Full of Transitions

Blogging has been a more difficult task to endure than I had originally thought. It seems my life has become caught up in routines and schedules and outings that I rarely take time to sit and process and share it!

Since the last blog: I have visited Cambridge, England and Prague, Czech Republic. I came out of a steep and panicked, "I was just thrown into the deep end", learning curve at work--Alive and well. Tom visited Chelmsford and London. I've began try-outs with the London Roller Girl's. Finally, the transition from feeling like a tourist to feeling like a local has happened.

Cambridge, England! One of the oldest colleges in the world. It is rich with history and lure and architecture. A group of other overseas r

ecruits gathered at my house on a Sunday morning where I treated everyone to breakfast (I am loving hosting and cooking lately!). We drove a quick hour drive and were in a different world. A travel guide was assigned to our group for a walking tour. Highly recommended for travelers. The tour guide was full of knowledge and stories about buildings, ghost stories, discoveries on the college. The double helix of DNA was discovered after being sketched on a bar napkin during lunch. The pub is still haunted from fire back in the 1800's. Tid-bits about Isaac Newton's bizzarre ways were interesting. Apparently he used to poke himself in his eyeballs and stare at the sun for hours at a time--wondering if physically changing his eyesight would alter the way he saw life. Stuff you don't get with a audio guide or on a bus. Plus, its good exercise. It was freezing the day we went and my toes remained frozen for a couple days, but well worth it. This picture was inside of St. John's College. It was considered an "Unlucky Courtyard". The lady that commissioned this courtyard went into bankruptcy. As policy dictated at the time, she was placed into a debtors prison. The architect working on the courtyard was involved in an accident which resulted in a lost hand. As we walked into this courtyard, a lady in our group tripped and cut her face and broke her glasses. Lucky for our group, we escaped just fine!

Prague, Czech Republic! Recgonizing that many of the Overseas Recuits that I have become great friends with have holiday time off work but were not going home; an idea of traveling was budded. Like me, a large motivation for coming to England to work includes the budget weekend getaways. We left on a Saturday morning the day after Christmas and returned on Tuesday. A two hour flight later, we're in a completely different country! A budget trip which included airfare, taxing to and from airport, and hotel for 300 pounds! Plus, the British Pound was much stronger than the Czech.

Prague is known for their Christmas Markets. Squares that are adorned with local food that engulfs your senses of smell. Resulting in a scream for more! I felt like a kid in a candy shop entering the market. The workers literally make all the food from scratch while you order. One of my favorites was a what we would call "pizza" and they call something I couldn't pronounce: Fresh dough w/ a sweeter tomato sauce and tons of cheese. My first day I tried a Lokse (see left picture). It was more of a fresh crepe with a brush of butter and garlic. Amazing. You could get them as a sweet option with chocolate, berries, cinnamon, etc. The lady to the left was kind enough to take out her personal vegetarian butter for me and share. I was probably more moved by this little act of kindness than most. But every once in a while something tiny and kind happens unexpectedly and its a sweet feeling. My other favorite was the mulled, hot wine. Delicious and it was either that or hot chocolate to stay warm.

The people of Czech Republic are very nice. But, only when you offer up respect and kindness first. Its not an overly accommodating culture. English is not spoken frequently so learning little sayings go a long way. We went with the budget trip as mentioned above. Our hotel was really scary at first. It looked like a post communism Russian high rise; cold concrete, light blue in color. It had stains on the carpets, dark long hallways with temperamental hall lights. The rooms were bare with some wood blocks with thin "mattress like" bedding. Many of us were shocked at first, but soon it turned into hysteria and lots of laughing. It made for brilliant stories. The hotel, Fortuna Luna, looked amazing in the pictures, but clearly they were 30 years old or taken at night. When Adam mentioned he got stuck on a 12th floor because of the one elevator that was faulty and took him there randomly without lights. The hotel receptionist reminded us that we were at a budget hotel. Yep, we paid about 17 pounds a night and got exactly that!!! We just took care of each other--not walking to and from places by yourself and so forth. A majority of the time is spent outside in the city.

Prague Castle is the biggest tourist attraction in Prague. It is the size of a small city and you walk up a small mountain to reach it. As with Castle tradition, its at the highest point of the city to act as a look out. Inside its walls were churches, museums, restaurants, a winery and more.

Beyond the Castle, we made time for a horse and buggy tour of the city, a Jazz Club, lots of good dinners and street walking and of course a trip to the US Embassy. After jamming in five people in a taxi to get home from the Jazz Club, my wallet fell out of my purse and of course it had all of my identifications, my credit cards and my passport. DUH! Well, a sober and humbling morning afterwards, Kerrin accommodated me to the US Embassy and they were great. I was able to get issued a temporary passport within three hours and go on my way. The realization that we were in a post-communist country and I may be stuck in the country w/out my passport or work visa to get back to the UK was harsh. And of course, taxi drivers had reputations for being dishonest in this country, so nothing was reported or turned in.

Fees and paperwork later, I'm still picking up the pieces of all the lost items, but getting closer. Every other time I've traveled out of the country, I store my passport in a safe place, leave a credit card put away, make copies, etc. Traveling from England to Czech felt like popping from Indy to St. Louis, so all the big precautions were thrown aside. Big Lessons learned. Regardless of the little incident--Prague was an amazing experience and I would not have done it any other way!

My weekends are full of small trips to London Markets, Museums, nearby localities, trying out for London Roller Girl's Derby Team. Sometimes, I enjoy just staying local and going to the market, going for runs and catching up with friends. Overall, I'm living a blessed and enchanted life. I have undoubtedly experienced and felt a huge amount of personal growth occur. There is a deep rooted understanding that all is meant to be and that no matter what or where, I'll always be just fine. That I have the tools to overcome. Its a feeling of invincibility and complete trust in myself. I am exuding joy and happiness and loving every minute of it!

Next travel plans: Bath, England in March 2010--where we will explore the ancient Roman Baths and Stonehenge where we will do some hiking, meditating and general exploring!

Tom and I have two weeks holiday lined up for Early April and plans are still being formalized!

I will be home in the US of A for the first two weeks of July!! Its only 5 months away!!

Within the next few days, I promise to create a separate blog about my career updates, Roller Derby and most importantly Tom's recent visit! I'm blogged out and want to save you from reading a book!

Cheers,

Angie

Full of BBC!

BBC is local

Now I loved BBC in America, especially our NPR locally streamed in the morning on the way to work. And over here in England they have 4 local television stations and at least 4-5 radio stations. I can choose from local BBCs or BBC London. Its so interesting to get the perspective from this side of the pond on reports of America and also the current Middle Eastern War (what's it being called now?). The health care reform in America is highlighted but I don't hear any fear-based messages. However, every Brit I have spoken to cannot seem to wrap their mind around why on earth American's wouldn't want universal health care or a national health care system? We call it NHS here. Obama is very popular and the War is NOT (at all). I don't think people seem to understand why they are involved. A recent NHS story--During our first week here, an overseas recruit who is over here with her family had a near crisis. Her son was playing around in the house and tripped and fell and cut himself. They had to go to A &E (Ambulance and Emergency). We have not been given NHS numbers yet and are also considered "immigrants". However, she went in, there was no bill or copay, they treated him very kindly, fixed his cut and off they go. Simple as that. Now, I have a feeling if I was a new immigrant in America w/out having time to secure insurance--this would be thousands of dollars in bills.

One more thing about the local news (AKA BBC)...they SLAUGHTER social workers here. Really. Even more so than in America, I will be defending my professionalism including the quality and necessity of my skills. The joke here amongst colleagues is based on a cartoon of a social worker going into a home and removing a child due to abuse and then getting hung publicly by the public and media then a second box showing a social worker leaving a kid in the house with the family and still getting hung. So, you see, it seems we are always right there at the mercy of the public. It seems the only news is bad news. How exciting is that?! Well, I am not afraid. I love being a social worker and I'm very passionate about contributing to the awareness of what exactly we do and why we are so important. Looks like I have a big battle ahead of me.

Funny Language Barrier Stories:

Setting: Week one training at Anglia Ruskin Unversity, looking at court proceedings for a child protection case. There is a list of roles including a solicitor for children.

Me: What exactly does a solicitor for children do here?

Professor: Well they protect the children's rights?

Me: What is a solicitor?

Professor: A lawyer, what is a solicitor to you?

Entire Class: Door to Door Salesmen!

Me: I would hope you are not selling off children in need!

Setting Number 2: Driving Course

Instructor: What do you think is the difference between a double carriage-way and a single carriage-way?

Me: A horse and buggy with two horses as opposed to two?!

Instructor: That's quite funny?

Me: I was being serious. What are carriage-ways?

Instructor: Our name for roads.

The other Americans: We were thinking horse and buggy's too!

Setting Number 3: Out at a club with my new roommate, Vicky, last Friday in Chelmsford, Town Centre (Within walking distance of our house).

Vicky: I think I may be pissed.

Me: Why, what happened?

Vicky: I don't know, I'm just pissed?

Me: Did someone do or say something to you?

Vicky: No, I think I just drank too much wine.

Me: Ahh....you say "pissed" not "drunk".

Driving on the Left side of the road in the Right side of the vehicle. WHAT?!

If any of you have been following my Facebook Updates you'll notice that most of them seem to be about driving. I think this has been the hardest transition for me! Well, its actually quite nuts trying to un-tune your natural reactions on the road and learning a whole new road signage system. As my colleague Adam was describing his often daily feeling on the road, "Oh, I think I may die now. Oh, wait, not today." This was during the discussion of how crazy it is that you will be entering a ramp onto an interstate (which jets out from a roundabout) and all of the sudden (while going 70 miles an hour) you'll see two large white, circular shaped signs outlined in Black w/ Black slashes across them. An American would naturally assume you are going the wrong way or do not enter. Oh no, it just means no parking. There are hundreds of examples of driving follies. I am just thankful I have not side swiped an entire row of vehicles on the left since i have no perception of how much space I have over there and the roads are ridiculously narrow.

A Very Quick Update of My Whereabouts

Okay--My first two weeks were spent at a temporary house set up for me by the relocation firm, Reed. Anne Chamberlain responded to the post that was in her Essex County Council news and offered a room in her house. Anne has been a social worker in Essex for 20 years and was simply lovely. I stayed with her and her two daughters, Jo and Sarah and am so grateful to have met this family. They are going to be so fun to be friends with and to also gain support from. They also took me out for a lovely dinner on my 30th b-day to a place called Ivory Room!

I found a room to rent in Chelmsford, Essex. Its in a house with a live-in landlord. Vicky is local so I am getting a quick acculturation into British culture and accents! We're the same age, both professionals so we have similar schedules and we're having a good time here and there after work or just spending a lazy Sunday watching movies all day. I also live with a cat named, Belle! The house is really gorgeous and the street definitely feels European w/ character. We're down the street from a University and w/in walking distances to the high streets (shopping, restaurants, pubs, retail, etc.) as well as trains and bus stations. I am a 30 minute fast train to Central London. The shopping here is fantastic!! I can't wait to upgrade my wardrobe little by little :)

I am working in Basildon, Essex. Its 26 miles East of London. It is a "new town" meaning it was built after WW2 to accommodate the overspill of population in London. Wikipedia states it was, "a reaction to the housing shortages caused by enemy bombing and large amounts of substandard housing in the capital." Of course you would have to expect more history of how that transition affected low income families and the amount of isolation they felt after the move. However, today it is a large city and it also remains one of the most low-income communities. So, lots of use for social workers in this area!

So, right now I am just trying to adjust to my new job and get used to it getting dark at 4:30 (CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT--and, YES I'M YELLING). Its odd to drive home after work in complete darkness. Its hard to have motivation to do anything else other than make dinner and watch tv then go to bed. Obviously, I have some work to do to prevent this--first step, Join a Gym and connect w/ my local running club.

I am still happy I am here. My job is going to be more challenging than I could have really imagined. I won't lie, I have spent many evenings crying because I just spent too many hours being lost or feeling out of place or walking into one of the hardest posts for social workers in Essex County. All big shockers. But, I'm in a huge learning curve at the moment and hoping to see the light here in a couple weeks. The way it works: Family gets referred to Children Services: 1. It goes to Initial Referral; they decide if its child protection/emergency or a child in need. 2. If its child in need it comes to my team, Family Support. I then have 35 days to carry out core assessments of every family member. This process includes both child-focused interviews as well as parent-focused. I'm excited to do clinical work with such an age range. However, during this process I also link to resources (advocacy services, parenting classes, Domestic Violence, substance abuse, etc.), make recommendations and facilitate meetings with key persons such as schools, health visitors, pediatricians, etc. The idea is that the family will work to exit the system. Most families don't change in 35 days, so I'll get to work long-term with some families. So in summary, I am doing what American's might call "family preservation"! At any point of the process, I may end up in Court or removing children. Very scary power to have, really. The idea of being able to empower a family to grow in a healthy way is very exciting to me. The idea of having to look through boundaries and notice red flags in order to safeguard children is still terrifying--but I know its a very important role and I'm up for the challenge!

This Blog is unusually long due to the beginning nature of SO many things! I promise to be more concise in the future :)

Cheers!

Angie

Full of Little Moments

My first blog is occurring as a I wait for a delayed flight from Indy to O'Hare. From O'Hare I will fly to Dublin and then finally to London, Heathrow Airport.

Wow! These past couple weeks have left me floating around in this weird space. The premature nostalgia began a few weeks ago when I took my daily walk though the alley on East Market Street from the parking garage to work and passed the wonderful smell of Giorgio's Pizza. They bake fresh pizza in the morning and the smell is awesome. If you haven't tried the cheese slice here, its a must. I guess I started noticing the little things i'll miss about my routine: Ike from Quizno's (although I don't eat there, Quizno's is located in my former job's lobby). Ike is always outside on the corner, along w/ Bobby (who is one of our homeless neighbors) giving out hugs and smiles. These random, sort of strangers, who are both as genuine as you will find, put a smile on my face every day. I also think of all the wonderful and great things about Indianapolis. Ah, the community of Indianapolis--it really is a very big, small town. I love the nonprofit world I have become so acquainted and at home with in Indy. We know how to make each other's programs successful and have fun while doing it! I can tell you is leading the way for community development, green living, human services, youth development, violence prevention, and so much more. AND, I can tell you where the best happy hour or fundraiser or volunteer opportunity is happening. I will miss that connection which I know will be harder to build in a much larger city where I am moving.

And when it comes to saying good byes to all of my amazing friends? Well, I have to admit, I have the very best of friends. They all came out of the woodwork these past few weeks: hosting yard sales, farewell parties, loading Uhauls, packing my kitchen up last minute, providing the most meaningful gifts, loaning their vehicles and condos for temporary usage. When you make a decision, such as moving out of the country, all of these little things overwhelm you at first. My biggest life lesson in this process was learning that if you make a decision this big, you just put one foot forward. You don't have to have all the answers up front. You don't have to have the entire process mapped out. Your support and loved ones step in and make it happen for you. All of the little moments I have had with all of these friends and family along the way have left me honestly overwhelmed with the love and support I have felt. The cards expressed so much love to and for me that I am left speechless. I do not think I realized how much I was loved in my world here. Do any of us ever stop and realize that? I feel so lucky and so blessed.

But, as we all know, this journey of mine was a long time coming and was innately right. As we are always sad to see a loved one move away, I know most of you were happy to kick me across the pond. So, here I go. Thanks for the gentle and loving push.

AND-where would we be today without technology. Most of you have my contact information. I hope you will Skype with me. Go to www.skype.com to download a free internet phone service.

Skype: angie.turk

Gmail: angieturk@gmail.com

Wendy reminded me today that fear and excitement evoke the same physiological response and since I have it coming on both ends--you can only imagine how I'm feeling!!! But, without moving into and through fear, its hard to continuously grow and evolve.

My friend, Dan Somers, stated eloquently today that, "Time and Space are illusions. Love has no boundaries." Nothing could better wrap up my amazing relationship w/ Tom, who has been the most incredible support and source of excitement. We have managed to have a meaningful and rich relationship in two different countries for over a year and a half. This is evidence I will be able to cross those time and space barriers and stay close to all of you as well.

Jason Melchi broke the seal. As i've watched so many of you get teary-eyed these past few weeks, I have held on to my emotions. Today, when I finally had all the small details finished and my suitcases packed and ready to go, it hit me. I want you to know that I cried too for my loss of being able to call my beautiful friends up at any given moment and get a coffee, go for a run/bike ride, just be with each other. But, like you all have expressed, it is a happy and sad cry. A very bittersweet feeling. I will miss you terribly. I will see many of you in London! Thanks for everything and I mean EVERYTHING!

Be Well,

Angie