2 Weeks of...

In the last 2 weeks, I have been sick, busy, sick, studying, sick, still sick, and more sick. But I am better now.

This was the first round of illness that I have had since arriving here, and boy, was it a doozy. I'm sure it was just a cold, but it crawled up into my ears and made its home in my throat and called itself happy. I haven't felt a sore throat like that since my years of tonsilitis. I had forgotten how miserable they were. I though about heading to the doctor, but every day I decided that I would tough it out just one more day... and I made it through. I drank a LOT of really strong lemon and honey tea, took a LOT of echinacea and just as many airborne tablets. I love airborne tablets. I wish we could get them here.

So now I'm back to 'normal' as it were, with an interesting little thing I have noticed. Acetaminaphen, here, is called paracetamol. And it, along with asprin and ibuprophen, are 1.) not available in bottles of large quantities, for fear of overdose... and 2.) between 15 and 35 pence a package of 16 tablets. That is 30 to 70 cents. So there is a trade-off. Yes, you have to go and buy them a little bit at a time, and yes that means no stocking up, but the price is so minimal. It makes me wonder why the US has to pay such high prices for pain relief in the states. If 'everything is more expensive' in the UK, are pharmacutical companies in the US really giving people their best prices? Or are they milking people to pad pockets? Just a little something that I had never thought about before.

Miss you all!

Finally... Work I'm Used To.

I had to write a paper for my English class. Well, a kind-of paper. An author study, limited to 400 words. I have never had to limit myself to 400 words before. In the US, they want more, to make you work. 400 words, they think, is easy to BS your way through. Here, concisity is key. Short and sweet. Let me tell you, to an Amy that likes to talk, 400 words is TOUGH, especially when they give you so much to cram into those paltry 400 words.

I shouldn't complain - this is the first assignment they have given me that feels comfortable at all. The only one that has been anything like what I am used to having to do. And, to be honest, I'm proud of it, so I'm going to share it with you. I'll even throw in the bibliography, because the articles and websites are interesting. And if you have small ones, CHECK OUT THE ROBERT MUNSCH OFFICIAL WEBSITE. I didn't want to leave. He is fun, there is so much to do...and he reads his stories and puts them online in a downloadable format. You could spend hours clicking and listening to awesome stories.

Every single one of you go HERE and pick at least one story to listen to. Take no more than 7 minutes and be a kid again. You can pick your favourite and comment on this blog; tell me which one it is. I'll tell you mine first, so you can't pick the same one. It is "Purple Green and Yellow" with the super-indelible-never-come-off-til-you're-dead-or-maybe-even-later colouring markers.

And now, without further ado, here is my paper:

Robert Munsch

A Critical Look

Robert Munsch is an American-born Canadian who Earned a BA in History at Fordham University, an MA in Anthropology at Boston University, and an Ma in Child Studies at Tufts University. He writes award-winning children’s books and poetry based on oral storytelling and readers’ letters, and really wants to be asked the question, “How has being a manic-depressive, obsessive-compulsive, recovered-alcoholic nut case changed your writing?" (WIZNURA, 2007; Munsch, unknown date)

Robert Munsch can easily be considered a high quality children’s author. He appeals to young readers. Children in his stories are portrayed as being smart, capable, and powerful heroes. His stories are relevant, adventurous, funny, touching, and often have twist endings. The illustrations are colourful and enticing; though the stories don’t need illustrations to be effective or appealing. They beg to be read and re-read: alone, together, or in a group.

His language varies from nonsensical to advanced; facilitating working with words in context, development of complexity and structure in the English language, pre-reading skills, and support for ESL learners through bilingual books translated into home languages. His simplistic stories follow a frame, fostering re-telling skills: and all his stories feature diverse characters and settings; enhancing inclusion and multi-culturalism in the classroom. They are child-centred, to the point of being written with the continuing input of children during oral storytelling sessions, and leading to ideal read-aloud books which can easily be used to bridge the gap between literacy in the classroom and in the home (Senechal, et al., 1998.) His story structures often bend conventions and can be used to foster understanding of genre and methods of writing outside the genre (Dean, 2000.) His books are humorous, interesting, and empower children by their pro-child, pro-equality stance.
Munsch’s books can be used at any primary stage, from Foundation to Key Stage 3. Some of his books are situationally relevant (i.e. ‘Andrew’s Loose Tooth’) or geared specifically towards older readers (i.e. ‘I’m So Embarrassed’). His official website can be used to encourage ICT skills and contains many stories/poems written in response to reader letters as well as stories written, furthered, or illustrated by children worldwide; incentivising bookmaking, letter writing, creative argument, persuasion, and other real-life skills. Books such as ‘the Paper Bag Princess’, heralded as the “feminist fairy tale” (Wiznura, 2007) can be used in upper primary classrooms to teach socio-studies.

Based on the above, it is easy to see Robert Munsch’s place in the diverse, quality book-rich primary classroom.

Bibliography

Annick Press. (2006). Available at: http://www.annickpress.com/authors/munsch.asp?author=257
(Accessed: 15 October, 2007).

Dean, D. (2000). ‘Muddying Boundaries: Mixing Genres with Five Paragraphs’,
The English Journal, Vol. 90, No. 1, Teaching Writing in the Twenty-First Century
(Sept.), pp. 53-56.

Kasper, J. (1998). ‘Circling with Robert Munsch’. Available at: http://www.stf.sk.ca/teaching_res/library/teach_mat_centre/tmc/P11233/P11233.htm
tmc/P11233/P11233.htm (Accessed: 15 October, 2007).

Munsch, R. (unknown date). Video interview by Annick Press,
O’Keefe, S., producer. Available at:
http://www.annickpress.com/videos/munsch.mov
(Accessed: 15 October, 2007).

Munsch, R. (1999). Interview by Scholastic Students. Available at:
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=1325_type=Contributor_typeId=3299
Contributor_typeId=3299 (Accessed: 15 October, 2007).

Munsch, R. (unknown date). Interview by Khan, I. and Hörner, J.
Available at:
http://www.canadiancontent.ca/issues/0499munsch.html
(Accessed: 15 October, 2007).

Robert Munsch Official Web Site. (unknown date). Available at:
http://robertmunsch.com/ (Accessed: 15 October, 2007).

Scholastic. (unknown date). Available at:
http://content.scholastic.com/browse/contributor.jsp?id=3299
(Accessed: 15 October, 2007).

Senechal, M., et al. (1998). ‘Differential Effects of Home Literacy Experiences
on the Development of Oral and Written Language’,
Reading Research Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 1 (Jan. - Feb. - Mar.), pp. 96-116.

Wiznura, R. (2007). ‘Robert Munsch’. Available at:
http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0010686
TCE&Params=A1ARTA0010686 (Accessed: 15 October, 2007).

School, the focus of my universe.

I was told that people were wanting to know how school is going. Well, it's okay. For the sixth formers (16-18 year olds, and where I was placed) the classes run on a block schedule, two classes in the morning, two after lunch. Each day you have a different class, and the schedules rotate in a weekly pattern. The expectations of learning for up here are so much different than the curriculum in America. I'm learning math topics that I wouldn't learn until I was a senior in high school.

I'm taking Math, English, and Photography as major courses, and science as a catch up. In all utter honesty, I'm running ragged. I have always detested the idea that my whole life should revolve around school but because I'm from America I'm already behind in the courses so school is supposed to be my only priority. Now, I say that meaning that I should spend most of my nights studying, but the part of me that really hates school refuses to make my whole world revolve around school (Which means I procrastinate on studying.) I hate studying with a burning passion. But it's something I /Have/ to overcome.

So other than my complete mental exhaustion, school has become only minorly overwhelming. The teachers are becoming more and more agitated with me because some of them have such thick accents and they talk so fast that I can't understand a word they say. So I keep having to ask them to repeat themselves and they get so sick of it. But it's becoming easier: my friends have learned to slow down when they talk and how to recognize when I can't understand them.
So everything is good here, under the circumstances. Thank you for asking. :D
It's an adjustment but one that I'm steadily getting used to.

02:29 pm livejournal post

So...

I want to talk about A.

I have been so good...I have not called her names or said nasty things or decked her or done any of those things that I actually do /think/ about doing.

I got to hear all about her pet name for me from Stephen's best friend's house mate, who is friends with her. She calls me bint, and Ashley brat. To everyone. As in that is what we are known as. bint and brat. She has done this, apparently, for long enough that when being spoken of, people have to use those terms in order to recognize who I am.

bint: an arabic word for daughter, and in the UK, a slang term for a woman who is unpleasant and domineering. Not a nice word AT ALL.

The best friend and housemate were having a housewarming party, to which Stephen and I were invited. A would be there. I wanted to go for a very bad reason... I wanted to show her up with my impeccable manners and haughty ignorance of her. I had visions of her feeling cut to the bone by the fact that I had so little care for her. I wanted to hurt her by being so bloody nice. But I knew I couldn't be friendly with her. I still can't.

Anyway, I decided to not go, because my reasons for wanting to go were shit. I told Stephen that he could go if he wanted, and he did. And then called me from the party and told me that he wanted me to come too. Honestly, I was glad. I had told him that I didn't care if he went... but I think I lied. Not on purpose, I didn't realize that I would end up feeling upset by it, but I was.

I kind of expected A to not be there, as I had told Stephen all of my reasons for deciding not to go... but she was. And I was terrified. Completely cowered by her... and it ticked me off so much. And one point in the evening, she brandished a knife in the room in front of me, not at me, but in the room, and I recoiled from her. And later she ran up to me, grabbed my hand, and drew a heart in lipstick on it. (Which she did to everyone except Stephen, so in that I wasn't singled out) I spent the whole time scared of her, my heart racing, and fuming for being scared.

She sent me a message on facebook afterwards. It has slowly turned into a conversation, as I cant seem to not respond without feeling rude. But the thing that gets me is that she wrote about me again, after the party, on her livejournal, in a public post, calling us bint and brat. Citing a conversation that she had with a friend about me (though it is not stated... and in my very defensive defense, its a new country, new water, new soap, and yes, she has fucking clearer skin than I do!) The link is here... you have to read the post and the comments.

I have NEVER called her anything but A. Even at my most angry, I never called her demeaning names and told all my friends what a such and such she is. And I am so very offended, and frustrated that there is nothing at all that I can think of to do that I am willing to do about it. I don't like to hate people... I don't even like the word hate... but she pushes all my buttons just the right way. Part of me really wants to confront her, get up in her face... but I never would. 1. It would serve no purpose, and 2. I don't want her to know that she gets to me like this.

I want to be a nice person. I want to be accepted by the people that Stephen hangs around with. But I feel as though she has taken all of them and poisoned them against me, and that there really is no point in even trying. So I'm sitting her whining to you all about it. *sigh*