Lauren Fletcher

I’m finally home after a long day of travelling!
Yesterday we started the day by packing our last-minute things and checking out of the hotel. We took a taxi to Savannah airport with the funniest lady, she was so loud and you couldn’t help laughing when she did. The other girls were in a taxi behind us and when they overtook us (their driver was a 70-year-old man) our driver found it so hilarious she rang her friends to tell them!
We checked in our bags and began exploring the airport. Savannah airport is much like the city, very pretty! Our first flight was delayed by an hour because of problems at Newark airport but time went by pretty quickly and we were soon boarding. Me and Megan were sat right at the back of the plane. The flight was pretty horrendous, there was a lot of turbulence (you feel everything in the small planes) and we got put in a holding pattern where we circled around for ages. Eventually we landed in Newark, feeling worse for wear but could see the reason for the delays. The weather was horrible, there were two inches of water covering the airport and planes disappearing into low thick clouds. We left the plane and I had to wait for my carry on bag that was too large for the plane and was put in the hold. It was drenched, and so was everything inside, including my laptop. Luckily everything was fine but it wasn’t great. We then had to run through the rain to catch a bus to another terminal. The airport wasn’t coping well in the weather, there were leaks everywhere.
After a 4 hour wait that we filled with shopping and relaxing we were ready to get on the second plane. Visibility had improved and the weather was clearing but still we were surprised there were no delays. The flight back was a delight compared to the first, no turbulence and we got to see the sun set and rise! I even managed to sleep between meals and watching Princess and the Frog. When we landed we picked up our luggage which was still wet from Newark :(. I was met by my mom and dad holding a ‘welcome home Lauren’ sign! After hugs I said bye to the other girls and headed home.
I was full with excitement and wanted to see everybody again but Grace was at school and Stephen was at Uni, so we went to see my Grammy and Grandad in their new house! It was great to see them but I could hardly keep my eyes open. When I got back home I slept for a couple of hours and was woken up ready for Grace to get home, I gave out presents to everyone and started to unpack my soggy clothes. Finally Stephen came home and I got to give him his presents, then I fell back asleep 🙂
I’m happy to be home but already I miss the fantastic people of Georgia. Thanks to everyone that made the experience special and something I will never forget. Please keep in touch!

Today we went down for breakfast and were very happy with the selection, my favourites were a big container of cheese and real proper english tea!!! After breakfast we went to the pool and started our day of sunbathing. The sun never really showed up and after a dip in the pool we got too cold so decided to change our plans.
Me and Megan got ready and set off to La Berry for another batch of yummy frozen yoghurt. After this we walked around some of the shops and eventually settled in Tony Romas, I had ribs and chicken which was lovely.
We took a taxi to the mall to do more shopping! We had a lovely girly afternoon, we had our nails done, got fitted for new bras which we bought 2 of and some pretty new knickers and a new travelling home outfit. Now back at the hotel were eating chocolate brownie! Hoping the weather is nicer tomorrow to top up our tans.

This morning we left Statesboro and moved on to Savannah. It was sad saying goodbye to Pat and Sherry, we will miss them lots!
We are staying at the Marriott and got here about 12, the rooms weren’t ready so me and Megan went to explore. We walked round all the shops close to the hotel and found some lovely little treasures. We also walked down some very steep stairs and found river street. Here we went on a boat to have a look around. Savannah is a beautiful city with lots of things to see around every corner.
When we checked in the hotel we had a quick stop before running to catch the bus to visit the Mall. The bus costs $1.50 for any trip, first we visited Oglethorpe Mall and had a look around then went over to Savannah Mall. The bus back took over an hour and took some strange routes, we were worried we wouldn’t get back!
When we did finally arrive at the hotel we had a little rest then went to explore the hotel. It has a beautiful pool area and a jacuzzi. We dipper our toes in it then had to go get our things for a dip it was so warm.
After a nice jacuzzi were in bed ready for a busy pool day tomorrow!

This morning we went to GSU to see graduation. We caught the eagle express to the stadium. The graduation ceremony takes place outside unless there’s really bad weather. The chairs and stage were set, we were really excited! The weather has been really funny today, we had clear skies and rumbles of thunder then crazy heat then spots of rain but it held out to be nice enough for the ceremony. Graduation started with the students entering the field in 4 smart lines and going to their seats, everything ran so smoothly like it had been rehearsed. The stands were full of people and the atmosphere was fantastic. There was a speech by lots of important people from the university, including the dean of education which we have met and the owner of chick-fil-a (a Georgia man himself)! Then began the long lists of students getting their certificates, every students name was called as they entered the stage. We cheered for all the fantastic people we have met since we got here. At the end of the ceremony we sang the national anthem (we know all the words from school!) and an eagle flew over the crowd and landed at the back of the students. This was amazing to see and the whole crowd was exited. An eagle is the mascot for GSU. The whole graduation ceremony was beautiful, I wish we got something as special as this but I’m definitely looking forward to shaking Robert Winston’s hand!
Today is our last day in Statesboro 😦 so after graduation we did lots of little errands to tie everything up. One of the places we went (and spent a fortune) was Sew much fun. They have gorgeous items you can personalize with your name or initials and she managed to get all of us sorted with so many things in just a couple of hours, which we were hugely thankful for. Next to this was Scoops, a place we’ve all heard lots about from the children. It’s an ice cream parlour. I had birthday cake ice cream and bought some candy gifts.
When we returned to the hotel I started packing and quickly realised that my two bags are not enough. So I had to buy a bigger bag to put my smaller bag in then use the leftover space for all my extras.
The weathers turned a little nasty again, rumbles of thunder and a lot of rain. Now me and Megan are watching Enchanted (again) ready for an early night as we have a busy day tomorrow.

Today we had another field trip. We visited a high school to watch a play. I got to go on a school bus again! The child I sat with loves to jump around so I gave her my camera, she sat so still and took pictures out of the window. When we got to the high school she carried on walking round with it, I now have about 60 photos of feet and walls! The play we saw was Seussical. It was the story from Horton hears a Who mixed in with mini stories and lots of singing and dancing. I was amazed, not only at the size of the auditorium in a school but at the talent the students had! They really were amazing and the kids loved watching it.
When we got back to school we were late for lunch so our table had been taken. We had to take the class outside to eat. We were boiling. It was 94 farenheit today. We were only out about twenty minutes, and I had sun cream on but I still went a nice shade of pink!
Today was our last day at school and it was sad to say bye to the children in my class. I was nearly in tears saying bye to the staff and listening to their well wishes. It still amazes me how caring the people of Statesboro are, I want to bring them all back with me. To say goodbye we went with a couple of teachers to La Berry. An amazing frozen yoghurt place. First you get to taste test all the ice creams, then choose a bowl, serve yourself, add the toppings then take it to be weighed. The flavours were lovely: pink lemonade, cookies and cream, green apple and new york cheesecake. Lois’ teacher had me excited for cake batter but they change the flavours regularly and didn’t have it so I went for the cheesecake. It was super yummy and the best bit is because it’s yoghurt its better for you then ice cream!
Back at the hotel and I’ve started packing ready for leaving to go to Savannah on Sunday. I’ve got all my gifts delivered which I can’t wait to give to people back home. I’ve been asking for a big storm the whole time we’ve been here, we finally have one. It came as soon as I was on my own in the room in the jacuzzi! It’s also not as exciting watching a storm from a hotel window (not like when your stuck in a theme park in Florida!).
I’ll miss the school but not the early mornings, now we have graduation tomorrow then we can officially sleep as late as we wish.

Today was another lovely day in school, we got lots of scrapbook pages done and did some good activities. It has been so hot today I didn’t dare sit in the sun at recess, I don’t know how the children cope.
After school we went to pats for dinner. Her house is in a gated community called ‘on the pond’. Her house was gorgeous and beautifully decorated. It was nice to see everyone together from the university: Pat and all the people from her office. They have been so supportive and kind while we have stayed in Statesboro we couldn’t thank them enough.
We also got to meet more of Pat’s family, her son and his girlfriend. And Pats dog that was adorable.
For dinner we all sat around the dining table and had a feast of Hash brown casserole (I need the recipe!), green beans, broccoli, butter beans and fried chicken. All delicious, and I couldn’t eat enough vegetables! We were full to bursting and Pat brought out the big finale, a Blizzard Cake. A blizzard cake is an ice cream cake containing cookie dough and biscuits and bits of chocolate. Amazing. It was also the first proper ice cream we had since being here as our freezer doesn’t work.
I gave Pat the gifts I brought from England: a Be-ro recipe book and some small tea tins in the shape of a London Bus, Post box and telephone box. When it was time to leave we had a few photos and said our goodbyes. It was sad to leave everyone even though we will see them again tomorrow!
Tomorrow the class are visiting Kindergarten, so im really excited to see more of the school!

Yesterday we spent a full day by the pool and my tan is really coming along!
Today we were back in school and we had a field trip in the morning. We were going to the library in Statesboro. I got to go on a real American school bus! I love it although I was a little scared, no seatbelts and we crossed lots of railway tracks. The kids were so excited! When we got to the library I was just as excited, the displays around the walls were amazing, a world map as tall as the building with books from around the world displayed. The event was called ‘one world, many books’. There were handmade animals and people displayed around the room easily eight feet tall it was lovely. We watched a puppet show about a giraffe that travelled the world in a hot air balloon. I had to hold a giggle when the giraffe landed in Europe and met an English sheepdog next to the snow-covered mountains and a castle! Each child chose a book to take back to school and it was great to see how they treasured the new stories they received.
I was surprised to find how big of a deal mothers day is in America, all the staff were discussing what they got and what they did. I even had a twenty-minute conversation about it with one of the parents. It was also nice for the parents to thank the teacher for the crafts they did with the children to give their moms for mother’s day.
The rest of the day went really quickly with lunch, recess and nap. In any spare minutes I helped the teacher out with some assessments, I had to ask the children to name the 26 letter name and sounds, name shapes, find colours, count as high as they can, order pictures in sizes and use positional langauge. The purpose of these assessments is to inform the parent teacher conferences that are happening this week.
The forecast for tomorrow is 95 degrees farenheit with isolated thunderstorms. Hope we still get recess!

It’s the weekend! Full days to do exactly what we want and catch up on sleep, which we certainly did.
In the morning me and Zannie walked downtown to the farmers market. We looked around the stalls and I bought 2 eggs (omelette breakfast tomorrow yay!). Later this afternoon we visited the Wildlife center on campus at GSU. We saw turtles and tortoises and lots of other animals. We watched a reptile show where you could touch the snakes (I didn’t!) then a birds of prey show.
After a couple of hours by the pool, we went out for tea at Shogun. We sat around a grill and the chef cooked our food in front of us on a hibatchi grill. We were dazzled as he spun knives around and lit flames. He even threw food into people’s mouths. On top of all that the food was delicious and now I’m really full.
It’s our last weekend in Statesboro, so we’re making it count (lots of sunbathing tomorrow).

Today I taught the class again, It was one of my favourite days in school yet.
The first activity the children did was colouring in parts of animals, cutting them out and sticking them together. They looked great! In the afternoon I made a display of them outside the classroom.
After the daily music, movement and calendar activities I used one of my new books from the book fair I visited this week. The books was called ‘Lion hunt’ It’s an adaptation of ‘Bear hunt’ but more suited to young children in school. We started our adventure by putting on our imaginary safari hats and tiptoeing to the door. We read the story as we walked around outside and copied the actions such as slopping through mud, splashing through water and swishing through grass until…. We found a cave and in the cave was a lion! Without missing a beat the children ran back across the playground to the door of the classroom we ran inside and sat on the carpet. When the children were sure we were safe their conversations were amazing with things like ‘Did you see the lion, it was huge!’ I had never seen the class so engaged and excited they really enjoyed it.
In the afternoon I helped make mothers day presents, the USA have a different date for mothers day. Then we had a popsicle party.
After a quick trip to walmart we settled down for the night. We have a relaxing weekend planned which im looking forward to.

Yesterday I taught the class again for part of the day. When we returned to the hotel I put my new bikini on and went sunbathing by the pool. After just 2 hours in the late afternoon I got tan lines which I know are from that day as my other bikinis don’t have straps! Now I’m determined to go out every evening after school. Later in the evening I began my scrapbook. It looks gorgeous I’m so excited!
Today was field day at school. I stressed about what to wear so I wasn’t too hot then it was the coldest day we have had yet! I got so cold one of the parents had to lend me a fleece! The poor kids were freezing. Field day is basically sports day in England but a million times better. There were 28 activities including a huge inflatable thing to run around in and bowling. The kids were so excited to try all the activities and were allowed to go around at their own pace. At the end of the day all the classes met on the field. They then had a tug of war between the different classes. It was lovely to see the parents and teachers getting behind their children and cheering them on. It was also good to see how a bit of competition is good for young children and how health and safety goes over the top in England. All the way through I thought ‘oh that’s a little risky they wouldn’t do that at home’. Even though my class lost everyone cheered them on and told them how much of a good job they had done. There were no sore losers, everyone was happy to have had a turn! They then started cheering on all the other classes.
When we returned to the hotel we got something to eat and settled down for the night. Me and Zannie had a jacuzzi while watching the TV!
I didn’t do any teaching today but I’m looking forward to doing some more tomorrow!