It’s been a few days since I’ve written, but there’s not too too much to update you on.
Sunday, February 19
Just like I predicted…lazy Sunday. I went to the noon Mass which was so much better than the latin choir Mass I went to the week before. I wasn’t cold, the music kept me awake, and the whole atmosphere was just much better. Plus I got to sleep in, so no complaints at all for that! The rest of the day was pretty lazy. I was productive in doing some work, but I don’t think I left the flat much if at all.
Monday, February 20
Monday was my first full day at St. Marylebone National School. It started off a bit rocky with not very clear instructions, but then once we got our time table (schedule) it all went smoothly. So here’s my Monday schedule.
Arrive at 8:15 and go with my Year 8 Form (homeroom)
Period 1: Church service- it’s a Church of England school, so they have service every Monday. This week was about reverence, and it was definitely interesting to sit in on.
Period 2: Year 11 English class
Period 3 & 4: Six Form English class (year 12 & 13, coed)
Lunch
Period 5: Year 7 English class with a First Year teacher which is basically the equivalent to our Teach for American program
Period 6: Year 8 English class.
Done at 3:30! It’s exhausting, but all I really did this time was sit and observe. The biggest difference I’ve noticed (other than the whole system/set up) was the terminology.
“We have revision for our mocks for our AS.” UM WHAT. But most of it got explained to me eventually over the day.
More fun changes
*All the teachers are called “Miss.” Just Miss, no name.
*at this particular school they can’t wear any nail polish & not much face make up at all really. Before Period 1 there were so many girls in the front reception area taking off their nail polish from half term…
*half term: sort of like our spring break in-between 2 terms (school system is 6 terms I believe)
Sitting in a class of all girls, in their uniform, speaking with British accents..just blows my mind. One girl said that I had a cool accent….which is a shock to me seeing as the American “nonaccent” is not cool at all…
As of the class subjects, a lot of it is very comparable to our American English classes. Throughout the day we talked about topic sentences, essay planning, Yates, Macbeth, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and more.
After spending the day at St. Marylebone, we had our Teaching & Learning class Monday night. Nothing too exciting to report from that, and that was Monday!
Tuesday, February 21
Tuesday morning was just GST class & London Theater class. Nothing much to share just the usual. Oh. Except for the fact that Katie Gonino, and I had a serious class of the giggles. You know those days when nothing is really funny, but once you’re set off you’re done for? Yep. That was us. And it was even worse because we had to hold it back for not 1 class, but 2. We clearly thought it was hilarious, so I wish I could share it, but I know it won’t come across as very funny. For example, Brits say “toy boy” instead of “boy toy.” Yeah…didn’t think it would come across well via the internet. Oh well.
Tuesday night we went to our second theater performance. This time we say In Basildon in the Royal Court Theater. This is the theater for new writing, and last night’s performance was technically the last preview before it opened today. The theater itself was very different than Old Vic from last week. It was pretty small, and we sat in these comfy leather chairs. The stage was in the center, and there were two sides of the stage where people sat. Almost like two half circles just around the poles…if that makes any sense. So that was cool. The play itself I’m still a bit undecided on. It was about a working class family that was very dysfunctional. I appreciated the plot, and I know a lot of people could relate to it. Even though I couldn’t relate, it made me very grateful to be blessed with a great family and great family relations. But like I said, the verdict is still off for my opinion of the play.
The play was very slow. And “soapy.” I think if about 30 minutes could be cut out, it’d be much better. My favorite part includes the second half of Act 1 and the first half of Act 2. The rest dragged on a bit too much for my liking. Regardless, it was a very cool experience to see another type of play in another type of theater- especially since it’s a brand new play. So that was Tuesday!
Today- Ash Wednesday!
It’s only 11:45, so not much has happened yet today, but I did go to Mass this morning to receive ashes. So Happy Lent! I’m really blessed to have a Catholic church just 10 minutes walking distance. Well. That’s it for today! Sorry this blog has no pictures….it’s been a pretty low key past few days.
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