MA degree has arrived!

WOOHOOO!!! It’s official: my degree has arrived this morning!!!!

education – what i’m thinking right now

So I’m getting organized to write my final assignment for my intro to adult ed course and after being pointed in the direction Gramsci and Freire and their work on transformative education, I’ve been reading lots of good stuff (that I don’t feel like writing about here just yet – gotta save that for the paper, once I figure out what I’m actually going to write!).

I went for a run (started training again for another half – Sept 5th!), and came back and stretched and thought the following about education and developing countries – mainly questions and things to read up on….

When people in developing countries say that they would give anything to have access to education, what kind of education are they referring to?  Would they want to have access to the education that we, in the Western world take for granted?  Would they still want to have access to it if they understood that the knowledge that is generated from that structured education is argued to be a process of oppression by those in power to keep the masses quiet and uncritical?

Why isn’t what they learn in the informal sense not treated as skills or knowledge?  If I went to live in their country and had to survive, I would need to rely on their knowledge and skills because my knowledge and skills are quite different from theirs.  Why is my education valued more than theirs (or is it just valued more in the West)?  Is it because in the west we live in a capitalist society where the divisions in society are enormous – the same exists in the developing world, does it not?  Their gap is huge and visible, while ours is simply hidden behind material things and the belief that all is well in the world.

so ya..that’s what went through my head after running around London!

nothing like feeling like you’re 16 again

This week I had the joy of taking my driving test in the UK.  Nothing like being stressed out for a test that I’ve already passed in Canada, but have to do here so I can drive the car that my work has supplied me with (a lovely 1999 Ford Focus Estate). 

In the UK, Canadians can send in our provincial licences and get a UK one for driving automatics only (for most provinces).  If we have proof of taking a test in a manual car (ie. standard car), only then can we get a full UK licence.  This proof doesn’t exist since in Ontario, since there is no mention on your test sheet whether or not you take it in a standard or an automatic – it’s all the same.  Not here though… very big difference.  Most people here drive manuals, but I don’t get it…. automatics are so much easier to drive – especially with the traffic and the round-abouts and the hills!

So I sent in the post my Canadian licence and my passport as proof of identity (so stressful  – my visa to live in the country is in that document.. if it got lost in the mail, I would not be happy) with the appropriate form to the DVLA only to find out that when I receive my British one, I can no longer drive my work car since I am not legal to drive a manual car until after I pass my test.  (You can drive on your Canadian licence for up to a year from the day you arrive, but when you give the DVLA your Canadian licence, they send it back to Canada and you now are under the UK driving regulations – stooopid)  My work was really impressed with this news! haha!  I then had to look into hiring (ie. renting) an automatic car from the time I got my UK licence until the day I passed my test.  This apparently is no easy feat as some rental companies do not rent cars to people who have had their UK licence for only 1 day.  These companies do not take into account the 10 years of driving experience from Canada (argh!).  Thankfully, other companies just want you to have a valid licence and you get to drive a Vauxhall Astra convertible! hahahah!

Nothing like driving around to cemeteries with the top down!  (I didn’t do this… too many files and paperwork that would’ve been blown out on the street causing disasters on the road!)

So I got my test booked for a week and a half after I got my licence (after finding a cancellation! yay!) or else I’d be driving an automatic until May 7th (mom’s bday!).  By that time I would really really really not want to switch back to a manual car!  When I got into my rental the first time, I was so confused.  First, this car is a button-starter one (no key required), and then I didn’t have to do anything except put my foot on the gas and go.  When I got to my first roundabout, all I had to do was put my foot on break and slow down and manoeuvre… it was so great. When I was stopped on a hill, I didn’t worry about going backwards when I started.. the car just goes!  I adjusted really quickly to the automatic!

Then I had my last lesson before my test.  What a freaking disaster.  I’d forgotten everything (mostly).  I stalled the car about 4 times, forgot how to do the manoeuvres, and basically wanted to cry the entire time.  My instructor probably thought I was nuts because just a week earlier I could do all of it!  So to attempt to feel more confident,  I practiced all the manoeuvres in my automatic for the next couple of days.  There are three of them, and you do 2 on your test.  Parallel park (not easy to do when you don’t realize that your rental car is wider than most cars on the road and end up on the curb each time.. frustrating until you figure out why you are on the curb – took me about 4 tries haha).  Turn in the road (aka 3-point turn… I think they renamed it here because the roads are usually too narrow, so it turns into a 5, 7, or 9-point turn).  I do these everyday when I drive down the wrong roads trying to locate cemeteries.  The last one: REVERSE AROUND A CORNER… it is my nemesis!

This one I will never understand the reason for.. I don’t care how many times people try to explain it.  In Canada, when we go down the wrong road, we will either: A. Drive into someone’s driveway and turn around, B. 3-point turn, C. Continue driving until we find an exit – usually there is a way out. D. Pull a u-y somewhere.  Here, not so.   Apparently using someone’s driveway is not recommended as the owners may be angry possessive people who would not be sympathetic to your mistake of taking the wrong road; the majority of roads are too narrow to do a turn in the road, or there are just too many cars parked on both sides of the road that there is no room; and sometimes here you cannot find an exit from the road you just turned into because they just end.  So maybe reversing around a corner is the only option… I’d still use someone’s driveway! haha

Aparently it is deemed safe to reverse around a corner from a main road onto a smaller one if you’ve gone the wrong way.  The main road should be large enough for you to do a turn in the road, but that may cause too many delays if there are cars coming.  So instead, they want you to pull to the side of the road, and reverse around a corner where you can’t see traffic coming…. of course you are supposed to check as you pass by the road to see.   I don’t like this manoeuvre.  On my last lesson day, my instructor made me do this up a hill…. I was very unimpressed since I kept rolling forward every time I braked to make sure I was observing properly! So frustrating!  I was dreading that I would get this one on my test because sometimes I could do it, and others I just couldn’t.

My instructor picked my up at 9:30 for a warm-up drive before my test.  I needed it to figure out where the biting point is on the car again.  We drove around Harrogate.  We found some hills to start on.  I get all tense at hills for fear of stalling my car.. my hands grip the steering wheel and in my head all I say is “please, please, please, please”, and then I hold my breath until the car starts moving nicely!  I don’t think this is normal! haha!

The road to the test centre is also evil.  The test centre is located in the centre of town, accessed by a road that is wide enough only for one car to pass, but is a two-way road.  So if you turn up and a car is coming at you, there better be an opened parking space (yes, you can park on the road that is stupidly narrow) to duck into, or else you would probably fail your test for not checking up the road properly.  There is also one road they can take you on for your test that if a bus is coming down it and you turn up it, you are screwed because the bus and you cannot fit and you aren’t allowed to reverse back out or move onto the sidewalk to get out of the bus’s way (people park half of their car on the sidewalk, so driving on it to get out of someone’s way is normal).

I got to the test centre for a prompt 10:44AM start for my test.  You park in front of the buidling and wait inside the waiting room where there are posters telling you to breathe and be calm.  I thought they should be playing some nice calming music to help with the atmosphere!  Then, you bring the tester outside to your car.  He/she makes you read a licence plate from a short distance (hooray laser eye surgery!), and then makes you answer a couple questions.  Mine were: Show me where the engine coolant reservoir is and how do you know if it needs more coolant; and tell me how you know if your power steering is working properly.  Yay for knowing the answers (my instructor gave me the list of the potential questions and answers to study from!)  I think Derrick would be proud of me for being able to locate the engine coolant reservoir! haha!

We set off on the test and drove past the road where the bus can foil your dreams of passing (I was so happy), and proceeded to drive around Harrogate.   During the test they make you pull to the side of the road and re-start four times:  uphill start, downhill start, level surface start, and manoeuvre from behind a car start.  I forgot about this, and each time he told me to pull over after the first time, I kept thinking – “What am I doing wrong.. is he giving me second chances to do it correctly?”  The uphill start I went a bit backwards (you get a minor fault for doing this), another time, I forgot that my signal was on for the wrong direction I was going (oops! – no one was around so it didn’t really matter).

The manoevures: The first manoeuvre he made me do: turn in the road.  I was so happy when he said this.  My 5-point turn was perfecto!  I applied the handbrake properly each time I stopped the car, and made the proper observations!

Every time he told me to pull the side of the road, I got nervous because I was worrying about the last manoeuvre I would have to do.  He told me to pull to the side of the road and explained that he would like me to parellel park (they call it reverse park) the car in front of me!!! WOOHOO!!   I did stall the car when I came to a stop before he told me this, but he didn’t seem to mind!  I parked that car really well!!

I was so happy at that point because the hard part was over.  We were making out way to the country roads, where I forgot if it is 50mph or 60mph (because there are no signs with number just the national speed limit sign – that is sometimes 50 and other times 60 depending on some random thing that I should know, but I don’t).  I did 50 and got a mark down for going too slow!  Better than speeding!

We drove through areas that I’ve never been to, around roundabouts that were not busy (thankfully), and up narrow freaking roads that I hate!  We made it back to the test centre without issues.  And I passed my test!! I was so happy!!  This means that my automatic rental cars goes back on Monday (boo), and I get to cruise in style once again in my Ford!

What I have learned: Driving tests are way too stressful.  I am glad that I no longer have to worry about taking another driving test ever (unless I decide that riding a motorcycle would be fun – not likely, or if I decide I want to become a trucker).  I have also learned that I know how to reverse when I’m not stressed out by my entire family watching my attempt to reverse out of a crooked, long drive way that is lined by trees.  (I will still park on the road when I come to visit)!

YAY ME!

what i would do with £500 (or £495)

After careful consideration and a little research, with 99% off of £500, I would purchase triathlon gear so that I could actually do one!  I already have some key things: 1. road bike (yay for tax returns from years past!), 2. ability to swim, 3. ability to run, 4. ability to cycle (but right now, I still have fear of crazy drivers…).  So what I would need is that would include:

GPS heart rate monitor/training tool – £100 (ish) (my last one died)

wetsuit – £200 – for very cold water (and so I can look cool?)

“resting” handle bars – £180 (so I can “relax” my arms while my legs to all the work)

a book to tell me how to actually do a triathlon or subscription to a triathlon magazine – £15 (maybe then I can actually know the technical term for “resting” handlebars)

I would also make the promise of posting about my training and my race!

That is one idea that I have!  I think it’s pretty darned good!!

www.bview.co.uk – Go there if you want to enter the competition!

snow in stonefall cemetery

Here are a couple pics I took in the war graves plot at Stonefall Cemetery (where I am based for my work)  The gardeners couldn’t really do much gardening this week because of the snow.. but at least they made it to work (well.. for most of the week anyway!)

stone of remembrance

cross of sacrifice