Recently, I've been reflecting on why I love living in Europe out of all the places I could go. And, yes: publishing this post as Britain perches precariously on the brink of Brexit is ironic.
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Exciting News: I’m Moving to India!
Judging by the response that I have received from various people to this news, you probably fall into one of the following categories: “India?! Are you crazy?” or “Wow! What an amazing experience!” If I’m
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Too Afraid To Seize The Day
This is a post that has been languishing in my drafts folder for four months. I have simply been too afraid to post it, because if I post it I have to commit to the
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Why I Want to go Back to Japan
I lived in Tokyo for a year between August 2002 and August 2003 and I can’t believe that it was ten years ago. I had barely used email before I left for Japan, and I
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The Life of an International School Teacher
7 months ago I wrote the post ‘Goodbye Classroom, Hello World!’ because I was taking a break from teaching in order to travel. Now I reflect on the profession that I have temporarily left behind.
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Shinto Wedding at the Meiji Jingu Shrine
A walk through the tranquil forest of Yoyogi Park and into the grounds of the Meiji Jingu Shrine in Tokyo's Harajuku district will not only enable you to escape the constant noise of the busy
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Goodbye Classroom, Hello World!
Four years ago I was in an auditorium in Vietnam alongside my teaching colleagues and we were listening to a lecture that only served to strengthen my already iron-clad resolve to travel. I don’t think
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Free to Travel – How I Broke Free From Debt
On the evening of March 15th 2007 I sat in a small bar in Northampton confessing to a friend of mine that I was struggling with debt. I didn’t know how I had reached that
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Snow Days
Anybody who has attended or worked in a school in the UK will know how exciting it is when the winter brings the first snow, not so much because we love snow but because of
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Why English?
Every year our organisation runs a competition in which the students write an essay in English about a given topic, last year's topic was Science based. This year, students were asked to explore the question
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Fika Fridays – Swedish Cake Break!
Anybody who knows me will know that Fridays are my favourite day of the week. I love Fridays. Not because the weekend begins or even that I only work for 2 hours, but because Friday
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Don’t Stop BIS-lieving!
This is my tribute to my friends at BIS, the school I worked in during my time in Vietnam. It's good to remember the fun times :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NULMiA9z8U
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2010s Best Bits
What an awesome year this year was. In honour of a great year this blog post recalls some of my favourite moments of 2010 January We welcomed in the New Year with elated cries of
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Lest We Forget – Remembering The Fallen
Poppy placed at 'Hellfire Pass', Thailand "Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them." Today is Remembrance Day: a
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Fancy Dress Friday
Yesterday was the last day of an incredibly long half-term and what better way to celebrate than with a fancy dress day at school? The first time I used the phrase 'fancy dress' with Nicklas
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The Tie that Binds.
The new teacher orientation week at my new school went pretty much as expected. We were introduced to various policies, systems and schemes of work; and informed about the usual array of Special Educational Needs
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Free Education
For the first time in a teaching career that spans almost a decade (eek!) I am about to enter an educational system that is not that of the UK. For the first time ever I
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A Tribute to the Top Table
School staff rooms can be funny places. Remember those days when you were at school, walking past the staff room - that most sacred and hallowed sanctuary of the teachers - hearing a distant buzz
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Back to School
The phrase that every teacher (and student) dreads the most is: Back to School. Probably because these 3 words are usually splashed across every shop window and inside every supermarket aisle about 2 days after
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