Spain, Christmas and New Year's are officially past tense and I am throughly mired back in the muck of social issues and problems. I am a bit drained.
My current housing arrangements is pleasant and my room has turned into a cozy haven from the outside world. I have moved in with a co-worker, her husband and their two daughters, who are in their early 20's. Her two daughters are only home for the holidays from university. The best feature of my room is that I have a nifty skylight over my bed. I have the pleasure of being able to view the moon and the stars before I drift off to sleep. It is a relaxing experience to say the least.
The one thing I do not miss about the States is the two weeks of vacation time that you are lucky to get depending on your job. I have roughly 23 days off a year which if you combine with weekends, toil, and holidays you could possibly be off of work for several months out of a year. Toil is similar to overtime instead of getting paid for working in excess of your regular weekly shift you can accumulate hours and later use them to take either hours or days off of work . Personally I would rather have the money. I have accumulated 29 hours of toil so far and intend to save it for when my Stateside folks come for a visit.
British Words Learned:
Worktop- Kitchen counter
Jumper or wooly- sweater
Wally- male idiot
Dinner lady- a woman that works in a cafeteria
Loo- bathroom
Okay for the sports fans out there...I did a bit of net surfing to find you some info. on some of Britain most interesting sports.
British Sports
Netball
Netball traces its roots to basketball, which explains why its rules are related. When James Naismith devised basketball in 1891 for his students in the School for Christian Workers (later called the YMCA), female teachers got curious and started to formulate a version for girls. The outfits of women back in the day hindered them from effectively executing important basketball moves such as running and dribbling, so the game had to be modified to accommodate these restrictions. Women’s basketball, or ‘netball,’ was conceptualized.
Netball was first played in England in 1895 at Madame Ostenburg's College and quickly spread to all the British Commonwealth territories, but it did not yet have hard-and-fast rules. So loose were the regulations, in fact, that some games were played by nine players in each team, while some were played with only five players in each. The nets used were also ineffective – they were not open at both ends, so after each goal was scored, the umpire had to retrieve the ball from the top of the post.
Finally, Clara Baer, a gym teacher from New Orleans, asked Naismith for a copy of the basketball rules, identified the areas within which women players could move, and consequently introduced the ‘zoning areas’ we know today. This was the start of netball’s formalization. These zoning rules along with many other provisions (such as elimination of the dribbling rule) were all included in the first draft of ‘Rules for Women’s Basketball.’ In 1901, this set of rules was ratified and netball officially became a competitive sport.
Cricket
Cricket has been an established team sport for hundreds of years. It originated in its modern form in England and is popular mainly in the present and former members of the Commonwealth. Cricket is a bat and ball sport, played between two teams of eleven players each. A cricket match is played on a grass field (which is usually roughly oval), in the centre of which is a flat strip of ground 22 yards (20.12 m) long, called a pitch. At each end of the pitch is a set of wooden stumps, called a wicket. A player from the fielding team (the bowler) propels a hard, fist-sized cork-centred leather ball from one wicket towards the other. The ball usually bounces once before reaching a player from the opposing team (the batsman), who defends the wicket from the ball with a wooden cricket bat. The batsman, if he or she does not get out, may then run between the wickets, exchanging ends with the other batsman (the "non-striker"), who has been standing in an inactive role near the bowler's wicket, to score runs. The other members of the bowler's team stand in various positions around the field as fielders. The match is won by the team that scores more runs
Ok, so here's the story line. Roughly 1 year ago, an amazing woman from South Central Los Angeles decided after receiving her Master's degree to expand her horizons and venture off to London. So over the course of the next couple of years she will hope to bring two continents together through the eloquence of her words...ok that is complete and utter bullshit! Your not doing shit so just stay a minute for the hell of it!
Location: In a London borough not far away from 3 tube lines, England
About me: 1. Lover of all things Chocolate 2. Terrified of Texas flying Tree Roaches 3. New lover of roundabouts 4. The world is my oyster...w/out the fishy smell 5. God, does not like ugly...so rearrange yourself and your face
