First week of school

   So as some of you may have guessed, that is NOT my actual classroom. This is: 

 Smartboard!

              I have just finished my first week of school in year 5 at Hawkes Farm. When I walked into the classroom for the first time the students were learning about line graphs, so I felt right at home. This week in math(called maths over here) we learned about converting different units of measure. In English, we are reading Shakespeare's Macbeth. For those of you who haven't heard of Macbeth, it is a story of a man who, motivated by his wife.  took several dishonorable measures to become king of Scotland. It is an amazing play and we have been creating raps to help us understand the difficult language. In Science, we are investigating states of matter. In England, the teachers are also responsible for teaching P.E., Art, Religious Education, and Personal Health and Development. In P.E., we are working on gymnastic routines. In art, we are working on drawing portraits of a well known story. The only special that teachers are not responsible for is Music. In Music, we are practicing holiday songs for the school concert. The Holidays are extremely important over here despite what several people were telling me before I headed to England. There are festive decorations, lights, and trees already adorning the streets and shopping centers. 

             There are several other similarities and differences that I have noticed during the few weeks that I have been here. 

Transportation

         Possibly one of the hardest things to get used to is the reliance on the public transportation system. In England, families normally have one car, but do not rely on it as much as we do in Illinois. Almost everyone here uses public transportation. In order to arrive on time at my school every day I must catch a train, wait for 30 minutes in downtown Eastbourne, and then catch a bus that takes me to Hailsham. This past week, I missed one of my buses and had to wait for the next one which happened to be running late. Most often the buses are either a little bit late or a little early. It is very difficult not to have control over the time you arrive at school. However,the school is very understanding of the fact that I may run late on certain days when the bus is not on schedule. 

Food

           This has been one of my favorite aspects of England so far...surprise,surprise! Despite the bad rap, the food over here has been amazing! My host mum cooks dinner for us every night and it usually consists of a main course,potatoes, and three vegetable dishes. Over recent years England has become very health conscious. This is in part due to Jaime Oliver, a reformist chef who is attempting to change the way people look at food. He even had a show based in the U.S. which some of you might have heard of called Jamie's Food Revolution. Every menu I have seen has healthy, vegetarian options that are clearly labeled. Of course, due to America's influence we still have fast food, but these establishments are usually treated more like sit down restaurants over here.

                                                                                             

Bonnie with my host family, Joan and Dave. We cooked them an "American" dinner of salad, pizza, pasta, and taffy apple salad. 

 Like my hoodie?

Language

      Although we technically speak the same language, there are several words and phrases that are different in England. First of all, most people over here sound so sophisticated. I feel rude the majority of the time when I am holding a conversation. They do not use as much slang or contractions. The most common words I have heard used are: lovely, rubbish, brilliant, ideal, knackered(tired),dodgy(shady), and cheeky (cute). There are also a lot of words that we use that have different meanings. Purse is a wallet, flashlight is a torch, and pants are underwear. 

                           I will continue to do more comparisons as I observe them. 

          Last weekend was Halloween and I went to London. How was everyones Halloween? Over here, Halloween is not as big of a deal as it is in the states. With this being said, it is obvious by looking at the shops and decorations that it will evolve into a larger celebration over the next  few years. In London, many people were dressed up. The costumes are more scary and less cutesy over here. If someone dresses up like a princess, they will be a dead princess. They embrace the origins of Halloween a bit more than we do. Last night, I attended Bonfire night to celebrate Guy Fawkes day in Lewes. There is a large celebration with fireworks, parades, and a large bonfire. Guy Fawkes and other conspirators attempted to blow up Parliament in 1604, but were stopped. November 5th is a day to celebrate his failure to complete his plan. (The film V for Vendetta is based on this history). 

 London


Can you name these landmarks?

I hope you all had a great Halloween! I will be heading to Paris next weekend so I will be sure to keep you posted. I miss you and hope to hear from you soon!

-Miss D