Week Three: Cultural

During my few weeks here I have really noticed the culture difference, and just how naive some people are.  This week I was actually complimented on my english about three times, as people thought that Irish was my natural language.  Yet despite the ridiculous questions I am still absolutely loving it here, and I adore the accent! With my new favourite phrase being “Y’all Come Back Now”.

Week two of classes, and already the workload is constantly increasing, with chapters to read and handouts to complete, but I have managed to get myself into a routine, so the work doesn’t seem quite so bad.  One of my classes is on teaching children with severe disabilities, which is extremely interesting.  I feel like I am learning so much new information, and new teaching strategies which I know I will use when I get home.  I was also horrified to learn this week that corporal punishment is still used in schools in America! This completely shocked me, and I was happy to learn that the school I will be observing in is not one of them.

This week also went by in a blur of classes, and new experiences.  Everyday I see something new or meet someone new.  I have met so many nice people, and my new favourite place to eat is YaYa’s, where you can get the most delicious frozen yogurt with every topping imaginable!  The weather has also been a big shock, as it was 21 degrees during the day, which is definitely a lot nicer than being at home where it is probably close to freezing!

However my favourite part of the week was my trip to Memphis shopping centre on Saturday.  The international office had arranged to take us up to Memphis to do some shopping and go to the market.  I don’t think I have ever been so excited to actually get to some proper shops!  Oxford is beautiful but the only shops there are extremely beautiful and extremely overpriced boutiques, so I was like a child at christmas, surrounded by 100’s of shops.  The market was also very interesting as you could literally get any kind of food imaginable.  This was particularly good for some of the Asian students as they could get food from their own countries.

Me and Sarah at the Shopping Mall

This week has been amazing, just like the past two weeks, and I am so unbelievably grateful to have been given this opportunity to study in Ole Miss, and continue to grow professionally and personally.