A lovely time

Great job Beth on the trivia!!!! The question of whether or not Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are their own countries is a question still in debate here. The response I have received from most people is that if they have a football team that places at the international level, then they are their own country. Hence, England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland all have their individual football teams; most would consider them their own country. As Eric mentioned, Scotland has its own Parliament as well. Who knows the technical answer though…not really sure.

The question for next time: How many lines are on the underground and which line was temporarily suspended due to a strike by tube drivers?

A new week here in London and I know it has been a bit since my last posting, but you will all have to cope. I have been continuing my work here at the behavioural unit of my secondary school. It has been quite interesting as fifth period I find myself roaming the corridors and dealing with all the unruly pupils in C block, darn 10th years. The funny thing is I sometimes create more of a ruckus because of my height. They will ask how tall I am and if I answer, they then want to know where I am from. When America comes out, they all have questions, want to make fun of my accent, or think it is funny. So I now do not speak if not necessary. It is quite fun.

I finally have a full grasp on the English school system because they have different years than we do. They also have forms. So if a pupil is in year 10 form 2 or 10.2, this means he is in year 10 with group 2. Unlike the US, pupils here stay with the same group of students (forms) for his entire duration in secondary school. Year 11 is the last compulsory year of school, but there is lower and upper sixth after, which pupils can attend if they like. This would be equivalent to our 12th and 13th grade and the work is more specific to their desired career. Other students go directly to work. After upper 6th form pupils would move on to Uni or university.

Last week the weather was quite dreary. It was cloudy nearly the entire week and we had some spotted showers. On Tuesday I worked at an AIDS charity foundation. I saw loads of famous people, none I recognised though. There were British soap opera stars, comedians, and news broadcasters. The people I worked with kept saying have you seen this person or did you know who you were just talking too. After a while I did not care anymore. I am excited for working with the Queen though (some day hopefully).

Wednesday was the England vs. Poland match. I went to a pub in Bayswater with my flatmate and met Emily there at halftime. The match went quite well with England on top 2-1. Beckham did not play because of two yellow cards in the previous match against Austria. Rooney did play and quite well he played.

Thursday found me laying low for the evening at home. Making a quite superb dinner in my mind and then catching an interesting show on BBC about a business that was about to tank. I met Emily in Hammersmith to tour the area and have a nice chat. That night we saw the Apollo and an advert for Keith Urban the next night. We decided Friday night we would attend the concert. The walk was quite nice with Hammersmith being a somewhat posh neighbourhood.

Friday was an easy day of work. School started an hour later because of an open house the night before so I was able to get some extra sleep. After a day of no students because of bunking (skipping) and no internal exclusions (in-school suspension), I had quite a chill day. I went home, had dinner and then met Emily for a pint, or several, and off we headed to the Keith Urban concert. Tickets were not too expensive. The concert was loads of fun, listening to some great country, especially to a couple of songs I absolutely love. Post concert, Emily and I bought some chips (French fries) and sat in the pavilion with fountains. All in all it was a great evening.

Saturday I woke up nice and early and went for a great run. I then decided to head to Richmond for the day. This is still in London, but not in central London. I went to the natural reserve, one of Europe’s largest parks, or so the sign said. This park has a massive red deer population. Being October and the season when deer partake in sexual activities, the park was quite active. I stumbled upon a herd of female with one massive buck. This buck was chasing four young eager bucks away from his spoil. This lasted for about ten minutes and when he finally ridded himself of these nuisances a large herd of females came running over the top of the hill, followed by another huge buck. What proceeded was amazing. I witnessed a buck fight for about 10 minutes all of 15 feet from me. The first buck was victorious and returned bloody and very tired. The young bucks that had been chased away had returned during the distraction and were chasing the ladies around. One of the younger bucks took about 25 females and took off, something Alex would do. Of all the places to see this, not Africa, not Balsam Lake, but in London. Richmond, the town, was quite lovely. It is a small village situated on the Thames with stone arch bridges and cobble stone roads. I watched the sunset on the top of a hill over the Thames and the surrounding countryside. I walked several miles along the Thames and saw a magnificent mansion with a full moon rising behind it. Absolutely brilliant.

Sunday I went for a run in Regent’s Park and then went to the British Museum with Alex from my VISION trip. I then stumbled upon Diwabli, an Indian holiday I believe that celebrates the New Year or something similar. I was among 40,000 Indians dancing and singing; it was quite fun. I then met Erik for dinner and a drink in Soho.

All in all my weekend was fabulous.

This next week brings new opportunities and a trip out of London. More on that next time though!

Happy 5th birthday to Jordan and £$ to Andy on the 23rd

Emailing has become out of control. Right now it is about a 3 to 4 week waiting period to receive a reply. I apolgise but it is necessary.