And November Hits!

Hello hello! Again, I apologize for taking SO long to blog- I just try to save up enough stories so my life seems exciting! So here's the best I have to offer right now:
The Saturday of the 24th I had limited work to do- so I decided I was going to have a 'woman about town' day. It all started off in the local Starbucks- nothing makes you feel more at home then your favourite coffee - BUT unfortunately Starbucks in England is much different. First of all, no delicious ginger cookie. Second of all, the latte's are SO limited- so alas, I had to deal with my soy, half syrup machiatto extra hot, no foam. They gave me funny looks because I guess people don't customize their coffees here- they order tea instead. I then sat in a cozy little chair sipped my coffee, burnt my tongue (hence the extra hot) and headed out to adventure. The original plan was to start Christmas shopping - but alas, I live in a quite small town. I walked for nearly 5 hours...popping in and out of stores- assessing my situation. It's difficult to get lost here, thankfully, because I did go through tunnels and over bridges and up and down hills. It was so satsifying though- just to be out walking around and NOT getting rained on. Less satisfying was the lack of any independent stores- I guess Exeter, being a student town, isn't going out on any limbs to add some creativity to the city structure- or perhaps I'm just not observant enough.
Sunday, my flatmate Dean came to me paniced, as his computer had died a slow and painful death- so off we were to the 'Walmart'/'Computer City' area to pick out a new one. After long deliberation, and one delicious meal at Pizza Hut, he picked one up and I got to go grocery shopping at the BIG store. I got to buy pumpernickel bread! The English people are very confused by it- they just generally by brown or white fluffy bread. Anything small and dense is too foreign for them. Haha, or so they say. Other acquistions include flavoured oatmeal (it's hard to come by) and the Cadbury fingers I found in their seasonal aisle. The seasonal aisle was so interesting- they do love their Terry's choclate oranges and Christmas pudding here. Every trip to the grocery store is fascinating.
Monday and Tuesday were class days and relatively uneventful- one we discussed how children learn in Religious Education, and the other we covered personalised learning. We also met with our personal tutors. My tutor, Karen (who is also head of the Secondary program) seemed quite pleased with my progress and wanted me to kick start a symposium of sorts to sink our teeth more fully into the material. However, with the limited amount of people who actually live in the city, and the remaining few weeks we have left, it's proving to be a challenge.
Wednesday we visited the Mosque to meet their new Imam. The mosque is in poor shape, and they're saving up money to purchase a new one. However, it still had a steady influx of people. The imam was kind of evasive in his respones to questions about jihad, gender equality and peace and conflict...but it's still fascinating to hear his respones. I asked "What is it about Islam that you feel we should be telling our students?" His reply? "Muslims have made great contributions to our world. They invented soap." Later, after research, I discovered that Muslims have, in fact, NOT made soap- the Babylonians did. So where does that leave me?
Thursday and Friday were devoted to school work- mainly preparing for these numeracy, literacy and technology skills tests I have to complete- which are much more difficult than I anticipated. I've booked to actually sit the tests on November 28th so I'll keep you updated.
Saturday was my Hallowe'en night, wherein I dressed up in black, and painted stars all over myself and went as night. The other costumes that showed up weren't all too impressive- but highlights were a chilli pepper, a cereal box, and...nope, wait those were the highlights. However, three guys did come dressed as the Three Musketeers- and I excitedly asked "Have you read much Dumas?" To which they gave me blank stares, and I quickly retreated.
I had a lazy Sunday in which I pittered around things I should have been doing. Matt found a fantastic site for me called canadianaffairs.com that books flights solely between England and Canada...and I'm attempting to book one that leaves Exeter on July 7th which would be ideal, because I wouldn't have to drag all my stuff to London. I'm just waiting for the representative to get in contact with me, so fingers crossed!
This past monday we had a lecture on Assessment in Religious Education and then spent the afternoon discussing what our school placements will be like. We start our induction week in a week and a half! Tuesday we had a great lesson on ways to do group work effectively, teaching and technology strategies. It's intersting, because in England, most every classroom has an interactive white board- whereas in Canada we're stuck with chalkboards and overheads. Tuesday night we had an evening social at a restaurant called Nandos which I had hoped would be much like Swiss Chalet, but alas, it was not.
Yesterday was, again, spent working and cleaning up my room. It's amazing how much can accumulate from so little. And today? Working on my cumulative essay and packing for London. Tomorrow we leave via coach at 6 am to get to London ( a four hour trip) to visit a Hindu temple. Afterwards, a few friends and I are spending the night and hopefully going to see Avenue Q (the musical!) and then they're going to show me the sight on Saturday before we head back the night! So excited!
And there you go- all up to date.
Words that are different here in England: pants/trousers; sneakers/trainers, bangs/fringe ...and the list goes on.
Oh! And also something to note, they don't get graded marks on their work here in England- they just get told what level (of 8 total) they're working at! What is that! Haha, I'm going to have some work ahead of me to bring this back to Canada! It's really incredible to have an opportunity to dissect another education program this thoroughly though! I never forget how lucky I am! Less than 6 weeks away from snow, Christmas, and home! Rest assured, I'm already listening to Christmas music!