Snow? In February? Crazy, cry the Brits!

2/2/09 8:13 PM

Today, I had a special dinner: a burrito. But it was special because it was an American burrito, made with a seasoning packet I brought with me from America.

It was special for other reasons, too, but those reasons changed as the day went on.

Starting last night, I decided that I’d have a burrito for dinner tomorrow because it was the only thing I had food left for, aside from omelettes, which I’ve eaten a lot of. I had a pound of ground beef in the freezer, though, so I put that in the fridge to let it thaw.

Today, I decided I was going to have a burrito to perk me up a bit from my frustration at not having any job yet. I went to all five of my employment agencies, and they all said the same thing: Sorry, nobody’s been calling. Sally told me to cheer up, that they’d probably get a call in the afternoon and remember the American girl who popped her nose in despite the bitter cold and mounds of snow.

Yes, that’s right. Southern England has braced for snow, and it got it, and the whole city is freezing and staying home and not risking driving. Many shops were closed because people hadn’t gone to work, and one of the employment agencies told me that they were short-staffed because people couldn’t get through the snow.

What was this blizzard like that paralyzed Salisbury? Let’s see… 30-degree Farenheit weather and about an inch and a half of accumulated snow. Maybe two inches by now. Talk about horrible weather!!

I thought it was quite lovely, and perfect winter weather. The snow fell slowly, big, fluffy flakes that you could catch quite easily on your tongue, and it wasn’t really that cold. Some people were walking around in umbrellas and I wanted to roll my eyes and shake them—snow like this is meant to be walked in, with the flakes melting on your cheeks and the top of your scarf.

There were a lot of kids playing in the close around the Cathedral, making snow men, snow angels, throwing snowballs, and talking excitedly about going sledging. I’m not sure how sledging works on a relatively flat area of the country with less than two inches of snow, but some of them were carrying around their sleds, so I guess they manage it.

After the employment agencies, I went to the Cathedral to talk to a verger about what being a verger entailed. There was next to nobody in the Cathedral. It was so dead, the cleaning staff were using this opportunity to vacuum the floors with the British equivalent of the Scout vacuum I used when I was a janitor at Hope (think… shopping-cart-sized vacuum, but a bit fatter).

The verger wasn’t too helpful. Instead of telling me about his job, he sent me to the head of human resources, who had taken the day off before the snow came, so he wasn’t in. Oh well. I’ll try again tomorrow.

I went home and looked at the application for verger at Salisbury, and it sounds like a perfect job for me (or for anyone who loves the Cathedral, but I’d be best at it!). As I was looking it over, my phone rang.

Jeffery from Five Rivers Recruitment had a new job come in, and the man I work with there, Phil, immediately suggested my name.

The position is at a Christian charity which has not been named to me yet. It’s starting a new center for children, and they need a center administrator, someone to work indirectly with the under-fives. Pay is £11,000/year, and it wouldn’t start until April if they accepted me, but…

But it’s a permanent position. And Jeffery said “We may have to jump through some hoops if you want the job, with immigration.”

Which means it’s a PERMANENT position. If I get it, it could be my way to stay in England. Permanently.

Cue much squealing and bouncing around my bed after I hung up with Jeffery (I stayed professional but happy on the phone). Working with children is definitely not my idea of a good time, but working with children to stay in England? I could do that! And he did say it would be indirectly, so I’m thinking it would probably be working with the adults who work with the children, or the families of the children, or whoever. Yay!

Now, if only I could get that verger position with the same willingness to keep me…

It’s not permanent yet, though, but Jeffery’s going to get in touch with them next week and call me back.

So, yes, that’s why I had my burrito for dinner. A yummy meal to celebrate the possibility of employment seemed fitting.

And now, spire pictures!