Saying farewell to Maine with a ridicuously unhealthy whoopie!

What a week it's been. Several children needed peeling down from the ceiling as excitement built. We were just glad when Thursday finally rolled round and we could go and celebrate with dinner and drinks at the Tavern.

We had a Solstice party on Wednesday which was lots of fun with truffle making, gingerbread decorating and then an English tea. An amazing team of parent volunteers swooped into action and set up the room with cups and saucers and toasted crumpets. A few children braved the marmite option and many enjoyed the tea largely due to copious quantities of sugar...the afternoon was lively!

This morning I had a Christmas breakfast with Sarah, Stuart and Sofia which was lovely and I'm now sat in Logan airport after narowly escaping frost bite on the bus down from Portland. I could barely feel my extremeties. I had the foresight to wear my fluffy snow boots but didn't think to pack mittens. Every American airport I have been in so far has been really really boring and this is no exception. I've just wolfed a whoopie pie (Maine's state desert don't you know) followed by an apple to try and neutralise some of the badness and now have to try and pace myself before breaking up the monotony with a trip to Starbucks. Oh well, it's all worth it. I am SO looking forward to being home!

I just wish I could meet the new addition to the family, Jenny and Ceri's new baby. Welcome to the world baby Edward!

Last weekend, on Sallie's recommendation, I went to seek out the Victorian Mansion in Portland. Every year, different businesses decorate one of the rooms to match a theme, this year's being Christmas carols. It was lovely to have a stroll around and enjoy some Victorian opulence. I just loved the reindeers...

It has also been blooming cold this week and i've been quite right in claiming 'it's (insert choice word) freezing' -12C on Monday morning...brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Christmas domesticity!

I successfully made mince pies, look...

I am feeling very proud of myself. They even taste good despite the fact I forgot to add any salt to the pastry. This comes in the wake of me making biscotti last night. I managed to salvage some good looking biscuits from the carnage that ensued in the kitchen but also went to bed with a very full stomach after having eaten many bits that fell apart or were a little on the overdone side. Aren't my friends here lucky to be receivers of such gifts?!

I've had another interesting week with Monday night being a highlight. Sarah took me along to the Choral Arts Society's annual Messiah sing along. We entered a packed church in Portland full of people with thick manuscripts and a dressed down Southern Maine Symphony Orchestra. Sarah strode straight to the front to sit in the Soprano section and I meekly followed behind. There weren't many non-singers in the audience. What followed was beautiful. It really was amazing to be able to sit there amongst all the singers and just watch and listen, especially when the whole chorus were belting out the hallelujah chorus. Wow wow wow! The experience was slightly marred by the fruit bat standing behind who was as deaf as a post, chomped on her gum rather loudly and didin't necessarily hit all of the right notes in the chorus. She made me feel guilty for thinking bad things when she declared at the end of 'hallelujah' that she would never forget being part of it.

This week was also the christmas party at work. For me, the best things about having a christmas party were missing from the very beginning. I couldn't dress up as the party was 4-6pm after school on Thursday and as a result of this bottles of wine and the silliness that usually follows were also absent. Home by ten past 6...in the evening. Needless to say I didn't wake up in the early hours of the morning and wonder why my ankle was throbbing, see anyone do the splits from standing, hear any renditions of 'ice ice baby' or see anyone dancing on chairs. Roll on next year!

It did, however, allow me to experience a Yankee swap. Everyone takes along a gift and leaves it under the tree. You then pick a number from a hat to determine the order you will pick a gift in. Number 1 goes first and unwraps their present. Then number 2. If number 2 likes 1's more than theirs, they can steal it. Number 3 then has choice of their own, number 2's or number 1's and so on. I was number 4 - not great as you want a high number to have the best pick - and unwrapped something that was really not my cup of tea so quickly swapped it for a strange back to front clock which, oddly enough, no-one else wanted. I, however, think I got the best deal!!! My class are intrigued so think we're going to put it up to disconcert visitors to our room!

Anyway, this time next week I should be home on British soil. Very excited. Fingers crossed heavy snow holds off for just a little bit longer. I just hope that all of you are ready to tell me how much you like my accent several times a day to keep me from being Maine-sick!

'Tis the season to be jolly!

The festive season is building here, although at the moment without snow. On Monday it was the Cumberland tree lighting ceremony. Sarah's high school group sang some Christmas songs and then Santa rolled into town...on a fire truck!!! Cookies and hot chocolate were then served in the church rooms. Yum!

On Tuesday, Sarah's group held a proper concert in the church and it was lovely to hear. Some Christmas classics but not many carols...separation from the state means that schools are not allowed to show any connection to any one religion in particular. Very odd. I have to be careful to say 'the holidays' rather than Christmas. They did, however, finish with Silent Night from the balcony.

In celebration of 'the holidays' I have got a rather fetching tree in my room. One of my class drew me a huge picture of one which is now on my door. Not a spot of tinsel in sight so it is highly preferable to the white monstrocity that appeared last year when I was foolish enough to leave my classroom unattended for a morning. I haven't yet forgotten or forgiven!!! The scene that met me has scarred me for life.

Not a scrap of tinsel in sight, I love it! Big baubles of light hanging from trees in Bath.

Yesterday, I went up to Bath with Emily and her family. We all climbed aboard the Candy Cane Train, which goes up the coast to Wiscasset and back with all proceeds going towards a literacy project. It was very cute, with story readers in the carriages, carollers, dancing elves, cookies and of course a visit from Santa himself. He really knows how to travel (apparently he landed in the Sea Dogs stadium a couple of weeks ago in a helicopter too!)

It was lovely to spend time with Emily's family as they took over her aunt's old house, a huge place with a wonderful twirly staircase, perfect for descending to the waiting party below in a beautiful ball gown. Sadly, I didn't get the opportunity for such an entrance. As we walked through to the kitchen, I saw chains coming through the ceiling. I asked Emily if these were bell ropes used to make servants come running in the early days of the house. "They're coffin ropes," was the reply. Sure enough there was the lift for carrying coffins. With relief, I found out her family aren't vampires. The house used to be a funeral home. That made me feel better about the fact her family were all making me feel very very welcome!

Thomas was busy so we were pulled by Diesel.

Johannah and Henry enjoying the ride.

No Candy Cane Train would be complete without the dancing elves!

This week I made the decision to come back for Christmas. I wasn't planning on it but, as the time approached, I realised that as much as I love it here and have made some wonderful friends, I just wanted to see the people who know me best and take part in all our christmas traditions. How could I possibly miss Christmas eve dinner with friends, the Christmas morning dog walk around Sywell and of course roast potatoes? (No pressure Kath!) How could I possibly deny my mother the chance to give me that huge christmas present that she couldn't possibly post? So back on Christmas Eve until New Years Day. A whirlwind visit but time enough to enjoy good company, the joys of Marks and Spencers, the wonders of the BBC, Robinson's squash being on tap and wonderful muesli...oh I just can't wait to munch my way through several humungous bowls of the stuff whilst reading the G2.

Before I leave, however, I have to follow through on a rash promise I made to make mince pies. There isn't much that we have in the UK in the way of Christmas traditions that they don't have here, but small mince pies do not fill shelves and shelves of Hannaford as they would in every supermarket back home. In fact to have had 11 days of December already, yet not seen a single solitary one seems very very wrong. And lets face it, its not because Americans are worried about the horrifying numbers of calories they contain. I digress...thankfully, I found a jar of mincemeat after lots of laps of Hannaford and it is vegetarian. It doesn't look quite as I was expecting though. Because of this, I asked an assistant whether this was the only kind of mincemeat they stocked. He replied "errr...I don't work on meats, why don't you go and ask the butcher?" I politely (but with a withering look) informed him that there was no meat in the jar of mincemeat I was holding. Anyway, this is all a long way of saying that if my first attempt at mince pies is a complete disaster then it is nothing to do with me. Especially as this evening I surprised myself by making a yummy potato gratin using my mum's technique of guessing the quantity of ingredients needed, the cooking temperature and the cooking time. I know its not exactly rocket science but...domestic goddessdom here I come (and pride cometh before the mincepieth fall!)

Mmmmm marmite!

I'm planning a Winter Solstice party for my class and promised them a while ago that we would try good old English crumpets and marmite (I have tried to convert them already. Back in August at my open house I fed them crackers with marmite on top...some weren't convinced ao I'm trying again.) My 'room parents', who kindly bought me some crumpets last week to prove I wasn't hallucinating in the supermarket, are helping me to organise this event and today sent me this link from National Public Radio. All I can say is what a load of wimps...oh and they should have tried marmite properly, on hot crumpets with melting butter.
Mmmmmm....
Never mind Marmite, I still love you!

All the small things...

This week has been about all the small things making me smile...
(If, like me, you can't say these 4 words without thinking of Blink 182, here's the link to listen while you read even though it doesn't match my sentiment and the video is rather disturbing!)

1) Having Blackpool illuminations on my doorstep.
After Thanksgiving, preparations for Christmas step up several notches here but particularly on our street. Blackpool illuminations are not a patch on this. Every house has something, whether it be white lights wound around the trees (not just one tree but about 7 of them), balls of light dangling from trees or candles in every window. We have lights on the porch but, really, we are putting on a very poor show! I'm waiting for a complaint to come through the door.

2) Visiting Oxford, Paris (well...South Paris) and Norway all without leaving the state! It was interesting to take a trip West and see more rural Maine and its many lakes. I can't wait to see them in the depths of winter when they freeze over so hard that they turn into ice fishing villages with tents and cabins.

3) Spending Saturday afternoon in good company doing some crafting. It was lovely to get creative making tree ornaments, enjoying the silence of concentration and then breaking out into chatter as we enjoyed coffee and the wonders of dark chocolate digestives...thanks Anne!

4) Spinning again. I've bitten the bullet and joined a gym. I'm sad to leave behind exercising locally and in the great outdoors but running in the dark here would be truly ridiculous and would qualify as an extreme sport. Plus the only way I could continue to swim at the high school would be to get out of bed at quarter past five. Never going to happen! So I trundled off to the Y and haven't looked back. I am already addicted to spinning again although am intimidated by all the other superfit people in the class.

5) Finding the eleventh commandment whilst attending 'Christmas at the cathedral'. Today I went to see/hear the Choral Arts Society's Christmas concert and it was beautiful. A wonderful sound to make me feel all christmassy. Soooooo much better than listening to christmas songs played non-stop on some of the radio stations here which has the opposite effect of making me into a Christmas misery. I particularly liked 'Gloria' from 'The Bluegrass mass'. See what you think!

 
6) Having a lovely dinner with some lovely neighbours.

7) Starting my animated London advent calendar with my class (thanks Karin). On Friday we decorated the christmas tree and all chose a decoration to put on. We also got to hear Big Ben chime 9 o'clock. So exciting! I also enjoyed opening my chocolate one (thanks mum). When I told my class this, their faces said it all...but you're too old. NEVER!!!

Happy December everyone!

Thanksgiving in a winter wonderland

The thing that I was most excited about, when the exchange began to sink in, was being able to celebrate Thanksgiving. Years of watching Friends (and seeing Monica's spread) and reading American books had wet my appetite for this most American of holidays (and pumpkin pie of course). On top of this, my class were very excited about it too, giving me lots of details about pie, pie and more pie as well as wishbone pulling and having a great feast with friends and family.

Finally the day arrived! We started this morning with the Greely hockey turkey trot 5K from the high school, braving slippy paths and listening to the ice crunch beneath our sneakers as we dashed for the finish line. Sadly, no-one was dressed up as a turkey!

With that mission accomplished, it was on to a much harder task...eating the feast. Sarah had invited me to join her family at her sister's house and so we set off with various vegetables and desserts to add to the table. I decided that I couldn't quite face tofurkey as it really didn't look appetising so it was vegetables, cranberries and stuffing all the way for me. Very nice it was too!

All was eclipsed, however, by the much anticipated pie course...pumpkin (it's traditional), pecan (it smelt so delicious when it was baking yesterday), butterfinger (well, it's an American candy bar made into pie) and a few escaped cherries from the cherry pie (they looked too good to miss!). I had to resist apple and chocolate as my stomach refused to expand any more. No thermals needed, I have all the blubber I need!!

After dinner, as we lay about and groaned, it was game time. I did incredibly badly when the round centred on African-American politicians and early Beatles songs (much to everyone's disappointment in me as a British person), however, I redeemed myself by excelling on...wait for it...The British Royal Family!!!!! I could name them all. And I thought I wasn't a royalist!

Thanks to Sarah's family for making me feel so welcome. I had a great first Thanksgiving and can't wait to celebrate next year with family and friends at home. I'm already planning the pie menu...

Sunsets and shovelling

Well another action packed weekend has passed. There was no time for any rest as I had to ensure Mum and Jim squeezed as much in to their 10 days as possible! On Friday night we went to the most amazing vegetarian restaurant where they served delicious thai dishes. Tempura asparagus...yum! I did ask the owner if she would set up a branch in Northampton but she complained about the distance of the commute. What a wimp!

A highlight of the weekend was catching the mail boat that visits the islands of Casco bay twice daily. It was gloriously sunny and perfect for standing out on deck, watching the sun set and gettting a snap shot of what life must be like on the islands. Lots of people had been grocery shopping in Portland and were transporting them on and off the boat in big carts.

However, no trip to Maine is complete without a trip to L.L.Bean...

It's weird not having them here any more but they escaped just in time. We had oodles (in British terms) of snow overnight and I did my first snow shovelling today...lucky me!

Look who the cat dragged all the way to Maine!

My first visitors to Maine arrived last Saturday on the bus from Boston. After their fair share of travel nightmares - mum having entered her passport number incorrectly on her visa, had to go and buy another in an internet cafe in Heathrow before she was allowed to check-in - Mum and Jim arrived, bringing with them their good company as well as the missing components from my winter wardrobe.

We started their trip, as promised, with a trip to Stones for breakfast and very nice it was too. Then in was a drive around Maine in search of a craft fair, the famous light house and the lovely Old port. I am taking full advantage of having a chef in residence and to date have enjoyed 5 yummy meals cooked by my mother!

This week has also seen me reach minor celebrity status. My name in lights...well, almost. I made the school sign!!!

The PTO wanted to find a way for more children and parents to meet me as the school is so huge and the kids are so fascinated by my funny way of talking. I did suggest a bonfire night party but this was rather ambitious what with needing fire licenses etc so we decided on having a British tea party instead.

I had no idea that it would be quite as big an event as it was. A team of volunteers set tables in British colours and bunting was made from flags children had coloured. Everyone sat down to eat scones, jam and cream and drink tea from proper cups and saucers. It was an incredible event. 

Then there was the entertainment...oh that was me. Very very bizarre. I did a quiz on all things British where I was the most amazing quiz master. Anne Robinson better watch out (or not...in the sport round, I asked which sport the picture showed, then proceeded to say how it was a picture of Northampton's rugby team). The wierdest part for me, however, was being asked questions by the kids. I can't imagine ever being this interesting to anyone ever again. What is your favourite thing? and What is your favourite dress? were two of my favourites. Everyone now knows about my Toots obsession, my love of Reese's peanut butter cups, that I miss Jaffa cakes and that in the UK we call American football, American football. The bookings for future events have been rolling in ever since!

A sparkling start to November

How can it be November already? It was strange having the 5th pass without the sound of fireworks popping, whizzing and crackling as soon as it got dark, however, I spent last week talking to lots of different classes about why we celebrate bonfire night. They enjoyed hearing about the demise of the villains and many did firework pictures with paint and glitter galore. I loved my Q and A sessions with the children - some great questions...Is King James still alive? Who was the good guy - the King or Guy Fawkes? Was Guy Fawkes a terrorist? How long did it take them to die?...not all of them easy to answer!

I also had a bizarre moment with my class when I realised what separation of church and state really means - no idea that, when watching an animated Christmas song video in French, the baby donkey is meant to symbolise Jesus. No child of school age in the UK would have any problem with that. It's going to be a strange December without the nativity play.

On Friday night, I went on the first Friday art walk in Portland. All the little galleries stay open late and you can wander round and admire some of the wonderful craftsmanship on display (some amazingly beautiful jewellery made using naturally expired butterfly's wings) and the not so wonderful, yet still horrendously expensive. You also get to chuckle at people discussing the colour pallet issues of arranging photographs taken with mobile phones...Pretentious? Moi?

This weekend also saw me complete the Great Osprey 10km run at Wolfe's neck state park in Freeport. What a beautiful location and a stunning day but brrrr...it was cold! I marvelled at the crazy people running in shorts and vests. It was a small event and we set off along quiet roads (with traffic still passing), went up and down some rather steep hills and finally came around by the ocean. It really was a stunning run and I was pleased to come in in 48 minutes and in a respectable 67th place (out of 294). Great to see my support team as I crossed the finish line!


The support team!

Yesterday I had another cultural experience. I went to see Sarah and Stuart perform with the Choral Arts Society, acompanied by the Kotzchmar organ, at the Merrill Auditorium in Portland. I sat next to a man in the second half who was on the 'Friends of the Kotzchmar organ' board so now for the trivia...The organ is one of only two surviving public organs in the United States (the other being in San Diego and is situated outdoors). It was a lovely concert and Stuart did a great job with his solo. So good, in fact, that I earwigged the people behind asking whether he was a professional singer.

Happy snowy halloween!

First snow in Maine...apparently a surprise to all those who live here too. I am being laughed at by many people here as I wander round already bundled up. "What ya gonna do when it really gets cold?" Err...wear even more!
What is amazing though is how fast the response to snow is here. Snow Saturday night, all plowed Sunday morning. Not quite the UK response! I went out in the sparking sunshine late yesterday for a run. I  kept to the road and didn't slide at all or get my feet soaked in slush.
Luckily we didn't get hit too badly here, although like with the hurricane, many people lost power for hours and hours. Being on the main town circuit is very advantageous for us!

Today I experienced Halloween American style. Someone at school had the idea of playing 'where's Waldo?' (or Wally to us Brits - who knew, another cultural difference!) so all teachers dressed in stripes and jeans and the kids had to spot the real Waldo. My class, slightly slow to cotton on, thought that it was slightly strange that Emily and I were dressed the same...

This aftrenoon, we had a party in class at school to launch our new reading unit on characters so children came as their favourite realistic fiction character and then got to eat cookies, cake and a token fruit or vegetable too. Sadly though, not many of these were home made due to power outages...and I was looking forward to some home made brownies. Children did have to do a little work first, stepping into role as their character and describing themselves to the class and their parents. It was a lovely event!

Then tonight we lit our lanterns and the twinkly lights for the trick or treaters. I stayed home for a while, then left Hagrid to deal with the madding crowds...

 whilst I went to experience what it was like out in the wild streets of Cumberland. Look who I found...

Too cute! Happy Halloween!

Denver along with too much time spent in airports

Our trip started well. On arriving at the airport we were asked “Which flight are you checking in for today?”

“The one to Philly.”

“You mean the one that has been cancelled?”

“Oh...”

We were then booked in on one four hours later so set off on a Portland bus to the nearby mall. The bus took a strange route…in the opposite direction and the bus driver eventually calls out “end of the line”.

Another “Oh!” Turns out we should have told him where we wanted to stop and that we were lucky not to be charged extra for having ridden the bus for so long!  An hour later we eventually arrive at the mall, kill some time and return to the airport only to see the delayed sign up by our flight via DC this time.

So we wait and wait and wait and wait until we’re told that anyone connecting in DC needs to speak to them. Basically we had to decide whether to chance making our connection in DC and be prepared to stay over there if we weren’t successful or go home and try again in the morning. Thankfully, we chose the latter. By the time our tickets had been rebooked, the flight we would have been on still hadn’t left and we would have been stranded.

Thursday morning we try again, this time through New York. All good except for the tiny plane – all 9 rows of it! Eeeek!  

Finally we made it to Denver and were the last ones there, although importantly made it in time for lunch. It was interesting to see the landscape change beneath us. First Manhattan, then very flat ground divided into neat squares of land with very little habitation in site until eventually the Rockies came into view. We also landed in  sunshine and luxury – an enormous hotel suite complete with a fire place!

The rest of Thursday flew by. It was great to catch up with everyone’s stories about teaching so far in the US. We also did a walking tour around Denver, led by a very quirky historian who told us all about the wild west: scalping, lawlessness and the numerous ghosts said to inhabit historic buildings. It was then time for some yummy frozen yoghurt followed by free wine at the hotel’s happy hour and a lovely dinner with an inspirational guest speaker. The icing on the cake was free cookies and milk before bed!


Friday saw us visiting a struggling neighbourhood elementary school in Denver whose principal had taken part in an exchange a few years ago. The school had a very mixed population and I was fascinated by the fact that children were instructed in a mixture of Spanish and English. They had books in Spanish and English and conversed freely between the two. I spent a good deal of time with some fifth graders doing math problems and absolutely loved it. One boy was very proud to have identified me as English as another of his classmates guessed was I Italian? Dutch? It really was a great morning which stimulated some good discussion and reflection and was also fascinating to visit a completely different school.

After some more work and a trip to the gym, we headed out for fondue and cocktails...

Can’t be bad! We had a delicious cheese fondue prepared at the table, followed by a very yummy chocolate one. Stuffed, I decided we had to explore some more of Denver’s sites. Anyone who has had the misfortune to travel with me knows I am fond of flicking through a guidebook and then enlisting everyone else to join me on the mission to tick off the must sees. So off we went in search of the sign on the steps of the capitol building for the mile high city which says ‘a mile above sea level’. On the way we passed the blue bear peering in to the convention center – a ginormous beast – and finally made it to the said step. As you can see, Emily was thrilled!!

On Saturday we said goodbye to most people and explored some more, catching waves of zombies parading through the city mixed with ‘occupy Denver’ protesters and anti-police demonstrators.  Interesting!  We visited the art museum in the hope of seeing a Van Gogh exhibition that I thought had just opened. How lucky we are to catch it, I thought…yep, not until 2012, just a little early! We had a stroll around anyway to take in some culture before heading to the shops. An enormous shopping mall kept us entertained for quite a while – at least 3 times bigger than anything in Maine was our excuse. 

Sunday we headed to the airport and everything seemed plain sailing. Good bus connection, flight on time, a minor moment when it dawned on me that I had checked in my boarding pass for the next flight, but otherwise all good until we reached Newark where systems had collapsed and therefore so had the flights. Oh well, at least there was ice cream. We eventually got on a plane which we had been told had been delayed due to mechanical problems. Imagine then our horror when, trundling away from the gate, the right propellor can be heard whirring yet out of our window the left one is motionless. Thankfully, just as our panic was really setting in...why hasn't anyone noticed?...it started up. What trauma! Crawled in to bed at half past 1 Monday morning and it is fair to say a cranky pants/zombie taught the class on Monday!

The Rockies - so near, yet so far

Skunks, chipmunks, wild turkeys and cheap-skates...

There are real live skunks in Maine (and in Massachusetts). This amazes me every day as I had no idea where skunks actually lived. In my mind they were fictional characters in children's animated films but no, they actually exist and yes they do really really stink! Until Salem, I hadn't actually seen one, just smelt their presence...largely as road kill. They are so whiffy, you can be 1/2 a mile down the road and still smell them. After lots of wafts of skunk, my first sighting of a real live one was very exciting. I can't believe I forgot about it!

There are also wild turkeys around here and they look very funny too. Not much meat on them as they wander aimlessly all day trying to avoid being road kill too.

Yesterday, I went further up the coast to Boothbay to visit Maine's coastal botanical gardens with Teresa. They really were beautiful and I even met a new man. He was a bit squashy but really I just loved his dog...

The gardens are a great place to wander and there is so much for kids based on popular children's books - a bear's cave, fairy houses, Mr McGregor's greenhouse and others I didn't recognise. You could have hours of fun there with a class of kids...

"We're going on a bear hunt. We're going to catch a big one What a beautiful day! We're not scared..."

There are also lots of walk ways with wonderful sculptures nestled in amongst the plants and I got to hear, then see, chipmunks. They were so cute! They were chattering to each other as they scampered around the forest collecting winter stores. Couldn't get a picture of one though as they move like lightning.

As for the cheap-skate, that was me! Yesterday evening, I went to watch Sleepy Hollow peformed by the Portland Ballet Company. Teresa is on the committee so had volunteered us to be ushers which meant free tickets. It was fun to meet and greet so many different types of people in a different setting and then the ballet was mesmerising, especially as the dancing was accompanied by members of the Portland Symphony Orchestra. Another great weekend in Maine.