Saturday, August 7
It's Saturday, and my trip has almost come to an end. All there is left to do is pack everything up and meet the group for dinner tonight. Fortunately, I've almost finished packing, so the hard part will be over soon.
I can't believe it's time to go back home and to the real world. This has been an amazing experience, one I will never forget. I've seen sights and had experiences that up until now I had only read about or seen through pictures and videos. They do not do them justice. While I am taking home many of my own photographs and videos, I am taking home much more, a new perspective on the world and life.
Tomorrow morning, we meet the vans at 7:30 am to head to the airport for the long flight back. We are scheduled to arrive at Raleigh-Durham at 2:45 pm EST. After that, it's all over. My new job starts Tuesday, and classes will start two weeks after that.
I hope this blog has been an interesting representation of my experiences in England. It's been fun and useful to put them down and give myself a chance to really reflect on it all.
See you at home soon.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
I'm Back!!!
Wednesday, August 3
Sorry for the hiatus, but it's been difficult getting to a computer for the last few days. We've been on the go almost non-stop.
Last week:
On Wednesday, we traveled to London for the day, which was a nice experience. We saw the major tourist spots (Big Ben, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, etc.), but we also go to just enjoy watching people and London life go by. The British Museum was interesting. Both the mummy and rosetta stone exhibits are worth seeing once in your life.
On Thursday, we went to Winchester and Portsmouth. Winchester is a quaint little town with lots of history. As you may know, it was at one time the capital of England, so there are lots of historic sites. The Great Hall, housing what they believe may be the actual round table from the mythical King Arthur, was our first stop. Winchester Cathedral is quite impressive as well. I found myself wanting to see everything and using up more time there than I meant to. The architecture is outstanding; it's breathtaking to seeing it first hand. Also, Jane Austen is buried there, so the English teacher side of me was interested to see that. Next we went to the ruins of the Winchester castle. It really puts our sense of history as Americans in perspective to see something like that. It seems sometimes that the newest thing over here is older than the oldest thing in the U.S. After Winchester, we took a bus to Portsmouth. It was a short trip, but we did take a bout tour of the harbor and got to see multiple ships from the Royal Navy, both in and out of commission. The scenery was beautiful.
Friday we had class as per usual, toying with varying writing styles and technologies.
On Saturday morning, we took a bus to Oxford which was cool to see. The universities were awe-inspiring, as I assumed the would be. It also happened to be graduation day, so we saw many graduates walking the streets in their robes and hoods. Saturday afternoon, my group of five took a train to Edinburgh, Scotland. We didn't arrive until 11:00 or so that night, so we went to the hostel and got some sleep. Sunday and Monday turned out to be interesting days. We (probably I) had the great idea to try to tackle the Edinburgh Pub Trail, a series of pubs spread across the city. Basically, if you visited and ordered at ten of them, you received a shirt commemorating your victory. We took the challenge and were successful. I was amazed, however, to find out that, because of the trail, we saw more of the city than we ever would have otherwise. It was a wonderful experience, one that I would gladly do again if given the opportunity. Monday night we flew back to London, on a delayed flight. This caused us to miss the last train back to Guildford and ultimately to our beds at the university. We were honestly worried we would have to sleep on the platform and take the earliest train back Tuesday morning. Fortunately for us, one of the train station staff took pity on us. He got us our own coach (a bus that holds 50 people), and it took us directly back to our dorms. Free of charge I might add. So that worked out well.
Tuesday we went to Chawton and toured the Chawton House Library and the Jane Austen house. Both were very interesting and informative.
Wednesday, today, we had class (back to the grind). All of our assignments are due tomorrow, so this evening has been a blur of people running around trying to get assignments done, trying to figure out what assignments are due, and just looking overall stressed. But my work is done, complete, and turned in, so I'm good (just enjoying a little reading before bed).
Tomorrow we have class in the morning, then a dinner cruise on the river for lunch, and class in the afternoon. It will be our last official day of class, so I can say that we are all looking forward to it (I know I am).
Friday and Saturday are free days, and there are groups heading out for various other cities. We're still trying to decide what we are going to do. We think we will head to London Friday morning, take a train to Wimbledon, and take the tour of the courts and museum. Then we will probably head over to tour Chelsea FC's (the professional soccer team) field, clubhouse, and museum that afternoon. We're trying to sort out the details before tomorrow. On Saturday, we may head over to Canterbury to check out the shrine of Thomas a Beckett and whatever else they have (the cathedral no doubt).
And finally, we leave from the university at about 7:30 am on Sunday to head for the airport and our long journey home. This is a wonderful place, one I want to visit again (and possibly move to teach), but for now, I'm ready to get home and lie in my own bed.
See you then
Sorry for the hiatus, but it's been difficult getting to a computer for the last few days. We've been on the go almost non-stop.
Last week:
On Wednesday, we traveled to London for the day, which was a nice experience. We saw the major tourist spots (Big Ben, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, etc.), but we also go to just enjoy watching people and London life go by. The British Museum was interesting. Both the mummy and rosetta stone exhibits are worth seeing once in your life.
On Thursday, we went to Winchester and Portsmouth. Winchester is a quaint little town with lots of history. As you may know, it was at one time the capital of England, so there are lots of historic sites. The Great Hall, housing what they believe may be the actual round table from the mythical King Arthur, was our first stop. Winchester Cathedral is quite impressive as well. I found myself wanting to see everything and using up more time there than I meant to. The architecture is outstanding; it's breathtaking to seeing it first hand. Also, Jane Austen is buried there, so the English teacher side of me was interested to see that. Next we went to the ruins of the Winchester castle. It really puts our sense of history as Americans in perspective to see something like that. It seems sometimes that the newest thing over here is older than the oldest thing in the U.S. After Winchester, we took a bus to Portsmouth. It was a short trip, but we did take a bout tour of the harbor and got to see multiple ships from the Royal Navy, both in and out of commission. The scenery was beautiful.
Friday we had class as per usual, toying with varying writing styles and technologies.
On Saturday morning, we took a bus to Oxford which was cool to see. The universities were awe-inspiring, as I assumed the would be. It also happened to be graduation day, so we saw many graduates walking the streets in their robes and hoods. Saturday afternoon, my group of five took a train to Edinburgh, Scotland. We didn't arrive until 11:00 or so that night, so we went to the hostel and got some sleep. Sunday and Monday turned out to be interesting days. We (probably I) had the great idea to try to tackle the Edinburgh Pub Trail, a series of pubs spread across the city. Basically, if you visited and ordered at ten of them, you received a shirt commemorating your victory. We took the challenge and were successful. I was amazed, however, to find out that, because of the trail, we saw more of the city than we ever would have otherwise. It was a wonderful experience, one that I would gladly do again if given the opportunity. Monday night we flew back to London, on a delayed flight. This caused us to miss the last train back to Guildford and ultimately to our beds at the university. We were honestly worried we would have to sleep on the platform and take the earliest train back Tuesday morning. Fortunately for us, one of the train station staff took pity on us. He got us our own coach (a bus that holds 50 people), and it took us directly back to our dorms. Free of charge I might add. So that worked out well.
Tuesday we went to Chawton and toured the Chawton House Library and the Jane Austen house. Both were very interesting and informative.
Wednesday, today, we had class (back to the grind). All of our assignments are due tomorrow, so this evening has been a blur of people running around trying to get assignments done, trying to figure out what assignments are due, and just looking overall stressed. But my work is done, complete, and turned in, so I'm good (just enjoying a little reading before bed).
Tomorrow we have class in the morning, then a dinner cruise on the river for lunch, and class in the afternoon. It will be our last official day of class, so I can say that we are all looking forward to it (I know I am).
Friday and Saturday are free days, and there are groups heading out for various other cities. We're still trying to decide what we are going to do. We think we will head to London Friday morning, take a train to Wimbledon, and take the tour of the courts and museum. Then we will probably head over to tour Chelsea FC's (the professional soccer team) field, clubhouse, and museum that afternoon. We're trying to sort out the details before tomorrow. On Saturday, we may head over to Canterbury to check out the shrine of Thomas a Beckett and whatever else they have (the cathedral no doubt).
And finally, we leave from the university at about 7:30 am on Sunday to head for the airport and our long journey home. This is a wonderful place, one I want to visit again (and possibly move to teach), but for now, I'm ready to get home and lie in my own bed.
See you then
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Classwork is Tough
Tuesday July 26
It's 9:00 am, and I'm just getting started in class. Today we have several things on the agenda. We are going to work a little with Google Docs, which I already know a good bit about, but perhaps I will learn something I didn't know. After that, one of the professors is going to give us a lecture on the cultural relevance of pubs in the UK. Then comes the hard part. We are heading into Guilford, splitting up into groups, and going to pubs to "collect data," which I can only imagine means "sample pints." It sounds like a quite difficult assignment, but because I value my education, I will give it my all.
Tonight, Dr. Cordery is planning to give us a lecture on Charles Dickens, so that should be worth listening to. Other than that, I don't know everything that's on tap.
It's 9:00 am, and I'm just getting started in class. Today we have several things on the agenda. We are going to work a little with Google Docs, which I already know a good bit about, but perhaps I will learn something I didn't know. After that, one of the professors is going to give us a lecture on the cultural relevance of pubs in the UK. Then comes the hard part. We are heading into Guilford, splitting up into groups, and going to pubs to "collect data," which I can only imagine means "sample pints." It sounds like a quite difficult assignment, but because I value my education, I will give it my all.
Tonight, Dr. Cordery is planning to give us a lecture on Charles Dickens, so that should be worth listening to. Other than that, I don't know everything that's on tap.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Class Has Begun...
Monday, July 25
We got into our real reason for being here today. Class began. For the most part, it was interesting. We spent the bulk of the day exploring campus and taking pictures to create a Google map of the campus with our images. We had fun doing that. We also wrote a poem about ourselves, which I wasn't terribly excited about.
Now we're hanging out at a pub on campus, getting the last of our classwork done. Then we're going into Guilford to have dinner and see the sights.
Tomorrow, we're back in the classroom. Hopefully we'll have the time to sight see tomorrow night as well. Right now I'm looking forward to this weekend. We're going to Oxford to see the university; then a few of us are taking a train to Scotland. That should be a good experience.
Talk to you tomorrow.
We got into our real reason for being here today. Class began. For the most part, it was interesting. We spent the bulk of the day exploring campus and taking pictures to create a Google map of the campus with our images. We had fun doing that. We also wrote a poem about ourselves, which I wasn't terribly excited about.
Now we're hanging out at a pub on campus, getting the last of our classwork done. Then we're going into Guilford to have dinner and see the sights.
Tomorrow, we're back in the classroom. Hopefully we'll have the time to sight see tomorrow night as well. Right now I'm looking forward to this weekend. We're going to Oxford to see the university; then a few of us are taking a train to Scotland. That should be a good experience.
Talk to you tomorrow.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
I'm Finally Here...
Sunday, July 24--Surrey England
Well, after a long, uncomfortable, and miserable flight, I made it to England. We made it to the dorms and checked in before taking off and exploring for the day. I have seen pretty much everything the University of Surrey has to offer, and I did a walking tour of Guilford. In Guilford, we saw everything from Guilford Castle, dating back to William the Conqueror and 1066, to a jolly well-dressed group playing what looked like serious (possibly professional) lawn bowling. I had my first fish and chips and a couple of local English pints.
Overall, it's been a good day, although it has been tough to force myself to stay awake; I wasn't able to sleep at all on the plane, so I've been up a significant number of hours. I am, however, going straight to bed when I finish this post. When I have more energy, I'll post more specific updates, pictures, etc., but I don't have the energy right now.
Tomorrow, we spend the bulk of the day in class, so I'm looking forward to getting started. This is going to be a great experience.
Well, after a long, uncomfortable, and miserable flight, I made it to England. We made it to the dorms and checked in before taking off and exploring for the day. I have seen pretty much everything the University of Surrey has to offer, and I did a walking tour of Guilford. In Guilford, we saw everything from Guilford Castle, dating back to William the Conqueror and 1066, to a jolly well-dressed group playing what looked like serious (possibly professional) lawn bowling. I had my first fish and chips and a couple of local English pints.
Overall, it's been a good day, although it has been tough to force myself to stay awake; I wasn't able to sleep at all on the plane, so I've been up a significant number of hours. I am, however, going straight to bed when I finish this post. When I have more energy, I'll post more specific updates, pictures, etc., but I don't have the energy right now.
Tomorrow, we spend the bulk of the day in class, so I'm looking forward to getting started. This is going to be a great experience.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
I'm Off.....
Saturday, July 23
Today I leave for England, more specifically, Surrey England. I am privileged enough to have the opportunity to take a course on integrating technology and writing at the University of Surrey. The purpose of this blog is to keep those interested updated on my day to day experiences. I couldn't be more excited to take this journey and bring back a wealth of classroom and life knowledge. As an English teacher and doctoral student, this should offer me a brand new perspective on English education, and possibly more important, on writing and what it means to be a writer. As a writer, I look forward to interacting with new tools and technologies to be used in my own writing and in my students' writing. The definition of writing and what it means to be literate have evolved immensely; isn't it time we look at changing with them?
Today's agenda: I should arrive at approximately 6:15 (England time) at Heathrow Airport. By 11:00 am, I should arrive at the University of Surrey to check in before heading out to purchase supplies and lunch. We have the remainder of the day to ourselves to relax and acclimatize our internal clocks. Class begins at 9:30 Monday morning.
I hope you find my blog on learning and travel as interesting as I expect it will be to live. Please feel free to use the comment tool to ask questions, make suggestions, and leave comments.
Cheerio
Today I leave for England, more specifically, Surrey England. I am privileged enough to have the opportunity to take a course on integrating technology and writing at the University of Surrey. The purpose of this blog is to keep those interested updated on my day to day experiences. I couldn't be more excited to take this journey and bring back a wealth of classroom and life knowledge. As an English teacher and doctoral student, this should offer me a brand new perspective on English education, and possibly more important, on writing and what it means to be a writer. As a writer, I look forward to interacting with new tools and technologies to be used in my own writing and in my students' writing. The definition of writing and what it means to be literate have evolved immensely; isn't it time we look at changing with them?
Today's agenda: I should arrive at approximately 6:15 (England time) at Heathrow Airport. By 11:00 am, I should arrive at the University of Surrey to check in before heading out to purchase supplies and lunch. We have the remainder of the day to ourselves to relax and acclimatize our internal clocks. Class begins at 9:30 Monday morning.
I hope you find my blog on learning and travel as interesting as I expect it will be to live. Please feel free to use the comment tool to ask questions, make suggestions, and leave comments.
Cheerio
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