Shakespeare, Tolkien, and Austen - A Literary Week!

What an incredible week! Fifth grade, let me just tell you, if you ever head to England, try to give yourself more time. After being at the schools all day, and then trying to have fun at night, I've had the wind knocked out of me! Not to mention the travel over the weekends... 

Well, let's just begin with last week, shall we? When I left you last, I hadn't seen Year 6 (5th grade) yet. I got to visit their classroom on Wednesday. It was so much fun! But it did make me miss you. At this point, I've visited all the classrooms for grades K-6. I haven't gotten to tell them much about Texas yet, but I'm working on my lesson as we speak. 

Thursday night, I visited the Globe Theatre. This theatre is a recreation of the theatre where Shakespeare performed his plays with his acting company. I went with my friend Audrey and she and I had to run to make sure we got there before the sun had completely gone down! In England, the sun sets for the day around 4:30. Can you imagine it being completely black outside by 5:00 p.m.? It always makes me feel tired more quickly than I usually would. 

Anyway, we got to The Globe and went through a mini-museum about Shakespeare and the theatre. There were costumes, props, and models of the city and the theatre itself. Walking inside took my breath away. The theatre was absolutely beautiful. On the stage, a college group was doing an acting workshop, so we actually got to hear a few of Shakespeare's lines. Bonus points: Guess my favorite Shakespeare play! 

One Friday night after school, we went to the Victoria and Albert Museum. This was my favorite museum so far. There were historical pieces from many, many centuries and it had Asian, Middle Eastern, and European art and artifacts. I got to see art by Raphael - paintings so big, they were larger than our classroom! I also saw a knight's armor, vases, old clothing, and old books. My favorite part of the museum, though, was the marble sculptures. The one beneath is of Pandora with her box. Bonus points: Tell me who Pandora is! 

The next morning, we got up early and traveled to Oxford! Oxford is where some of the most famous authors and historical figures studied. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and a few of their friends always met at this pub (The Eagle and Child) and my friends and I actually got to have dinner there! 

While we were there, we went up in a stone tower that was over 1,000 years old. When we stepped out of the top of it, we could see the entire city. The picture below is just one example. 

Another author who studied and even wrote in Oxford was Lewis Carroll, the man who wrote Alice in Wonderland. My friends and I went to Christ College. In this dining room, he penned much of the Alice we know and love. No matter where we went, we were surrounded by history! 

One of my favorite stops was "The Kilns", the home of C.S. Lewis. Now, students from the U.S. that are studying at Oxford can stay here and study. Before I did anything else, I had to read a page or two from one of his books at the gate! 

Inside, they have recreated much of what the house would have looked like when Lewis lived there. We were able to hear the story of his family, how he lived and wrote, and the people who were most important to him. 

 In one room, the attic, they recreated what Lewis's playroom with his brother might have been like when he was young. As a nice touch, they have a Narnia wardrobe - it looks real, doesn't it?! When we finished the tour, we were all given Turkish Delight. I loved it! But I don't think I would have done what Edmund did to get to it....

The next morning, we got up before six a.m. so that we could get to our stop by eight. There were problems with the train that we usually use and our bus, so we had to walk twenty minutes to the train station and then take a bus to get to the train to get to the tour bus. We headed then to Stonehenge! For those of you that suggested it, I didn't get to touch the stones. Apparently, that was something they got to do twenty years ago, but not anymore. 

Regardless of this, It was amazing! Bitterly cold, but still incredibly fascinating. We had electronic tour guides that led us around the stones and told us about them. 

After Stonehenge, we got back on the bus and headed to Bath, England. A long time ago, this place was the only place in England with hot springs. The Romans who had come from the Mediteranean loved to come and bathe in the warm waters.  

Many of Jane Austen's novels are set in Bath, and the Jane Austen museum is there! We didn't get to go inside, because they required a tour and we were out of time. But we did get to take a picture with Jane! 

Finally, we went to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace. The house below was his house, and we got to walk through and learn about his family history. It was phenomenal! There's a window in the house with famous names on it of authors, actors, and others who have made the pilgrimage to his birthplace.

I hope everyone is doing well! The last exciting message of this post -- I don't get to visit Ireland, but I will be traveling up to Scotland and visiting Edinburgh! I can't wait to tell you more! 

Every Moment is Magic.

Time certainly flies when you’re having fun! My plane took off almost a week ago, and it seems like I’ve hardly had time to blink. If I told you everything, I would write a whole book. However, I will do my best to give you an overview of the trip each week.

Wednesday, we left Waco around 3:00 p.m. I was already really tired from packing and getting everything set to go, so I slept for the very short flight to DFW. From DFW, we headed on a plane over the Atlantic (about 8 hours!). For those of you that haven’t traveled overseas, they almost always have in-flight movies you can watch. My best friend and I started one at the same time so that we could watch it together.

The next morning (around 9:30 in British time), I looked out the window to see my first view of England. I was completely overwhelmed. After dreaming of this for so long, it was finally here.

We spent the first day getting settled at the Warwick, finding the schools we would be working at, and resting.

Friday morning, we woke up and headed straight into London. I did have the full English breakfast, which, for the record, is made up of a sausage, bacon, a fried egg, beans, and a cooked tomato.

 We travelled into Waterloo station and learned to use the tube (or the underground) which is like our subways. We were all given a pass that would work on the tube for the whole month! As soon as we stepped out at our first station, I saw Big Ben staring down at me.

It was massive! As promised, I took a lot of pictures. Most of them I’ll show you when I get back. As we crossed the bridge nearest Parliament, we caught a glimpse of the London Eye and a man playing the bagpipes and wearing a kilt for Remembrance Day (bonus points to the first student who can tell Mrs. Gietzen what Remembrance Day is and send me an email!).

We sight-saw for most of the day and stopped by Convent Gardens, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace. Of course, along the way, we took the obligatory telephone booth photo. (Bonus points number 2: What does obligatory mean?)

After lunch, we went to the London Eye. For those of you who asked, I got a picture from the top!

Afterwards, for those of you girls who wrote me about shopping, we went to Harrod’s, which is the most famous shopping center in London. It was huge! There were nearly six floors and it was as big as any mall you’ve ever been to. Gabby, Olivia, Kendall, Hannah – you would have died.

The next morning, we headed out to Cardiff, Wales. Eubin, I loved your idea about the Lord Mayor’s Show, but it was my best friend’s birthday, and she wanted to go to the Doctor Who Experience! Doctor Who, for those of you who don’t know, is a science fiction show that travels through space and time. It’s her favorite show, and we were able to see the actual set for one of the biggest parts of the show – the TARDIS!

We also stopped into the Cardiff Library. I can’t go anywhere without stopping at the library! It was phenomenal. From the top floor, I could see the whole city. It was an especially exciting day in Cardiff because there was a rugby game (points to the first person who can explain rugby!)

Our last stops of the day were in Bute Park and Cardiff Castle. We were too late to visit the inside of the castle, but I got a few pictures from the outside! Bute Park goes all the way around Cardiff Castle. I hope you enjoy the shots I took!

Sunday we went in to see the National Gallery. Inside, there were paintings by artists throughout the ages. I spent a good amount of time looking up Titian’s work. You should try him! Monday, I visited The Tate Museum of Modern Art. I saw paintings by Picasso and Salvador Dali. It was amazing to see those works up close.

I also got to be in my school, St. Johns. They’re all getting ready for their Christmas program right now, so there’s a good deal of rehearsing going on. They sing carols and act out the nativity. I haven’t worked with the equivalent of fifth grade (Year 6) yet, but when I do, I’ll make sure they know how excited you all were to hear about them and hear from them! On Monday I was in a Year 5 class (4^th) and this morning I was in Year 2 (1^st grade).

I can’t wait to tell you all more about it! I miss you!