Budapest & Vienna

Over the past 4 days I've taken 25 British pupils on a school trip to Budapest & Vienna. It's been such a good time! We stayed 2 nights in Budapest and 1 night in Vienna and used public transport to get around the cities. This has seriously reduced costs and gave the group an authentic look at traveling. And no.. we didn't loose anyone on the underground trains or public buses :D

Day 1 we arrived in Budapest and traveled to our hotel by airport bus service. We literally dropped our stuff off at the hotel and then walked to Hero Square. It celebrates the 7 Magyar tribe leaders who conquered the area and began what we know as Hungary. We continued on to the House of Terror. This was the headquarters of the Hungarian Nazi party and also the Communist party. In both cases it was terrible place where many Hungarian people were interrogated, imprisoned and murdered. They have a wall shaming officers who led or worked for these agencies (many who are still alive today). In the evening we took a boat tour of the Danube river and ate some Hungarian delicacies mmmm..

Day 2 we took every type of public transport you could imagine... We started with the underground train to the House of Parliament. We then walked alongside the river Danube to a church built inside a mountain. This followed by several tram rides to the children's rail. A train run by Hungarian children (scouts) who drive the train and collect tickets. At the end of the train we caught a chair lift back into the city and caught a public bus. On the bus was this little old Hungarian lady. At first she didn't want to move over in her seat until she realized how full the bus was. I'd learnt 'thank you' in Hungarian. So I said this. She then proceeded to talk to me in Hungarian. I said "English" and pointed to my chest. So she kept on talking to me some more.. at which point I realized she was switching languages and we ended up chatting for 20 minutes in French!! it was really cool. She spoke about her family and about the people in Budapest. It was a cool experience! From here we went to the Castle district and explored some underground caves. Returning to the Hotel we caught the Funicular (train that goes straight down the side of a hill) and another underground train back. I had a nice dish of Hungarian Goulash for dinner mmmmm.

Day 3: We checked out of the hotel and took a bus outside the city to see all the old statues of the Soviet Communist regime. Instead of destroying them, they put them into a museum. It was amazing to see statues of Stalin & Lenin. Such a trip into the history books. A fellow teacher Paul found his dream communist car called a 'Trabi'. People used to be put onto waiting lists under communist rule to receive one. The start like a lawn mower with a pull string... From here our bus drove us to Vienna Austria. This city was more modern than Budapest escaping the Iron Curtain of the Soviets. We dropped our stuff off at the hotel and went straight to Shoenbrunne palace. It was amazing to see how interbred the Royal Families of Europe were! After this we saw the Spanish riding school but unfortunately one of the girls was allergic to horses so I had to miss out and wait in a local coffee shop... next time! For dinner we found a revolving restaurant at the top of a tower. Not as high as the CN tower but bigger than the Calgary tower in Canada!! Dinner was amazing and the views were equal. After a busy day we headed back to the hotel.

Day 4: Our last day of adventure and we woke up early for a quick start. We caught a tram around Vienna to see all the main streets and sights. This followed with a horse drawn carriage and trip to the Music Museum. Such an array of things from Mozart and Mahler to over sized instruments and the sounds from inside the womb... a bit rushed as we only had an hour so I'll definitely be going back :D Other highlights include a conducting machine with the Philharmonic and seeing through Schubert's glasses!

After that we went back to the hotel, grabbed our bags and hit the airport. The only glitch was that on the last bus from the airport to Coventry, after 4 days of looking after my pupils passports.... I left mine on the bus only to be discovered the next morning when I woke up... unfortunately they're not open on a Sunday so I'll have to wait another day but fingers crossed it'll be turned in...

A New Job!!

After 3 years at my first school, I’ve decided it’s time for a change. My current schools got a lot going on, but there has to be other ways of doing things? I think if you stay in one place for too long, you don’t really question what you're doing after awhile and start accepting the good practice with the... well not so good... I’m a sucker for a good opportunity to compare & contrast... the best proof is experience!!

I saw an advert on the TES website for a teacher of music who would feel comfortable in a school with a military ethos... and there was mention of a 100+ marching band... I was sucked right in.

So... .I applied at Duke of York’s Royal Military School in Dover. I was invited last week for an interview and tour of the school. It’s right on the Sea front within 5 minutes of the white cliffs of Dover and Dover Castle. The grounds are surrounded by fields overlooking the town below. It’d be killer cycling to work but what a view!!

There are only 500 pupils on roll at the moment but every pupil is a full time border and has at least one parent in the armed forces. Because of it’s military funding, it is an independent school but not full of spoilt rich kids. For most kids it’s an opportunity to have stability in their lives and make long-term friends rather than bouncing from military base to military base.

At the interview there were 5 candidates and we rotated through 4 sessions of delivering a lesson, interview panel with the Head teacher, Deputy Head and Department Head, tour the school & an informal chat about staffing structure and professional expectations. It was 3 hours under the microscope and then all four-session leaders met to deliberate. At the end they called me into the office and offered me the position!! It’s like running for student council and winning the election... well in a grown up, mature and professional manner (of course) lol :P

The perks are minimal behaviour issues, small class sizes, generous musical resources, recital hall, chapel, 7 member music staff, a boost in salary, living by the sea, numerous music ensembles, extended holidays like 8 week summers, 4 week Easter, two week half terms AND there’s a Harry Potteresque meal hall to top things off. The trade off is Saturday morning lessons, 12 evening duty shifts per year and teaching until 5:30 weekdays... let’s face it, I’m not finishing work until then at my current school anyways! Plus many of the working hours are running extra curricular sport and music clubs. I’m a bit nervous about the chapel choir but I believe it will grow on me, as do most musical endeavors. I can’t wait to post some pictures...

The job doesn’t start until September so I have some time to find a place to live and tie up any loose ends in Coventry. Soon though, I’ll be a 45 minute ferry ride away from FRANCE!! And windsurfing in the English Channel... yippppeeeeeeee :D