Visitors Welcome

I am thrilled! You should not praise me like this, Christian, or I will not have a single weekend for myself....

No, it is really great to have friends coming over to visit, so I can show them where I have already spent more than a year and a half. Some people said that I have changed during my GAP year here at RMS and I think they are right. I became more mature and I am a lot more self-confident now and I do not regret that I went back.

Being back still causes some mixed feelings. On the one hand, nearly everything and everyone I still know is the same, but on the other hand, everything has changed. It is so hard to describe. Maybe because I am not a GAP-girl any longer and my status among the members of staff has changed. Some do have problems with that, as they cannot boss me around like they used to be (you all know who I mean...). In the classroom I am much more confident when "conducting" my classes, I feel at ease with most of the girls and it is fun - well, I get all the nice bits and I can try all sorts of thing and introduce new "classroom procedures."

I always knew I wanted to teach, but there is still the question on what level. Working in the prep department is a whole new experience and it does have its advantages. On the other hand especially in History it is a lot more fun with the older girls as you can discuss things with them in greater detail. Some of you know that I have problems with teaching English in Germany, as it is mainly teaching grammar. I prefer to do it here and I might even start to like Shakespeare. That reminds me that I have to write a post on my Shakespeare Class and on my German Club.

Now of course I did not spend my second weekend here on my own, I had a visitor from Bamberg: Jasmin. She arrived Friday night and stayed till Tuesday evening. We had a great weekend and as she had never been to London before I did the same sightseeing tour again and as a professional tourist guide I was able to show her all the nice places around the city. So Saturday we started in Notting Hill again, then did the sightseeing bit until I could not walk anymore. Unfortunately I was still having problems with my stomach, we spent nearly 2 hours at Starbucks, so I could stay close to a toilet :-(

In the evening I cooked again, this time a Bolognese with fresh mushrooms, courgette, sweetcorn and pepers. So at least she did not have to starve, because I was so hungry but did not dare to eat much.

The weather remained nice, even though it was not as warm as it used to be. We went to Piccadilly Circus to meet up with Vanessa. I won't tell anyone that she was late again, because of railreplacement :-) We paid a short visit to the tourist information to gather information for our trip to Wales, which is going to take place during half-term. From there we made our way to Petticoat Lane Market which has not changed since I last set foot there. We also went to the great market halls were we had our packed lunch.

And now quess where we went next: Camden Town of course! It is just great when people have the same kind of interest. Actually no one bought anything that day, even though we had spotted some jewellery we liked, but when we got back to the little stall it was already closed. This was due to the fact that we spent about three quarters of an hour in a shop to buy some bric-a-brac for 49 p each! So here are the precious things we bought! Well, we are just girls and could not resist - of course I bought some, too!

We had a meal at Camden and then Jasmin and I made our way to the Tower and the Tower Bridge. I took some great pictures there, but I will at some point write a whole post on London at night with pictures. We made our way along the Thames and it was nearly half past 2 when we finally went to bed - our feet were killing us, but this time it was not me who got blisters!

Monday (which was a Bank Holiday in Britain) we had a late breakfast. It was raining and we were not much looking forward to getting wet. This was the first time it really rained since I arrived! Anyway, we finally made our way to St. Paul's Cathedral and we got soaking wet as St. Paul's Station was closed and we had to walk from Chancery Lane. Anyway, we waited until it stopped again and then met up with Vanessa at Covent Garden. I absolutely love Covent Garden with its special flair. I also got to know all different kinds of toilets around this area :-(

We went to the Natural History Museum, just to look at the great architecture and then we headed for Camden again, to get our jewellery. We got there at quarter to 6 and this was again the only stall that had already closed. Great. So we had another meal for £1 and then walked along the canal towards Regent's Park. This is one of the most beautiful and quietest parts of London. I liked this stroll and surprisingly the weather had cleared up during the afternoon and we had blue sky again. We walked through Regent Park, even got to see one of the animals of London Zoo - you walk right through the Zoo down at the Canal. I think it was a fantastic day out and I am glad that Vanessa and Jasmin got along so well. I guess I just have nice friends then!!!!

Unfortunately I had to work on Tuesday, so Jasmin went to see Justin Timberlake at Mdm T. and she also made her way to the British Museum. It was a great weekend and I just hope the others as well. Next weekend it will be just Vanessa and me and we want to go to Cambridge, but I have to see how my stomach develops - Kathryn will make me go to see the doctor if it does not get better soon. I had sworn myself: never NHS again! Well, we will see.