Day 21 (Cambridge Final Debrief/Day) - August 11, 2012

After dinner last night, we went to a few of the pubs that we enjoyed during our 3 weeks here in Cambridge.  We started reminiscing about some of the highs and lows of our trip, but all in all, it was a very memorable trip; definitely worth the 3 weeks even though it was a long time to be away from home.  Some of the highlights include:

                *Nick setting off an alarm in one of the museum displays yesterday before we left Duxford for

                  the final time.

                *No plates during our BBQ with the students.

                *Teaching the British guy David, how to say things in the American language such as…TruDat

                *No internet and spotty internet access for the entire trip

                *Troy opening up the helicopter in the museum that he used to fly when he was in the Army,

                   much to the dismay of the AAM sponsers!

                *The long lines to get into Victoria Park to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.

                *Despite being in the home country of the Olympics, we watched very few events on TV.

                *Our experience in the hostel in London…what happens in the hostel stays in the hostel!

                *So many more memorable experiences…if you want to know what they are, go back and read

                  the blog!

This morning, we awoke and had our final debrief of the summer residency program.  The main objectives were to discuss the pros and cons of the pilot program, offer suggestions for the program in the future, and devise our continuing projects for the upcoming year.  We are going to do a variety of video projects, polls, weekly/monthly questions for the students to respond to and also create.  The best way that I thought about going about to complete this would be to create a 7^th Grade after school History club.  I figure that I can have the club meet twice a month, and have a maximum of 30 students partake in this experience.  The biggest thing we want to accomplish is to have the students from both sides of the pond communicate with each other through history and develop projects/videos that we the teachers can share with our colleagues. 

Tonight is our final gathering for the closing of the summer residency program @6:30pm.  We will have dinner, share many more stories, gather contact information, and then depart for home tomorrow.  I am one of three people who will be departing with the early crew @5:30am.  I’ve truly enjoyed this cultural experience, I meet and befriended people who I’ve formed a great working relationship with and hope to continue for some time, and saw tons of exciting sites.  But it is time to come home and get back to reality…the next time that you hear from me I will be back in the good old U.S.A.  I hope that everyone enjoyed following my adventures for the past 3 weeks…it has been awesome! 

Day 19-20 (Overnight in the AAM at Duxford with the UK Students) - August 9-10, 2012

Everyone began the day talking in the taxi on the way to Duxford how tired we were and we knew how long the day/evening would be; regardless though, we were excited for the students because that’s what this whole trip has been about.  For my final group lesson, we conducted an escape and evade lesson on the air base that surrounded actual tactics that the RAF and US forces used to train their pilots during WWII.  We provided the students with a map of the base, clues to the safe house, and a phrase in German that the students had to say upon reaching the safe house.  Throughout the activity, we had teachers placed at various places around the airbase and if they went up to a student and spoke English, they were caught. 

After the day was over, the students were split into groups for the craft activity, which they needed to complete for tonight’s spy hunt inside the American Air Museum, and time to shop in the gift shop.  While all of that was going on, myself and three other teachers were at the opposite end of the airbase setting up for the softball and volleyball games.  It has been a long time since I worked for Parks & Recreation in Loudoun but I quickly got back into the teaching mode of athletics.  Trying to explain and teach the UK students how to play softball, swing a bat, and catch/throw was a huge challenge but it was fun also.  The girls of course did not like the fact that they had to put the sweaty boys glove on to play and most of the girls just sat in the outfield, but overall it was a great experience for them but also for me as well.  For myself, it was a great cultural experience to come to the UK and teach the students a sport that they have never played before (now I know how Aaron has felt after his many trips to the Bahamas to teach sports to the under privileged). 

Once the game was over and we cleaned up the field it was time for the evening BBQ…oh how I miss BBQs back home.  First of all, we actually have plates to put our food on (someone forgot to order plates for 65 plus people for the BBQ to eat our dinner), and it reminded me of people who make all of those West Virginia jokes!!  Haha.  Also, the food over here isn’t what I have been accustomed to for my entire life and I can’t wait to come back home.  Food withstanding though, there isn’t another place on the planet that I would ever want to live besides the good old U-S-A!!  Next, we headed to the Astra Cinema to watch the films that the students made this past week and I can’t wait to get back to work because I am going to access the work and show it to my students once I start teaching the WWII unit.  The kids put in a ton of work for only 2 minutes of work but they were very excited and it was a memorable moment for them.  Following their films, we watched a Daffy Duck Cartoon from the 1940s before we watched the main feature – The Memphis Belle.  It was funny watching the movie because, even though I’ve seen it a dozen times or so (and it sits on my DVD shelf), I had a new excitement about the movie because I’ve been here in Duxford for 3 weeks and have gotten to know the base very well; watching a movie that was filmed in the place that I’ve been was pretty awesome for not just me but the other US teachers too!

After the movie, we walked back to the AAM and it was dark by this time; upon our arrival, seeing the museum lit up from the outside was a fabulous view that only the museum staff gets to experience!  We then set about preparing for the museum spy hunt; I played a Nazi guard who periodically checked the students ID badges they created earlier in the day as the scattered throughout the museum searching for clues to complete their mission that they were given.  To complete this spy hunt, it was done in the pitch dark throughout the museum, and the students only had their torches (flashlights) to complete it – talk about an awesome sight throughout the entire museum seeing 45 lights run around the museum in the dark was very memorable.  Another bonus to this being in the dark was that we were able to scare the crap out of many of the students because they didn’t see us  - the girls freaked out the most when I came from behind the wheel of the B-17 bomber and started screaming at them in German asking to check their IDs.  The spy hunt took longer than we expected for the students to complete; the coordinators only scheduled an hour and a half but it took more like 3 hours for the students to complete it.  IT was fun nonetheless! 

Once the spy hunt was over, it was after 1:00am; some students chose to do the astronomy walk outside while others chose to prepare for bed.  All in all, it was a successful day/night but everyone was exhausted.  The girls were placed on one side of the museum and the boys were placed on the other; the teachers were spread out over the museum as well.  Myself and one other male teacher, Nick, slept next to the B-17 which separated the girls from the boys and we acted as an intermediary in case some of the students decided to try to be sneaky, but thankfully that didn’t happen.  They were exhausted, plus I was awake most of the night due to the cot I slept on and being extra cautious.  I finally went to bed close to 3:00am and woke up around 7:00am, but it wasn’t a solid sleep.

We woke the students up bright and early @ 7:00am so that we could clean up the museum and leave before it opened to the public.  But first, we awarded the students their certificates for completing the first ever AAM Summer Camp and the students received a packet of information regarding their ID cards that we handed out to them on Monday as we began this adventure so that they know what happened to the men after WWII.  Their parents arrived at 9:00am to pick them up and after we had a short de-brief session with the museum director, who thanked us for a wonderful experience, we headed back to Homerton to rest and clean up.  I however, couldn’t go back to sleep so it looks like it’ll be a short night for me tonight.  I will be eating my final dinner at Homerton tonight…yippy!  Tomorrow, we debrief as an entire group from 9:00-12:00, and then we have our goodbye banquet at 6:30pm tomorrow night.  

Day 17-18 (Duxford AAM Summer Camp With UK Students) - August 7-8, 2012

Day 17 

Today was more of an observatory role due to the fact that Radiowaves, the tech/website company that we meet 2 weeks ago, came to teach the students how to create multimedia videos.  Each group was to create their own storyboard for a short movie that dealt with a WWII topic/theme.  My group, comprised of 6 UK girls plus myself and another teacher Erin, chose to create a BBC news broadcast that interrupted the scheduled news program to alert the British that the American’s were arriving in England.  Two students did the filming and sound, 2 students were at the news desk, 1 was the news reporter, and one student played the American general that was interviewed.  The girl who played the American general, Elise, was nervous because she couldn’t speak with an American accent, but Erin and I told her just to relax, have fun, and speak loudly – the perfect trait to describe us Americans.  She pulled it off perfectly and we did the interview next to the B-17 bomber used in the movie The Memphis Belle.  Once the girls finished the storyboard and filming, it was mine and Erin’s job to do the editing of the girls movie; the total running time of their video was one minute and 30 seconds.  Each groups videos will be debuted during the sleepover on Thursday night before we watch the movie at the Astra Cinema…ironically, the movie is The Memphis Belle!

Day 18 

Today, we got back to normal and we presented the students with another round of lessons that focused on the human cost of war.  My group in particular, focused on Air bombing strategies and the effects.  The major focus of the lesson dealt with us providing the students with background information on the German Blitz on Britain in 1940 and the arrival of the Americans.  Next, we focused on the different types of bombing planes used by the Americans and British during the war and the fact that the British only conducted bombing runs at night while the Americans conducted their bombing runs during the day.  After we had provided them with the background information, we presented the students with their objective for today’s lesson – they were going to create their own bombing mission. 

We provided the students with information on 4 actual bomb sites from WWII, including the target area, reason why the area was of strategic importance, population, distance from Duxford, etc.  After they read all of the information, they set out to discuss amongst themselves the pros and cons of each of the 4 options, and then decided on which site to bomb.  To complete this, they had to fill out their own mission plan which we provided a template for.  After it was over, we collected the information on which site they chose and discussed why each group chose it, along with the pros and cons; also, we discussed why they didn’t choose the other targets.  This was a great activity and we got a wonderful comment from the organizers as to how well the lesson was planned and very active for the students.  The students played their part wonderfully and had some great insights as to the thinking surrounding selecting their targets.  Finally, we showed a 1 minute video clip of an actual bombing mission from WWII and discussed about the negative and positive effects of the bomb raids on the cities, people, and casualties of the war. ***I will be using this lesson in my classroom when I begin my WWII unit!

Before the day concluded, we discussed how successful the entire day was as a group and began going over tomorrow’s night at the museum.  Here is a sample of what the night at the museum will look like on Thursday:

                *9:00am-3:00pm = normal teaching sessions

                *3:00-4:00pm = visit to gift shop for students to purchase things from Duxford

                *4:30-6:30pm = sports games (softball and volleyball) on a rotating basis

                *6:30-7:30pm = BBQ cookout on the airbase (US style food)

                *8:00-10:30 = movies at the Astra Cinema (WWII era cartoons and student created movies will

                   (be shown before the main feature – The Memphis Belle)

                *11:00-12:30am = Spy hunt in the American Air Museum

                *12:30-1:30am = Astronomy Walk outside around the airbase (weather permitting)

                *1:30-7:00am = Sleep (the teachers are very doubtful of this but we will soon find out)

Day 16 (Summer Camp With UK Students @ Duxford) - August 6, 2012

Everyone was a little nervous last night at dinner when we started talking about our expectations for our summer camp that began this morning.  As expected, we thought that the morning registration and scavenger hunt of the American Air Museum at Duxford would be chaotic and we were right.  It is very similar to the first day of school, and a blind person could see that the organizers of this summer residency program haven’t had any teaching experience and were a little overwhelmed.  However, at the end of the day, the first day was a success. 

My group taught the same lesson 3 different times because of the large number of students, we broke them into groups of 15 so it wasn’t too different from a normal class, expect for the fact that we broke the content down so that all 5 members of my group would teach something different.  What we had was a phenomenal group of teachers who planned and collaborated together – a wonderful model of team teaching!  Our lesson today focused on Preconceptions that Americans had about England and vice versa beginning in 1942 upon the arrival of US forces to Duxford.  Below are some of the highlights of our lesson we taught today:

                *We asked the UK students to write down things that they would tell US exchange students

                  today that were coming over to the UK.  Then we said that it wasn’t very different from 1942

                  when the US troops first arrived, minus the lack of technology that is around today.

                *We showed a short 5 minute clip from a US video from WWII that taught the US troops about

                  the differences and similarities between our 2 cultures as they first arrived in the UK in 1942.

                  (We will be showing some small clips of WWII propaganda on Thursday night at the movie

                   theatre on the base before we show our main feature to the students – The Memphis Belle).

                *I talked about the crew positions of a B-17 bomber and explained the role and responsibility

                   of each man.  Afterwards, we handed out each student a replica War Department ID card

                  of an actual person who flew a B-17 bomber in WWII.  They will keep this all week and on

                  Friday morning, they will research that individual and find out what happened to that

                  person during WWII. 

                *Finally, we differentiated the sizes between the US and UK on a map.  Once the students had

                  that basic understanding, we informed them that over 3 million US troops arrived in the UK

                  beginning in 1942 and had them come to the map on the board and place a string from that

                  persons home state and they connected it to the location of Duxford on the map.  We did this

                  to reiterate the size difference, number of troops, and different locations that the US troops

                  came from in the US to help them understand how much of a change/struggle it was when the

                  US troops arrived in the UK and had to assimilate to the new culture as they prepared to defeat

                  our common enemy – Hitler and  NAZI Germany.

Day 15 (Cambridge) - August 5, 2012

I slept in until 10am after my long Saturday of sitting on a tour bus and touring Bath and Stonehenge.  After I cleaned up, I headed to downtown Cambridge to walk the streets, do a little shopping, and tour/take photos of all of the colleges/churches.  Around 12:30, as I was walking down some of the hidden/unknown alleys of town, it started to pour down the rain so I headed to the closest pub that I could find for lunch.  I ended up staying 2 hours because the rain was horrendous; while I was there, I started a new book (The Dream Team) and completed 50% of it by the time that I left.  Will – I highly recommend reading this book; it details the behind the scene battle to organize the team and their internal struggles to come together to win the gold medal in 1992.  Also, it is a very fast and easy read too!  After I left the pub, I followed the canal and watched all of the punting boats take people on a tour of Cambridge; however, instead of getting a tour via the river, I continued to go down the narrow, old streets of Cambridge and take in the sights the good old fashioned way.  I got a wonderful, money shot view of King’s College chapel from the rear of the college. 

By the time that I returned to Homerton, my lodging for the past few weeks, it was close to 5:00.  Once I returned, I started to gather my belongings and come up with a plan to pack up all of my stuff.  What I was really concerned about was getting some of the breakable souvenirs that I bought; what I decided to do what to pack all of them up in my luggage carry on bag so that I can take them back on the plane with me.  Also, due to the fact that I have the space bags, I will easily be able to bring back my clothes with room to spare, and hopefully, I won’t go over the weight limit on Sunday morning at Heathrow Airport when I check in.  At 7:00pm, I met up with everyone at a restaurant and we had dinner to talk about everyone’s weekend and watch the fastest man alive, Bolt, win another gold medal.

Day 14 (Bath & Stonehenge) - August 4, 2012

I woke up bright and early to get ready for my day trip to Bath and Stonehenge today at 6:45am.  I had to be at the bus stop by 8:00am so I stopped by the local convenience store to grab a sandwich for breakfast and caught my bus on time.  It took 2 hours to get to Bath; once we got within 15 minutes of Bath, the tour guide notified us and highlighted some of the areas in the valley that we were driving by.  From the bus I saw the town of Bristol and the suspension bridge that connects Bristol to Wales!  After the bus driver dropped us off in Bath, the tour guide gave us a 1.5 hour tour of the city and then set us off own our own for 3 hours before we met back up in downtown Bath to head to Stonehenge.  Here are some of the highlights of our tour guide led Bath tour:

                *Bath was built by the Roman Empire.

                *Every building in the city is built with the same rock from the quarry outside of town.

                *The Roman Spas are located underneath city of bath. 

                *Bath became a popular tourist attraction after the discovery of the hot water spas in Bath and

                  people traveled from all over Europe to the spas so they could be healed of their illnesses.

                *Jane Austen lived in Bath and the area outside Bath (Are you excited yet Sarah??  Haha.)

                *The River Avon flows through the city and in the Celtic language, Avon means river so actually,

                  the river that flows through Bath is called the River River. 

During my free time, I went to taste the hot water from the Roman Spas…it’s not that great!  Also, I went to an Irish pub for lunch and then browsed the shopping area and picked up a few souvenirs; afterwards, I arrived early at the meeting point and stepped into another pub and ended up watching soccer of all things during the Olympics...YUCK!  When I arrived at the meeting point with everyone else, I started talking to a lady on the bus from Australia.  She and I also sat next to each other for the rest of the trip and made the rest of the day fly by.  She is visiting her brother for 5 weeks since in Australia, once you work at the same location for 7 years, you get a fully paid 6 week vacation.  She’s been saving for 2 years for the trip which also included stops in Ireland and France, but doesn’t have to spend any money on accommodations since she is staying with her brother.  He moved from Australia 30 years ago on a one year temporary teaching assignment but ended up getting married to a local girl in Cambridge and he hasn’t left since. 

When we arrived at Stonehenge, it was out in the middle of nowhere.  It was about 45 minutes from Bath.  Our tour guide gave us a 45 minute intro about the history and myths about the origins and purposes of Stonehenge.  Here are some highlights:

                *Over 5,000 years old.

                *Created during the Meolithic and Neolithic eras during the prehistoric culture

                *Stones were pushed by hand from the areas around its present location and the rocks were

                   carved using animal bones.

                *It is aligned with the midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset but its exact purpose is still a

                  mystery.

                *New archeological discoveries have concluded that it was also a burial ground.

The bus ride back took 2.5 hours and I couldn’t wait to get back to Cambridge because I was starving since it has been almost 9 hours since I ate lunch at the Irish Pub.  I was so hungry that I went to Pizza Hut to get a personal pan pizza for dinner because it was quick.  This isn’t the only time I’ve eaten at an American restaurant since I’ve been in England – I also have eaten and Subway and Burger King, but it’s not the same taste as back in the USA!

Day 12-13 (Duxford) - August 2-3, 2012

Woke up on Thursday feeling like a million bucks!  Went to breakfast and ate the same cheese, ham, and croissant that I’ve have every morning since I arrived minus the traditional English breakfast in London last Saturday morning.  Upon our arrival back at the Duxford museum, we began debating the effectiveness of the Allied bombing strategies at the beginning of the war and why it changed midway through the war in Europe.  Afterwards, we had the privilege of listening to a presentation from a surviving member of the British Royal Air Force – Harry Irons, tailgunner from a Lancaster bomber who flew 60 combat missions during WWII and was involved on the bombing of Dresden, Germany in February 1945.  He told us his war stories, excitement & fear during the war, and anger/frustration after the war due to the fact that the British government still doesn’t recognize the actions of him and the other members of the RAF who participated in the Dresden bombing due to the high number of civilian casualties that occurred – over 25,000.  Also, he told us how he and other surviving member s worked on their own to establish and create a memorial for the RAF – he currently sits on the board, which now sits in Hyde Park in London, England.

Once his presentation was over, he stayed around during the tea and biscuits session to continue talking to us and we all thanked him for his service to the Allied cause during WWII.  Next, we broke up into different groups from the other day and worked on the second set of lessons that we will be teaching next week to the UK students during our summer camp.

On Friday, we had 2 different lectures when we first arrived; the first was from the Prisoner of War Collections Manager from Duxford, and the second was from a criminology lecturer who presented to us the studies and effects of Incarceration.  The POW collections manager brought some primary source artifacts to his presentation, both Allied and German, to show us and explain to us.  The criminology lecturer talked to us about both the incarcerations of both POWs and criminals and the effects that being locked up has on the mental psyche.  Ironically, the presenter himself was actually sentenced to jail for committing a murder in 1992 and after spending 13 years in prison he was released; after his release, he decided to dedicate his life to teaching others about the effects on being locked up both from the past and present, and he is working on completing his doctorate degree from Cambridge.  Then, once we were finished with our lectures, we were broken up into our final group parings to finish our last lesson for the summer camp next week.

Everyone thought that the day drug on and on; mainly because we were excited for our free weekend and everyone had different plans, but we couldn’t get out of Duxford soon enough.  The Brits were taking the train from Cambridge and going home for the long weekend (I wish I would have had that option, but if I did, I probably wouldn’t have come back for the last week – Hahaha), some people were headed to Edinburgh, Paris, London, and Bath, while others chose to stay in Cambridge for the weekend.  As for me, I took it easy Friday evening and went to see the Dark Knight Rises at the movie (cinema in the British vocabulary).  The movie was awesome but there were 35 minutes worth of advertisements and previews; remind me not to complain about that when I get home because it isn’t nearly that long back in the US.  Also, movies hear are freaking expensive – it cost me 9 pounds and 50 pence (convert that to US dollars and I spent $19 to watch a…ridiculous)!  I’m not going to complain about US movie prices either when I get home.

Day 11 (Chiselhurst Caves and Dover Castle/Cliffs) - August 1, 2012

Happy Over the Hump day!  In 11 days, I will be on my way home and I can't wait; I miss home!

We began the day very early due to our day trip to Chiselhurst Caves and Dover and we left Homerton at 8:00.  I woke up not in the greatest shape but felt much better than yesterday when I went to bed and I was in good spirits, but as the day went on I felt the effects of being constantly on the go and stuck with a cold!

The first leg of our journey to Chiselhurst Caves was an adventure because our bus driver got us lost.  It took us 2.5 hours to get there instead of 1.5 hours…one of the British guys in our group pulled up GPS on his cell phone and helped the driver get us to our destination (Thanks David Lloyd)!  The Chiselhurst Caves have been used for hundreds of years as a place to grow mushrooms, and most importantly, a shelter for 15,000+ Brits during the bombings by the Germans during the Battle of Britain.  Once we arrived, we had a 2 hour tour of the caves from our guide who was once a little boy who stayed with his family in the caves during the bombings and he took us to some remote/unauthorized caverns deep within Chiselhurst Caves.  At one point, he went too far and realized that only small children could fit into the area, so we turned around and went the long way but the other NOVA teacher Jaime, decided that he would go and crawl on his hands and knees through the small opening.  We thought it was funny but when we called out to him and we got no response, our organizers got nervous but he popped out way ahead of us after we turned around so things were fine.  Our guide even played a joke on us by taking away our lanterns and left us completely in the dark; he then proceeded to come around from behind us to scare us since he had practically grown up in these caves his entire life, he knew were all of the hiding places were.

Next, we boarded back onto the bus and headed for Dover.  I was a little tired/sick so I slept for the rest of the way to Dover – about 1 hour away from the caves.  Once we got to Dover, the weather was ugly and rainy; we were a little disappointed but we carried on.  Jenny, one of the organizers of our trip, at one point worked at the Dover Castle complex so she had been able to organize a behind the scenes tour of the castle from her friend who was our guide. The tour lasted a little over an hour, and he covered over 1000 years of Dover Castle history, ranging from the reign of Henry II, the Medieval times, the American Revolution, French Revolution, and both world wars.  Due to the past hatred of France and Britain, Dover Castle has always been heavily fortified by the British in case of an attack from the French; it is because of this and the fact that the French laid siege to Dover Castel for over a year but failed that Dover has earned the title as “the key to England.”  Also, the area surrounding Dover Castle was heavily bombed by the Germans during the Battle of Britain but was unharmed because Hitler planned to use the Castle as his command headquarters when the Nazis were to invade England – but that never happened. 

After our tour was over, we had 2.5 hours to tour the complex on our own.  I went and did a self-guided tour of the Medieval tunnels underneath the castle complex, toured the castle and went to the top where I had a wonderful look across the English Channel to France, and toured the underground tunnel complex that the Brits created and used as a headquarters during WWII.  Dover Castle was also the spot where the British undertook the withdrawal of British and French from Dunkirk in April/May of 1940 because Dunkirk can be seen across the channel.  What a beautiful view!   Finally, I went to the area of the complex to take a look at the world famous white cliffs of Dover – one of the most beautiful sites I’ve ever seen; however, just as I was about to take some photos of the white cliffs, the batteries died in my camera!  What a bummer…I’m so mad!

When we were finished, we headed back to the bus for our 2 hour or so ride back to Homerton.  We had cold sandwiches and chips for dinner on the bus, but the rest of the ride back, I was miserable due to behind completely exhausted and sick.  After I got back to my room, I took a hot shower, and plan on taking my dear old friend (Nyquil) again tonight.  Hopefully, I will be on my way to recovery tomorrow because I have more planning to do with my group and I want to be better before my day trip on Saturday to Stonehenge and Bath.  

Day 10 (Duxford) - July, 31, 2012

All day yesterday, I could tell that something wasn’t right with my body and I didn’t sleep well at all last night because I had the beginnings of a cold.  I absolutely hate it when I get (who doesn’t) but to get sick now in the middle of my trip made things worse.  All day long my nose was running and I blew my nose constantly, and I didn’t feel right or want to be at the museum working in my group on our first lesson.  If only I could have got a sick day.  Anyways, the day of preparation for our lesson for the UK students on Monday went fine, and we even broke up into our second pair of groups and got our topics so that we can get to work immediately on Thursday.

When we returned to Homerton, I felt like ****, so after dinner I decided to skip the night tour of the colleges in Cambridge with the group.  I came back to my room, took a hot shower, and took a drink of good old reliable when I’m sick (Nyquil)…for some reason I made sure I packed it before I left and it’s a good thing I did.

Day 9 (Duxford) - July 30, 2012

I just realized that I forgot to mention on Day 4 that we went to the Eagle Pub in Cambridge for dinner.  That place is awesome; it is over 800 years old and it is one of the oldest buildings in Cambridge.  It is known for 2 major accomplishments in its life as was told by our organizer Jenny.  The first was that it is the location where Watson and Frick came to celebrate the discover of DNA; the second occurred during WWII as it was the local watering hole for both RAF (British Royal Air Force) pilots and American Air Corps pilots who would come from the surrounding air bases to put back a few bitters (slang for beer in the English lingo).  Also, the Eagle Pub is noted for having distinct markings on the ceilings; US and RAF pilots would often put each other on top of their shoulders and using a candle, they would use the flames/smoke to write their names on the ceiling which is still visible today.

We have the wonderful opportunity to listen and learn from many great people who have specialized areas at the AAM in Duxford, but today, we went on a tour with the USAAF (United States American Air Force) Uniforms curator.  He gave us an hour plus long tour of the storage facilities of uniforms from 1914 to the present for all major world conflicts; plus, they have over 15,000 artifacts.  He described to us the heating/cooling temperatures and how long the process takes to prepare an old artifact for preservation (7 + days in total).  AS we were about to leave and head to begin our classroom work, he pulled out Kaiser Wilhelm’s (German leader during WWI) uniform trench coat to explain to us the uniqueness surrounding the coat and how the museum came to acquire it.   I took a picture of it and as I was walking out of the storage facility, I was able to touch it – pretty freaking awesome!  I know that this is probably boring many of you who are not into history; very dorky I know but it’s still awesome!

When we got to the classroom, we were given a booklet of information about why we are really here – to create interactive lessons/activities.  We were split into 3 groups and we began planning out day 1 of our UK student summer camp that kicks off next Monday.  We spent the rest of the morning before lunch brainstorming what types of strategies that we wanted to do in the specific time period that we have to teach the UK students.  Basically, we are going to divide the students into 3 groups next week and rotate every hour from one group to the next so that they can learn about a different aspect of WWII from us.  My group decided to develop a lesson about the preconceptions of both the British and US soldiers after the USA entered the war in December of 1941, and began coming over to the UK to be stationed in early 1942.  At the end of the day we still were not finished with our lesson and continued working on it after we returned to Homerton after we finished dinner.  We will have 1.5 hours tomorrow morning to complete our lesson before we begin practicing our lessons to our peers in the audience to help us prepare for the arrival of the students on Monday. Together as a whole, we have come up with a pretty interesting lesson; you’ll have to wait until Monday’s post to find out what it all entails.

After dinner, we went to a 1.5 hour lecture from one of the most renowned British scholars, Professor David Reynolds, who provided us with more background on the British and American cooperation and challenges while the US airmen were stationed throughout all of the UK during WWII from 1942-1945.  The lecture was pretty much an open session forum where he began talking about a subject and then we responded with our own questions/comments.  It was very informative overall and I am taking away a whole new perspective about how to teach my students about the war effort during WWII from the British side rather than focusing 100% on how the war affected the Americans.  If anyone is interested, in reading one of his most famous works, please see below:

             Rich Relations:  The American Occupation of Britain  1942-1945  by David Reynolds (Phoenix 

                           Press, 2001)

Day 6-8 (London) July 27-29, 2012

Day 6-8 – London England and the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic Games

Due to the expected traffic delays for the Olympic Ceremonies in London, we left Cambridge earlier than scheduled; we left at 8:00am.  It took 1.5 hours to get to London and we didn’t experience any traffic, much to everyone’s delight.  Once we arrived in London, we headed to the Imperial War Museum (much like the Smithsonian in Washington, DC) for our tours of that building.  It is the UK national headquarters for all things related to British War History since 1914 and also the main headquarters for the Duxford Airbase.  Upon our arrival, we were given a brief history of the current museum, which is housed in the former London Mental Hospital since the early 1930s.  Also, we were given a tour of the art museum which is housed in the IWM that the museum has commissioned artists since WWI to create.  We were given free time to explore the museum after our tours/lectures were over.  Two of the best things I had the opportunity to see were the hands-on exhibits of trench warfare from WWII and the bombing of London in WWII; sadly, these interactive exhibits will be removed once the renovation of the IWM begins at the end of the year.  Holly, Jenny, and Greg (the organizers of our summer residency program) are very disappointed because they believe that the heads of the museum are taking away something interactive that the museum has to offer for all of the thousands of school children who come to visit the museum each year.

After we finished our time at the IWM, we began our journey to Victoria Park, which is in the heart of London, and it is right next to the Olympic Park (where the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games were to be broadcast on 3 large screens).  Everything was fine and dandy until we arrived at the park and that is when all hell broke loose (pardon the expression).  It took almost 3 hours to get into the park due to horrible check-in/security measures; everyone was at their breaking point and many of us didn’t even want to watch the opening ceremonies at the park because of the extremely long lines but we soldiered on.  Once we FINALLY got through the security checkpoint, things went lovely and everyone had a great time.  It was amazing to me about all of the diversity of citizens from other countries were at the park to watch the ceremonies and I became very enthusiastic for the US to have the Olympic Games as quickly as possible; so much energy and patriotism surrounded the park not just for the UK but all nations involved in the Olympics.  The opening ceremonies were one of the best that I have ever seen; especially the whole Industrial Revolution sequences – AMAZING!

After the opening ceremonies were over, we headed to our weekend accommodations in London and everyone in the group was not thrilled; considering that we didn’t arrive until 3:30am didn’t help much either.  Our accommodations were at a hostel – basically, a hostel is very cheap accommodations where you share rooms with other people and share a bathroom area (much like SHEPHERD)!  We saw some things that will never be mentioned again because what happens at the hostel stays at the hostel.  Also, to make matters worse, we had to be awake at 7:00am so no one got any sleep and we were physically exhausted. 

The next morning, we met for breakfast at the Borough Market on the Bank side of London across the River Thames, and for the first time since I left home, I had a decent breakfast – eggs, bacon, and bubble (an authentic English breakfast).  Bubble is leftover food (vegetables, potatoes, etc) from the previous day that when mixed together and cooked, bubbles.  Afterwards, Jenny took us on a back-alley tour of the streets of London that the major tourists don’t know about – it was fascinating and everyone had a wonderful time.  Some people even commented that they learned more about English/London history in those 6 hours than they ever did in a classroom.  Many of the highlights included:  St. Paul’s Cathedral (I walked to the top and parts of my body hurt that have never hurt before, the site where William Wallace was executed, and the sites of the movie locations for Bridget Jones Diary and Four Weddings and a Funeral.   We were extremely EXHAUSTED – we have done nothing since we arrived but walk and tour historic sites and we are also on very little sleep; especially after the previous late night and our lack of sleep at the hostel!  Once we were finished, we had 2 hours before the play – London Road began at the National Theatre in London; we all decided to site see and shop together as a group.  One of the many things that I have taken from this trip, as well as everyone else, is the fact that we have become a tight-knit group who enjoy each other’s company, have done everything together, and we also haven’t strayed from the group – we are becoming like a family!

London Road was an interesting play – it was about a series of mass murders on London Road in London in 2005.  The premise dealt with the people who lived on London Road when it occurred; the creator of the play/musical interviewed numerous people in the neighborhood during the time period in 2005 to get their reactions to what was happening and what they could have done to unite better as a community to form a neighborhood watch.  It was very good and I would highly recommend it to anyone who will be traveling to London anytime in the near future and you want to catch a show at the theatre.

Due to our pure exhaustion and our horrible experience at the London Hostel, about half of us decided to take the late train from London back to Cambridge at 12:15am because we were physically and mentally exhausted after one week of non-stop activity, while the others stayed the night to finish touring London.  The only thing that I didn’t get to see on my travels throughout London was Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard, which I found out Sunday evening from the people who stayed back in London occurred.  Also, the Queen’s flag was flying which meant that she was in the palace, and they happened to see the Olympic bicycle race while they were there as well!  L

 Despite my disappointment and the fact that we didn’t arrive in Cambridge until after 2:00am, I needed to come back and get some much needed rest.  I didn’t awake until 12:30pm and it was by far the best night’s sleep that I have had since I arrived in the UK.  Also to make things nicer, it was an ugly rainy day in Cambridge (reminded me of those ugly days at Shepherd when it rained and we skipped class to watch movies all day); due to those circumstances, I was able to relax, check some email, call Sarah – I didn’t take a shower until 3:30.  After I somehow was able to clean up, I headed down to the local Subway to get something to eat and by the time that I returned to Homerton College, it wasn’t until 4:30 that I had my first meal of the day.  Then we went out to dinner in Cambridge at 6:30, but since I ate so late in the day, I wasn’t as hungry as everyone else and had a small appetizer.  We were all very excited about the beginning of our second week of the summer residency program and the majority of the conversation was about what types of activities and learning strategies that we were going to create not only for ourselves, but the UK students who will be arriving during the following week for our weeklong camp!

Day 5 (Duxford) - July 26, 2012

We had some good news and some sad news today.  The good news is that Kori, a girl in the program who lost her luggage last Friday, had her luggage returned to her FINALLY from British Airways.  Sadly though, we found out that another girl in the program, Gemma who is from the UK, had to leave because her grandmother died; we don’t know if she will return for the remaining two weeks. 

Today we were back at Duxford for some classroom instruction and lectures.  What I concluded from today was that their instruction/activities are pretty similar to what the Social Science Department in Loudoun continues to use (HISTORY ALIVE), but they call it CLOUE – Close Up Encounters.  The first lecture that we had dealt with how the British sacrificed on the homefront during WWII and what types of strategies they developed in order to survive the German BLITZ in 1940.  After the instruction portion was over, we were taken to the next room for our activity that allowed us to put some of these strategies the British used to good use.  Basically, what the museum has done is put together one big room with a variety of primary sources from 1940 (examples of the different types of clothing, food, posters, Garden, shelters, bombs used, weapons, etc).  We were allowed to walk around the room to the different sources and touch them while the instructor answered our questions that we had.  Finally, we were broken up into groups of 4, and while in those groups, we were given an artifact from Britain 1940 and we had to brainstorm as to what they artifact would have been used for.    

Following lunch, we engaged in 2 more CLOUE activities:  one that dealt with D-Day and another that dealt with a British Lancaster Bomber used in WWII.  For the D-Day activity, the teacher explained and demonstrated how they teach this to school children: 

·               each person is given a British ID card

·               the students have to read about their life and who was in it

·               then they are given the scenario and duties for the D-Day landings

·               they are given information about the boat ride to the beaches and then…the CHARGE the beaches

o   Once the demonstration is over, the teacher reads aloud a condolence letter from the Ministry of Defense to one of the loved ones from a fallen soldier.

o   The condolence letter was about one of their characters from their British ID card

For the Lancaster Bomber activity, we went to the hanger where the actual bomber rests to do this activity.  When we arrived, all of the men were given a wallet with information and all of the women were given a purse with information – they are our characters for this activity (similar to the D-Day activity).  Next, we were put into specific groups to prepare the bomber for a mission in WWII: flight crew, ground crew, weapon preparation crew, etc.  **The purpose of this activity is to help the students understand that everyone was responsible for the success/failure of a bombing mission in WWII, even though that they were not actually in the plane flying the mission.  The bomber wouldn’t have been successful without everyone on the ground putting the wheels in motion.

After dinner, we have an evening session at 7:30pm from the Imperial War Museum about what we are going to experience at the museum tomorrow in London.  Also, we are given our instructions for our departure time tomorrow for our weekend trip to London for the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games, the play that we will be seeing, and our free day on Sunday.  **Please note that there have been some changes from what I was originally told due to scheduling conflicts with everything that is happening in London with the Olympic Games.  We will now be in Victoria Park tomorrow night watching the Opening Ceremonies on a big screen and not at Olympic Park.  L  Also, we will not be able to watch a play from the Globe Theatre; we will now be watching a play at the Oliver, National Theater.

Due to the crazy activity in London over the next three days, I will be unable to update my blog until Sunday night when I will get back to daily updates.  Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy watching the next 2 weeks of the Olympics on TV.  Also, NFL training camps will be opening this weekend as well;  I know that certain people (Will Kramer) are very excited for the Redskins to show off RG3, while the Steelers fans out there (you know who you are) always are excited…we live for training camp as soon as the season ends!  

Day 4 – (Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall and Madingley Cemetary) July 25, 2012

As the normal way to start the day, breakfast was blah...same as it has been since I arrived.  We then took a bus after breakfast and headed to the Cambridge American Cemetary and received a 2 hour tour from the curator.  He gave us a tour of the cemetery and told us some unknown stories about the US dead who are buried there.  Below are some of the details that we were told:

·               Over 3,000 dead US soldiers are buried there from WWI and WWII.

·               Over 5,00 missing names are engraved on the wall in the cemetery including Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. – 

                  JFK’s older brother whose body was never found because his bomber in WWII caught on fire and 

                  crashed into the Atlantic before he could escape.

·               All of the tombstones have a cross except 80 which are of the Star of David

·              24 tombstones are unknown

·              1 set of brothers are in the cemetery – I brother is buried and the other brother’s body has never been 

          recovered and his name is on the wall of missing

·               All tombstones come from Italy

After the tour was over, we headed to the RAF Mendenhall – the former British base that now is the home of the US Air Force Refueling Station for a tour.  One of the pilots explained how the British government has granted us permission to use the base and that there is still a British officer who lives on the base and gives the American’s rules to follow.  Next, we were given a tour of the KC-137 of the cockpit, cargo hold, and rear section of the plane that extends the buoy stick to help planes refuel in mid air.  The only thing that was boring about today’s tour was the Historian on the US Air Force Base at RAF Mendenhall

Mendenhall – he was so boring and dull!  Considering we have had British tour guides for the past 3 days and they are so cultured, refined, and energetic, this guy was very monotone and everyone started to dose off once the tour of the aircraft was over – I hope that is not how I will react when I return to school for my 2 weeks of orientation days starting on August 15^th!

Day 3 (Duxford) - July 24, 2012

Still no Internet service!!  We were able to find out this morning that Homerton is extra crowded this summer for summer/international classes and that we got shifted to the only housing unit on campus that doesn’t have WiFi service; they don’t use this housing unit during a normal school year for students.  Due to this slight (BIG) problem for all of us, we have to go to the lobby of the student union to get Internet service or wait until we get to the Duxford Airbase. 

Breakfast hasn’t been the greatest (Sarah, you were right!  J)  so far; we’ve only been given a croissant, 2 pieces of cheese, and 2 pieces of ham, plus fruit.  The lunches though have been great so far; sandwich, potato chips, fruit, water, and muffin.  Our dinners have varied; we have gone out to eat at various restaurants so far but today we ate dinner on campus at the dinning hall – that brought back some fond memories at Shepherd!  Speaking of our dinning hall, I joked this morning at breakfast with everyone in my group that the dinning area reminded me greatly of the dinning/common area from the Harry Potter movies (you gotta love the English school architecture)!   I got some huge laughs from that compliment (mainly from the Brits), but everyone was apparently thinking the same thing.

Once the taxi dropped us off at Duxford, we began our introduction to the social media outlet that we will be required to work with/introduce to the students for the upcoming school year – RADIOWAVES!  At first, we were given a brief overview of the formation of the RADIOWAVES technology and then the two representatives from the headquarters gave us a tutorial about the different functions (similar to Facebook and Twitter but heavy restrictions on personal updates) and how we would browse the system.  After that was over, like clockwork, it was tea and crackers (cookies) time…not a fan of tea but of course I ate the cookies!  When our break was over, we returned to the classroom and were given our assignment before lunch – in groups of 4, we had to search the British Air Museum and find 3 distinctively different things and find the common similarity with each to video tape so that we could upload to our social media page.  My group identified – spam in a can, microwave, and the cockpit of the Concord Airplane; each person had a different responsibility for the assignment.  I was the actor of the show, since my computer technology and video taping skills are limited, who conducted the introduction and was able to throw paper airplanes at the bulls-eye target on a British fighter plane from WWII…how many people can say that they were allowed to do that at the Smithsonian or Udvar-Hazy?? None…they would have been attacked by the SAWT team, national security, the Secret Service, or some other law enforcement group if someone would have sneezed on it.  Nick did the video taping and voice over and Jessica spliced it all together using her MAC computer for our presentation.  Each group created something different which was to the liking of the instructors – we didn’t’ come close to having anything similar!

After our classroom session was completed for the day, we had some time to browse through the gift shop before we were scheduled to go on our tour of the living quarter so the Duxford AirBase.  I purchased some British postcards of British propaganda from WWII so that I could create my own poster and laminate it when I return to school on August 15^th, and some British ration coupon books to compare to my US ration coupon books to explain to my students.  Our tour guide for the living quarters was very knowledgeable about the base and everything that happened here between 1918 when the base opened and 1961 when it closed.  The more that I listen to the Brits talk with their English accent the more I enjoy it!  Sarah you will be happy to know that I now understand why you enjoy studying the English culture so much…it’s like a tractor-beam!!  Every British person who I’ve come in contact with has been sincere, helpful, and funny.  Makes me wonder why we wanted to break apart from them back in 1776…just kidding (Viva la America!!)

After 3 very busy days of non-stop touring and walking, we were given the night off for some much needed free time.  Once dinner was over, everyone in the summer residency program, headed to downtown Cambridge to take in the sights and stop by 2 British watering holes (The Old Derby and the Flying Pig – now I remember why we broke away from England in 1776; weird names like that) to relax and get better acquainted.  Tomorrow, the weather is suppose to be in the upper 80s and we are required to wear dress clothes and shoes to visit another local airbase, but also, we will be touring a cemetery in dress shoes…does anyone else think that this will not end well?  Haha.

Day 2 (American Air Base in Duxford) - July 23, 2012

Our first full day of the summer residency began at 8:30am and didn’t conclude until 10:30pm.  Most of us who traveled from the US were extremely tired today and it showed.  After we taxied over to the museum in Duxford, we were given a brief overview and welcome from the director of the museum, who reports to the director of the Imperial War Museum, who reports directly to the Queen of England.  Next, we did an ice breaker activity with all of the members of the group who said were they were from, their education background (sound familiar LCPS teachers…haha), and showed an artifact that we were required to bring along to relate to our area/school.  I brought with me my LCPS badge and explained that it was our key card to enter the building; as well as some Virginia wine corks to let everyone know how big the wine industry is in Loudoun County.  Also, I did bring a small joke book titled, You Know You’re a Republican-Democrat as a joke to inform everyone how much of a role that the US Government plays in NOVA due to our close proximity to Washington, D.C. 

We had a morning break around 11:00am with tea and crackers (cookies to us in America), then followed that with a 30 minute history presentation of the background of the Duxford Airbase.  The brief history is as follows:

·               Built in 1918 as a place to train and educate Royal Air Force Pilots.

·               Between WWI and WWII years, base continued to train pilots and conduct air shows

·               1940 (Battle of Britain) = Duxford housed fighter planes and bombers that would eventually be the sinlge           

                  greatest difference between the Allies and Axis Powers of WWII.  Duxford’s role during the BLITZ 

                  was to defend the industrial works in Britain from German air attacks and support/aid/defend North 

                  and Lower London

·                 In 1943, the first US plans arrived (US 78^th Fighter Group) and the base changed over to US hands from 

                   the British.  B-47 Thunderbolts would eventually arrive as well to escort bombers over Germany 

                   and aid the ground attack missions.

·                  In 1953, US built a new runway and hanger for planes; also, the British introduced the first jet planes in 

                   British history here as well (Meteors).

·                  In 1954 a brand new control tower was built to accommodate the heavier airplane traffic

·                  In 1960, due to increasing Cold War military costs, outdated aircraft, and the distance from London (1+ 

                    hours) the Duxford Airbase was closed.

·                  Mid 1970s =the base was not maintained after its closure and it was starting to ruin.  Volunteers who 

                    cared about the area and the role that the base had in local history began to restore, house, and 

                    show historic/vintage aircraft since WWI and the role of the American military in the development 

                    and expansion of Duxford.

      2 movies have been filmed on the air base.  The first was the Battle of Britain in 1968 and the second 

               was The Memphis Belle in 1990.

Afterwards, we had a picnic lunch on the grounds of the airbase and watched vintage planes take off and land; then we began our tour of the American Aircraft Museum.  This museum is the largest museum in the world (outside of the USA) that houses the most US aircraft from our aviation history.  Next, we had our afternoon break which consisted of mingling with the Imperial War Museum officials along with coffee and cake.  Then we got in the jeep and were given a car tour of the runway and surrounding area of the base.  Finally, our last big event of the day was a ride in a vintage 1943 Dragon Rapide that lasted 15-20 minutes.  That was awesome.  I took a 5 minute video of our takeoff and circling of the airbase that I will upload when I get the opportunity. 

We departed Duxford at 5:00 to make our way to the Red Lion Inn in Duxford for a group dinner; I had bangers and mash!  J  This gave everyone to debrief on our first full day and continue bonding.   After dinner was over, we returned to the airbase and watched 3 vintage short propaganda films from WWII at the Astra Cinema…the same cinema where WWII soldiers watched movies and relaxed when they had free time.  We arrived back at Homerton College at 10:30pm to finally get to bed, and considering we were exhausted from yesterday’s travel day and the long first full day, it didn’t take long for any of us to crash.

Day 1 (Arrival in London) - July 22, 2012

Once I arrived at Dulles Airport, I had an easy time checking in and getting through the security checkpoint with ease.  It has been a while since I took an international flight and I forgot how speedy and efficient the flight was – my departure time was 9:05pm and we left at 9:05pm.  Upon arrival at Heathrow Airport in London, you could tell that the whole airport was in Olympics mode due to the speedy entry into the U.K. except for the guy Jaime who is from Fairfax County (he was detained by the U.K. customs officials).  He wrote down the wrong information on the extended stay card and got detained in the locked room until he could find the paperwork that had to correct address that we are staying at for 3 weeks…everyone, including the U.K. customs officials had a laugh afterwards and they allowed him to keep the detainment card as a souvenir. 

Once I made through the checkpoint, my cell phone didn’t work even though I set up my international sym-card…thanks Verizon!  I scrambled to find an Internet café so that I could tell Sarah and my parents that I arrived safely; afterwards, it was onto the Underground (subway/metro) for my 1 hour journey into London.  It is much nicer than the DC Metro and/or NYC Subway system!  Once I arrived at my stop in London @ 11:30, I made my way to the Churchill War Rooms where I was to drop off my luggage and meet up with the other NOVA teachers.  Since we weren’t meeting until 1:00, I  had some time to kill so I walked down to 10 Downing Street (this is where the U.K. Prime Minister lives), Westminster Abbey, and over to the British Houses of Parliament and Big Ben to take some photos. 

I meet up with the NOVA teachers @ 1:00 and then we headed over to the Red Lion Inn for some lunch where I had fish and chips.  Due to the crowds upstairs, we made our way to the downstairs seating area and since no one was there, we had some time to get to know each other better while we ate.  Then, we made our way to the River Thames for a 90 minute boat ride tour until the opening banquet started at 5:00.  Below are a few of the sights we saw:

·                        London Eye (36 pods that hold 20+ people in each pod where you can see for 30 miles)

·                       Cleopatra’s Needle (the twin is located in Central Park in NYC)

·                       St. Paul’s Cathedral

·                      Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre (replica only)

·                      The London Bridge and the Tower Bridge (often confused by people to be the London Bridge but that   

              is incorrect.)

·                       Tower of London

When the welcome banquet started, we meet the rest of our party which included 4 teachers from Seattle and 1 teacher each form Kansas and New York.  We were then given a behind the scenes exclusive VIP only tour of the Churchill War Rooms…this is the underground bunker where Churchill and his military cabinet stayed and conducted battle during the Battle of Britain in 1940 for the defense of all of England (otherwise known as the BLITZ to the British).  Once we finished, we had a dinner reception and then got on the coach bus to take us to our living quarters for the next three weeks – Homerton College in Cambridge.  When we arrived, we found out that the WiFi connection didn’t work in our rooms which pretty much ended the long day on a sour note because we hadn’t had Internet connection for almost 24 hours…unheard of in today’s society right??!!  Speaking of our rooms, I am very envious as I’m sure everyone who went to Shepherd will be because the rooms are much nicer than our college days.  I have my own sweet with a personal bathroom, 2 closets with all of the space I could ever need and a huge desk; my bed however is very small and my feet hang off the edge of the bed.  Anyway, needless to say that due to the time change and being in a strange place for the first night, didn’t go to bed until well after 3:30am and woke up around 7:00am but it was a restless sleep.

Departure Day for London, England

Well the time has arrived for me to "leave on a jet plane" for England.  Can anyone guess which song that I am referring to?  Haha.  I can't believe how fast the summer has gone; it has been a very memorable summer so far (mine and Sarah's engagement) and it isn't over yet!  I thought this day would never arrive and now that it has, I have mixed emotions; I'm excited and nervous all at the same time.

My flight out of Dulles Airport is tonight at 9:05pm and I will arrive at Heathrow Airport in London at 9:25am on Sunday, July 22.  Once I leave tonight, I will be out of text/cell phone communication for the three weeks that I will be gone, and I won't be able to be reached except via email and/or Facebook.  I will update my blog daily so that you can follow along during my once-in-a-lifetime adventure across the pond.

Below is my detailed 3 week schedule/itinerary as promised.  The next time that I will post on this blog will be from jolly old England!


WEEK 1
Day 1: Sunday 22 July
17.00 Meet at IWM Churchill War Rooms
17.15-18:15 Tour CWR with Director, Phil Reed
18.15-19.45 Cold buffet and drinks, with time to explore the museum
19.45 Assemble in lobby
20.00 Coach departs for Homerton College
21:30 Arrive at Homerton College and check in

Day 2: Monday 23 July
07:30-08:30 Breakfast at Homerton College
08:30 Taxi departs for IWM Duxford
09:00-09:30 Welcome from IWMD Director, Richard Ashton (Building 58)
09:30-09:45 Housekeeping and introductions
10:30-11:00 Morning break
11:00-12:30 Historic Duxford with Carl Warner, Research & Information Manager
12:30-13:30 Lunch
13:30-14:45 Tour of the AAM with Holly Medland and Head Of Interpretation &
Collections, Steve Woolford (American Air Museum)
14:45-15:30 Tea and Cakes (Concorde Room)
15:30-17:00 Flight in the Dragon Rapide and Control Tower tour (Control Tower)
17:15 Taxi departs for Red Lion Inn
17:30-19:15 Meal at Red Lion Inn
19:15 Taxi departs for IWM Duxford
19:30-21:30 Films in the Astra Cinema
21:45 Taxi departs for Homerton College
22:00 Arrive at Homerton College

Day 3: Tuesday 24 July
07:30-08:30 Breakfast at Homerton College
08:30 Taxi departs for IWM Duxford
09:00-10:30 RadiowavesWorkshop (Learning Space 1)
10:30-11:00 Break
1100:12:30 RadiowavesWorkshop (Learning Space 1)
12:30-13:30 Lunch
13:30-16:00 RadiowavesWorkshop (Learning Space 1)
16:00-17:00 Tour of the North Side with IvorWarne
17:15 Taxi to Homerton College
17:30-19:00 Dinner at Homerton College
Evening Free time

Day 4: Wednesday 25 July
07:30-08:30 Breakfast at Homerton College
09:15 Coach departs for Madingley Cemetery
10:00-11:00 Tour of Madingley Cemetery with historian, Arthur Brookes
11:00-11:45 Time to look around Madingley
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11:45 Coach departs for RAF Mildenhall
12:45-17:00 Tour of RAF Mildenhall with 100 ARW Historian, Mark Howell
17:00 Coach to Cambridge
18:00 Meal at The Eagle pub

Day 5: Thursday 26 July
07:30-08:30 Breakfast at Homerton College
08:30 Taxi departs for IWM Duxford
09:00-10:30 Master class: Home Front with Robina Hodgeson (Learning Space 2)
10:30-11:00 Tea and cakes (DAS café)
1100:12:30 Conservation Presentation with Chris Knapp (Hangar 5)
12:30-13:30 Lunch
13:30-15:00 Master class: Lancaster bomber with Robina Hodgeson (AirSpace)
15:00-15:30 Break
15:30-17:00 Master class: Informal Learning with Phil Sawford (Learning Space 4)
17:15 Taxi departs for Homerton College
17:30-19:00 Dinner at Homerton College
19:30 The IWM and Learning, talk with Director of Learning and Interpretation,
Sam Heywood (Alison Shrubsole Room, Homerton College)

Day 6: Friday 27 July
07:30-08:30 Breakfast at Homerton College
09:00 Coach to IWM London
10:30 Arrival at IWM London
11:00-13:00 Introduction to IWM Library Collection with Head of Collections Access,
Fergus Read and Librarian, Sarah Paterson (Old Dome Reading Room)
13:30-14:30 Lunch (Foyer)
14:30-15:30 Free time to look at exhibitions in IWM London
15:30-17:00 IWM Collections: The War Artists Advisory Committee with curator, Sara
Bevan
17:00 Travel to Victoria Park for picnic to watch the Olympic Games opening
ceremony on outdoor screens (optional)
Evening: Check in at the Generator Hostel London

Day 7: Saturday 28 July
07:30 Leave hostel and travel to London Bridge tube
08:00 Breakfast at Borough Market
09:00-14:30 Tour of Southwark and the City of London, including St Paul’s Cathedral
14:30 Afternoon tea
15:15 Sir John Soane’s Museum/Royal College of Surgeons (optional)
18:30 Dinner at National Theatre (optional)
19:30 London Road at the Olivier, National Theatre
Evening Return to the Generator Hostel

Day 8: Sunday 29 July
AM Check out of hostel and free time (train ticket to Cambridge provided –
the quickest trains take 45 minutes from King’s Cross and go every hour
at 15 minutes past, up until 23:15. There are later, slower trains running
up until 1:06.)

WEEK 2
Day 9: Monday 30 July
07:30-08:30 Breakfast at Homerton
08:30 Minibus to Duxford
09:00-09:45 USAAF Uniforms with curator Martin Boswell (Learning Space 1)
09:45-10:30 Literature perspectives (AirSpace Meeting Room)
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-12:00 Group workshops (Learning Space 1, 2 and Meeting Room)
12:00-13:00 Lunch (Meeting Room)
13:00-14:15 Group workshops
14:15-15:15 First group trials
15:15-15:30 Break
15:30-16:30 Second group trials
16:30-17:30 Third group trials
17:45 Minibus
18:00-19:00 Dinner at Homerton
20:00 Discussion: The Wartime Alliance: Legacies and Perspectives led by
Prof. David Reynolds (Alison Shrubsole Room, Homerton)

Day 10: Tuesday 31 July
07:30-08:30 Breakfast at Homerton
08:30 Minibus to Duxford
09:30-10:30 Past Pleasures: re-enactment workshop (Learning Space 1)
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-12:00 Past Pleasures: re-enactment workshop
12:00-13:00 Lunch (Meeting Room)
13:00-14:15 Group workshops (Learning Space 1, 2 and Meeting Room)
14:15-15:15 First group trials
15:15-15:30 Break
15:30-16:30 Second group trials
16:30-17:30 Third group trials
17:45 Minibus
18:00-19:00 Dinner at Homerton
19:00 Depart Homerton for King’s College
19:30 Tour of Cambridge (Meet at King’s College on King’s Parade)

Day 11: Wednesday 1 August
07:30-07:45 Breakfast at Homerton
07:45 Coach to Chiselhurst Caves
10:15-11:15 Tour of Chiselhurst Caves
11:20 Coach to Dover Castle
13:00-13:30 Lunch
13:30-17:30 Tour of Dover Castle
17:30 Coach to Homerton (packed dinner provided)
Evening Free time

Day 12: Thursday 2 August
07:30-08:30 Breakfast at Homerton
08:30 Minibus to Duxford
09:00-09:45 Debate: Effectiveness of Bombing Strategy (Air Space Meeting Room)
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09:45-10:30 Talk with Harry Irons, veteran of Bomber Command (Air Space Meeting
Room)
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-12:00 Group workshops (Learning Space 1, 2 and Meeting Room)
12:00-13:00 Lunch (Meeting Room)
13:00-14:15 Group workshops (Learning Space 1, 2 and Meeting Room)
14:15-15:15 First group trials (Learning Space 1, 2 and Meeting Room)
15:15-15:30 Break
15:30-16:30 Second group trials (Learning Space 1, 2 and Meeting Room)
16:30-17:30 Third group trials (Learning Space 1, 2 and Meeting Room)
17:45 Minibus
18:00-19:00 Dinner at Homerton
Evening Free time

Day 13: Friday 3 August
07:30-08:30 Breakfast at Homerton
08:30 Minibus to Duxford
09:00-09:45 AAM Prisoner of War collections with Collections Manager, John Delaney
(Air Space Meeting Room)
09:45-10:30 Effects of Incarceration with criminology lecturer, Jason Warr (Learning
Space 1)
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-12:00 Group workshops (Learning Space 1, 2 and Meeting Room)
12:00-13:00 Lunch (Meeting Room)
13:00-14:15 Group workshops (Learning Space 1, 2 and Meeting Room)
14:15-15:15 First group trials (Learning Space 1, 2 and Meeting Room)
15:15-15:30 Break
15:30-16:30 Second group trials (Learning Space 1, 2 and Meeting Room)
16:30-17:30 Third group trials (Learning Space 1, 2 and Meeting Room)
17:45 Minibus
18:00-19:00 Dinner at Homerton
Evening Free time

Day 14 & 15: Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 August
Free time

WEEK 3
Day 16: Monday 6 August
07:30-08:00 Breakfast at Homerton
08:00 Minibus to Duxford
08:30-09:00 Greet young people at Duxford
09:00-10:30 Activity 1 (Learning Spaces 1,2 and 4)
10:30-11:00 Break (Picnic Room)
11:00-12:30 Activity 2 (Learning Spaces 1,2 and 4)
12:30-13:30 Lunch (Picnic Room)
13:30-15:00 Activity 3 (Learning Spaces 1,2 and 4)
15:00-15:30 Young people leave
15:30-17:00 Debrief and prepare for the next day
17:15 Minibus to Homerton
17:30-19:00 Dinner at Homerton
Evening Free time

Day 17: Tuesday 7 August
07:30-08:00 Breakfast at Homerton
08:00 Minibus to Duxford
08:30-09:00 Greet young people at Duxford
09:00-10:30 Activity 1 + 2 Radiowaves (Learning Spaces 1,2 and 4)
10:30-11:00 Break (Picnic Room)
11:00-12:30 Activity 2 + 3 Radiowaves (Learning Spaces 1,2 and 4)
12:30-13:30 Lunch (Picnic Room)
13:30-15:00 Activity 1 + 3 Radiowaves (Learning Spaces 1,2 and 4)
15:00-15:30 Young people leave
15:30-17:00 Debrief and prepare for the next day
17:15 Minibus to Homerton
17:30-19:00 Dinner at Homerton
Evening Free time

Day 18: Wednesday 8 August
07:30-08:00 Breakfast at Homerton
08:00 Minibus to Duxford
08:30-09:00 Greet young people at Duxford
09:00-10:30 Activity 1 (Learning Spaces 1,2 and 4)
10:30-11:00 Break (Picnic Room)
11:00-12:30 Activity 2 (Learning Spaces 1,2 and 4)
12:30-13:30 Lunch (Picnic Room)
13:30-15:00 Activity 3 (Learning Spaces 1,2 and 4)
15:00-15:30 Young people leave
15:30-17:00 Debrief and prepare for the next day
17:15 Minibus to Homerton
17:30-19:00 Dinner at Homerton
Evening Free time

Day 19: Thursday 9 August
07:30-08:00 Breakfast at Homerton
08:00 Minibus to Duxford
08:30-09:00 Greet young people at Duxford
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09:00-10:30 Activity 1 (Learning Spaces 1,2 and 4)
10:30-11:00 Break (Picnic Room)
11:00-12:30 Activity 2 (Learning Spaces 1,2 and 4)
12:30-13:30 Lunch (Picnic Room)
13:30-15:00 Activity 3 (Learning Spaces 1,2 and 4)
15:00-15:30 Break
15:30-21:00 Films in Astra Cinema, sports and BBQ
Evening Overnight in the AAM

Day 20: Friday 10 August
07:30-08:30 Breakfast (Picnic Room)
08:30-09:00 Presentation ceremony for Summer Camp
09:00-09:30 Young people leave
09:30-13:00 Initial debrief and collect lunch
13:00 Minibus to Homerton (time variable)
PM Free time
17:30-19:00 Dinner at Homerton
Evening Free time

Day 21: Saturday 11 August
09:00-12:00 Develop class project (Alison Shrubsole Room, Homerton)
PM Free time
18:30 Leaving dinner at Le Gross Franck

Day 22: Sunday 12 August
07:30-08:30 Breakfast at Homerton
AM Check out

4 Weeks Remaining Until My Journey Begins!

There are now 4 weeks to go until I cross over to the other side of the pond (aka...Atlantic Ocean).  Since I first started this blog, I've begun teaching Driver's Education (Behind the Wheel) and I became engaged to my girlfriend (now fiance), Sarah K. Smith on June 19.  However, I still have found the time to begin packing/preparing for my 3 week trip, but I also wanted to provide everyone with some updated information about where I will be visiting and working this summer.  I also just completed my introductory PowerPoint that I have to present upon arrival at the welcoming session about the Farmwell population/community.

Below are the links to some U.K. Museum websites that I and the other members of my summer residency program will be visiting and doing research on World War II


Websites
Imperial War Museum – iwm.org.uk
National Army Museum - http://www.nam.ac.uk/
RAF Museum - http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/
National Museum of the USAF - http://www.nam.ac.uk/
Smithsonian – www.si.edu
The Museum of Flight - http://www.museumofflight.org/


For all of you history lovers out there, stay tuned for additional information on WWII books and articles!