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London day 2!

My second day in London was just as fun as the first! We started off the day by going to Buckingham palace to watch the changing of the guards. Even though it was a Monday it was still extremely crowded, we got there an hour early and still didn’t have the greatest view. It was interesting to see all the different languages being spoken in one area when you are in a huge crowd. We heard Spanish, French, Japanese and Chinese; just from the people surrounding us. After we left the changing of the guards we walked across the street to go to St. Paul’s Cathedral. I wish we would have been able to go on the inside but we didn’t have enough time and there were no masses going on at the time we were there. The outside is still breathtaking though and we got a lot of souvenirs from the gift shop! After that we took the tube to a flee market at Notting Hill! This was my favorite part of all =) I looove seeing the different styles of clothing and all the stuff with the British flag on it. Nicki bought a couple scarves at the beginning of the flee market, and as we walked down a while we noticed everything started to get cheaper. They purposely hiked up prices at places near the front of the market because they know people will buy things and not realize they are overpaying until it’s too late. We went back and tried to return it but they refused to give her a refund. I bought a lot of cute scarves, I’m not sure how I am going to wear them yet… but they are pretty! After the market we had to rush home and get ready for Wicked on Broadway! I have never seen a Broadway show so I was so excited! It was amazing and the talent was incredible! After we left we took a night walk past the London Eye and Big Ben. The view at night is so beautiful because everything is lit up. It looks like something out of a movie! There was this lady singing by the Eye and her voice was incredible. She was also playing the guitar and the harmonica. We stopped to talk to her and a couple of the girls bought her CD. She said she is Italian, born in Brazil, but speaks Portuguese and Italian. She had a very strong accent which didn’t show through in her singing. We got a picture with her; maybe she’ll be famous one day! =-)

The scavenger hunt was an interesting thing to do while we were in London. While we were riding on the bus back from Greenwich, we went though a neighborhood on a street called “Jamaica.” Several of the ladies were wearing traditional African head dresses and speaking a language I did not recognize. Also while we were on the bus there were so many different languages being spoken, we may have been the only ones speaking English on the whole bus which is a little ironic because we were in the UK. Also all these people speaking the different languages were not tourists, they were going to and from work or going grocery shopping. The diversity in language is amazing because there are so many different kinds of languages in a quite small area. I might even go as far to say more people are speaking different languages other than English. Even at stores and restaurants people spoke very broken English, I felt like I wasn’t even in Brittan anymore! I guess it’s good practice for when I go to Italy and can’t understand anyone at all! We also observed what many of the children were doing while they were on vacation. There was this really cool piece of “art” that many of the kids appeared to enjoy. It was several tall poles that light up and make noise according how people move around. The faster you move the louder the music, and the way your body interacts with other people on the art platform can also change the volume and lights. The kids were running around like crazy having a blast.

London baby!

Today was amazing! Me and a couple of the girls from the study abroad group explored London and we saw so much! We took a bus tour and sat on the top, we went by many of the major land marks in London including Big Ben, St. Paul’s and Buckingham Palace. Then we went on a boat tour down the river and saw even more fun things! My favorite part of the day had to be the London Eye. I have never seen a observation wheel that big in my life! (it is second largest in the world, China has it beat!) We took some amazing pictures and could see for miles and miles at the very top. We also took many pictures and talked to many people for our scavenger hunt project! We ate at a yummy place for lunch and bought souvenirs for friends and family at home! I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Inquiry #2!

This week we were fortunate enough to be able to go to some local schools in Plymouth to interact with the teachers and students. It was very interesting to see how different the schools are from American schools because I honestly did not think they would be much different. The first two days I went to the a high school, which is called a community college in England. I have always had my heart set on teaching high school so I was glad I got to see this age group. The first thing that really shocked me was their attendance policy. They are really strict about making sure their students come to class, they call home to every child who isn’t in school to see where they are and if their parents know they aren’t in school. But, if the parent doesn’t care, a student can miss months at a time and not be held back a year. This was amazing to me because I knew many parents in high school that could care less if their kid went to school or not, and if my high school didn’t have an attendance policy (you could only miss 10 days a semester before you failed) then many of those kids would have never come to school. Also, I was really surprised that the teachers kept saying the school was "inner city," had drug problems and many teenage mothers. At first glace of this school and the students that attend it, I would have never thought to consider it an inner city school. From the impression I received, it is known for hosting the "tough" kids of Plymouth. Even though there are differences, there were also many similarities. They incorporated technology into many of their lessons such as smart boards, pod casts and computers. They also have vocational classes like my high school did. The students can take other classes besides academic ones such as cosmetology, construction and art. I am glad I experienced a school in a other country because it was my first, but hopefully not my last!

Stonehenge/Bath!

Today we went to Stonehenge and Bath... is was amazing! Even thought it rained the entire day it was still an amazing sight to see the rocks =-) I had always wondered why some of the rocks were missing, I figured it was because of weathering, but the audio guide said some people a long time ago chipped away parts of the rocks for other things like building materials and souvenirs. I wonder where those pieces of the rocks are now! I've always wanted a picture of me infront of Stonehenge and I finally got one! I remember my 11th grade science teacher was obsessed with Stonehenge... I should go back to visit him and show him my pictures =-) After Stonehenge we drove an hour or so to Bath and saw the Roman Baths. It was an amazing sight and I wish we would have had days to spend in the town! The town was a lot bigger than I had imagined. I could stay in England forever if it weren't for the horrible weather!

Practice Podcast: FIrst Draft.mp3

Tintagel

Today we went to Tintagel and it was amazing! From the train, to the taxi, to the castle, everything was a learning experience! Not to mention we found our way and didn't get lost once. We started off by taking the scenic route to the train station and getting on the train to Bodmin Parkway. I have never been on a big train so it was a lot of fun, we went over some rivers, saw a lot of livestock, and amazing little old towns. It surprised me how fast you have to get on and off the train, they don't stop for anyone! One girl was crying because the doors didn't open at her stop and she couldn't get off the train. After we got off the train we luckily found a taxi waiting. Driving it was a nice old man who loved sharing stories with us about the UK and giving us a lot of information about the town and their driving laws. As we were driving to Tintagel we came to a traffic jam, up ahead an entire heard of cows were coming right for us lead by a farmer. The cows were having a hard time cooperating and looked very confused as to which direction to walk. It was hilarious, who would have thought there would be a road block of cows? We finally arrived at the castle and it was the most amazing view I have ever seen! It was so beautiful; I could have just sat at the top for days! We went into Merlin's Cave (well sort of in, it was a little scary) and climbed to the very top of the hill to overlook the ocean. We took a ton of pictures but they don't do it justice! I was really surprised by how many steps there were to climb, I don’t know what I was expecting but we must have climbed 1,000 steps! I know I’m going to feel it in my legs tomorrow! After the castle we got hungry so we ate lunch, went to a few shops and had tea in a 14th century bar/tea house. Everything was so small including the ceiling levels and doors ways. Then we got back in our taxi and headed home... we were exhausted!

You gotta turn your head for now! It's called "Tomb-Stoning"