Summer vacation comes to an end

I should post a blog - it's been a while. Don't know quite know what to say, though. I'm not feeling my best. My ears have been plugged for the last two weeks. It's awful. I went to a doctor in England - my first experience with the NHS (very positive) - and he explained that a buildup of mucus is putting pressure on my Eustachian tubes. So I can't hear well, and my voice sounds like it's coming from the bottom of a steel drum. He prescribed a nasal spray, which I faithfully used, but nothing changed. Back home in Santa Barbara I went to my GP who came up with the same diagnosis, but told me that my plane flight put me back to square one as far as recovery. He prescribed an assortment of pills. Now, my whole body feels strange to me. For somebody who is rarely in poor health, this experience is very frustrating. It makes me realize how important good health is.

It's my last weekend of summer vacation. Monday school starts and guess what, I have 29 students on my roll. That's right. 29. Well, I'm a world citizen. I know what it's like in the real world. I realize how privileged we have been the last 13 years with class sizes of 20 kids. So, I'm not going to complain. But, I'm going to have to learn how to adjust.
I don't feel ready yet to be in the classroom. Even though I had a fab summer vacation, somehow it feels like it wasn't long enough to really feel like last year was last year. Anyway, I'm going to work really hard this weekend to get psyched up and excited about teaching. I do love my job. I'm not one of those who counts the days till the year is over. But the first week is definitely not my favorite. I like to work hard to get the kids jazzed about school and their new grade. But, with the way I'm feeling I don't know how I'm going to manage.

Our trip across the pond was great overall. Of course there were a few negatives. Like the weather in England. My goodness, in the two weeks we were there we must have had about 3 sunny days. Summer is summer, though. Mild temperatures, long hours of daylight - so we certainly were able to do lots of fun things. When we got back from France we spent a few days in Kenilworth (near Warwick University) with our friends, David and Rona Epstein. We did some beautiful walks. My favorite thing about England is getting out into the countryside for long walks. It's always so rewarding. Green meadows, sheep and cows, rivers, canals, great English oak trees, 'conka' trees, and always a charming teahouse not too far away. That's my second favorite thing about England. Being able to go out for a decent tea in the afternoon. It comes steaming hot in little teapots with warmed cups. Then there are freshly baked cakes and scones to accompany your tea. Clotted cream and jam for the scones. Yum, yum. Kenilworth is near Stratford on Avon -Shakespeare country. A lot of the architecture is Tudor which I find delightful.

After Kenilworth we returned to London for the last days of our trip. We decided to go around the city and absorb what we could. So we strolled through the usual places - Leicester Square, Soho - where we lunched at a Chinese/Thai restaurant (fine, wholesome food) - Chinatown, Trafalgar Square, the Mall, onto St. James's Park, Westminster Abbey, Parliament Buildings, across the bridge to the south bank of the Thames, and past the London Eye and hordes of tourists. The south bank along this stretch toward the Tate Museum has become quite the tourist hub. There's a whole lot of entertainment - like the type you find in Venice Beach, CA and in San Francisco near Fisherman's Wharf. Buskers, people trying to be statues, magicians, clowns, the works. When we got the National Theatre Daryl decided we should try to get tickets for a play that evening. We decided to see "The Observer", a play about a group of journalists and external observers sent to monitor presidential elections in a west African country. It was a great production with the usual themes of African countries resentful of the west's insensitive criticisms. The National Theatre has a reputation for fine theatre. We aren't into musicals so didn't do any of those.
On our last day in London we went for a walk along Regent's Canal - from Camden Town to Regent's Park. It's a lovely walk and on a Saturday morning lots of people do this walk. When we went home Angie had prepared a huge feast for lunch. Her friends, Suzie and Richard, and her sister (my cousin) Jay, joined us. We spent a most enjoyable afternoon of great conversation and sumptuous Indian food. Later, when everyone left, Daryl and I took one last walk across Hampstead Heath. We stopped on Parliament Hill to see London's skyline and tried to name what we saw: the BT tower, the London Eye, the 'Gerkin', the skyscapers of 'The City', Canary Wharf, St. Paul's Cathedral, and Chrystal Tower. I hated the thought of leaving this great city. But, I was ready for my home in Santa Barbara.