Six more days until I'm home for Easter, Yahoo!!!!

Good day all you fine people. I am super excited and enthusiastic to come home and see my family, Stefan, and friends. I can't wait....YAAAAA!

So last weekend ended up going by way to fast. The school banquet dinner was very good. The Lobster and Filet Mignon were an absolute treat. I had some white wine to accompany my fabulous dinner, and some intellectual (hehe golf) conversation. The member of the board that I sat with is an insurance broker. Thanks to my daddy, and my work experiences at Empire Life, I was very equip for conversation. It turns out that the man's daughter is one of my students. Luckily, she is doing very well in class and is an absolute pleasure to teach. We played a game after dinner and the awards where you had to find an item in your purse/wallet to win a prize. The awards were quite astonishing. My props go out to one teacher who has taught for 41 years. WOW!!! The music teacher, Jocelyn became a grandmother in the middle of the evening. Her son who lives in Barrie called her with news of the arrival during dinner. He sent her a picture of the new born and this is her first grandchild. She was ecstatic!

On Saturday, I spent the day in the glorious Bermuda sun. Finally! I went down to the beach that was buzzing with activity. I read my book, relaxed and managed to alter my skin colour just a tad. I am no longer pasty white. In the evening Maria came to pick me up for mass. I saw most of the school staff at this one. Afterwards, we went to the church hall for the dinner and bingo. Dinner was okay... not comparable to the steak and lobster from the night before. Bingo was surprisingly entertaining. They also had a raffle with may different items. I saw a handful of students there and it was nice to meet some new people. The sisters were very happy to see me there. I didn't win at bingo, but I was sitting at the table with an older Portuguese couple and it was fantastic to see them play. One woman would get excited every time her numbers would call, and then when she was close to winning she started saying "just one more" in Portuguese. It was very cute. I think Vavo Rosa may have to join me for some afternoon bingo this summer.

On Sunday, I went for a run to Maria's house again. Her husband Steven is in Boston, so she was eager for the company. We went for a walk to Southlands. Southlands is a 37-acre private estate in Warwick, featuring rare exotic plants, hidden quarry gardens and coral sculptures. This place is usually not open to the public. The banyah trees there are AMAZING!!! They have giant root like stumps spurring out from the base of the branches. You can't tell where one tree begins and another ends. They are truly one of life's fun little pleasures. Kids were swinging from their vines, I wanted to try but I restrained myself as I wanted to appear mature. I did however test the resiliency of the vines. They felt like a metal fiber as I tugged on the end of one it would send a current up through the vine to the tree branch and back....very cool!!! I will try to take pictures of them this weekend. I think I will play tourist again. hehe

This week has flown by. I can't wait to sleep in tomorrow. My midterm report cards are due on Monday, so I have to get back to marking papers. No need to complain though, I am grateful to have the work. There is a birthday party tonight that I was invited to, so we shall see if I can go out. Progress pending. The party is at a bar called Robin Hood, and four bands will be playing. We shall see how I feel when 5 o'clock rolls around. Also it is raining, and I don't like to walk alone in the rain, especially at night. So I think I'll go if I can swindle a ride.

As for the rest of my weekend, Saturday I am going to roam the country in search of treasure. And on Sunday, I am going to church because it is Palm Sunday. After church, there is a two hour walk from the beach near my house around a view parishes and back. The Annual Palm Sunday Walk held by the Bermuda National Trust organization. We will walk through different estates and on private property that is not normally open to the public. If it is raining, I am not going to go. :)

I can't wait to come home....6 more days. YES! So excited.
Mom please don't forget to pick me up on Thursday. :P
I miss you all.
Love you and I can't wait to see you.

Please respond via email with any purchase requests. :)
Até logo(until later/see you soon). xoxo

Go HC GO!!!!

For my avid blogger fans I apologize for my lack of entries over the last couple of weeks. Things are really starting to move here on the island. Well for me anyways. Did you know that people in Bermuda have to paint their cars almost yearly? The cars here have to be road approved and they are not allow to have any rust on the vehicle. This is a difficult thing to be mindful of because of all the water, mist, and rain. On weekends you can see people washing their cars all over the island. The cars all look new and they are always clean. This is a fantastic concept for the tourism driven economy here.

Last weekend was quite busy. On Saturday I spent the morning cleaning my apartment and doing laundry. In the even I went out to an Irish Folk Night at a private boat club at Spanish Point. My initial perception was that this place resembled a coffee house. There were tables and chairs facing a make-shift stage. There were candles on the tables and all the patrons of the club were either performing throughout the night or knew someone who did. It was a very intimate and entertaining atmosphere. That all changed when Alannah and her husband’s (Mike’s) band got up to play. It went from Folk to Rock very quickly… they are awesome. After the bar we went into town to the famous “Pickled Onion.” This place was crawling with people, but I was happy to listen to some dance music. We ended up dancing at the bar area because the dance floor resembled a can of sardines. I have never in my life heard Portuguese music at a club until then. I was with a large group of people so it was nice to mingle, meet new people and get out on the town.

- - - Cue time change - - -

In the morning I went to church with Maria and Steven. After lunch I took a nap and then I went for a run. The day was absolutely relaxing and beautiful outside. I ran to Maria’s house and then we went for a walk. There are trails that run between the beaches on South shore. They are absolutely gorgeous, because they squeak out onto private little coves as you walk the sandy trail.
The work week has been very unique. I have to use a flashlight to walk to the bus stop in the morning. People all seem to have their eyes half closed on the bus, like we are all walking zombies. The week at school has resembled such as well. There was a major fight earlier this week. Some students videotaped it and put it on the internet. I don’t understand why they have to document everything in their lives other than the schoolwork of course. Crazy… anyways, drama, drama, drama. And as a result I have been chosen to spearhead a anti-cyberbullying campaign.

Today was a real treat. After work I ventured up to National Stadium (the hub of all sports in Bermuda). I went up there because I found out that the “Canada” team was playing hockey again the Bermuda Juniors. Go Holy Cross Go!!! I tracked down my Almamater -- High school field hockey in Bermuda. My former coach is still at the haul of this ship. The coach brought me some Tim Horton’s coffee, so very thoughtful and kind of him. We chatted for about a half hour about work, school, life, etc. The girls seemed to be having a great time. I had emailed him last week, but I received an out of office reply. So I asked around town and I was able to get a hold of the schedule. I watched their game and I walked them back to town. They have been taking the bus around the country, touring and enjoying the experience.

I also was asked to join a local field hockey team as a goalie. I think I have changed since high school because I was thinking this evening that my nails look really good and if I play I might break one before I have a chance to get a manicure….:P EEeeekkkk…plus I don’t know that I want to play nets. Not only is it a large time commitment, but how would I get a tan wearing stinky borrowed hockey goalie equipment in the sun? However, meeting a new group of people would be very nice. I may give it a shot.

I have another busy weekend planned. Friday evening is our staff appreciation dinner at work, mmmm yummy lobster. On Saturday night I am accompanying Maria to church and then to the St. Patrick’s Church’s – St. Patricks Dinner & Bingo Night….that’s right I said BINGO!!!! ~ Ciao for now

Party Week!

Last week proved to be quite a busy week back at school. I am starting to push my students out of their comfort zone and they are not easing into the process of actually having to do multiply tasks. They complain but I continuously remind myself that I too complained about the work I was given in high school, but I pulled up my socks and got it done.

Wednesday was the school’s 120th birthday and it was a very inspiring celebration. There was a mass in the morning and the bishop of Bermuda came to orchestrate the ceremony. There were six other priests including two from Waterloo, Ontario who also came to celebrate. After mass we had a buffet lunch, with soup, sandwiches and salads. During the last period of class that day everyone received a cupcake and we sang happy birthday to the school. The story of this school originated from a group of nuns who traveled with a large statue of St. Joseph from Halifax to Bermuda. They had a modest school house when they began, and to this day 120 years later, it still remains the only Catholic school on the island. The two nuns that are still here assured all of us that they were not part of the original fleet that arrived by boat 120 years ago.

After school on Friday I went out for drinks with a couple of colleagues. We went to a little bar called Latin, and it is located two blocks from the school. The guacamole there was amazing, but there was one downside to this “happy hour,” the menu had stated that it was $9. So we ordered two for four people thinking $18 was a great deal, but later we found out that pp min. 2 was written in the smallest possible font at the bottom of the menu. Note to self, read menus very cautiously when ordering food in Bermuda. Oh well it was worth it, and the place was very nice. The restaurant is decorated in rustic colours, and it has an outdoor patio that was filled with a barrage of thirsty customers decked out in sharp business attire.

I lost track of time and by the time I left it was about 9 o’clock. Opps. So I went to the bus stop and planned the safest route home I could think of. While waiting for the bus I had a very interesting encounter. Firstly, I was hit on multiple times by a 20 year old with a broken arm. Since I was stuck waiting I figured I would talk to the guy and not appear to be interested, but still have a friendly conversation. He was nice, and he thought I looked 22. I gave him a fake name and work place. He continued to tell me his life story and sat next to me on the bus. UGH!!! Anyways, so when I sat down the woman behind me started to flick my hair. Then she said the most horrifying thing… .”Don’t move there is a cockroach in your hair.” I froze like a deer in headlights and whined for her to get it out. Some man then reached forward and sent it flying across the bus. For the rest of the ride, the young man named Jamal decided to tell me all about Bermuda and its traditions. He told me where I should go and what I should do while I’m here. He was entertaining but I was so happy when he had to leave. So to proceed with my safe route home, I decided to walk through the resort to the street that leads directly to my house. There is security on the premises and cameras so I think after sundown this is a good way for me to go. I do not stay out usually, but as I said I lost track of time.

Saturday I decided to go on an adventure to Dockyard, the part of the island that I had yet to venture towards. I took a bus for the ride out to the clock tower mall, which is catered to cruise ships. The place is filled with little jewelry shops and tourist souvenirs. There was an artist’s gallery there filled with wonderful paintings of the area. Her name is Lisa Rego, she is not related to Maria or her family but I think I would like to buy one of her paintings as a memento of my time here.(www.lisaregoart.com) I like the one called Habourfront best because it depicts the architecture of the coloured concrete homes. The reflection in the water is perfect and the little boy fishing is a great reminder of the students that I will and have taught. The island way of things is very laid back and casual. I think this image is a good representation of the persona of Bermudians in general.

I went to a glass blowing place which is also where they make the Bermuda Rum cakes. I had a few samples… Yummy! There was a clay pottery place that sold lovely things, including the house signs I mentioned last week. It started to pour so I decided to postpone the remainder of the dockyard tour; instead I jumped on the covered ferry and set out for Hamilton. Once I arrived about 20 minutes later, I did some browsing in a few shops, grabbed some groceries and caught a bus home for the evening.

Yesterday was a very eventful day. Maria’s mom and dad, Angelina and Jose, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. First, I went to church with the entire Rego family at St. Peter’s church in St. George, Bermuda. The church was small and minimal, but it was fun to see some students there at the 9am mass. I was able to meet their parents and introduce myself in a non-academic atmosphere.

Maria had planned a surprise party for her parents, so we headed back to her house to cook for 20 people ~ just kidding. She ordered catering to the house from Café Azoerian, a Portuguese restaurant in town. We had chicken with chorizo, potatoes, vegetables, a cream of cod dish and soup to start. Then for dessert there was rice pudding, Portuguese custard tarts (cajadas), sweet bread (massa), cake, other desserts I don’t remember.

The Rego’s got married via correspondence. Jose was in the army and Angelina’s brother went with him to get the papers so that his sister could marry Jose. So they had wedding pictures taken in their different locations and celebrated alone. Since there was never a proper wedding together they were not able to cut the cake as a couple so Maria decided to recreate the moment. She had a Bermudian wedding cake made for the event. There are two layers to the cake, the bottom is fruit cake and the top is vanilla.

Once lunch was over, Stephen decided to play bartender so we all ended up doing shots of slippery nipples (sambuca and baileys). They were a pretty rowdy bunch, and it was a lot of fun to meet them all. I was sent home with leftovers for the next week, enough to feed a family of four. I brought is all to work today so hopefully I can share it all.

I will be home soon. I can’t wait to spend time with my family on Easter. They fly kites here in Bermuda for Good Friday and I may try to bring one home. I am having a great time here. See you all soon.

Love, Lisa.