Shopping

Since being in the United Kingdom I have acquired a few new loves here in Newcastle:

1) Grainger market

2) Wilkinsons

This may sound shallow, but I do not care!  My love for the Grainger Market is understandable by most people.  But I can understand why people might not share in my love for Wilkinsons, and I am quite okay with that!

Before Daniel makes me feel ungrateful for being here (heehee), I am intrigued with the history and culture of our new country, but it doesn't take a lot to get me excited and thus is why I have dedicated an entire blog to shopping.

Now, if you know me well, you know that I hate to shop!  And most importantly that I am probably the most cheapest person on this earth.  Begs the question... soo why am I so excited to blog about shopping? Well the shopping that I am talking about is not the ‘regular girl’ type of shopping.  It is of course about discount shopping!  I think I may have inherited some genes from Nancy.  Or possibly the entire Bouliane  family.  The “oh so memorable” conversation with a Bouliane sister...

Me: “That is an awesome shirt!”

Bouliane sister: “Oh Thanks, TJ Max $10 bucks!”

It does not matter which sister it is... you will know the amount they paid and which store they have purchased it from.

The best evidence of this is the “baby Tommy story” about his grandmas shirt being from Walmart.... mind you the child was probably 2 years old at this time..... anywho I’m waaaaaayyyy off topic!

Back to Wilkindsons...

Wilkinsons, is a cheap discount store that sells virtually everything!  I have been trying to think of a Canadian store that it resembles, but that has been difficult.  Maybe a Giant Tiger???

Anyway!!!!!!!!! This fantastic store puts a smile on my face whenever I walk into it.  Ryan doesn’t understand my infatuation with this discount store, but in a way he does because he understands my cheap way of living.

Okay soooo I was introduced to Wilkinsons by my lovely teaching partner/actual agent (heehee) very good friend Nicci.  I feel as if I may need an entire separate blog for Nicci but for now we just know that she introduced me to Wilkinsons.

Wilkinsons is a 3 story building dedicated to discounted items.  This store carries everything from toiletries to carpeting and furniture for your home all at a ridiculous discounted price.  This is how wonderful it is:

12 pieces of dishes = 4 pounds

1 Hair dryer = 6 pounds

3 candles 2 throws = 3 pounds

1 toaster = 3 pounds

1 iron = 4 pounds

For 20 pounds in Canada you could not get all of this anywhere!  A hairdryer alone is usually $40.00.  This is why I love Wilkinsons.  It also has awesome books and supplies for teaching which makes me :).

Now that I have introduced to you my first love, I will now reminisce with you about my second love, Grainger Market.

Grainger Market is a huge farmers market style set in a huge older building in the middle of City Centre.  It takes me 4 metro stops to arrive at this wonderful place.  This market sells everything.  There are plenty of butchers, vegetable markets, cafes, shoe stores, book stores, florists ect.

Every Saturday, Ryan and I have made it a routine to do our grocery shopping together.  We have made it into a afternoon date by grabbing lunch, or a coffee during our Grocery shopping.

Ryan during one of our Grainger Market lunch dates

The majority of our food comes from the Grainger Market, because the market has ridiculously low prices:

3 pieces of chicken

3 pieces of flank frying steaks

1lb of ground beef

= 5 pounds from our lovely butcher ‘Oliver and Dean Brothers’ (love you guys)

10 potatoes

2 large onions

1 head of lettuce

3 peppers

1 box of Strawberries

5 apples

1 bushel of broccoli

= 5 pounds at the most

We get all this for 10 pounds, and then grab a frothy milk coffee for 80pents.

Remarkable is the word for it!  We do have to go to Tesco (the local grocery store) for things like cereal yogurt and pasta/rice ect.  But that ever only costs us around 15 pounds a little more if we buy beer or a bottle of wine.

But what this means is that for groceries for a week we spend 30 pounds.  That is approximately $48.00 a week.  We used to spend for the 2 of us for one week of groceries in Canada about $85.00- $100.00 easily.

Inside Grainger at a place we eat at sometimes

This has been fun introducing you to my infatuation with discounted market shopping!  Can't wait to catch you up with all the other fun stuff we have been up to here in Newcastle! Blog to you all soon :)

So what is a Geordie anyway?

So what’s a Geordie anyway?  

For all my Canadian loves out there, I thought it would be necessary to define what a Geordie actually is.  When I first arrived here I thought I had an idea of what ‘being’ Geordie meant.  As the weeks flew by I continued to learn more about this ‘Geordiness’.  Whether it be from my students or friends, to be Geordie is more than just talking silly it`s a way of life.

To be a Geordie it is said that you enjoy being a part of the ‘toon army’ because it allows you to act like an animal on the day of the big football match! 

On a serious note, Geordie is a lifestyle and like my new friend has helped me realize I need to learn more about what it is that makes this country and its history so passionate about being Geordie.

Defining Geordie

So the basics, Geordie is an English dialect only spoken in Newcastle upon Tyne.  The words are horrendous and make The English language sound dreadful.  Well I guess that is my definition, but believe it or not, the Geordie dialect actually comes from the phonology of the Anglo-Saxons era. 

To re-live some Geordie phrases yourself take a gander and watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1zfG9No12Y

Other words and odd things that the British do:

Instead of asking, “How are you?” like we do in Canada they ask “Are you aight?”

This may not sound confusing, but in the beginning weeks of being here I actually thought people were concerned and asking if I was actually “All right”.  It was weird because my teaching agency that I work with kept asking if I was, “aight?”  I kept saying yes, I am fine why should I be upset?  It was sooo confusing!!??

Also they use ‘aye’ like we use ‘eh’.  A funny story with this happened with my letting agent.  For the Canadians, a letting agent is a real estate agent for renting.  We do not deal with the actual landlords here. We deal with letting agents who have been hired by landlords.  Anyway.... when we first got our flat I was walking through the place with the letting agent going over repairs and such.  He was saying “Aye” in agreement with me, and I was saying “eh?”  Because I was confused with the “aye”.   At the end of our journey through our flat, all we were saying to one another was “aye” and “eh” back and forth.  I didn’t think it made much sense but he seemed satisfied.

Asking for a glass of water in England is like taking a quiz. 

 Me: “I will just have water please”

Server: “Still or sparkling?”

Me: “Eh?”

Server: “ Which one?”

Me: “Ummmm tap water?”

Ryan and I have noticed how the British love to use adjectives and describing words!  We love it and usually get a kick out of the way they use their language.  Here are some examples:

The British love the word ‘LEGENDARY’ they use it for everything!

Ex: That was legendary! You are legendary! That match was legendary! 

Other fun describing words we have learned to love that the British use:

Bollocks (means you are pissed at someone, actually means testicles)

Cheeky (still a bit confused on this one)

Brilliant (I have to use this with my students because they recognize smart as being a nice dresser and                 not being intelligent).

Wanker  ( not able to describe it on here, but it’s nasty)

Other odd words:

Me (they use it funny, “like me moms sick’ or “me phone”)

Heub (a stove)

Crisps (chips)

Chips (fries)

Pants (underwear)

Rubbish (garbage)

Post (mail)

Toilet (bathroom, still soooo weird to ask where the ‘toilet’ is)

Telly (television)

Wellies (rubber boots)

Trolley (shopping cart)

Lift (elevator)

Toon (town, but strictly Geordie)

The Canadian Geese have Finally Landed!

Walking through Gatwick London airport with absolutely everything you currently own is not daunting at all....  This was the starting of our England journey, so let me fill you in on the experience.

With bright eyes and bushy tails Ryan and I ran through the airport terminal mimicking what other passengers seem to be doing.  Everyone was rushing like they were on an episode of “The Great American Race”.  We rushed along right with them, until the mob of people came to a screeching halt.  As we lined up (or ‘queued’ as the British say) I began to realize that we seemed to have far more luggage than everyone else that was around us.  Also, our fellow travellers all seemed to have a maroon passport, not a royal blue one like Ryan and I.  We twisted around the corner to see a huge pillar that read, ‘EUROS’.  Sweet deal! We are in the wrong mess of people.

A lady that we had been sitting with in the plane spotted us and said to us, “I think you belong over there,” and pointed to another pillar that said ‘NON-EURO’.  Mmmmm yes, yes indeed we belong over there.  Well, we took our sorry behinds over to the larger queue, the queue that had restless travellers who held royal blue passports and lots of luggage.   It was quite funny to see that we were the only Canadians that had followed the Euros into the customs area.

Queued at Gatwick Customs

Well.... we waited for some time, but Ryan and I both were far too excited to notice how long!  Once we were stamped finger printed and approved, we rushed on into the Bustling city of London!

We ran around lost for about 30 minutes looking for the train.  Talked to some British people and gathered enough information that got us to the metro line.  It was at the London Metro where we learned our favourite English saying, “Mind the Gap”. 

Remember to always 'Mind the Gap!'

There is a dangerous ‘gap’ between the actual rails of the metro and the platform.  The trains and metros go so fast in London that you must ‘mind the gap’.  The gap that you need to ‘mind’ is the gap between where you are standing and the actual metro.  There are yellow paint and words that actually say ‘mind the gap’ on the platforms.  If this ‘minding’ is not obeyed the metro driver reminds you by saying, ‘mind the gap’.  On this particular day the metro driver must have been having a terrible day, because he not only reminded people to ‘mind the gap,’ he reminded them to ‘mind the bloody f@#%king Gap’.  Since then for a good laugh we sometimes remind one another to ‘Mind the Bloody Gap!’

After making our way to Kings Crossings, a train station in London, which has some connection with the Harry Potter Movie ( I wouldn’t know because I am not a Harry Potter person) we jumped on a train to make our 3 hour hike North. 

It was very exciting to have the first glimpse of the Tyne River.  After looking at so many pictures of it on-line and finally being able to cross that bridge made everything a reality!  We are finally here!  Not sooo fast.  The train car in front of us had some silly business going on that had to deal with the police (British slang: Bobby).  After about a twenty minute wait we crept into the central station Newcastle upon Tyne!

We made our way to the entrance to try and hail a taxi, which was easy enough.  I gave the taxi driver the hotel address that we had previously booked, and he giggled.  “What is so funny?”  I asked him, “Your hotel is right across the street from Central Station”.  Well didn’t I feel stupid!!!  I had not a clue that I had booked such a great hotel in such an accommodating area! Geezzzz......

Our First Piture Tother in Europe!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And so it begins....

Where to start.... I believe it’s fitting to begin by explaining who we are and why I decided to start this blog. 

My name is Amanda Marie, and I have recently re-located to the United Kingdom to work as a Primary Junior Teacher.  Ryan Peter is my fiancé and he has agreed to take this journey with me, to allow me to play out my dream and adventure of taking my career mobile.  Together we are taking part in this journey finding all the laughs and pitfalls along the way. 

Ryan and I met aeons ago, while still in high school, I know that we have known each other for 10 years, and Ryan continues to believe that it has only been 8 years.  For some reason, year after year, it still continues to be only 8 years.  I guess the real `year counting` doesn’t matter until we have both vowed to one another in the sacred ritual of marriage.  So until then, I will side with the blissful 8 years.

Blissful I would say would have to be an understatement, because a majority of our years together (up until this year) has been long distance.

Back 8 or 10 years ago haha... Ryan was busy being a hockey player, whether it was all over Ontario or in the United States Ryan and I got to know one another over long distance phone calls.  Ryan played hockey for the United Hockey League, both in Muskegon, Michigan and Richmond Virginia.  He also played in the Ontario Hockey League, in Windsor Ontario for the Windsor Spitfires.  After his hockey career, he was accepted onto the varsity Hockey League and Played for the X Men at St. Francis Xavier University.

We travelled together to the East Coast of Canada where we both attended St. Francis Xavier University.  Ryan finished with an undergraduate degree with a major in finance, and I with an undergraduate degree with a joint major in psychology and sociology.

I was lucky enough to be accepted into the Bachelor of Education program at the University of Windsor, a year after graduating from St. FX.  What made this even better was that it was in good old Windsor, Ontario which is my home town.

This met for more long distance, which while doing an education degree I may say was a blessing in disguise.  I moving back home and Ryan remaining in his home town to work with TD Canada Trust bank was a nice change of pace.  It was less chaotic to do this second degree without my wingman.  In the nicest way it was refreshing to pine over lesson plans and teaching papers without him there.  Anyone will tell you, that a teaching degree, yet not difficult, requires your full attention and many all nighters to pull off that perfect lesson plan!

Anywho.... this is where England came about.  While coasting through the actions of being a teacher, it dawned on me that I really didn`t have a plan as to what to do after this.  During our last term, the university put on a job convention, where booths were set up for teaching jobs all over the world.  I sweet lady with an English accent called me over, “Have you ever considered working in the UK?”  mmmmm......NO is what I was thinking, but “Yes” is what I said.  I handed over my resume and thought about it time and time again.

Many ‘section 2ers’ I have come to notice were planning to take this journey and teach in the UK.  That is when I revisited the idea.  One night after an education party, where the talk was mostly about finding work, I returned home and applied to 3 agencies online.  Mind you it was 3 am and I had finished a bottle of red wine at the party...

One thing led to another and I had done a few on the phone interviews.  It still wasn’t real and I had never really thought about ever moving to another country! After graduation I set out to move back to Peterborough, where I was notified of another, face to face interview.  I went to the interview and everything went great!  About a week later I got an acceptance letter to join one of the agencies.  How exciting!  After that it was a blur.  Tons of paper work, VISA applications (I have added a‘s’ on the end of application because I was rejected with my first application), and loads of money saving later, Ryan and I landed in the UK.

Ryan was working as a financial advisor at TD Canada Trust bank before we decided to pack up and leave.  He has been moving his entire life, so there was little to no begging required on my part to convince him to come.  He was excited, sometimes I think more excited than me! 

So we packed 55 pounds worth of clothing, had my dad drop us off at Pearson International Airport, said our goodbyes and began our journey!  This is how this blog began.  I will do my best to keep this updated!  So stay tuned and I hope to keep this entertaining for you.