Saturday Walk along the Thames

Today I got to sleep in. it was really good to actually get some sleep. After that I went with my group from my GST for our weekly walk of the Thames. This time our walk was a pleasant 3.5 mile walk down the side of a park and the Thames. We had lots of fun and got lots of information and pictures for our project. Our project is about construction along the Thames and how it affects the Thames. We have to do a 45 minute presentation at the end of the class in May that include pictures from our walks and information about our topic. Judging by our three walks so far, we will have plenty of information to fill 45 minutes and we all know that if it does not take that long I can fill in with some talking because I am good at that. I also just added some picture of our class trip to Greenwich the other day. Take a look. I actually stood in two Hemispheres at once, on the Prime Meridian. Until next time! Enjoy!

Greenwich Pictures

Natural History

Today I had no school so I went to the Natural History museum with Zane and Kinsey. We had so much fun. I would definitely say that this museum was just as good if not better than some of the american museums like the smithsonians. We saw dinosaurs, mammals, birds, and insects. The coolest was the ant colony. They had an actual ant colony that had a queen ant and we could see the ants carrying food and leaves. The colony of ants was brought in from Tanzania. The we went to have chinese food for dinner. I must say china town here is much nicer and cleaner than that of any in the United States. Sweet and Sour chicken is a definite must here! We also visited Lilly Whites which is a great place to get cheap sports gear, especially football (our soccer) jerseys. We came home and I am now working on righting journals for my education practicum. Also, for those of you who have not heard the news, I have been chosen to be an Orientation Leader next year at Elon which means I get to help new students as they prepare at their first week of school. Write again tomorrow.

To the Ghetto and Back!

Well today we had two classes. First I had my GST which is called Traveling the Thames. Today we went to Greenwich for this class and got to see the National Observatory and stand in two Hemispheres. We also went to places called the painted hall and the chapel. The artwork in these places were amazing. I will add pictures at a later date. As far as the second class, that is where my title of today's blog comes in. For sociology, we have extended classes every other Thursday in order to actually go out and observe. We went to a place called Hackney on the East Side of London. This was in the ghetto. It was ok though because our teacher lives here so she kept us safe. Here we visited the museum of Hackney and the museum of Childhood. I will have to say that the museum of Childhood was my favorite. It literally took me back to my childhood. I got to go back and remember all the toys I played with as a child. GI Joe's, the race track cars, and many other cool items. Basically today was long but fun.

SNAPE!!!

Ok, so today I did not have classes. After lunch we went to a toy store. It was six floors of toys. So incredibly amazing. But, that is not the point of my blog. Tonight we went to the national theater to see "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour". It was really good and there was an orchestra that performed amazingly. Again, not the point of my story. As we sat in the balcony we looked down to find a familiar face. There was no way that it could be him. Oh yes, it was. Alan Rickman. For those of you who do not recognize this name it would be SNAPE from Harry Potter. We found him in the lobby after the play and spoke to him. He would not take a picture because he said he was not allowed to in a venue like this, but still being in his presence was awesome. So basically, the moral of the story is, you never know who you will find walking around London! LOOK OUT!

Tuesday!

Today was a day full of classes. We started out at 8:30 an our before class trying to get to class. We got about three tube stops away from school and the line we were on shut down because of signal failure. Therefore,we had to get off get onto a bus and ride to the next tube stop, get on another line and get to school. Because of this we were thirty minutes late. However, we were only the second ones there so we were not late. We had a short class and then I had a two hour break. During this two hour break I got to talk to Abby for an hour on Facebook chat and it was cool (That was for you Abby). I finished the day with two more classes and came home at 6:30. This is where it gets fun. Today was national pancake day so we made pancakes, scrambled eggs and hash browns. Dinner was great. Now it is time to relax and get some sleep. Goodnight!

Burlington Danes School

Today was the first day of our practicum. Yes, given by the title of my blog I am in a school called Burlington Danes School. Something close to home, well my school home. We took a forty-minute tube ride to our school and walked in with all the children. In the courtyard of the school all the children were joining each other in conversation and playing ping pong. We met with the assistant principal who helped us to find our teachers among the kids out in the courtyard. Most shockingly, the head teacher (principal) blew a whistle when the school bell rang and all the students ran to their teacher and got in lines. At this point each teacher was directed to go down the line of their students and check uniforms. The grade nine kids who I was with were congratulated for their uniform success because there were only three people with bad uniforms compared to the twenty last week. After the uniform check we continued inside for a day starter with the head of grade nine. Here is where I first encountered the school being based on the Church of England. They had prayer before the assembly began and the head teacher stood and made sure every head was bowed before he began.

After the assembly, which happens every morning, we continued to classes. Our teacher, Mr. Thomas, was awesome. He really knew how to keep the discipline under control in the classroom. Then we took a break in the teacher’s lounge that was HUGE! We then had another class. This time I actually got to walk around and help students. This was comical because the students finally realized I was from the US and kept calling me back just to hear my accent. Lunchtime came next, and I sat at the teacher table for the first time in my life. SO COOL! After lunch we received a tour of the school by the assistant principal and headed back to our classes for the last period of the day. In all, this day was awesome and I love the schools here. Students are a little more rambunctious, but overall really awesome. Have a good day!!!

Canterbury

Since I wrote you last, I have had an amazing adventure. Yesterday, Saturday, I went to Canterbury with Katie, Katie, Kinsey, Megan, Kaitlin, and Chelsey. All I can say is Wow. We started at 7:45 and took the tube to the bus station. We got on a bus out of London to Canterbury and arrived in Canterbury at 10:30. Upon getting to Canterbury we went exploring. We really had no plans or ideas of what to do, we had just heard it was an amazing town and we wanted to see what we could find. We came across a tourist information station and we found multiple things to do. So, we began our journey by going to an Ancient Roman remains museum. It was underground, and we got to see how they had unsurfaced some of the old ancient roman ruins in Canterbury and what they looked like. After this we decided to go back and retrace our steps to the castle ruins we had seen coming in on the bus. We got on this long wall and actually got to walk along a roman wall that was built in the old days. This wall led us straight to the castle. On the way we saw the whole city overview and it was gorgeous. At the castle ruins we walked up into some of the walls and got views of the grounds. We then left the castle and wandered back down to find somewhere for lunch. While wandering we found a little park with a bandstand and WWII bomb shelters. Of course Kinsey got a little giddy when she saw them because she is a history major.

Because we were being cheap for lunch, we found a subway and ate there for lunch. One of the only places that offers free refills!!! After lunch we headed to Canterbury Cathedral. BREATHTAKING!! For those of you who don’t know this is where Thomas Beckett was slain. The cathedral and grounds were unbelievable. At the cathedral alone, I took 100 pictures. I will leave the describing to some of the pictures I post. After the cathedral we went to the Canterbury Tales house. Based on the book, it was a house that was animated, and you went through and most of the stories were told to you and acted or visually displayed by animated characters. It was really cool. After that we really had no where else to go and it was only 4:00 so we decided to start walking and we got to see the Marlowe Theater and the museum for Rupert the Bear, which is a children’s book series. Then we found a pub for dinner. It was the slowest pub I have been to yet. We got there at 5:30 and did not leave until 7:15. We then walked around and saw that all the stores were closed, evidently stores close a lot earlier over here, so we went into a grocery store and hung out a little bit until our bus arrived and took us back to London. THE END!! Below I have added pictures from the day. Hope you enjoy!!

Yay for a Post!

Ok so it has been a long, long, long, long time since I have written in my blog last and I write this for all of you, but more importantly my cousin Abby who checks this daily and hates to not see an update. Abby this is for you! So, starting with Sunday, I was able to attend mass at Westminster Abbey. It was the most gorgeous place I have ever been to. The beauty of the place made worshipping God that much more exciting and meaningful. Ironically the sermon on Sunday was about Abraham Lincoln. It was basically a history lesson, but cool. Other than that Sunday was a day of rest and rejuvenating.

On Monday I woke up to go to a travel agent. A group of us have chosen to take a tour to Paris, France on March 6-8. I am sooo excited. It was weird to make a decision for the first time about a big trip and money without having the parent’s advice. I guess that is what it means to grow up and be on your own. We also went grocery shopping which was very fun and I actually like planning out meals and such.

On Tuesday, I had another long day of classes. After classes we went to a theater production. It was called The Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. It was absolutely awesome other than the costuming. The costuming was a bit off because it flipped from modern to medieval, but other than that the acting was great and the play was quite humorous.

On Wednesday, today, I woke up and had no classes. Wednesday is a break in the middle of the week for me to relax and do some homework. I wrote a journal for my sociology class and that was all the homework I had to do so I went exploring. I went out into London for about four hours and just turned down streets and found my way from the famous Marble Arch all the way to Piccadilly Circus, which is like Time Square in New York. I had lots of fun.
As a closing note I want to say that I have learned one thing. Always buy your phone card from the post office, it is five pounds fro 152 minutes, if you buy it from a sketchy guy on the street it is five pounds for 32 minutes. THE END!

Our Flat, Changing of the Guard and WIMBLEDON!!

WIMBLEDON!!! Today I went to Wimbledon and it was the best thing ever for a tennis fan to see. I found a student rate tour that took you all over the facilities and gained me entrance to the museum. I got to walk all through the grounds. I saw Henman Hill, Courts 2- 19, player eating terrace, player press conference room, and finally the tunnel to and inside of court 1. We did not get to see Center Court because they are doing the retractable roof renovations, but that is okay. I got to stand and sit in places that people like Andy Roddick, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, John McEnroe, Billy Jean King, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, and many other greats have been. Finally we took a tour through the museum where at the end I got to get as close as I will ever be to the Wimbledon trophies. So Cool!!







On Friday we went to changing of the guards. It was amazing. Like our tour guide told us the first few days, we stood by the lamppost and got the best view. We did not see a lot of the changing inside of the gate, but we did see all of the bands, horse drawn carriages and guards marching into and out of the gate. The best part though was when we realized that the Queen’s flag was flying and not the flag of Britain, which meant the queen was at Buckingham while we where watching the changing of the guard. I have added some pictures below of the band, Buckingham and the guards.






Here are pictures of the inside of my flat. My bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and dresser!







Anyways those are my adventures for the past two days. Hope you enjoyed.

Pictures Finaly

These Pictures include, Stonehenge, Bath, Our Flats and many others. Feel free to ask what certain pictures are.

First Day of Classes!

It has now been three days since I last wrote an entry. Sorry for all of you who have been checking in every day, it has been a long three days. Sunday, we decided to catch up on all the jet lag sleep. We will commence church going next Sunday possibly going to Westminster Abbey or the church that Tim Hughes is music director at. Monday we had our first education seminar. Our teacher Sue Adler is so awesome. She has been involved in so many aspects of London schools that she really knows what is going on. I have been assigned to the same school as Amanda and Elias two other Teaching Fellows. The school is called Burlington Danes Academy and you can see it at www.burlingtondanes.org . I am really excited to get started learning about how the British system is different from the American school system.

Today, we started classes. I got up at 7:45 and got ready because we had to leave for school at 8:30. It takes an hour during rush hour to get through the tube and to our school. The first class I had was my GST class called Traveling the Thames with my Elon professor. This class is looking to be really fun and learning filled. After that I have a two-hour break in which five of us sit in an empty room and talk, use the internet, and stare at each other. Then we went to my favorite class of the day. LONDON THEATRE! Our teacher is really nice and we found out today we will be reading five plays in their entirety. Best news of the day though was that we are going to our first show tomorrow night. We will be going to see Spring Awakening. Finally, my last class of the day was Diversity in London. We really just did an intro to London and were told that we would be doing things such as “people watching” for two hours. Sounds fun. Anyways, that was my last few days and I look forward to writing again. Until then, be safe!

Stonehenge, Bath, and More!

What a day. We got on the bus this morning at 8:30. We started travel out of London and the view of rolling hills and snow came quickly as we left the city. After riding for an hour and a half we came rolling over a hill to a wonderful sight of Stonehenge. Yes, it is sitting in the middle of nowhere and there are no warning signs. I think that is what it made Stonehenge so awesome. I got so many great pictures (soon to come) of the snow-surrounded Stonehenge. In person, it was so much larger than I thought it would be from pictures. However, the best moment came when I turned to walk away and the sun popped out from behind the clouds and it was so gorgeous. Once again I got so many pictures.
Next we moved on to Bath. Just a note to begin with, I will be returning to Bath because it is filled with so many things to do and see. And for all you book lovers, I did get a chance to stop by the Jane Austen place. The most impressive however, me being a math major was the design of the city. The designer used geometric shapes to create the city roads. It went from square, to circus (circle), and then eclipse. It was pretty cool I have to admit. Also, we got to see the Roman baths. We took an hour tour through a museum that was built over and around the old baths. I had fun and found many picture opportunities once again. Overall, I really liked Bath and cannot wait to go back.
Finally when we got back to main city London, we made a quick dinner and headed out for a night on the town. We went and got on the tube and got off at the Westminster stop. As we exited the tube we rose to see Big Ben lit up with a full moon above it. We also got to view Westminster abbey from the back, and after a long walk we spent some time in front of the Queen’s residence better known as Buckingham palace. Other than that, we went and got Cinabon and are now sitting and chatting about things to do in London later in the semester. Until next time! Cherio!

More Fun!

Today was AWESOME! We took a bus tour around London to see all the tourist attractions. Our tour guide was very good at showing us the ins and outs of London. I have not actually been and visited these places but we did just ride through and see exactly where they are. Of course we road by Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Diagon Alley (For al you Harry Potter Fans) and much much more. I just wanted to share a brief idea of all that we saw. Oh and other fun news, I cooked tonight. I teamed up with three others and we bought food to cook and only ended up paying 3 pounds ($4.50) a person! Not Bad. It was fun and we will do this much more often. Well that is it for today. Check back tomorrow because I will be going to Stonehenge and Bath.

Time to Explore and Discover

What an eventful day. It all started with my alarm at 8am. I got up and got a shower. I know why tell this detail, but showering here is a little different. The water temperature does not follow the normal way it would in the United States. The more you turn each hot or cold knob the worse it gets when the water starts to change temperature. Yes, my water changes temperature every 10 seconds from whatever hot I have it on to whatever cold I have it on. Therefore, I have learned to barely turn each knob and the water stays a pretty neutral temperature. Other than that, I wrote my paper for my GST.
Today we actually got to go to our school building. We had London orientation with the director of our program Lisa Thompson. Once again we got the do’s and don’ts, but this time it was with safety and how the tube. Speaking of the tube, I have found myself walking around saying “Mind the Gap”, which to Londoners means don’t trip or fall in the crack between the tube and the sidewalk. Back to the orientation, I actually got a key for the school building and we got a pamphlet with information on how to get student discounts through our school. The best of these discounts would be that almost any ticket to see musicals and show like Wicked and Grease are only 24 pounds (36 Dollars) where they would normally be 60 pounds.

After all this we decided to go on an adventure. Therefore, we took a double-decker bus towards Oxford Street, which is where all the main shopping in London is. However, we got on the bus and one stop later it was out of service. Therefore, we were left at a bus stop knowing not what to do. When we finally found another bus stop around the corner we had to wait for a bus for 30 minutes. Once we finally got on the bus we headed to Oxford Street. Little did we know that the store we wanted to go to was on the opposite end of the street. Therefore we walked down Oxford for an hour until we found it. The adventure was fun, and we got to see a lot of London. I also went to my first pub tonight. It was fun to experience Londoners in their social environment and not in the tube where they DO NOT talk. Anyways, today was a great learning experience and I got to spend a lot more time wandering. Looking forward to my bus tour and walking tours of London tomorrow!

First Day Adventures

Well, I know I have already written today but I had to share some of the whirl wind London that I have been through today. First of all, today I learned that taking a left out of my flats leads me straight into the shanties of London that I do not necessarily want to be in. However, searching for a lunch place, we found a nice quiet and cool place to eat in a local eatery. Kinsey, Natalie, and I sat down and had a helping of Shepherds Pie, well Natalie had some spicy curry, but over all the experience was great. On our excursion we also found the biggest grocery store chain in London and the pound store (equivalent to the dollar store). After that we returned to our flats for a flat orientation with our lovely landlord who was full of don'ts and very little do's. Funny story, we have a neighbor whose last name is Jennings, and she basically calls in complaints every night about the college students next door! GREAT!!! He said just ignore her and she will survive.

As we finished our meeting a group of us decided to go and get our monthly tube pass. Upon getting to the counter, neither my debit or credit card were read. YIKES!! Yet, a phone call to dad back in the United States set it straight and I was able to draw money from the ATM only a few minutes later. Basically, I am glad to have a dad who is a banker. After all the tube pass drama we decided it would be a great idea to get on the tube at 5pm in London and just ride and pick a stop to get off at. First of all, 5pm in London on the tube is worse than rush hour traffic in the US. However, we decided to get off at the Pickadilly Circus stop. When we came up to ground level from the tube we were astonished to see the New York of London. Given our previous experience with shanty town London earlier, our hopes for our semester were lifted greatly. We walked around for awhile and then headed back "home" on the tube.

Now it is 9pm and I have not slept since 10:30 am on Tuesday morning because I got no sleep on the plane. Therefore, I bid you all a goodnight and look forward to telling of my future fun times in London.

IN LONDON!!

We have arrived in London! I am sitting in my flat and have unpacked. Pictures to come! A little small but none the less I am in London and it is cold. There is snow on the ground and supposedly there is going to be snow tonight too! Well, it is close to lunch and we are going to go get some food and explore a little this afternoon.

Not in London Yet

So, yes there was a blizzard in London today and no it was not the reason our plane ride got cancelled. The plane was missing a part. Therefore, tonight we are in Raleigh in a hotel and will be flying out at the same time tomorrow night at 8:35 pm.