3 weeks in!

Well, I officially have two weeks of teaching and 21 days of living in London under my belt! We’ve also moved into our super cute flat, which I love, by the way!

Teaching in the UK is definitely different than teaching in Canada. Since my first day of teaching, however, I've definitely already seen personal improvement! There are still some days where I come home and wonder how a day could've gone so terribly, however, I've mostly come home pleased with how days have gone, and how I've responded to certain situations that have risen!

I’m LOVING London! As I begin to conquer the transit, and get used to how many people are constantly around, I find I begin to thrive more and more! I've also noticed that I'm already beginning to pick up sayings that locals use. (so get ready for that at Christmas time!) Meeting up with friends who have also travelled to the UK to teach has also been incredibly good for my heart, as well! 

We moved into our flat, as I mentioned above, last Wednesday.  We took the day off of work to do the big move.  Here’s a picture of us moving in:

Needless to say... We were pretty pumped about finally having a place to call home!

And here's our super cute flat:

 Don't worry mom...I've cleaned my room since this picture was taken! It's actually spotless right now! Sorry, I probably just made you fall out of your chair, hehe.

You have no idea how incredible it felt to finally unpack all of my stuff and begin to get established here! There’s nothing like living out of a suitcase for two weeks to make you appreciate a closet! We are still without internet, but hoping to get that installed soon! Phone plans are incredibly cheap here, so I've managed to snag one that has unlimited calling, texting, and data… For less than some of the most basic plans back in Canada.  Incredible, right?!  I’ve missed chatting with all of my loved ones during our internet-less living, so bring on the Skype calls! I’m also pretty pumped for some netflix…ha!

Overall, I'm super happy right now, and beginning to really settle in for life here in London. Missing all of my loved ones a ton, but also really beginning to love it here! And just because I feel like it, here's another picture of me being all touristy at the Thames River:

This Sunday, I'm planning on going to the Tower of London, which I am COMPLETELY excited about!!

Much Love from London,
Manda

And so it begins!

Just thought I'd throw a quick update up here.  I am going to attempt to post a weekly update, to keep all of you loved ones updated on what is going on in my life!

This past week has been a WILD ride! I had some really incredibly high points, and some pretty brutally low points, as usually comes with throwing yourself into a whole new experience.  When we arrived in London, we came with a job lined up...but that was about it.  These past 10 days have been consumed with getting new phone numbers, new bank accounts, meeting employers, finding a new address, and finding a new church. To say this process was overwhelming is an understatement! I thought about picking up and heading home several times over the past 10 days, however, to quote my girl Shania: "I ain't no quitter!" Thankfully, once things began to fall into place, WE MOVED OUT OF THE TRAVELODGE (this was a very momentous occasion for us, we were pretty stoked to move into an airbnb for the remainder of our homeless days), set up bank accounts, got new phone numbers, and secured a flat.  As everything began to work out, and one panicked phone call home about money later, I began to get more excited about the time ahead of me here in London! It's going to feel even better when we finally move in (COME ON WEDNESDAY!), and get settled into our cute little home.  Since it's 10:58 here the night before our first day of work (YAY), I'll give you a really quick update on what I've learned about myself since coming.

- sleep talking and sleep shenanigans (as I'm now calling it) is a nightly occurrence...sorry future husband, I guess when you marry me, this is what you're signing up for...
- I HATE LIVING OUT OF A SUITCASE! it's just not a settling feeling
- I will never take a refrigerator or stove for granted again...or fruit...or my own bed
- Even though I struggled a bit at first, I'm more than a conqueror and I'm SO excited to start work tomorrow and dig into life here to the fullest.
- I AM getting better at navigating transit! Woo!
- I have the world's best most supportive parents out there, who don't ask questions, and just support me in any way I need. HUGE shout out, famjam - You're amazing. I love you and miss you so much!

Also, tried out Hillsong London this morning, it was great! Next week I'm trying out the other campus in London, just to see how it is, but things are looking promising! YAY CHURCH & welcoming people! (Big shout out to Matt for meeting me this morning, and helping me navigate transit!)

Anyways, that's all.  Thanks for all of the love, prayers, and support you're sending my way.  Missing my Canadian peeps a lot, but digging in to do life here!

Much Love from London,
Manda

P.S. I did not proof read this, so my apologies to all of my English major friends reading this and cringing at any mistakes! hehe!

Update from Across the Pond!

They, whoever "they" are, say that when you travel, and do new things, you'll learn a lot about yourself.  Well, I've discovered over the past several days that this is definitely the case! I've had moments of fear, moments of excitement, moments of worry, and many moments filled with laughter.

As many of you know, last Thursday, I hopped onto a plane in Toronto, and travelled half way across the world to London, UK for a teaching position.  We came without a home lined up, and a lot of unknowns ahead of us.

On the serious side of self discovery, I've learned that when I'm stressed or about to do something that I don't feel prepared for I often find that I get quite nauseous, and my appetite disappears.  For the first several days here, my appetite was absent at best, but thankfully I'm beginning to come out of that as we begin to accomplish things and get closer to getting settled into life here.

Slowly, we're learning how to do life in London.. Little things like which direction to look when crossing the road, and which side of the sidewalk to walk on...or which side of the escalator to stand on. We've tackled the tube and rail systems...and while we're definitely far from pros, we're definitely getting a bit better with them! We've also learned, if British music channels are correct, that Ariana Grande is incredibly popular over here...I hear "Problem" VERY regularly.   We've also learned that the "Canadian accent" is a hit over here...who knew?!

Also, if you know me at all, and past roommates will be able to attest to this fact, you'll know that I'm a bit of a sleep talker.  However, over the past few days of sharing a very small hotel room and a bed with Carlie, we've discovered that I get into quite a lot of shenanigans in my sleep. Apparently I go from speaking in full, coherent sentences, to babbling nonsense in my sleep. But that's not the extent of it!  We've found I also get out of bed and rearrange things, and put things into our purses...even things that don't belong there. This can make for very interesting mornings when I'm looking for things that belong to me, and they are mysteriously in Carlie's purse.

While I'm living across the pond, I'm going to try to keep everyone at home updated on what I'm up to on this blog! :)

Speaking of which, Carl & I went adventuring on the weekend, so enjoy a few pictures from our adventures!

Adventuring around Buckingham Palace

Westminster Abbey!!

 BIG BEN!