The British Way

Working at an international school exposes us to many different things.  We get to experience different cultures.  We are surrounded by a myriad of accents.  We see a variety of unique fashions.  And now we are even learning new vocabulary (since Singapore uses British English, not American English).  Take the following test and see if you can guess the British terminology.  

Answers are at the end of this blog entry.

A teacher does not proctor an exam.
She __________________.

Students don't exit the bus.
They ______________.

This is not a trunk.
It's a __________________.

Teacher's don't use a cubby.
They use a _____________   _____________.

We don't eat at the school cafeteria.
We eat at the ______________________.

A sick teacher doesn't need a sub.
He needs ___________________.

You don't put a period at the end of a sentence.
You put a _______________  ______________.

This is not a band-aid or bandage.
It's a ________________.

Answers:

invigilate

alight

boot

pigeon hole

canteen

cover

full stop

plaster

Shoe Designer?

I like to enter contests, but you can imagine my surprise when my graffiti shoe design for Pedro shoes was recently selected as one of the top 3 finalists.  If my design wins, Pedro will actually make the shoe!

Here's my design and a link to vote for it.

You never know what adventures lay ahead.  What's next, ice carving in Singapore?

Weekend in Malacca, Malaysia

What did we do on our recent 4-day weekend?  We took a train to Malacca (in Malaysia) to see the colonial town built by the Portuguese in 1511.  The walkable area is full of shops, museums, churches, and restaurants.  It was a restful three-day, two-night excursion.  If you plan to go by train, we strongly recommend you book Premier Class and wear warm clothing for the extra-cold, air conditioned coach!

Replica of a Portuguese ship, the Flora de la Mar, which is also a maritime museum.

View of our hotel, Casa del Rio, ship/museum and river from the 335-meter high observation tower. 

We saw a variety of lavishly decorated trishaws, all playing VERY loud music as they traveled throughout the town.

For my "Animals in Ruins" series, here is a gigantic, black kitten and two curious tourists in front of St. Paul's church, built in 1521.

Inside the church, I found a breezy spot to cool down next to some eerie headstones from the 1600s.

From St. Paul's Hill, you can enjoy a cool breeze after climbing a multitude of steps. 

Jonker Street is where you can find unique shops, steamed corn on the cob, local restaurants, and foot spas.  (We experienced them all!)