Sunday, August 7th, 2011
There are a lot of things that I need to accomplish before coming home in these next two weeks. For example, when I arrive home I need to get my phone reactivated and I need to talk to my university. Today there was a tour with the students but since I took some people in a taxi to the Capital Residence early in the morning and had to pack all of my things it took awhile to get over to the house. That day I cleaned my room and packed and just tried to keep myself together through organizing everything.
(Me and Rebecca at Swanage.)
(Me and George at Swanage.)
Monday, August 8th, 2011Today we went to Swanage by bus and it took about an hour one way to get there. Some students at the back of the bus were gleefully singing songs in English such as "Hey baby, I wanna know if you'll be my girl..."along with "Baby, baby, Ohh," by Justin Bieber, and a 90s song AllStar by Smashmouth, "She was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb in the shape of an L on her forehead." It was pretty fun as Swanage is an older town with buildings that have been around for hundreds of years. It turned out to be a wonderful sunny day as all of us had the chance to explore the hills and to explore the cliffsides surrounded by water. It is a beautiful scene to view and the ocean was quite bedazzling from the view that we were at.
(Swanage, with it's chalky white cliffsides, stark waters, and colorful boats)
Tuesday, August 9th, 2011
We took the kids to mini golf today and they seemed to thoroughly enjoy the different green slopes. Us group leaders also had the chance to play golf out on the fields as we had enough spaces for our team. Mini golf was rather fun as the students all were in the spirit of comradery together because they were competing on a small level with each other. Later today we are going to a movie because the V Club isn't going on today as the schedule has changed. The movie we are going to is called Mr. Popper and His Penguins with Jim Carey and it looks pretty funny from the advertisements. Tomorrow we are going to Laser Games with the students but since the weather has been sunny and nice I have been wanting to be outside lately.
(Group of kids pretty pumped for Laser Games)
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
We are going to Laser Games with the students today and we are also going to have them go to V Club since the schedule was different this week for disco. Even though yesterday we told the students that they would be going to V Club tonight instead I hope they weren't too disappointed. My family has been missing me and even though I miss them as well there is only about a week and a half left before we meet up again which is somethings that helps to think about when I get a bit down every once in awhile. When I went to V Club last night after the morning activities were finished with my colleagues I started thinking about how I went from Missoula, MT two months ago thinking about doing an internship abroad to being almost finished with this one. The summer has almost ended and two of my cousins are already married--Karinda and Chelsea (well Chelsea in a matter of days will be married but soon). Then my sisters are also going through their own experiences with boys, school, and the pressures of being a teenager one at age 19 and the other at age 16. They have taught me a lot about life even as they are far away, as well as the teenagers here. Working with teens this summer has helped me in a way to heal from my teenage years that were filled with the regular angst mixed with a lot of family conflicts. Being here this summer has been a wonderful experience as I have been able to stay organized, and communicate in a way that I've never been challenged to before. There is still a lot to do, and laser games are a favorite activity for students so it should go rather smoothly and perhaps even us Group Leaders will have the opportunity to play.
Thursday, August 11th, 2011
We are headed to the Oceanarium this gray cloudy afternoon and for the evening time we will be at the theatre watching Mr. Popper and His Penguins. Since everything seems to be winding down to the last few days here I have been trying to think about everything at I need to do at home soon. I almost forgot that I have a cell phone and what the weather and everything is like in Missoula. I also almost forgot that I am going home in less than two weeks now and that I will be doing another internship shortly after this one is over. Last night the students had the chance to enjoy V Club and us Group Leaders went to this place where you can have three courses for only 12 pounds on Wednesdays and Friday nights. After this we went out and explored the town a little bit and we had a great time together. Even though the week is almost over there is still a lot to complete. Tonight there will be more people arriving and staying over at the house along with more Group Leaders and kids arriving soon. It will be a busy weekend as well!!
Friday, August 12th, 2011
Today we took two buses to Splashdown and it took a total of one hour to get there but the kids seemed to enjoy it. Us Group Leaders went to Burger King as the students went swimming and then we returned to check on the kids and catch up with each other. Tomorrow I will be going to Oxford for a second time since being in England but Oxford is a rather nice college town. Last time that I was in Oxford though it rained a lot but since the riots are primarily going on in London, it seems rather safe to travel there by comparison. As of today I only have ten days before I head back to the United States and it seems that this summer is closing in quickly. We went to ASDA today which is like a smaller version of WalMart for Europe, but we bought a lot of food for this weekend.
Saturday, August 13th, 2011
Yesterday another Group Leader and I, George, took 22 students to Oxford by bus along with the students that were from ETC. There were two other Spanish Group Leaders, Carmen and Jose that helped to guide their 31 students. We had the kids do an 1 1/2 walking tour of the town and then we had them take a group photo before allowing them some free time to explore. After they were to explore they had to meet us up at Carfax Car Park area to walk over and take the bus back over to Bournemouth.
(This is the grop of students that went to Oxford on Saturday).
(This sandwiches were delicious. The sandwich in front is George's, and it is a brie, bacon, and cranberry panini with coleslaw, and salad on the side. Mine was a sandwich with salami, black olives, spinach pesto sauce :), mozzarella, and poppy seeds on top of the bread with coleslaw and salad on the side as well. It is too bad that I cannot remember the sandwich shop but it was an all organic one in Oxford a little down the road from Crab Tree and Evelyn and yet quite close to the mall.)
Sunday, August 14th, 2011
We all had the chance to sleep in this morning which was nice because all of us had to wake up at either 6 am or 7 am the day before and went on day long journies. All in all it was nice and we are going to do a tour today of the area. The tour went well today as George and I led the group as the native English speakers. It is weird to think that it is going to be the last week of my internship soon. My family and friends are all really excited to see me as I am excited to see them after being away for two months. There are some kids from last week that I have been able to build some good bonds with but a lot of them are new. After returning home we caught up on our projects for the week and we also watched a movie together. It has been a rather relaxing raining day. The air show is supposed to be going on in Bournemouth soon with planes from all different countries flying and doing stunts. I hope that we can see them take flight on the 18th-21st before I head back to Brussels and return to the United States.
Monday, August 15th, 2011
We are starting off the week by going to Compton Acres with fifty students and six of us Group Leaders: Wietske, Snez, George, Stef, Allegra, and I. Compton Acres is an outstanding place with different style gardens. My favorite garden though is the Japanese garden with the steping stones across the still waters where you can look at the coy fish. The Japanese gardens are very relaxing even though all of the garden is very beautiful.
Despite the fact that I have been rather sick today I ended up really enjoying Compton Acres. The gardens were sooo beautiful especially the Japanese gardens and the Italian gardens. The favorite gardens by the students and us Group Leaders were the Japanese gardens and the Italian gardens as well. We took some fun pictures today and so did one of the students who loved to pose, Wolfgang. Even though the bus was predictably late and we had to wait a long time to take it back and split up the groups of students the day was rather successful.
(Group Leaders: George, Snez, Stef, Wietske, Allegra, and Me-Klarissa at Compton Acres, posing like the Beatles with 6 of us :)
Tuesday, August 16th, 2011
We are going to the BIC today (Bournemouth Center) to take the kids to thhe Sea Monsters Exhibition and go to the Celebrity Exhibition as well. It is rather rainy and cold today so it is good that we have an indoor activity planned for this afternoon. It is a new activity that seems pretty fun and we will probably split the groups up into two groups of 28.
After going to the Sea Monsters and the Celebrity Exhibitions today it seems that we were excited to see these shows for nothing. It really is too bad that we got the kids so excited for it but despite it being a minor disappointment we all had a fun day together. Us Group Leaders had a barbeque altogether and we shared stories about our lives and were able to bond through our adventures. The Sea Monster Exhibition was about dinosaurs and animals that were (of course) thought to have lived under the sea millions of years ago due to fossil records. The Celebrity Exhibition had the shoes of Fred Astaire, and a tour jacket and hat of Michael Jackson's. Even though the exhibitions were interesting they were very short walk through areas and they also seemed as though they could have had some falsified information. For example, how do we know for sure that any of those clothes actually were worn by the said celebrities? Those clothes could have come from anyone claiming to have a connection with those actors, or celebrities to begin with. There isn't any proof it seems that those artifacts were real.
(Such a beautiful garden!!)
Wednesday, August 17th, 2011
Laser games went well today as Stef, George and I had the chance to play with the kids. Laser games is often considered a favorite activity by the students as they love the music and running around in the game room. I had the chance to talk with two girls as well, Clarisse and Natacha both from Belgium today and they had interesting things to say about England, one being that people are a lot more polite here but also that they are patient. Clarisse loves the fact that we have the same name but it is spelled differently, which I think is rather sweet. It feels like this week as I am finally accustomed to being a Group Leader and getting the whole routine of Bournemouth down my summer here is soon ending.
(This kid was like the model attraction for the other students as he loved to pose for pictures. Wolfgang has a pretty charismatic personality!)
Thursday, August 18th, 2011
The two activities that we did today were ice skating and bowling which is rather ironic because it ended up raining so much that is was flooding in Bournemouth. Literally the mini golf field was covered in rain and there were certain sections which were barred off by construction workers because the waters had become so terribly high that you could probably call what used to be a small man made creek and river that you could kyiak on. Despite having wet socks all day, I was able to take loads of pictures of the students enjoying their summers together before they head back home. As school is approaching for them I think about when I was in high school and what an impressionable time it is for every person. These are the kinds of activities that I wish I could have done as a child, but somehow helping out with these activities for other students now that I am older has been a lot more rewarding. At bowling today I was able to take pictures of each group of students altogether as they sat in various spots at Bowlplex. Despite the students feeling somewhat cold from ice skating and also a bit worn out, they were all smiling at bowling today which made me realize it had been quite successful.
(Here is me at Compton Acres by the totem pole. It was a lovely garden.)
Friday, August 19th, 2011
It is a rather blustery day and we are taking the kids out to do beach games. Hopefully no one will be too cold as today the weather hasn't faired too well. Tomorrow will be my last day I Bournemouth and even though I am feeling kind of sad I am also kind of happy to be going back soon.
Today we ended up playing beach games and volleyball was quite fun for everyone as all of the students got together to play games. We had a great time playing with the students as they were all excited to be out on the beach. All we had to do was get them together to play volleyball and eventually everyone went out onto the field.
Saturday, August 20th, 2011
This is the last day of my internship as tomorrow all of us Group Leaders head back to Brussels with the students who are returning home on the bus. Last night I went out to a few clubs with Wietske and George after we were done with activities for the day and taking care of some students who needed to be placed in the right host families. We had a wonderful night dancing but it was this morning when I woke up that I realized this would be my last blog post and my last weekend in Bournemouth. I did not start out knowing that I would feel this way at the end--almost reluctant to head home. It isn't because I dislike being back in the United States, rather the contrary, it's just that this internship has done something positive for me which wouldn't have been possible without going abroad. For starters, even though I am 22-years-old, this internship was the first experience for me where I was not only in the working world in an office for the first time but also on my own in a foreign country. When my sister Karalee and I went to France two years ago, a small door had been opened into a world which I didn't know I could dare be a part of. It seemed to me that only select students could travel, or that only the rich kids could afford such experiences. After being here and working a year towards this internship, I have found that my illusions were simply illusions to begin with about foreign travel. If you want something bad enough, no one can stop you from reaching your goals.
Even if you are intimidated to work in this kind of environment it is important to never be afraid to step beyond your limits into the unknown. The unknown here has become familiar and this familiarity is not only unexpected but surprisingly I am welcomed by it. When I first came to work for Easy Languages (Langues Vivantes) in June, I felt like a child playing dress up. I was trying on an outfit of adulthood, but it wasn't really me. Now that I am accustomed to the routine, the people, and even the language (although I am only at French beginner level A22 :) ) it is going to be strange being back home for a few days.
I would like to thank everyone who has helped me, such as all of my family and friends who knew that I could do this despite my fears. I would like to thank everyone not only at my university such as staff members, my boss, and professors, but also the staff of IE3 in Oregon who have provided me with the advice I needed to travel this far. It has been a life changing experience for me here in a way that is difficult to describe but nonetheless, an experience.
(This is the balloon in the park called the Bournemouth Eye, as it is in the center of town by the square).
-The majority of these pictures are from Compton Acres as we went there last Monday, August 14th, but that is because I love those gardens (and also because my camera is broken...)
