Chaos Continues...

Below are some shots on the day that all the boxes and the cat arrived. It was pure insanity but it's getting better day by day. Between that and setting up my Kindergarten classroom I don't have time or energy for much else...

The Pink Kindergarten Fairies

This is not my school, but the home of the pink kindergarten fairies. Let me tell you how this all came about. Earlier this week, I was made to attend yet another 2 day session of professional development (I think the York County teachers must be the MOST and BEST professionally developed group of teachers I have ever known). At one of the sessions that I attended, I ended up seated next to the two kindergarten teachers at the above school. We got to talking and they asked about me, where I was from, where I would be teaching and so on. Once they found out I was new to the area, they asked me about how I was finding things and I found myself being very honest about how little I had in my classroom and how little I had to supply the room with. The two ladies seemed shocked and told me not to spend another dime, that at the next PD day (which was just another day away) they would have some materials for me. And today, they came through. Their staff has hot pink staff shirts (hence the name of Pink Kindergarten Fairies) and then came with 2 boxes and a giant bag full of blocks, paper, glue, hand sanitizer, and a bunch of things I wouldn't have had in my room without them. So hats off to the Pink Kindergarten Fairies.... they are heroes in my books!!!

Count your blessings, one by one...

Lately, I've been really struggling to stay positive about my move to Williamsburg (I like to call it The Burg or W-burg). Before I left for here, I was nothing but excited to get here and find an apartment. When I finally got here and got an apartment, I was nothing but excited to get it set up (my furniture arrives tomorrow). Then I was in and out of my school and nothing but excited to get that going... but, I've found that I am grinding to a hault in my excitement. I look at my friends who are overseas still and I envy them because the international school situation is so different. You work with people who share your situation and you become like family because of it (granted, a fairly disfunctional family, but family nonetheless). But here in The Burg, it's not like that. Most people here have been here for years or their whole lives. For example, today I was at an all day teacher's training day in one of the HUGE highschool buildings and one of my partner teachers was telling me that her husband attended that school. *sigh* I don't even know what that is like, I can't identify with that at all. But I digress... The whole point of the example is that unlike international schools, these people have outside lives and roots and are nicely settled into their routines and there is seldom room for a newcomer. Today I was lamenting over the situation with a good friend and she told me not to give up hope and to stay positive. I'll be honest, I couldn't see the apples in the trees because of the clouds and raindrops... I had given up. But after I got off the phone with her, I began to realize that I have plenty to be thankful for: My closest friends are but a phone call away, I am in a place where I can be understood for the most part, I have a great apartment, I have a good job that helps me keep my nice car and great apartment, my great apartment comes with a gym and a pool, there are some people here who really do care (like the pink kindergarten fairies - there will be a post dedicated just to them), and I am healthy. So, when I am getting weepy and homesick for my former life, I need to just remember these things, count my blessings and be grateful for the goodness in my life.... I am BLESSED in the truest sense of the word.

Da Beach... East Coast Style...

So today some of the lovely teachers that are here with the same program as me got together and we drove to Virginia Beach. We laid in the sand for a while, splashed in the waves, walked along the promenade and then had a yummy dinner in a lovely restaurant. When we were done with dinner, we came out to find a band playing.... all in all, it was a lovely day and made me NOT want to return to work tomorrow!! hahaha. Below are a few pictures from today... enjoy, but don't be jealous...

Here a test, there a test, everywhere a test, test!!

That's what it feels like over the last couple of days. Recently, my apartment complex went through their annual general inspection, so my apartment was inspected by some strangers... test 1. Then later my apartment was randomly (or not) chosen for a radon testing next week... test 2. Then I find out that my car manufacturer won't honour my warranty in the US until I provide proof that I am gainfully employed in the US... test 3. To add to that, I cannot get my car titled or registered until I get a letter from the manufacturer stating that my car meets the US safety and emissions standards(which I can't get until I provide proof of my employment etc)... test 4. And... I find out that my "world" Blackberry really isn't world after all. If you bought it in the US, you can't really use it in Canada and vice versa... test 5. To add to the pure joys of all that, I can't seem to find the places I am looking for like the yoga studio that I want to join... test 6. And I found out that I don't get paid until the END of September, and we get paid just once a month.... test 7. So, as you can tell, I feel very testy and tested these days. But I take heart because I know it can only get better and things will get easier... except for the biggest test of all: Test 8: Making New Friends (I miss my old friends a lot right now).

Wish you were here...

Just a few postcards from my wanderings around Williamsburg today... *sigh* it is a beautiful place!

Pronunciation is the thing...

Okay... I've been debating whether or not I should be writing this entry because some may be offended, but then I came to the conclusion that this blog is about MY experiences and the intention isn't to offend, just to inform others about my experiences, through my eyes and ears... so here goes:
It seems to me that in my quest to learn American, one has to have an ear for pronunciation. I was at school the other day and was listening to a few of the ladies discuss directions to something or somewhere I needed to go (there have been a lot of places I've needed to go) and they were discussing the best way or the actual closest location. And this is where my ear perked up to the pronunciation... the place they thought it was was in Norfolk. Now, when I see that spelled, I want to say it: NOR-Folk... you know, like it is spelled. But they kept calling it: NAW-Fuk. (Now you see why I was worried about being offensive). It actually took me a while to place the spellings and pronunciations together and decide that they meant Norfolk and not some other odd location...
See... this learning American isn't as easy as you think!! Next time, we talk about abbreviations and form names... that's a whole OTHER language, I am convinced!!

It's English they speak here... right??

Okay... I KNOW it is English they speak here, but it sure doesn't feel like it sometimes. Yesterday I went to BestBuy to buy a wireless router for my internet and I asked one of the sales clerks to help me... I don't think he understood anything I asked him because the general response I got was a shoulder shrug and a mumbled, "I guess." I got the router, brought it home and followed the CD directions to the letter (even had little pictures) and still an error popped up and I lost my entire internet connection. *sigh* Just when I was starting to feel successful about my independent spirit and ability to overcome these obstacles, I learned the cell phone I bought in Canada and had changed over to T-Mobil didn't work. Apparently my number wasn't registered. So, now I couldn't even call the internet people to get help. My phone said I could call collect, so I tried to call my parents collect to at least vent my frustrations, but apparently in the US of A, calling collect means you need to have a calling card and/or password. *sigh* So I gave up, read a book and went to bed.
Today, I got up, decided that I would learn to speak American eventually, would not get down-hearted by all the setbacks of the previous day and headed out for T-Mobil. The guy there was as confused as I was about my phone (which was a relief, because it meant that he too spoke English as well as American... a translator at last!!). Turns out that my phone (from CANADA) is too advanced for the system here in the US. They won't have that online until October sometime, maybe... but the T-Mobil guy is trying to find a way around it to help me get that up and running. And the Cox telephone guy dropped by to hook up my telephone and then helped me get my internet (wireless) up and running. So today was a better day, but I still have yet to learn American... but mark my words, just like I learned all the important words in Korean (swearing, shopping and direction related words), so will I learn to speak American!!!

hook-ups...

No, no, no!!! I know that many people read the word "hook-up" and think of a one-nighter or some other dating scenario... but no, I am talking about internet, phone, TV, banking stuff and the list goes on. Today I got my internet hooked up and the phone should be done on Thursday afternoon. I also went ahead and did my banking stuff. Now all I need to do is insurance for my home and for my car, get a cell phone working, get set up at school and all of that. It may be a small post but it reflects how overwhelmed my mind is with the long laundry list of things to do...

Assembly required...

The famous words on the box read that assembly was required but that tools were not. This was on the 5 shelf bookcase I bought from Target today... I bought it because my books are currently scattered across the livingroom floor. I also bought a rice cooker, a toaster oven, a kettle, bodum coffee maker, some wine, and some other kitcheny stuff that I didn't have. Seems like all I have done since I arrived in the US is spend money getting this aparment in order. But anyway, I got the other things unpacked, set up and good to go without any fuss or muss... then came the bookshelf. Oh.... the bookshelf... *sigh* I followed the directions to a 'T', except for the part that said this was a 2 person job... how can it be a 2 person job if there is only one person in the apartment? And only one person that I really know on a Sunday to do the job (me, in case you hadn't guessed). So I did the best I could, but there is a tiny (like not eevn 1/2 a millimetre) space between one shelf and the side and this makes the whole thing slightly unstable and crooked, even though all the other shelves are at 90 degree angles with NO spaces between shelves and sides... how does this work?! Can some brainiac tell me? Actually, I don't really want to admit that I couldn't do it perfect, but I guess I have to. At least the unit has shifted on it's own or fallen. It is flush against the wall and basically straight for now... I can't wait for my dad to see it in a couple of weeks and fix it for me... now, I need to tell you that I did put together 2 standing lamps and a fan on my own, no assistance needed and they work great! So, you see, I am capable, well... mostly! hahaha

New Apartments

So this is what it's like when you move to the US of A with some of your stuff, but not all and you are madly rushing about buying stuff and trying to find places for it but you kinda need all that stuff you are waiting for so that the apartment looks nice and not chaotic... stay tuned, there will be apartment completed pictures coming at the end of August, early September!!!

waiting...

It seems like when you are international in any job there is a lot of waiting. Waiting to leave one place for another, waiting to get your stuff shipped, waiting for the final goodbyes, waiting for the last pay cheque, waiting for that last flight out, waiting to get to where you are going, waiting for that shippment to come in, waiting to unpack your stuff, waiting to get started, waiting, waiting, waiting... I guess it is the nature of the beast. Well, I've been waiting now for my final retirement payment from the Korean government to hit my Canadian bank account and it finally did... WOO HOO!!! The woo hoo is so big because that money is what I had planned to use for my relocation... you know, security funds and for buying all the new things I would need. Instead, I am using my visa like she were going out of style and I am paying it out of my account as I go along... watching my account dwindle from something pretty nice to something pretty little... *sigh* But the money came in and all is not lost... back on track... waiting for the next step in beginning my new US job.