Our first glimpse of home...covered in ice, fallen power lines and SOOOOOO many trees!!!
Could barely get down the street without running over massive tree trunks all over the road!
So slippery and some dangerous because the trees were so heavily coated in ice.
This was mom and dad's front lawn covered with tree branches - luckily it didn't hit any cars but that was a nightmare getting up and down the ice covered driveway...I should have fallen multiple times!
What a crazy life Anthony and I lead at the moment but it's definitely all worth it when we look back at all of the experiences that we've had through the teaching profession and the amazing friends that we've made here. It's hard to believe that it's truly been over 1 year since we've been over in England now - it just goes by so quickly! Teaching is definitely hard work and trying to keep a social life is sometimes even harder because there is so much work that needs to be done not to mention planning that needs to happen in order for me to keep my sanity with the students.
Both Anthony and I have had such a whirlwind of an adventure over here within the last little while and we just don't want it to end. There are so many variables this year that we are foreseeing and trying to figure out exactly where we're meant to be and what we're supposed to be doing. We have hit the 1 year mark on our Visas so far and that means only 1 year left until we'll be asked to leave the country. It's hard to believe that it's only 1 year left but its gone by so quickly, I'm sure this year will feel even quicker. Anthony and I are hoping to fulfill this next year with teaching from here but you never know where this profession will take us. When we came home for the holidays, we noticed that after 2 years, Halton District School Board was finally open and we didn't want to miss our opportunity to apply to the board considering that is essentially where we want to end up. So within the last 2 days of our stay in Canada over Christmas, we sorted through our resumes and cover letters and got our applications in before the board closed. I suppose now everything is a waiting game and we just have to patient to see what the outcome will be. I guess you could say, we're just trying to cover our butts because we're not sure what will happen with our status over here in England. We have looked into applying for residency, however, we have to live in the country for a minimum of 5 years before we can even apply. Therefore, we will have to look into possibly extending our Visa's should the government wish to grant us that opportunity. Things are seemingly more complicated at this point, but I suppose we saw that coming not too long ago before we entered the new year. We are excited though about also managing to apply to the Niagara District School Board because we've thought about the teaching possibilities that are in that area as well. We figure since Niagara is close to home that we would still be close enough for family and friends to still come visit should we end up there....at this point, it really could be anywhere! We'll have to wait and see where life takes us...
A few Christmas Pictures <3
Christmas morning - opening gifts in a 5 degree house with a fire, mittens, hats, scarves and warm jackets...not what I had in mind but hey...it worked!
Pretty happy guy for someone who was freezing cold!
It was necessary to photo bomb my own iPad after everyone else started too...
even Anthony got in on it after a while.
Carlo Christmas (first one with the 2 new adopted kids - Brayden, Lexus....what a fun holiday)
First time in a while getting Christmas pictures as a family and boy let me tell you, it was difficult but we managed to sneak in a few good ones ;)
It was hard for the kids to sit still (ie. Anthony and Jared) LOL...
But in time, I think we managed to get this great shot!!! Honestly, this one is my favourite!! :-D
Still can't believe we got one where everyone was smiling...a miracle!! What a fun photoshoot!! :) :)
As for England now, we have been enjoying these last few months getting to know our amazing new friends that we've both got to know through teaching and spending some time together outside of the school - planning dinner parties and just hanging out with each other. We've learned some proper British ways to do things and have definitely seen a lot of the pubs around here. It's been an interesting ride but we definitely wouldn't have it any other way! The other day, we took part in Wassail and as rookies, we had to get used to the fact that we had to walk a LONG way just to say we completed the journey. We made some stops along the way and eventually had to walk through the pitch black countryside IN THE MUD to get home, but we all survived the huge walk and were victorious in completing our massive walk. In total we walked about 8-10 miles...can't say I've done that in a while, but that was intense and definitely well worth it!!! :) :) :) What an exhausting day though, I'm pretty sure Anthony and I were in bed that night before 10PM...although we did start at 12 noon and were walking for probably a solid 5-6 hours...great workout!! I would definitely do that again...what a great experience (only because it chose to have sunshine that day and not rain like the entire rest of the week previous).
Picture from our Wassail Journey:
The last leg of our journey home which I swear took at least 2 hours....it took FOREVER!!!! LOL...
First stop of the day from an hour of walking through the countryside...so we needed a little refreshment to keep us hydrated ;)
After the first MASSIVE hill that we climbed within the first 20 minutes...absolute KILLER!
Nice group shot, halfway through the 3rd leg of our journey!
Our last group picture of the evening...it was so dark, I'm surprised this
picture even turned out!! AMAZING!
First glimpse of the English countryside :)
Alex's dad was walking with us and he was a mile ahead but we all laughed
at how the sheep were naturally following him across the entire field!
Overseeing all of Eastbourne and even into Bexhill and Hastings by the sea...beautiful!
Look at those rolling hills...
Steep side of the first hefty climb up an epic mountain so it seemed...so steep!!
As far as the school life goes, Anthony and I are getting pretty settled into the teaching profession and are starting to experience all the stresses and excitements found in the every day hustle and bustle. We are both enjoying going to work for the day (most of the time) and are trying really hard to get involved with the students through extracurricular activities and mentoring. This is a new process for me because the emphasis is different in England regarding the curriculum and even how schools are run. The every day that we would consider at home is completely different in a British school but in positive way. We are both getting the opportunity to mentor kids aged 11-16 and give them a better outlook on life. If we can do that for them then we can feel confident in our ability to teach. I know especially that every club and meeting that I attend helps me to better understanding the curriculum in England and help students that are struggling with simple things. I love being challenged constantly and tested with observations to help me be a better teacher. The constant reminder of goals that have been set for us to professionally develop our teaching potential is so important at this stage, especially when you're brand new to this whole teaching thing...LOL...It's an eye opener but this will help both Anthony and I in the long run should we ever decide to go back to Canada and teach. We can eventually take what experience we've gained here and bring it back with us in order to give us a good start to a career at home should it ever happen to pan out that way.
Right now, everything is an open book and we're not sure where we'll both be in a year, but hopefully the next year will be just as exciting as last year and we learn more and more about how we can progress in our profession as teachers. We do miss everyone terribly and wish that we didn't have to be so far away because that is the worst but we know that this experience over here is what we need and should we happen to be coming home this time next year, then so be it!!!
Here's to writing more blogs and another 6 month of teaching...(only 4 weeks till our next week off)....COME ON!!!
Love,
Steph & Anthony xoxo
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