last day of school and the visit to the clouds

Today was the last day of school, which started with somewhat bad news: two students had an upset stomach and had to stay in bed. A third student stayed with them out of solidarity and support. As a heads-up: both are feeling a bit better now, and we hope they can join the trip to London and the upcoming journey home normally tomorrow.

Since I switched English groups today, I was able to get a sense of the situation here. The lesson itself was actually as the English teachers desired and instructed us on Monday. Participation was good, and there was a pleasant learning atmosphere.

After the lesson, we headed to the marine harbor in Portsmouth in the city of the same name. Our goal there was the Spinnaker Tower, which stands 170m tall and features a walkable glass floor. For an excursion destination of this kind, I heard very little, if any, complaints today. Either I wasn’t listening carefully, or it was indeed as I perceived.

‘Do we really have to go there?’, ‘Can we stay down here?’ and ‘What do we want to do there?’ – these recurring questions I have learned to ignore and/or overlook during this week of expanding my experiences. Mind you, these are the same students who are then busily taking photos. Be that as it may. I had another opportunity to get to know some students a little better, was educated about split ends, and had engaging conversations. My offered 'you' was either suspicious to some teenagers or they didn’t dare to use it. In any case, they were a bit 'out of sync' and fluctuated between 'you' and 'you' 😉.

It is nice to see that one can speak normally with teenagers. However, one must do this in small doses (max. 2 students at a time). Then the success rate is quite high that something resembling a conversation will emerge.

I am looking forward to tomorrow in London, the visit to Buckingham Palace, and perhaps a ride on the London Eye with my son.