Tales of a Traveling Teacher

Personally, I believe a little brainwashing is fine, as long as it is for a good purpose and towards the proper things!:)

The day after I arrived here in Woburn Sands, I took a couple of short trips around the area at times when there were few cars around.  I did alright, but the thought of driving 5 hours north in just a few days time was quite daunting.  Still, my stubbornness won out on me knowing that if I didn't go ahead and do it, it would become even more difficult for me. On the Saturday after my arrival, my new found friend, and fellow Fulbrighter, JJ arrived.  I was a little nervous about venturing into the outskirts Milton Keynes, so I woke up early and went for a test run to make sure I'd know where to go and how to maneuver the round-abouts.  I did really well, and was so pleased with myself when I went back to pick JJ up that I wasn't paying careful attention and took the wrong exit on the round about on our way home.  The great thing was though, that I was able to follow signs to nearby places and make it home!   JJ and I set out on Sunday morning to N...

As an Alabama girl, hearing the term "single digits" spoken by the weather man is a rare thing, indeed, and one that, if uttered throughout the course of the year, is only heard in January or February.  This morning, over my cereal, on this, the 30th day of AUGUST, the weather man said that there would be single digits tonight throughout the UK.  I almost choked on my honey-nut corn flakes.  Now, one must remember that the temperature is measured in Celsius here, so these single digits do equal out to more like the 40s and 50s in Fahrenheit, but for a southern girl, it was still quite the shock!

Today I watched as Papa Dove came back and forth bringing his offerings to the nest and then as he and Mama Dove carefully switched roles of warming the eggs (just 2 I think!) so that Mama Dove could have a wee break. They are a joy to watch and to have close by!

"Home is where the heart is." It's an old familiar phrase, one we all know, but the more I think about it, I'm not sure I agree, or at least my everyday use of the word doesn't seem to agree.  When I truly think of "home," I think of my parents' house, where I grew up, the place to me that I think will always be "home."  And yet, I often refer to "home" as the place where I'll be lying my head for the evening.  When heading back to the B and B last week in Buxton, I would say I was headed "home."  Why is that? The word "home" sounds so much warmer than "house."  In fact, there seems to be comfort in the word "home" and perhaps that is why I tend to use it so often, as just the use of the word makes me feel more comfortable. For the next year, I'll be living in Kelly's home.  It is absolutely perfect - it is just the right size, extremely convenient, bright, cozy and the war...

My mom and I used to travel with bags of film.  It is so nice not to have to worry about running out of film.  However, because of that freedom, I tend to take many more than I ever did with film!  I am posting some of my favorites here and on Facebook, but I also am loading ALL (which is a lot!) of my photos onto a website if you care to see them: http://rebeccastravels.shutterfly.com/

           In ninth grade, I was fortunate enough to have an incredible history teacher who made a subject that many could find boring, fascinating.  She intrigued us with tales of ancient civilizations and her enthusiasm brought out lots of curiosity.  I do remember a lot that she taught me, but I also remember a time when she quoted a movie (unfortunately I don't remember which quote!) of which I believe she was terrified we did not really know.  For some reason, the film, seemed to have just missed our generation, we were too young when the movie came out, and had no idea of the gem we had missed.           I don't remember exactly how long it was after Mrs. Jacobs' mentioned The Princess Bride  that I actually watched it, but it didn't take long for it to become a favorite and for me to understand why she seemed so horrified that none of us knew the film.           When planning my ...

          When I was little, I wanted to be a teacher, a dancer or a singer.   I will go ahead and admit that I’m glad teacher won out and that I can still enjoy dancing and singing just about all of the time, without depending on either profession to make a living.   Although I never really took any dance classes, I absolutely love to dance, and find myself doing so frequently, mostly when no one else is watching.   When I was researching the Peak District, trying to decide exactly what I wanted to see, I came across the Nine Ladies Stone Circle.   This stone circle, much smaller than Stonehenge, but a similar idea, was built around 4,000 years ago.   Legend has it that the circle was formed when nine ladies were dancing on the Sabbath, and they were turned to stone.             I have never been labeled as a rebel, in fact, that is probably a word about as far ...

After a glorious day in the Peak District and Derbyshire Dales, I treated myself to going to a play! In the center of Buxton stands the 110 year old Buxton Opera House, a beautiful theater reminding me of our own Alabama Theater with ornate ceilings, balconies and private boxes, but it was a great deal smaller. I got a front row seat to see a musical from the 1930's called "Me and My Girl." It was a very clever, funny, energetic story about a guy who had just found out he was heir to be an earl, and much like "My Fair Lady,"h he had to learn how to speak an act properly. But he wouldn't even consider moving on if he couldn't bring his girl, Sally Smith :), into this new life with him. It was a great way to end the day! The ornate decorations of the theatre:

            Elizabeth Bennet is a feisty, stubborn, fiercely loyal young woman, and in all honesty, despite the fact that she is a literary character, she’s a hero of mine.  Although I’m certain there were many things that I did today that she would not approve of, such as being a young woman traveling on my own, hiking in trousers, and oh so much more, I felt like I got to walk in her shoes.             Elizabeth was excited about traveling to the Lake District with her aunt and uncle, but unfortunately their plans changed and they “had to” travel to Derbyshire (Dar-ba-shure).  In the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, there is a scene where Elizabeth stands on a beautiful ridge overlooking incredible scenery, so of course that was my first stop of the day!              I did some research and found o...

Last year, Carmen Agra Deedy, a wonderful children's author came to speak to the kids at SCE. In preparation of her arrival, I decided to read her new chapter book, The Cheshire Cheese Cat, to the class. It was a great tale of a cat and a group of mice who lived in the Cheshire Cheese pub/hotel. While that story took place in London, passing the Cheshire Cheese here in Buxton made me stop and smile, so I decided to go in for dinner-my first solo dinner out!

On Monday, we traveled to some falls in the Yorkshire Dales. These falls are in a well-known film. It looks a little different now as the water is higher and these photos are only from my phone, but can you name the movie?:)

We were fortunate to get two beautifully sunny days in a row! What incredible scenery!

Just a peek at some of the stunning sites we saw today!

Today, JJ and I took off on a road trip to Sherwood Forest to see partake in the Robin Hood Festival. It was as wonderful, entertaining and cliche as one could imagine! Then we headed north to the Lake District, and it is absolutely stunning-rolling hills, stone walls and sheep everywhere! Another huge accomplishment of the day was driving. I took a few short drives around the neighborhood the past few days but that was about all to prepare me for the 6+ hours in the car today. Of course there were some stalls along the way (I got to practice my first stop and go traffic in a manual!), and of course a few U-turns (which are actually easier with roundabouts!), but I remained on the left side of the road and we all (the car and all the sheep along the road included!) made it here safely!

When you're in a small town, it's amazing how much pride people seem to have-of the local cuisine, the award winning flower garden, whatever it might be. It is those precious things that make people beam. The whole of Woburn Sands (a small town with a population somewhere between 2,500 and 5,000 according to various internet resources) seems to be gleaming-gleaming with gold that is! A young man from here, Greg Rutherford, claimed the gold medal in the long jump just a few weeks ago at the Olympics. The town, especially his street is covered with signs of pride and congratulations for Greg. I'm already honored to call this place "home," as I show around a great friend and fellow Fulbrighter who arrived today, and I know I'm only just beginning to discover all of the wonderful things to be proud of here in Woburn Sands.

... is it causes rainbows!:)

You know when you travel, or are just headed to a new place, how you get a picture in your mind of what it should be like?  Often times this image is taken from photos from friends or from the internet, and of course those stereotypes that you hear about.  Often, you can be disappointed as the image does not match the lovely little picture in your head.  Well, that's just about the opposite of how I'm feeling right now! :) Despite the fact that I researched the school, spent lots of time playing with maps including the Google street view, I am still in awe of just how precious, quaint and idyllic these little villages are.  I walked to town this morning, about half a mile away where I was able to pop in the bank, post office and corner grocery and walk past many a cute little shops and restaurants.  What a joy it is to be able to walk everywhere! Fiona, a colleague of Kelly's, picked me up today and gave me a glorious tour of the surrounding areas.  I a...