Weekend outings

On Saturday we went to the Aquarium which was kind of a let down because Dr. Lupi had raved about it and we payed £9 to get in. It was really small and also not very presentable.

Afterward we went to the Plymouth Hoe Foreshore(the sea front) and saw Smeaton's Tower (the lighthouse). That was really neat. There was also a Victorian Pool. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures right now because my camera died but I will get some from my friends.

We also saw the Mayflower steps. This is where the Mayflower set sail to America.

Going out

So my friends got me all dolled up and we went out to a club called Oceania. It was lots of fun but we didn't get home until 4 am.

Funny things

So we went to the movies the other day and there was this really funny commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVblWq3tDwY

Also, their cigarette packs say hilarious things. They are so blunt.

Magistrate's Court

So on Friday we went to a Magistrate's court. It was really neat. The Magistrate's court is the lower court. They can only sentence up to 6 months in prison. If the offense is more serious than the trial is sent to the Crown's court. In the Crown's court, the judges wear long wigs and the lawyers (which they call solicitors) wear short wigs. I didn't get to see that however.
We watched three different cases. The first one was three people who had been arrested for squatting and burglary. They were given curfew and given a parole officer for 6 months. The defendants do not sit with their lawyer. They have to sit in the dock, which is a seperate section that is surrounded by glass. They let us sit in there in between trials and it felt like being in a cage. The court system definitely uses intimidation tactics. When the magistrate's walk into the courtroom they stare down the defendant. They seem really serious and intimidating in the courtroom but we got to meet them after and they were really nice guys. They were joking and laughing with us and let us ask them a bunch of questions. They are volunteers who get appointed and have all different kinds of backgrounds. They have to go through training each year though. There is a barrister who is legally trained and serves as somewhat of a mediator between the magistrates and lawyers. They said that if they ever have any questions they can ask him. There is one chair magistrate who talks in the courtroom. The other two magistrates cannot talk in the courtroom but are have the same powers in the conference room.

Jacksonville vs. Plymouth

Hey,
So today I observed in a different classroom because there was a supply (substitute) teacher in my class. I got to see Year 3 which is equivalent to 2nd grade (which is what I teach back home). It was cool to see the differences and similarities between my students back home and the students here. There is a larger range of abilities here than at Pine Forest. However, on average, the students here are more advanced in math and writing and my students in Jax are more advanced in reading.
We went to a play at one of the other interns school. It was cute. My teacher said that tommorrow she will take me to a proper grocery store at lunch time because she doesnt want me to leave here with a bad impression of their food. Tomorrow we are going back to the city centre and shopping at the mall. Im excited. Friday I am going to see a court trial. Saturday we are planning to go to Dartmoor National Park (http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/) which looks really pretty. Sunday we are hoping to go to the aquarium here and also to the Barbican and the Hoe (area by the ocean with lighthouse and Mayflower steps).
Miss you all. Lots of love,
Elyse

Truro Express

So yesterday we got on a train and went to a city called Truro in Cornwall. The train ride was really cool. It was beautiful. The countryside was amazing and the houses are all stacked ontop of eachother in the cities.Here is a map that shows where it is: http://www.multimap.com/world/GB/England/Cornwall. I am staying in Plymouth. We wanted to go see a castle but buses dont run very often on Sunday so we missed the bus.
The city was pretty neat except alot of things over here are closed on Sunday. We went out to eat at this cafe and got burgers but they do not taste like American burgers. I am having withdrawals for good food. I haven't eaten a whole lot over here because nothing over here tastes good. I am still trying food but I havent really found anything I like except their pastries. Those are good, but I cant eat pastries all the time. We went to a cathedral in the city that was very large and beautiful. It was built in the 1400's, which is pretty neat. It amazes me that they were able to construct such large and intricate buildings with the technology that they had.
Today at school, my teacher was actually there the whole day. I really enjoy watching her teach and am taking notes for all the strategies I want to use in my classroom.
I thought of some other words that are different here:
pants = trousers
underwear = pants
trash = rubbish
trash can = bin
clean = tidy
principal = head teacher
substitute teacher = supply teacher

Love you all and miss you,
Elyse

Plymouth Argyle

Hey all,
Today we went to the Plymouth Argyle, which is the soccer (football) team. It was lots of fun. There were alot of people. Football is a really big sport here. I still havent gotten used to the weather. It is so cold and people here think it is warm.
The food here is alot different. I dont really like much of it. I think I will probably lose weight while I am here because I dont eat as much and I walk alot. We have to walk up and down hills all the time.
The shower in the house is really weird. Its not connected to the faucet. You have to pull a string to start it. Also, the faucets here have two different spouts and they are not connected so you either get really hot or really cold.
Got to go.
Love you
Elyse

Having fun in the UK

Hi everybody,
I am having lots of fun here in Plymouth. It took us 24 hours and 4 planes to get here. It was a very long and exhausting trip. Then the airline lost our luggage. We got it back the day after we arrived.This is the view from my bedroom window. Beautiful!
I started at my school on Tuesday and I love it. My teacher is very nice and I am learning alot from her. However she is not there everyday which kind of stinks. I am doing alot of observing rather than teaching here. It is not as strenuous as my internship in Jacksonville.
There are alot of things that are different here than in Florida. I didnt think that it would be so different. One big thing is of course the driving. They drive on the left side of the road and also do not have any stop signs (they have roundabouts instead). Also, the light goes from red to yellow to green instead of straight to green.
We've been taking the bus to and from school everyday which is a new experience for me. Its hard to figure out which bus to take if we want to go somewhere else.
People are so nice here. We went to the grocery store and pizza hut last nite and we wanted to call a cub so we asked the waitress if there was a phone anywhere that we could use for the taxi and she let us borrow her cell phone. Also, they gave us free soda at pizza hut as well. And today, we were going to the city centre to do some shopping and have dinner and we asked the teachers which bus we should take and one of them offered to drive us.
There are alot of words here that are different as well:
restroom = toilet/loo
eraser = rubber
sneakers = trainers
to go = takeaway
cookies = biscuits
sweater = jumper
french fries = chips
potato chips = crisps

There is a store here called primemark that has really cheap clothes. We went shopping there today and I got a few really cute things.

What are you all up to at home? I love you all and miss you.