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.