Scotland round 2!

So Jessie and I decided to go back to Scotland the weekend most of our group was going to Ireland. We both heard its beautiful but it's very expensive and neither of us really cared to go. So we decided to meet up with the friends we made from the last time we visited Edinburgh. We only had to pay for a hostel and taxi because we still had 2 rail passes left.

We decided to go out on Thursday night before Scotland because it would most likely be the last time we would get to go out in Liverpool. The plan was to meet up at a pub called 5-ways with dr P and the people who weren't going to Ireland. Bailey Dana and I waited forJessie to meet us outside of her room but she didn't answer. We decided to walk to the security lodge which was the meeting place for everyone who was walking to the pub with us. When we walked outside we ran into some of the girls who went shopping before the pub and they said the buses got messed up and they had to walk home in the rain. so i decided to write Jessie a note and leave a cheap bottle of wine outside her door. That obvi made me the coolest person on the planet in her eyes haha! But if I had to walk home in the rain I would want a chilled bottle of wine outside my door with a note! :) anywho she and everyone else who walked met us at the pub and we began our last night out as a group. After the pub we went into city centre and went to a place called camel club. They only played gangster rap and it was heaven. It was clear it would be a good night when gold digger came on and I owned the dance floor! (probably looked like a fool) We danced the night away making fun of Bailey's silly dance moves and screaming every word to every song. It was a great night that came to an end too quickly.

Waking up however was less than stellar. I had an awful headache and didn't get much sleep. Some may have said I was hungover but I'm blaming the cold I have! I am so happy I didn't have to fly to Dublin at 6am like Bailey and Dana! As Bay would say... Sucks to suck!

After a rough morning Jessie and I hit the dusty trail to Scotland. We got on the train and slept most of the way. When we finally arrived we were not surprised or pleased to find it 40 degrees and raining. We only had about 45 minutes before me met our friend John. We rushed to our hostel for changed and got a taxi. We met up with John and his friend Oliver. We met at the hostel bar we stayed at when we met them. After a little while we headed to a pub and met up with David and Jordan we all just sat around and talked until they closed the pub. We said our goodbyes to David and Jordan because they were not coming tithe club with us. We hopped in a taxi and went to a place called The Hive. It was pretty cool but a little pricey so we only had one drink and hit the dance floor. When Gold Digger came on I knew it was a sign from God that it would be a good night! After a while of dancing we left and hit up McDonalds. We ate and then headed or separate ways. It was such a good night it's sad we will probs never see them again but it's so nice to know next time Jessie and I are in Scotland we have friends!

After an eventful weekend we spent all day Sunday relaxing and writing lesson plans.

Week 1 of teaching!

The first week of teaching was pretty painless! Bailey and I taught a lesson on the civil war. Our kids were super interested and payed attention pretty well. Other than our lesson we just aided our classroom teacher and planned upcoming lessons. Along with all our lessons some of us are in a reading class that requires us to tutor a struggling reader for 15-20 minutes a day. The lessons we do with them have to e planned and turned in at the end of our trip. I have a student who struggles with reading fluently and I honestly think he might be dyslexic. He often has all the correct letters but they are in the wrong order. I am not sure what to do to help him but we are working on writing book reports which will help his comprehension. I'm very excited to continue working with my student and continue to teach my class! :)

LONDON!

So Monday morning we woke up incredibly early because we had to move out of our dorm rooms before we left for London. We had to catch a 7:15am train so this meant waking up at 5 and taking all of our luggage to a conference room across campus than taking a taxi to the train station. Once we arrived at the train station we hopped on our train to London! We had one transfer, but things went smoothly. When we arrived in London Dr. P met us at the train station and walked us to our hotel. Andrea, Jessie, and I all shared a room. After we settled in we headed to see the sights! We decided to do a hop on hop off tour. It took us to all the major sights and was really cheap! The first day we saw the princess Diana memorial, Harrods, Buckingham Palace and Piccadilly. We even got to see many ambassadors and the Prime Minister! That night in London they were having a concert for the Queen. The main performers were Elton John and Paul McCartney. We could hear the concert but couldn't see them, however some people in our group went to the concert later that night and go to enter onto the palace grounds. The second day was consumed with seeing the sights and going on a boat tour. As we were approaching Big Ben we noticed small crowds and many police men. We asked on officer what everyone was doing and he told us the queen would be driving by very shortly! We were lucky enough to see the Queen drive by and I even got a video. After seeing the Queen we went on a boat ride through the Thames. We also got to see the eye and the Tower Bridge. Then we headed back to our rooms to rest before getting up and going to Spain!

Beatles Tour!

So as most people know the Beatles are from Liverpool. Each year many students go on tours to visit the childhood homes of the Beatles as see things they wrote their songs about. This was such an awesome experience. I was reluctant at first because I have never particularly cared for the Beatles. Sure I knew some songs and knew 3 of the four members. (John Lennon, Sir Paul McCartney, and Ringo Star) Now I know there was a Beatle names George =) We go to see some awesome local spots such as, Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane. We also got to see the childhood homes of each of the Beatles. I learned so many awesome things about this group. I am so happy I went! Here are some pictures of the tour!

We go to sign our names on the Penny Lane Street Sign!

 Mine is in the middle of the "P"!

 This is our group outside of Strawberry Field!

This is a sleeping baby picture I made our group take because I knew my family would love it =)

Week 3 - Attempt 2, to go out!

So Thursday I woke up with a splitting headache and the last thing I wanted to do was go sit in class. I made it through the morning and began feeling better with each cup of coffee. The plan for the last 2 weeks was the whole group of 21 of us was going to go to the clubs Thursday night. I knew if I was going to go out again I was going to need a nap before we went out. Some people in our group have been really sick lately and they weren't feeling well enough to go out with the group. Andrea was one of the sicky's, so Michele, Lindsay, Jessie, and I decided to print a picture of her face and put her on cardboard and take her out with us. Well we of course couldn't leave Dr. P out so we made one of his face too. We kept it a secret from the group to surprise them when we showed up the pre-drink at the boy's dorm. After about an hour of dancing in the common room we decided to go to a pub called Brock House. In the UK they pre-pre-drink at their house, then pre-drink at the pub or bar, then drink at the club, then post-drink at home. Obvi the Americans can't quite keep up with them, but we do like to tag along. =) So after Brock House we decided to go to a bar called Baa Bar. There were about 15 American students and 8 British students, and one British student dressed up in a dragon costume. When we left Bailey, Dana, and myself were in the last cab. When we arrived at Baa bar we went inside but we couldn't find anyone form our group. We searched the whole bar (which was not packed at all) and asked the bouncer if he had seen about 15 americans come in. He said he hadn't so we knew something was wrong. We decided to walk down the street and start checking other bars thinking that maybe they had left Baa Bar. We searched for an hour and a half and checked every bar we walked past. I would ask the bouncers if they had seen about 15 Americans and a kid dressed in a dragon costume. No one had seen our group. After an hour and a half we gave up looking and decided to go home. We were beyond pissed at this point because our group was not at the meeting point that they said they would be at. Our night had not turned out as we had hoped and we spent more on cab rides than we did drinks. To make maters worse I didn't have a purse that matched my outfit so I had Jessie hold my money and room key, Jamie hold my phone, and Dana hold my Passport. When I went back to my room I realized I had no way of waking myself up for class today. So I asked Dana to come bang on my door around 8:30 to make sure I was awake. When I woke up this morning at 7 because my body is apparently used to never sleeping in past 6:30 I began to get ready and wait for Dana. When I heard the knock this morning it was Jessie and Dana at the door we began to ask her where they were and she answered saying Baa Bar. So with much irritation we went to breakfast and everyone asked where WE went last night. They said they were worried about us and waited for us for an hour. I told them we went to Baa Bar and asked where they went. To which they replied Baa Bar. Then we discovered there are 2 Baa Bars in the fine city of Liverpool. Evidently our cab driver dropped us off at the wrong one and ruined our night. I was very pleased to hear that no one left us intentionally and it was all one big mistake. Hopefully attempt 3 at going out in Liverpool with be less dramatic and less chaotic! Here are some pictures of the cardboard heads, and some from the night.

Week 3 - Attempt 1, to go out!

Now for more interesting updates! Now one thing you have to know about the UK's bar situation is that there are 3 different types of establishments when you can get your drink on. First you have a pub. A pub is a family place where you will see all ages and even pets! Pubs close early and usually don't have loud music or any dancing. Then there is a bar. A bar is more for dancing and listening to music, but they close at midnight and thats when the clubs open. A club is a total rager. People dance and drink until 3 or 4 am.
On Wednesday I went with some people form class to a pub called 5 ways to get some margaritas. Afterwards some people mentioned going to a club called Medication. We all went back to our rooms to change and get ready to go out. I skyped with Taylor and drank some wine while I waited on everyone to come to my room. Once we finally left we got in cabs to go to this club. We had heard several times that  if you are going out on a Wednesday Medication was the place to go. When we arrived the club was closed. -_- So we headed down the road and found a bar called faculty. When we walked up a british girl started yelling USA and told us to come in and get a drink with her. Once we got inside we all began dancing and before we knew it the place was packed and we were swearting like crazy. I met some girls and danced with them for a while and took pictures with them. When it was time to go I grabbed my purse and made sure I had my phone. I of course could not find it was instantly panicked. I asked everyone I was with and no one knew where it was. I went back inside to check the floor of the bar and was basically on my hands and knees searching. I finally decided to ask the bartender if anyone had turned in a pink iPhone. To my surprise someone had turned my phone. I am probably the most blessed person ever! Once I had my phone again we decided to head back to our dorms because we had class early on Thursday. Here is a picture of the girls i met!

Week 3 - boring updates

So far this week has been pretty normal and routine. We went to the school  on Wednesday and participated in their olympic games. It was a long day and we didn't observe any teaching. So far during our 3 visits we have only seen them in an instructional setting once. This will make teaching a bit more troublesome because they look at us as their friends and it may be a tough transition when we begin to instruct them. Jessie, Bailey, and I have decided to do our 6 day unit on America. The students really want to learn about 9/11 so we will teach a history lesson on that and one on the revolutionary war. We will begin teaching once we get back from London and Spain.
We have to switch rooms after we get back form our week off, but we have to have our rooms packed up by Monday morning. Our train leaves at 7:30am so Monday will be an early day. However Andrea, Jessie, and I will all be rooming in the same hotel room, and we are super excited about that!