So much has happened since I last posted - from Fashion Show to being interviewed for the local paper to ending my classes for the term! It’s incredible how much goes on in just two weeks. The jam-packed schedule may explain why I have yet to do some much needed preparation for my practicum which begins after Reading Week, which is why I have scheduled the next three days to plan. But before I share what I will be doing, let me tell you what I have done in the past two weeks.
First off was the annual school Fashion Show which happened on Saturday, February 13th. As I think I mentioned before, my group of friends bought VIP tickets this year, meaning we had seats beside the stage, received the Bishop’s version of a Disney fast pass to the front of all lines, got free drink tickets and got VIP gift bags. We bought 15 of the 20 seats in one of the sections. It was so, so, so much fun! We all got together beforehand and then took cabs to the show, as it was one of the coldest weekends we have had this winter, arriving just in time for the show to begin. The girls from my house all showed up with whiteboards; earlier in the day, we had the idea to write “scores” for the models, so we each brought a dry erase board to write messages for the models. Don’t worry - we were very nice judges (#PaulaAbdul). The show was a lot of fun - exactly the kind of event I like, where everyone dresses up and goes out together. Following the show, we went to our friends Matt and Sarah’s apartment where we used the free pizza coupons included in our gift bags to order pizza to go along with our wine, before heading to the after party at the Gait. All in all, it was a great final fashion show and certainly a night to remember.
On Saturday, Gavin took me out for dinner for Valentine’s Day. We went to a restaurant in Magog called Le Farandol. We had a table overlooking the water, which made for a beautiful backdrop for the evening. The restaurant was small, with only about 8 other couples there, so we got to meet the chef, who was from France, and the chef’s wife, who was from Niagara, Ontario, which is really close to my hometown. The food was delicious. I had the mahi mahi and Gavin had duck, and we split the chocolate mousse for dessert. Before the restaurant was there, it used to be a bakery and the restaurant still serves the bread from the bakery, which is still operating in town. We had bread with dinner and received a loaf to take home. So thanks to Gavin for spoiling me this Valentine’s Day.
The following week was a busy one at school, with assignments, projects and presentations due each day. It was Jocelyn’s birthday on the Wednesday, so we surprised her after Phil took her out for dinner by meeting her at Boquébière, a microbrewery in Sherbrooke. On Thursday, Vicki and I treated ourselves to a trip to the movie theatre to finally see How to Be Single on the day it came out in English. We were a bit sneaky and brought a tub of Ben and Jerry’s in with us, but it was worth it. The movie was hilarious and everyone in the theatre could tell how funny we thought it was because we definitely laughed the loudest the entire time. It was a great way to end a busy, stressful week,
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| Happy 22nd Birthday, Jocelyn! |
On the Friday, Vicki and I had our wine and whine and watched Couples Retreat, which was also hilarious. On Saturday, a big group of us went to the Gaiters last home basketball game against the Concordia Stingers. The Gaiters finally took the lead in the last quarter and then the fire alarm was pulled so we all had to evacuate the gym!! The Sherbrooke firefighters had to come and make sure it was just a false alarm before we could go back in. Luckily, everything was ok and the Gaiters were still victorious, despite the brief interruption.
Sunday, Gavin and I went on a date to Costco, and by that I mean, we actually went to walk around and eat free samples with no intention of making any purchases. We then walked around Vieux Sherbrooke and along the river for a little while and went to a café for coffee. A Sunday afternoon well spent. I went to Vicki’s later that night to work on a project, but we ended up streaming the Grammy’s instead. Watching Justin Bieber perform made me so excited for the concert in May!! Less than 3 months to go!
On Monday, our regular 3 hour class was shortened to 1 hour, so Vicki and I went straight from class to Jay Peak to spend the day skiing. I am so glad we did, because it was the best skiing we have had all winter! The mountain was finally 100% open and fully covered in snow! It was the Vermont March Break and also Mardi Gras week so the mountain was full of people, as well. It was hard to convince ourselves to come home and not stay for the après ski party!
Tuesday I had my mock parent-teacher interview, with me as the teacher and my professor as the parent, discussing the student I worked with at Lennoxville Elementary. It was a nerve-wracking experience but great practice for my future career. My professor was a very kind parent, which made the interview easier. It was incredible how much I had to say about my student after only working with him three times. Imagine how much I will have to say about students I see everyday for a full year. I can’t wait. Hopefully, majority of parents will be like my professor.
That night, Hannah and I made veggie burgers together based on a recipe from the Minimalist Baker. While they did not turn out exactly like the pictures on the blog, they were still delicious. They were sweet potato black bean burgers. The recipe yield was 12 burgers and we were originally going to half the recipe, but thank goodness we did not! We froze the extras so we can relive the experience another time. For anyone interested, here is the link: http://minimalistbaker.com/sweet-potato-black-bean-burger/
On Wednesday, the Golden Key had our second annual Tea with Principal Goldbloom. This event was extremely successful last year, so we organised it again and it went really well. The event started with a tea and finger foods with the principal and his wife, and then a question and conversation period with just Principal Goldbloom. Our principal is such an interesting person and has had so many different experiences in his work and personal life, so he has a wealth of stories to share. He talked about everything from meeting Bill Clinton to the books he is reading to the work he is doing at the university. The event ran an hour longer than planned but I hope everyone had as good a time as I did and that the event continues in the coming years.
Thursday was a big work day, with homework all morning and studying for my exam all afternoon and evening. I had a bit of a solo study party going in my room, with two printers hooked up, papers and books everywhere and a glass of wine and bowl of popcorn to keep me fuelled. My hard work paid off, as I think my exam on Friday went really well. That night, I went to the Transformative Praxis Malawi Live Art Show fundraiser. I did not really know what to expect, but the event was awesome! Essentially how it worked was there were artists set up around the perimeter of the Gait working on a piece of art and guests went around to bid on the painting they wanted to take home. When the event started at 7pm, all of the canvases were blank. By 10:30pm, the paintings were finished. It was incredible to watch the artwork come together. We have some truly talented artists in our school and local community. The fundraiser was a huge success, raising over $3500 for the school being built in Malawi.
Saturday, I took a total rest day for myself and did no work except plan my trip to Boston. I found a great new website called Tripomatic that helps plan your trip itinerary. Essentially, you put in where you are going and the days you will be there and a map comes up with the popular tourist destinations in the area. Then, you can select the destinations you want to visit and add your own custom places and addresses and slot them in to the days you want to go there. It is extremely useful for seeing which places are near each other and can be visited on the same day. I hope Gavin is ready for 4 very full, exciting days. I also cannot wait to see my cousin, aunt and uncle while we are down there, and see my cousin’s campus. Just 3 more sleeps!!!
Saturday night, Jocelyn, Vicki, Tara (Vicki’s roommate) and I went to Espace 100 Noms, the by-donation vegan restaurant in town for their Soirée sushi. We had all been craving sushi, so the event could not have come at a better time. It was a three course meal, starting with a miso soup, followed by a salad and different kinds of sushi rolls, and ending with a lycée and mango sorbet. It was delicious! I am so glad I discovered this little restaurant - they never disappoint. Following sushi, Jocelyn and I watched the Bachelor, and we are now finally caught up with the season.
Today, I actually need to start planning my lessons for my practicum. In just one week, I will be starting my 6 week placement at Ayer’s Cliff Elementary in my grade 4 class. My primary focus will be teaching narrative writing, but I will hopefully have the chance to teach in many different subject areas. I am beyond excited!! I am hoping to pick up some new books in Boston to share with my students. I have to admit, I have started following a lot of teacher blogs recently, so who knows - maybe this blog will shift in that direction as I shift on to my future career path. I’ll give it a trial run over the next 6 weeks.
So that just about covers the past two weeks in my life. Oh, however I did mention that I got interviewed by the local paper, so I have included a photo of the article below. The Golden Key is doing a book drive in town, so Simone and I were interviewed by the Sherbrooke Record and the article was published on Monday. It brought our book drive great publicity and our donation boxes are filling up! Hopefully, we will be buried under books at the end of the drive!
That’s all from me for now! Happy Sunday everyone and have a great coming week! Next time you hear from me, hopefully I’ll have some great Boston stories and photos to share!
All my love,
Erica xoxoxo
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