I had a fabulous weekend! My Friday consisted of a lot of talking to various people at Kingsham and at the University of Chichester about my mentor teacher and how things had still not improved since the last time I had talked with them. I think things have been sorted out because my teacher sent me quite a few e-mails this weekend, asked a great deal for my input and offered to read over and comment on my lesson plan tomorrow (which I took him up on). Anyhow, things are hopefully on the upswing at school for these last 3 weeks. Hard to believe there are only 3 weeks left with my 27 British children! I had a great Friday as well because 1- my teacher was not in, 2-the kids were not my responsibility until the afternoon and only for 1 lesson 3- I got to help the kids do printmaking! 4- I taught a Circle Time lesson about friendship/teamwork and it went pretty well. I love Circle Time!!! I think that's one of the things my teacher doesn't enjoy, so I'm glad that I can take that over for him :)
On Saturday Dara, Kaitlin, Ashley and I went to London. We split up when were got there... different agendas. Dara and I saw the Globe Theater (which is super tiny), but I'm not sure what I was expecting. Unfortunately they were re-thatching the roof so there was scaffolding all around the Globe. The tour was okay, but I really enjoyed the museum part. There was a lot to read about London's history and how Shakespeare played a role in the history. We then went one door down to the Tate Modern (free!) and looked around for awhile. I saw some Dali... Dara saw so Picasso, but I missed him, there is just so much to look at. After that we looked for a tube station that was actually operating and finally made it to Madame Tussuad's, the wax museum. It was such a great place! I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was glad I had a camera to take pictures with all the celebrities. There was also a amusement ride that I was not expecting where you ride taxis through a display of old London. All in all it was a great experience and worth the price. Dara and I got a buy 1 get 1 deal with our rail tickets. There are so many good deals that you can find if you just look. I don't think you ever have to pay the full price.
I'm going to be late for school if I don't leave now! Cheers.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
And the Retelling Continues
Florence was a quaint city. I guess it's not that small, but it felt very close, which is okay with me. Of all the places we traveled, Florence was my least favorite. This could be because we didn't actually see much of Florence from the inside. We didn't end up doing anything very touristy, aka standing in line for hours to see the David or going into the Duomo which is this beautiful church that is in the center of time. Instead of spending our money on these attractions we decided to spend a few hours in the market. If you didn't know already, Florence is famous for their leather. Now, I'm not sure if it's really "their" leather, but they sell a lot of leather here and I may have touched every piece of it.
We arrived at our hostel before noon and were able to check in. Sometimes you are not able to check into hostels until later in the afternoon (like a hotel), but they'll allow you to store you luggage in a large closet. We were fortunate enough to be able to get into our room which was SUPER nice. It was like staying in a hotel but for a tenth of the price. The hostel was right in town, about a 10-15 minute walk from the center of the city where the Duomo is located. If you're interested, we stayed at Plus Florence. They give you your own key card, which is a very big deal to have at a hostel. On this key card there is also a chip so you can put money on it when you get there to use at the bar and cafeteria. You can't buy even a soda at the bar without putting money on, which honestly kept me from buying anything at the hostel. We stayed in a 8 bed mixed dorm. Since at this point in the journey there were only 5 of us, we had 3 other roommates that we did not know. The beds in this hostel were the nicest that I slept on all week. Above all the beds there were individual lights and there was also a switch that turns out the overhead light at the headboard of everyones bed. Super convenient. There was also a toilet and shower in the room. When you're traveling from hostel to hostel and haven't showered in awhile, this is a wonderful thing. I'm not sure how people can travel for weeks or even months on end and deal with the bathing conditions. I guess that's why you book nice hostels like the Plus Florence. The people there were extremely friendly! Paul helped us book a wine tour in Tuscany. I had to tell Ashley a few times that Tuscany is like a district, such as Delaware Country and that it is not a city or a place even. She kept asking when we were going to Tuscany. We were actually already there, but unfortunately we weren't under the Tuscan sun since the weather was overcast and raining for the 2 days we were there.
After checking in we got situated and got ready to head out to the market to spend our euros. While waiting for the group I was talking to a guy from Miami that had been in Florence for awhile. He was providing me and the others with tips about being a smart tourist, especially when going into the market since there are a lot of pit pocketers. I think he was just trying to psych us out though. Why, I'm not sure. The whole time I traveled I had my passport, credit/debit, student ID cards, phone, ipod and camera on me. I just felt safer knowing that it was all with me. I think I'm a pretty smart person when it comes to being aware of my surroundings so I wasn't worried about someone stealing my things. I know that there are some crazy stories, such as gypsies who drop fake babies into your arms naturally since you don't want a baby to fall on the ground and as you are catching the baby they'll cut off your purse/bag and be off. I did not see any gypsies or anyone that looked like they were going to steal myself. All the cities we traveled to felt very safe. Yes, I had to be smart about everything I was doing and always wore my bag in front of me, holding onto it more tightly at times, but I wasn't constantly having to think about it.
Anyhow, the market was a lot of fun. I finally decided to buy a nice leather wallet because you're only in Italy so often and I felt as though I needed some genuine Italian leather in my life. Also, Ellen (who I worked with at Cardigan) had gone to Italy a few years ago and gotten a really nice leather wallet which I pined over 2 summers ago. I had to get one so I would no longer pine. Others spent quite a bit on "designer" bags and they all enjoyed bargaining with the sellers. Mitzi was great at it. I don't have the courage to ask them to reduce their price. Everything there is really cheap anyhow, it's hard to ask for it to be sold at a cheaper price when it's already very affordable. The wallet I bought was about 16 euros, so $20 about, depending on the day and the exchange rate.
We got lunch at this cute little panini place. Gosh, I had the BEST panini. It had some sort of cheese with pears. Yumm. Who would have thought pears would taste good in a sandwich? Not me! We walked around and instead of seeing the real David, found the 2 fake ones that are in the city. Honestly, I can't really remember where the 1st one was or if I actually even saw it, but I do recall seeing the second one which is prominently placed on the top of this hill or mountain I guess you could say that overlooks the city. You can see out across the river and it's absolutely stunning. We went up there at night and my pictures just don't do it justice. Do pictures ever do anything justice though?
And that was day 1 in Florence. The only day we spent there because the following day we went on a wine tour with the hostel...
We arrived at our hostel before noon and were able to check in. Sometimes you are not able to check into hostels until later in the afternoon (like a hotel), but they'll allow you to store you luggage in a large closet. We were fortunate enough to be able to get into our room which was SUPER nice. It was like staying in a hotel but for a tenth of the price. The hostel was right in town, about a 10-15 minute walk from the center of the city where the Duomo is located. If you're interested, we stayed at Plus Florence. They give you your own key card, which is a very big deal to have at a hostel. On this key card there is also a chip so you can put money on it when you get there to use at the bar and cafeteria. You can't buy even a soda at the bar without putting money on, which honestly kept me from buying anything at the hostel. We stayed in a 8 bed mixed dorm. Since at this point in the journey there were only 5 of us, we had 3 other roommates that we did not know. The beds in this hostel were the nicest that I slept on all week. Above all the beds there were individual lights and there was also a switch that turns out the overhead light at the headboard of everyones bed. Super convenient. There was also a toilet and shower in the room. When you're traveling from hostel to hostel and haven't showered in awhile, this is a wonderful thing. I'm not sure how people can travel for weeks or even months on end and deal with the bathing conditions. I guess that's why you book nice hostels like the Plus Florence. The people there were extremely friendly! Paul helped us book a wine tour in Tuscany. I had to tell Ashley a few times that Tuscany is like a district, such as Delaware Country and that it is not a city or a place even. She kept asking when we were going to Tuscany. We were actually already there, but unfortunately we weren't under the Tuscan sun since the weather was overcast and raining for the 2 days we were there.
After checking in we got situated and got ready to head out to the market to spend our euros. While waiting for the group I was talking to a guy from Miami that had been in Florence for awhile. He was providing me and the others with tips about being a smart tourist, especially when going into the market since there are a lot of pit pocketers. I think he was just trying to psych us out though. Why, I'm not sure. The whole time I traveled I had my passport, credit/debit, student ID cards, phone, ipod and camera on me. I just felt safer knowing that it was all with me. I think I'm a pretty smart person when it comes to being aware of my surroundings so I wasn't worried about someone stealing my things. I know that there are some crazy stories, such as gypsies who drop fake babies into your arms naturally since you don't want a baby to fall on the ground and as you are catching the baby they'll cut off your purse/bag and be off. I did not see any gypsies or anyone that looked like they were going to steal myself. All the cities we traveled to felt very safe. Yes, I had to be smart about everything I was doing and always wore my bag in front of me, holding onto it more tightly at times, but I wasn't constantly having to think about it.
Anyhow, the market was a lot of fun. I finally decided to buy a nice leather wallet because you're only in Italy so often and I felt as though I needed some genuine Italian leather in my life. Also, Ellen (who I worked with at Cardigan) had gone to Italy a few years ago and gotten a really nice leather wallet which I pined over 2 summers ago. I had to get one so I would no longer pine. Others spent quite a bit on "designer" bags and they all enjoyed bargaining with the sellers. Mitzi was great at it. I don't have the courage to ask them to reduce their price. Everything there is really cheap anyhow, it's hard to ask for it to be sold at a cheaper price when it's already very affordable. The wallet I bought was about 16 euros, so $20 about, depending on the day and the exchange rate.
We got lunch at this cute little panini place. Gosh, I had the BEST panini. It had some sort of cheese with pears. Yumm. Who would have thought pears would taste good in a sandwich? Not me! We walked around and instead of seeing the real David, found the 2 fake ones that are in the city. Honestly, I can't really remember where the 1st one was or if I actually even saw it, but I do recall seeing the second one which is prominently placed on the top of this hill or mountain I guess you could say that overlooks the city. You can see out across the river and it's absolutely stunning. We went up there at night and my pictures just don't do it justice. Do pictures ever do anything justice though?
And that was day 1 in Florence. The only day we spent there because the following day we went on a wine tour with the hostel...
Retelling the Tales of Italy
I wish I were still in Italy! The break was wonderful. It's never a bad thing to have time away from school :) Now that I'm back I'm realizing how it may even be more difficult for teachers to get back into the swing of thins after a break. As a student you just show up, complaining that you have to go back to school after sleeping in and playing with friends. As a teacher you have to plan lessons and then show up, complaining about the same things as the students though!
Our first stop on our Italian journey was in Venice. WOW, there was a lot of water. They aren't lying when they say that it's the city of H2O. We took a taxi to our hostel that was a 10 minute train ride from the city. There was absolutely nothing around us. We tried to find a bar so that we didn't have to sit in our hostel, which was more of a budget accommodation (more about the difference later). Anyhow, we walked around for awhile and finally stumbled upon a bar but then most of us ended up leaving because we wanted to sleep in order to prepare ourselves for a day of exploring.
On Sunday we woke up early and then by the time all the girls were ready to leave it was a bit later, haha. We took the train into Venice and as we pulled into the station we stopped on a bridge. I looked out the window and low and behold water was all around us. It reminded me of watching the Real World Key West intro when they showed the bridge that goes from the mainland to Key West. If you looked out the window right, it seemed as though we were on a boat, not a train.
In Venice we just wandered the streets. I was purposefully trying to get lost, but I'm not sure that was the intention of everyone else. We had our first pizza in Italy and it was quite delicious, but I think I've had pizza of the same quality in the U.S. Let's just say that pizza was not to die for. Although I would be okay with moving to Italy- pizza, pasta, GELATO, yumm (I had that everyday, it's a must when you're there!), good looking people, beautiful cities.
After wandering and taking lots of pictures we got on a water taxi to Murano, one of the 117 islands that make up Venice. Murano is where the famous Venetian glass is made. We got to see glass being made at this one glass blowing shop. The man made a glass horse in honestly 3 minutes... it really couldn't have been much longer. I guess that's why these glass horses are so cheap to buy. We looked around at all the glass shops and by all I pretty much mean all. By the end of the day Ashley commented that she never wanted to see glass again. Unfortunately for her (as well as the rest of us) they have glass at every store in Italy... for the most part at least.
After leaving Murano (once we found the water taxi station to take to the next island) we headed to Burano, where they make lace. It was over a 30 minute ride from Murano to Burano, which we were not expecting. Once we got there it was around 5 and since daylights savings had kicked it it was getting quite dark already :( We decided to stay for 30 minutes. I did not see any lace being made but I did look at some ugly pieces of clothing made out of lace in the about 6 shops they had on this island. In the tour books, etc. they tell you to go to Burano to see the lace as well as the houses. The houses are all painted bright colors, but since it was getting dark the pictures did turn out magnificently. Instead of purchasing lace I finally made a Venetian glass purchase. Kaitlyn had told me that I had to get some type of glass jewelry while in Venice because people always compliment her on hers that she bought over the summer. I gave into the advice because honestly, who doesn't like compliments? After a half hour we caught the water taxi back to the main island of Venice. The taxi must have taken over an hour to get to where we wanted ago. It decided to stop at one station for 10+ minutes without moving and I'm pretty sure that no one was getting off after 5 minutes!!
We ate dinner at a cute Italian restaurant. I think it's safe to say that almost all restaurants in Italy are Italian as well as cute :) The portions were so small and cost around 13 Eros. Since we were 'starving' it really did not do justice like an American Olive Garden meal would have, but it was traditional and delicious all the same. Us Americans are always so greedy! When I'm paying the big bucks for food I want to have A LOT of it even if I can't or don't intend on eating it all. What a terrible mentality. No Italian is overweight even though they eat lots of carbs... most likely due to the small portions. Also, a lot of times you can get tap water and it's more expensive to buy bottled water then it is to buy wine. Most of the time we ordered a bottle of win for the 6 of us instead of getting water. Since I never wanted to pay for water it would be safe to say that I was dehydrated all week long. The joys of traveling on a budget. But no worries, I didn't pass out or anything. If I had felt as though that was going to happen I most definitely would have given in and bought water... I'm not THAT cheap!
After dinner we took the water taxi back to the train station and hopped on the train (public transportation is so easy, LOVED IT!) Once back at the hostel I was in bed sleeping and awaiting our next adventure... Next stop Florence!!!!
Our first stop on our Italian journey was in Venice. WOW, there was a lot of water. They aren't lying when they say that it's the city of H2O. We took a taxi to our hostel that was a 10 minute train ride from the city. There was absolutely nothing around us. We tried to find a bar so that we didn't have to sit in our hostel, which was more of a budget accommodation (more about the difference later). Anyhow, we walked around for awhile and finally stumbled upon a bar but then most of us ended up leaving because we wanted to sleep in order to prepare ourselves for a day of exploring.
On Sunday we woke up early and then by the time all the girls were ready to leave it was a bit later, haha. We took the train into Venice and as we pulled into the station we stopped on a bridge. I looked out the window and low and behold water was all around us. It reminded me of watching the Real World Key West intro when they showed the bridge that goes from the mainland to Key West. If you looked out the window right, it seemed as though we were on a boat, not a train.
In Venice we just wandered the streets. I was purposefully trying to get lost, but I'm not sure that was the intention of everyone else. We had our first pizza in Italy and it was quite delicious, but I think I've had pizza of the same quality in the U.S. Let's just say that pizza was not to die for. Although I would be okay with moving to Italy- pizza, pasta, GELATO, yumm (I had that everyday, it's a must when you're there!), good looking people, beautiful cities.
After wandering and taking lots of pictures we got on a water taxi to Murano, one of the 117 islands that make up Venice. Murano is where the famous Venetian glass is made. We got to see glass being made at this one glass blowing shop. The man made a glass horse in honestly 3 minutes... it really couldn't have been much longer. I guess that's why these glass horses are so cheap to buy. We looked around at all the glass shops and by all I pretty much mean all. By the end of the day Ashley commented that she never wanted to see glass again. Unfortunately for her (as well as the rest of us) they have glass at every store in Italy... for the most part at least.
After leaving Murano (once we found the water taxi station to take to the next island) we headed to Burano, where they make lace. It was over a 30 minute ride from Murano to Burano, which we were not expecting. Once we got there it was around 5 and since daylights savings had kicked it it was getting quite dark already :( We decided to stay for 30 minutes. I did not see any lace being made but I did look at some ugly pieces of clothing made out of lace in the about 6 shops they had on this island. In the tour books, etc. they tell you to go to Burano to see the lace as well as the houses. The houses are all painted bright colors, but since it was getting dark the pictures did turn out magnificently. Instead of purchasing lace I finally made a Venetian glass purchase. Kaitlyn had told me that I had to get some type of glass jewelry while in Venice because people always compliment her on hers that she bought over the summer. I gave into the advice because honestly, who doesn't like compliments? After a half hour we caught the water taxi back to the main island of Venice. The taxi must have taken over an hour to get to where we wanted ago. It decided to stop at one station for 10+ minutes without moving and I'm pretty sure that no one was getting off after 5 minutes!!
We ate dinner at a cute Italian restaurant. I think it's safe to say that almost all restaurants in Italy are Italian as well as cute :) The portions were so small and cost around 13 Eros. Since we were 'starving' it really did not do justice like an American Olive Garden meal would have, but it was traditional and delicious all the same. Us Americans are always so greedy! When I'm paying the big bucks for food I want to have A LOT of it even if I can't or don't intend on eating it all. What a terrible mentality. No Italian is overweight even though they eat lots of carbs... most likely due to the small portions. Also, a lot of times you can get tap water and it's more expensive to buy bottled water then it is to buy wine. Most of the time we ordered a bottle of win for the 6 of us instead of getting water. Since I never wanted to pay for water it would be safe to say that I was dehydrated all week long. The joys of traveling on a budget. But no worries, I didn't pass out or anything. If I had felt as though that was going to happen I most definitely would have given in and bought water... I'm not THAT cheap!
After dinner we took the water taxi back to the train station and hopped on the train (public transportation is so easy, LOVED IT!) Once back at the hostel I was in bed sleeping and awaiting our next adventure... Next stop Florence!!!!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Holiday is here!
As of today I am on 1/2 term break. No, it's not just us student teachers who get a break but in fact all of the teachers and students at our schools. The English school system is set up as 3 terms- Autumn, Spring and Summer. Since the kids, etc. don't get out for their summer holiday until the last week in July, they have week long breaks during the other terms. Basically, they go to school what seems like a good deal more then us Americans, yet I think it's only another 2 weeks when you work out the number of days students attend school here to the number at home. Anyhow, it doesn't really matter why I have a break, I just do and we can all work on accepting that fact.
I enjoyed my day off in Southern England today. Ashely, Skye (who is from Sweden, the town where IKEA was founded to be exact) and I all went to Chichester (where I teach) and shopped... I got a new dress of Italy on sale at H&M :) Then we saw High School Musical 3 where Ashely and I talked through a whole lot of it. That was until we were told by the British lady next to us to "Please not talk through the film." Ugh, that's the problem with kid movies, parents trying to control you. Okay, yes, I was seeing High School Musical, I guess I can't really make passing judgments on others.
I am almost all packed for my trip to Italy. I can't believe that almost 2 months have passed since I've seen U.S. currency or heard country music on the radio... the country music I don't miss so much though. I've found it really odd over here to think about U.S. currency. I know this may seem like a weird thing to think about, but when you've used one type of currency for 21 years and then all of a sudden start using another and get used to that it's hard to image the other. This is quite a confusing thought process. I think I'm just going to stop while I'm ahead!
I can't wait to update you all on Italy. Don't worry, I'll take lots of photos! Another piece of exciting news is that my brother is coming to visit at the end of the program for a week :) I am super excited and can't wait to start planning out adventures once I get back from my Italy adventure. Ciao. Hopefully I learn some more Italian over the next week and be able to wow you all once I get back.
I enjoyed my day off in Southern England today. Ashely, Skye (who is from Sweden, the town where IKEA was founded to be exact) and I all went to Chichester (where I teach) and shopped... I got a new dress of Italy on sale at H&M :) Then we saw High School Musical 3 where Ashely and I talked through a whole lot of it. That was until we were told by the British lady next to us to "Please not talk through the film." Ugh, that's the problem with kid movies, parents trying to control you. Okay, yes, I was seeing High School Musical, I guess I can't really make passing judgments on others.
I am almost all packed for my trip to Italy. I can't believe that almost 2 months have passed since I've seen U.S. currency or heard country music on the radio... the country music I don't miss so much though. I've found it really odd over here to think about U.S. currency. I know this may seem like a weird thing to think about, but when you've used one type of currency for 21 years and then all of a sudden start using another and get used to that it's hard to image the other. This is quite a confusing thought process. I think I'm just going to stop while I'm ahead!
I can't wait to update you all on Italy. Don't worry, I'll take lots of photos! Another piece of exciting news is that my brother is coming to visit at the end of the program for a week :) I am super excited and can't wait to start planning out adventures once I get back from my Italy adventure. Ciao. Hopefully I learn some more Italian over the next week and be able to wow you all once I get back.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
The last Thursday to bring about the weekend
Today is the last day before mid term break. I can't believe mid term break is already here! Today I believe there will be a supply teacher in my classroom (a sub), but yet again my teacher is never provides me with too many details or lets say lesson plans so the teacher and I will just wing it I suppose. I'm actually hoping that I don't have to do too much. When my teacher is not in it can be extremely stressful because when you're not given the plans and there is specific lessons that need to be taught but I have no been informed how they are to be taught makes for poor presentation to the students. Poor presentation to the students means bad behavior. Bad behavior means lots of noise. Lots of noise means Miss Kendus has a headache!
Needless to say, I'm glad that tomorrow I won't have to go into the school. I plan on sleeping in (a bit), getting some work done for after 1/2 term since I'll be teach 75% of the time. Now, this is assuming that my teacher provides me with the topics/subjects that he wants me to teach today when we hopefully meet after school. Goodness, I can't wait to have my own classroom and do things on my own terms! The next unit we're doing is chocolate. How great is that? I'm going to start doing morning messages and surveys for the students when they come into the classroom as well as try to incorporate read alouds more often. My teacher supported these ideas, so I'm going to run with them. I'm also thinking of doing a tree of knowledge that looks like a cocoa tree where the students have to place an 'exit slip' on the tree at the end of the day saying something they learned. Now, that may be a bit difficult to work out, but I think I could have the students design and make the tree eventually. So it may not be a long shot after all. Dream big, right?
Tomorrow Ashely and I are going to see High School Musical 3. I forget that all the kids were going to be off because of an inset (in service day), so I will most likely see a lot of my students at the movie theater. I'm willing to do that in order to see the movie though :) I also need to start packing for Italy! We don't leave until 6:40pm on Saturday, but I've already figured out my laundry schedule (since things take forever to air dry here since it's so damp.) Let's just hope I can find a washer this afternoon once I get back from school, otherwise my whole plan is in the bin.
Here's to one more day in the schools and 12 days off :)
Needless to say, I'm glad that tomorrow I won't have to go into the school. I plan on sleeping in (a bit), getting some work done for after 1/2 term since I'll be teach 75% of the time. Now, this is assuming that my teacher provides me with the topics/subjects that he wants me to teach today when we hopefully meet after school. Goodness, I can't wait to have my own classroom and do things on my own terms! The next unit we're doing is chocolate. How great is that? I'm going to start doing morning messages and surveys for the students when they come into the classroom as well as try to incorporate read alouds more often. My teacher supported these ideas, so I'm going to run with them. I'm also thinking of doing a tree of knowledge that looks like a cocoa tree where the students have to place an 'exit slip' on the tree at the end of the day saying something they learned. Now, that may be a bit difficult to work out, but I think I could have the students design and make the tree eventually. So it may not be a long shot after all. Dream big, right?
Tomorrow Ashely and I are going to see High School Musical 3. I forget that all the kids were going to be off because of an inset (in service day), so I will most likely see a lot of my students at the movie theater. I'm willing to do that in order to see the movie though :) I also need to start packing for Italy! We don't leave until 6:40pm on Saturday, but I've already figured out my laundry schedule (since things take forever to air dry here since it's so damp.) Let's just hope I can find a washer this afternoon once I get back from school, otherwise my whole plan is in the bin.
Here's to one more day in the schools and 12 days off :)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Morning looks like night
Good morning! I am looking forward to daylight savings because the sun has not been rising until about 7:30 which makes it feel like you're waking up in the middle of the night to begin your day. Although some people thought there was no daylight savings here, there is. It happens next Saturday I believe (while I'm traveling to Italy) and it changes at 12am, not 2am. Not that it makes a big difference when it happens.
I walked to the bus station in the rain for the FIRST time this term. I had stayed after for a staff meeting and it had started around 4. It was not pouring by any means, but it's so windy here when it rains, so I got wet from the rain blowing all over. Also, umbrellas really don't do well when it's windy... I actually thought my LLBean umbrella broke. At one point I needed to put the umbrella down and I couldn't close it completely, so I was walking under the umbrella while it was party open. I'm sure this was quite interesting to see. I ended up using the umbrella more as a shield. Resourceful, right?
Mom had asked about what I eat here... YES I know what I'm going to have every morning for breakfast Monday-Sunday. Brunch here is possibly worse then going to the cubard at home. You would think that brunch implies more food, but really there is less. Monday-Friday there is ALWAYS bacon (but it's not American bacon), I haven't actually tried it. Eggs that are runny and Megan has to drain them every morning. I'm painting a beautiful picture, right? Baked beans or something of that sort... possibly stewed tomatoes depending on the day. Fried toast... delicious but must clog the arteries. English muffins with butter already melted on them. Croissants (which I usually eat with strawberry jam, extremely sweet, just how I like it!), chocolate croissants, canned fruit (I like the madnrin oranges, they remind me of my childhood and the peaches are sometimes thrown in there to spice it up). There is yogurt, cereal (extremely bland looking thought). And there is always fruit... but one of the ugliest collection of fruit I've seen, haha. Also, you can eat as MUCH toast as you want. I've been opting for that a few times recently... not the all you can eat, just one or two pieces.
Speaking of breakfast, I must jet! Otherwise it takes so long to cross the street to get my bus that I could possibly miss it. Ciao!
I walked to the bus station in the rain for the FIRST time this term. I had stayed after for a staff meeting and it had started around 4. It was not pouring by any means, but it's so windy here when it rains, so I got wet from the rain blowing all over. Also, umbrellas really don't do well when it's windy... I actually thought my LLBean umbrella broke. At one point I needed to put the umbrella down and I couldn't close it completely, so I was walking under the umbrella while it was party open. I'm sure this was quite interesting to see. I ended up using the umbrella more as a shield. Resourceful, right?
Mom had asked about what I eat here... YES I know what I'm going to have every morning for breakfast Monday-Sunday. Brunch here is possibly worse then going to the cubard at home. You would think that brunch implies more food, but really there is less. Monday-Friday there is ALWAYS bacon (but it's not American bacon), I haven't actually tried it. Eggs that are runny and Megan has to drain them every morning. I'm painting a beautiful picture, right? Baked beans or something of that sort... possibly stewed tomatoes depending on the day. Fried toast... delicious but must clog the arteries. English muffins with butter already melted on them. Croissants (which I usually eat with strawberry jam, extremely sweet, just how I like it!), chocolate croissants, canned fruit (I like the madnrin oranges, they remind me of my childhood and the peaches are sometimes thrown in there to spice it up). There is yogurt, cereal (extremely bland looking thought). And there is always fruit... but one of the ugliest collection of fruit I've seen, haha. Also, you can eat as MUCH toast as you want. I've been opting for that a few times recently... not the all you can eat, just one or two pieces.
Speaking of breakfast, I must jet! Otherwise it takes so long to cross the street to get my bus that I could possibly miss it. Ciao!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Thursday is the new Friday... for now
I just got ready for school and it only took 15 minutes to make my bed, brush my teeth, wash my face, pick out my outfit and get dressed. Since it never takes me that long and I have no e-mail, etc. to deal with I thought I'd write.
This week felt longer then the last. It was not necessarily a bad thing, but after the school day ended on Monday I felt like it should really be the end of Tuesday. Luckily for me, I am only in the schools Monday-Thursday since seminars are on Friday. Tomorrow is our last seminar and next Friday we are on mid-term break. In our student books it says that we should be going into the schools full time next week, but many people's mentors have told them to take the day off. I had planned on going in next Friday to plan lessons, etc. for after half term because the teachers have an in-service. It may be beneficial to do my planning in the school since I am expected to teach 75% of the time once I get back from break on November 3rd.
It's hard to believe that I have almost been here for 7 weeks I believe it is this coming Monday! It feels so natural to wake up in the pitch black, eat breakfast and get on a bus under a sky that looks like it is going to pour on you any second. Funny thing is that it doesn't rain often here. Yesterday morning was the first time I walked to school while it was raining and actually, it was only drizzling a bit. There was no need for an umbrella BUT my hair did look awful once I got into my classroom!!
I was talking to a few England natives about the weather, asking them why everyone thinks it rains so much here. I had told them that since I've been here the rain has not been an issue. One of the men said that England, or maybe it's more particularly Southern England, has droughts often. Another... or maybe this was the same man said that the British just like to talk about weather. I can believe that, but I think everyone likes to talk about the weather because it's a topic that people can talk about safely. I have decided that whenever Americans come to England on holiday that it must always rain when they're here for only a week or two. These Americans then come home and tell everyone in the U.S. that England has horrible weather, that it rains all of the time and that they better pack appropriately before traveling there. Obviously, it's all propaganda.
I'm off to breakfast with Dara and Megan. I wonder what we'll have today? Oh wait, I forgot, I can tell you the menu and what everyone had without even going to breakfast!
Cheers!
This week felt longer then the last. It was not necessarily a bad thing, but after the school day ended on Monday I felt like it should really be the end of Tuesday. Luckily for me, I am only in the schools Monday-Thursday since seminars are on Friday. Tomorrow is our last seminar and next Friday we are on mid-term break. In our student books it says that we should be going into the schools full time next week, but many people's mentors have told them to take the day off. I had planned on going in next Friday to plan lessons, etc. for after half term because the teachers have an in-service. It may be beneficial to do my planning in the school since I am expected to teach 75% of the time once I get back from break on November 3rd.
It's hard to believe that I have almost been here for 7 weeks I believe it is this coming Monday! It feels so natural to wake up in the pitch black, eat breakfast and get on a bus under a sky that looks like it is going to pour on you any second. Funny thing is that it doesn't rain often here. Yesterday morning was the first time I walked to school while it was raining and actually, it was only drizzling a bit. There was no need for an umbrella BUT my hair did look awful once I got into my classroom!!
I was talking to a few England natives about the weather, asking them why everyone thinks it rains so much here. I had told them that since I've been here the rain has not been an issue. One of the men said that England, or maybe it's more particularly Southern England, has droughts often. Another... or maybe this was the same man said that the British just like to talk about weather. I can believe that, but I think everyone likes to talk about the weather because it's a topic that people can talk about safely. I have decided that whenever Americans come to England on holiday that it must always rain when they're here for only a week or two. These Americans then come home and tell everyone in the U.S. that England has horrible weather, that it rains all of the time and that they better pack appropriately before traveling there. Obviously, it's all propaganda.
I'm off to breakfast with Dara and Megan. I wonder what we'll have today? Oh wait, I forgot, I can tell you the menu and what everyone had without even going to breakfast!
Cheers!
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