Weekend in Berlin

We flew out of John Lennon Airport here in Liverpool to Berlin Germany. Our flight was a bit rowdy. The men behind us were quite drunk and incredibly loud. Luckily the plane ride was only 2 hours long. Once we landed we walked to the "S Bahn" which is subway that runs through Berlin. However we got on the wrong train and had to take a taxi to our hostel. 20 Euros later we made it to our hostel, which was so beautiful! Once we unpacked and settled in, we started to explore Berlin. We ate at greek restaurant and walked around for about an hour. Once we back to our Hostel we went the roof top terrace which was also a bar. We met some people and hung out with them and played pool for a couple hours. Bailey and I stayed out with some of them and went to a pub up the road to watch a band, and then went back and hung out in the lobby.

The next day we spent in downtown Berlin. Andrea and I went on a boat tour around Berlin. It was about and hour and we had to listen to this GPS device to hear the tour because the whole tour was in German. When that was over we walked to the main strip to meet up with everyone else. Once we met up with everyone we ate and walked around. I got to see the American Embassy which was pretty neat. There was also some culture festival going on so there were parades and star wars characters all over the place. After that we went to see some holocaust memorials. They were very somber, and interesting to see. Afterwards we went to the hostel to rest. Andy, Andrea and Jessie all had severe sinus infections and were very tired so we all went to bed early to get some sleep before our travels on Sunday.
Sunday when we boarded the plane I was seated at the Emergency exit. I was asked by the flight attendant if I felt comfortable with the duties i would be in-charge of if anything were to happen. Therefore I read all the safety manuals and listened to the safety briefings. Everyone was laughing at me for taking it so serious but I was responsible for the lives of 1/4 of those passengers! hahah! Well I obviously we landed safely in Liverpool and made it back to our dorms safely! 

BERLIN

So Berlin is beautiful! But seems American! I have met so many people and cannot wait to blog tomorrow but obvi josh is my bestie and is so enthused to read this!! :)

Week 2!

This week has felt pretty routine. Nothing new really has happened. Jessie and I went to the City Centre Wednesday to have some time away do some shopping. We both left with some cute things that were pretty cheap! I got this cute pink dress and a Jean Jacket that I think can go over all of my dresses so they look more casual!
Yesterday was our second visit to Much Woolton Primary. When we arrived we found out the higher graders were doing confirmation. This meant we had nothing to observe and virtually no time with our students. So instead we were sent to Mr. Finnegan's class. He had a class of students from all ages that were not participating in confirmation. He decided to have a day full of crafts. We were facilitating the students to make olympic crafts. We made torches and flags of all the countries and a huge banner. Me and Bailey made the sign and helped the students color it. All of these crafts we made will be displayed during the school's olympics day Wednesday. I can't wait to see how all of our hard work paid off! Other than the change of itinerary schools the day was still pretty normal. However I did have an "ah-ha" moment. I kept thinking that these students would mess up the poster Bailey and I spent so much time on. And once they started coloring it I realized that I was way off. These kids were brilliant! They are so artistic and so encouraging of each other! I reminds me that I need to see what kids can do before I make any assumptions. I hope these experiences make me a great teacher!
Well we are leaving for Berlin Germany in about and hour. We have a 3 hour flight. I can't wait to blog about it when I get home! Cheers!

Edinburgh, Scotland- Days 2 and 3

The morning of day 2 in Scotland was more relaxed. We made the plan to go get lunch and then see the Edinburgh castle. By the time we made it to the top we saw such beautiful sites we decided we would go inside even though we had heard multiple times that it was not worth it. Thank God we didn't listen to the advise not to go in, because it was worth every penny! The castle was built in 9th century BC. It is still used as a military base today. Bailey Dana and I split up and went through the castle together. We took our time and had such a wonderful experience. It gave me goose bumps to see the Scotish skyline form atop a cliff form the side of a castle. I was so happy to be somewhere that I fell in love with, yet had honestly never heard of before planning the trip! It was such a weird feeling! But back to the castle, we even got to see the royal jewels. These puppies were highly guarded and were worth soooooooo much! They were very awesome to see though! After the castle the girls and I walked around the royal mile until we met back up with the others. After a coffee break we decided to split up again because the other group wanted to go shopping. There was definitely tension among the group because of the constant close quarters we had been confined to, so splitting up was the best option. So Bailey Dana and I went to go find the two tombstones J.K. Rowling used to name 2 characters in the Harry Potter books. I had absolutely no interest in finding these but Bailey really wanted to see these tomb stones so Dana and I helped her look. We found them and it was honestly pretty cool.  After that we met back up with the group for dinner and then headed back to the hostel.
This is where things take a turn for the cultured! When I walked into the front doors of our Hostel I was shocked to see sooooo many people. Our hostel had a bar it was a full capacity and people were even on the stairs leading up to the rooms because there was no where else to sit. We weren't sure what the fuss was about but we assumed it was a football "soccer" game that was on. We assumed right, It happened to be the Scotish cup and the Edinburgh team won! Jessie and I found thi out on the stairs where we were stopped by 5 guys around our age. They filled us in on the details and invited us to sit and drink with them in the stairwell. We did, and had the time of our lives! These guys were celebrating this amazing win, and it was even sweeter for them because they had won the cup against their rivals ! After getting to know the guys for a couple hours and after last call was called around 1 they invited us to the bars with them. Jessie, Bailey, Dana, and I all went! We walked to a club called silk. While we were walking my friend David had to go because his grandma was in the hospital and his mom called saying things weren't looking good. I was sad because he was my pal, and the one who I could actually understand when he spoke! The others guys and us headed into silk and boy were the 4 of us girls underdressed. Had we not been Americans  I doubt the bouncer would have let us in! But being American was a great thing in Scotland. As soon as people heard us speak they were instantly intrigued and wanted to talk to us. Even buy us drinks! =) After about an hour we decided to leave because we had a day of travel ahead of us. So we said goodbye to our new Scottish friends and headed home.
DAY 3
Much to our surprise when we woke up some of our friends (John, Scott, and Collin) stayed in our hostel. Apparently they lived on a peninsula of Scotland and passed out on the couches! But when we woke up we didn't have much time to chat with them before we headed back to Liverpool. Jessie and I want to plan a day trip back to hang out with them again. They were so chill and we hope to stay in touch. The train ride home was uneventful and I slept most of the way. Once we finally made it to our rooms I caught up on a few American shows on my computer and passed out! Scotland was such a great place and I hope I can go back sometime!

Edinburgh, Scotland- Day 1

This last weekend we traveled to Scotland. Jessie, Bailey, Dana, Andrea, Andy, and I all met at 6:15am at the security lodge to get taxis to take us to the train station. Part of our trip cost accounted for rail passes. These passes allow us to travel within Great Britain for free. We had a short "layover" at a train station in a city called Wigan. It was barley 40 degrees and raining as we waited for our next train. Once it arrived I was fast asleep until we arrived in Edinburgh 2 hours later. When we got off the train I were not expecting such a gloomy scene. It was green but the buildings were dark and gothic and it was raining and freezing cold, but it was probably the most beautiful landscape I have seen! We walked to our hostel and it was a mostly uphill journey. It was about a 45 minute walk and when we arrived we discovered we couldn't check-in for 3 more hours. So we went and got lunch at a pub about a mile away. Then we went shopping at some stores until we could check-in.
Once we checked in we settled into our 18 person hostel and made plans for the weekend. We decided to walk to the royal mile. This a mile that starts at the top of the cliff where the Edinburgh castle sits and is lined with shops and restaurants the whole way down. When we arrived at the top of the mile we began to go in shops and poke our heads into the beautiful cathedrals. My favorite catherdral was in the middle of the royal mile was breath taking! It had gorgeous stain glass windows with a marble pulpit and the most detailed gothic ceilings! After walking around and taking tons of pictures we decided to sign up for an underground tour of the vaults. The tour started at 9:30 and we had 3 hours to waste. However in the UK most things that don't sell alcohol close at 5pm. This was frustrating so we decided to go the the Elephant house. Which is the cafe J.K. Rowling sat at when she began to write HArry Potter. YOu can see the Edinburgh castle form the window where she sat and that was where she got the idea of what Hogwarts should look like in the movies. We all got coffees and settled into our seats to rest our tired feet and wait for our haunted tour to start!
We left the cafe with plenty of time to walk to where our tour started. Like I mentioned before it was freezing outside and since the sun had gone down it had dropped in temperature considerately. So when we arrived early we tried talking as much as possible to keep our minds off the cold. Bailey saw a guy in his 20's wearing and IU shirt and asked if he was from Indiana. He was actually from Anderson and was studying abroad in Spain and was traveling a few more placed before he returned home in June. He was traveling by himself and was a bit of a loner. From the beginning of the conversation I realized he was a bit different and the more he kept talking to us the more I was seeing he was an odd ball. Right before the tour started the tour director came by our group to introduce herself and ask where we were from. Her name was Emily and she was very sweet and was a student like us. We asked her about taxi rides and she offered to call us a cab after the tour since we can't use our phones.
The tour started and Emily began by telling us a gruesome story about the torture that took place in Edinburgh. The details were quite graphic and I began to think Bailey was going to pass out. So I kept whispering to eveyone that the guy next to us was a vampire. It kept the mood light and Bailey did not pass out! =)
Once we we actually went underground I began to get more scared. Emily told us of paranormal encounters that had happened in the rooms we would be visiting. The most common one she sad was a mean ghost that was referred to as "boots" because you could hear him following the group so that we would leave sooner. Sure enough within moments of Emily giving us this disclosure the kid form IU screamed and said he heard boot steps. I rolled my eyes because I didn't believe him. Emily didn't seem to either and we moved on to the next room. In this room he interupted her again to say her heard something go "boo." My group began to chuckle because it was clear this guy was a joke. In the final room, the room Emily said was the most haunted things got out of control. She began by pushing this group of 20 or so people into this tiny cellar. I was near the middle and the IU guy was in the back. Emily began telling us of the most talked about paranormal activity that had happened in this room. She began by saying it happened to a woman who was standing at the very back of the group. When she said this the IU kids exclaims from the back "Oh Jesus." To which the entire tour group busted out hysterically laughing! Even Emily lost it for a minute. Once order was restored Emily continued the story of the woman who had the encounter. She said the woman had been traveling by herself, and was on this tour alone. When she said this my group began hysterically laughing again because the IU guy was by himself as well. This was the kind of laughing that makes your sides hurt and you actually begin to cry because you are laughing so hard. I felt bad because it seemed no one else realized the coincidence so I shouted, "it's so funny because he is alone too!" Once the group saw the similarity the uproar of laughter continued. From that moment on I don't think anyone in my group kept it together at all. Every time Emily would start talking she would look at Jessie and see her trying to hold back the laughs and then it would start all over again. The IU guy thought the whole thing was so funny as well!  This tour was by far the funniest thing that has happened to me in a very very long time!
After the tour we went to the hostel and called it a night. With blistered feet and fatigued legs we all slept like babies!

Week One

So after the jet lag settled I was actually able to function again. Typical days for me are waking up around 645 and getting ready. I meet Jessie in the hall outside of our flat around 755 and we walk to breakfast together. We have the same options for breakfast every morning. Ham, sausage, hash browns, eggs, backed beans, half a fried tomato, and a croissant. I usually get a coffee too. Around 9 we begin our seminars. The time really does go by fast because it is a lot if discussions and activities. We also have a morning break to get coffee around 10:30. We break for lunch around 11:45 and we have the same options for lunch everyday. The food is pretty bland and leaves me craving some food from home. After Lunch we have seminars until about 3 and then have a break before dinner at 5. Dinner is usually the worst meal. There is only one option for dinner but potatoes are always offered so I try to fill up on those if dinner isn't something I will eat. After dinner we either go to our rooms to relax or go to a pub. Mostly we go to the pubs for a drink and to mingle with the locals. Pubs are very family oriented. You may even see a dog inside a pub.
On the days we teach we have to be at breakfast at 7:30am. We eat and grabbed a lunch that was packed by the kitchen staff and walk to the bus stop to take a bus to the school. We are all teaching at Much Woolten Catholic primary. Jessie Bailey and I are all teaching a fourth grade class. They refer to their fourth grade as a year five class. On our fist day their we observed our class. They were so precious!! They absolutely adored us and kept asking us to say things like banana and tomato. They even asked us to speak with British accents. Quickly after we were seated in the class I noticed a girl staring at me. Once I made eye contact I winked at her and she smiled. After that she was attached to my hip. Her name is Siobhan- which is pronounced "Shavaun." She is the sweetest thing. After their lunch we joined the classes on the school yard and they crowded around us, to show us dances and introduce us to their friends.
The British schools have a much different schedule than American schools. They begin with a morning assembly and that is a worship service with years 1 through years 6. Then they go to their classes. They have a morning play time for 15 minutes between assembly and lunch. They are split on two different play grounds. years 1 through 3 are on one and years 4 through 6 are on the other. Then they have class until lunch. For lunch they get 1 hour and 15 minutes. After they eat they head to the play ground again. In the afternoon they get a third play time. This one is also 15 minutes. Then they get out of school at 3. This equals four hours of schools and 2 hours of play. It seems like a lot but yet these children are incredibly bright! I am looking forward to teaching these students and seeing their abilities!!

EUROPE BLOG #1

Well I have been in Liverpool for exactly one week. It feels like it has been months. I am going to write this blog so my family and friends can keep up with my activities while I am away. Due to my laziness and lack of motivation the first few blogs will be a general "catch-up" of the events that have transpired thus far! First I will begin with the airport. I have been planning this trip for 9 months and never once thought leaving my family would be so hard. Saying goodbye to my mom and sister was extremely hard and then when I had to tell Lily goodbye and see her break down a bit I knew I would be visiting the bathroom to have a little cry myself. I knew I couldn't cry in front of my family!
Once I got through customs it seemed like moments before we were on the plane to New York. It was the smallest plane I had ever been one. It sat one person, isle, 2 people. The plane ride was quite short and a bit bumpy. Once we got to JKF the waiting began. We had a 5 hour layover, and not much to do. Jessie Bailey and I went to get some lunch. We ate at an Italian restaurant that was over priced. After we ate we just sat and talked about random things. Eventually we got a card game of uno going and talked with the other kids in the group. Once we finally boarded the plane Bailey and I sat together with Jessie and Andy behind us. I was stuck in the middle between Bailey and a stranger. The stranger ended up being the sweetest woman ever. She happened to be from Liverpool and was a retired school teacher and professor and a college in Manchester. She and I talked for hours. We even exchanged emails at the end of the flight to keep in touch. I haven't emailed her yet but I plan to meet up with her.
Once we landed in Manchester we had to talk to the Manchester customs and explain why we were there. It was very intimidating but we passed through quite quickly. We then rode a charter bus to the University and got our room assignments. Luckily Jessie and I are on the same floor but in different flats. It's nice because we meet every morning in the hall and walk to breakfast together. The first day I was so beyond jet lagged that I thought dying would be the only way I would be able to rest. (Dr. P made us stay up so we could get acclimated to the 5 hour time difference. Well thats it for now I will write more later!