Back To School!

I have officially been in London for a week! It does, however, feel as though I have been here for longer (this is a good thing)! I suppose this feeling comes from the fact that we did not start internship or class until last night? Whatever the reason, I am already starting to feel at home :)

As I mentioned, yesterday was my first day of interning at Roxeth Primary School in Harrow, London. This school is enchanting. First off, it is a lovely, Victorian style building that was very recently redone. As I said in my last post, the school is very diverse; there are 36 languages spoken and the children come from literally all over the world. I am fascinated by this diversity, as I am use to being in a school with either mostly Caucasian or mostly Hispanic students. In the future, I would be delighted if I could work in a school with a quarter the amount of diversity.

I must tell you about a typical British school day, as I find some of their routines both wonderful and ridiculous all at the same time. First off, there are a number of "breaks" throughout the day, in which the students go outside for 20 minutes and the staff literally drop everything and go drink tea in the staff room. This is practically unheard of in America (even when teachers do get breaks at home, they are constantly go go go), so even though it should be relaxing, I feel as though I should be doing something! 

Another curious aspect of the school day is the fact that each of the classroom teachers also teach gym, art, music etc. If I was left with the task of teaching music or art at home, I think I would be fired within the day!! Teachers also have a half a day each week for planning. Another teacher literally takes over the class for half of a day so teachers can plan...wow! One other interesting thing is that they have a school assembly every single day of the week. What it's for, I am not yet so sure :P

Now that I am in a school, I am actually surrounded by British accents 24/7 (those of you who know me know that I am loving it). Because I am only around these accents all day, I actually find myself thinking in a British accent; it's pretty of funny. In fact, today I literally caught myself saying in a British accent "nice to meet you" to a student; I was so embarrassed and literally stopped myself mid-sentence because I was so shocked at what was coming out of my mouth. By the time I get home in December, I may very well be speaking in a full on British accent!

That's about all I have time to write about for now, but if there is anything specific anyone would like to hear about in my next blog, please feel free to comment and let me know!

xoxoEmalie

Hello From London!

Hi everybody!


Despite the late start due to Hurricane Irene, we finally made it to London. All I can so far is WOW! This is by far one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The architecture is fantastic; the buildings are a mix of very old and very modern styles. The people here are SO diverse, which in my opinion, is stupendous. The people are also very friendly, although I am told it is mostly because I am an American (apparently Londoners are not very nice to other Londoners)? I am also impressed by the transportation systems. In the past 5 days I have ridden the tube, taken a double decker bus, & gone on the train! I am finally starting to understand the tube system, although once I come off of it I am absolutely clueless about finding my way ANYWHERE. Oh well! 

On my first full day here, I spent the day trying to find Roxeth Primary School (in the borough of Harrow), where I am interning with Chrissy, Becca, & Carly. We did find it, but it was definitely an adventure! We managed to take the tube to the correct stop, but then got on a bus in the wrong direction. Luckily we bumped into a guardian angel, who helped us find our way. Two sweet, elderly women told us to follow them to the cafe they were going to, so that they could look up where we needed to go. The man behind the counter in the cafe, as well as another young women, jumped in and tried to point us in the correct direction. Apparently Londoners LOVE their directions (no joke). We headed back to the bus stop and were halfway on the bus when one of the old ladies came flying down the street, cane & all, screaming "girls!!!! DON'T GET ON THAT BUS!" Apparently she had gone into the library and looked up the directions, and wanted to make sure we found our way. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. Anyways, we did find the school and it is ADORABLE. I posted a picture bellow :)





After our adventure, we went to see the show Billy Elliot. It was great!! I remember hating the movie when I watched it with Jen many years ago, so I was pleasantly surprised with it! 


On Friday I went to a professional development day for my school. It was a long day, but I am glad I went and met some of the teachers, including the head teacher of the school. I can already tell there is such a close community at Roxeth Primary School, which I am thrilled about. I am going to be working in a year 4 classroom, which is the equivalent to grade 3 in America. I am so excited to meet the students on Tuesday. Apparently Harrow, where my school is, is the most diverse burrow in London. So if London is one of the most diverse cities in the world, you can only imagine how diverse the students in my school are going to be. In fact, the teachers are extremely diverse, as well!


On Saturday the 14 graduate students had a picnic in Hyde Park. We have a really great group, so it was quite fun! We played the human knot, did a relay race and did a crab race; basically we were all 10 years old for the day and it was fabulous! After all of this we walked to the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, and actually got to go in it! It was such a stunning memorial.

On Sunday, all of the 30-some-odd study abroad students went on a trip to Brighton Beach. I have to say it was hands down one of the prettiest places I have ever been. We got a tour of the Royal Pavillion, and then spent the day walking around the pier, window shopping, and eating! I loved Brighton, and would go back in a heartbeat. If you come to England, you have to check it out! 

I apologize about the length of this post; most will be shorter once I begin to blog more regularly. Thank you to those who made it to the end of this...feel free to comment on my posts so I know you are reading them! 


I miss everyone at home and hope you are all well!


xoxoEmalie