Tales of a Traveling Teacher

For a year, I updated this blog every single day.  I did so religiously, and looking back at it now, I am so thrilled that I did as it is such a wonderful account of my adventure.  But, for months now, I have wanted to do one final blog entry and yet, I have not.  I am not sure what has taken me so long to write this final entry.  Perhaps it is that life quickly caught up with me and I was just busy, but I think it was actually deeper than that.  Writing this final blog entry is like closing the book on the grand adventure that I was fortunate enough to experience last year.  Perhaps I have not been ready to officially tell my year abroad goodbye. But it is at this time, Thanksgiving, that I have been flooded with warm memories of my life a year ago and I just felt compelled to finally write this last chapter. I arrived in Atlanta on August 2nd, just one day after being at what seemed like a world away - at Downton Abbey, then eating dinner with dea...

Shortening my year into 15 minutes was quite the challenge!

As I begin to get settled back into my life at home, I’m thinking about all of those things I’ve missed this year and all of those things that I know I will miss from my new home in England.   Of course the “things” that I have missed and will miss the most are not things at all, but rather the people who fill my life with joy and laughter each and every day.    What I’ve missed from home: ·       Mexican Food o    There is some Mexican food in England, but very little and it is not quite the same.   I’m so used to tacos, chips, guacamole and margaritas on a regular basis, and I did miss it.   It does make sense that there are fewer Mexican restaurants, as there are not nearly as many Mexicans as there are in the US.   In the UK, Indian food is found on every High Street because the Indian population is so great. ·       Dryer o    I consider myself a “green” person, so I...

Well, the day has finally arrived. There were a few times this year when I thought the day would never get here, but for the most part, the day arrived all too quickly. I'm at the airport about to board the plane that will take me home. My stomach is in knots as the excitement in me grows and the sadness to be leaving so many wonderful new friends starts sinking in. This has been the most amazing, life changing, year of my life and I'm very sad to see it come to a close but eager to see what next adventure awaits me!

I'm very sad to leave this incredible country I've called home for the last year, but I must admit that I made the absolute most of my last day. I woke up this morning in the perfectly idyllic village of Castle Combe and wandered the streets spotting scenes from a favorite film. Five months ago I booked tickets to go to Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey) and I was thrilled Leslie, my friend from high school, was able to go with me. If its possible, the home and gardens were more beautiful in person than onscreen. They were truly breathtaking! We enjoyed exploring the house, having photo shoots and wandering through the fields of wildflowers. I also enjoyed a scone with clotted cream and jam, one of my favorite British treats. This evening, after saying goodbye to the flat, the doves and the neighborhood cat, Gemma and Charlotte and I had a pub dinner where I enjoyed some more of my favorite British delights: fish and chips and pear cider. I topped the night off with star-gazing, ...

I had really wanted to see the coast of Wales before I left and since I leave in two days, I decided today would be good!;) Unfortunately, the weather did not really cooperate and it rained for a good bit of the nine hours I was in the car. But that did not take away from the beauty!  The country is incredibly green, thanks to all of the rain. There are large ferns, extensive fields at the bottom of tall hills, and small lakes in the passes. The roads are very narrow and windy, many lined with stone walls, similar to those I drove on in the Lake District. The roads have signs for crossing sheep and falling rocks, and many didn't bother with a median line as, well, there wasn't really room for two full lanes.  They are the kind of roads where going 35 feels like you are living dangerously, but driving through these roads with overhanging boughs feels almost like entering another world and it is truly gorgeous.  The coastline varied greatly from great expans...

Wales is really a beautiful country! Today, I got to see just part of what makes it so beautiful. At the beginning of the year, Jessica, a couple other Fulbrighters and myself climbed a large hill in the Lake District. As nice bookends to our year, Jessica and I have meet up in Llanberis in Northern Wales to climb a mountain. This morning, after a delicious breakfast at our B&B, we set off to climb Snowdon, the tallest peak in Wales, 1085 meters tall. It was a long, steady climb with several difficult straight up bits. Just shy of three hours of climbing brought us into the clouds with cooler temps as we touched the very top of the mountain.  It was such an accomplishment, and despite the ache in my thighs, I felt elated! Unfortunately, the clouds were so thick that all around us was pure white, but that just meant we knew we were high up. Thankfully there was a cafe at the top where we refueled ourselves and purchased "I climbed Snowdon" buttons before returning down the...

Today, Herman and I set foot in our 12th country of the year: Wales! It is a truly stunning country and I'm eager to do some exploring!

It is so weird to say I'm leaving Friday.  Not three weeks from now, nor even next week, just Friday. After breakfast and a send off to two gorgeous ladies, I got to work!  There was (and still is!) lots of packing and cleaning that needs to be done before I feel like I'm leaving it in tip top shape for Kelly to come home to.  I'm not sure how I acquired so much stuff, but I'm incredibly envious of Hermione who was able to pack everything from clothes to food to potions to books to a full sized tent into her handbag.  Being magical certainly has it's advantages! As a lovely distraction from the day of packing, Carrie, a fellow teacher and dear friend came and picked me up for a meal with her lovely family.  We had a great BBQ and her two girls had prepared a cheer for me as well as made me this beautiful, thoughtful necklace! After dinner, Carrie even went to the trouble of getting smores supplies and we roasted our own marshmallows over the BBQ!  It ...

To celebrate the end of a wonderful year, I wanted to take Charlotte and Gemma to one of my favorite local places: Woburn Abbey.  I've now been there at least half a dozen times, and I love feeling so comfortable at such a lovely place. We started off thoroughly enjoying our three layers of delicious food, not realizing how quickly the time was passing before we had to run off to visit the house before it closed.  The home is a lovely home, as are so many here, but I must say that even though it is still lived in, you get to see more of it than most of the other homes I've visited, including the room Queen Victoria once visited, leaving behind some sketches that she did.  There is artwork in the home that I have seen in history books and one painting of a child with a cockatoo that thoroughly impresses me.  It's not because the painting is all that impressive, but rather because cockatoos are native to Australia and when the portrait was painted, Australia had no...

Today, I boarded my last train to London, for this trip at least.  I had plans to meet up with a couple of friends from high school for dinner, so I decided to take advantage of the day and go and wander the city that I have fallen in love with over the past year. I first went to Camden Market because I had bought a dress there a couple of weeks ago, and so loved it that I decided I might as well go back and get more!  I have always really enjoyed street market shopping and this was no different!  Unfortunately, my shopping trip may have been a bit too successful! :) I then took the tube to Covent Garden, one of my absolute favorite spots of London!  There is a market here, loads of restaurants with outdoor seating and frequent street performers.  This is also where Eliza Doolittle met Henry Higgans, and I always enjoy visualizing that scene when I'm there. I continued my stroll towards Trafalgar Square which sits in front of the Nationa...

Cricket has been a game that I occasionally see on a film or would sometimes flick by on a channel, but I've never actually watched a game. That all changed this week! Last night, Lorraine, Bev and I went to watch a 20/20 game of two local teams. I still don't totally understand what that means, but basically it has to do with how many times the team gets to bat and it is a smaller number than usual, so that makes it a shorter game. It was a truly perfect summer's evening and the setting of the cricket pitch in a lovely little village made it all feel very "English." Today, a crew of Fulbrook teachers went out to the Lashings cricket match. This match was between one of the local teams we saw the night before and a traveling team of retired cricketers from around the world. It was an all day event, in fact we were at the pitch from around 1:30 until 10. Similar to baseball, the game is not very speedy, but the atmosphere more than makes up for that. We...

I must be honest that I was kind of dreading today, mainly because of the good byes that I would have to say.  Although they were very difficult, the day was "practically perfect in every way." After an assembly this morning, we finished watching The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe  which we recently read, then I read Oh, the Places You'll Go  to the kids before their extended break time.  The staff room was overflowing with goodies, of which I enjoyed many!  The next part of the day in the classroom was spent playing games that the kids had brought in and many helpful kids assisting me in tidying up the room. During our lunch time, my last lunch time in the staff room, we spent much of our time carefully planning out exactly how we are all meeting up tomorrow for the cricket match - where are we parking, who will be driving and how will everyone get from one place to another.  Thankfully, I believe it is settled and we, weather permitting, should have...

Today, on the second to last day of school, we celebrated a great year by rewarding the kids.  Each year group (grade) did a special activity such as a nearby theme park or swimming complex.  The Year 5s went to a place in Milton Keynes called Gulliver's Land.  It is a small theme park, just the right size for us!   The park is truly the right size for our Year 5s; most of them were able to ride a majority of the rides without an adult and yet the rides were still very enjoyable for the kids.  The park was fairly small - you could walk from one corner to another corner in a matter of minutes - but packed with rides.  There were very few people there and so on most of the rides, the kids got to just stay on the rides they enjoyed repeating them over and over. My group of 11 children that I looked after was really spectacular.  At first, we had a hard time balancing the group dynamics of who wanted to go where, but they soon figured it out and e...

Although school does not get out until Wednesday, our last day of real lessons was today. Several of my little ones brought in some incredible gifts such a bracelets, chocolates and wine, but my favorites were the homemade treasures that I received like this knitted pouch from one of my yarn club girls and the little yellow bunny made by one of my very creative year 6 boys.  There are actually laws back home regulating the value of the gifts given to teachers, but what the lawmakers don't understand is, the gifts with the most value are ones made by the hands of those kids who walk through your door every day, not the ones with a high price tag. These treasures will always have a special place in my heart, and in my home!

This morning, during my first lesson, of which I was talking to my class about tornadoes, hurricanes and US money, a note arrived with an announcement for the kids.  Mr. Cheadle, the caretaker, sent a note around to each class telling the kids that the field was being sprayed, so to stay off of it during break time.  I thought it was a bit odd, but it all made sense as well. At the start of break time, Lynne a fellow teacher and wonderful mentor, came in to see me as I was tidying up the room.  After a few minutes, she mentioned that we should go to the playground.  As I arrived, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, as the children were all milling about, playing games, eating their snacks, and visiting.  The only odd thing was that I thought there were more teachers on the playground than there typically were. Almost instantly, "The Cotton-Eyed Joe" came blaring from loud speakers and teachers and pupils alike throughout the playground broke into the dance. ...

This evening, my kind Scottish neighbors had me over for dinner and a catch-up.  They have been truly wonderful to me this year, but I have not gotten to see them very much lately as we have all been very busy! Their wee daughter, Molly, is an absolute gem!  She's just recently turned one and is starting to crawl around.  She is a great snuggler, has a gorgeous smile and loves cuddles!  She has been a joy to me this year, a comfort as I'm missing all the little cuddles I get from my cousins back home.  After we played for a bit, I got to help give her her bath, something she loves, and then I got to read her bedtime story to her.  Pam and Mark have read her the same story every night, and I've had the pleasure, several times this year of getting to read it to Molly as well. After Molly went to bed, we had a lovely dinner, a great chat and lots of laughs.  I've been so very thankful to have neighbors that I can call on, and ones that have bee...