Hello all! I'm sorry it's been so long since posting. I STILL have no internet, so only have access at Starbucks, and they close at 7, so it's hard to get here in time after work! The internet thing is a long story, but I thought I had service set up, and they apparently lost my order after a month, so I need to find a new provider. But enough excuses!
I'm not sure where to start, so much has happened since I last posted! But here goes!
Work is going really well. I'm finally getting a handle on what I'm supposed to be doing, so that's a relief! I have a fairly low caseload right now, just 10. Half are long-term foster carers or kinship carers who I am a "supporting social worker" for. The other half are new kinship carers who I have to assess. MUCH more in depth assessments than we do at home though! But I'm enjoying it, and am happy to be doing direct practice again!
I'm all settled into my flat now! It's a small studio, but it's recently refurbished and great to be living on my own! I'm about 30 minutes to work by bus too, so that's really nice!
I've met a lot of really nice people. Still hanging out mostly with the other new Americans, who are great! I've also met some fun people through work who are showing me around! I'm still missing my friends like crazy, of course, but it's getting easier :)
It was so nice to have Amie come visit a few weeks ago! We had a lovely relaxing visit, but still managed to see so much! We went to Abbey Road, Camden Market, and central London. We also took a day trip to the sea, to Brighton, with my friends here, and had a great time! Her last day we went on a boat tour up the Thames and saw all of the big sites! It was great to have some time off during the week to act like a tourist! I had started work here the day after I arrived, so have only been able to sightsee on the weekends! I had a great time, and was SO happy to see someone from home!
Well, I hope everyone is doing well! I sure do miss everyone so much; this is the longest I've gone without seeing my family since I've been born! I can't wait to come home for a visit and spend some time with my grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and siblings!
I promise it will not be another 2 months before I post again! :)
Hello my dears. Just wanted to send a quick update (though I’m not sure if anyone is even checking this!) It started out really hard week, that ended up really fun. Monday and Tuesday I really had my first “oh no, I am completely alone over here” moments. It was really hard leaving work, and having NOTHING to do, knowing I can’t run over to Mom’s, go to dinner with Dad, go play Mario at Joe’s, or go watch tv at Allison’s Right when I started to get really sulky though, some new friends from work, Dan and Wayne, called me to hang out Tuesday night, so that made me feel better! We went to a little club where there was a jazz band playing.
Wednesday, our social buddies from work arranged a dinner in East London, at an Indian Restaurant. I’ve had Indian food a few times in Athens before, but this was SO much better! Friday night, we went out for our boss’ “leaving do,” then went to central London to hang out. We found a place with pool tables, and I beat my English friend 3-0! Danny taught me well! Saturday (yesterday), our social buddies from work took me and the other American social workers to sightsee in Central London. We went to St. Paul’s Cathedral, then to the Tower Bridge and Tower of London, then took a boat road up the Thames River, all the way to the Parliament building/Big Ben area. Then we walked through Green Park to Buckingham Palace. I looked for Prince William, but no luck finding Prince Baldy yet!
I guess I should talk about work for a bit! I’m still in “induction” (“training”) mode. We had different classroom trainings three days this week, and spent the other days in the office with our team. For the next three weeks, I’ll have training a few times per week, and then I immediately begin on duty. My team has had a slow few weeks, which is really good, but also scary because I have not been able to observe anything I’ll actually be doing. From the sounds of it though, it’s nothing I haven’t done before, just slightly different (and you know, trying to be a social work in a culture I’m unfamiliar with).
Other than that, not much new to report! I’ll be moving in to my new flat this week-I can’t wait! I hope you all are doing well. I miss you more than words can say!
Well, it’s been quite a busy few weeks! I started my training at work last week, which has mainly involved HR meetings, feedback sessions with our recruiters, reading policy manuals, and shadowing workers. I’ve shadowed my “work buddy” on a few home visits to long-term relative caregivers. My team is great. They have all been very welcoming and helpful! I think some of the other new Americans have not been so lucky with their teams, so I am feeling blessed. Obviously, my team cannot compare to the IOTIS girls, but they are great! I am with the Kinship Foster Team, who supervise/support the relatives or caretakers of long term foster children. The children have their own allocated workers, so we only assess and support the actual carer. I am still getting used to the services being so split, and there being so many social workers involved in each case.
In other news, my flatmate has been great. I don’t see her often, because she works late and then goes to the gym. She has a 21 year old son who lives with her some of the time, and she cooks us dinner when he is home. She is a great cook! Other than that, I have been grabbing take out in between running errands. One of the big differences I am adjusting to is not driving, so it takes a long time to do anything. For example, I realized I needed to change some money, so it was a 20 minute bus ride each way to go do that after I got off work. I’m getting used to it though!
I found a flat pretty quickly once I figured out the general area I wanted to look. I got a studio in Muswell Hill (supposedly a very “posh” area), so I’m very excited to be moving there April 1. It will be wonderful to have my own space again (although small)!
Other news…hmm… (having writer’s block)… well, I’ve had some fun outings with friends. One of the other new Americans and I have done some sightseeing. I’ve also made friends with a few guys from work, who took me to “the city” on St. Patrick’s Day and to Covent Garden on Friday night. It’s been really fun so far!
Well, I’m doing a horrible job of writing so I am signing off now. I will hopefully be much more available once I move and have internet access (right now, I have to come up to the coffee shop to use the internet). I love you all and miss you like crazy!
Hi everyone! It's only been a few days since I've updated, but it seems like an eternity! I can't believe I've only been here a week. I am feeling much more settled, and my sleep is finally getting to a normal schedule. I had Thursday and Friday off of work, so I spent that time getting my bank account set up (which is a much more strenuous process than in the states), and getting my mobile set up. I feel SO much better being able to call back home whenever I want. You forget how attached you are to your phone and internet until you don't have it!
Friday night my coworkers set up a dinner for me and the three other new American workers. We met our "buddies," who will be showing us around, and some American workers who started in November. They had some very helpful hints for us!
Yesterday (Saturday), my buddy Paul took me and another new worker Tami around Central London. We walked miles and miles, but saw all of the major sites! The picture above is us in front of St. Paul's Cathedral (where Diana and Charles got married!), and the next is me in front of Buckingham Palace. My camera broke shortly after, so I don't have many pictures of the day. We also saw the Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Green Park, Picidilly Circus, among many others! Now I will know where to go when I want to tour these places more extensively!
I am missing everyone still very much, but am feeling much better since my last post. I still can't believe I don't live in Athens anymore, and it is very unnerving to not be just a few miles away from my mom and dad, and strange that I can't just run over to my friends' houses, but I am adjusting! I start work tomorrow, so I'm sure I will be back with more updates soon!
What a week! I don’t even know where to start updating, so I guess I’ll just start with last week.
Thursday (Feb 25): Danny and I went to see Alice in Chains at the Tabernacle in Atlanta! They have been my favorite band for quite awhile, and they were amazing, even without Layne! It was really special to be able to spend some time with Danny before I left too.
Friday (Feb 26): Last day of work. My coworkers got pizza for my going-away-lunch, very sweet! I sure am going to miss working with such an amazing group of women. Friday night my friends and I hung out at 283, and I was shocked at how many people came out (nearly 30!). I was really happy to get to see everyone before I left, and felt so special that everyone came out to see me!
Saturday (Feb 27): Going away party at my mom’s house. My aunt Gaye Anne and her husband Joey came from South Carolina to surprise me! I was so grateful to see my grandparents, and Jana and her boys too.
Sunday (Feb 28): Going away party at my Aunt Terri’s house, with my dad’s side of the family. Again, really happy to get to see everyone. How lucky am I to have such a wonderful family (both sides!). Sunday night I had dinner with Allison, Joe, and Jason T. at the Globe. My besties!
Monday (Mar 1). A very hard day. Amie was an angel and stayed with me Sunday night and Monday to help finish up the madness packing. If not for her, I surely would have had a major breakdown! Mom brought Jonathan over after school, and I said goodbye to them. Gah, thinking of it makes me cry. Then Amie left (blah, horrible day), and I met Dad at shop. Said bye to Danny (another cry for me), and Dad and Laura took me to the airport. Panick at check-in, did not realize checking extra bags would be SO expensive, so Dad and I combined bags, and I carried on an extra. Said bye to Dad, and had a good cry all the way through security. I dare say, the fact that I was crying made them rush me through a bit, haha.
My flight was at 11 pm. Amie had said she would be outside her house waving when I took off, so obviously I had ANOTHER good cry when I took off over the Atlanta skyline. My seat-neighbor, a nice gent from Oxford, was very kind though, and tried to entertain me. I didn’t get much sleep on the flight (the man behind me was playing the touch-screen games on the screen on the back of my headrest with a vengeance), but it seemed to go very fast.
Tuesday (Mar 2): Arrival. I was so grateful that my job sent someone from the office to collect me. We took a cab about 45 minutes to my office, where I met everyone briefly. The lady I’m staying with, Carmen, met us there, where we took another cab to her home. She showed me around the house, walked me around the neighborhood, showing me which bus to use the next day, and got me an Oyster card (a frequent-user-bus pass). I took a walk around the neighborhood, got to Skype Amie and Danny, and then bought a few groceries, then went back to the flat, and tried to get settled in and unpacked, but fell asleep around 7pm!
Wednesday (Mar 3). Woke up, had a very confusing battle with the shower, had to end up taking a bath (ew), then headed to my orientation meeting at work (at 2 pm). They told me a million things to I need to do, but luckily I have Thurs. and Fri. off to sort things out. Got a wireless card for my phone, but the connection is spotty so I don’t think it will be reliable. I also got a charger for my laptop, so that is nice. Got to have a nice long chat with Mom, which made me feel tons better.
Today! Now I’m at a coffee shop, chatting with some buddies on gchat, and Dad on Skype, so I feel much better. This afternoon I’m going to try to get my cell sorted out, and open a bank account.
I miss home very badly, but am trying to be brave. I’m sure once I get my bearings here, things will calm down and I’ll feel better. But for now I’m just feeling overwhelmed. There is so much to do, but it’s hard to get started without a phone or internet.
First post! I thought it would be nice to start this blog as a way for my family and friends to keep up with what I'm up to. I'm not a writer by any means, so be kind! First a note on what's happening: I will be moving to London on March 1. On a whim, I interviewed last summer for a job in Child Protective Services in the borough of Haringey, and was offered the job! I have always wanted to live overseas, and thought this sounded like an amazing opportunity!
Things right now are super busy getting ready for the big move. What I thought was 3 months to plan turned into 3 weeks, so it's been a flurry of activity--selling my car, shopping, packing, and trying to decide what to store and what to toss.
I have applied for a Tier 2 General visa this week. What a confusing process! After an appointment for fingerprint scans ("biometric data collection") in Atlanta on Tuesday, I mailed the visa and will hopefully receive it before I am scheduled to leave!
I am feeling such a sense of excitement, mixed with a touch of terror. I have never lived more than 10 minutes from my family, and can't imagine how I will cope with the separation. I hate that I'm causing feelings of sadness for them by my leaving, but feel good knowing that I will be missed. It will be difficult, but also really good for me to get out of this town filled with nearly 28 years of memories.
