Wednesday Trip to Battle

From left to right: Wieslava from Poland - Hiroko and Saori from Japan - Lola from Spain - Janka from Slovakia - Nadine and Janine from Switzerland - Ondrej from the Czech Republic - Hanna from Finland - Esther from Spain - Abdullah from Yemen - David from Spain - Mikio from Japan and Andrea from Switzerland standing in front of the gatehouse to Battle Abbey School.

In the grounds of the ruins of Battle Abbey enjoying the quiet of the countryside and the spring flowers growing in the grass.

A Trip to the Cotswolds

Last weekend, Hiroko, Mikio and I went to the Cotswolds. Maybe a lot of people don't know the Cotswolds but it is very popular in Japan. On Friday after school we went to London and stayed at a hotel. The hotel was very nice and it was near (the) station.

On Saturday we woke up at 5 o'clock. In the morning it was sunny. We took the train and arrived at Morton-in-the-Marsh in the Cotswolds. There was a sign which was witten in Japanese. It proves that a lot of Japanese go to the Cotswolds. We took a bus and went to Bourton-on-the-water. This town is called "Venice of the Cotswolds". After that we took the bus again and arrived at North Leach. We had to change buses here.

While we were waiting for a bus, we went to a cafe. In the cafe strangers spoke to us. What friendly people! One of them had been to Japan. They told us that Bibury was a very nice place. After we went out of the cafe, we arrived at Bibury finally! A guidebook which I bought in Japan says Bibury is the most beautiful village in England. A lot of Japanese go to Bibury. Now I can understand why a lot of Japanese go there. It's a very small village but a very lovely place. It's a little bit similar to Japanese gardens. When we were in Bibury, it started to rain. It was very sad but I enjoyed it very much. If it had been sunny, we could have seen a more beautiful landscape.

Anyway I had a good time. In  the evening we went back to London by train and ate dinner. We went to a Japanese restaurant. This was the first time in about one month that I ate Japanese food. For one month I hadn't thought that I wanted to eat Japanese food so much, but on Friday we talked about it and after that I wanted to eat it. So I was very happy to eat it. It was an extremely nice trip. I want to recommend the Cotswolds to a lot of people. If  you go to the Cotswolds, you can relax and spend time with nature.

Saori - Japan

The City I Love

Nagoya is the nicest place to visit. It is in the middle of Japan.  It is a little bit far from an airport but you can use the fast trains from the airport.  When you arrive at Nagoya, it is useful to use the underground.

Nagoya is a little bit similar to Tokyo but it is more crowded so I think Nagoya is better. 

The best season is spring or autumn. If you go to Nagoya in spring, you can see a lot of cherry blossoms. For example along rivers, around castles, in parks. These are amazing. I also want to recommend that you see cherry blossoms at night, because these are lit up at night. These are picturesque.  Autumn is also very nice because you can see the colored leaves.  Of course,you might enjoy visitting Nagoya  in winter and summer because you can see fantastic landscapes.

When you visit Nagoya, you should go to Nagoya castle which is famous and traditional. Around the castle there is a river, a mountain and forest. It is very quiet and you can relax.  You can go inside the castle and see a lot of traditional things.

In Nagoya there is  a zoo and a big aquarium. You can see many animals, fish , dolphins, seals.....  Near the aquarium there is a beach so in the summer you can go there and swim. 

If you go to the center of the town, you can go shopping. There are a lot of department stores and of course you can also find many cheap shops. When you become tired, you can take a rest at a lovely cafe which is near the shops. 

Food is also wonderful. If you can eat “Miso”, I want to recommend cutlet with “Miso”.  Almost all Japanese like “Miso”, but especialy a lot of people in Nagoya like it and they often use it. 

As I said above, there are traditional things and modern things in Nagoya, so you must enjoy both of them.  If you want to visit other places in Japan ( for example Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto...), it is very useful to go to these places from Nagoya.  

It is worth coming to Nagoya so I hope that a lot of people come. 

Saori - Japan

My favourite City is Venice. It is a picturesque City in the east of Italy, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. You can visit this city all year. But the best time to visit is  summer, when the  weather is very friendly for resting. I would like to tell you something about this place.

The most interesting part to visit is the old city,  with its amazing architecture. All (the) old city is an antique.  Venice has a lot of fascinating canals, which are separating old buildings, historic palaces with little circuses among old buildings. They don’t have streets, there are  only pedestrian streets and canals. The biggest canal is named (the) Grand Canal.  All traffic is taken by the water. In Venice is the bus-water named “vaporetto”. This bus is cheaper than (a) gondola. If you want, you can take a gondola ride by the picturesque canals.  It is the best sightseeing.  Sometimes the gondolier is singing beautiful Italian songs.

The heart of Venice is a circus (called) the Piazza San Marco, with the old Basilica of San Marco. This basilica was (built) in (the) XIV century. We can see 9the) Basilica inside only with the help of the light of (the) sun.  Around the Piazza San Marco are situated a lot of restaurants with live music, playing violins. These restaurant are very expensive. If you want, you can to go by an alley and find (a) small cafe, with delicious Italian food and meat, cheaper than in Piazza San Marco.

Venice has a lot of old buildings – churches, temples and palaces. There are very amazing. You have to visit them with a guide-book. You can also visit lovely, tiny shops with souvenirs from Italy. Early morning is the best time for shopping for vegetables and fruits in the little outdoor market. However Venice is as expensive as many other cities.

Anyone who comes to visit Venice will fall in love. If you want (to) have a relaxing time, You have to visit Venice just this year. It isn’t a quiet city, because it is full of tourists, but you will enjoy this trip.

Wieslava - Poland

Basel is in the northwest of Switzerland. It’s a nice city with many shops which are very cheap (That’s a lie). It’s a bustling city, especially in summer. In the summertime, there are many ice-cream cars. They sell delicious ice-cream and by the river, it is a perfect place to relax or to take a nap.

The most interesting old building is the church called ‘Basler Muenster’. It’s a very peaceful place with a picturesque view of the river and the old town.

Do you like the nightlife? Then Basel is the best city to go to. There are different special clubs to visit. The club ‘die kuppel’ changes the topic and the type of the music every weekend. Or a club on the river? Then go to the club called ‘das schiff’ which is a ship on the river.

And if you like nature more than the nightlife, you should visit the leafy ‘gruen achzig’ (Green 80^th). It’s a beautiful big park which has a restaurant, fields with a hill and woods. It’s also a nice place to do different types of sport (tennis, football etc.)

The food in the restaurants is different. In Basel you are able to try Italian, French, Spanish restaurants and also Asian and Turkish food.
Pascal - Switzerland

I would like to introduce you to San Sebastian (Donosti), it is in the north of Spain near the frontier with France. San Sebastian (Donosti) is the world capital of Pintxo, it has an international festival of Cinema and Jazz. 

It’s fantastic to see a mix of traditional and modern architecture. It’s a clean city, safe and it’s people are friendly and open.

The principal attraction of the city is its food - pintxos, and other variety of food, amazing fish and seafood, drinks like txacoli and zurito, (and many) restaurants in the town centre. Its streets smell absolutely fantastic (a) mix between modern food to traditional food.

You can see there an absolutely fantastic beach, opening to the sea where the most surfers go. It’s famous in San Sebastian, Santa Clara’s island, this island is in the middle of the bay of the La Concha beach. (A) nice place where you can find more restaurants (and) traditional cafes.

You can enjoy the big area of shopping, shops for food, clothes and other things of the best quality and the best brand.

The nightlife is absolutely amazing in the town centre you can enjoy too much of this city at night.

I love this city. For me it’s fantastic to come when I have time! I hope I’ll see you in San Sebastian soon

Carlota - Spain

Today I want to introduce you to Seoul. Seoul is the Korean capital and the most enormous city in Korea. It is very bustling and dynamic. Because you can enjoy anything about Korean traditional and modern culture and of course, the night life. The best period for your trip is autumn. Korean autumn is not cold, not hot and usually sunny. But Korea has four seasons so anytime is good for you.

There are five palaces. Kyung-Bok palace is the biggest palace in Seoul. But I think Chang-Duck palace is the most beautiful place. And there is the Royal Ancestors’ Shrine where there is Cho-shun king’s grave. It is the most pious place in Korea so it is very calm and traditional and you can see the function which praises our royal ancestors.

Seoul has a lot of shopping areas and streets but I want to recommend Myung-Dong where you can see modern things and Chang-Chung-Dong which is near KuyngBok palace and you can buy traditional things. And last, Dong-Dea-Moon is very bustling market for clothes shopping. 

In my opinion, you should try to eat traditional Korean and normal foods. So I propose (the) Chang-Chung area to you. I am sure that you can find very nice traditional restaurants and modern restaurants, also fusion restaurants.  And you don’t have to worry about if (the) food is hot, Korean traditional foods aren’t hot. And you can drink in any restaurant with food. In Korea, So-Ju is the most popular drink and Mac-geul-ri, which is made from rice, is a popular and traditional drink.

I know two kinds of nightlife in Seoul. One is very exciting and lively. There are clubs and bars in Kang-Nam and Hong-De(Uni. Hong-ik). Kang-nam’s people are more than 25. But Hong-De’s people are younger than Kang-Nam’s. But the ambience is similar. Another is Mt. Nam. When you go to (the) ‘N tower’ which is at the top of Mt.Nam, you can look around Seoul’s night. It is very picturesque but don’t forget to check the closing time.

Maximus - S. Korea

I would like to describe (to) you the capital city of Slovak Republic. It’s Bratislava. What can you imagine when you are hearing about this city?

If you are comparing her with her neighbors: Budapest, Vienna, Prague... Bratislava is the smallest but most interesting city near the river Danube. 
You can find here a lot of possibilities for leisure time. She has a special esprit therefore I love her. 

In a small place like Bratislava, you can find more history than you expect. Bratislava was in old times a famous royal city. From this time we have a lot of old buildings, castles, churches. You feel and see history here. She isn’t bustling but also isn’t quiet. It is a happy medium for everybody. It depends on what you are looking for?

If you like traditional, picturesque buildings and views you can find these here.
If you are interested in nature you can buy a trip across the river Danube. You can sail and admire the country.

Or you can borrow a car and go through (a) beautiful and quiet part of Slovakia.  It takes you only 3-4 hours and then you can touch nature in “Vysoke Tatry”.  Nature in Slovakia, especially this part of country, is the loveliest part of this small country. And what is the most important (thing) to know is that the people are very friendly, helpful and emotional.

You can taste here a lot of food specialities like: “bryndzove halusky, bryndza, korbaciky, parenica” ...and other delicious (things) also from sheep cheese.
Whoever was in Slovakia and hasn’t tasted (the) national famous alkohol Slivovica hasn’ t been in Slovakia. Attention! you can drink only small glasses and you feel OK the next of the day. Sometimes it’s a medicine if you have problems with health. 

The best time for a visit to Bratislava is the summer. For Vysoke Tatry it’s possible to choose (any) season which you prefer. In every season you can find here a lot of sports activities: in winter/skiing, snowboarding, etc. In spring and autumn: walking across the woods, hills, mountains, and in the summer: swimming, sailing, etc.

In Vysoke Tatry you smell fresh air, air with flowers and trees perfume. You can see real untouched nature. So, therefore I love Slovakia. The place where I was born and the place which will have a place in my heart.
Janka - Slovakia

Prague is the capital city of the Czech Republic. It is situated in the Central Bohemia as the “heart” of this land. Prague is one of the most popular and oldest cities in the world. The summer and the autumn is the best time to visit this picturesque city. Typical weather for these seasons is sunny, a kind temperature and colourful nature. 

Prague has many landmarks which everybody must visit who want to know some new information about European history. The oldest landmark is Prague Castle which was built in 10^th century as a palace of kings and dukes. Nowadays, Prague Caste is used as a residence for Czech presidents.

After Prague Castle, The Old Town is the most popular place (to visit), it was built by Charles IV in (the) 14^th century.

But Prague has not only landmarks. It is (a) modern city with lively nightlife. Everybody can visit many cinemas, pubs and theatres. Many people think that Prague is a city with the one of biggest crime rates however, this information is not based on truth because (the) Czech capital city has very low criminality. Another lie is it that guns can be bought very easily in Praque.

Everybody knows Czech beers like Pilsner Urquell, Budweiser Budvar, Staropramen but practically nobody knows Czech meals. Typical Czech meals are served just in Prague. The national dish is pork with cabbage and dumplings. However, the most favorite dish is “Svickova”, it is beef, dumplings with sauce from carrot and celeriac. You can taste these traditional dishes practically everywhere. 

Jakub - Czech Rep.

I would like to recomend to you a beautiful city in Argentina. In my opinion one of the most wonderful cities in Argentine Patagonia. Its name is “Bariloche”. It is situated in the south of Argentina.

The most important attraction of the city, is its landscape. You can see mountains, lakes and a lot of natural places that have not been touched by man.

The best time of the year to visit this city is, in my opinion, the summer season.  It is better to appreciate the picturesque landscape in summer rather than in winter but if you enjoy doing snow sports, it will great in winter also.

I am sure that you will love it because it is a peaceful and lovely place with perfect scenery where you can enjoy relaxing days. Moreover you will notice that people are really friendly and helpful. 

At night, if you want to break with the relaxing life, you can go to the centre of the city, where you will find a lot of traditional restaurants which specialize in Patagonian food and different kinds of pubs which sell home made beers.

These are the reasons why I love Bariloche.

Nadia - Argentina

South England Trip

Tom, Elisa and I did a trip around South England. It was very nice, quite cheap and we had beautiful weather! Today, I write about the best days and moments of this trip.

Windsor Castle.

What a nice castle! And we arrived at on a perfect time! It was 12:00 and there was the guard-changing. Perfect timing, then I was able to take some nice photos.

Outside of the castle was very nice but the rooms inside of the castle were more beautiful! I’m afraid, we couldn’t take photos inside the castle, it wasn’t allowed. On At this day, the Queen was in Windsor castle (The flag was flying).

Eton

Eton is a nice looking little college town but there was just one special thing actually.  An army of little dogs! Cuteness guaranteed! 

After a coffee at the river, we went back to our car.

Oxford

Everyone knows Oxford. Here are a few pictures!

Salisbury cathedral

I had visited this wonderful cathedral already, but at on that day the weather was terrible. But this time the weather was much better! We had our lunchtime on the field and enjoyed the sun. And of course, we went inside the cathedral.

I really enjoyed these four days with Tom and Elisa, the hotels were nice, we had no problems, we had just a little (bit of) traffic and the weather was nice. I saw everything that I wanted to visit before I go back to Switzerland. Perfect.
Pascal

Wednesday Trip to Rye

This is a model of the town of Rye as it was 150 years ago which we saw in the Rye Heritage Centre. Then we went upstairs and saw the collection of old machines which you put a penny in and it comes to life. Some of them were very strange, like this one below.

After this, we walked up Mermaid Street to the Church of St Mary where we climbed up inside the tower to the top and then out into the wind and rain but with a wonderful view of the town and the countryside around Rye.

Inside the tower in the 'clock' room - it is the oldest working church clock in England (1561).

Outside, on the tower looking over the rooftops of Rye.

Our fine students dressed in their summer clothes!

Hiroko standing next to her Rolls Royce with Saori and Laura.

And finally, we have afternoon tea and cakes in Ye Olde Tea Shoppe next to the church before catching the train back to Hastings.

Hastings Jack-in-the-Green Festival

This is the famous 'Jack' of Jack-in-the-Green which is a folk festival held in Hastings every year at the beginning of May. Thousands of people come to Hastings to enjoy the sunshine, the music, the dancing, the beer and the holiday atmosphere. At thend of the day, after all the dancing - the Jack is destroyed (sacrificed) to bring good weather and good luck for the rest of the year. Today, the Jack has certainly brought good weather!

Many people get dressed up for Jack-in-the-Green and here are two of them.

                        
These guys dancing are Mad Jack's Morris from Hastings. Behind them, the blue sea of the English Channel; above them, the blue skies of England; a perfect May Day holiday for all the people on the West Hill.

Saori is 22

Saori, from Japan, is 22 today so everyone sang Happy Birthday and she was given cards and a 'huge' bag of crisps! 

My Morning Class

From left to right: Saori from Japan - Nadia from Argentina - Hanna from Finland - Carlota from Spain - Alina from Germany - Pascal from Switzerland - Maximus from South Korea - Elisa from Spain.

In Saint Helen's Woods

Nadia, from Argentina, tries to mime the message "Can you change £100 into $US ?" and she succeeds... eventually. On the bench, Hiroko, Janine, Cristina, Pascal, Beoung Ho, Elisa and Tom.

Tom, from Germany, shows off his surfing moves to the class. Can they guess what he is trying to mime?

Pascal, just out of the picture on the left, entertains the class by trying to talk about 'grass' for one minute without stopping.

Spring is Here, At Last!

L-R: Janine from Switzerland - Tom from Bavaria - Nadia from Argentina - Hiroko from Japan - Beoung Ho from South Korea - Cristina from Spain - Pascal from Switzerland - Elisa from Spain: in the garden on a sunny afternoon reading articles from the Guardian newspaper and working on new vocabulary.

My Trip to Scotland

Tom, Elisa, Maximus and I went to Scotland last weekend. From (the) 29th (of) March to 1st of April. Three very exciting days, but also three very hard days. 

Day 1: Friday 29^th of March
Well, it wasn’t a day, actually. We left Hastings at 20:15 and we drove through the night. I tried to sleep in (on) the coach, but there was no way to relax and I slept not so well (didn’t sleep well). At 7:30, we stop (stopped) at a motorway restaurant for breakfast.

Day 2: Saturday 30^th of March

We arrived (at) the hostel in Edinburgh. We drop (dropped) the backs (bags) in a (our) room and after that we visited the castle, the Royal Mile, Carlton Hill (etc) with our travel guide his (whose) name was Angelo.

This is me in front of Edinburgh Castle.

At the lunchtime, we had free time to look for a good restaurant or (a) pub to eat something. It was tasty and not (so) expensive.

With a full stomach, we walked down the beautiful street with his (its) Scottish souvenir shops. At this (that) moment, I realized that the weather is (was) warmer than in Hastings! And this (is) in the north.

Everyone was very tired (so) that we fall in (fell) sleep (asleep) very fast (soon) after our Indian dinner.

Day 3: Sunday 31th of March

At (On) this day, we had the chance to visit the Highlands. It was just an optional tour, so we had to pay 35 pounds. Maximus and I decided to go to (on) this tour. I mean, you don’t know when you are (will be) in Scotland again. Maybe never.

It was very interesting! We visited different monuments and a beautiful forest. And I met ‘Hamish’. It’s a famous highland cow with giant horns! He was born 1993. A great day, but after this tour I was, again, very tired and went to bed very early.

Day 4: Monday 1^st of April

Okay, back to Hasting! But this time we didn’t drive in the night! The last stop was York. In my opinion one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen since I arrived England 3 months ago! I was sad that we had only 2 hours. Not enough.

After 6 more hours, we arrived (in) Hastings (at midnight) and I just wanted my bed. Four very exciting but hard days.
Pascal - Switzerland

My Trip to Spain

After (the) FCE exam, I needed (a) holiday to relax and refresh (myself) so I decided to visit to Spain where Alejandra, Silvia and Inma were living (live) from on the 17^th of March to on the 25^th of March.

My holiday started from (with) sleeping at Gatwick airport the previous day of my flight because my flight was so early (in the) morning and I didn’t have (a) train for it. Fortunately, there were many people who were sleeping and the police was were walking around so I didn’t feel scared. However, I don’t recommend sleeping there because it was freezing (even) though I was wearing a lot of clothes. 

At first, I went to Valencia to see ‘Las Fallas’ which was (is) (a) famous for Valencia festival. Alejandra (will) explain about it (later) very well (for this blog) so I’ll write about my trip here. When I arrived at Alejandra’s house, she made me lunch. I was surprised because she was good at cooking and I loved it! Then, I thought I would be able to enjoy Spanish food.

After that, we went to see Las Fallas dolls which were enormous and creative. Surprisingly, there was a doll (whose) theme was Japan so I was proud of Japan (a) little bit because I hadn’t think (thought that) Japan was (so) popular in Spain. In (At) dinner time, I met Inma who was my fantastic speaking partner in the exam. While I was eating, she explained about (the) food and sangria which was (is a) Spanish wine. We talked and ate a lot. Before I went to see (the) fireworks, I said goodbye to her.

In Las Fallas, you can see a lot of women who are wearing traditional dress. I was interested in it because I liked wearing traditional clothes while travelling and my mother too. When I went to Alejandra’s mom’s house, I saw a dress of Alejandra's which she was wearing when she was young. They had prepared (a) surprising present for me to wear it. It was (a) collaboration with (combination of) (a) Japanese face and (a) Spanish dress. I sent my mother this photo and of course she said. “I want to wear it too!” 

(On the) final day of (in) Valencia, her father made me lunch which was called “fideua”. It was a kind of Paella. (The) taste was wonderful! I thanked her family for everything and I want to say thanks to Raul, who is Alejandra’s boyfriend. He was fantastic and my kind host, He tried to speak English for me. 

First, I want to say, “I love Tenerife”! (It) had the sun, (the) beach and (the) mountains, what’s more it was hot. Later, Silvia (will) explain about Tenerife (on this blog). Of course, we went to (the) beach to get a suntan. It was amazing because it (was) freezing in Hastings at that time.

Unfortunately, I misunderstood (used) an after-suntan cream instead of a protection cream on the second day so my back has been (is) too brown and peeling now. Another day, we went to see the Teide which was (is) (a) volcano. While driving, Lorena, who was (is) Silvia’s sister, tried to talk with me in English. She was so lovely and friendly so I loved her. When I arrived at (the) high place, I was able to see (the) breath-taking landscape.

I got a chance to talk with Silvia’s friends in (at) dinner .They were very friendly and tried to speak English. I felt basically (that the) Spanish were open-minded and had big body language. They said,” Hiroko! You have to live here! I thought I wanted to do it seriously. Ha ha! Thanks Silvia’s family and friends for everything.

Finally, I had to say goodbye to my lovely friends. I was sad but I believed I would be able to meet them again in Spain or Japan. If I hadn’t been in Hastings to study English, I wouldn’t have met them.

I love Alejandra, Silvia, Inma, Lorena, their family and friends! Thank you very much.

Hiroko - Japan

Windows 8 my homework!

Artur from Poland - Diego from Spain - Elisa from Spain - Tom from Bavaria show places in the world which they would love to visit. They did write about this on the computers but unfortunately Windows 8 it!!! Sorry guys.

A Change in the Weather

Hiroko throwing snowballs at Tom

A new student from Iceland in the garden with Tom from Germany, 

Elisa from Spain and Hiroko from Japan

Unfortunately, our new student could only stay for a couple of hours.