Traveling!!!

Hello All, I am writing to inform you that I will be leaving England for the first time tomorrow, which I am so excited about. I am not going to far only about an hour train ride to Cardiff, Wales for the day. Some may say that I am not really leaving the country, but I say yes I am and that is all that matters. I am going with one of my flatmates and we are catching a 830 am train and then just traveling around Cardiff then at night we are going to go on a ghost tour, which I have heard was good (some flatmates went last Saturday) but they said it was cold, so I am going to bring layers.

Sometime this coming week I will inform you all about my trip to Wales and I will post pictures too, I promise it will be before the weekend. On the other hand, I am one week away from going to Oxford. The whole program goes to Oxford for almost a week. We live in the dorms and we have breakfast and lunch prepared for us, which will be a nice change from having to cook all the time. However, we have to eat out for dinner every night except for one, where we get dressed up and eat in the great room. Of course I will have a lot to post on this week too. Perhaps I will even get some presents for people at home since I have not bought anything for myself or anyone else since I have arrived, wait I bought a scarf for myself, but I swear that is it.

The week after Oxford, so two weeks and one day from today, I will be on a plane to MOROCCO!!!!! You might have guessed that I am extremely excited to go there and SPAIN! Which I hope to use some of the Spanish I have learned, I will let you know how that goes. A lot of pictures will be taken, but I will probably post all of them on facebook and I am planning on bringing a journal (thanks to my mom) with me so I can record what I did and how I felt so that I will be able to remember years later what I did.

Well I have one more paper to write for Monday that I need to start like now, so I am off to the library to start research and start writing. Don't worry I will not work to hard and if I do then the dinner that I have planned for tonight will be even better, Pizza and strawberry cheesecake and no I did not make either one of those, but it will still be great.

Love to all,

Monica

School Visit & so much more

This past week I had to go to my school placement twice, I usually only go once a week. Now you may be thinking why is Monica writing a post on her school placement visit, big deal. Well this week I was in the classroom on Tuesday which is my normal day to visit and Friday (today). However, I was only in classroom for part of the day today and then I went to another part of the school, the Margaret Coates Center, which is a place for Autism children to go to school. I have never really worked with special needs children or with children that have Autism, but I LOVED it!

The children are so kind and actually very smart. At the centre there are 14 children from 4 years to 10 years and the centre teaches the students like they were in a regular school. However, the centre teaches the students life skills like manners, how to care for their bodies, respect other people and a bunch of other things. Which I think is great because then once this children are not in school they will be able to care for themselves.

One of the students became attached to me early on in the day. He kept saying Monica Monica come with me and would come get me and hold my hand to bring me where he wanted to go outside. On Friday's at my school placement the entire school including the autism centre go for a run around the school property. This child said to me Monica I want you to run with me, so I did even though I was in my clogs. How could I say no to him? I couldn't. Once we ran for half a mile he let go off my hand and said he was going to run by himself, which was fine with me. These children just have so much heart and are so kind. I just wanted to have the day be longer so that I could spend more time with them. Unfortunately, today was the only day I was in the centre, but I may try to visit again before my school placement is over.I feel like I did not do a good job explaining what went on today and how I was feeling, but the experience opened my eyes to alternative education for students that may not fit into the mainstream school.

Since arriving in Bath a little over a month ago I can see that I have changed. Now you may think how much could a person change so much in one month? It is possible because I feel comfortable walking around a big city like Bath, which has 90,000 plus people, I feel comfortable taking the public bus to my school placement every week, plus I feel like I have learned a lot about myself. So don't think that when I come back to the states you are not going to recognize me because I have changed on the inside and become more confident with myself, but I am still going to look the same on the outside, white as ever!

When I arrive back home I hope that people will recognize me as Monica, but will understand that since being abroad I have changed due to my experiences. I guess I never really thought I would change when I went abroad, but it is happening and I am actually enjoying it. This experience has been good for me to figure out who I am and for me to become more independent. I know a lot of people say that they become more independent, but being abroad I have had to cook for myself, which then means I have to shop and buy my own food. I have also had to do my own laundry, which thanks to my mum I have not had to do ever even while I was at SMC. Thanks Mom!

I believe that my experience abroad will make me a better person and get me prepared for my life to come when I cannot always rely on other people to support me fully, especially financially. Yes I know if I ever needed something I would be able to get assistance from my loved ones, but it has been nice not to depend on that.

Well, I have two papers that I need to write this weekend, which I am not looking forward to, but I have to do it. So that is what my weekend is going to consist of, no traveling for this girl this weekend, Boo. However, if it is nice perhaps I will take a walk around Bath as a writing break, which I am keeping my figures crossed that it is nice!

Love to all,

Monica

Where does time go?

One month I have been across the pond, One month since I left home until June, One month since I said my goodbyes to my loved ones, ONE MONTH! Where has the time gone?

However, I also feel like the time has gone by so slowly too. Sometimes the days go by so slowly but the weeks go by fast.

So since my last post some things have changed in my life, well that is partly due to the fact that my post was over a week ago, a lot can happen in a week!

So I went to my first Rugby game, and Bath Rugby won, yeah!

Here I am with some of my flatmates and the programs student helper.

After the Rugby game, which by the way it was really cold. I had two pairs of pants on, a tank top, a long sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt and the jersey and I was still cold. Anyways, we went to an Italian pizzeria place for dinner and it was so good, then we went next door to an Italian Gelato place, where I had a Nutella and banana crepe with chocolate and hazelnut gelato on the side, so good. That is a place I will go be going to again! (Mom and Andrea perhaps we can go)

I also since my last post have booked my spring break trip and you will never guess where I am going, no it is not Ireland, even though that is on my list of places to go. I am going to Africa, well actually Morocco, I never thought that I would be going there for Spring Break but I am super excited. I will be in Morocco for 4 days and then I am going to Spain for 5 days. In Morocco I will be in Marrakesh, which I believe we, meaning 5 other people and I are going to do a one night, two day trip in the desert. The best part is we get to ride camels while watching the sunset and then ride the camels again when the sun rises! I CAN'T WAIT!

In Spain, we are visiting Madrid for two days and then Barcelona for 3 days, I am not sure what we are doing there, but I bet we will find something to do. One thing I want to do is go to a beach, which I don't think anyone will object to!! I was shocked on how much cheaper it is here to travel, the amount of money I spent on tickets for Spring Break I do not think I could get the same kind of deal in the states. Therefore, I can spend more money on things for myself, sounds great to me!

On Friday, I went on a trip that the program sponsored to the Cotswolds. We first went to Broadway tower, which has no purpose expect that from the top you can see fourteen counties, but since it was a cloudy day we did not see that many. Then we took a 45 min walk down into town, just to let you know if was not a clean walk, we walked through the countryside where it was really muddy and I only have my sneakers on, not a good idea! Once we got into town we got back on the bus and went to another town, I do not remember the name of it, sorry. Then we went to a garden, now you might think why would someone plan a trip to go to a garden in February, but the flowers we saw only are around in the winter they are called snow droplets, I took pictures but I have not uploaded them yet, yes I know bad me! Then we came home, it was a nice trip and I got to see areas that I would probably not see on my own, plus it was nice to just do a day trip.

Well, now that I have updated you on my life in the past week I think I should go write some papers since I have two of them due next week and I want to enjoy my weekend. I promise that I will write more often and I am feeling much better living in England now. I think it helped that I wrote how I was feeling down and also the loving support I have received from everyone. I do believe that this is a place I should be now in my life it just took me some time to realize that. Plus, now I know that I have to keep myself busy so that I do not fall into that cycle every time I am not doing something. This does not mean that I do not miss everyone and that I am going to hold back my tears because I now I will have my days when I just have to let it all out. Okay well this is not getting my papers done, but I would rather be writing on my blog then doing papers, hehe!

Love to all,

Monica

Rain and Tears

In England it has been raining, snowing and cold, which I thought I left at home, but I guess the weather followed me here.

So since the Olympics are going on I have been wanting to watch them, but of course there is a EIGHT hour time difference, however, since I do not have classes on Friday's I decided that I wanted to see some figure skating last night. The downside to that was that it was on at 330 a.m. England time, but I took a nap from 100 a.m. until 330 a.m. with 3 of my other flatmates. It was great to see USA take Gold in Men's Figure Skating, however, it did not end until 5 a.m. England time, so I was rather tried today.

Today, I did some work, which I needed to get done and then I went to the Guild Hall, which is an inside market where vendors can sell their products like used books, sewing and knitting supplies, fresh fruits and veggies, coffee or tea, and various other things. I was going to walk around the city and go into some of the shops but it was to cold, but I think some of us are going out of Sunday around the city and perhaps to a museum.

You are probably wondering why the title of this post is rain and tears, well it is because I have been sad recently. It only hits me when I have free time and alone, like tonight, since I finished a majority of my work. I am trying not for this to hinder my fun that I am having in Bath because I am having a blast, but sometimes I just want to go home to something that I am familiar and comfortable with and be with my loved ones. However, I know that this is normal and most people go through this same thing at some point while being abroad so I just have to stick it out. I am going to try and stay strong, but I know those moments of tears running down my white face are going to happen. I hope the frequency of my tears will subside as my time in England progresses, but time will tell.

On a more exciting note I booked a trip to SCOTLAND with 4 other flatmates in April, which I am excited about. Plus, my dad is coming to visit me at the end of April into May, which will be nice. Then later in May I believe my mom and sister are coming to visit too, but I am not sure how long they are going to stay, however, I know they will be here to help me pack all my stuff up to move out of my flat. I hope I will be able to fit everything in my suitcases, but I do not need to think of that now because I have plenty of time left in England!

So tomorrow, Saturday, I will be attending my first Rugby game, which in the UK is a big thing. I will take pictures and of course write a post of my experience. Plus at the game I need to show off my new Bath Rugby shirt, so I bet you will see a lot of pictures of me in my shirt and everyone else that has the same shirt.

Well, I better get some rest tonight because well I need it, plus it is going to be a busy day tomorrow.

Love to all,

Monica

A Busy week

A lot has happened in the last week, therefore, I think a new post needed to be written so here it goes...

On Sunday 2-7-2010 we went to Stonehedge, Salisbury and Lacock and I took a lot of pictures all of them are on facebook, but I will put some on here.

This is the house where Harry Potter lived when he was a boy, therefore, I needed to get a picture in front of it. This is in Lacock.

I am in front of Stonehedge, which is a pile of rocks that have a lot of meaning, but I do not remember the story that well. It was really cold that day too, like 38 F, which is cold over here for this time of year. At the end of the day we went to a restaurant where we had a traditional England Roast Dinner. I had a chicken breast stuffed with stuffing and then it was wrapped in bacon, along with my dinner was roasted potatoes and some steamed vegetables. As for my dessert, which most people know I LOVE, I had a chocolate torte with homemade whip cream, it was so delicious, yummy! After we headed home and it was now time to get ready for the first day of classes!

My first day of classes went well I have two classes on Monday, my Education class and Jane Austen, so I am done by 130. On Tuesday, I went to the Elementary School, which I am going to love working at for the rest of the semester, plus I get to teach two lesson while I am over here, which will be nice. Wednesday I have one class, which is Virginia Woolf and I am done at 1120. Thursday I also just have one class which is my other education class and I am done at 1120 again, therefore my weekend starts at 1120 every Thursday.

On Thursday it took me almost four hours to do my laundry, which I only had two loads, but the washing machine likes to take an hour and half just to wash my clothes, I guess that means my clothes are really clean. Thursday night we all went out to a club called XL and it was a lot bigger than I am used to in the States. There was two floors, three places to dance, and four bars, it was big. I have also noticed that people in Bath go out on Thursday nights, rest Friday night and then go out Saturday night, therefore my flatmates and I have started to follow the same rules.

Cheddar Cheese yummy! That is where my flat and I took a trip on Friday. The town was called Cheddar and we went and saw the process of how cheese is made. This place is the only place that makes cheddar cheese in the town of Cheddar, it was a great day tasting all the different kinds of cheese. I actually bought two kinds of cheese that I hope will last me awhile, I got a vintage cheese which is the strongest tasting cheese and the other cheese was a smoked cheese, which was also good, okay all of the cheeses were yummy.

Today, I went to the grocery store, which is a far walk from my flat, but I hope that the food will last me for a week and half. I guess I will find out soon...

Okay well I should probably start some reading or just watch TV instead.

Love to all,

Monica

Learning experiences

Week 1- Orientation Week

These past couple of days have been busy, but that is a good thing. On Wednesday, I traveled by Bus, well bus 14 to be exact, to the school that I will be in for the rest of the semester on Tuesdays. Once I boarded the bus I was unsure of where I had to get off but I told the driver where I needed to go and he helped me, which was great. I arrived to the school early, but that was fine because I looked at the handbook. After some time had passed two fifth year students gave me a tour of the building, however, I did not get to meet the teacher I will be working with, but I found out that I had to be there at 8 a.m. even though school does not start until almost 9.

After leaving the school I had to get Bus 14 back to the bus station near my flat. What I did was cross the street to the other bus stop and looked to see if Bus 14 was on that list, but it was not. I then asked someone where I had to go to catch Bus 14 to go towards Bath Bus Station and they said around the corner and across the street. I did that but then another person told me to go cross the street and around the corner. Now this might not seem difficult, but where they were telling me to cross and go around the corner was a round about, so I did not know which way to go. To make this a shorter story I ended up walking downhill for about 45 minutes trying to find the bus stop and I ended at the Bath Bus Station. Let's just say my feet were killing me! I now know where I have to get Bus 14, the same place it dropped me off. Oh goodness!!

On Thursday, as a group we all went to the Bath Abbey, which is beautiful and has amazing history, just like everything else in Bath. I did post pictures on facebook, so please take a look. Friday was more of a relaxing day, and I think this is when my jet lag caught up with me, therefore, I took two naps! Friday night was the first of three formals we have throughout the semester. The formal was at the Victorian Art gallery and this is where we met our tudors, which are professors in the U.S. This was good because now I can put a face to a name and I feel a little more comfortable going into classes starting Monday. After the reception was over all of my flatmates (8 including me) decided to go to a club, to say the least it is a lot different than at home. A lot less clothing on the woman and the males wear button down shirts and travel in packs and yes the males dance with one another. At the club there was Karaoke, so five of us decided to do it, but while we were waiting we met a local university male and when he found out we were Americans, he got really excited and dedicate a song to us. Some people are just so friendly.

Today, Saturday, nothing to much went on. A group of us went to go play football, or soccer and I got to play goalkeeper, which is not my cup of tea, but I did it anyway. One shot was hit pretty hard at my stomach, and I was more shocked than anything, but it still did hurt. Tomorrow we go on our first day trip, to Stonehedge, than to Salisbury where there is a Cathedral and then to Lacock for a traditional England Sunday Roast Dinner. Some point we get to see where part of the Harry Potter movies were filmed. Don't worry I will be taking pictures and posting them for everyone to see. Also to come is pictures and/or video of my flat. Questions/Comments are welcome.

Love to all,

Monica

I MADE IT!

I am now in England it was a long journey, but I made it. It was hard at the airport to say good-bye to my loved ones, but I know that I had to do it. The first plane was fine and I arrived at Washington Dulles and only had a little bit of time before I had to board my first international flight. I tried getting on email but of course I had to pay for internet, therefore I did not pay. My flight to Heathrow, London was okay I did not sleep much, but I hope tonight that I can sleep.

When I arrived in Heathrow I tried looking for my roommate, but the airport is big and we did not do a good job of communicating with one another. To make a long story short, I got lost in the airport, tried to ask a man how to get to Bath (which is where my school is), he did not know and said that I should know this information. I then asked him for directions to another train station and that is where I finally got on a Coach bus, the same in the USA. The bus ride was about two hours long and gratefully I fell asleep for a little while. However, when I arrived at the Bath Bus station I did not see anyone, so I had to take out my laptop and figure out where I was supposed to meet everyone. Because of the delay of getting on the Coach Bus I was one of the last two people here at the program.

I came to my house (flat) and everyone, so seven other people were all waiting in the living room if that is what they call it in England. The flat is set up nicely, the kitchen, dining room, and full bathroom are in the basement, on the ground level is a single room and the living room, the 1st floor is two double bedrooms and two half bathrooms, the 2nd floor has a double bedroom and a single bedroom, with a bathroom with no toilet, don't ask me why.

A person from ASE came to the house to show us how to use the house, like running the washing machine, dryer, turning on the showers and other basic things that you would think would be the same as the U.S. but they are very different. After the orientation with the house we all decided that we were going to go out to dinner, because there is not a lot of food in the house for tonight and tomorrow. However, I still needed to unpack, but I got most of it done before dinner. We went to pub, but first we had to find a place that was open because it seems like a lot of places close early. At the pub this gentlemen in his 50's just started talking to all eight of us about random things but we all laughed even though we were so hungry. The last stop on our journey was a small grocery store.

Tomorrow will be the start of orientation and the school has us doing a lot in the next couple of days, so I am going to say so long for now because I need to catch some rest and start being on ENGLAND time. Pictures and perhaps a video of my flat to come soon, of course when I have free time.

Love you all,

Monica