
PS - Still sick, still happy, and still incredulous that I'm going to Barcelona in just 15 days!!!
Nearly a decade later, my reasons for blogging have changed... but not by much. They now straddle that line between personal and public: I write as a convenient way to keep my family and friends updated on my new life in England, all the while remaining conscious that I have anonymous readers who have never met me and have no reason to care about my personal life. As a result, I struggle with the content of this blog a great deal. Ultimately, though, I've decided that the most important reason I blog is for myself. It's a way to immortalize memories of this exciting period in my life, in the same way that I can now look back on my university days (so dutifully recorded in LiveJournal) and immediately be transported back in time. So, I write about whatever happens to be on my mind that day while hoping that I'm interesting enough to not lose too many of my readers.
Victoria Westcott (of Teach in London and Canadians & Americans in the UK) has just nominated me for Edublog's Best Individual Blog Award. I am flattered, surprised, humbled, and... am also feeling quite a bit self-conscious because of it. Although I do appreciate my anonymous readers (thank you, anonymous readers!!), this blog really isn't targetted for public consumption, and I'm worried I'll be criticized for that. I'm probably over-reacting (but just in case I'm not, this post is my disclaimer!).
In any case, this turn of events is good because it has lit a fire under my butt to get going on a couple of edu-relevant posts that I've been meaning to write. Stay tuned for an update on my experience as a longterm Learning Support Assistant, as well as an essay on my personal principles of teaching. I've also added tags, so you can now search for posts that interest you by clicking on the appropriate tags in the right hand menu.
PS - Still sick, still happy, and still incredulous that I'm going to Barcelona in just 15 days!!!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
We Wish You a Poopy Christmas...
As of this afternoon, the boyfriend and I are officially booked for a weeklong trip to Barcelona for Christmas! Huzzah!
In my excitement, I immediately began Googling Christmas in Barcelona... only to discover that they have the Best.Christmas.Traditions.Ever. Not one, but TWO traditional figures are devoted to poo.
The Caganer is a figure of a Catalonian man with his trousers down, defecating on the ground (to fertilize the soil). It's a staple of their nativity scenes and is supposed to bring good luck.
The Caga Tio literally means "poo log" in Catalan. Children look after this log, keeping it nice and warm until Christmas Eve... when they bash it with sticks and demand it poop out presents and sweets.
Amazing. You can bet I'll be hitting the Christmas markets so I can bring these lovelies home with me.
In my excitement, I immediately began Googling Christmas in Barcelona... only to discover that they have the Best.Christmas.Traditions.Ever. Not one, but TWO traditional figures are devoted to poo.
The Caganer is a figure of a Catalonian man with his trousers down, defecating on the ground (to fertilize the soil). It's a staple of their nativity scenes and is supposed to bring good luck.
The Caga Tio literally means "poo log" in Catalan. Children look after this log, keeping it nice and warm until Christmas Eve... when they bash it with sticks and demand it poop out presents and sweets.
Amazing. You can bet I'll be hitting the Christmas markets so I can bring these lovelies home with me.
Sicko
The only real downside so far to living in London is that I've been sick pretty much non-stop since I got here. I've heard that it's normal; being on a new continent means the germs play a whole different kind of ballgame. Doesn't make it any more fun, though.
I wound up calling in sick this morning... I was just so totally out of it, I knew I wouldn't be able to function properly even if I managed to get through (what seemed like) an epic journey to get there. Four hours of sleep later, I'm feeling much better but also totally guilty.
I'm forming a pretty tight bond with my 1-1 student (henceforth known as S) and I hate that I'm not there for her today. It's worse than feeling ill. I think next time, I will have to be on my deathbed before I call in.
Lesson learned.
I wound up calling in sick this morning... I was just so totally out of it, I knew I wouldn't be able to function properly even if I managed to get through (what seemed like) an epic journey to get there. Four hours of sleep later, I'm feeling much better but also totally guilty.
I'm forming a pretty tight bond with my 1-1 student (henceforth known as S) and I hate that I'm not there for her today. It's worse than feeling ill. I think next time, I will have to be on my deathbed before I call in.
Lesson learned.
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