Creative election propaganda

I've seen a couple of creative expressions here encouraging Tunisians to vote in today's elections.

First, is a YouTube video. I'm posting the link from an English-language webpage so you can get more background to understand why it's such a powerful statement.

Then today, when I brought up google.tn, I found this picture: 

Go Google!  What a great way to support the Tunisian elections!

Even Minute Maid encouraged people to vote by running a contest for people to vote for their favorite juice:

All to encourage Tunisians to participate in the first free elections in many years.

Tunisia News

The breaking news from this side of the world: Gadhafi has been killed.  So far, I haven't heard or seen too much disturbance related to it. 

In other news, Tunisia will become the first of the Arab Spring countries to hold free elections this Sunday.  Everyone is wondering what will happen here. 

Should be an interesting weekend!

I've arrived!

Just a quick note to let you all know that I've arrived safely and soundly (and with all of my luggage!) here in Tunis.  I'm severely jet-lagged, though, and I feel like I've been up forever!  But I'm valiantly trying to stay awake as long as possible because I have a crazy schedule for the next couple of days and I need to get on this time schedule ASAP.  Starting tomorrow, I will be observing two classes, on Friday I teach a demo lesson and then Monday I start my own lessons.  All in addition to searching for an apartment.  Nothing like jumping right into it! 

I'm on my way!

I'm in transit on the way to my new adventure!  I've got a job teaching English as a Second Language for a NGO in Tunis, Tunisia.  For those of you that need a geography refresher, this is where I will be:

I'm really excited-it sounds like it will be a fantastic opportunity and I'm really excited that I got a job so quickly after finishing my CELTA course.  Luckily, it seems like I will be able to update my blog fairly easily, so stay tuned for more updates as the adventure kicks off.  (I'm sure I'll have good stories for you soon!)

Lori's London Quiz

"The complexities of the English language are such that even native speakers cannot always communicate effectively, as almost every American learns on his first day in Britain."


Well, somehow I managed to survive my stint in learning to teach English while trying to understand British English.  In order to help those of you who might someday to travel across the pond, I thought I would give you a quick quiz to see if the same things would trip you up.  Enjoy!

1. A jumper is:
    A. a dress for a young girl
    B. a grasshopper
    C. a sweater

2. A lie-in is:
    A. a protest rally
    B. lounging around in bed all day
    C. a little white lie

3. A brolly is:
   A. an umbrella
   B. a broiled steak
   C. the thing you put on the teapot to keep it warm

4. Who  can you tell off?
   A. Your children
   B. The guy who just cut you off in traffic
   C. The guy who took 10 mins at the ATM with 8 people in line behind him

5. True/False Chips:Fries::Crisps:Chips

6.  What is the correct observation when the weather is 21 degrees C (~70 F)?
   A. Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?
   B. It's quite warm today
   C. We're having a heat wave

7. The correct pronunciation of 'Southwark' is:
    A. SOUTH-wark
    B. south-WORK
    C. suth-IK

"A paradox of accents is that in England where people from a common heritage have been living together in a small area for thousands of years, there is still a huge variety of accents, whereas in America, where people from a great mix of backgrounds have been living together in a vast area for a relatively short period, people speak with just a few voices"

Extra credit goes to anyone who can explain the phrase "Bob's your uncle"



Answers:
1. C
2. B
3. A
4. A is for sure, B & C-the British are too polite to yell at strangers I think
5. True-although I still get these confused and I wasn't always sure what I was getting with my sandwich
6. A or C.  Remember that the modifier 'quite' means that it is less warm than just warm
7. C Yes, I know, I don't get where all those letters went either.

*quotes from Bill Bryson, The Mother Tongue

The Changing of the Guard

I went to see the changing of the guards today, but instead of joining the masses in front of Buckingham Palace, I watched the inspection of the replacement regiment in front of Wellington Barracks  (which I highly recommend for anyone planning to see this!)  Standing here meant I could also watch the band warm up:

And, watch them march off towards the palace:

I didn't see the horse guard march, but I did visit the grounds where they stay, which also has a ceremonial guard:

I also checked out the flora & fauna in St. James' Park:

And headed back to Buckingham Palace once some of the crowd had dispersed:

The Tower of London

I passed my CELTA course!!!  Now I can relax and try to fit in some sightseeing before I head back home.  Today I went to see the Tower of London-a fantastic experience!  The only bad part was that part of it is under renovation, as seen here. 

This is the traitors gate, the main entrance way from the Thames:

The view of the Tower Bridge from the Wall Walk:



The ravens are kept here to prevent the fulfillment of the prophecy that in their absence the kingdom will fall.

Several actors interacted with the spectators throughout the day:

The White Tower, which is now a museum that showcases the armory

This suit of armor is in the Guinness World Records as the tallest suit of armor on display ( at 6' 2", I believe)

This is an exhibit in progress-the recreation of the Line of Kings.  This was historically to show the public the might of the kings.  Each horse will be matched with the armor and a depiction of each king, starting with William the Conqueror.

The British had a tradition of displaying their military strength as trophies-as with the dragon below:

The building housing the vault containing the crown jewels:

I even got to see the Koh-i-nor diamond!