Oops....

Hi there!

I just wanted to let you know that I'm working very hard on a new blog message about my first week at Groby College. I'll post it as soon as I've finished it. There just isn't a lot of time to write blog messages nowadays. But you will read all about that in my upcoming blog message!

Lots of love,

Lindsay

First week at Groby and much more...

It's been a long time, I know... But there isn't a lot to write about these days. The lessons at Groby are very fun and interesting, but not very interesting to write about. So I decided to describe the whole week to you in one go. So, here we go...

Our days all pretty much look the same: get up, get dressed, have breakfast, go to Groby, teach or co-teach a couple of lessons, go home (or take a detour through Sainsbury's), work some more for school (lesson preparations etc), have a meal, try to relax and go to bed.

I've already told you about my adventures on Monday. The rest of the week was just as interesting. On Tuesday, I had to teach a very difficult French class with Evi. This was not easy. Then, Evi and I assisted the teacher in Travel and Tourism. I had the rest of the day 'off' (which means I had to sit in the staff room and work for school).
Wednesday started off very relaxed with a history 'lesson'. The teacher just sat in the room and waited for pupils to come in and show him their essays. Then, Evi and I helped in Food. This sounds really fun and interesting, but it wasn't... The pupils had to do some coursework on the computer. So we couldn't really help much. In the afternoon, I helped out in an English lesson.
Thursday was also a fun day. Ann and I had filmstudies, which was really fun. We didn't have to teach yet, but we got to know the class a bit better (there were only 5 students!). Then I had another French lesson. Again, all we had to do was read questions from a booklet. After French, Timmy, Evi, Ann and I had another history lesson. In the afternoon, I had a rendez-vous with Tanja in yet another French lesson. We had to read questions again, but this time we didn't really mind. This was a very fun and motivated class.
Friday was heaven: the last day before the week-end! I started the day by taking over my tutor's tutor group. Then, Timmy joined Evi and me in a French lesson. After French, Evi and I went to a theoretical PE lesson. Then I had another 'history' lesson (the one where the teacher sits in his room and waits for his students). I finished the day with another French lesson. This time, we had to do some roleplays, which was a lot different from the questions.



Finally! The weekend!!! That evening, we all went to see 'The performing arts festival' at Groby College. This is an event where Groby College students perform for their parents, peers and teachers. It was wonderful! Some of the students are really talented. After the festival, we went into Leicester and met up with Sophie, the Belgian girl who moved here a couple of years ago. We first had a drink in a club. But since we are not really clubbers, Sophie took us to a nice youth pub. We ended up having a really good time. At the end, we were almost thrown out of the pub (last call and all that...). Because most of us were hungry, we decided to have a bite to eat before heading back to Desford. I had a steak and kidney pie, which was lovely. That night, I slept like a baby...

On Saturday, we all went to Leicester (again). We visited the archeological museum (again) and went shopping (again). I bought a new pair of jeans (only £10!) and some Shaun the Sheep underwear ;-)

I also bought another hedgehog. His name is Konker. Isn't he cute?



That night, we wanted to have diner in a pub. But we left the house a bit too late and all the pubs were full. So we hade some take-out. I had an extremely spicy curry. Apparently, I made some funny noises in my sleep that night...

On Sunday, we were all very tired and groggy. We weren't looking forward to working for school at all... Molly and Dave felt bad for us because we could'nt have diner in the pub the night before. So we had our Sunday Diner at the Lancaster Arms, a pub in Desford. I had a lovely fish dish. We all went home feeling pretty tired and stuffed. The rest of the day, we worked for school. I planned on filling in my blog that night, but unfortunately there wasn't any time left.

I'll tell you all about our second week at Groby College in the next blog message...

Byebye!!!

xxx

Borders and schools

Hi there!

A lot of interesting things happened today! But first, let me talk you through the rest of our weekend.

On Saturday, we eventually decided that we needed a break and we did go to Borders. We walked about in the shop for about an hour. Then, we all had a frappuchino from Starbucks. We came home carrying a lot of books. I held back a bit: I only bought 5 books! And I’m still trying to figure out which one I should read first. So in the meantime, I borrowed a book from Molly (she’s got a lot of books!). That night, Molly made us a pizza. It was delicious! For desert, we had home-made custard. Guess who made it… Timmy and I did! Well to be fair, it wasn’t that difficult…
Sunday was another hard day of work. We made lesson preparations all day long. Molly spoiled us again with a big breakfast and Sunday diner. After diner, Tanja, Natalia and I went to the local “video shop”. Actually, it used to be a video shop. When we got there, it turned out that the video shop was no longer there: it had turned into a night shop. But I did find a cash point in Desford!

And now: today! Today was very interesting. I taught French, P.E. and History. French was co-teaching with Evi, Tanja and Natalia. It was very easy: all we had to do was read questions from a booklet. Then, Evi and I helped in a P.E. lesson. This was quite different from what I’m used to. After P.E., it was time for history. Evi, Timmy, Ann and I did a carrousel work on the history of medicine in the Middle Ages. It’s a lot more interesting than it sounds! One of the disadvantages of teaching in an English school is that you can’t leave the school if you have a free period. We have to stay in school all day.

After school, we went on a short trip to Sainsbury’s. We needed some school supplies (folders and things like that).

I think I’ll have an early night today. I’m very tired (so is everybody else).
Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday, which means: pancakes for diner! Yum!

See ya!

Knights, cathedrals and Robin Hood

Hi there!

Things are still fine in Leicester... Molly's cooking is great, everybody is healthy (sort of) and the weather is British.

On Tuesday, we went to Warwick Castle. When we got there, I kind of got the feeling that I was in a theme park. The car park was enormous and it was a pretty long walk to the castle. We had to pay £15 to get in (= student rate!). We immediately saw that there was a lot of animation around the castle: there were knights and princesses, children could learn how to use a sword, there was a falconer, you could buy some medieval food and you could see a medieval trebuchet in action! The castle itself was not that big (compared to other castles I've visited), but it was beautifully decorated. It's owned by the Madame Tussaud's Group. So they inserted a lot of wax figures. It was really nice. We ended up spending the whole day there. We were all pretty tired when we got home. Luckily, Molly had prepared a wonderful spaghetti sauce. She and Dave didn't stay with us for diner: they went to visit some friends.

Wednesday was a bit more laid-back. We had some brunch (it was too late for breakfast) and we went to Leicester. Ann and Natalia stayed at home to work on their end work. This time, we didn't go shopping: we actually explored 'cultural' Leicester. We visited the Cathedral (which was really just a big church) and the Guild House. Then, we took a long walk. We accidentally stopped in some shoe shops along the way. Then, we visited the Archeological Museum. This was very small, but very interesting. We went home, feeling a bit cold (it had been raining all day). Molly made a lovely fishcake for tea. For desert: apple pie or apple crumble. It really was a devastating choice! I eventually went for apple crumble (+ custard!).

Thursday was 'workday'. We all stayed home and worked for school. Molly and Dave took their grandson (little Dan) to see their son (Big Dan), who lives in Newcastle. We decided to benefit from the silence in the house (little Dan can be a bit noisy sometimes). But Molly would never leave us without food! So she made us a rice dish, which we just had to pop in the oven for half an hour. You know what they say about all work and no play... so after diner, we all went to the pub. I finally had a bitter (yes, a real bitter, not an I-can't-believe-it's-not-bitter!). Boddingtons Baby!

Then on Friday, we went to Robin Hood country: Nottingham. Our first stop: Starbucks! Then, on to Nottingham castle. Of course, this wasn't as big as Warwick Castle, but still... It was worth a visit. The surrounding gardens were stunning. There was also a museum, where you could learn about the history of Nottingham. After we had our lunch in the Castle Café, we took a walk through Nottingham. At first, we wanted to visit the Caves of Nottingham. But that turned out to be less interesting than we thought. So we visited something called 'Crime and Punishment' at the Galleries of Justice Museum. It was a lot of fun! We were treated as real criminals. Evi, Timmy, Natalia and Ann even got tried by the sheriff of Nottingham! It was a very fun and interactive experience. When we got home that night, it was our turn to cook for Molly and Dave. Evi made a wonderful pasta dish (tagliatelle, smoked salmon, cream, garlic and chives) and I made my bread pudding for desert. After diner, we saw 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2'. Well, the others saw 'Pirates'... I saw Captain Jack Sparrow and fell asleep.

Today is also going to be a quiet day. This weekend is completely dedicated to 'SCHOOL'. Still, if we work hard enough today, we might pop over to 'Borders' later this afternoon. As I said, all work and no play...

Anyway, I'm starting to feel a little bit nervous about teaching on Monday...

And P.S.: I passed! :-)

To blog or not to blog. That's the question.

Hello!

I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. I really should fill in my blog more often...

On Saturday, Molly and Dave came back from Australia. We all had a cup of tea/coffee together. After Molly and Dave settled a bit, Evi and I made eggy bread. After breakfast/brunch, we all took off, so that Molly and Dave could relax. We decided to spend Valentine's Day in Leicester (we needed a break after the horrible Friday the 13the Experience). We really wanted to explore the city, but somehow we ended up shopping. I bought yet another sweater (a purple one), some make-up (that's right, Lindsay wears make-up from now on) and two books:

• My Grammar and I (or should that be 'me'?) - Old-school ways to sharpen your English
• Remember, Remember (the fifth of November) - A history of Britain in Bite-Sized Chunks

As you can see, being a teacher is not just about standing in front of a classroom: the teacher is always hidden inside you. I can never stop looking for didactic material.

After a long, hard day of shopping, we all went to a Chinese all you can eat buffet restaurant. We all thought it was very nice. Unfortunately, our bellies didn't share our opinion. Later that night, we all went clubbing. Imagine me in a club! Later, we found out that we went to the wrong side of town: apparently, we went out in the 'Asian' part of town. We were wondering about all those turbans... I ended up having a good time. But I still don't think clubbing is my cup of tea.

Sunday was very laid back. We all slept late. When we finally got downstairs, Molly had made us a magnificent breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon, mushrooms and toast. After breakfast, we all went to our rooms and tried to work. Meanwhile, Molly made a lemon cake. Hmm it was delicious! To be honest, we didn't really do a lot that day. Around 5 o'clock, Anna and Clare arrived. We had a lovely Sunday Diner with the entire family. Molly made chicken, lots of vegetables, roast potatoes, the works. She also made apple pie and custard for pudding. We were all pretty stuffed. We decided to watch a film before going to bed: Mystic River. I'm sure it was a lovely film, but I didn't see a lot of it... I fell asleep on the sofa.

Then today, we went to Stratford-Upon-Avon. This is Shakespeare country. We passed a lot of lovely buildings, including the birthplace of William Shakespeare. We also visited his grave. You will soon find the photos on Photobucket. The weather was really nice today. It was actually kind of warm. At one point, I was really shocked: I walked into a shop, only to find a gigantic display of hedgehogs! There must have been at least one hundred of them. You will find a picture of the display on Photobucket. We also had our first serving of fish and chips. Delicious! We left Shakespeare country on a full stomach, only to come 'home' and find Molly in the kitchen. She had some Belgian guests coming over for diner. A couple of years ago, a Belgian student who also stayed at Molly's decided to move here. Her parents are here for a couple of days and Molly invited them over. It was really fun to talk to some other Belgians! Molly made salmon 'en croûte' with new potatoes and green beans. And for desert: crackers and cheese (= Wallace and Grommit flashback) and chocolate mousse. Once again, we were all stuffed. No film today... We all went straight to bed (and some of us filled in their blogs first...).

Tomorrow: Warwick Castle!!! I'll try to keep you informed!

xxx

Long time no see

Hi there!

Yes I know, it's been a while... But since I don't want to bore you with detailed lesson observations (I'll leave those for Didactic Mum), there wasn't a lot to write about.

Wednesday was a strange day at Groby college. There were 6 periods in stead of 5. I got to learn the school a bit better and I met some wonderful teachers. By the end of this day, we were all very tired. Initially, we wanted to go out and have a drink in one of the local pubs. But because of the general tiredness, we all stayed home and watched an episode of House M.D. (don't we all just love Hugh Laurie?).

On Thursday, I wasn't feeling very well (again). It felt like my cough was getting worse. But I still managed to observe all of my lessons. We also had the opportunity to observe some parent-teacher conversations. This was very interesting. I can't compare it to Belgian parent-teacher meetings, though. But I think this is pretty much the same as in Belgium. After school, we did go to the pub across the street. We all had a cider. Then, Tanja and I went and explored the other two pubs. We discovered that the Bluebell was the only one that serves meals. Because we didn't really feel like cooking ourselves, we had dinner at the Bluebell. I had homemade steak and mushroom pie. Well, steak pie actually. I only managed to find one mushroom... We had the meal deal: two meals and a bottle of wine (red or white) for £14,50. We went home and we all desperately tried to log on to the internet, but there was something wrong with it. That's why I couldn't fill in my blog yesterday.

Today: Friday the 13th! And let me tell you, Friday the 13th in England actually is a day of bad luck! I'm sure you've all read about it in the blogs of my partners in crime, so I'm not going to bother with that. Positive note: we had fajitas for dinner, Timmy managed to find the Village Shop all by himself and we watched a film featuring Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands). We also discovered that Molly does have a freezer. We've only walked passed it every day at least two times without ever noticing it.

Now, I'm not going to post any more photos on my blog. We've made an online photo album where you can find all our photos (not just mine). This is the weblink: http://s708.photobucket.com/albums/ww82/girlsinleicester/?start=all
On the left, you will see some folders. Click on 'Lindsay' and you will see my photos. Off course, I'm not in those, so you'll need to look at the other photos as well. I don't know whether the others also use the folders. Just have a look around. The album is updated regularly, so feel free to have a look every now and then. You can even comment on photos if you like.

I received an e-mail from my brother today with a picture of a hedgehog. It was sooooo cute! I've changed my original hedgie picture (at the right of my blog page) into that one. Isn't it adorable?

So now = holiday time! We haven't really planned anything yet. Molly and Dave are coming home tomorrow. In the afternoon, we'll probably go to Leicester and explore the city some more. But I'll keep you up to date!

Lots of love,

Lindsay

Groby College and headaches don't mix

Hi!

Today was a very exhausting day at Groby College. We had to observe lessons all day long. Unfortunately, not all lessons are very 'communicative' (= key word in teaching!) and exciting. Frankly, it was a bit boring. But I did learn a lot about the school and about the way in which things get done around there.
Health-wise, this was not a very successful day. I've had a severe headache all day long (probably due to lack of caffeine) and I've got a nasty cough. So you can imagine that an hour in a noisy classroom was absolute hell.
But in the afternoon, the headache faded away and I was able to enjoy a nice shopping trip with my fellow KdG'ers. After the last lesson, we headed off to Leicester and we found a nice shopping centre. I bought a sweater (only £10!), some hairspray and some cough syrup. We also stopped at Starbucks... I have a feeling we will be returning to Leicester really soon...




And here he is: my first Leicester Hedgie!