From: owner-lucy-list-digest@smoe.org (lucy-list-digest) To: lucy-list-digest@smoe.org Subject: lucy-list-digest V5 #229 Reply-To: lucy-list@smoe.org Sender: owner-lucy-list-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-lucy-list-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk lucy-list-digest Friday, November 28 2003 Volume 05 : Number 229 In this issue: [lucy-list] Period of Adjustment - Living in southern USA [lucy-list] Happy Turkey Happy Turkey! Re: [lucy-list] Period of Adjustment - Living in southern USA Re: [lucy-list] Happy Turkey Happy Turkey! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 16:38:29 -0600 From: "Larry Kunz" Subject: [lucy-list] Period of Adjustment - Living in southern USA The list has been quiet lately and thought the UK listers and others would be interested in the following article about a Britisher living in the southern USA. Just before the start of the school year last fall, an art teacher from Seascale, England and an art teacher from Hoover, Alabama exchanged jobs and homes for a year. Homewood, AL is a suburb immediately south of Birmingham and Hoover is a 60,000 population suburb a little farther south -- now the 6th largest city in Alabama with an approximate 2000 student 9th thru 12th grade high school --- and where I live. This article appeared in the morning paper. I have added the notes in parenthesis for clarity. by Jon Anderson of The Birmingham (Alabama) News/ The Hoover News Thursday November 27, 2003 BRITISH TEACHER NOT SO FOND OF OUR SWEET TEA, BUT LOVES OUR DOWNHOME SHOPPING AND HOSPITALITY Cockroaches, crickets, sweet tea and WalMart. Those are some of the things that Clare Matthews finds unusual about America. The 41-year-old art teacher from Seascale, England, has swapped jobs and homes with Hoover High School art teacher Debora Martin for a year as part of the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program. Matthews has been living in Martin's "lovely" house in Homewood for four months, but it didn't take her long to realize that England is not as much like the United States as she thought. All kinds of things caught her by surprise. "We definitely don't have cockroaches in our houses in England," she said. "And crickets, they're like jumping spiders. They scare me to death." Matthews has fallen in love with Southern cooking, so much so that she's put on a little weight, she said. "You put sugar in everything, and then fry it, and then if you're not sure, you fry it again," she said. She loves the sweet potatoes and squashes here, but she definitely hasn't acquired a taste for cold, sweet tea. "That's something I won't be taking home with me," she said. But Matthews said she has been blown away by Southern hospitality. Fellow Hoover High teacher Joshua Rutsky drove her to school the first few weeks to give her time to adjust to driving on the right side of the road and with a right-handed stick shift. He also gave her driving lessons. "She did marvelously," he said. "I can say for certain that she knows the manual for the roads better than most anyone in Birmingham." Hoover teachers have been extremely gracious, helping her get established in her new home and inviting her to go places, Matthews said. "People here have just been so lovely. It's almost over-whelming." Hoover High art teacher Marla Kenny invited Matthews to have Thanksgiving dinner (today) with her at her mother's house. "I had to explain to her what Thanksgiving was," Kenny said. "She wanted to experience a very traditional Thanksgiving and I think that she'll get the true American tradition down pat there." GREAT SHOPPING Matthews particularly has enjoyed the stores in this area, she said. Her hometown of Seascale, a fishing and resort village on England's western coast, is small and rural, so there aren't many options, she said. "The shops are fabulous here," she said. "It's a shoppers' paradise." She particularly likes Talbot's (high scale women's clothes) at the Summit (nearby new and upscale shopping mall), and there's another store that caught her fancy. "WalMart is the most fabulous place," she said. "You just go to WalMart (largest retailer in the USA - monster sized building with clothes, housewares, groceries, automotive tires and just about everything else) and get everything. It's just wonderful." She's learned, though , that people don't do much walking between stores in Hoover. "I tried to cross a road, and it was clear that people didn't cross roads," she said. "Thery get in their cars and drive across the road." The students at Hoover High have been a joy, Matthews said. "They're much better behaved than in England," she said. The students here seen to be more focused on their work and know the consequences for not making good grades, she said. "I've never had kids argue and argue, but I won't do it. Once it's graded, it's graded." Matthews said, however, that the grading system is more lenient here than in England. She's had to raise overall class grades a couple of levels higher than she would in England, she said. The difference, she surmises is that students here don't get as much art instruction. In England, students ages 10 to 16 get a weekly art lesson, she said. Many of the students in her classes at Hoover haven't been in an art room for years, she said. "I don't think I've worked so hard in years." Rotsky said Matthews is fitting in wonderfully at Hoover High. "Her students just love her, and she seems to be enjoying herself tremendously," he said. "I'd say, overall, it's a big success." Matthews said she's had the best time noting the differences in language between England and the United States, from slang to pronunciation. IRKSOME INDEPENDENCE? But there are other amusing stories. "The kids can't believe we don't have tornadoes (unfortunately, Alabama has many tornadoes) and that we don't celebrate Thanksgiving", she said. (Happy Thanksgiving to the USA listers!) "They wanted to know if we get upset on Independence Day." Matthews last week had one of her art classes sponsor an English tea party. Students dressed up for the occasion. She also found time to go to her first American-style football game, which she dubbed a "football match". "It was interesting", she said. The high school football players were very skilled, but she had no idea each team would have about 100 players, some playing offense and others defense. She also thought it odd that the players would play for awhileand then stop, compared to the faster face of soccer. "It just seemed to go on forever." With the bands playing, the whole show was just amazing", she said. "it's like an English circus without animals." But Matthews said she was "shell-shocked" by the pep rallies (usually during the day before the evening game) at Hoover High. "English health and safety officials would never allow girls to form pyramids like the cheerleaders do here", she said. She was particularly taken aback by the dance team's provocative moves. She found it most unusual to see girls of that age dancing for the boys that way, she said. Matthews plans to take a week off from school to attend a textile conference in Mexico and later plans to experience Marti Gras in New Orleans,(Louisiana). After school lets out in May, she plans to visit the Grand Canyon (Arizona), Indian rug weavers in New Mexico and Arizona, art galleries in Santa Fe (New Mexico), New York City and Chicago (Illinois). I'm going to spend my life savings because that's what life savings are for," she said. Larry in Birmingham ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 15:32:46 -0800 (PST) From: Libby Wiebel Subject: [lucy-list] Happy Turkey Happy Turkey! Wow... what a folky Thanksgiving... Kristen and I cooked a rockin' dinner... Well, actually, Kristen did most of the cooking, though I did smash the potatoes. Yummy turkey... happy friends... awesome music (Kristen has some great Lucy bootlegs!)... and... wow.... a brand new CD that's out... Yup, that's right! There's a lot to be thankful for this year! Not the least of which is my NEW CD. I got the boxes in the mail on Tuesday night... and I'm busy getting the pre-orders ready to send. We've officially arrived at the Wait-a-While Estates! Thanks so much to everyone for your continued support! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Libby (who realizes she needs to change her email sig... no worries... it's on the to-do list!) ===== - ----------- libbywiebel@yahoo.com http://www.libbywiebel.com "You'll take yourself to the Wait-a-While Estates..." - Album release, only 2 weeks away! http://www.libbywiebel.com ~ http://mp3.washingtonpost.com/bands/libby_wiebel.shtml __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 19:09:54 EST From: BrainCC@aol.com Subject: Re: [lucy-list] Period of Adjustment - Living in southern USA Great post Larry! An interesting read throughout. What was that old quote? ... Two nations divided by a common tongue, or something similar. Friends who've worked in the States for a while are still unable to cope with the lack of walking, and also with often being warned about dangerous drinking habits after three small glasses of (by UK standards) weak beer! One thing's the same for sure - Lucy speaks a language and sings with a passion we can all understand! Hope y'all enjoyed your Thanksgiving over there. Brian, from a cold over here ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 20:50:16 -0500 From: "Kristen Myshrall" Subject: Re: [lucy-list] Happy Turkey Happy Turkey! Yay Libby's new cd!!!!!!!!! It freakin rocks and it looks AMAZING!!!!!! So fun, sooooo professional....and she just updated her website so GO! OH yeah and buy a cd if you haven't already. Libby just printed up the labels to mail those babies out...YAY! May I add that my turkey rocked! Woohoo...my first turkey! I am such a tool....aren't I? It's ok...a lovely thanksgiving dinner with "classic Lucy" (in the form of the Song Project) in the background :) Happy Thanksgiving everyone...and happy 1st Thanksgiving Molly!!! Hehehe...i'm picturing mashed potatoes EVERYWHERE right about now and I'm sure Lucy and Rick are loving every minute of it :) - -K >From: Libby Wiebel >Reply-To: lucy-list@smoe.org >To: lucylist >Subject: [lucy-list] Happy Turkey Happy Turkey! >Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 15:32:46 -0800 (PST) > >Wow... what a folky Thanksgiving... > >Kristen and I cooked a rockin' dinner... Well, actually, Kristen >did most of the cooking, though I did smash the potatoes. Yummy >turkey... happy friends... awesome music (Kristen has some great >Lucy bootlegs!)... and... wow.... a brand new CD that's out... > >Yup, that's right! There's a lot to be thankful for this year! >Not the least of which is my NEW CD. I got the boxes in the mail >on Tuesday night... and I'm busy getting the pre-orders ready to >send. We've officially arrived at the Wait-a-While Estates! >Thanks so much to everyone for your continued support! > >Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! >Libby >(who realizes she needs to change her email sig... no worries... >it's on the to-do list!) > >===== >----------- >libbywiebel@yahoo.com >http://www.libbywiebel.com > >"You'll take yourself to the Wait-a-While Estates..." - Album release, only >2 weeks away! > >http://www.libbywiebel.com ~ >http://mp3.washingtonpost.com/bands/libby_wiebel.shtml > >__________________________________ >Do you Yahoo!? >Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now >http://companion.yahoo.com/ _________________________________________________________________ Is there a gadget-lover on your gift list? MSN Shopping has lined up some good bets! http://shopping.msn.com ------------------------------ End of lucy-list-digest V5 #229 ******************************* This has been a posting from the Lucy Kaplansky mail list digest To unsubscribe send mail to Majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe lucy-list-digest" in the body of the message