Accent instructors...Fat Tuesday...Geography lessons...Fire...Road Trip...Peanut butter hamburgers...Deer...RAIN...

Monday of week 5 began with an interesting lecture from a guest speaker in our Special Ed class based around teaching Science in the Special Ed classroom. The professor gave examples of how to present and illustrate concepts to pupils who may experience difficulties with the material. I found this a useful lecture and hope to be able to carry out these experiments in an inclusive setting when I am teaching.


On Monday night Ruth and I had the opportunity to become accent instructors for the production 'Seven'...

'Theatre Oxford with the Office of International Programs and the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies presents Seven by Paula Cizmar, Catherine Filloux, Gail Kriegel, Carol K. Mack, Ruth Margraff, Anna Deavere Smith & Susan Yankowitz. A collaboration of seven award-winning women playwrights, Seven is based on personal interviews with seven women leaders of the Vital Voices Global Partnership network who have triumphed over huge obstacles to create major changes in human rights in their home countries. In the seven interwoven stories we see the commonality of challenge and of bravery, and in the individual monologues that follow, we experience each fascinating whole true story. Seven will be performed at the Powerhouse Community Arts Center in Oxford Thursday and Friday, February 26 & 27 at 7pm and Sunday, February 28 at 2pm.'

We had received information about the production from the Study Abroad Office via email and as one of the main characters is from Northern Ireland we were asked to come and help her with her accent. This was a bigger challenge than we thought it would be...from Southern Mississippi to West Belfast in a month!?!? We tried our best to give advice and gave the actress a recording we made of her entire script. We look forward to hearing the final result next Friday night, we were given free tickets for all the help we gave her!

On Tuesday we were back to Willie Price, reading stories, interacting with the children and participating in the group activities. We celebrated 'Fat Tuesday' as part of Mardi Gras and so there were beads and colour everywhere we looked! On Tuesday night we had a guest speaker and were learning about various discipline strategies through group activities and presentations. We spent the rest of the evening revising and studying for our Special Ed test the following morning.

Our test on Wednesday took a similar format as the previous one, multiple choice responses and about 25 questions. The test was harder than I anticipated but I think I managed to get through it ok when I looked over my notes following the test.


I really enjoyed Leapfrog this week and Leapfrog Uno which is like normal Uno but with a bit more attitude, enjoying spending time with these young people and volunteering in this way. We tried to play Jacks but were unable to work out how to play it properly, lots of jacks and two bouncy balls?! Maybe someone knows what way these are supposed to be used, I'm pretty sure just bouncing the ball and grabbing jacks isn't exactly how it's supposed to be done!


On Wednesday night we had a bit of drama in Guess Halls, the girls next door to us set off the fire alarms by over cooking some spring rolls in their room. There was a mass evacuation and we all had to stand outside while the fire brigade came and checked out the situation. Nothing appears to have been damaged so we live to see another day of dorm life...!

After RUF on Wednesday night we went to our friend's house to watch the Irish movie 'Once' they thought this would be a novelty to have real, live, Irish people watching an Irish film! On the way to his house I managed to almost crash my friend's car when I saw my first deer run through the woods, I've never seen deer in the wild and so what was a massive deal to me was an everyday occurrence to the others in the car!

On Thursday morning we visited our favourite bakery (Bottletree) for breakfast before we went to Willie Price where we were reading a story about Comet the Rabbit and doing activities based around this novel. We were asked to complete the 'Intercultural Development Instrument' by Dr Mitch Hammer as part of one of our professor's research. This survey gives an indication of a person's intercultural competence in several areas. My love for diversity and interest in people of different nationalities makes me think I did well in this survey but we weren't given any results so who knows how it came out!!

My global ambassador took me out for dinner on Thursday night, this is basically someone who you can call on if you need help or direction. We went to my favourite food place....Ajax...! I steered clear of the typically Southern delicacies and opted for a salad this time! During dinner I felt I was giving a bit of a Geography lesson, trying to explain that in fact you could not take a train from Ireland to France and it was actually an island!

Friday was a really exciting day for Ruth and I as our first visitor arrived...Ruth's sister came to join us from San Francisco for the weekend. We spent time on Friday showing Cherith the sights and sounds of Oxford, Cherith had rented a car from Memphis and it was amazing having a mode of transportation all weekend! We spent most of Friday afternoon looking around the square, the weekend was beautiful, loads of sunshine and so we visited Holli's Sweet Tooth for ice-cream (Cake Batter and Birthday Cake Batter ice-cream...awesome!!!) and 'candy' before we headed out to the farmer's market to get ingredients for our Irish dinner party we had planned for some American friends that night. After a few stressful hours we had a complete menu we were happy with, Irish Stew, Chicken and Broccoli bake, Salad, Champ, Roast Potatoes... We even had Waffle Berry Pie and Bailey's Hot Chocolate for after. The food seemed to go down well, especially the Irish Stew which we thought was pretty good considering we made up the recipe...wife points for Ruth and I!!!

After dinner we headed over to the Powerhouse to check out a band called 'Young Buffalo' who we had first heard at Thacker Mountain Radio Show but ended up not staying very long because all the cooking took it out of us...! We spent this weekend at our friend's house, was a great break from dorms and living in a house again was brilliant.

On Saturday morning after being greeted with coffee from our friend Steve we hit the road and headed off to Jackson for the day. Jackson City is the capital and the most populous city of Mississippi. The 2000 census recorded Jackson's population at 184,256 but we saw very few of these people on our whistlestop tour. It took us three hours by car to get to Jackson after we stopped at a gas station to do the Hokey Cokey and drink my first Mountain Dew (it's amazing!). We headed to Clinton on the outskirts of Jackson and met a friend there who became our tour guide for the day. We visited the capital building and other sites in and around town, we did a bit of shopping at the Mall in Jackson and met some others for dinner in the evening at Mugshots... this restaurant was set up by some of the fraternity brothers of the people we were with and is famous for hamburgers...Ruth, being the adventurous type went for a peanut butter burger and apparently it's fantastic! The journey home from Jackson was rather uneventful apart from the mass amounts of deer that we kept driving past and for some reason I missed every single one of them, much to my disappointment!

On Sunday we visited College Hill Presbyterian where they had a guest speaker, a missionary to Columbia. I really enjoyed the service and what he had to say. In the evening we went to the women's bible study at First Baptist again and loved our time there. This has been a great way to not only meet people our age but older and younger people too.

When it rains in Oxford...it really rains...and so our beautiful weekend was brought quickly to an end by the storm that came on Sunday night...I have never seen it rain so hard!

(Brenna and Hayley...)

Making new Discoveries...Multiple Choice Tests...The doorknob to the Universe...Valentine's Day Madness...IHOP...

Reaching the four week mark makes me realise just how fast this whole experience is flying by me. I can't believe I have been here for so long already and it's gonna go by in a blink. This week felt a little more routine than the previous weeks and we were thankful for the fun weekend we had after all our class during the week.

On Monday I found myself beginning my new exercise programme...after recovering from the cold I decided it was time to get back into shape, especially when there is so much offered here at Ole Miss in terms of fitness. I was at the Turner Centre every day this week doing some form of exercise...long may it continue! Class followed the normal format on Monday with nothing too spectacular to report. In Dr Blackbourn's class we continued to cover the many laws associated with special educational needs legislation. We had a revision session during Dr Chessin's class in order to prepare for our first test on Wednesday. On Monday afternoon we met with a group of four other students at the famous 'Square Books' for coffee and to begin the first of our small group bible study times we are planning to have together, really enjoyed getting to know these girls better and looking forward to the rest of the times together.

I enjoyed the observation task we were set for our Early Childhood Education class in Willie Price Nursery Unit on Tuesday morning... I had to observe a child for 20 minutes and take note of everything they did and said. I also had to ask them certain questions and record their answers. Following the observation I had to mark examples of good practice of gross and fine motor skills and signs of development in the physical, emotional, social and intellectual domains. I loved doing this, it was so interesting to have the opportunity to look closely at what a single child was doing during activity and pay such careful attention to it. I chose the brightest girl in the class to work with and was amazed at how much she knew and could do at 4 years old. In our evening class we were looking at motivational techniques that we could use in the elementary classroom, it was interesting to hear about things they use here to motivate children. The funniest example was a reward system where if the children reached a certain target the teacher would have to do outrageous activities, the example given was kissing a pig! Something that shocked me was the overuse of 'candy' as a motivator and the overriding consequences of tooth decay and childhood obesity, it is seen as an easy option. Tuesday night was spent studying hard for the test that was to present itself the following morning.

Dr Chessin's test went better than anticipated and it is nice to have completed our first multiple choice test. We were unsure as to what to expect in terms of the format of the test but I think I made it through ok as I made sure I knew the material before sitting it. The test covered different areas around the topics of planning and assessment. We had to pay careful attention to Bloom's Taxonomy and the different elements making up a lesson as well as the different means of assessment and how the ultimate goal is self-assessment.

On Thursday we spent time in Willie Price again, enjoying getting to know the children better and spending time with them, reading stories and observing activities that go on. This week the big focus was Valentine's Day...we had love bugs, boxes for our Valentine's Cards, we made posters and cards and had a Valentine's Day tea party where the children had to express good manners. America goes crazy for Valentines...our weekly trip to Walmart reminded us of that...walking in it felt like someone had thrown up Valentine's Day all over it!

We helped out our friends in the Study Abroad Office on Thursday afternoon by represented Stranmillis at the fair they had set up in the Student's Union. We spent time there answering questions people posed about Ireland and what it would be like to study there for a semester. It was also a good opportunity to chat with other internationals and discuss how their experience had differed from ours so far. Most of the international students we have met so far are here on a year placement and so have been attending Ole Miss for a lot longer than Ruth and I.


On Thursday evening we met some friends for Chinese which was really good and I was pleased cause I had missed it! After going to the cinema we were introduced to our first Ole Miss tradition...The Doorknob to the Universe... We were blindfolded and driven around in the car while being told the story which follows. We then were taken from the car and walked up a hill, told to duck at certain places and then put our hands out to touch something, turn around and look up. I totally freaked out, thinking we were somewhere completely different and that I was touching some sort of animal...! When I took my blindfold off and looked up, I realised I was at the water tower and that there was a vaguely door knob shaped object above me...it was funny and a bit stupid at the same time!

On Friday morning it was my turn to lead the Finer Things Club in Bottletree bakery. I was a bit nervous about this because the whole affair is taken very seriously and I wanted to do my topic justice. I decided to talk about Northern Ireland and specifically focusing on my heritage, what it means to me and how this can differ greatly from person to person. I also wanted to give a bit of history to our province so they would understand where I was coming from. I had prepared two videos to illustrate what I was talking about and I think my audience where impressed...at least they all felt as if they knew a lot more about Northern Ireland by the end. I think coming here has made me appreciate my roots a lot more, especially because of how much Americans love Ireland.

We went to visit our friend on Friday night and enjoyed spending time in her house making cookies and just chilling out together. I'm starting to make really good friends here and they're so nice to have around and spend time with.

Enjoyed my Saturday this week...Ruth and I ventured to the square on Saturday afternoon and spent time pottering around the little boutiques there. We were window shopping considering the prices of Oxford shops but we still enjoyed just perusing the quirky shops that litter the square. We spent a long time in Square Books Junior, where the primary school teacher came out in me! I loved reading and looking at lots of the different books and scheming up ways I could bring them into a lesson. My favourite book was about a Bunny that had a Big Bad Mood that kept following him and no matter what he did it wouldn't leave him alone...in the end his friends came over and made it all better! We ended up in Square Books where I sat and read for an hour, feeling very cultured and chilled out...

On Saturday night we headed out of Oxford and visited Southhaven for the first time. Loved going somewhere new with friends and especially enjoyed the shopping at the Mall we went too where they had big brands like American Eagle and Aeropostale. It was nice to get some new clothes but it wasn't long before we called it quits and had to get something to eat. Our original choice for dinner told us we'd have to wait for an hour which seemed much too long for 4 hungry girls so we saw IHOP (International House of Pancakes) and made a bee line for it, not really being too fussed at the idea of pancakes for dinner. I had heard so much about this place, especially from my sister (!), that the tourist in me came out and we had a great time there, the food was awesome!!



For church on Sunday we were back to Christ Presbyterian which I really enjoyed and then First Baptist in the evening for the women's bible study, starting to see so many familiar faces and know so many people that it doesn't feel as foreign anymore.

Overcoming phobias (and failing miserably), Leapfrog, Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3, Thacker Mountain Radio, Hand jives in class and LOTS of the blues....!

It's now been three weeks since we arrived in Oxford, Mississippi and with each week I'm learning new things, professionally, culturally and personally. I've had opportunity to experience so much already and slowly I'm starting to really love Oxford. It is a town with a lot to discover, on the surface very isolated and not a lot of depth but once you scratch the surface you understand why the people here are so proud of it.

This week both Ruth and I got the cold, (obviously inflicting us both because of how much contact we have with each other!!) it kinda wore us both out so we didn't do a lot of what we'd originally planned to do but we still had a busy week and it flew past as did week 2.

On Monday the study abroad office had organised a trip to Memphis to see an NBA game, the LA Lakers v the Memphis Grizzlies. I was really excited to go and see a basketball game and I'd been told by my male friends at home that it was completely ridiculous that I had the privilege of going to a game like this because I wouldn't appreciate it as much as I should...in the end I really don't think I did. A lot of people don't know that I have a pretty awful head for heights, rooting back to family outings in the Mournes which more than likely ended with me lying on the ground paralysed with a fear of falling off the mountain (I do understand that to the people who aren't scared of heights this sounds ridiculous!), but surely I wouldn't have an issue at a basketball game?! Well it turned out that as I looked up to our seats that fear which I thought I had slightly combatted this Summer in Cyprus was most definately still there! Our seats were a row from the very top of the stadium and as I sat down I started to sweat and cry like a total child! It was very embarassing but I was thankful for Ruth's loving support to her friend who was freaking out! Ruth alerted one of the study abroad co-ordinators who tried to calm me down but eventually I just turned around to them and said 'I have to get down!!!' I actually cannot remember the last time I was that afraid and embarassed at my fear... Half an hour into the game new seats were found and this time I wasn't scared, Ruth just loved being along for the ride and getting better seats out of the whole ordeal! So by the time I had stopped freaking out and had calmed down, emotional exhaustion kicked in and I was rather sedate for the rest of the match....it was a good game though!!!

Tuesday was a little less eventful, we were back to Willie Price in the morning and had the opportunity to do further observations and work alongside the younger children again. In our night class on classroom management the focus was on managing the psychosocial environment within school. We were split up into groups and each given an area to focus on. This was a fun way to get through the material as we had to extract the key points and put it together in a presentation format. Our group was looking at working with colleagues and I came up with the idea of doing an acrostic of the word 'colleagues' which impressed the professor and we did well as a group getting positive feedback.

On Wednesday morning we frequenting Bottletree again to have breakfast with some friends before we went to class, I think I need to start having breakfast before I go here however because the menu is definately doing damage to my diet! On Wednesday afternoon we had our first experience of Leapfrog, this is an organisation which serves as an after school club for underprivileged kids in the community. I enjoyed working with these kids, it is very freely run so basically we just play with the elementary aged kids from 4-5pm. I spent the hour learning rhymes and skipping songs, and playing hide and seek, I'm looking forward to continuing with this work throughout the semester. After Leapfrog we walked to First Baptist church where they have a free meal for students on Wednesday nights and after we took part in a kids club called 'Awana' which is run by one of our friends.

I enjoyed Thursday morning in Willie Price and I found a particular resource really interesting, they were reading the book, 'Chicka, Chicka, 1, 2, 3' and doing activities based around this book. The book introduces numbers right up to 1oo and the children worked around different centres based on number recognition including a resource, 'Handwriting without tears' which encourages children to learn to write in fun and interactive ways. The children were learning to form numbers using dough and they seemed to respond well to this, especially with the stimulus of the book.

On Thursday evening we were invited to the premiere of 'Thacker Mountain Radio Show' a radio show that is broadcast live from Oxford every Thursday night. I loved this, it made me feel extremely cultured and definately moved Oxford up in my estimations. There were performances from the inhouse band, James Dupree and Young Buffalo, an up and coming band from Oxford. Alongside music there were readings from different authors who were promoting their books, one written about growing up with a love for the blues and the other a biography of Paul Newman...Best of all this is a free event every week! My love for music and in particular discovering new bands and new sounds is definately being fostered here in Oxford.

Friday morning we were back to the Finer Things Club, this week discussing the pros and cons of an advancing world where technology is increasingly becoming the focus of communication. We had an interesting debate on the world of Facebook and Twitter and the guy who led shared his own poetry. It's my turn to share next week so I'm a bit nervous as I feel like I've a lot to live up too!

Fridays' classes were a little different than usual, in Professor Chessin's class on discovering us to be a lot less responsive than normal called 'Mr C' into the room who had just been passing by. Mr C is a professor at Ole Miss who had been an elementary principal for many years and you could tell! His method for waking us up on a rainy Friday afternoon was to get the whole class to do the handjive, teaching us fun ways to sequence and also motivate kids when they're feeling lethargic...The whole time I was trying to imagine this ever happening in Stran...somehow I couldn't put together that picture!

This weekend was busy but very enjoyable...we heard a LOT of blues! We were invited to two birthday parties but it was only after accepting the invitations that we discovered both were happening in the same place. The venue was 'Ground Zero,' a blues club in Clarkesdale which is in the delta area and is the home of the blues. This restaurant was set up by Morgan Freeman who comes from the delta and it had a very authentic atmosphere, one which I don't think you could ever replicate. On Friday night we heard 'Daddy Rich' giving us lots of blues music by way of the harmonic and voice along with his band. 'Super Chikan' played on Saturday night and in my opinion was the better of the two. I have never seen anything as unique in all my life (so far!), glittery chicken guitars, beaded necklaces with chickens stuck to them and a catchphrase, 'Somebady shoot that thang!' which was said after every song. Another unique aspect were the doodles and signatures which stretched from floor to ceiling, toilet seat to table cloth, I was quite happy when after signing my name on Friday night I was seated at a table with my name on it on Saturday night!

On Sunday we attended the College Hill presbyterian church which has a lot of history of its own being the church where William Faulkner was married many years ago. It was set among huge cedars out in the countryside surrounded by miles of farming land and it fit my imaginings of a church in Mississippi perfectly. I enjoyed the service and the people we met were once again extremely hospitable and welcoming.

Looking forward to a new week and what will unfold in week 4....

A week of firsts- Pop quizzes, thrift stores, prom, butter beans, fried pickles, sweet potato casserole, nearly a full class with double barrel names!

Our second week here in Mississippi flew past...I suppose that's why this weeks blog entry comes a little late! We're both really starting to get used to the way things work around Ole Miss and find our place here for the next few months. The first week was definately daunting and overwhelming but the second week went by with ease.

Sometimes the thought of how much is ahead of us still can be a challenge but as we've seen from the past week we're definately getting used to American life. My first full week of classes went really well and I'm enjoying the American style of teaching and the opportunities presented as a result.

On Monday morning I had my first 'pop quiz' in our Introduction to Special Education class, based around information from previous classes. Not knowing when these tests will take place make you more prepared for class because if you don't read the information you won't be able to answer the questions. I continue to enjoy Professor Chessin's class based around Effective Teaching Strategies. On Monday the focus was around the nature of goals and something I found very valuable that we had to do for this class was to question what our goals were as teachers. I enjoy the preparation and feedback that goes into these sessions.


Ole Miss engages in a lot of sporting activities and even if you're not in the least bit sporty you dress like you are to keep up with the fashion at college! It's an interesting trend the girls have got going here at Ole Miss, leggings, shorts, baggy t-shirts and trainers...not sure how it would go down at home! So in keeping with the sport fanatics Ruth and I have joined a Cardio-kickboxing class. The fitness schedule is really good at college and it's all free for students. Slimming down for Spring Break is the major focus of the girls, toning up those abs for the beach is vital, one girl showed us her massive jar of protein she was planning to take to tone before the break! We really enjoyed the class and plan to do a lot more to keep fit while here, especially because the food isn't that healthy.


On Tuesday we had our first session in Willie Price Nursery Unit where we are taking an Early Childhood Education course. This was really an introductory session where the course requirements were set out and we were able to find out more about the runnings of the nursery. We are required to do 30 hours field experience in Willie Price, along with observation assignments.

We also had our first evening class which is held for all those education majors who are out already student teaching. This has been my favourite class so far. I really enjoy the professor's teaching style and the way she embraces the international students in her classroom. This class focuses on Classroom Management in a very practical way and I am looking forward to what it will teach me and the value of being in a class full of specialised teachers. After this class we went out with some of the student teachers for pizza to 'Proud Larrys' in the square. This turned out to be great fun and also a great opportunity to talk about the differences in education here to at home. One of the biggest differences we found were 'paddling' or smacking is still allowed within some schools if parental consent is given, the number of children here who make it through school to college would also be a lot lower with illiteracy being a big problem in certain areas. We discussed different classroom management techniques and behaviours of children in our experience.


On Wednesday in our Introduction to Special Education class we continued to study various ways in which laws have shaped the way we address needs today. Following this our Effective Teaching Strategies class looked at the different thinking domains and practically how we apply these to goals and objectives. Proffesor Chessin also talked about how children who come from different backgrounds will have different experiences and these can come in many forms, for example language experiences. This led to an interesting discussion about terms we use in NI but mean different things in the USA, she asked me for examples, I gave a couple...jumper and pants! At the end of the class she reviewed and asked people to feedback what they'd learnt from the lesson, a guy in our class said, "I now know pants are underwear in NI!"

We attended RUF on Wednesday night, really enjoying this, the speakers they've had so far have been great and we've made so many American friends through it which has helped us settle in so much. Increasingly we're becoming recognised as the Irish girls who went to Walmart!


Thursday began with my first introduction to the class I'll be with in Willie Price for the next few weeks. I walked into the classroom and a little boy walked straight up to me, stuck out his hand and said in the thickest accent I've heard so far, "Hey-eh my name's Sam, nice to meet ya!" I love the group I am working with, they are an adorable bunch and so typically Southern, I don't think I've ever come across so many double barrel names in a class! There are 3 helpers in the class, 1 main teacher and 3 students. The classroom is a busy environment and my main role will be as a support to the teacher and to make general observations. We had an assignment to complete in the class which covered listing names, noticing special needs, boy to girl ratio etc. I'm looking forward to further interactions within the classroom and working alongside the children.

On Thursday night we were invited out for dinner to the renowned 'Ajax' famous for its Southern delicacies. This was a great opportunity to try out some new food and hang out with new friends. The company was great...the food...well... I'm not sure my stomach was made for Southern food... I was advised to go for chicken dumplings, sweet potato casserole and butterbeans, I also tried fried pickles and catfish. I can't really describe all of the food I tasted that night, needless to say I'm pretty sure I won't ever order it again!

The winter winds blew into Oxford on Thursday night, by 'winter winds' I mean some frosty trees and a downpour of rain...all seemingly normal weather for us at home...but here, college closed up early on Friday, we got text messages from the police force and town centres were deserted. Our classes finished early as a result which we didn't complain about but the reaction to the weather was very funny for us Irish folk.


On Friday morning we were invited to join the 'Finer things club' for breakfast in Bottletree which is fast becoming our favourite place in Oxford. This club meet weekly to discuss cultural issues, current affairs, art, music, in essence, the finer things in life. I felt very privileged being asked to participate and join the group who opened with thoughts from 'Tu-pac' and who spent an hour discussing the Scientifically proven benefits of Omega 3 to our brains!


Ruth and I attended our very first ninth grade prom on Friday night and in preparation for this our friends braved those 'winter winds' to take us to the 'thrift store' (basically a charity shop) to get dresses for the occassion. There isn't much time wasting with Americans which put me under a bit of pressure, running around the store grabbing any dress I could find because everyone had picked something already and were waiting outside.
The prom was brilliant, definately the highlight of our trip so far. The theme for the night was 'Winter Enchantment' and so the house was covered in snowflakes, they even had a themed backdrop for photos and downstairs they had a dancefloor. Oxfordians know how to throw a good party and also how to dance!



On Saturday we did our weekly Walmart shop, thankfully minus the drama and the stolen goods this week, we tried to attend an Ole Miss basketball game which was cancelled as a result of those pesky 'winter winds' and in the evening met some students for Mexican and a movie.

The week ends and begins with Sunday which was really good, we attended Christ Church Presbyterian in the morning and in the evening had the opportunity to go to a women's Bible Study in First Baptist church.

This week has shown me the meaning of Southern hospitality in the fact we've been really welcomed wherever we've gone so far. We met so many people in week 2 and feel as if we are starting to gain from this experience on so many levels.