Saturday, August 20, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
A Few Random Musings from an American in Oxford
We've had yet another holiday here in England that is not really celebrated. Thursday was St. Patrick's day. EC's school advised students to wear red on that day to support Red Nose Day. I thought someone might have a problem with the dueling color scheme, but no one seemed to care about St. Patty's day. Maybe the English don't love the Irish as much as Americans do on March 17. I was explaining to one of my British friends that Americans use the holidays as a way to emotionally get through the winter. Call us crazy commercializers, but we Americans love a holiday!! You live and decorate your house from one holiday to the next. England has not caught on to the joy that is cheap holiday decor from Target.
I have big hopes for Easter though. Cadbury's had their creme eggs out the day after Christmas--no lie! Hopefully we will see some big celebrations for Easter. If not, I'll just add it to the pile of holidays that left me feeling cheated. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Valentine's Day were all a bust!
Some sort of spring is coming to England. I can tell by the flowers blooming, but not really by the weather. We had a few daffodils in February. March has brought forsythia, cherry blossoms, lots of crocus, and other budding and blooming plants. The days are getting longer--we no longer have to head home at 3:45 to avoid nightfall. We've had a few really nice warmish days in the 50s. Otherwise, it's not really spring break weather. Here's an interesting fact: We are not on what America calls, "Daylight Savings Time" and England calls, "British Summer Time" yet. America has already sprung forward, but we won't until the last Sunday in March.
What have we been doing lately?
A:
A is talking a lot more suddenly. He says a few key phrases such as, "Read book now" and "Another book now." He will mimic anything you say, and he asks for a lot of things by name. Every morning he demands his vitamins. He is super skillful at the playground, and loves jumping and climbing things. He gets very frustrated with himself if he can't do something, but he tries again until he gets it. A is desiring his independence. He wants to sit in a normal chair, eat off normal plates and use a normal fork. He's actually quite good eating with his fork. His diet continues to amaze me with the variety and quantity of food he eats. He loves tomatoes and avocados drizzled with balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with sesame seeds. He loves zucchini, broccoli, salad, salmon...really anything he sees anyone else eating. He still has a fiery personality and angry outbursts. He doesn't want to share with anyone, especially his big sister. He is just a little over a month away from his 2nd birthday! Wow, this year has flown. We love our little buddy, but he is a handful!
EC:
EC is very passionate about her dancing. She puts on ballet performances for us almost every day. She also adores art. She loves to draw, write, and cut things out. There is always a trail of paper, pens, scissors, and tape. She is quite good, if I do say so. She always notices the detail in any illustration. She is doing great with her reading and writing. Her penmanship is readable and pretty. She writes pages and pages of stories in her own way, by sounding out words as she goes. You have to think phonetically to read them, but she does very well. We recently had a second parent-teacher conference with EC's teacher. She had nothing but good things to say. She said EC has really settled into the class and gets along well with everyone. She is progressing very well in her reading, helps other kids, and is a burst of sunshine in the class every day. EC never stops talking. She will tell you all about her imaginary unicorn and Rainbow Land, and all the fairies and their different powers. She will ask questions that don't make any sense. You could never be bored with EC around!
Jones:
Jones has been plowing through his second of 3 terms here at Oxford. He has exams next week. He gets a long break after the exams, and we are looking forward to some visitors! Our families are coming to visit us in April. When Jones goes back to school in May, we will be traveling to Paris for a few days so Jones can play rugby in the MBA Tournament. It's a really fun excuse to get everyone in Paris for 4 days. We can't wait!
Bess:
I have been sick a lot the past month. I had Strep throat twice. Horrible does not even do justice to my experience. Thank goodness Jones could take over kid duty so I could writhe around in bed with a high fever for days. There's nothing like an illness to make you appreciate your heath! I've been able to attend a few book clubs and bible studies and small groups in the meantime. I have the best friends here in Oxford. I'm so grateful for the people God has put in my life this year.
This is a picture I took of some amazing daffodils. I think they just happened to grow like this. So pretty!
I have big hopes for Easter though. Cadbury's had their creme eggs out the day after Christmas--no lie! Hopefully we will see some big celebrations for Easter. If not, I'll just add it to the pile of holidays that left me feeling cheated. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Valentine's Day were all a bust!
Some sort of spring is coming to England. I can tell by the flowers blooming, but not really by the weather. We had a few daffodils in February. March has brought forsythia, cherry blossoms, lots of crocus, and other budding and blooming plants. The days are getting longer--we no longer have to head home at 3:45 to avoid nightfall. We've had a few really nice warmish days in the 50s. Otherwise, it's not really spring break weather. Here's an interesting fact: We are not on what America calls, "Daylight Savings Time" and England calls, "British Summer Time" yet. America has already sprung forward, but we won't until the last Sunday in March.
What have we been doing lately?
A:
A is talking a lot more suddenly. He says a few key phrases such as, "Read book now" and "Another book now." He will mimic anything you say, and he asks for a lot of things by name. Every morning he demands his vitamins. He is super skillful at the playground, and loves jumping and climbing things. He gets very frustrated with himself if he can't do something, but he tries again until he gets it. A is desiring his independence. He wants to sit in a normal chair, eat off normal plates and use a normal fork. He's actually quite good eating with his fork. His diet continues to amaze me with the variety and quantity of food he eats. He loves tomatoes and avocados drizzled with balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with sesame seeds. He loves zucchini, broccoli, salad, salmon...really anything he sees anyone else eating. He still has a fiery personality and angry outbursts. He doesn't want to share with anyone, especially his big sister. He is just a little over a month away from his 2nd birthday! Wow, this year has flown. We love our little buddy, but he is a handful!
EC:
EC is very passionate about her dancing. She puts on ballet performances for us almost every day. She also adores art. She loves to draw, write, and cut things out. There is always a trail of paper, pens, scissors, and tape. She is quite good, if I do say so. She always notices the detail in any illustration. She is doing great with her reading and writing. Her penmanship is readable and pretty. She writes pages and pages of stories in her own way, by sounding out words as she goes. You have to think phonetically to read them, but she does very well. We recently had a second parent-teacher conference with EC's teacher. She had nothing but good things to say. She said EC has really settled into the class and gets along well with everyone. She is progressing very well in her reading, helps other kids, and is a burst of sunshine in the class every day. EC never stops talking. She will tell you all about her imaginary unicorn and Rainbow Land, and all the fairies and their different powers. She will ask questions that don't make any sense. You could never be bored with EC around!
Jones:
Jones has been plowing through his second of 3 terms here at Oxford. He has exams next week. He gets a long break after the exams, and we are looking forward to some visitors! Our families are coming to visit us in April. When Jones goes back to school in May, we will be traveling to Paris for a few days so Jones can play rugby in the MBA Tournament. It's a really fun excuse to get everyone in Paris for 4 days. We can't wait!
Bess:
I have been sick a lot the past month. I had Strep throat twice. Horrible does not even do justice to my experience. Thank goodness Jones could take over kid duty so I could writhe around in bed with a high fever for days. There's nothing like an illness to make you appreciate your heath! I've been able to attend a few book clubs and bible studies and small groups in the meantime. I have the best friends here in Oxford. I'm so grateful for the people God has put in my life this year.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Bring on March!
I'm so glad that February is over! Here's hoping that March will bring warmer weather, sunnier days, and less illness! We've had quite a spree of illness the last week or so. I somehow contracted strep throat, which was horrendous. Then, A got a mystery fever and horrible cold that lasted for 5 days. Just as he got better, EC came home from school with a mystery fever of her own. The doctor down the street knows us very well now. He just starts printing off the prescription for antibiotics as I walk through the door. (not quite, but almost!)
We really haven't been doing much exciting lately. We are just plugging away at life. Jones is studying, I am trying to eat healthy, EC is going to school and ballet, and A is causing mayhem.
A will be turning 2 in April, which blows my mind. I can't believe my little baby is about to be 2. EC just seemed a lot older at 2. Time sure does fly with your second kid. We are also looking forward to a visit from Sweet Pea and Pa in April. In May, we are planning a trip to France, as Jones will be playing rugby for the business school in the business school Olympics (per se.) We hope to make the most of that trip at a lovely time of year!
Here are some pictures that EC and I took in the backyard last week, in between major illnesses and bad weather.
We really haven't been doing much exciting lately. We are just plugging away at life. Jones is studying, I am trying to eat healthy, EC is going to school and ballet, and A is causing mayhem.
A will be turning 2 in April, which blows my mind. I can't believe my little baby is about to be 2. EC just seemed a lot older at 2. Time sure does fly with your second kid. We are also looking forward to a visit from Sweet Pea and Pa in April. In May, we are planning a trip to France, as Jones will be playing rugby for the business school in the business school Olympics (per se.) We hope to make the most of that trip at a lovely time of year!
Here are some pictures that EC and I took in the backyard last week, in between major illnesses and bad weather.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
January.
I haven't been using my nice camera or taking many pictures lately. It's not that I've lost the desire to do that, but it's just been cold, cold, cold. I will try to fill everyone in on what we've been doing lately.
Jones:
After a month-long break, Jones started back to school last week, and they got going right away. He is busy, busy, busy! This semester he is going to class and also working on an entrepreneurship project with a group of classmates. He's also playing rugby for 2 teams! He's playing for his college, GTC, as well as for the business school. He really enjoys the sport, and he's starting to understand it more and more. Oxford runs a 3 term school year: Michaelmas in the fall, Hilary in the winter, and Trinity in the spring/summer. Jones has begun Hilary term, and our time here seems to be going too fast!
Bess:
I am trying to be more active, even though it's cold outside. I have some nice friends who walk with me in the mornings most days of the week. I still go to Monday Mums Bible Study at our church. It's the best part of my week, hands down. I have fallen into a group of wonderful, smart, Godly women who are great friends and encouragement to me. I also try to get together for a girls night at least once a week with my fellow business school spouses. We go to dinner or to get drinks, and we have the most wonderful conversations. I have met the most interesting people from around the globe, and I'm fascinated by so many cultures now. I've been cooking a lot more, and I'm trying to eat a lot more veggies and whole grains. I can't say the whole family is on board with my healthy eating, but A is always willing to eat whatever I am having.
EC:
EC is enjoying school very much. She loves going to school every day. Her teachers say that she's very keen on art. She draws, cuts, pastes, paints, and colors up a storm. She has some cute little friends in her class, and they all seem to really enjoy each other. EC is taking ballet, and she just moved up a level, where she wears a pink leotard, skirt, cardigan, socks (!) and ballet shoes. She got a scooter for Christmas, and she loves scooting all over town. She's very fast, but cautious, and I can't believe I didn't buy her one when we first moved here. EC is learning to read. She brings home little early reader books, and she does a great job sounding out the words. She has a lot of the common words memorized. It's very interesting seeing her making this huge leap from a person listening to a reader to being the reader herself. Oddly, EC's British accent seems to have gone away, now that she's back at school. Maybe she just used it over the break to remind herself of her classmates. EC does not like any vegetables, and she still mostly eats starch, sweets and cheese. It's a daily battle. I have discovered that she likes apple slices, so she has those many times a day.
A:
A is a tornado of constant motion and destruction at every turn. If I am not reading him a book, he is tearing something up (like pages out of books, sister's art projects, anything he can find.) He still is obsessed with someone reading to him. He would be happy if that's all we did all day long. I have bought about 200 pre-owned books since we arrived, and we've read them all hundreds of times. A is also a charmer, and he loves going to the childcare at Monday Mums and at church on Sundays. He plays really well with other kids, and if they take a toy from him, he shrugs his shoulders and moves on (most of the time.) He's a tough cookie, and he doesn't cry much when he falls down or hurts himself. He loves climbing things, turning off lights, throwing all his food on the floor, going to the playground, getting dirty, eating random non-food items like crayons, rocks, dirt by the handfull, etc. A is not talking as much as I would like, but he does say quite a few things. He also signs "more" and "please" (usually in reference to a book. A is a great eater. He will eat pretty much anything I eat. He loves avocado, tomatoes, lentil soup, Indian food, hummus, cucumbers, apples...pretty much everything.
So, there we are in a nutshell. Oxford is such a little perfect place to be. We are surrounded by some of the smartest people in the world. People here are so much less concerned with money, and more concerned with ideas. Less showing off, more being interested in others. Less commercial products, more time with family and friends. Less bling, more kitsch. Life just seems to be good, real, honest, and exciting here. I can't imagine living anywhere with architecture as stunning. I also can't imagine finding more intelligent people to hang out with. I feel perfectly safe all the time. I walk everywhere. I adore my local shops. I only hope we can take some of this magic with us wherever we move next.
Jones:
After a month-long break, Jones started back to school last week, and they got going right away. He is busy, busy, busy! This semester he is going to class and also working on an entrepreneurship project with a group of classmates. He's also playing rugby for 2 teams! He's playing for his college, GTC, as well as for the business school. He really enjoys the sport, and he's starting to understand it more and more. Oxford runs a 3 term school year: Michaelmas in the fall, Hilary in the winter, and Trinity in the spring/summer. Jones has begun Hilary term, and our time here seems to be going too fast!
Bess:
I am trying to be more active, even though it's cold outside. I have some nice friends who walk with me in the mornings most days of the week. I still go to Monday Mums Bible Study at our church. It's the best part of my week, hands down. I have fallen into a group of wonderful, smart, Godly women who are great friends and encouragement to me. I also try to get together for a girls night at least once a week with my fellow business school spouses. We go to dinner or to get drinks, and we have the most wonderful conversations. I have met the most interesting people from around the globe, and I'm fascinated by so many cultures now. I've been cooking a lot more, and I'm trying to eat a lot more veggies and whole grains. I can't say the whole family is on board with my healthy eating, but A is always willing to eat whatever I am having.
EC:
EC is enjoying school very much. She loves going to school every day. Her teachers say that she's very keen on art. She draws, cuts, pastes, paints, and colors up a storm. She has some cute little friends in her class, and they all seem to really enjoy each other. EC is taking ballet, and she just moved up a level, where she wears a pink leotard, skirt, cardigan, socks (!) and ballet shoes. She got a scooter for Christmas, and she loves scooting all over town. She's very fast, but cautious, and I can't believe I didn't buy her one when we first moved here. EC is learning to read. She brings home little early reader books, and she does a great job sounding out the words. She has a lot of the common words memorized. It's very interesting seeing her making this huge leap from a person listening to a reader to being the reader herself. Oddly, EC's British accent seems to have gone away, now that she's back at school. Maybe she just used it over the break to remind herself of her classmates. EC does not like any vegetables, and she still mostly eats starch, sweets and cheese. It's a daily battle. I have discovered that she likes apple slices, so she has those many times a day.
A:
A is a tornado of constant motion and destruction at every turn. If I am not reading him a book, he is tearing something up (like pages out of books, sister's art projects, anything he can find.) He still is obsessed with someone reading to him. He would be happy if that's all we did all day long. I have bought about 200 pre-owned books since we arrived, and we've read them all hundreds of times. A is also a charmer, and he loves going to the childcare at Monday Mums and at church on Sundays. He plays really well with other kids, and if they take a toy from him, he shrugs his shoulders and moves on (most of the time.) He's a tough cookie, and he doesn't cry much when he falls down or hurts himself. He loves climbing things, turning off lights, throwing all his food on the floor, going to the playground, getting dirty, eating random non-food items like crayons, rocks, dirt by the handfull, etc. A is not talking as much as I would like, but he does say quite a few things. He also signs "more" and "please" (usually in reference to a book. A is a great eater. He will eat pretty much anything I eat. He loves avocado, tomatoes, lentil soup, Indian food, hummus, cucumbers, apples...pretty much everything.
So, there we are in a nutshell. Oxford is such a little perfect place to be. We are surrounded by some of the smartest people in the world. People here are so much less concerned with money, and more concerned with ideas. Less showing off, more being interested in others. Less commercial products, more time with family and friends. Less bling, more kitsch. Life just seems to be good, real, honest, and exciting here. I can't imagine living anywhere with architecture as stunning. I also can't imagine finding more intelligent people to hang out with. I feel perfectly safe all the time. I walk everywhere. I adore my local shops. I only hope we can take some of this magic with us wherever we move next.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
The Long Dark Cold Wet Winter
It's only January, and we have months of cold weather ahead of us! I'm already sick of it, and wishing I was in San Diego! I do love Oxford, but not this weather! A and EC have hardly been able to play outside, as it is permanently muddy and cold if not snowy or rainy. We did let A out of the stroller and on to the playground this week. He was so happy to be able to climb up the cargo netting and go down the slide. He did it over and over and over. I thought I would share a video of him.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Our Day in London
After over a week of snow, the cabin fever was at an all-time high! So, we took the train to London for the day to alleviate the boredom. We had a great time, and we even navigated the tube with our stroller. That involved a lot of us carrying it up and down steps with A in it and EC holding on to the side. 
When we first arrived in London's Paddington station, we took the tube to the Charing Cross stop, where we looked at Trafalgar Square. With the help of my handy iphone, we found our way to the UK's only Chipotle. It was heavenly!! It tasted just like Chipotle in the US. We sure have missed good Mexican food, and Chipotle is my favorite!
After Chipotle, we walked to Regent Street to go to Hamley's Toy Store. They claim to be the "world's most famous toy store," but I think they should change it to "world's most expensive toy store." All 7 floors were totally crammed with people shopping. They had demonstrations of the toys going on, and EC enjoyed checking things out. Luckily, our kids are not the type to beg us to buy them something, and we got out of there without dropping 80 quid on a stuffed bear (seriously!)
As we were walking down Regent Street (the big shopping street in London) I see a line of people snaked down the street. I wondered if it was a celebrity book signing or something really important. As we walked by, I saw that the line was actually going into a store: Hollister has arrived in the UK! haha
We made our way back to the tube to take a ride to Harrods. The tube was very crowded, and we actually didn't get on the first train that arrived because there was no room. We had to cram ourselves into the next train. EC did a great job on the trains, and A stayed put in his stroller. Harrods (in case you don't know) is an enormous department store. I just wanted the kids to experience it. It was just as crowded as the tube had been. We made our way into the food halls, and EC got a big bowl of chocolate gelato.
After we left Harrods, we took the tube again to Waterloo station to see the London Eye. The London Eye is the giant ferris wheel in London that has become a city landmark in the past 10 years. EC has wanted to ride it since we moved here. Unfortunately we arrived to find the line to buy tickets and the line to board were hours long. We asked EC if she would like to ice skate instead, and she said yes. They had a miniature skating rink set up at the Eye. We even had to wait an hour to do that. Jones took EC skating, while I pushed an unhappy A around in the misting rain.
By the time Jones and EC had finished their ice skating, it was time to take the tube back to Paddington station and board the train for Oxford. We had a great time in London, but we left lots of touristy things to do when our families come to visit!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
EC's new British Accent
Ellie Claire has decided to start talking like a local. She's pronouncing everything the British way, including her own name, Archer's name, etc. It's pretty funny. It's totally something that she can turn on and off though. I caught her on video quizzing Archer on his pictures in his book.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Christmas in Oxford
This was my first year to be away from my family at Christmas. Jones has been away before. Our usual routine is to be in the mid-south for the holidays, driving furiously between Memphis, Senatobia, and Tunica. We enjoyed the experience of having Christmas at our own house this year, but we missed seeing our families. We went to church on Christmas eve and then had dinner at our friend's house. Christmas day, we stayed home and enjoyed opening gifts, making cookies, and having friends over for dinner.
The Snow Day that lasted a week!
Christmas Parties for the kids and grownups--All in one night!
We had a crazy 2 weeks in December, as Jones was studying for exams and then taking them. Final exams here are a big deal. You dress up in sub-fusc (black suit, white tie, black gown) and go take your exam in a formal room with all your other coursemates. It's like taking the SATs in white tie attire every day for a week. So, stress levels were high around our house. The kids and I missed seeing Jones, and he was just trying to pass his exams. We finally made it to the day of his last exam. That night, there was a kids Christmas party at the Business School, followed immediately by the grown up's Gala.
Unlike some of the smarter moms in the class, who did not attend the kids party to stay home and primp, I went to the kids party. It was a really great time, which was what I expected after attending their family day in September. There was a magician, face painting (of course) and Father Christmas himself.
After the kid party, we took a cab home, ran upstairs to change clothes, greeted the babysitter, and then ran to the Gala, which was held at one of the colleges here in Oxford with a big traditional dining hall. We had a great time, and enjoyed being amongst some fun people in Jones's class, who were all too ready to celebrate the end of exams, and a nice break from classes!
Monday, December 13, 2010
EC's Visit with "Father Christmas"
Every year we try to get a picture with Santa. Jones's mom has pictures of her kids with Santa from every year of their childhoods. She sets them out on the mantel in a row from youngest to oldest. It's really cute to see the boys grow up in that way! I love the idea.
Well, this year, we are in a foreign country, and they call Santa, "Father Christmas." We asked around to see where you could go visit Santa, and I heard that they had one at Oxford Castle. Oxford Castle was at one time a fortress,then a prison, and now is a tourist attraction. They have a German Christmas Fair there right now which is very small in scale to the German Christmas fairs in Germany, but still fun to visit. They have all these wooden shacks with vendors selling things like ornaments, crafts, sausages, hot cider, mulled wine, roasted chestnuts, etc.
We decided to visit Santa on Saturday with our friends, the Poages and the Ellistons. We meandered through the Christmas fair and followed the signs for Santa's Grotto. I was expecting something like what you see at any American shopping mall--a big decorated red velvet chair with Santa sitting in it, welcoming boys and girls to come tell him what they want for Christmas. What we found was another wooden shack with a curtain drawn. A girl dressed up in a Christmas tree costume informed us that it cost 5 pounds to enter, which included a goody bag and facepainting. EC was first out of our group to go in. I left A in the stroller, as he had just woken up, and I thought he might freak out if I handed him to Santa. EC went into the curtain and there sat Santa on a folding chair. EC sat next to him on a crate of clementines that had been covered in a wool blanket. Then, everything went downhill the moment Santa opened his mouth.
This Santa was not some retiree who grew out his beard and made 20 grand imitating Santa every year. This was a man with a thick accent who hardly understood English, let alone his role as Santa. He asked EC some odd questions, and she went off on some 4 year old tangents, but he never wrapped the conversation up. He never really asked her what she wanted for Christmas or if she had been a good girl. He DID mention that he would tell "the real Father Christmas" that she didn't have a chimney. I was so annoyed that he ruined the whole charade, but EC didn't seem to notice. I think she couldn't understand his accent well enough to make out what he said. I hustled her back out into the sunshine, and the rest of the kids in our group were too freaked out to enter the "grotto." I told their moms that they weren't missing much.
We had paid our 5 pounds, so we stood in line for the obligatory face painting. That's becoming quite the English tradition. It seems to happen everywhere we go. As we were waiting, some teenagers/young 20-somethings were getting their faces painted. There were 2 girls getting a tiger face and spiderman. The tiger girl had a "hand-rolled cigarette" in her mouth the whole time, and she proceeded to light it up as her friend got her spiderman face painted. Oh, could this experience get any better?
After the facepainting, we got a German sausage on a baguette that was amazing, so all was not a loss! Hopefully the rest of our Christmas experience will not be as colorful as our visit to Santa.
Well, this year, we are in a foreign country, and they call Santa, "Father Christmas." We asked around to see where you could go visit Santa, and I heard that they had one at Oxford Castle. Oxford Castle was at one time a fortress,then a prison, and now is a tourist attraction. They have a German Christmas Fair there right now which is very small in scale to the German Christmas fairs in Germany, but still fun to visit. They have all these wooden shacks with vendors selling things like ornaments, crafts, sausages, hot cider, mulled wine, roasted chestnuts, etc.
We decided to visit Santa on Saturday with our friends, the Poages and the Ellistons. We meandered through the Christmas fair and followed the signs for Santa's Grotto. I was expecting something like what you see at any American shopping mall--a big decorated red velvet chair with Santa sitting in it, welcoming boys and girls to come tell him what they want for Christmas. What we found was another wooden shack with a curtain drawn. A girl dressed up in a Christmas tree costume informed us that it cost 5 pounds to enter, which included a goody bag and facepainting. EC was first out of our group to go in. I left A in the stroller, as he had just woken up, and I thought he might freak out if I handed him to Santa. EC went into the curtain and there sat Santa on a folding chair. EC sat next to him on a crate of clementines that had been covered in a wool blanket. Then, everything went downhill the moment Santa opened his mouth.
This Santa was not some retiree who grew out his beard and made 20 grand imitating Santa every year. This was a man with a thick accent who hardly understood English, let alone his role as Santa. He asked EC some odd questions, and she went off on some 4 year old tangents, but he never wrapped the conversation up. He never really asked her what she wanted for Christmas or if she had been a good girl. He DID mention that he would tell "the real Father Christmas" that she didn't have a chimney. I was so annoyed that he ruined the whole charade, but EC didn't seem to notice. I think she couldn't understand his accent well enough to make out what he said. I hustled her back out into the sunshine, and the rest of the kids in our group were too freaked out to enter the "grotto." I told their moms that they weren't missing much.
We had paid our 5 pounds, so we stood in line for the obligatory face painting. That's becoming quite the English tradition. It seems to happen everywhere we go. As we were waiting, some teenagers/young 20-somethings were getting their faces painted. There were 2 girls getting a tiger face and spiderman. The tiger girl had a "hand-rolled cigarette" in her mouth the whole time, and she proceeded to light it up as her friend got her spiderman face painted. Oh, could this experience get any better?
After the facepainting, we got a German sausage on a baguette that was amazing, so all was not a loss! Hopefully the rest of our Christmas experience will not be as colorful as our visit to Santa.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
EC's School Nativity Play
EC's school had their Nativity Play today. She goes to a public school, so it was odd to have a play about the birth of Christ, but they took all the Christianity out of it. The storyline was something like this:
A long time ago, a couple traveled to Bethlehem. The lady was very pregnant. They couldn't find a hotel, so they stayed in an Inn's stable. The lady had her baby in the stable. For some reason, a bunch of shepherds showed up. Some angels were there too. Then, some guys from a foreign country came. Everyone liked to look at the baby. The end.
Seriously. That's how the play went. There was a lot of singing silly songs about the innkeeper having a busy day with all the people in his Inn. I was so disappointed that someone had written this play that took all the meaning out of Christmas. It was more depressing than if they had done a play about Santa and not even mentioned Jesus.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Ballet
Wouldn't you know, I forgot to pack EC's ballet leotard and tights? So, she has been wearing her gymnastics leotard to ballet class here in Oxford. She had her last class of the term, so they allowed the parents to come in and watch. EC is one of the oldest in the class, and next term she will be moving up a level. She loves to dance, and had a lot of fun in her ballet class here. Her friends, Avery and Julia are also in the class, so that makes it fun! My biggest challenge is keeping A out of the way while she dances. He wants to join in so badly!
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