Home Sweet Home

    Why hello there sixth graders! I just made it into Eastbourne on Friday. There is a six hour time difference between Downer's Grove and Eastbourne. It is about 7:30 a.m. for you and 1:30 p.m. here...I guess you could say that I am living in the future! It may be fun for you to think about the time difference for every time that I post and discuss that as a class.
    When I checked my bags on Thursday I was disgruntled to find that your bag cannot weigh over 50 pounds. I had to stuff thirty pounds of my luggage into a box that I had to open in London's Heathrow airport. The flight was eight hours long and I wasn't able to sleep through any of it---especially the five hours when I was flying over the Atlantic ocean. When we got into Heathrow, my three classmates and I had to take all of our luggage to the bus station, hop on a bus and wait for three hours in London until another bus picked us up to take us to Eastbourne. I plan on traveling to London again soon when I do not have 85 pounds of luggage to carry around with me.
     When we finally made it to Eastbourne, about seven hours after landing, my friend Bonnie and I were greeted by our host parents, Dave and Joan. Dave and Joan are a couple who just celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary. They have two daughters and four grandchildren. They are very hospitable and have provided us with several delicious meals so far(That's right! The food isn't as bad as some of you have warned me. )We live in a cosy little house with an amazing garden.

    


   Yesterday, Bonnie and I traveled into town for the first time. We got a tad bit lost and had to rely on a map and some students from town to help us find the downtown area. It was also difficult to remember which side of the street to look down when crossing the road. In England, as many of you know, they drive on the opposite side of the road. It is very important to remember to look to the RIGHT when crossing the street.  We arrived in downtown Eastbourne at 5:30, only to discover that all of the shops were already closed. (In the majority of towns in England the shops tend to close around 4 or 5 o'clock...even on Saturdays!) The only places that stay open late are the restaurants so we went in and had a bite to eat. We made some new friends from Eastbourne and Manchester. When our conversation turned to the World Cup, I mentioned 'soccer.' Upon saying this,one of my new friends literally dragged my chair out of the conversation. From now on I will be remembering to say 'futbol' instead.
   Some of my observations so far are as follows:

•        America sure has had an influence on the U.K. For example, there are K.F.Cs, Taco Bells, and McDonald's everywhere. I even had a few fries last night. 
•        Many people in England use a 24 hour time system. Currently it is 13:58 (or 1:58). Try to use this time system for a day and see if you can get used to it. 
•        Here in England, the temperature is measured in Celsius, not Fahrenheit. It is 11 degrees Celsius right now. Can anyone convert this to Fahrenheit? 

  How was the rest of Camp Edwards? I want to hear everything. What was your favorite rec activity? Your favorite class? Did you make some new friends? 

Does this lake look familiar? :) 

   I will post again soon. Have a great week! Cheerio!