A week into the new chapter...

Today has been hard, I'm utterly exhausted. In fact I'm probably going to go to bed quite soon. I found it extremely hard with the kids today, they were fine and enjoyed a day of painting with occasional inputs from their teacher, but I felt rubbish and didn't move far from my desk.

On the emotional rollercoaster today has been a down day.

However I have had lovely emails from Katifer and a brilliant long chat with Jemma. Talking to Jemma was so lovely, we chatted for an hour.

I love my friends - each and every single one of you!

3 more days till half term...

Hurray for half term...I can't wait. Also looking forward to the Halloween party on Thursday night. I've got a fab new dress to wear, which with my fairy wings and lots of black eyeliner will do the trick I reckon.

Today has been a good day - I'm tired, but feeling a lot more positive than I thought I would last week. At the end of the day I am here in this amazing country.

I have learnt quite a lot since I arrived:

• Being myself is a damn good thing to be - as shown by the reaction of all the people I have met and work with
• Being here on my own has started to enable me to put myself first
• I am a very positive person - you have to be in this situation because you really are on your own
• My family and friends mean even more to me than before.

My thought are quite random...been distracted for a while chatting to people online.

Retail Therapy!

A great afternoon, indulging in one of my favourite pastimes with Chrissy!

In the company of Miss Lee...

Firstly, I have been up for about 25 hours. Not because I can't sleep, but because I have been in the company of the awesome and beautiful, Miss Amy Lee.

Hmm...I should delete that really coz not long after I wrote it, I felt a huge need to go to sleep!

It's now a couple of hours later and I am in recovery from last night mode!

Yesterday I was up and about early because I was going to meet Amy at one of the bus station's in Quito at about 9.30am. I got a taxi because I didn't know where it was and arrived there at about 9.00am. I then hung around waiting to see Amy - hoping that we would find each other at this huge place.

I watched buses come and go, but no sign. Just after 9.30, Amy called my mobile from a payphone, we still couldn't see each other, but I decided to go in and look for her. A good decision! We found each other and headed into the Mariscal for coffee.

Coffee was in Plaza Foch, in the heart of the Mariscal, where we had vast amounts to talk about. we then ambled to the Artesania Market (it took a couple of detours to get there as my sense of direction didn't seem to be so good yesterday). We wandered slowly amongst the stalls and aisles full of bright colours and many interesting items. I bought a cute pair of earrings and a couple of headbands; Amy also got earrings and a bracelet - covered in religious icons. From the market we headed for Qui Centro and then MegaMaxi for some less exciting purchases. Then onwards to home for a chill, internet usage and yet more talking!

I introduced Amy to the wonders of Skype - she was mightily impressed!

Amy's current adventure is amazing - she is working with a community in the cloud forest, helping them to make jewllery and other items to sell at the market in Otavalo. Her stories, photos and Spanish are incredible after only being here for 3 weeks! I'm going to join her next weekend to see more of where she is and what she's doing, which I'm really looking forward to. Even though we have now only spent time together on four different occasions, it feels like we have known each other for a really long time. It really is lovely to have her here at the same time as me - especially at the moment. We are able to give each other a lot of support. She's also had stressful stuff going on this week, but in a different way. We also have a lot of fun!

Last night we decided to go out for sushi in Cumbaya. On the walk down to the old square, Amy and I devised some mantras - one I'm not going to repeat, one involved checking that she had her bag and the other was to say very loudly...'I'm in fucking Ecuador'. We practised these three mantras all the way to the old square. Changing them by emphasising different words and laughing quite hysterically. We met Jim in the square, had a great meal at the sushi place and then moseyed on to the pub. I was really shattered at the pub because of the lack of sleep in the past few nights (although Friday night was a lot better than Wed or Thurs). However we had a lot of fun singing along with the 80's cheese and chatting.

Amy really had a need to go dancing - there are quite strict rules for behaviour where she is living and a woman dancing on her own and wiggling her hips is seen as improper - it's what a prostitute would do. So she has danced but it has to be with the local village lads. Jim was meant to be going to a party, but decided to stay with us. I really felt unsure about going up to Quito, but in the end thought what the hell.

We went to the same club that I'd been to before with Jim - El Ajigon (I'm not sure if that's how you spell it, but it'll have to do!). Not long after we arrived a band started playing - however it soon became apparent that this was no ordinary band - they were a whole audio and visual experience. We were treated to a very intriguing and dark animation as well as the music! I really enjoyed it - great to see some live music again and it was really good. The DJs kicked in and we danced till about 3am. There was much silliness from all three of us in the dancing stakes and a lot of energy was expended!

Amy had decided that the best way to make sure that she got her bus back at 7.00am was to stay up all night. So we had an entertaining run around the Mariscal looking for somewhere else to go, realised most places appeared to be closing; grabbed a taxi and headed home.

Back at home, coffee, chocolate and t'internet kept me and Aims going. She finally managed to upload some of her pictures and also had another chat with her mum. Just after 6am we walked and found a taxi just down the road and she made her way home again.

It was beautiful first thing this morning - Cotopaxi was in view, the sun was shining and the early morning sky was amazing. Many things to be thankful for.

The Dawning of the Day

Amy has really helped me in the past 24 hours - I've had moments and she has been just wonderful. She's coming back on Thursday to come to a halloween party with me - I can't wait!

Today...

has been ok.

School was fine, the kids were great as were lots of the staff. I'm incredibly lucky to have such a support of friendship and love, both near and far.

My humour and that of my kids has kept me going, my head has told me lots of sensible things. I've survived on four and a half hours sleep and quite a few coffees.

I had a bit of a lull at the end of the day, but then headed off to Claire's because it's her birthday. It was a lovely gathering of people from work and a lovely evening - we all sat outside. I have listened to lots of very funny stories from Justin and Christine (mostly about Justin!!) and laughed lots. I could of come home with the girls but decided to stay later...avoiding being on my own.

Andy gave me a lift home and we sang along with Kylie - it felt quite surreal. He is Welsh though so you can't necessarily expect him to have good musical tastes!

I got home and switched my computer on...wondering if there might be anymore replies to messages I sent out yesterday...calling out to my friends for support... and saw Pete was online on Yahoo.

This put me into a huge dilemma...for one thing it would have been about 3.00am for him. I wanted to reach out, but knew I shouldn't, but did anyway. I didn't get a reply and didn't really expect one. I just wanted to know if he was okay.

The internet is an amazing way to keep in touch with people, but it can also make it harder to move forwards. I love it because I'm able to talk to and see my family/friends over skype; chat and keep in touch on facebook; post photos on flickr; research things for work; retail therapy. I hate it because it is very easy to see into other's lives, which isn't a good thing when your trying to have a sensible head about your emotions. I had taken steps to lessen this yesterday, but hadn't figured on the yahoo connection especially with the 6 hour time difference. I have taken a few more steps tonight.

I need to stop looking back and keep looking/moving forwards - advice I was given not long before I came here. I know there are amazing opportunities ahead of me and that I will grab them with both hands. I have no idea what the future holds. It will be strange not to have someone alongside me - it's been a long time since I've been truly single. And I'm sure once I get more apt at dealing with the emotions that are welling out of me at the moment, there is much fun to be had. (I'm sure my sensible head will keep telling me these things and the rest of me will catch up and listen at some point)

Well it's just after midnight now and my sensible head says I should try and sleep. Goodnight my lovelies.

Chapters

We all have many different chapters in our lives and today a new one has begun for me. Pete and I have made the decision to stop being in contact with each other in order to move on with our lives. I always knew that I would have to let go and always knew it would be really hard. My head knows this is the right thing to do, but my heart is breaking.

Why?

Why is it that one person can be completely different with two different people?

This morning I had a delivery of two happy CDs, which was lovely. Yet the same person has really upset some of my other colleagues. I've learnt my lesson from the past though...I'm not getting involved. I'll listen but that's it. Sadly though one of my colleagues has decided to resign and will be leaving as soon as a replacement can be found (which may be January).

I've spent today meeting parents for target setting with the kids. On the whole it's been a good day, but has made me quite concerned about the relationships between the boys in the class. There appears to be some bullying going on and I also feel that there is one kid who is used as a scapegoat, by parents as well as kids. I need to be more vigilant. I've asked the school psychologist to come in and speak to the class about appropriate play and what it means to be a good friend. I'm also going to lead part of the staff meeting next week on bullying and suggest that we have an anti-bullying week. I have support to do this and feel that it is hugely important in this macho, male dominated society. These kids come from highly privileged backgrounds, where many things are done for them and they have maids. I feel it's really important to 'nip this behaviour in the bud' before the kids really hit puberty.

Today has been a long day with quite large periods of inactivity between meetings, I really should have got some marking done or some planning, but instead I have spent the time chatting with Carolina. This has been quite fun and interesting. I'm quite shocked at the way past teachers have treated the support staff. It also makes me even more determined that I will treat people with respect and value them. If I ever do reach a position of management in my career I have many models on how not to behave!

On my own emotional front I'm feeling much better today, but I am absolutely shattered. I'm so looking forward to half term - only a week and a half away. Not quite sure what I'm going to do yet, the girls are making plans, but I really want to chat with Amy and see if I can meet up with her for some of it. There are lots of options, but it's whether to spend time on my own or away with other people from school.

Blue

Still feeling blue.

Apparently there are models that show in your third month away from home you really feel it. So I'm a textbook case, having been here for 10 weeks.

Unfortunately, that means I have no motivation today and am finding the interaction with the kids harder than usual.

As yet untitled...

Twisting and turning away from you,
The pain cuts me deep inside,
I don't know where you are or what you see,
But I feel you trying to hide.

We both find other things to think about,
To absorb the empty time,
The sadness punctuates through every day,
But we say we're feeling fine.

I miss the way you held me tight,
The slightest touch would make me melt,
The sensation when our eyes would meet,
Sharing all the things we felt.

Thousands of miles separate us now,
How I long to see your face,
Instead I look to see if your online,
The slightest glimpse makes my heart race.

Where do we go from here -
Don't know my love,
But our faith will keep us strong,
I really feel that you're the one for me,
And I hope I'm not proved wrong.

We start a new cycle of our lives,
It's two years whilst we're apart,
A time to find my own true self,
To know what's truly in my heart.

Twisting and turning away from you,
The pain cuts me deep inside,
I don't know where you are or what you think,
But I feel you trying to hide.

The smell of bonfires...

I've hit a low today, it happens periodically. I'm missing hugs from people that have known me for a long time.

Had a message from a friend today, talking about hats, gloves, scarves and roast dinner and I thought (even though I've been vegetarian for almost two years), I'd really like roast beef, with Yorkshire puds and all the trimmings today. I'd like to be outside smelling bonfires of leaves, wrapped up with my gloves, etc. I'd like to see the trees with all their beautiful changes of colour. Yup, you guessed it, feeling homesick today.

I've been out to lunch with the girls, which was lovely, having only seen them around school recently, I'd forgotten how much fun they are.

Now I'm sitting at home feeling sad again. As Jan would say, the teary monster keeps jumping out on me today.

Friday again!

Yay!!

I woke up this morning and the sun was shining, Cotopaxi was just visible and I thought, 'Yes, it's Friday!'

I have had a hilarious week in my classroom! Those of you who have seen facebook may have had a few clues! As you've probably all gathered, the kids in my class - particularly the boys - absolutely crack me up!!

On Wednesday, walking in slightly late from break, I found the boys were having a good old discussion with Carolina. I enquired to find out what this fascinating topic could be, well...apparently three of the boys in my class have kissed girls, with tongues!!!!! I of course greeted this with cries of, 'Oh, that's gross, you haven't, tongues...eurgh!' Whilst laughing my head off! The girls were suitably unimpressed (none of them are interested in kissing boys yet!) Then a couple of the kids informed me that they had dates that night and Tommy (who is really gorgeous and I have nicknamed puppy) asked me for advice on how to speak to girls. Laughing considerably harder I gave him a list of possible topics and found out where the date was taking place - 8.00pm, McDonalds. Puppy is obsessed by McDonalds! I offered to come along to see how it was going - Puppy looked suitably horrified. To be honest I was quite concerned about him being out on a school night!!! I also thought it unfair that the kids are getting more action then me!!

On Thursday morning I was dying to know what had happened, y'know me, I love a bit of gossip. Well, the date apparently went ok, BUT the young lady concerned was not as enamoured by McDonalds as Tommy is - so he dumped her! Young love! Oh to be 10 years old again!

Cuenca Pics!

Cuenca - the rest of the story!

So, at the moment I should be doing my marking, but I really want to tell you the rest of the story!

On Friday evening I had a really good Mexican meal and then pottered back to the hostel to read my book. I can highly recommend it, it's called 'Three Cups of Tea'.

I slept quite well until the people above me started acting like a small herd of elephants, they also put the TV on (it sounded like an Indiana Jones film). Unfortunately I had been looking forward to more of a lie in as I read till about 1.00am. However I could see the sun was shining, so I got up in a leisurely fashion and headed out for breakfast. On my way out I saw the landlady who told me quite fiercelythat I needed to pay the rest of the money for the room. Obviously I obliged, so I could continue on my breakfast mission. I decided on the same place as Friday because I really liked the vibe (and the food!).

After breakfast I began aimlessly wandering in the sunshine, taking photos as I went! I had a vague notion to head towards the river, as there are many museums that way and I wanted to seem some art! I pointed myself in what I thought was the right direction and continued bimbling along, admiring the view.

As I drew nearer to where I thought the river was, I realised I was actually going in the wrong direction, but it didn't matter because I was enjoying myself and decided to sit on a bench. From the bench I watched a wedding party emerge from the church; I managed to take a photo of the heavily pregnant bride and her family. I do love people watching!

Resuming my wanders towards the river, (I did check a map - so I knew I was now heading in the right direction!) I had to stop to buy some more new earrings (I'm building up quite a collection!). I like to have a souvenir of some sort from the places I visit, nothing tacky, just something I like. So I now have a lovely pair of sun and moon dangly earrings. I had a lovely chat with the guy who made them, who assured me that they were an original design and the only ones of their kind!

Down by the riverside (hmmm...sounds like the title of a song), I went into a museum which had artwork from different areas of South America. In one of the rooms I glanced round and saw a guy with skin as pale as mine! 'Hi,' he said, 'are you English?'
'Yup,' I replied, 'and you're...Irish!' (I had to give my brain a moment to process his accent!)

We got chatting and left the museum together. It turned out that Sean was in Ecuador for a few weeks to set up a live webfeed from the jungle. We wandered around the streets of Cuenca chatting about all sorts of things. We decided to get some lunch and went into an Ecuadorian restaurant, not noticing the set menu on the door. As neither of us had very good Spanish, we didn't fully understand what the waiter asked us. It turned out that we had ordered a set menu. Soup arrived, 'Vegetariano?' I enquired. The waiter replied affirmatively. However my idea of vegetarian and his were obviously considerably different. I decided this when I discovered the large piece of gristly meat floating in the soup. Both Sean and I agreed it wasn't that great and when we were presented with the second course, we decided to ask for the bill and leave, as we weren't feeling that hungry anymore. (Although the second course of chicken and rice did look good, so long as you eat chicken!).

We ambled back down to the river, looking for somewhere to have a coffee. Eventually we ended up in a gift/craft shop, that also served coffee. Once inside we got chatting to the owner's husband. Turned out he was an orthopaedic surgeon who specialised in hands! He was really fascinating and both of us really enjoyed talking to him.

Later we walked down the river and past some Inca ruins, then back into town. After some much nicer food at the 'Wunderbar' cafe, we said our farewells.

Back at the hostel, there was a bit of a commotion! A girl had arrived and wanted her backpack, which the landlady had secured upstairs and there was no sign of her. She was meant to be meeting her friend there and was quite distressed. There was a guy helping her, so I just asked if there was anything she particularly needed because I might be able to help her out, I then returned to my room to get back to my book!!

After a while there was a knock on my door, and Yvonne asked if I had any contact lens solution as that was all she really needed. We got talking and I asked her what she thought of the hostel, she wasn't keen on it and the experience of not being able to get her bag had made her even less so. However her friend had now arrived and they were going to share some beers. Yvonne asked if I'd like to join them. I thought why not, it's Saturday night after all!

Yvonne's friend turned out to be the German girl I'd said hi to the previous morning at breakfast. I really had a great time chatting to both Yvonne and Svenya (I hope I've spelt that right). We were also joined by Frederico, the guy who was helping Yvonne earlier. He was really interesting as he is an Italian photojournalist, who is also working here teaching photography courses. I did feel that he looked down on my camera a little, but luckily I didn't let the inferiority complex strike! The three of them spoke a combination of Spanish, English (for my benefit) and German. Sharing stories with three people I'd never met before was wonderful and I so understand why people travel, especially alone, you can meet some really incredible and amazing people.

Before bed I arranged to have breakfast with Yvonne and Svenya.

I was rudely awoken by the elephants again!!

Breakfast was good and I decided to pay because I really enjoyed the company of these two girls, and to say thanks for the beers the night before. I stayed in their company for a while longer, departing because they were heading off on a bus to Loja. I gave both of them my number for if they are back in Quito. Maybe I'll see them again, maybe I won't, but they will always be a part of my adventure to Cuenca.

Once back on my own I got back to wandering and taking pictures. At about 2.00ish I got a taxi and headed back to the airport and then home.

I had a wonderful weekend. It's proved to me that travelling on my own is fine and has made me feel more confident about doing more of that in the future (and for longer periods of time). I don't think I'll ever have a problem meeting people because I am a sociable person...as we all know I like to chat!

Cuenca - the adventure so far!

Firstly I know it may be a little bit sad to be writing this whilst I´m on holiday in Cuenca, but there is an internet shop opposite Casa Naranja (where I´m staying). Also I´m afraid I´ll forget stuff if I leave it till Sun/Mon!

So this is the beginning...

I spent most of yesterday feeling very excited about my impending adventure. I got in a taxi as soon as possible and made my way to Quito airport. My taxi driver had a small quantity of English and I have my small quantity of Spanish, so we got along brilliantly, laughing at each others attempts to speak English/Spanish. As we got closer to the airport I admitted to being ´un poco nerviosa!`

At the airport some guards pointed me in the right direction to the automatic check-in and then I made my way through security. I was starting to feel a bit more confident as I sat down in the departures lounge. After a while I started to get twitchy again, wondering which gate I would be leaving from. So I asked and found out that my flight was delayed - this was very confusing as the electronic board did not give this information. Meanwhile I had changed where I was sitting. As time passed and the board still said ´abordando`, I decided to see if the nice, friendly looking girl near me spoke English - she did! Her brother had also been wondering and had just gone to find out what was happening - we were still delayed. So I chatted with both of them - Phillipe and Michelle. We discussed Ecuador, why I was here and other small talk kinda stuff. Their father came over too and asked if I´d like to go to Parque Cajas with them the next day (today). I thought...well yes and thanked them. I sat there thinking, this is wonderful I´m so glad I decided to do this, already I´m meeting Ecuadorian people and having an adventure. I wasn´t bothered about the delayed flight - I felt it was meant to be so that I could meet this lovely family.

Eventually we boarded - I think it was at about 6.30pm. Hurray we all thought, we´re on our way! Marcelo (Michelle and Phillipe´s father) kindly swapped seats with me so that I could continue talking to Michelle. I watched excitedly out of the window as Quito disappeared from view and then started to drift off. Suddenly I became aware that we were over the lights of a city...that wasn´t very long thought I, but maybe I´ve slept for longer than I think. However I was right the first time, Michelle informed me that there was a problem with the plane and we were about to land back in Quito. We later found out that the plane did not have enough oxygen because there was a problem with the system.

We made our way back to the departure lounge and got some food. It wasn´t long before we boarded another plane...where we sat, and sat, and sat. We then discovered that Cuenca airport shut at 8.00pm, so we were waiting to see if we could get permission to land there (it was now 8.20pm). The crew decided to bring us some ´bebididas`.

Eventually we set off, accompanied by a loud cheer and round of applause from some of my fellow travellers. We arrived in Cuenca at 10.00pm (three and a half hours after we should have landed!). I bid my companions farewell, after arranging that Michelle would call me in the morning.

I had a speedy (and slightly scary) taxi ride to Casa Naranja. By this point I was shattered and slightly concerned by the very locked looking door. I rang the bell and hoped that there would be someone there to let me in. A shout from above indicated that someone had heard and was coming down! I entered a courtyard, that slightly had the feel of a building in progress and filled in the relevant form, then was shown to my room, having struggled with the Spanish because I was so tired.

Looking around I felt slightly disheartened, my room was very basic - although I had secured an en suite bathroom which I wasn´t expecting. I decided the best thing to do was to get into bed. Once there I had a bit of a chat with myself - what did I expect from a room that only cost $12 a night? I thought about all the delays in arrival, which could of got me down, but didn´t and decided this was not the time to let my positivity fail me. Also the bed was very comfortable and I soon drifted off to sleep!

After a good night´s sleep (by my standards) I got up and went off to discover breakfast. I made my way to Parque Calderon and found a suitable looking place. I enjoyed people watching as I ate - the family opposite (mother, father and adult son), mother crossed herself before tucking into her huge plate of scrambled egg! The woman downstairs who ate small pieces of bread with a spoon!?!

Upon finishing my delicious and incredibly cheap breakfast I began wandering, taking in the sites and sounds of Cuenca. The place has a delapidated air, but is also very beautiful.

Michelle called just after 10.00am and we arranged to meet.

Twenty minutes later I was being fondly greeted and we headed off to Cajas. En route I was fascinated by all that I saw - the woman washing her clothes by the side of the road; the whole pig that had been cooked; the coutryside; the people I was with.

Our first port of call in Cajas, was an area where there was a shrine to ´The Virgin`. (I have taken pics and will post some once I´m back at home). We walked, talked, admired the view and posed for photos (I soon discovered that Marcelo loves to pose in photos!). Next we ventured further in our taxi (booked for the day) to the proper entrance to the park. This area of Ecuador has been sculpted by glaciers and the moutains and lakes were incredibly beautiful. We walked around one of the lakes and took lots more photos.

It was incredibly cold there, but then at an altitude of about 4000m, what else can one expect?

I had some quite intense moments of missing Pete, wishing that he was there with me to share in the experience.

At lunch Marcelo introduced me to a local drink made from incredibly strong alcohol, sugar and hot water. They all laughed whilst I grimaced! I wondered about offering to pay, but felt that Marcelo might be insulted by this.

On our way back to Cuenca we stopped to do some fishing!! We all caught something, apart from Marcelo. The best fisherperson, was Judy, Michelle´s 9 year old cousin!! I spent some time chatting with Marcelo, which was hilarious for the same reasons as the taxi driver. He made me promise that I would call them so that we could all meet up again in Quito. I was a little unsure if he meant just him or the whole family...I hope/think he meant the whole family as I am a little wary of men over a certain age.

After a considerable amount of time (in which I got very cold), we headed back to Cuenca.

I am going to make the effort to see these guys again, they were amazing in their kindness and generosity and they were really good fun. I´ve spent a lot of today laughing!

So there ya go, day one of my adventure. I wonder what this evening and tomorrow will bring?

Shopping, haircuts, meeting people & a BBQ!

That's what has happened this weekend!

Alex called early yesterday morning to see if I fancied a shopping trip to Quito - of course I said....well yes obviously, being as I'm a shopping addict! We went to Qui Centro, one of the malls. I purchased an Ecuadorian cookbook which is in Spanish and English; 3 new tops and a new haircut.

I'd decided in the past week that I was going to let my hair grow longer again - mainly because I couldn't be bothered with the faff of finding a hairdresser. However the other girlies spotted a hairdressers in the mall that they liked the look of, so we went to investigate! They all decided to have haircuts and I thought, 'There is no way I'm gonna sit and wait while they all have there hair done!' So I ended up being pampered and coiffured too! I even had my hair straightened - which feels a bit weird. I like how it looks, but think it might be a bit high maintenance for me! I'm quite intrigued to see what it looks like after I've washed it!



Today I've been to Quito again. I went on the bus all by myself - this may not sound like a big deal, but it's like another milestone in the steps of independence. I met Fritha, her husband and extremely cute little boy, for a late breakfast at The Magic Bean. It was lovely to meet someone new and I hope that I'll get to see more of her and her family once they move to Cumbaya.

After meeting Fritha, I went on to Yvette's for her birthday barbecue. Yvette's husband is Cuban, so there were some of his friends and a few other people from school. I really enjoyed myself. Even though I couldn't understand what the Cubans were saying I found it fascinating to see how they interact with each other. As the afternoon wore on, they got a lot more vocal, to the point of pretty much shouting at each other! I really like Yvette and was chuffed to have been invited.

Ben & Claire gave me a lift home which was brilliant.

This week is going to be manic:

Monday - meet Amy at the airport after school
Tuesday - staff meeting
Wednesday - Spanish, then a salsa lesson
Thursday - off to Cuenca - hurray!!!

So might not have much time to write in the next week or so.

Lastly, I had a really good chat with Pete this morning. So all in all, a really good weekend!

Blust, at's all gahn on!

Blimey, where to start? Hmm...well I guess the beginning is as good a place as any!

So I got to school this morning with Tom & Nicki and we were all fairly surprised not to see Alex's car there (she's always there before us - not that we're exactly late!!!). I pondered over this for a while and also noticed that Claire hadn't appeared - which is also fairly unusual. However because I was sick yesterday, I thought maybe there was a bug and they were ill.

Later on I caught up with Claire who told me that Alex had had problems at her urbanisation. Basically she parked her car in the wrong parking space (bearing in mind she only moved there on Saturday) and the guy whose space she had taken had put screws in the rims of her tyres and also told the guards not to let her leave! Luckily she spotted the screws before driving off or she would have been completely screwed (no pun intended). Poor love had issues at her first place, issues with getting a car and now this - she's almost at breaking point. Sadly she's not the only one - Sarah isn't well and is finding school very stressful; Jeanne is also finding school difficult and is missing her son - she's tried to hand her resignation in more than once.

Personally I've had no issues at school or with my home. Okay so one of the computers in my class still doesn't work - but its not the end of the world. My class are great. People have helped me when I've asked or told me a convenient time to go back. I'm very happy there and feel very lucky. Sometimes it's hard listening to the others, I feel sad that they are not having the same experience as I am. However I'm not going to let it bring me down, I can't fix their problems but I can listen and be a good friend.

Tonight I have finally caught up with Fritha who is my tenuous link in Quito! Her mum is a headteacher in Norfolk and a friend of my ex-head. It was lovely to talk to her and I'm hoping to meet up with her at the weekend. Hopefully this is the start of making friends who are not connected with school. The girls are lovely and I love them to bits, but I need to have parts of my life that are separate from school. I haven't come here just to work.

On my own emotional front I still have days that are punctuated with sadness, but it seems to be getting a bit easier, day by day. I'm channelling it into being creative - I found there were lyrics in my head last night and for most of today. I'm hoping to find the chords that go with them! I'm also thinking more about what I want to do and achieve whilst I'm here. I know that I am not just here to teach. I'm here to use my creativity and my talents; to find the direction that my life will go in; to truly find and be myself; to discover which talent will lead me forwards. This is the journey which will lead to my destination.