Yeah, that's right, we have FOUR more days of classes! I have two more lessons to teach (one on the present perfect tense and one on reading) and then I am done! Christine and I will be qualified to teach English internationally, and we actually feel prepared enough to do it! I am so glad I didn't know just how difficult this program would be, but now that I have been through it I am proud to say I did. I have never had so much information crammed into my head in a one month period! I analyze language like its my job....oh wait, it is!
We went out to the pub last night with our students and the other trainees, and once again drank heartily and bonded. We are having a CELTA graduation party at our flat next week on our last night and plan on decorating and going out in a big way. There are definitely some people in our program who are more fun than others, but overall we have no bad seeds. And of course, most of them have lovely accents. The funny thing is they mimic US all the time, what a role-reversal huh?
This week I moved down to the elementary class and I am enjoying it immensely. It is not nearly as stressful, seeing as the course material isn't as difficult, so I can contain the flock of butterflies procreating in my stomach. I feel as though the elementary level students are more rewarding for me as a teacher because you can HEAR them getting better every day! The intermediate are already great speakers, you are just fine-tuning their grammar. I have also been observing 'real' teachers in the mornings, and I have gotten to stay with the same class of all Saudi Arabian students. They are EXTREME elementary level students and I find that the teacher has such a more relaxed and flexible schedule. I really enjoy the Saudi students too, perhaps I will have to go there??? They are a bit on the flirty/inappropriate side however, but I guess that means they will listen to me more?
Now Christine and I are planning our post-Edinburgh adventures, something that seemed infinitely far away just last week. I have booked hostels for Inverness and Christine has our ferry tickets to Belfast. I am buying our tickets to Prague tomorrow, as well as our Madrid ones. We think that, from about mid-March on, we will stay in Spain for a while and work under the table. Beth and her lovely two sisters will be there and there is an unbelievable demand for English teachers. Apparently our CELTA certificate that we're receiving (like the TEFL but more competitive) will give us higher pay and first shot at the good jobs. Financially, we can't afford to not work for very long, especially with so much travelling ahead. I of course am excited to be forced to practice my Spanish all the time, so Spain will be a good hub for us. We do want to leave Europe though, in time, but perhaps not until summer. Our hearts still are pointed towards Southeast Asia, but perhaps mine has never left South America.....I mean, who could say no to living in Buenos Aires for seven months? Certainly not me.
So, we are trying to enjoy our last full weekend in Edinburgh, though our looming fourth and final assignment awaits as well as our lesson plans for next week (which are for the first time totally created by us with no help from our tutors). We will be sad to leave this place and will miss seeing the mythical castle that sits on the sharp, craggy rocks above us, but then again, the castle in Prague will make a fine replacement :-)
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Pub Night Bonding
We are finally settling in and getting used to the British way of life and their.....um....directness? And we are half done so we are so excited that it is downhill from here. But of course, as we are getting closer to the end we find ourselves becoming more and more attached to the lovely people all around us. Our students, which we have become quite close with through our student/teacher pub nights, have become dear to our hearts and we are sad at the idea of leaving them. It feels so good to be around people from all over the world. Just speaking with them, learning from them, is such a blessing. We have a couple from Venezuela that we particularly love, and they have told us we must come visit them. I of course am not adverse to the idea and hope to one day take them up on their offer!
Today is our first beautiful satruday, and we are going to shop at some thrift stores and walk in the Royal Gardens just to feel the sun hit our shoulders! Who knew one could feel so down and isolated without seeing the sun? We do have loads of work to do, but we have decided we refuse to do any work while its light out, so after 4pm our fun will be over. We are meeting a friend of Christine's, who lives in Edinburgh, tomorrow. We are very much looking forward to seeing him (meeting him in my case). We also hope to see some of our students this weekend for maybe a coffee or some traditional spanish comida!
O.K., one short anecodote that I can't pass up:
We were using the internet at a pub when the ManU v. Chelsea football match came on. So, of course, we watched and met some nice guys who we became friends with. Earlier in the day I had boldly decided to wear a plaid top that, though I was hesitant, seemed like it was appropriate upon my glance in the mirror. At the pub and older and belligerent older man came up DEMANDING to know what my tartan clan was. As you can imagine, I looked at him with wide, confused eyes filled with panic. The British guys did not know what to do either. Christine told the man we were American but he was insistant upon my answering his question. After hounding me and hovering dangerously close to my face for several minutes, the waitress finally came over and told him to leave us alone. I was mortified as he left, and will from now on NEVER dare to wear plaid in Scotland. Thank goodness I have a "good strong Scottish last name" to carry me, because apparantly my dressing habits are highly offensive! What can I say? Only in Scotland!
Today is our first beautiful satruday, and we are going to shop at some thrift stores and walk in the Royal Gardens just to feel the sun hit our shoulders! Who knew one could feel so down and isolated without seeing the sun? We do have loads of work to do, but we have decided we refuse to do any work while its light out, so after 4pm our fun will be over. We are meeting a friend of Christine's, who lives in Edinburgh, tomorrow. We are very much looking forward to seeing him (meeting him in my case). We also hope to see some of our students this weekend for maybe a coffee or some traditional spanish comida!
O.K., one short anecodote that I can't pass up:
We were using the internet at a pub when the ManU v. Chelsea football match came on. So, of course, we watched and met some nice guys who we became friends with. Earlier in the day I had boldly decided to wear a plaid top that, though I was hesitant, seemed like it was appropriate upon my glance in the mirror. At the pub and older and belligerent older man came up DEMANDING to know what my tartan clan was. As you can imagine, I looked at him with wide, confused eyes filled with panic. The British guys did not know what to do either. Christine told the man we were American but he was insistant upon my answering his question. After hounding me and hovering dangerously close to my face for several minutes, the waitress finally came over and told him to leave us alone. I was mortified as he left, and will from now on NEVER dare to wear plaid in Scotland. Thank goodness I have a "good strong Scottish last name" to carry me, because apparantly my dressing habits are highly offensive! What can I say? Only in Scotland!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
5 Quid and Loads of Curry
So, we are officially ONE FOURTH of the way through! Instead of celebrating though, we find ourselves dreading week two. I wish I could say the weather is helping, but between the ferocious winds and hail it is making things even more bleak. But, Christine and I are saving each other because we seem to be able to laugh at it all, and of course day dream a lot. There are some great things about living here, like the curry! It is like our Mexican food in the states, it is everywhere and very inexpensive. We also get to walk by the Royal Gardens and the castle every time we walk to school which can't help but lift our spirits. What can I say, we are both romantics! And of course the accents are lovely, though we have found our American one seems detrimental in our studies. We often have moments where are jaws are dangling open, as though they have been detached, because we can't understand what our Scottish friends our saying. Two of our guy friends in the program actually held their pinky fingers out and up while drinking a BEER! I have done this too, I will admit, but not since my toddler days when I was mimicking the British in some inaccurate, snobby accent. I didn't think actual BLOKES did this on a regular basis.
Friday was very fun, seeing as I finished my lesson by four and we got to go to the pub with our students and other classmates. I must admit that I spoke some spanish with my Spanish students, at which point someone in my program (who I will keep anonymous) told me I was not ALLOWED to speak to my students in any language but ENGLISH! Oh the audacity! Clearly I ignored him, and ended up explaining several confusing english phrasal verbs to my students by explaining it more clearly in spanish (which is quite impressive because my spanish is absolute shite). Needless to say, there are some people in our program who are a little more *focused* on the program then we are, to put it gently. Perhaps it is the American way to want to have fun along the way, because we seem to be the only ones who are determined to not let this program digest us too quickly.
Yesterday we refused to think about school, and so forced ourselves to embrace the day. After a good sleep we found a gym down the stree that was massive, and Christine was able to swim laps while I pottered about on the bike and elliptical. It was an amazingly bright and cheery facility, providing quite a juxtaposition to the rest of the city!
But enough rambling, we are happy clams, I promise :-)
Friday was very fun, seeing as I finished my lesson by four and we got to go to the pub with our students and other classmates. I must admit that I spoke some spanish with my Spanish students, at which point someone in my program (who I will keep anonymous) told me I was not ALLOWED to speak to my students in any language but ENGLISH! Oh the audacity! Clearly I ignored him, and ended up explaining several confusing english phrasal verbs to my students by explaining it more clearly in spanish (which is quite impressive because my spanish is absolute shite). Needless to say, there are some people in our program who are a little more *focused* on the program then we are, to put it gently. Perhaps it is the American way to want to have fun along the way, because we seem to be the only ones who are determined to not let this program digest us too quickly.
Yesterday we refused to think about school, and so forced ourselves to embrace the day. After a good sleep we found a gym down the stree that was massive, and Christine was able to swim laps while I pottered about on the bike and elliptical. It was an amazingly bright and cheery facility, providing quite a juxtaposition to the rest of the city!
But enough rambling, we are happy clams, I promise :-)
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Are we in Russia?
Yes, that is how it feels here at times. It is absolutely frigid outside when we leave our warm nest in the morning. The cold may stem from the complete lack of sunlight. It doesn't get light out until 8:30am and the sun sets between 4 and 4:30. How does that make one feel? Well, a little depressed to say the least. The good news is that Christine and I hardly have time to notice it, what with our 40 minute lessons we have every other day that is piled on top of even more assignements. We escape our school around 6 only to return home to looming stacks of work. But, we still enjoy the actions and we really do adore our students. Why is it that everything they say in broken english is so ADORABLE?
We are learning so much here, about grammar and structure and teaching, but the truth is our minds are still focused on our great adventures to come. We have decided we are going to Inverness and Loch Ness for a couple of days in the first week of February. We plan to do some hiking and then make our way down to Dundee, where my friend lives. After visiting with him we will cross over into Northern Ireland and begin our Belfast tour. Christine of course has infinite contacts there and surely will show us a good time. After that, it is nothing but travel and leisure around Ireland, soaking up all its Celtic magic! As for after that.....we don't know, and we kind of like it that way ;-)
So, wish us luck as our first week comes to an end. We are almost a fourth of the way through, thank goodness! We are looking forward to Friday, when we get to go to the pub with our classmates and students :-) It is the small pleasures here in Scotland!!
Hope everyone is well and toasty.
Cheers,
Kristen
We are learning so much here, about grammar and structure and teaching, but the truth is our minds are still focused on our great adventures to come. We have decided we are going to Inverness and Loch Ness for a couple of days in the first week of February. We plan to do some hiking and then make our way down to Dundee, where my friend lives. After visiting with him we will cross over into Northern Ireland and begin our Belfast tour. Christine of course has infinite contacts there and surely will show us a good time. After that, it is nothing but travel and leisure around Ireland, soaking up all its Celtic magic! As for after that.....we don't know, and we kind of like it that way ;-)
So, wish us luck as our first week comes to an end. We are almost a fourth of the way through, thank goodness! We are looking forward to Friday, when we get to go to the pub with our classmates and students :-) It is the small pleasures here in Scotland!!
Hope everyone is well and toasty.
Cheers,
Kristen
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Scotland Hospitality
Hello everyone!
Where to begin? I am officially in the land of rough accents and bitter cold weather, and yet somehow everything seems to be so cozy and peaceful here. People relax and wander around without a care in the world, and though they aren't particularly vivacious, they have lovely hearts that are modestly swelling all the time.
My school is lovely and looks more like a house than anything else. We meet our teacher and found out that our program has two other Americans, a Spanish girl, and the rest are British. There are only twelve, so we should all know one another quite well by the end.
I wish I could say that my American travel companions and I are above mimicking the Scottish, but alas, we seem to delve into a twirling of the tongue at every sentence and are spatting retched accents all the time. No one seems to mind too much, I am sure they are used to it by now.
New Year's was something I shall never forget! It really was too amazing for words, but I shall try! It was magical, with Beth, Sonja, Christine, Ellen, and Heather and the whole Old Town of Scotland lit up like the most grandiose fair I have ever seen! Lights every where, and men in kilts!!! We had beers in our bellies and mittens and scarves and were surrounded by a modest 200,000 others and fair rides. We went on one terrifying one that I still am shaking at. We met so many people from all over the world, including two very handsome Scottish men clad in kilts. We even had our own singing group as we belted out "Shook Me All Night Long." Oh my, my heart is still fluttering at that evening; it was truly an even that will stay with me my entire life.
Matt, Nat, and Karolina (Peru friends/volunteers) are all coming tomorrow and I can't wait. We will somehow manage to fit them on the floor of our apartment and keep them as toasty as we can. I am sure we will not be home much, seeing as they love pubs as much as we do. Our small group also is going on a tour this weekend to Loch Ness. It will be so fun to reminisce about our Peruvian adventures and what everyone has been up to. It is nice that Matt is Scottish because he can be our translator ;-)
The bad news.......our apartment was a scam but we were so lucky to find one in a day. It is more expensive, 700 pounds for 5 weeks, and its a one-bedroom. We do love it, and though we feel a little violated about the scam, we are happy now and have gotten the WORST day over with (please let it have been the worst). That night when we got here was absolute hell, no other word for it. On top of finding we had no place to live and had come during the busiest time of the year for Edinburgh we were still struggling physically from a miserable flight. We had NO lights the whole ten hours, along with no television and music. It would not have been that bad if the whole plans had banned together and laughed it off, but it was only five rows. How lucky are we? And we got a whopping 25 pounds off our next Virgin Atlantic flight. How very sweet of them. So, I was a little upset at being robbed of my coveted reading time, but little did I know what lay ahead!
But now we can laugh and be at peace in our new place with lovely landlords. We are now enjoying our neighborhood, and have found that food here is vey cheap indeed, including Indian! I am at an enchanting coffee shop about fifty feet from our flat where everything is carved by hand, even the high-backed chairs. It is called Black Medicine and I know it will be my new corner to nestle in (especially since our flat has no internet). We begin school Monday, and Christine and I are excited to delve into scholastic life once again.
I hope everyone had a magical New Year, and that 2009 brings you all the blessing and dreams you deserve.
Cheers!
Where to begin? I am officially in the land of rough accents and bitter cold weather, and yet somehow everything seems to be so cozy and peaceful here. People relax and wander around without a care in the world, and though they aren't particularly vivacious, they have lovely hearts that are modestly swelling all the time.
My school is lovely and looks more like a house than anything else. We meet our teacher and found out that our program has two other Americans, a Spanish girl, and the rest are British. There are only twelve, so we should all know one another quite well by the end.
I wish I could say that my American travel companions and I are above mimicking the Scottish, but alas, we seem to delve into a twirling of the tongue at every sentence and are spatting retched accents all the time. No one seems to mind too much, I am sure they are used to it by now.
New Year's was something I shall never forget! It really was too amazing for words, but I shall try! It was magical, with Beth, Sonja, Christine, Ellen, and Heather and the whole Old Town of Scotland lit up like the most grandiose fair I have ever seen! Lights every where, and men in kilts!!! We had beers in our bellies and mittens and scarves and were surrounded by a modest 200,000 others and fair rides. We went on one terrifying one that I still am shaking at. We met so many people from all over the world, including two very handsome Scottish men clad in kilts. We even had our own singing group as we belted out "Shook Me All Night Long." Oh my, my heart is still fluttering at that evening; it was truly an even that will stay with me my entire life.
Matt, Nat, and Karolina (Peru friends/volunteers) are all coming tomorrow and I can't wait. We will somehow manage to fit them on the floor of our apartment and keep them as toasty as we can. I am sure we will not be home much, seeing as they love pubs as much as we do. Our small group also is going on a tour this weekend to Loch Ness. It will be so fun to reminisce about our Peruvian adventures and what everyone has been up to. It is nice that Matt is Scottish because he can be our translator ;-)
The bad news.......our apartment was a scam but we were so lucky to find one in a day. It is more expensive, 700 pounds for 5 weeks, and its a one-bedroom. We do love it, and though we feel a little violated about the scam, we are happy now and have gotten the WORST day over with (please let it have been the worst). That night when we got here was absolute hell, no other word for it. On top of finding we had no place to live and had come during the busiest time of the year for Edinburgh we were still struggling physically from a miserable flight. We had NO lights the whole ten hours, along with no television and music. It would not have been that bad if the whole plans had banned together and laughed it off, but it was only five rows. How lucky are we? And we got a whopping 25 pounds off our next Virgin Atlantic flight. How very sweet of them. So, I was a little upset at being robbed of my coveted reading time, but little did I know what lay ahead!
But now we can laugh and be at peace in our new place with lovely landlords. We are now enjoying our neighborhood, and have found that food here is vey cheap indeed, including Indian! I am at an enchanting coffee shop about fifty feet from our flat where everything is carved by hand, even the high-backed chairs. It is called Black Medicine and I know it will be my new corner to nestle in (especially since our flat has no internet). We begin school Monday, and Christine and I are excited to delve into scholastic life once again.
I hope everyone had a magical New Year, and that 2009 brings you all the blessing and dreams you deserve.
Cheers!
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