Remind me why I thought learning phonetics would be a good idea in England

I mean, really: I just wrote about starting to get comfortable understanding my trainers & colleagues; then Friday we started learning phonemes (individual units of sound) and word stress.  Now, when we discuss words like mother (British speakers reduce the 'e') and vitamins (vItamins), I stand out all over again.  And don't even get me started on laboratory (LAB-ra-tory vs. la-BOR-a-try)!  Hmmm...though now that I know the chart I can teach them how to say downtown ( /'dæhntən/) and yinz (/jInz/) like proud Pittsburghers!

Living abroad is tiring!

I had no idea it would take so long to get adapted to my environment in an English-speaking country.  I know this may be hard to believe, but not all British people are as easy to understand as Hugh Grant, Colin Firth or even Jason Statham!  :)  For the first couple of days here-especially during the first couple of days of class-I really struggled to understand what people were saying.  I had trouble ordering food (do I want chips, crisps or fries with that sandwich?).  I got excited when people were talking about football, only to realize that they were only talking about soccer. 

Not only is the language barrier exhausting, but I'm also physically exhausted from living in city where I must use public transportation every day.  Aaaah...I'm so American.  I've become soft from stepping outside of my house and jumping straight into my car every day.  Now I walk several blocks to catch a bus, to walk several more blocks to take the tube, to walk several more blocks to get to the school.  (I'd estimate the distances more accurately, but, again, I'm American and we're not so good at that!) 

But I think I've reached the turning point.  I've been here a full week now and today I woke up energetic.  I hardly noticed the walking.  During lunch, I sat with a smaller group of the students in my course and was able to fully participate in the conversation.  (though I still accidentally ordered fries instead of chips with my sandwich!)  And, most important of all, I completed my first evaluated teaching session-SUCCESSFULLY!!!!  The feedback was rather general, but a lot focused on being enthusiastic and engaging the students with an open body posture and a free use of gestures.  I was rather happy about that until one of my colleagues pointed out that, as an American, I'm probably naturally more engaging than most Brits.  :)  Oh, well.  At least that's one positive reason for taking the course in London-I have a bit of an advantage over the competition!

I should have brought more sweaters...

First impression: London is COLD!  (and rainy, but that's to be expected)  The temperature here is about 15 degrees colder than it is at home.  (I'm jealous since the temperatures at home have finally become perfect summer days!)  It's day 2 here and, although I am still fighting jet lag, I attempted to venture out into the neighborhood to pick up a few things and got completely soaked!  Brrrr!

Anyway, I arrived here fairly uneventfully early yesterday morning (local time).  The plane was not full at all, so I had two seats all to myself!  R was not too late picking me up from the airport (within acceptable IST and completely within his own personal time frame!)  :)  He has been a fantastic host-pointing out all kinds of navigable landmarks and giving me suggestions on places to shop for things I need. 

So far, I've only broken two things: 1.) my hairdryer, which claimed to be able to run on 220 current and 2.) my umbrella (mental note: don't pack in the outside pocket of your suitcase).  I did get a SIM card, so I feel connected to the outside world again.  The clerk actually asked me if I was Irish.  (I mean, I know I'm bad at accents...but have I ever sounded Irish???)  Must have been the green shirt I was wearing...

I just have to end with this photo.  Let me say, I'm relieved that R doesn't live here! (It's just down the street though!)

Questions & Answers

I'm blogging again!  Now that I'm about to head off on another overseas adventure, I thought that it was a good idea to resurrect the blog so that I could keep in touch with my friends and family that are still in the dark ages (i.e. don't use a certain popular social media site).  :)  And, to be honest, I like the idea of occasionally being able to express myself in (hopefully!) well-thought out prose instead of a brief status update. 

Since I am still stateside, I don't yet have a lot to say.  I did, however, want to get this up and running, so I thought I would explain more clearly what I will be doing.  I seem to be getting a lot of the same questions lately, so I must not have done a good job telling everyone about it.  :)  Tomorrow I head off to London to take a course to get certified to teach English as foreign language (TEFL).  The course is known as the CELTA (Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults).  It is one of the most well-known certifications throughout the EFL industry.  The course is a month-long, full-time, intensive course-designed so that I will be taking classes while teaching real students for a hands-on learning experience.  I'm excited and terrified at the same time.  What happens after I complete the course?  Well, assuming I pass, I start looking for a job.  While I'm sure many of you are hoping I stay safely (or not so safely these days!) in London, I will most likely be moving on to another part of the world.  Will I head back to India?  Not likely, but I always like to keep my options open.  :)  I'm not really sure where I'll end up, but I'm sure wherever it is will give me plenty of stories to share!