Just Think - If I Hadn't Come Here I Wouldn't Even Know Who Lil' Chris Is
Lil' Chris is a 16 year old reality TV show star from Norfolk. He was on the "Rock School" show, which involved Gene Simmons of KISS teaching a bunch of high school students how to be real rock stars. That should give you an indication of the level of talent we are dealing with here. And we at Caister high school were fortunate enough to witness this talent in the flesh yesterday. Needless to say, there was much excitement at the school (and it wasn't just me - the students were excited too). Now if only he had actually sung something for us .....
Another unique opportunity I have had while teaching at Caister High was the chance to completely embarrass myself by attempting an African dance in front of all the year 9s. A group from Zimbabwe came to give a presentation at our school and called the teachers onto the stage to receive a "gift". In order to claim said gift, the teachers were required to take part in a rather intricate African dance, much to the delight of the students. It was actually quite fun, although I'm pretty sure we didn't actually get our present. Unless our present was Lil' Chris coming to our school.
This week we have been enjoying the company of my Aunt Karen and my other cousin Mandy. All four of us spent the weekend in London, although I spent a good deal of time touring by myself since I had seen many of the main sights before. I would post some pictures, but when you are by yourself it is a little difficult to take lots of pictures. I might throw some in with my Ireland pictures, assuming I actually take some on that trip. Yes, that's right, we are going to Ireland next week. I can't believe half-term is here already!
Anyways, here are some things I realized while in London:
1. I love London. Really. This is especially notable considering London and I did not get off to a good start last year. But now it is right up there with Paris on my "Favourite Cities" list. I highly recommend it.
2. I also highly recommend travelling alone. Not to say that I officially travelled alone, or that I would do it all the time, but having successfully completed two days of sightseeing on my own was a great confidence builder and gave me a great sense of freedom. I got to do whatever I wanted! Now of course the down side was that I was completely alone, but if you can get over that....
3. Places really can change a lot in one year. The neighbourhood we stayed in last year already had at least two new Starbucks and it was much more crowded. That is not necessarily a good thing.
4. Tourists can be quite annoying. Unfortunately I must classify myself as one, even though I really wish I didn't have to.
5. There must be 100 Starbucks in that one city. Crazy.
6. McDonalds seems to have wised up to the popular backpackers' strategy of using their free bathrooms. That is really too bad. Fortunately you can use the facilities at the hundreds of Starbucks fairly easily. So all is not lost.
Finally, I should mention that I still have 1 and 1/4 chocolate bars left. And it's been almost six weeks!
So with that, I'll be off. I hope everyone is having a great October, and I'll let you know how Ireland was as soon as I get back. You can hardly wait, I know.
Lil' Chris is a 16 year old reality TV show star from Norfolk. He was on the "Rock School" show, which involved Gene Simmons of KISS teaching a bunch of high school students how to be real rock stars. That should give you an indication of the level of talent we are dealing with here. And we at Caister high school were fortunate enough to witness this talent in the flesh yesterday. Needless to say, there was much excitement at the school (and it wasn't just me - the students were excited too). Now if only he had actually sung something for us .....
Another unique opportunity I have had while teaching at Caister High was the chance to completely embarrass myself by attempting an African dance in front of all the year 9s. A group from Zimbabwe came to give a presentation at our school and called the teachers onto the stage to receive a "gift". In order to claim said gift, the teachers were required to take part in a rather intricate African dance, much to the delight of the students. It was actually quite fun, although I'm pretty sure we didn't actually get our present. Unless our present was Lil' Chris coming to our school.
This week we have been enjoying the company of my Aunt Karen and my other cousin Mandy. All four of us spent the weekend in London, although I spent a good deal of time touring by myself since I had seen many of the main sights before. I would post some pictures, but when you are by yourself it is a little difficult to take lots of pictures. I might throw some in with my Ireland pictures, assuming I actually take some on that trip. Yes, that's right, we are going to Ireland next week. I can't believe half-term is here already!
Anyways, here are some things I realized while in London:
1. I love London. Really. This is especially notable considering London and I did not get off to a good start last year. But now it is right up there with Paris on my "Favourite Cities" list. I highly recommend it.
2. I also highly recommend travelling alone. Not to say that I officially travelled alone, or that I would do it all the time, but having successfully completed two days of sightseeing on my own was a great confidence builder and gave me a great sense of freedom. I got to do whatever I wanted! Now of course the down side was that I was completely alone, but if you can get over that....
3. Places really can change a lot in one year. The neighbourhood we stayed in last year already had at least two new Starbucks and it was much more crowded. That is not necessarily a good thing.
4. Tourists can be quite annoying. Unfortunately I must classify myself as one, even though I really wish I didn't have to.
5. There must be 100 Starbucks in that one city. Crazy.
6. McDonalds seems to have wised up to the popular backpackers' strategy of using their free bathrooms. That is really too bad. Fortunately you can use the facilities at the hundreds of Starbucks fairly easily. So all is not lost.
Finally, I should mention that I still have 1 and 1/4 chocolate bars left. And it's been almost six weeks!
So with that, I'll be off. I hope everyone is having a great October, and I'll let you know how Ireland was as soon as I get back. You can hardly wait, I know.
posted by Carley | 12:43 PM
2 Comments:
Have a wonderful trip to Ireland, and take lots of pictures! I'm very envious...my mom is from Belfast, and I still have never been. So sad.
Incredible year you're having.
Traveling alone is great. You can do whatever whenever. But after too long you go alittle nuts. Believe me!! Plus you have to endure all the stares when you sit in a cafe all by yourself. Or maybe I imagined that, since I was a little nuts....
Glad you're having fun :)
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