Anyway, I thought the title was appropriate seeing as tomorrow I will have officially been here for two weeks. Not bad eh? It seems like longer already though. It's strange to think about how I'd be heading home by now, like after my last trip to England. But no, I'm just gonna keep on being here...exciting I know!
Send me letters!
Hayley Petersen
Braunston House
24 High Street
Stockton, Southam
Warwickshire
CV47 8JZ
U.K.
I'm slightly homesick and would like letters please! I'll send you one back!
Okay okay, moving on. So let's see, on Friday I went to Leamington Spa again to go shopping. My plan was to go to Stratford-Upon-Avon (...jealous?) and explore the wonderful land of Shakespeare but the GPS (TomTom!) said it'd take me an hour and a half to drive there and I didn't feel like driving that long. It turns out the good old SatNav was wrong in that it only takes 40 minutes, but how was I to know? Oh well, I got some shopping done and it was swell. Mostly. I got all antsy again when it came to parking in the narrow-streeted town so I parked about a mile away from the shops. And seeing as I don't know the town AT ALL, I obviously got lost coming back to my car. I was seriously walking around and around for about 45 minutes trying to find my car. What's worse is that I brought my SatNav (Brit word for GPS, man, everything is different here lol) which only got me more lost in finding the street that my car was parked on. Laaaame. It was quite the experience, I must say, and one that I will likely do over and over and over again. Good times.
Sunday. On Sunday I met my fellow au pair friend Aurore for the first time. (By the way, I can't pronounce her name, so I just try to avoid it at all costs which is kind of embarassing and will one day come back to bite me in the bum. For now though, it's working.) She's the girl from France that I may have mentioned before. My nanny agency has a nanny forum where all the girls post things like where they live and stuff to try and find other people in the area. Conveniently, Aurore is just in the town next to me, Southam, and she's here for about 6 months. So we got together and walked down to the pub along the canal, The Big Lias, for some cider. First off, I don't know what a "lias" is and second, we had cider not beer because of my lame gluten intolerance. Not that I like beer, I just don't like limitations!
LiasLi"as\ (l[imac]"as), n. [Cf. F. lias, fr. liais sort of limestone, OF. also liois; perh. of Celtic origin, cf. Armor. liach, leach, a stone, Gael. leac, W. llech. Cf. Cromlech.] (Geol.) The lowest of the three divisions of the Jurassic period; a name given in England and Europe to a series of marine limestones underlying the O["o]lite. See the Chart of Geology.
The meeting went well and so now we've decided to meet up again next Sunday and try the Rice & Spice Chinese food that's across the street from me. I think we're also supposed to go out clubbing on Friday with my other new friend, Louise and her friends. Should be good times.
This is the view from outside the pub. There's a canal that runs along it and you can rent a boat for the day and go up and down the canal. I plan on doing that when I go to Stratford sometime.You know, I was just thinking the other day that this house is over a hundred years old. Do you know what that means? It means that there could be ghosts. Yeah. Bet you didn't think about that, did you? Well I did, and now I'm a bit creeped out. But then I thought about it again and figured that ALL the houses around here are over a hundred years old, so there's no way a ghost would waste his time trying to haunt just ONE family. No, he'd probably just go after the whole freaking town. Besides, I haven't heard any creepy noises or doors banging for no reason, so I think I'm okay. Just watch, now I've "unleashed" them just by talking about them. Just you wait and see.
What else have I been up to? Oh I know! I joined a pottery class that takes place every Tuesday night at Warwickshire College. Since I was always the theatre geek in high school, I never got a chance to take one of Miyazaki's awesome art classes, so now is my chance.
Here are two things I did not think about though: 1. This class would most likely appeal to middle aged women and the odd middle aged man who just want to take the beginners' class out of interest. They would also like to just concentrate on their work for the duration of the class and therefore not talk. I too am very concentrated on my work and therefore cannot be bothered to talk to the people next to me but rather decide what kind of earthenware I'd like to use. This has stopped me from making friends, the very point of me taking a class. 2. After making each bowl or plate or whatever it is is done, I will eventually have to bring it home. This is a problem since my home is in Canada and I can't exactly take, well, ANY of it home with me! So now I will be forced to leave all of my art here in England and donate it to the local hospice, or whatever place that will have a beginner-made vase. Oh dear, indeed. Ooo, unless I feel like going Greek and hosting a plate crashing party. Too bad I'm not Greek though...or able to host a party...or have the guts to purposely break plates.
Next time I'm taking a Spanish class.
I'd just like to say that it is now sunny. I am probably going to change into some lighter clothes, go pick up the kids from school, and then have it rain on me. Just saying...
See Hayley's New Words!
1. Jobs/Jobos (pronounced "yobs") - stupid teenagers
2. Pram - stroller
3. Dummy - pacifier
4. Nappie - diaper
5. SatNav - GPS
I can't remember the rest.
Oh my goodness, I forgot to say that I went to Brownies last night! Cherry is one of the leaders (not Brown Owl, her name is Cookie...long story) there and she said I could help out if I wanted to. Heck yes I do! I LOVED Brownies! And can I just say that Brownies is so much cooler now (and it was already cool before). Okay, I know I was in Brownies 12 years ago so a lot has changed, but still, I wish I was 7 again. Their outfits are cooler (I had to wear a DRESS), they have cooler badges and a really cool booklet for earning badges. The girls in the group are really cool too (I like saying "cool" a lot), so I'm hoping to help out every Wednesday night if it works out. It's also good since I'll one day be teaching kids that age, rather than toddlers, so the more practise the merrier.
Now It's Time for Hayley's Weather Report!
In the east we will be seeing some showers with slight chances of rain. To the west, light showers. All of central England will experience unpredictable rain. Oh and London, you can probably most certainly see some light to heavy slight showers with occasional falls of cats and dogs.
While we're in the topic of London, why does everything think I'm in London. Did you know that London is not the only city in England? I know right! Who woulda thought?! But really, I can't tell you how many people have asked me "How's London?" I don't know, I don't live there! It's strange too because I never once said I was going to live in London, I always always said Central England, by Stratford-Upon-Avon. I suppose that's like saying, "Oh hey, how's Toronto?" Cause obviously that's the only city in Canada. Uh yea, I'm from Vancouver. Thanks.
Okay cool beans. I think I want to have a nap now so I'm off.
Ciao mein,
H-Po
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