It is Monday but I’m not working. Harrah! I am going in for a meet and greet at the school and that is about it. I will know for sure if I am actually teaching there tomorrow. I have been offered a few different places since I came so I don’t want to say what school I am at until I am physically teaching there. So I will be spending this week gloriously lazing around in London as a tourist. It is a wonderful opportunity. My good friend Kosa just returned from Japan last night and we live quite close to each other as it turns out. That is really cool because he is kind of freshly home and I am new to the place. Today we went out to the natural history museum which was great. I had read about a photo exhibit that was happening there so we got to take that in along with some other cool dinosaur and planet earth related stuff. I have been trying to get my banking sorted out and all that admin kind of stuff. I still need to get a phone. I thought about getting the Skype phone. I might get more long term use of it than a normal cellphone.
I went out with some Japan friends on Saturday night and had a fun time. One thing I have noticed though is that people are kind of repeatedly asking me to start using more “English” words. I keep on saying high school, subway, cellphone, apartment etc. and people keep correcting me as I speak. I am torn as to whether or not I should start the switch over. I might be actively resisting it now but how long will that last I wonder. When you change the way you speak and your regular vocabulary, it changes your personality a bit I think. We have the vocabulary that we have because it expresses our experiences and upbringing the most clearly. If I used the brit equivalents for those items in Canada, I would probably sound pretty pretentious. But here, using the Canadian equivalents (as I have learned) makes me sound somewhat less educated. Interesting stuff…I should use this somehow for my dissertation.
The district I moved into is called Kilburn. My neighbourhood is called Cricklewood. It is a very multi cultural area with a delicious bagel shop. I had a grade A bagel just this morning! Today I am going to locate and become a member of the library. I hope they have DVDs as well as books. I could use a little viewing entertainment. None of my DVDs will work on the player here bacause of a region code difference so I didn't bother bringing them. I have just put in my first load of wash here which is kind of satisfying. It makes me feel like I really live here. I did a bit of cleaning over the last couple of days and now I feel relaxed here. I have a few pictures to post today. These first three are of Dorking Station (Dorking haha!), a sign leading to Tom's house and two cats I saw that look like Jack and Vic in my backyard. The white one was sitting and watching the darker one paw at something. It was very much like what my guys do together. It was nice to see them. The remaining photos are from my trip out with Kosa yesterday to the natural History Museum and surrounding area.

This is the Museum. They have a butterfly conservatory on display now and you enter through a big Caterpillar.

This is case displaying about a hundred stuffed humming birds and other very tiny birds.

Cyclops!

Medusa! Isn't she lovely?! I was a Medusa Asparagus for Halloween this year...

Kosa as shadowy figure with Dinosaur