Happy Thanksgiving!

I write this knowing that Thanksgiving Day has come and gone for many of you. Alas, I had to work on the real Thanksgiving - a first for me but it wasn't all that bad (stressful, but nice). My school in 'Muchty has been so welcoming that when my headteacher, Jane, asked if I'd do something with my class to teach the rest of the school about Thanksgiving, how could I refuse? Not sure my class could survive an actual play without bloodshed, I decided we were going to create a Thanksgiving tablou (for lack of a better word). Basically, the kids would be "still lifes" in scenes from the Thanksgiving story while narrators told the audience what was going on. Just to clarify...never have I taught drama or art prior to this year. So with only about 3 and a half weeks to throw this together I was not sure I could really pull this off.

My kids and I read books about Thanksgiving (brought over by my sister Jen when she visited a few weeks ago - a blog yet to come) and watched some nice cartoons via United Streaming to give them a background on the holiday. From that point, I tried to let them run the show as much as possible - literally. Each student presented a storyboard of what they remember being the most important events in the story and I chose the 7 scenes that popped up on the most of their lists. They were then split into groups that had to design the backdrop for each scene, arrange where any people would be standing in their scene, and provide me with a list of needed props/costumes (along with a breakdown of what we needed to make vs. what they could bring in from home). And it worked. The excitement and ownership my kids felt during the few weeks before our presentation (not "pageant" as the Mueller family has been calling it) was fantastic. Every time they saw "Thanksgiving Project" on our daily schedule, that's all they wanted to do the rest of the day.

The major hiccup in the operation was the flu. Not swine flu, but just your run of the mill flu. This past week, we were doing our run through practices in the hall with 7 kids out of 23 gone on Tuesday and then 8 out on Wednesday. Who knew who was going to show up on Thursday? Our dress rehearsals were noisy and disorganized. With seven scenes and 5 backdrops, there were a lot of props and people constantly colliding "backstage" (we wheeled in 4 portable bulletin boards to work behind). The school's new sound system wasn't working so you couldn't hear the narrators. Props were going missing or were destroyed. Kids were fighting with the spears we created for the Native Americans. With the entire school AND parents showing up for our tablou on Thursday, there was no way to back out discretely so I just held my breath that it wouldn't be THAT bad.

And we did it! The kids were GREAT! The mike and sound system were finally up and running. The kids mastered who was in charge of taking down/putting up backdrops, who needed to be on what side of the "stage" at what time, where all the props would be stored on each side of the stage, etc. They got a great round of applause and people kept coming up to us all day telling us what a great job they did. Maybe that was because they were just being nice but I don't think so. My favorite memory of the real dress rehearsal was sitting next one of my students, Sean, who turned to me after we had run through most of the show and said very frankly,"I think what we've done looks good. The transitions are running smoothly and the narrators are nice and clear. I think if we can just get the noise level backstage down for those last two scenes we'll be ready." This kid just turned 9 (today, actually). I loved it!

I brought my camera in to video tape the whole event for you but forgot all about it once we started our performance. Sorry! As proud I am of my kids, I am hoping our 15 minutes in the spotlight (it was a 15 minute performance!) was it for the year. It was exhausting. It did make me realize how much I miss having a classroom where you have flexibility within your own schedule. I think there are very few elementary schools left in our area at home where it would be okay to drop other subjects to focus on something like a presentation like this. I also have the entire month of December ahead of me where I am supposed to be making cards, calendars, and other crafts with my kids. We will be going to a Christmas pantomime (Pinocchio), having a Christmas nativity, and party after school. Are we doing too much holiday stuff here? Do we not do enough at home? I don't know but I do know there is a HUGE difference so far in how my two schools approach the holiday season. I'm torn because I know I am now behind academically and will be cramming a bit before the Christmas break but I wouldn't have traded this experience with my kids for anything (and it was quite interdisciplinary - history, drama, art, teamwork, etc.). Food for thought...

And speaking of food...I am currently enjoying the fragrant smell of candied sweet potatoes in Andrea and Brian's apartment in London. Today is my Thanksgiving! I did celebrate at school - with the presentation, a Thanksgiving lunch with the whole school, and 4 pumpkin pies I made (thanks to Jen and Libby) for my students and staff - but today is the day where I am surrounding myself with good friends (Janet and Allen are due around 3) and good food. So while you are all busy shopping and getting Christmas trees, I'll be enjoying turkey, pies, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc. So Happy Thanksgiving one and all!

Let's Talk About the Proclaimers and Rugby

You know, the Proclaimers. "I would walk 500 miles..." guys.

Little did I know when I moved here that this group was such a part of the area's history. The Proclaimers are from the little village of Auchtermuchty in Fife. That's right, I teach at Auchtermuchty Primary. The 500 Miles group grew up going to my school.

This fact is nice within itself but I am amazed with all the places the Proclaimers pop up! I went to the local youth theater's performance of "Back to the 80's" this past weekend. A good 10 minute portion of the show was dedicated to joking around about the "nerdy guys from Scotland" before the two leads broke into "500 Miles" - with full audience participation.

Last night, I went to Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh to watch Team Scotland take on Australia in rugby. It was a pretty good game - definitely a more interesting 2nd half than first. I discovered that everything that annoys me about US Football (sorry but anyone who knows me should know I pretty much loathe American Football) is eliminated to play rugby making it a very watchable and enjoyable sport. Scotland is an OK team from my understanding where Australia is a very strong team. We have not beaten them since 1982. Until last night! What a great day to go to my first rugby game. With 2 seconds left on the clock, Scotland was ahead 9-3. By the end of that last play, Australia had finally crossed the line and brought the score to 8-3 AND they still had the chance to kick for another 2 points. All looked lost. The Scots were about to lose despite their once commanding lead. And the Aussie (aussie, aussie, oi, oi,oi) blew the kick.

The energy level was off the hook! So in this moment of history for the Scottish rugby team with an almost full stadium, what song do they blast out in celebration? You guess it..."500 Miles". With full audience participation (for the second night in a row). I suppose this loyalty and pride in The Proclaimers can be likened to hearing a Bon Jovi song at any New Jersey wedding. I'm happy to jump on this bandwagon - I've always loved the song and now realize I will forever associate it with my year in Scotland.

October Holidays - Part 2

I mentioned that my October holidays hit a snag when my sister Erica and friend Christine both had to cancel their trips fairly last minute. What could have been a bleak day for this Mueller turned out golden in the end. Christine found a good flight that will have her spending New Year's Eve with me in Scotland. Since the Edinburgh New Year's celebration is one of the best in the world, I really didn't want to go it alone - and now I don't have to!! The only snafooz to this plan is that both of us arrive in Scotland the morning of Dec. 30 - but I'm coming back to Edinburgh and Christine is flying into Glasgow. We have over a month to ponder that little predicament.

The other good news was when Erica was given the green light to take a long weekend for a visit. This meant I still had a few days that second week of break to do me stuff - I went to Rosslyn Chapel (of Da Vinci Code fame) with Louise and her family, did some hiking and exploring of Fife, and got some school work done prior to Erica's visit.

When Erica first gave me the big news that she was coming (she had kept leaving me messages like "Call me back - we have to talk..." and "I have some news" but then couldn't understand how I correctly guessed that she was now going to be able to come visit) she asked what the weather was like. She assumed that it was always rainy here and would have to pack appropriately. In all honesty, September and October had been absolutely lovely. Mid-50's, bright sunlight, really nice. Erica managed to jinx all that with a simple question. The entire week before her visit and during her visit was a rainy, rainy mess. There were pockets of nicer weather that managed to coincide with when we wanted to go walking around outside but by the weekend, even that luck had changed.

So I brought Erica around Fife that first day. We explored St. Andrews, visited the cathedral ruins, watched the breakers out in the water (roughest I have ever seen them), tried to visit the castle (but they were closed for lunch), and enjoyed afternoon tea in the Old Course Hotel. It was a great way to introduce someone to Scotland - especially a jet-lagged person. We meandered through East Neuk, a collection of quaint fishing villages in Fife, before heading back. Day 2 brought us north of Perth where we visited Blair Castle, the village of Pitlochry, and Edradour Distillery - Scotland's smallest. Erica even had the chance to meet my friend Louise and her kids (who put on a rather energetic pre-bed display that had me laughing when I know I shouldn't have).

Scotland clocks fall back an hour one week before the US and it happened to occur on this particular weekend. On Saturday morning, my friend Mindy, another Fulbrighter from Northern Ireland, was coming to spend a few days with me before exploring the rest of England. The following weekend was to be our Shakespeare weekend in Stratford-upon-Avon and she was using her October holiday to do Scotland and the Lake District. This meant yet another trip to the airport which was exciting but I was thrilled knowing that I had an extra hour to sleep in...or so I thought. Daylight savings comes into effect on Saturday night, not Friday night - a fact I know but didn't really think about until it was almost too late. By the time I realized we had slept in erroneously, we had 25 minutes before Mindy's flight (and it is a 40 minute drive). I basically screamed for Erica to get up, threw on clothes, and raced out the door. Fortunately, her flight was a bit delayed but she was definitely off and had her luggage before we got there.

And that was the day of getting soaked. We headed to Stirling Castle where it was pouring down buckets. It was cold and rainy all day - just awful. The real shame is that we weren't able to fully appreciate the castle whose place in Scottish history is fairly significant. Because the Forth River cuts into much of Scotland, Stirling rests in a location that for years significantly marked the "gateway" into the country. Many battles took place between the Scots and Brits around Stirling and the castle was frequently changing hands. It is truly located at the top of the town and has what I would imagine to be an amazing view (but we certainly couldn't tell). We then thought to venture up the nearby Wallace Monument (after William Wallace) but abandoned ship on that as well due to the weather. The best part of the day was sitting in a pub in Stirling in front of a fireplace trying to warm up - so nice...

Sunday was bit better as we did yet another palace - Scone ("skoon") Palace - home of the albino peacock- and Stanley Mills where there a great interactive exhibit on how water was used to power the mill. I would bring my kids there if that had anything to do with what I taught. Sadly, this was also the day I had to drop Erica at her hotel by the airport (she had a 6 AM flight so the airport hotel seemed a better option). We grabbed a bite at a local pub called the Bruce where for about 7 pounds we got a full meal (best fish and chips I've had so far) AND full afternoon tea with cakes and scones. Such a bargain.

Mindy sadly left the next morning (but I saw her a week later so that was nice) and I was off to face the reality of going back to work. It was so nice to have visitors, especially ones who bring new sneakers, 72 oz. bags of chocolate chips, and rainy weather.

The October Holidays - Part 1

I imagine this is the closest I'll have for a long while of experiencing the joys of what year-round school must feel like. I started teaching mid-August which seems very early by most American standards. That said, I just got off a two week October break - something I'm quite certain American schools do NOT have (unless on the year-round cycle). Initially, my friend Christine and my sister Erica were supposed to come visit for one week each. We were going to gallivant around Scotland in my super-wagon to see what the rest of the country had to offer. When it came down to it, however, both had to cancel their trips towards the end of September (don't worry - both of these non-trips have happy endings, just bear with me) leaving me with two weeks to fill with exciting adventures. I was perplexed.

So I went with Plan F as I've come to think of it. I rang Andrea in London and invited myself down for my first week off. Having been to London a number of times, it was great to be there A. mid-week when it was significantly less crowded and B. with no clear cut agenda of what I needed to accomplish. I've done the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden (but I go back there every time anyway), St. Pauls, Westminster, etc. a number of times. So I opted to explore some more out of the way places as well as some of my favorites, including the West End Theater!!

My first night in I got off the train at Kings Cross, traveled with all my luggage through the Tube at rush hour and just made it to the 7:30 show of Wicked. It was fantastic. Though I love Idina Mentzel and Kristin Chenoweth, I think I loved my two leads even more. If you've never seen it, put it on your list. And to think, this wasn't even the best show I would see during my week in London. It was fortunate that the show put in me in such a great mood because I needed something positive to make me forget the awful beyond awful hotel I stayed in that night after the show. Andrea and Brian had company my first night in town so I found the cheapest possible hotel (that seemed decent, at least). I checked in at midnight and was out the door by 8 AM. Feel free to ask me about it later but I don't want to taint my blog anymore than I already have with details of this "hotel." Mental note: Sometimes it's worth an extra $40 to stay at the Days Inn.

I spent one whole day wandering around Hampstead Heath - one of the most amazing pieces of green spaces I've seen in (or kind of near) a city. I also walked from Marylebone (where Andrea and Brian live) to the Tate Modern (one of my favorites) and back, sort of. I was mapless the whole day and wanted to travel without using the tube so I got a bit turned around in the crazy London streets. I finally took a taxi back to Marylebone when it became obvious that I was going to be late for dinner with Andrea and Brian and our friend Janet and her husband Allan. I tried... Later that night, I clocked my journey on a GoogleMaps and discovered I walked at least 11 miles that day but that doesn't include walking around museums or all my lost wanderings. By and by, I literally left Covent Garden and walked past the Lion King only to find myself in that exact spot where I started from 30 minutes later. I do not know how that is possible but it reminded me of the time traveling cross country when we saw the sign for Rte. 666, made a mental note to not turn onto it, and found out 30 minutes later that we ended up on it anyway. Without ever turning!! I guess you had to be there.

As I mentioned before, Wicked was great but not the best bit of theater I saw during my week. That honor is reserved for the West End production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. For those unfamiliar with the movie, it's about three drag queens driving across the Australian outback in a bus called Priscilla to put on a show at Alice Springs. I am very protective of my movies so when I hear that one of my favorites has been made into a play/musical, I am skeptical. Case in point, I have not seen Billy Elliot yet despite being a bit obsessive about the original movie. I'm so scared it will not be the story I know and love. I'll face that demon eventually. But Priscilla was everything I could hope for in a theater adaptation. It had the original Oscar Award winning costumes (and more), the original story (all major scenes), the original dialogue, and the original soundtrack (and more). It was over the top, raunchy, funny, energetic. Basically everything you'd want out of good night at the theater (if you're into drag queens dancing around stage to Thank God I'm a Country Boy).

But when it comes down to it, this was a trip to visit good friends who were first rate hosts (I mean they put up with me for 4, 5? days). Andrea and Brian may soon get sued by the local B&Bs for poaching their potential customers. Rarely does a week go by that I don't hear of someone coming to visit them. And they are always happy (or at least put on a good front) to give up their living room for company and to make sure they are well taken care of during their time in London. Thank you both! I will see you soon for Thanksgiving! (oh, my, that makes it 3 times in 3 months - I obviously enjoy the London hospitality immensely)

And so my break was off to a great start. Week two, however, is where things fall into place...