Going Out With a Bang

It's finally the last week of school and it's been a busy period between updates to all my devoted readers (ha). There is so much to look forward to in the next couple weeks--going back home (less than a week away now!), seeing all my family again (and meeting my new niece for the first time!), Sarah & Krisitan's wedding and just loving summer holiday.

So, before I have to get to the full-of-self-reflection-and-amazement-that-I-survived-my-first-year-of-teaching-post, I have lots of updates:

The Night at the Opera

The sponsor for our school, David Ross, puts on an annual opera at his estate out in the country in his lovely English manor. This year, I was lucky enough to be invited (twice, but that's a different story). We got to his estate and parked our car--next to a Rolls Royce, complete with chauffeur. That just set the tone for the evening.

Walking into the gardens, there were silk tents and a big marquee set up for everyone to sit in and eat before and during the intermissions of the opera. We walked to one of the (several) buildings where there was a theatre set up for the show. The opera performed was Tosca, a tragedy set in 19th century Rome about an escaped prisoner, Angelotti, his friend Mario and Mario's jealous lover, Tosca. Joining us in the audience was an actual lord, Lord somethingorother, and David Ross, the academy sponsor.

In between the 3 acts, there were 2 intermissions so we could eat dinner. While walking around the gardens, I got such a kick out of listening to all the posh accents--the type of accents that American shows use to portray British people--and it made me slightly hesitant to talk for fear my accent would be offensive in some way or another. I was one of the youngest people there and wanted to (hopefully) blend in with the background.

After the show was finished (after being performed in Italian), David Ross invited all of the Malcolm Arnold staff back to his house for drinks. Suddenly I found myself walking into his mansion and drinking champagne by the fireplace. It was such a surreal experience...I have never been in such a fancy house, never been on a proper estate before and never met someone that was as rich as David Ross. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I'm so glad that I got to go. As we were walking out the door, Mr Ross said that he'd see us all next year...sign me up!

The 10 Year Wait...Over

I pre-booked tickets to see the final Harry Potter movie and asked my colleague Leigh to go watch it with me. While it was different from the book in really important scenes which slightly let me down, the movie was good and it was worth seeing...it's funny to think that this has been a 10-year-process and now it's all over. The next movie that I'm going to be really excited to see is the film adaptation of The Hobbit. Either that or the next Narnia movie.

Through the Looking Glass

Leigh, my Potter pal (ahaha, I hope that nickname sticks...) asked me to help out at her theatre school, Looking Glass Theatre, to help them prepare for their production called Welcome to the West End. It featured all kinds of selections from musicals performed on London's West End (as the name may have suggested). This past weekend saw me back at school (LGT was renting out the academy's theatre) for 10-13 hours each day...and it was so worth it. The kids were great and the production that they showed yesterday was awesome. There was lots of talent and I had lots of fun being involved.

The Countdown

5 days left until I go back to Canada. That is all.