A Wee Bit Unconventional

Her name is Ruth - she is West London-born and raised, a science teacher at the high school, with a birthday just days before mine, and a profound love for all things outdoors, carrot cake, and cappuccinos. She has become a staple part of my life here in London, with routine coffee dates (at a locally-run cafe, where we can walk in and say, "the usual please"), monthly double dates at Franco Manca's sourdough pizza joint (with her Irish-born partner Fergus, one of Bryan's new mates and partners in crime on the soccer field), and lovely girl chats as we walk partway home from work together, Ruth walking her bicycle until we part ways.

Last weekend, while Bryan and Fergus were off on a soccer/football tour in Croatia (Bryan's blog on that to come...eventually), Ruth and I decided to embark on a somewhat unconventional girls' weekend away - driving her parents' canal boat (or narrowboat) down a curvy 9-mile or so stretch of the Oxford Canal, from around Priors Hardwick to just above Claydon. We left Friday night after work, hopped on a 90-minute train to Banbury, aboard which we ate a picnic dinner (of delicious homemade food that her mum packed for us), called a cab to drive us north and drop us off as close as possible to the canal, and trekked along the canal-side towpath at dusk, until we arrived at the modest "Peerie Dunter," her parents' canal boat which was moored near Priors Hardwick. Peerie Dunter, which means Small Duck in Shetland (where Ruth's mother is from), is equipped with a small bed, floor space for another small mattress, mini kitchen, chairs and table, tiny loo, and front-end outdoor patio - basically a quaint and narrow motorhome on water. After a long evening of hot chocolate and girl chat (ie: wedding plans), we awoke on Saturday to the early morning sun. The morning hours on the canal are absolutely breathtaking, especially at this time of year. It is quiet and crisp, with abundant wildlife (many with adorable young in tow), much like the serene morning hours at a campsite. After making an almost-full English breakfast, we meticulously accomplished her father's three pages of step-by-step instructions for getting the boat started and ready to go, pushed off the canal edge, and began our adventure. With Ruth steering at the back, and myself navigating from the front patio, we coasted at a leisurely pace down the canal (maximum speed on the canal is 4 mph, and oddly enough, boats are driven on the right-side of the canal...opposite of UK roads). We delicately navigated through several extremely low and narrow bridges, passed heaps of other canal boats (quite proud of ourselves, being two young women passing by boats with mostly older gentlemen as the operators), and thoroughly enjoyed the stunningly lush countryside, gawking slightly at the numerous calves, lambs, and families of ducklings. We managed to cruise throughout most of Saturday, enduring only a couple of scrapes (to the boat, not to us), and one incident of getting stuck in the thick reeds on the side, as we courteously pulled over just before entering a bridge, for an oncoming boat.

Finding a proper place to moor the boat overnight proved to be a bit difficult, but we were able to pull in just above the flight of Claydon locks, at about 5:30 pm, after which we sat on the patio with a bottle of wine and watched the sun set behind the fields. Sunday morning involved a few cups of tea, a lazy stroll along the canal path, where Ruth showed me how to operate the canal locks whilst we chatted with the bustling crowd of canal-boat owners, queuing up to enter the Claydon flight of locks. After cleaning up the boat, locking up (basically following the instructional list in reverse order), and calling a cab to pick us up in Claydon, we caught a late-afternoon train back from Banbury to London, reluctantly leaving the serene canal life behind us.

We've already started talking dates for our next narrowboat escape...and maybe, just maybe, we'll take the boys next time...

A map of our route:

View Larger Map

Morning on the canal

Navigating the Canal

Our favorite bridge - The Boundary Lift Bridge
Our peaceful Saturday eveningSunday morning teatime

A birds-eye view of the Claydon locks

Thanks Ruth, for a lovely girls' weekend away...

-B

"Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." - Kenneth Grahame

The Rest of the Story

September 25, 2010:
What's up Matt!! How is it being back home [Australia]?! Do you miss us out here yet? I've got some questions for you regarding...wait for it...engagement rings! Nobody knows about this yet -not my best friends, not my parents, nobody, so please keep it on the super hush hush, as I'd like it to be a total surprise for Brandina. Since I'm an engagement rookie I thought I'd look towards the pro to give me a hand, and maybe even sell me a ring..... From past conversations, I'm pretty sure Brandina likes the square shape, yellowish diamonds (I'm not even sure what that means??). And I'd probably stick with a silver band. Sooo what kind of money am I looking at, how much time do I need to plan prior to receiving a ring, and what other tips or suggestions do you have for me? Is this something you'd be able to arrange for me? Hope all is well! -Bryan
October 5 2010:
Hey Dude. I can help for sure, in fact I would love to. It's really nice making things for friends because I get to see them enjoy it. So this is what we'll do - I can get some prices for you, but if you had a budget in mind that would be a great help. Fancy yellow (natural) diamonds are an amazing choice. They also come with a bit of a price tag, but I will be able to help you a lot on the price. I can then do a sketch of your amazing ring and take photos of the yellow diamonds so you can see what you're going to get and send these along. I also need a finger size if you can get it. I think this will be a great start. When did you need it for? I will have Fedex send it to your work place or somewhere and you can sign for it. It will be insured, so don't worry about that. Anyways congrats on this.. How are things in London town? I am missing it a lot hey. It doesn't have the buzz back here in Penrith. We are moving it to the city soon though, so that will ease the blow. Great hearing from you, - Matt

There's always two sides to every story. You've already heard (or read) Brandina's side of the engagement proposal. Now it's time for the inside story....

The two emails you read above were the first of 32 emails and 6 months of planning to make sure the proposal and the ring were as amazing as the bride-to-be receiving it. As you read, and as I'm sure most of you men can attest to, I had no idea where to even start. I did however know a few things: Brandina likes square diamonds, yellow diamonds, has a unique taste, and likes tulips. So before sending the email above, I did quite a bit of research online, as well as in numerous jewelery stores, asking as many questions as possible. Then I remembered that some of our Australian friends we met out here were in the jewelery business, so I figured it was worth asking him a few questions. However they had recently moved back to Australia, so this was going to be a long distance discussion. Brainstorming, ideas, questions, answers, and more research followed in the months to come - sometimes with Brandina in the same room as me. Throughout that time we decided on a cluster design, with the yellow diamond in the middle and some smaller diamonds around it. I should also add, he often reminded me that I needed to figure out her ring size, which I was struggling to do secretly. I did a bit more research, then Matt sent me this email:

December 12 2010:

Hey dude. How are things going? I have found the most amazing diamond for you. It's so bright and vivid. It's a princess cut diamond...and with the other diamonds around it, it will look perfect. I would buy this one myself, I love the diamond [Matt, engaged now, was also in the process of getting engaged at the time]. If that helps you decide.

Hope all is well. Let me know what your thoughts are and I will get a design drawn up for you.

Talk soon mate. Merry Christmas.

-Matt

It sounded amazing, so I had Matt draw up the design:


I loved the drawing, so it was go-time. Meanwhile I still needed her ring size. So, on one of my days off, I went through all of the pictures I could find of her, and finally found one of her wearing a ring. I was able to find the same ring in her jewelery box, and knowing what finger she was wearing it on in the picture (not her ring finger by the way), I took it to a store to get it sized. This, according to Matt, was enough information for him to guess her size...yikes.

After a few more months and one ring nightmare (in which I dreamt the ring was an ugly, archaic, stone-age rock), February rolled around, and the ring finally arrived. It looked fantastic; I just hoped Brandina felt the same way. I knew it was always a bit risky choosing a ring with no help from any of her friends or family, but I decided that if I chose correctly, then it would be an epic win.

During the ring planning process, I had also been planning the proposal. Lucky to be living abroad, I had Europe as my playground. Paris? Too cliche. London? Too close. Her favorite city, San Sebastian? Perhaps, but we were already there, so she may suspect something. Think..think..what does Brandina love...roses? No, she hates those. Tulips? Tulips! The famous tulip fields in Lisse, Holland! The problem was, there is only a small 6-week window to see the blossoming tulips, and we were going to be on holiday through-out Spain with her parents for a good portion of that window. That meant either the first week of the window or the last week. I decided we'd risk the first week, that way we could celebrate our engagement with her parents, while also avoiding the annual ambush of "when are you getting engaged" questions (as in, Brandina's parents' ambush in Stonehenge last year).

The trip to the tulip fields was easy to convince Brandina of, because it was a trip we had talked about doing numerous times, so we planned it as normal, no questions asked.

Leading up to the proposal, with the ring taken care of and the trip planned, my only other concern was making sure it stayed a surprise (and hoping the ring fit...well and that she liked the ring too). This meant not telling a soul for quite a while. With Facebook these days, it doesn't take much for something to go viral. The saying "nobody I would tell, knows her anyway," no longer applies. Your mom's friend may be Facebook friends with someone who has a cousin living in London, who happens to work with Brandina. Not a risk I was willing to take.

There is a caveat - I needed a bit of advice, or encouragement per se, about the ring, so I told my brother, knowing that I could trust him. Not that the SDSU-Film-study-college-

graduate-to-be is a ring expert in any way, but I needed to talk to someone about it.

So about two weeks before the proposal, I was in the U.S. for my cousins wedding, toting around the ring in my scrappy backpack (1) so she wouldn't stumble upon it in my absence (2) to show my brother and (3) so it wouldn't be out of my sight. At the wedding, surrounded by family and friends, I received an onslought of wedding questions myself: "When are you getting married?" "What are you waiting for?" And my personal favorite, while my grandfather married my cousin and her husband, he called me out in his speech saying, "I'm honored to be able to marry my granddaughter, now if my grandson(s) will just hurry up, I may be able to marry them also." I knew the barrage would be coming, and I also knew that I was going to be proposing two weekends later, so I just smiled and played stupid.

I really wanted to tell my mom, because this is a day she has been waiting for since I was called into the Principal's office in kindergarten, for forging her signature (true story - it was of course just her first name, in big block letters). However, I knew that if I told her, as hard as she would try, she wouldn't be able to contain her excitement until the secret was out. It was for her own good. So I had my brother call her late the night before I proposed - that way she did know before it happened, though she was up all night after that call....due to her uncontainable excitement. As a small additional twist, I forgot it was April Fools Day, and my brother and I have been known to collaborate on a few big ones in the past (i.e. that I wouldn't be graduating from grad school in '06), so she didn't believe my brother at first when he told her of the proposal plan.

I did have one more person to tell..err...ask actually. Call me old fashioned, but I've always thought it's respectful to ask your hopefully-soon-to-be-fiance's father for his blessing to marry his daughter. So, while in the Dallas airport on my last leg back to London, I rang Brandina's dad, and asked him for his permission to marry his daughter. After a solid chat about commitment, he gave me his blessing. A quick chat with Brandina's mom followed, to let her in on the details, and I was on my way back to London - everything going according to plan...

Which brings us to the big day, 2 April 2011. Our hotel was in an excellent location, directly next to some of the fields, and a 20-minute walk from the famous Keukenhof Flower Park. My plan was that we'd be frolicking about in some amazing, blossomed tulip field, and I'd get down on one knee, whip out the ring, and propose. There was just one problem. The tulips hadn't blossomed yet. It turns out our risky choice of the first week in the tulip window had failed. As we walked through the flower park, I was looking for some sort of worthy patch of flowers, but the right spot just wasn't speaking to me. I began thinking of a plan B, when Brandina said, "I overheard a couple talking to our hotel receptionist about renting bikes and cycling down to the ocean. I guess it's only about a 30 minute bike ride away, should we go do that?" I thought "bingo!" and replied, "That's a fantastic idea." As we biked to the ocean, I was still hoping to find a beautiful field, but alas there were none - well none that we could reach. We approached the ocean via the sand dunes, locked up our bikes, and when we reached the other side of the dunes, I peered down and knew the beach would be the perfect place.


As we walked on the beach, I asked Brandina to take a photo of some horses the other way (a distraction of course).

While she was taking those pictures, I pulled the ring out of my backpack, got down on one knee, looked her in the eyes, and spoke from heart. As Brandina has mentioned, she doesn't remember a thing I said. Her eyes and mouth were wide open - apparently the surprise worked. She claims the only thing she said was "shuuuuut-uuuuup," in the surprised, completely stunned sense of the phrase, but I don't remember that. I think we were both in a bit of a haze. She of course said yes, and when the ring fit, I finally exhaled.

And that, is the rest of the story....

- Bryan

"...I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." - Dwight David Eisenhower

THE Royal Wedding

Yes, we have survived.

A special thanks to everyone who emailed or messaged with thoughts about us on The Royal Wedding Day last Friday, the 29th. The lead-up to last Friday in London was beyond our wildest imaginations - suffice it to say I'm glad it's not our faces on all that merchandise (I mean, how good can your faces really look on merchandise from the £1 store?!) While it was amazing to live here during such a historic day, we are completely shameless in admitting that we spent Friday on the couch. A friend of mine from work came over in the morning, Bryan made us breakfast, and we watched it all from the comfort of our own flat, drinking tea (well, Bryan declined on the tea & biscuits), making comments, and watching what can only be described as an awe-inspiring event, straight out of centuries past. A few notes to self - make sure my wedding band is sized properly, and don't make everyone wait THAT long for a kiss :). Congrats to William & Kate - may you be blessed with love, happiness, and a shred of privacy in the upcoming months!

As a side note, with all the merchandise available to remember the day, we've purchased the commemorative button shown below...our plan, when we return to the States (among heaps of other things, of course) is to create a framed piece of work displaying coins from places we've visited, and we think this button will fit right in....

But, for the record, my absolute favourite piece of memorabilia (which we didn't actually buy) is this one:
Couldn't have said it better ourselves...cheers to our 4-day weekend, and the impending signs of spring & summer in London! Enjoy the warmth, wherever you are, and thanks again for all of your thoughts. We hope to make our special day equally as memorable as Will & Kate's...

-B&B

"We were supposed to have just a small family affair." - Prince William, joking at the altar with Kate's father, Michael Middleton.

All About the Inspiration

Inspiration - we look for it everywhere - work, art, play, music, food, travel...in theory, we should be inspired on a daily basis, by what we see and do. We should be inspired in our work hours, as difficult as that can be sometimes, and certainly inspired in our playtime. Living and working in London, and having the opportunity to travel, is an inspiration itself; this experience has inspired us to work harder, play harder, and set our sights high, for the things we want to achieve in our personal, professional, and social lives.

April 8th, 2011 - the epitome of work hard, and the last day of the spring term at school - was a rough day, to say the very least. I just about cried all the way to work out of sheer exhaustion; my only saving grace was that the day happened to be a staff training day, rather than a regular school day. Due to the nature of my specific role in the school, the last two weeks of every term is just brutal - late nights working at home, early mornings working in school, very little sleep, lots of reports due, students' inhibitions down a bit (resulting in a bit more chaos around school) - I'm telling you, it's enough to just about break me every time; and, I know I'm not the only one. To be completely honest, I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a lot of deeply caring and committed educators who don't have similar experiences. Fortunately, the British school system has its holidays dispersed throughout the year, similar to a year-round system in the United States, with some sort of a break every 6 or 7 weeks. These holidays are an absolute necessity, to maintain the pace, commitment, and drive that it takes to be an educator. What I've learned, through working at a school in London, is that quality teachers, educators, and school staff work well beyond their contracted hours, spend their own pocket money for resources and supplies, and advocate for and support every student they meet (even the ones that cause a bit of grief). They even get together over coffee on a frequent basis, to share ideas, learn new strategies, and push themselves to grow professionally, for the benefit of their students. Now, that's inspiring. And, without a doubt, let me say that educators deserve each and every day of annual holiday leave that is afforded to them - each and every day. It isn't as much about taking a vacation, as it is about recharging, rehabilitating, and reorganising to be able to do it again.

Enter April 12th - the dawn of play hard. Fortunately, April 8th passed fairly quickly, and four days later, we set off to enjoy something brand new - our first holiday away as an engaged couple! We spent a few days in one of my favourite cities, Barcelona, eating tapas, roaming around, spending an afternoon at the Picasso museum, and enjoying a champagne toast with my parents on the balcony of Hotel Gaudi, overlooking the stunning rooftop of Palau Guell, one of Gaudi's mansions, currently closed to the public for renovations. We then set off on a week-long adventure throughout Spain (with a couple of stops in Italy & Portugal) with my parents. Having not seen them since last August, and now having very exciting wedding news and details to discuss, it was an amazing trip, and a much-needed break. We ate heaps of local foods, developed a lovely habit of daily afternoon siestas, did a bit of shopping (including my first taste of the task that is wedding dress shopping, in Lisbon), and overall just enjoyed exploring and being together. And, we were inspired, to begin our newest play mission - finding bits and bobs (as the British would say) from our travels, to incorporate into our wedding day. From this trip - a wedding cake topper from Lisbon, and Bryan's suit from Spain. We'll keep this list running....

Barcelona, Spain
Architectural work of Gaudi
Lazy afternoon at Park Guell

Family dinner in the Gothic Quarter
Genoa, Italy
(home of Christopher Columbus)

Malaga, Spain
(childhood home of Pablo Picasso)

Cadiz, Spain

Lisbon, Portugal
Gibraltar
Rock of Gibraltar
Protected monkeys, living on the Rock(Note the striking, coincidental resemblance
of each of man and his monkey, in these pics below)

Alicante, Spain
Enjoying Costa del Sol

So there it is, inspiration found, in work and play. With my work contract just recently renewed until March 2012 (and the primary-secondary transition season kicked into high gear now), Bryan beginning both a new part-time job and internship next week, and a couple of trips organised for the month of May, we are definitely setting our sights high this spring, in both regards.

Thanks Mom and Dad, for yet another wonderful holiday. And, happy 24th wedding anniversary today :). We love you!

-B&B

"Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working." - Pablo Picasso

Great Expectations

Great expectations are a complicated fact of life. Sometimes, we can make our expectations so great in size, that the only possible outcome is a bit short of what we had in mind. Other times, we can have no expectations at all, be taken by surprise, and end up with an outcome that is beyond great in character, far surpassing anything we could have ever imagined. As far as expectations are concerned, the latter are the greatest of them all.

My expectations for the tulip fields of Lisse, just outside Amsterdam, were of the former class of great. I have dreamed of visiting the tulip fields since I first went to Amsterdam, almost 10 years ago, whilst studying abroad in college. The tulip season runs for about 6 weeks, from late March to mid-May, and if you've ever seen photos of these fields in full bloom, you can understand why my expectations were so great in size. Fields of bright colours, extending as far as the eye can see. A stunning work of art, signed by nature. We've been talking about visiting these fields since we moved here, and this weekend, made the trip. Suffice it to say, my expectations were bordering on grandiose. And, true to form, could only fall short. Unfortunately, after arriving late Friday night, we woke up on Saturday morning to discover that the fields of tulips have yet to blossom at all this year. We visited Keukenhof Gardens, which, to be fair, is showing the early signs of spring, with a large amount of different flowers in bloom, and a few pots of tulips scattered throughout (which Bryan reckons were probably grown inside, then transplanted to the outdoors, hence being in full bloom long before the tulip fields have shown any colour). But beyond the maintained grounds of the gardens, the rolling fields of tulips have yet to mature this year. The one colour to be seen is that of the daffodil fields, which are breathtaking in themselves, but alone at the moment in their plight to prove that spring has arrived. From an artistic standpoint, spring in Lisse is a work in progress for the time being. The canvas has been prepped and primed, the yellow daffodils have been completed, and now, visitors must sit back and patiently await the rest of the painter's palette.

Inside Keukenhof Gardens

Having finished up at the Keukenhof Gardens by about 1:00 on Saturday afternoon, we decided, with a bit of hesitation and disappointment, to abandon the expectation of and search for blossomed tulip fields, and change our course of action all together. Thus began the rest of our weekend, the portion of our trip that came with no expectations at all (well, at least none that I was aware of at the time). We walked back to our hotel, rented his and hers bicycles from the hotel lobby, grabbed a map outlining the 24 km round-trip route to the sea, and headed west. And, it was, absolutely grand in outcome. With the sun shining overhead, and bicycle paths largely uncluttered (a definite advantage to arriving early in the tulip season), we cycled through the countryside, parked our bicycles at the start of the sand dunes, took off our shoes, and hiked the rest of the way to the seaside.

Heading west, to the Sea

We walked a bit along the coastline, taking photos and enjoying the warm sea breeze. As I stared off in the distance, contemplating how wonderful the afternoon had turned out after all, I turned around to see Bryan, kneeling in the sand. On just one knee. To be honest, I was in such a state of surprise that I don't remember all of what he said. But, what I can tell you, is that he did ask me to marry him, and I did say yes!

I spent the next hour asking him all sorts of questions, as I am sure most women do. Perhaps my favourite story is that of the ring itself, which has been in the making for about 8 months now. Some of you may remember our Australian friends, Matt and Nicole, who moved back home last July (featured in our blog article Homeward Bound #1). Well, Matt is a jeweler by trade, and with Bryan's input (only knowing that I like a square princess cut, with a yellow stone), designed and created a stunning ring that passed through UK customs about 3 weeks ago, in preparation for this weekend. What I love about the ring, aside from it being perfect for me and my personality, is that it was created by someone we know, someone we became friends with on this adventure in London, someone we actually met for the first time in San Sebastian, Spain, my favourite place on earth. Thus, the ring carries with it the spirit of our lives in London, the sentiments of our holiday last year in San Sebastian, and the specialness of an Aussie couple that we will forever call our friends. We closed out the day with an evening walk and Italian dinner in Amsterdam, overlooking one of the city's lovely canals.

Now, that is a lesson in great expectations. And, as it turns out, a touch of yellow is the only colour this canvas needed after all.

Love to you all!

-B&B

"The best things in life are unexpected, because there were no expectations." - Eli Khamarov

Experiential Learning

"To serve, to strive, and not to yield." This is the motto of the Outward Bound Trust, an educational charity that provides young people with the opportunity to challenge themselves, take risks, and develop their confidence whilst participating in adventurous, outdoor activities.

Last Monday, I traveled with 19 7th grade students, and one other teacher from school, to the Outward Bound Residential Centre in Aberdovey, Wales, for a week-long adventure course. Accompanied by professional Outward Bound instructors throughout the entire week, we pushed, challenged, encouraged, and motivated our students to try new activities. Through building a raft, learning to canoe, pier-jumping into the sea, hiking, rock-climbing, and overnight camping, the students had ample opportunity to become independent and resourceful learners, work as a team, and develop their self-confidence. As the adults, our role was to supervise in the background, motivate and cheerlead, ease the homesickness, do a bit of parenting, and enjoy the early mornings with a cup of coffee, overlooking the sea.

My Outward Bound Top 9:

1) Top Moment of Community: 19 7th graders, four adults, standing around six mini camping stoves in darkness, cooking communal pots of re-hydrated pastas and rice, sharing, laughing, and eating.

2) Top Most Exasperating Question: "Ohhhhh Miss, how much further?" Whether on a 6-hour coach from London to Aberdovey, or on a 6-hour mountainous hike with heavy rucksacks, let me assure you that this question wears out, quickly. Learned a few distraction techniques as a result - like telling stories from my own childhood to pass the time, or offering to race a child up the hill, since the infusion of competition seems to dull the whinging just a bit.

3) Top Moment of Teaching: Showing a 7th grader, a child who is 12 years old, how to tie her shoe laces. Humbling.

4) Top Outdoor Activity: Exploring the ruins of an old Welsh castle - climbing the stone remains, on a warm sunny day, overlooking rolling hills of sheep and horses, and feeling, if just for a moment, like a small child on top of the world.

5) Top Moment of Nostalgia: Accidentally interrupting a group of giggling 7th graders playing a game of Truth or Dare. Whoops. :)

6) Top Student Quote: On having to wake up at 7:00 am for breakfast, "But Miss, my tail isn't bushy until 8." My reply: "Well, this week, we are just going to have to be bushy at 7."

7) Top Moment of Motherhood: Informing the girls that eating Oreos and Sour Cream & Onion chips, in bed, at 10:00 pm, isn't really the best idea. Oh, and making sure I always had enough sunscreen for myself, and for everyone else.

8) Top Lesson Learned: Standing back to let kids struggle, in a safe and supportive environment, is actually a remarkable way to teach. Encourage, cheer, and applaud - yes, the more the better. Coddle, takeover, or do - not so much. Turns out that true accomplishment, pride, and confidence comes from recognizing momentary defeat, trying again from a different angle (or just a bit harder), seeing something through, and earning a sense of mastery.

9) Top Photograph: Taken on our day hike through the mountains. It doesn't get much better than this.

It was a powerful learning experience for all of us - so much so that I actually teared up on the bus ride back to London, reflecting on how far the students had come in one week, and how proud I felt about their achievements and willingness to take calculated risks with encouragement. Throughout the week, a few of them cried, some of them matured beyond their years, most all of them whinged at some point or another, and nearly all of them left Wales with a new-found sense of pride and self-esteem. I witnessed transformations and personal achievements, tested my own patience and ability to let students fail in order to learn, and experienced all of the above in the most serene, breathtaking natural environment. This experience was, undoubtedly, the highlight of my professional career to date. What that means for me, from a professional standpoint, I'm not really sure at the moment. All I know is that I feel completely honored, humbled, fulfilled, and let's be honest...exhausted :). Now that's a rewarding place to be.

-Brandina

"Experiencing this heart-beating and emotional journey to Aberdovey, Wales, has made me realise that I have more inside than what others see of me." - Year 7 Pupil

Over the Hill

A crazy thought - this past Tuesday, the 1st of March, marked the half way point of our UK visas - 18 months since they became valid, and 18 months left until they expire. We've become the American-in-London veterans now, giving advice, sympathies, and travel recommendations to the newbies. Guess that means we are now officially over the hill...

And, just for the sake of photographic evidence - same two trees, all four seasons:

-B&B

"Time's fun when you're having flies." - Kermit the Frog