As most of you know, I've been student teaching this year. I spent it in a 3rd grade classroom at one of the local elementary schools here in town, and it was a wonderful experience! Last year, I made up my mind to do an international student teaching program as my Senior Project for my university's Honor Program, which effectively split my student teaching nearly in half. Though I could have gone just about anywhere in the world, I chose to complete my student teaching in England for several reasons.
1. My father's side of the family (and some people on my mother's side) are from Cornwall, England. My grandmother did extensive research on our family's history and it's truly fascinating. I would love to see where it is they came from.
2. I have always loved history, although I am by no means a "history buff" - I just do not have the recall like some people I know (ahem...Aaron). The history of England, particularly that of London, has always interested me so I wanted to take the opportunity to see what I have only read about in history books.
3. The thought of a language barrier terrified me, so I wanted to go to an English-speaking country. I'm a chicken, I know, but I rationalized it this way: I am already using every ounce of bravery I have to go at this all alone. I never thought I'd travel abroad for the first time by myself, so a language barrier coupled with what will surely be periods of loneliness and uncertainty would be too much to handle.
4. The thought of seeing Princess Kate or Ricky Gervais makes me all giddy! Heck, I'd even take a Warwick Davis sighting and be happy...
So, having made this decision, the time time has finally come for me to leave Rapid City and embark on this incredible journey. I will miss my husband most of all (thank God for Skype and email!), and I already miss my 3rd graders. Luckily, I will begin at my new school on Tuesday, and I am sure that my 4th graders (or 5 Years, as they are called there) will be just as wonderful. Plus, they wear uniforms, so I'm sure that it in itself will make them absolutely adorable! But I cannot wait to come back in May and share my experiences with my 3rd graders and tell them about all the things I did, what I liked about the school I was at, and how the children were. It's funny, because when I told them I was leaving for England they were very interested and had lots of questions. Before I told them, I was unsure how they would react - would they care that I was leaving? (Yes.) Would they be upset? (Some were.) Were they interested in what I was going to do? (Absolutely!) I got some really great questions from the students. One little boy asked if my husband knew I was going. That made me laugh, and I told him that although there are some things I have managed to keep from my husband, I thought this was something he would notice almost immediately, so YES, he knows I am going! Some students asked what the school and children were like, so I showed them pictures from the school's website. Others asked about the culture - what kinds of foods I would eat and whether or not they eat hotdogs there (I'm not quite sure - yes?).
Finally, one of the last questions was "Are you going to learn to speak British?" At the time I laughed, and told the little girl that they actually speak English in England, so I wouldn't have to learn "British." However, as I thought about it later on, I realized that I would indeed like to learn to speak British. No, I don't mean I want to come back with a Madonna-esque, fake Detroit/London accent. I just want to immerse myself in the culture and really take advantage of my time over there. I want to learn the customs and see and live their normal way of life. I want to forget about the fact that I am an American and do not belong there, because I think in a way, I DO belong there. After all, it is my heritage and it is my very own family history.
So yes, I think I will learn to speak British. Wish me luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment