apelton4 - American Teacher in London

I recently moved from Nashville, Tennessee, to London, England! Having lived in Tennessee my whole life, I find the adjustments difficult at times and refreshing at others. This is the story of my life as an American teacher in London.

Interests: LONDON, West End, meditation, nutella, the curly-haired guy who performs at the Big Bang on Broadway in Nashville, Sting & the Police, boots, languages, belly dancing, Eastern philosophies, ballet, Spanish, calzones, books, love poems, chocolate, laughter, geography, learning, swing dancing, sarcasm, theatre, music, traveling, trains, Europe, history, karaoke, romance, Buddhism, love, art, photography, kissing, movie quotes, beauty, fast cars, God, witty jokes.

Things I'd like to do in my lifetime:
*Write a book that gets published by a major company.
*Learn to play guitar and cello.
*Sky dive.
*Climb a mountain.
*Become a freelance journalist.
*Learn at least 2 languages other than English.
*Visit every continent.
*Meditate with Buddhist masters.
*Scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef.
*Write songs that are fun for me to sing and for others to listen to.
*Be hired for a public speaking engagement.
*Help build a house.
*Learn to milk a cow.
*Drink tea in the Sahara desert.
*Learn how to pole dance. (Just for fun, for ME.)
*Run on the Tower Bridge. <---MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!
*Swim in the Aegean Sea.
*Live in Europe. <---MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!

Cambridge
September 28th 2008 -» September 28th 2008 Autumn in Oxford
October 19th 2008 -» October 19th 2008 Barcelona & Sitges
October 25th 2008 -» November 1st 2008 Paris
November 21st 2008 -» November 23rd 2008 Happy Holidays, American-Style!
December 21st 2008 -» December 30th 2008 The Original York
February 16th 2009 -» February 19th 2009

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Joined on: September 30th 2008
Last Login: January 5th 2010

Blog Entries: 110
Photos: 647

TB Code: [blogger=94015]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by apelton4, order by Date newest first.

By apelton4
March 13th 2009

Red Nose Day 2009 Europe » United Kingdom » England » Bedfordshire » Luton

It started out with comedians doing stand-up to raise money for charity. Today, it's offically called Red Nose Day: a day of clowning around when everyone in the country raises money by doing something wacky or off-the-wall. Rockstars, actors, mothers, members of parliament, and children all contribute comically and donate money for charities. Television networks keep track of how much money they've raised and encourage people to give more by playing commercials for different charities and talking about the good that Red Nose Days past have done. My school is on board as well. The students pay one pound for a [View Full Entry]

By apelton4
March 12th 2009

Year 8 History Class Europe » United Kingdom » England » Bedfordshire » Luton

Teaching this history class is a NIGHTMARE. They make me almost cry everyday. In fact, I would cry except that I don't want them to have the satisfaction, so I hold it in. I've never been one to hold in tears, because I find it painful. All that negative energy just stores up in your body and it's harmful. This class has thirty-two students, four of whom are girls. The rest are the most wild, immature boys I've ever seen in my life. They enter my classroom running and chasing each other, throwing chairs around and yelling. They refuse to sit [View Full Entry]

By apelton4
March 9th 2009

Unqualified in Business Studies Europe » United Kingdom » England » Bedfordshire » Luton

Ever since I switched from teaching science to humanities, I've been in charge of teaching four enterprise classes. Enterprise is a course designed by my school to combine citizenship and business studies. After the completion of the course, they're supposed to have two GCSE's (qualifications/certifications in business). I don't know how to teach business. When I first spoke with Samia about making the transfer from science to humanities, I saw that I'd have two year-10 enterprise classes and two year-11 enterprise classes. I said, "I don't know anything about business." "It's really easy," she said. "We give you all the resources [View Full Entry]

By apelton4
March 6th 2009

My First Real Date in England Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London » Bankside

I've been hanging out with Mehdi almost every other day. I'll just go to his place for dinner and he cooks and we chat. It's been nice. We run into each other on the train on the way home from school today. After a comfortable silence that lasted a few minutes, he invites me over for dinner again. "Oh no, I can't tonight," I begin, trying to word it carefully. I sort of want him to know that I'm going on a date, just to see how he'll react, but I don't want to be a bitch about it or sound [View Full Entry]

By apelton4
March 4th 2009

Sex & Relationship Education Europe » United Kingdom » England » Bedfordshire » Luton

To fulfill the government requirement that all high school students in the UK receive Sex and Relationship Education (aka, SRE), my school has hired a lady from the Luton City Council to teach my Year 11 students during our enterprise lessons. Of course, we lay down some ground rules like, "No laughing at other people's questions" and "Don't ask personal questions or share personal information." But....can you imagine a room full of sixteen-year-olds talking about sex and relationships? Yep, that's exactly what it's like. The kind lady from the City Council travels to different schools teaching SRE. Since she doesn't know [View Full Entry]

By apelton4
February 27th 2009

A New Friend Europe » United Kingdom » England

"Hello," he says. "Are you a teacher?" I smile, "Yeah, how'd you know?" "You take the same train as us and get off at the same stop. We're all teachers!" he laughs, gesturing to the group of four seated on the train around him. They all laugh and greet me politely and invite me to join them. I'd seen him on the train countless times before. He stood out to me because he has such a cute face. I remember in past debating whether or not I should strike up a conversation with him. I had decided not to, because although [View Full Entry]

By apelton4
February 25th 2009

Gratitude Journal Europe » United Kingdom » England » Hertfordshire » Saint Albans

Ash Wednesday--The First Day of Lent 2009 Sarah Ban Breathnach is the author of Simple Abundance, a book about the power of gratitude. She advises us all to start keep a "gratitude journal" in which we list five things we are thankful for every day. When you feel grateful for the good things in your life, you open yourself up to receiving more good things. It's the Law of Attraction: you attract people and situations to yourself, based on your thoughts and feelings. Gratitude is the most powerful feeling for drawing in good things. So here are five things I am [View Full Entry]

By apelton4
February 24th 2009

That's What SHE Said Europe » United Kingdom » England » Bedfordshire » Luton

Since I moved to England, I've made many great "That's What She Said" jokes, and no one even cracks a smile. They just don't get it! I had to do something. About a week ago, I showed this video to Deanna, Igi, Jodi, and MaryJo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-wf2pP7T0Y . It's a compilation of all the That's-What-She-Said moments from the TV show The Office. I had to preface the viewing of the video with, "Keep in mind that it's a sexual innuendo." The first time I ever heard this joke was on the reality show Newly Weds featuring Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey. (Yes, [View Full Entry]

By apelton4
February 23rd 2009

Longing... Europe » United Kingdom » England » Hertfordshire » Saint Albans

I'm always surprised by how much I love London. Every time I'm there, its energy overtakes me, and I never want to leave. I'll never get sick of London. I've got to find a way to live there! Find a job, find an apartment, and live there for a year or more (if I like it enough). But when would I do the Peace Corps? That's something I know I must do in my life. I want to serve in a developing country and learn another language and how to live off the land. But when would I go to graduate [View Full Entry]

By apelton4
February 22nd 2009

The Tower of London Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London » London City

Tower of London!

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 [View Full Entry]

Caroline and I inside the Tower of London

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apelton4 - American Teacher in London

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