enjoyed the afternoon with them. had so much fun. thank you so much. one whole evening we talked more than one whole year in Tokyo we were studying together.
thank you!!! i wish your family the very very best!!
yummy!!!!
everywhere seems like "Chinatown" to me hahah
ntd 150 at 101 food court.
I arrived in England a year ago today. A lot has changed since then, luckily for the better. I moved from a seedy house with an odd landlady to a lovely quiet house that I practically had to myself. It was brilliant until bailiffs started knocking on the door and notices of repossession came through the letterbox a few months later. By the time the water and gas had been turned off it was time for me to move on anyway. My tenure at the school I was teaching came unexpectedly to a close 3 weeks early and I was suddenly relieved of the worst job I have ever had.
In the weeks that
followed I scoured the Internet looking for another teaching post mainly to see
me through financially. Meanwhile, Nancy was packing up her life in Taiwan to
join me as planned in July.
The day she arrived we were burgled. Only one bag was stolen, but in it was our marriage certificate – a crucial document Nancy would need to apply for a resident card. To our dismay this meant having to apply for a new marriage certificate from the notoriously inept department of home affairs in South Africa where we were married. Miraculously with my mother’s help we managed to get an unabridged copy delivered express to us just days shy of Nancy’s visa deadline 3 months later.
It was stressful time not knowing whether Nancy would be able to stay in the UK for much longer or what we would do if she had to go back. This was compounded by the added stress of moving from one part of England to quite another and having to find a new place to live when we got there. Then there was the stress of me starting a new job and Nancy trying to get a job of her own and in between all this were niggles like applying for National Insurance numbers, a driver’s license, a bank account and so on.
Amid the frenzy Nancy
and I decided on a trip to Paris. It seemed rushed and badly timed, but we had always
wanted to go, we were both out of work, Nancy’s visa was still valid and we
really, really needed a rest. It was perfect - We spent our days strolling
about the city, lazing in parks, eating, drinking and getting bronzed in the
sun. We returned to England with renewed resolve.
Fast forward to the
end of the year. Nancy and I are far more settled and relaxed. We share a clean
and comfortable flat with a Chinese couple who simply leave us be. I am getting
on well in my new school and Nancy has a part time job that she quite likes. So things have gotten better.
Hopefully by this time next year I will be fully qualified to teach in the UK. Ideally I would like to be either the Head of Department at the school I am in at the moment or to be working in a better school. Nancy should have a ‘regular’ job by then doing something that is suitably challenging, and if things go according to plan we will finally have bought a place of our own to call home. It is going to be an interesting year.
クリスマスということで、七面鳥の代わりに鶏肉の丸焼きを料理しました。サラからは、ブタとゾウの手作りの置物を、ご両親からは、いろいろ頂きました。ありがとうございます。
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We cooked a whole chicken instead of a turkey for Christmas. I was presented with a handmade pig and an elephant statue from Sarah and many things from her parents.
Thank you very much.
On Christmas Eve, we baked a little chicken for lunch, and then we watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. After that we exchanged our Christmas presents. :-)
I got a stuffed animal pig and a heart necklace from Gaku. o(^_^)o
Then on Christmas day we visited Gaku's parents and stayed over night, we had a fun time!!
My parents sent a package with a bunch of gifts wrapped up, thanks you two!! ＼(^o^)／
