Coventry

This past weekend I was sent to Coventry for a conference.  My American friends who are reading this are no doubt thinking, "Jan is so lucky! She gets to do all of the cool stuff!"...while those of you from the UK are chuckling to yourself and wondering what I did to deserve it. You see, in the UK if you say someone is being "sent to Coventry", it means he is being punished or ostracized.

Whatever may be said about Coventry, the people were the friendliest.  It seems to me that Coventry got a bum rap, but what do I know? I only spent a few hours outside of Warwick University, where the conference was held.  That conference was work; when we finished each day I just wanted to sleep, and I stayed in a dorm room that made the Jester dorms at UT look large and even slightly luxurious. (Maybe I was sent to Coventry?!) 

Valentinstag

It's refreshing to be in a country where Valentine's Day isn't such a big deal. I think the only commercial I've seen about the holiday was an advertisement for the movie Valentine's Day, which will be showing on German TV on Sunday.  Most of my fifth grade students seemed blissfully oblivious. When a student's mom (who is a fabulous baker, and, by the way, is also from Texas) brought in delicious pink cupcakes with red sprinkles this morning, some of my students asked, "Whose birthday is it?"

A few of my students knew, of course, and I did get some Valentine's Day cards. They were the best kind, too: the homemade kind. :)

some of my Valentine's Day treats...and snow, too!