Roads to Success

After our snowy trip to America, Lee and I arrived back in England to moderate, spring-like weather.  In the month to follow, we did manage to see about a centimetre of snow on the ground, which caused a two-hour standstill traffic jam and me to be late to work.  Even though the roads were completely clear and not icy at all, the cars were not moving.  I have so much respect for the driving skills of the resilient people in the Ohio Snow Belt.

While we were back in Ohio, I was so grateful to visit with my friends and family.  I wish we had a little more time to stay and see more people, but we had to get back to work.  It was wonderful to see and do Ohio-things such as go to a high school basketball game, see the Lake Erie Monsters play ice hockey, tour the Columbus Zoo, and go sled riding with my little cousins.  The best feeling was meeting up with people who I haven't seen in over a year (or more) and sharing in conversation with them as if no time had passed at all.  Not everything was picture-perfect because a lot of changes have happened in my family since I've been away.  My grandpa passed away in September, so a binding member was gone and things felt a bit fragmented.  A few relationships have become quite volatile, and some completely disjointed, in my family which was a bit surprising to me and made me quite disheartened.  My wish is that in a couple of years when Lee and I return for another Christmas in America, everyone will get along and the 'happy holidays' can be celebrated as they were when I was little.

Travelling back to England, Lee was looking forward to starting back to work at Wyzowl since the company moved to a bigger office very close to the ocean.  He is still located in Southport, but now he takes a bus to work for a half hour instead of walking a half hour to get to the office.  With all of the uncertainty that came with switching jobs back in September, we are both really glad that Lee made the change to the new company (which has added five new employees in the past four months).

Besides being a teaching assistant, I have been working towards becoming a certified UK teacher.  After many attempts through international agencies--from which any offers would seem improbable to accept seeing as Lee has such a great job now in Southport--and searches for openings in private schools in this Merseyside/Lancashire area, I started to see my dream of becoming a teacher dwindle.  But, last summer, a law was passed to give immigrants who want to be teachers an easier way into teaching in the UK besides going back to university.  This path entails filling out a portfolio, writing essays, and submitting documents to prove my skills as a licensed teacher in the US.  I submitted this portfolio a couple of weeks ago and will hear back from the agency in April.  Let's keep our fingers crossed because...

On February 14, I applied for a teaching position in the school where I work currently and I got the job!  I burst into tears of relief and joy when the head teacher offered me the position.  I've waited three years since graduation to have a class of my own.  It's finally happened and I am still elated from the news.  This job is just temporary until the end of July and I will be part-time, teaching year three and four students on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesday mornings.  With this arrangement, I think the transition to the UK educational system will be perfect for my situation.  I've spent a year and a half observing the teacher with whom I assist, but I'm sure there will a bit more to learn by way of paperwork.  I am so thankful that this school first gave me a job and now is giving me the chance to finally be a teacher.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.

Here are some photos from our trip to Ohio.  Enjoy!

This is a view of the Christmas light display at the Columbus Zoo.  A very cold, wintry trip, but well worth the fantastic day out!  Enjoy the photos of our favourite moments of the day.

The Lake Erie Monsters in action.  They ended up winning by a long shot and in true hockey player fashion, there were three fights.

My parents' house at Christmas.  Beautiful lights to welcome us home!

A lovely Christmas tree to help celebrate Christmas morning.

Home for the Holidays

Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays,
For no matter how far away you roam -
When you long for the sunshine of a friendly gaze,
For the holidays - you can’t beat home, sweet home!

I met a man who lives in Tennessee, and he was headin’ for 
Pennsylvania and some homemade pumpkin pie;
From Pennsylvania folks are travelin’ down Dixie’s sunny shore;
From Atlantic to Pacific -
Gee, the traffic is terrific!

Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays,
'Cause no matter how far away you roam -
If you want to be happy in a million ways,
For the holidays - you can’t beat home, sweet home!

This was the first Christmas piano song I memorised and one of my dad's favourites to hear me play.  I am so excited to be going back to Ohio--especially at this special time of the year--to spend time with my family and friends.  There are so many things about home that I can't wait to see again.  We'll be spending two weeks 'home for the holidays' hopefully making enough memories to fill the year and a half I've been away.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.

Movin' On Up

Hello Readers!  Much has happened since the last post and I will try to update you to the quite exciting details of our England adventures.

In August, Lee was contacted by a company in Southport to have an interview for an illustrator and motion graphics designer job.  He quickly got the job and plans were made to leave his place at Kukri.  As you read in the past posts, we really wanted to change our location for various reasons.  Although we both tried to make this happen by applying to various jobs across the country, the move we were waiting for came about because of a business social network called LinkedIn.

On October 6, we moved to our new apartment in Southport.  The apartment is called a 'bed sit' or a 'granny flat' in England, but it's basically just a four room, self-contained flat on the side of a family's cottage.  The moving process was extremely trying for us.  On the outside, it looked easy:  pack boxes, place in truck, drive, and unpack.  But, once we started packing and throwing odds and ends away, we realised exactly how much we accumulated over the past year.  The process was also a bit emotional as that was our 'first house' even though we only rented it, but overall the pros outweighed the cons and we knew the relocation would be beneficial.

Luckily, there have been no unpleasant surprises thus far at the new house.  The town is so much more motivating and when we leave the house, we have an ample amount of choices.  Within a 30 minutes' walk, we could be walking along the ocean and the 1950s carnival themed pier of Southport.  Or, the thriving downtown has much to offer with tons of stores, shopping centres, a cinema, and restaurants.  There are also a lot of nature trails from which to choose around our neighbourhood.  We feel a lot safer and more relaxed here.  The scenery is more uplifting and the people are friendlier in town.

At Wyzowl, Lee's new company, the progress is good as Lee gets to use up-to-date equipment and work with other people who studied motion graphics.  He walks to work, so he can stay in later and arrive home earlier than he used to do.

On my end, I still have my job in Preston as a teaching assistant and two weeks ago, the head teacher told me that the school could keep me until March 31st.  This is good news because my temporary contract was supposed to end on December 31st and I didn't know if I would be able to find another job for the new year.  Also, the deputy head hired me to be a math tutor for seven year four students (third grade) beginning this week.  Two nights a week, I'll get to teach the kids and I've found a boost of energy getting to plan lessons again.  The job title has shifted a bit because now I get to teach French to the year five and 6 students once a week, as well.

My commute is not as easy as Lee's.  I board the bus for Preston at 6:40 and after one bus change, I get to the school around 8:30.  So far, I have read three books on the bus rides and now I'm reading through Charles Dickens' Hard Times, a book based in Preston.

September and October brought about big changes for us.  We are very grateful for what is happening--all of the prayers from home must be working!  At the end of this term, we'll be travelling back to Ohio for a Christmas visit.  This will be the first time back since the wedding.  The anticipation is growing on this end to see all of our family and friends again, to play in the snow, and to eat all of that great American food.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.