Caroline has a pass to get me into the Tower of London for free, so of course, I can't pass that up! (Pun intended.) "By the way, I've been to the Tower so many times, I practically know the Beefeaters' names!" she laughs. "Sometimes, when I get off work, I'll just come here and wander around for a while. Helps me relax." "What are Beefeaters?" I ask. "The former-military men who live here and give the tours." "People actually live here?" "Oh yes! There's practically a village inside!" "Why are they called Beefeaters?" "No one knows for sure," she explains. "One theory is that long ago, most people couldn't afford meat. But since these men guarded the royal family in the Tower, they were given more upscale foods that royalty could afford. So the peasants spitefully ... read more

We didn't get as much accomplished yesterday as we wanted. Everything closes so damn early! I guess that's how they keep the tourists here longer. I have noticed, however, that the people here are MUCH friendlier and more polite than in Luton, St. Albans, and London. I've always heard that it's friendlier in the north, and I see it. People actually get out of your way, when you're trying to pass by. People smile. People don't stop in the middle of the damn sidewalk to look at something; they step aside and then look. People hold doors and make friendly comments. People here actually see you. It's nice. Walking Tour & New Friends After a full English breakfast (eggs, bacon, baked beans, roasted tomato, sausage, hashbrown patty, and sauteed mushrooms) in the downstairs restaurant of our ... read more

The city of York was founded by Roman soldiers in 61 A.D., because it sits at the crossing of two rivers--the Foss River and the Ouse River. Pieces of the original Roman walls still stand as well as the city gates. However, most of the city walls we see are from medieval times, when the Vikings had taken over the area. In fact, all the streets have Viking names. Instead of "Monk Street", it's called "Monkgate", because gate means street. They called the city Jorvik (and the "J" is pronounced like a "Y"), which is where we get the current name York. After the Vikings ruled, the Normans (who were basically another Viking group) busted up in here. The northern invaders were finally evicted in the 10th century by the Anglo-Saxons from the Denmark-Germany area. Deanna ... read more

I freakin' love the Piccadilly area. Even in the freezing cold, it seems romantic with all the lights and beautiful architecture. I'm at a semi-posh bar called Digress, where there is supposed to be a party of American expats. I've met only one other American here: that chick from Knoxville, Tennessee, whom I met on inauguration day a month ago. Still, I'm making the rounds, chatting with people. I meet two different Bangladeshi men who both stare at me as if I'm naked or something. I converse in Spanish with a handsome flight attendant from Uruguay. I meet a couple of young English guys. So young, in fact, I wonder if they're of legal drinking age. They're terribly shy, so I flirt with them a little bit, just to make them feel good. It works a ... read more

"Is that the inspector?" my students loudly ask, pointing at the lady who is surrounded by papers and staring at them from the back of the room. I almost laugh from the bluntness of the question. "Yes, but you shouldn't point at people, and if you have a question about her, you should ask her." Every department gets audited, and since I switched from science to humanities...I'm faced with another audit. However, this time, the inspector will be observing the end of my year 7 foundations class. Foundations is a brand new course this year, and it combines PSHE ("character education") and geography. Unfortunately, my school doesn't have enough actual foundations teachers, so they've grabbed a PE teacher and some other random teacher and forced them to teach a foundations class. Those teachers have no clue ... read more