Home Sweet Home!
Hello again!
I migrated up to Cambridge/Cambourne/St Neot's last Wednesday which was a task made difficult by the snow/sleat/rain that managed to bring England's public transport system to a virtual stand still! Oh - and the fallen power line on the Cambridge line - Happy adventures! But I eventually arrived last Wednesday evening (backpack, suitcase AND handbag in tow) and met with the lovely Abi Doyle (head of arts) and the generous Dirk Pereira (behaviour management specialist and tenant who is putting me up until I find a place). Both are amazingly kind and thoughtful and made this last week a breeze!
Thursday was due to be my first 'day at school' but alas, snow blizzards made this aim treacherous and school was cancelled - Leaving a day to watch telly, movies and just generally be a sloth and mooch around. And so came Friday - my first 'day at school' - and off we set at 8:00am in the middle of a blizzard (& total whiteout) because the head had decided that the show 'must go on!' Approximately 15 mins after the first siren, the head revised this somewhat rash decision and sent his students home (staff & students at other schools got snowed in for several hours!). To put into perspective how rare snow like this is - St Neots Community College (SNCC from here on in) has had a TOTAL of THREE snow days over the past TWENTY FIVE years - and then I arrive and lo and behold - THREE days in ONE week!!!
So with the afternoon at leisure, Dirk took me to his Leisure centre where we relaxed in the pool, jacuzzi, sauna and steam room. Yes, believe it or not, my first purchase in Wintery England was a bikini!
Abi invited me to her place on Saturday night for dinner with a bunch of 'cool, young' teachers and this was a fabulous chance to meet some of the lovely English teachers, as well as her stellar housemate Emily and a friend they went to 'college' with. The night was full of hilarity and in typical Caitlin/dramatic style, ended up with sing-a-longs and lights-out/interpretive dancing for several hours. It was a hilarious night, and hopefully there will be lots more like it in the not-too-distant future. One of the other teachers I met was Erin - A Canadian who is teaching her way around the world - It was BIZARRE to find out that in 2007/08, she had been staying in Perth - In Murdoch in fact about 5 mins from me house, and going to Murdoch Uni... Who would have thought we would meet here!? It's a small world!
Monday was (FINALLY) my first day of school and I had a slack day with only one Year 9 Drama class. I've since taught Yr 7 English and Yr 9 Dance so getting a better impression of the school and students. There are some 'challenging' ones but mostly all just hyperactive and super chatty with a bit of attitude ("wha-ever miss") so actually quite fun! Lots of opportunities to practice my stern teacher face and voice ("BOYS!" and "Uh... NO!") Hahahaha.
I have decided to look for a place in Cambridge, despite it being a bit of a pain in the butt to get to/from work because I figure if I move to a little village right near the school then I'm stuck on weekends/evenings too. Cambridge is STUNNINGLY beautiful! Am looking forward to having a good explore around there over half term break next week (yes, holidays already - how slack!).
Aside from that, having a shindig at one of the other Drama teachers house this Friday night (supposedly a 'faculty planning' session but I've been told it's really just a great excuse for a piss-up... Hahaha, god bless Arts teachers...) Thinking about trying to organise an outing for Valentine's Day for the lonely hearts club. Anyway, it's holidays so something exciting will be on!
Hope you're all well. Lots of love,
Caitlin. xxx
