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Cowes - main shopping area. Notice the narrow roads, they are all like that here.

Ventnor, which is located on the east side of the island, by the English channel.

What About Chris

Despite what many of you think, we did not leave Chris on the mainland. He has been very busy taking care of all the mundain (?) tasks that needed to get done (utilities, bank accounts, internet). Nothing here is as easy to arrange as it is in the states, so it has taken a lot of time. He did finally assemble his bike last week. On Friday night, some of the teachers play football (soccar) and this week Chris played. I didn't watch, but I hear he did alright. However, he did tell me later that he never wants to do that again.

Great Co-Workers

Well, just started week number four. The students are not getting a whole lot better, but I have confidence that I will get most of them sorted out in due time. The thing that makes this job do-able, is the wonderful people I work with. Just to give you a run down, there is Caryn from South Africa, Stephanie from Georgia, Jean Paul from Canada, Susanne from Austrailia, Ken from South Africa, and Nicola and Steve from G.B. They are a great bunch and we do a lot of things together. Thursay night is curry night down at the local pub. So we all went down (Chris and the girls included) and had Indian food, great beer, and lots of fun. On Friday night, as soon as the last lesson is finished, we have cake and wine at school, then go to the pub for beer.

I finally found some hangers. They are cheap, badly made plastic ones that cost £1.99 for 6 hangers. Thats around $4.00 for six hangers. Needless to say, we still don't have enough hangers. I do have a line on some that I can get for FREE - yeah.

This coming week end, weather permitting, I think we will go to Carisbrook Castle. Now that the girls have their bus passes, they can take the bus anywhere for $0.50. I post pictures.

Down at the Pub

I went to the pub with a few of my mates from school. The pub, Shattered Oak, was in East Cowes. So there I am, having a pint and listening to the band play Sweet Home Alabama. Sometimes life is funny.

Photos

The image on the left is what is called the needles. It is the western most point on the isle. The image on the right is the girls standing by the Solent, which is the body of water between the isle and the mainland. The other image is an example of what the isle is like. Unfortunately, it is not of the house we live in.

Girls In School

Well, the girls have a school. They will be going to Bishop Lovett CE Middle School. It is one of the best schools on the isle, and according to many, the best. It is about a 5-10 minute walk from our house. Apparently, they need physics teachers badly enough, that threats do work.

We are all settled into our house, except that we can not find coat hangers anywhere on the isle. Who would have figured that coat hangers would be such a hot item. Well, we have about 20 of them in our house, so we know they exist here, but they are apparently endangered. We will continue our search. Finally found a coffee maker in Newport. We were finally able to make coffee (the normal way) yesturday. It tasted like heaven. It was, the only coffee maker I have yet to see in the stores.

I am settling into school, with some adjustments yet to be made. Kids here are unbelievably rude and disrespectful. All of the foreign trained teachers are having a difficult time adjusting to this. Speaking of foreign teachers, we have new teachers from South Africa, Austraila, Canada, and two from the US (one from the south and me from the north). Our science department is a very interesting mix of nationalities. Anyway, during one class on friday, I had to boot out six students. It is like they all act like the ED kids do back home. Boy, do I have more respect for Dean and all the others who work with kids like this everyday. I'll take any tips anyone wants to send for dealing with 'shitheads'.

Well, off to buy groceries.

Day Three

Sorry about the very negative post the other day, it just sort of caught up with me. The girls are still not in school, but I have been told that I should be getting some news soon. The house, although very messy from the move (as I have not had time to put anything away) is not as dumpy as I thought. The kitchen is still bad, but the rest is rather nice.

Please send e-mails, so I will have everyones address.

School Started Today

Well, I just finished my first day of school. The system here is so different from the US. I am having a very difficult time adjusting to the differences. The students are pretty much the same, except they all call me Miss.

Evelyn and Andrea did not start school today with all the other children, as we are so far, unable to get them into a school. In addition, they tell us that the only school available is in Newport, which would mean a 40 minute bus ride each way. They would have to go by public bus. I am not happy with that and have told them that I will not accept them going to any school, but those in Ryde. I am giving them until Friday to fix this problem.

Overall, it has been a very difficult transition. Despite the similarities, this place is so very different from the US. I am hoping the adjustment with happen and we will all settle in soon.

New Address

Well, we now have a home here on the Isle of Wight. Our address is available from Ellen, Scott, or Jeff. We are still having trouble getting the girls into school. Apparently, you submit an application for the school that you want. Once the spaces at that school are full, you have to select a different school. Well, all the middle schools in Ryde are full. This means, that the girls would be able to go to the nearest school, which is in Newport, 30 minutes away by public bus. Well, this is not acceptable to us. We are not putting the girls on the bus and shipping them off to Newport, which isn't the best of cities. Even if we were to accept this, they still couldn't start school next week, as we would have to go through the "interview process". More later.