What does new A Level mean to current students - those taking GCSE in June 2015 and June 2016.

The key changes to A level

    A levels will be fully linear, with students sitting their exams at the end of the two-year course. From January 2014, there is no longer a January assessment window. This change applies to current A levels as well as the new ones in development.

Basically it means as student you just have to get it right in Sixth Form (Y12 and Y13) if you have aspirations for that top university course.

 

    AS levels will be stand-alone qualifications and will no longer contribute to an A level grade. Their purpose will be to encourage curriculum breadth and they will remain broadly at their current standard. The AS level may be designed to be co-taught with the first year of the A level.

 

Well Cambridge says  - AS Levels are good for you.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/11208257/Cambridge-University-tells-schools-retain-AS-level-exams.html

 

 

Are the A-level reforms being rolled out across every subject at the same time?

There is a three-year roll-out plan with different subjects reforming at different times. If you're unsure as to how your subjects will be affected it's best to speak to your future sixth form or college.

Will I still be able to take four subjects at the start of year one?

Most sixth forms and colleges will only be funded for students to take three subjects.

( Couldn't verify this bit)

 

 

Is an AS level still the equivalent of 50% of an A-level?

No, the AS qualification will be worth 40% of an A-level. This means that when you
apply to uni under the new UCAS tariff an A-level A grade will be worth 48 points and the A grade in AS will be worth only 20.

 

Is an AS level still the equivalent of 50% of an A-level?

No, the AS qualification will be worth 40% of an A-level. This means that when you
apply to uni under the new UCAS tariff an A-level A grade will be worth 48 points and the A grade in AS will be worth only 20.

Can I still take AS exams if I want to do the A-level version?

Some sixth forms and colleges will be offering AS examinations at the end of the first year. This qualification is easier than an A-level and the grade you receive will count towards the UCAS points for your uni application. If you do well in your AS exam and decide that you would like to continue and study towards A-level, your achieved AS level will not count at all towards your A-level.

You’ve probably already decided on your where you’ll be studying after your GCSEs but now is the time to ask if AS examinations will be offered to students and how many.

Why should I check?

Not sure if all sixth for providers will offer AS Levels.

If I take an AS level exam but do really well and decide that I want to do the A-level will I be at a disadvantage at all?

Most AS and A-level courses are being designed to be “co-teachable” so that both groups of students will learn the same things in year one. The key difference is that those students who have opted for the A-level course will not be assessed at the end of year one.

If I don’t achieve my grades can I retake my A-level exams?

Because exams will no longer be modular it will be a lot harder to retake exams. We advise that you check the course specifications and ask your teacher.

How will it impact on my uni application?

Currently predicted grades for university applications are based on AS results. With AS exams now being phased out unis are very likely to focus more in future on GCSE results, their own testing systems and of course A-level predictions.

Will I be at a disadvantage if I don’t have AS grades on my uni application?

Only the University of Cambridge has commented that it strongly advises applicants to take AS exams while other universities have commented that students will neither be an advantage nor a disadvantage.

How do I show I’m a top student on my university application without a grade to prove it?

GCSEs

Excellent GCSEs are now not only a gateway to further education studies, they’ll now indicate to universities your aptitude and potential capability as an undergraduate.

Teacher reference
Undoubtedly the teacher reference will become even more important with teachers being encouraged to clearly indicate consistent and measurable improvements made by you in your studies from day one of your A-level course.

No Time to Fool around
Realistically this means that you can’t afford to slack off at the start, every day counts and although you won’t be assessed officially until the end of year two, your effort and performance will be consistently monitored.

Mock exams

Although mock exams are commonplace in schools and colleges, it's questionable how seriously some students take these.  It’ll be worth making the most of these opportunities as the results of these exams may be used to create your predicted grades which universities will want to see. They’ll also want to know that you’re performing consistently.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

R's Eleven Plus Exam!

Believe it or not!

What has kept me for more than 6 months away is R's exams. 88 days to go! for the first exam!

We are not into final stages of preparation and its nerve racking!

Its really difficult to get a nine year old to sit down and focus for over an hour.

And its even more difficult to do it day after day!

I have gone through several times and made several iterations and try to focus on which exams we will do.

It has come down to two dates - Sep 15 and Sep 28th. She may do a few more but they are really not important!

For the next few days, I will keep updating what this involves.

While the target is to get 90% in every test, currently we average 50 to 70 % ?
Will we achieve it in 88 days?....only time will tell!

I always believed you can't give up on your own child!...So I am striving to ger her the best chance to get to a secondary school of her choice!

Wish me luck folks! and pray for us in this never ending journey of catch up!

Sleeping Beauty - Pantomime

Pantomime in Britain (usually called Panto) is a peculiarly British tradition of winter musical comedy theater. It has nothing to do with mime - silent performers in white-face make up walking into glass. British pantomime takes familiar fairy tales and children's stories - Cinderella, Aladdin, Dick Whittington and His Cat, Snow White - and injects a bit of music hall (British Vaudeville) sensibility, contemporary references and audience participation to create a raucous, noisy entertainment that's fun for everyone in the family.

A Very Old TraditionBritish pantomime has very deep roots, drawing on the 15th and 16th century traditions of Commedia del Arte for an assortment of stock characters and other conventions.

This pantomime is an initiative be St.Gertrude's Church in South Croydon.

The St Gertrude’s Theatre Company is a large community of like-minded people who love nothing more than to get together and perform. Our pantomime is staged every two years. The pantomime also gives the group the opportunity to make fun of themselves, sing and enjoy some great company. The successful productions try to support local charities.

I am making a brief attempt in explaining what went into a great show....

The people involved worked tirelessly and coordinated all activities seamlessly!

May 19th - Announcement of this year's pantomime!

With an announcement in May 19th for the upcoming pantomime, I spared no opportunity...and send both girls for auditions!

Auditions Flyer was distributed.

June 10th Auditions Started...

A picture of Tanya in one of the auditions!

June 30th ...The cast finalised!and the first pantomime read-through...the script was 70 pages!

July 30th - Deadlines for lines to be learnt!

Sep 5th - Back to Action...T decided to drop out because of her schedule which meant R had to continue alone....she would be the youngest!

Rehearsals and practice sessions every Sunday seemed to get longer.The adults were practising on Tuesdays and Thursdays too....

They started with 4 hrs sessions and the longest was 8 hrs...R took it all on the stride and never whined although she was  physically very tired.

Sep 30th...Flyers to promote the show was released....

So I faithfully tried telling all my friends around.....some of them looked as if  I was committing a crime .I knew it will be a great show..and some of my friends would never have gone to one of this quality!..........but the looks on the faces seemed to suggest why should we watch your daughter?Well R had just one tiny part in over three dozen members of the cast and it was indeed a fabulous show and great family entertainment!

Somewhere they lost the message that it will be  great family entertainment!

Yet about 5 families we knew did watch the show and wanted to give it a go....But the best quote during the show was a twelve year old who decided to come alone with us kept saying how she wished her parents had come along!And the ones who came along had a great evening!

The final two weeks posed the ultimate challenge.

The first week we have practice every other day ...that was ok as it was half term week...the sessions were from half past 6 to 10 in the evening as the adults had to be  back from work...The final week ...every day rehearsals and the Wednesday before the show....they actually finished rehearsals 2 minutes short of midnight!

The 4 shows were well attended by over 200 people in each...The crowd was really impressed with every show and said it had surpassed all their expectations...R said she was nervous before the first show after that she was so comfortable that it was not stressful....Each show lasted three hours .....and all in all she had a wonderful time.....She had finally clocked over 100 hrs just doing her little part for the Panto!

And we were really proud of what she had achieved....It was once in a life time experience.....to act with some West End actors and dancers.....and to have the confidence to mix with almost strange group of people for long periods of time but she did it!

Three cheer to R!....after all she is only 9....and the youngest of the cast members!

A few video links and the photos .The first and the last video are the best to watch...and they are about a minute each!
Enjoy!

http://tinyurl.com/pantos1

http://tinyurl.com/pantos2

http://tinyurl.com/panto3

http://tinyurl.com/pantos4

http://tinyurl.com/panto5

http://tinyurl.com/panto6

http://tinyurl.com/panto7

http://tinyurl.com/pantos8

http://tinyurl.com/pantos9

http://tinyurl.com/rionafinale

Photos!

http://tinyurl.com/ccwkccs

Spain in 7 days

A very succinct account of our holiday in Spain.....
Its been over two months since we came back, it has taken me so long to write....so not a great travelogue which is what I originally intended but a few snippets that I can remember!

Spain Holiday – in 7 days….

Aug 26^th 2011

We set out to Madrid….arriving at Madrid for a driving holiday. After our baggage the car rental process took much longer than expected. We first got a car which did not have a connector working for the SAT NAV system. The company had to finally change the car which took about an hour and we figure the SAT NAV we purchased for UK and Europe specifically for the trip did not function in Spain for some reason. Mind you we had tested it back in London and it would show us the way till Madrid across the seas! So we had to rent a SAT NAV which was in English so we lost out a good 3 hours in the process…

We drove to the hotel and managed to see Madrid by Cable car….It wasn’t as exciting as they described though it gave a very good view of the entire Madrid city.

http://www.english.teleferico.com/

We spent the evening at H20 mall one of the biggest as it was the closest to our hotel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:H2O_(Rivas-Vaciamadrid)_02.jpg

August 27^th 2011

R turns 9

But T was very ill and we had to make a choice of leaving her at the hotel to recuperate. We knew she can’t take the walking we needed to do in the city.

We visited the Royal Palace – Madrid although we had to wait for an hour in the queue in the hot sun.

http://www.patrimonionacional.es/

Very impressive and well worth the visit

Though I would advise taking http://www.madridcard.com/en/inicio as you could avoid all the queues. It was really worth the visit and one could spend a half day comfortably!

Prado Museum

http://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/

Well worth a visit. We were very impressed. Had a spectacular range of paintings.

We really couldn’t do much as we had to come back and be with T and on our way back we lost our way  as the bus driver didn’t tell us where we should get down!

The metro trains and buses were excellent although most information was only in Spanish.

August 28^th,2011

We went to El Escorial

A 16^th century Royal Monastery. A must visit if you are visiting Madrid .We drove there on our way to Malaga our next destination.

August 29^th,2011

We didn’t do much in Malaga other than go to nearby malls and a beach.

Regrettably I think we should have at least visited Picasso Museum.

Things we probably missed in Southern Spain

Casares - part of Malaga province, a working village with a population of ~ 4000, at a ht of ~1400 feet and ~14 km from the sunny costa del sol is a picturesque white village. A white village with real character; widely photographed picture post card village. The houses are all painted white and dotted like sugar-cubes on the slope of a hill. See it from the top or the bottom the view is fantastic!! The village is beneath a 12th century Moorish castle which currently lies in ruins but remains accessible. Views from the top are stunning. The white village on one side and windmills spread across the landscape with Rock of Gibraltar in the background on the other. As the history goes, Casares during the roman times was allowed to print its own coins. The above photo is view from below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casares,_M%C3%A1laga

This is one place I think we should have driven to which I discovered subsequently.

Ronda

http://www.andalucia.com/ronda/home.htm

Benalmadena Cable Car ....

Gibraltar

In retrospect I think we missed these places due to lack of planning as we had a long drive and was keen to visit  Barcelona.

29^th August ,2011

Alicante

We spent a night at Alicante. Enjoyed the beaches .

We visited

The Castle of Santa Barbara:

The Castle of Santa Barbara is one of the biggest mediaeval fortresses of Spain that is located in the center of Alicante. This major landmark of the city stands on the top of Mount Benacantil, which offers the most fabulous views of the city. Whilst looking at the castle from El Postiguet beach, one can see an unusual projected part in the shape of a human face known as the Moor's Head.

San Juan Beach (La Playa de San Juan):

This premier sandy beach of the city is located around 4.5 miles from central Alicante. The long and open beach has been awarded the Blue Flag of the European Union. It is the perfect spot for sunbathing and swimming with a good selection of shops, bars, cafes, restaurants and water sports on the beach.

Aug 30^th and Aug 31^st,2011

Barcelona

We headed to Barcelona.

Had three days to look around the city.

Visiting Montserrat – We dorve down but had taken a wrong turn and went down a narrow lane up the rocky  mountains. It was truly scary and the SAT NAV for some reason kept taking us forward till we reached a point and decided to return to the highway. Every turn was almost like we will fall down a steep cliff.

El Corte Jingles – a great shopping chain

Sep 1^st 2011

Aqua Brava – a great water park

Sep 2^nd ,2011

We had to drive back from Barcelona to Madrid to catch our flight after driving through Spain for 3000 kms !

All in all I think we cover a fair bit of the main attractions with the time we had at our disposal!

Blogging and me

I admire people who regularly blog and always think they are epitome of self-discipline. I have struggled with it for the last 5 years and I really want to record events of my daily life as they have been amusing and challenging in so many aspects.

These four blogs listed below make me wonder “How do they manage?”

http://justamotheroftwo.blogspot.com/

http://indigoite.blogspot.com/

http://konnotation.blogspot.com/

http://dancing-for-beginers.blogspot.com/

Self – Discipline and putting self before others is what I truly struggle with.

There is always something to do. With two daughters and almost single parenting as my better half is away about 3 weeks in a month.

I recently chatted with an old friend and we discussed our children to what all our friends …their plans, and what they were up to for holidays etc. and even some aspirations…like what our friends and family aspire to do…. and finally my friend asked me ….What are you doing?....I almost had no answer……well I have concluded I need to bring my daughters up to the best of my ability and thatsNo.1 priority. It’s a single agenda item for the next 2 years and may be till 2020!...Thats when R will go to University!

 If I am not pursuing a corporate career which I would have loved to then that’s the way forward. I have completed 7 years not being in full time employment and I can see the fruits of my endeavour in my children and as I always say Charity begins at home. But there is a lot to do and numerous things I wish I could get them to do in the limited time.

It’s not that I indulge in just watching every family opera on TV but it’s just that there is so much to do each day that I struggle every day and wonder where my time has gone .

With renewed efforts I am trying to get back to bloggin regularly again after almost 3 months....

Dance for Life 2011

Dreams come True ....if you keep dreaming.my first visit to O2 will be to watch my daughter dancing!


So  proud that my daughter's dance groups won two rounds and will be performing at O2 in London for finals!

Holiday in Amsterdam

I have been meaning to write about this for very long ....life just seemd to have its wierd twists and turns today......I am going to write a Gratitude Post daily.....so that I keep myself in the positive zone....inspired by a blog posting by a dear friend!


Here is a short summary of what we managed to do in Amsterdam!

After a near miss catching our flight to Amsterdam we were well set out to enjoy what the city has to offer.

We began with Van Gogh museum. Truly amazing works, followed by the Rijkmuseum.

We had bought the Iamsterdam card for 72 hours  for EUR 59 each so we were all set to explore as many museums as possible. We completed our Day 1 with a canal cruise!

Day 2

We set off of to Zaans Schans – loved the windmills and cheese factory!

Keukenhof – was not impressed as the hype created but we did have a good time walking around

Day 3

Royal palace Amstedam , Nemo Science Centre was highlight for the day  and shopping!

Day 4

Amsterdam Museum

Bags and Purses Museum

Canal House

Else we were back shopping till we headed early to airport ...quite  lucky to change to an earlier flight back home!

Dubai Holiday

Long time since I posted anything!
And the day I decided to post Blogger was down for 20 hrs!


Highlights of the trip

Day 1

We had a wonderful trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi during the half term.

First day  - After a whole day of relaxing in the luxury of the hotel we ventured into Marina Mall supposedly the biggest in Abu Dhabi.

We had a good time looking around, window shopping. The malls in UAE are really big and on wonders if you will get around all the wings on one day.

Day 2

Confidence sets in.

Decided to venture out alone with the girls and took them ice skating.

I entered the skating ring for the first time and had one tutorial session for Riona.

Great place to learn ice skating as you don’t have to  be warmly dressed much to my surprise. Where else in the world can you ice skate in your summer clothes!

 Day 3

Took the intercity bus to Dubai and ventured with the girls to my cousins house. Needless to say a warm meal awaited us and the girls were so happy playing with their children. We went to the Gold Souk which is famous in Dubai!

Day 4

 Morning we went to Burjuman Centre and girls had make up put on them! The malls were fairly deserted in the mornings .Also the hype of Dubai Shopping festival al had just died down ….girls got to meet the magic uncle and saw some magic too before we ventured out to Ski Dubai …It was Thursday evening and weekend crowds had gathered and but Ski Dubai was an awesome experience! The evening was complete with an elaborate dinner at Hawa Mahal with Gazals.

Day 5

Visited Dubai Mall and Burj Dubai…Awesome experience to be on the world’s tallest building!

We also visited Global Village with a friend’s family from where I acquired my first African painting!

Day 6

We went Dessert Safari and sand dune bashing …awesome experience! And back to Abu Dhabi that night!

Day 7

We enjoyed the lunch buffet  at the hotel and went to the beach at Marina Mall…awesome beach to be followed by lunch with another friends family! We even had another family visit us at the hotel late evening!

Day 8

Flew back to UK after a great experience of UAE!

A friend who became best selling author

To read a work of fiction in familiar surroundings is not one usually gets a chance to do in life.


Here I have an opportunity to read a chapter of my life and how I grew up through an author who happens to be my best friend those years…A rarity in all ways …The book is a masterpiece of the surroundings I grew up .. I am thinking of giving this book to my girls when life’s decisions are thrust upon them …and say this is how it was and we still made it and you will it after all “Life is What you make it”



A very compelling title and a story that keeps you in touch with realities of conservative families in the late 80’s. The book also illustrates of how innocent our ambitions are how important they are at certain stages of life. It shows how one gets drawn into relationships that end in consequences beyond one’s control. The book captures circumstance in a real life yet things or actions least expected makes an impact .Finally everyone makes life the way they want it. It is only a matter of when!



The book is well written and keeps you engaged till end. It is set in a world where we had no modern gadgets and yet we nurtured long distance relationships and wrote letters.The world is so different yet ultimately “ Life is what you make it”

A life Story by a TCK - an 11 year old!

This was a classroom assignment given to my 11 year old daughter.
I consider her a live example of "TCK" Third Culture Kid.
I have abbreviated some names to Initials for obvious reasons.
Some of it does have her imagination but mostly it is her view / memory of her life in the last decade in 4 diffferent countries and six schools!

----hope you enjoy this!----I was very proud of her writing and impressed by her clarity in thinking!-


My Life Story




I was born in 1999, at 12:19pm on the night of December 11th in Saffron Hospital located on the suburbs of Cochin, India. During the operation I felt helpless; there was nothing I or anybody else could do to block the screams of terror from my ear. In the end I was placed on a red stool (in my eyes a red carpet) with many watching over me. I was now brought into the world, inquisitive about what I would come to be, when I realized it was real to be me.



Four days later I was to have a ceremony where a priest dipped me in water. This procession was the first of seven sacraments that I needed to complete in order to become a holy Christian. This act is called baptism, which is a gathering of many close relatives and friends when the baby (I) is vigilantly laid in the water symbolizing a new start because our many sins can be cleansed so that I can carry out a sacred life.



After three months our family of three travelled to Bangalore, a known city of extremes because of its poverty and wealth. I stayed in a three bedroom apartment in a cradle. I rarely took naps during the day but stayed alert in my den and was very persnickety with my food. A few days after I turned two I woke up to find a tooth wobbling. I first thought it was a scrap of something I ate recently but when I found it in the same state a day later I told my mom and she inspected the milk tooth and smiled reassuringly and took me to the sink and gently wobbled the tooth and carefully plucked the tooth without causing any pain. I then saw what was below my eyes; a tooth followed by blood pouring as I rinsed my mouth continuingly. As a reward for my patience I received a small orange sweet tablet which I sucked. As for my tooth, it was kept in a drawer until I was old enough to inherit it.



Our family of three was officially changed in to four members on August 27th 2002 ever since we moved back to Cochin to deliver the new born baby. My first sight of R was in the hospital where she sat snoring! I had a feeling we would be very diverse personality wise. When she awoke another 5 hours later she gave me an affectionate gaze as my parents picked her up and made their way back over to the seven seated car.



When I was four we all took a vacation to a luxurious 7 star hotel in Goa, recognized for its beaches. It was a thrill for me and my sister to be offered this treat and I still have many memories of frolicking near the shore, joining in with the seagulls. That was one of many things I will always keep close to my heart to remind me of my childhood in the 21st century.



I moved a third time in 2005 to Singapore which was prim and proper and well – maintained. The only disadvantage is that gum of any flavour is banned from schools, houses, parks and pavement premises but it doesn’t affect me in any way because I keep away from gum at all times because it could harm you if you accidentally swallow it. Here I attended a school called Global Indian School. I made many new friends and gained many new skills such as reading and learning our times tables. One unique compulsory thing I never came across anywhere else was Bharathnatiam which is an Indian cultural dance with many delicate hand movements. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I felt that the others were appalling at the dance for they never chose to remember the steps and this is why I was put in the middle in the front row so that everyone could have a view of me and if necessary copy the expert, me. We had an end of term show with an after party serving samousas, rice, fish, gravy and caramel pudding to wrap the evening up.



During the summer I took an expensive two-day cruise overseas Singapore. This excursion was lavishing, they had a deluxe buffet and a show to be present at on the deck every night. I remember there were a few talk shows with celebrities and their peeps. Unfortunately I was only 4 and three quarters to store this memory with exact details but I’m very grateful I had the chance to take a cruise.



When I got back to my flat in Singapore; I took my very first steps into water at the age of 6 only. There was a local swimming instructor who gave me private lessons regularly at 12:00 noon. The pool was in the open air but I didn’t need to worry about the warmth of the pool because the surrounding already proved I wouldn’t be chilly while going for a swim. For some reason I was reluctant to learn front roll but was willing to put effort into the three other strokes.



After a short stay (2 years) in Singapore once more to Taiwan which was the People’s republic of China, but was an independent country that spoke Chinese! What were we to do in a foreign region? Luckily an employee of the bank SC, where my father worked negotiated for us in her fluent tone. We were on a scavenger hunt for a new apartment when my father contacted us with good news. He was very impressed by one apartment but he couldn’t tell us the name because it was engraved in Chinese characters. It had a gym, badminton and tennis courts, a play area, a swimming pool, a cycling track and a shop selling many goods and merchandise like jade, a very expensive stone.



Now all that was left was our education in. The offices recommended two schools: Taipei American School and Taipei European School. My parents decided that we should be in separate schools so I went to TAS and my sister went to the latter. They were each highly rated in the society, Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. I started in Grade 2(Year 3) midterm till Grade 4(Year 5.) I settled in very adequately with a new friend called E. She was my buddy for the first day and soon my best friend along with S and J. In TAS Chinese was learnt by everyone and I found that a challenge but my parents were pleased and hoped I would immediately learn the language. For extra curricular activities I take part in jazz dancing, chanterelles singing and individual voice training. I find Taiwan one of the most beneficial countries I’ve visited because of its wide range of skills that I could acquire such as eating with chopsticks and attaining a persistent American accent.



I move yet again to United Kingdom in 2009 and for a change shifted into a new house instead of an apartment or condo. Here I lived in a house in Croydon situated in greater London. Thank goodness they articulate in English or else… I first was given admission to a school called Oval Primary School but soon transferred to Park Hill Junior School but had to repeat Year 4 and Year 5 because in UK the cut off date was different; August 31st but it was worth it because I made many friends along the way.



Now I am currently in Year 6 looking forward to many things such as the end of term play. I wish myself good luck in the future.

Visiting Rome

Its been just over 10 months since I travelled out of the country and it really seemed for ever....I had almost forgotten what to take while travelling as a family...We pinned down on Rome ( one must see cities!) as we were going during term time and couldn't afford to take the girls out longer.

So we decided we leave on an early Sunday morning flight so that we can do some sightseeing even on Sunday.All through I will mention things "What did I learn?"I thinks that's what will help any one visiting Rome next time.

the taxi drive from the airport to the apartment took us an hour and we were ready to begin exploring Rome by 1 PM.

We started with The Colosseum, followed by a tour guide who took us to Arch of Constantine,Arch of Titus and Palatine Hill.It will take you a good 3 hrs if you really like to immerse yourself what happened 2000 years ago....Amazing perspective on Roman History!

We walked back to the apartment only 10 minutes away after having dinner.and ice creams...being

We began the next day with visiting St Peters Basilica.....it truly shows the role of Christianity.....The opulence of the building's interior bears true testimony to the enormous wealth of the Catholic Church!

The Vatican Museum was a true eye opener ....The Sistine Chapel ....The museum seemed endless....

Post which we ended up shopping around Piazza di Spagna......the streets were lined up with all renowned brands and windows display on shops were outstanding...

Day 3 we decided to venture out on an open bus tour ....so that we don't miss any significant landmark of Rome. We visited the Pantheon ,Piazza Navona.....and finally after lunch decided to go shopping!We were lucky to get a 48 hrs pass as a special offer with kids free!


Our first mishap so shall I say unfortunate incident occurred....our camera fell down though we could continue to click pictures and the zoom functionality had stopped functioning!We were grateful it retained all pictures taken and it still worked.! But that was not the most disturbing experience I personally had.....I was nearly pickpocketed!  ( will write that on a separate post don't want you to be put off!)

We then took a bus to Porta di Roma shopping center .It is the largest shopping center in Italy and one of the most modern in Europe, with a total GLA of 97,000 m².We accidentally discovered it while trying to go to the fashion district which we didnt go as it was very far! Porta di Roma offers a good variety of fashion and daily needs which makes the shopping center attractive for leisure shopping and functional shopping. Needless to say we didn't visit all shops but loved the shopping there...We returned late as it a good one hour ride by bus from the main Terminal.....close to where we stayed.....

The next morning we were back on our Open Bus to have a final look at city of Rome.We stopped at Capitoline Museums and Piazza di Spagna.....We didn't have much time as we were warned of some political demonstration may delay traffic.....
We took the Airport express back to the airport to experience the Italian railway service.There was a lot of nice shops in the airport although we hardly had time to look around!

All of us were happy to be back in our own beds at home after the "Roman Holiday"!



Photos ...click on the link!





What did I learn?

1.We figured out for a 3 to 5 days trip from Gatwick its always better for us to drive and park at the airport!It is cheaper than booking the cheapest taxi to and fro .Also when you are in your own car you kind of feel your journey starts only when you reach the airport.

2. Although I have used several budget flights this is the first time I had experience of first come first serve seating although printing your baording pass and checking in does speed up the process at the airport as you can directly use the baggage drop only lane.So as soon as you drop the bags, it is better to queue up at the gate if you have any specific preference for the seat!

3. The cheapest and fastest way to get around was to buy a 3 day BIG Ticket ....travel is free fo children on with a 11 Euro ticket you can go around as much as you want!It will amaze you they have only two lines A or B with only one Terminal!

4. Rome was a great place to shop for curios and clothes!
and

5. Finally .....how close I was to be pickpocketed!........so be  VIGILANT all times!

Eleven Plus Exams

Well most of my summer has gone tutoring my daughter for these dreadful exams.

I found this video useful to explain the concept to one of my students.

Hope you find it useful!

Families in Transition

1. A moved from Taipei to Singapore
2. A moved from Mumbai to New York
3. A moved from Dubai to Singapore
4. A moved from Oman to Kochi
5. A moved from Taipei to Kualalumpur
6. A moved from Taipei to London
7. C moved from Taipei to Beijing
8. C moved from Nagoya to Chengdu
9. D moved from London to Kochi
10. D moved from Taipei to London
11. D moved from Dubai to Hongkong
12. G moved from Taipei to Portland
13. M moved from Taipei to North Carolina
14. M moved from London to Mumbai
15. N moved from Taipei to Bangkok
16. N moved from Mumbai to Singapore
17. P moved from Taipei to Dhaka
18. S moved from Mumbai to Wellington
19. S moved from Seoul to Beijing
20. S moved from Singapore to Sydney
21. S moved from Riyadh to Singapore
22. S moved from Jakarta to Hongkong
23. S moved from Taipei to Washington

I just listed most of the families that moved this summer who was personally known to us. Its amazing how Families transition each move. If you think they sound exciting , every move is equally painful in terms of logistics and all these are families who move their homes to new countries some of them which they may have never been to or heard of. Some movements are even across continents and a typical transition will take between 3 to 6 months from getting household effects shipped to the children finding their new friends in the next environment.

While most of the moves as is obvious are world class cities there are some like a move to Chengdu can be very daunting. It’s a city where you are likely to have not heard of or wondering what kind of schools and homes you would find and another 5 dozens questions that would follow with a typical move.

In this world of networking I feel very privileged sometimes how you can help out…so when my friend was moving to chengdu and it was announced on FB my first reaction was “Oh my God “ that’s a difficult move with two preteen girls to a city where English Language would be a rarity.I quickly responed that I knew two families who had moved there previously in 2007 and 2008 without any idea whether they still live there. Much to my surprise I immediately got am email saying she would be grateful if I can put her in touch with them.

So I did what I am at best dug out emails dating back over 5 years and hoped they still worked. I wrote to one of them and almost got an immediate response and also confirmed they lived there …..wow! It’s a great feeling if you help some one when you live so far away.

I turn 38

Not a major milestone yet I like to jot down what was my typical day!.It will bring memories to my daughters if they ever decide to check back.

One thing I always think what did my Mom do when she was 38.It just helps me to put things in persepctive.

When my Mom turned 38 I was almost 18 and in college doing my first year of undergrad.Getting me married in couple of years was definitely on the agenda for my folks.

I wonder what my daughters will be doing when they turn 38,hopefully they will be well settled in life....

Here I am 38 and tackling a 10 and 7 year old.Hardly can be compared.It was one of the rare birthdays Sedj was in town well I had to attend a training program to attend and he had a flight to catch by noon.But he did go out of the way to get me a nice card and wish me before we got onto our usual chores.

Its my second birthday in UK and I can say I feel very settled.I spent significant time in schools and am on the governing body of two of them.

Other activity that takes time is tutoring my girls..well thats been there for sometime and continues I am also considering taking up tutoring children between 7 and 11.

I have enrolled for CIMA which is a management accounting course - a tough one and hopes to puruse it so that at 40 I can seriously consider getting back to workforce with an updated qualification.

I have finally started swimming lessons and hopefully will be an ace swimmer in couple of months.Hope my instructor is there till then.

and the last thing on agenda as has been for the last 6 years is Reduce as in lose weight....it seems to be never happening any suggestions anyone...but I have to and its becoming almost essential and urgent.hoping I would make some headway here this year ....

Do you know what is P.O.S?

Its been the second time this is happening I try to get into the discipline of posting a thought every day and miserably fail!
Apologies for that!

Yesterday I learned an acronym -in a "Internet Safety" session.
I consider myself quite internet savvy although I dont own the latest iphone or any thing to that kind...I always thought I was on top if the happenings.
One underlying reason I keep myself updated I know for sure my daughters will be ahead of me soon and I should be aware of the latest till they pass the vulenrable age!

So I was surprised when the P.C Mark (stands for Police Constable in UK unlike the Personal Computer I grew up with) I was taken aback I didnt know that.
And I believe children as young as 5 type that if parent peers over them!

He did say LOL and a few others but this one made me sit up!

P O S is Point of Sale terminal - in the modern technical jargon
P O S - as an Indian eceonomics student I remember it as Post Office Savings


But this one isnt that!


Scroll down and check it out!
Needless to say I will be delighted if you care to leave an comment!
Thanks in advance!



<

Parent over Shoulder

Of course they have a lot more than just that!
TOS- Teacher over Shoulder

to SOS - Someone over shoulder and so on!





Dont forget to leave your comment!

NaBloPoMo

I was trying to post every day of the month in Feb when all of a sudden ....circumstances took over and then I was unable to continue...and never could get back...so today when I received an email from NaBloPoMo, I said to myself "This is it!" Let me get back.

Writing Prompt for Tuesday, June 1, 2010.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I really have no vivid memories of what I wanted to be....I knew I will be one day married to someone my parents choose but that never worked out that way!

When I was recently cleaning up my home...I found a music notebook I had picked up from my home I grew up.I always have heard my parents mentioning I played the violin very well and started learning when I was three and so on..I often repeated that verbatim without being sure whether it was really true and often wondered if it was true.




I found this note book which actually says ..my first violin master in the right hand corner has written started in April 1976 I would have been 3 years and 10 months and I cannot believe I could follow the notes and actually play the instrument.

I did not pursue playing.... never was musically inclined....I think my parents tried till I was about 10 and gave up.It never appealed to me as an instrument.
But this page is a proof That I did learn and I for sure recall I was playing till 1983 because my school and I were included in various scenes of a famous movie called "Koodevide" I actually remember playing for the film!...dont remember if I ever featured in the final release!...

Vivid memory of my parents effort to teach me to play an instrument....I can still read notes and never agreed to my children choosing violin even when they wanted to...I told them to learn piano ....which I wanted to when I was little but never did till this day!

What to see in Dubai

Well my Dubai Saga continues.

Here is something I forgot to mention our first day in Dubai both me and hubby was awake over 24 hours.
We have to be get out of our homes by 4 AM so that we reach the airport at 6AM due to a transport in Kerala "our home state" in India.

So we had an unusually long wait of 4 hrs for an otherwise on schedule flight.
We arrive at Dubai only to have lunch and head for Quad biking and tour of city by the night...It was not over yet ...we went to meet a cousin who is celebrating his birthday.It was about midnight and spent couple of hours with the family and by the time we got back to our beds we realised that we had been awake for 24 hours...

Turn your Blog into a book

I thought this was amazing...I am not sure how long this existed.
By click of a button your entire blog can be turned into a book.Amazing!
Apologies if you all were well informed of this much much earlier.
It was my discovery of the day!

Yes they charge you ( a lot at the moment)but I still thought it will give a different perspective to the art of blogging!

I was thinking when my daughter walk out of home for university it will be a great gift to give them ..something to keep with them on their growing up!

Click the link below if you want to try it!

Turn your blog into a book

What to see in Dubai

Continued.

We had a wonderful drive through the city and watched the fountain at Dubai Mall.

I have been to over 10 cities where I was impressed be it New York,Paris,Sydney,Tokyo,Singapore but nothing like the sheer size and glamour the way the mall is.

It is indeed the ultimate,cutting edge experience of shall I say window shopping.
They boast of over 1200 outlets and a Gold Souk.

It has an acquarium and underwater zoo.
And the Dubai Fountain was superduper.
We were indeed lucky to see the world's largest dancing fountain.

The video sums up the essence of Dubai of what we saw!


A few photos from my personal collection - Dubai by night


At the acquarium



Fountain in Dubai Mall

What to see in Dubai

We had a stopover in Dubai during our transit.

We were extremely lucky to be hosted by a friends family.

Our first activity for the day was Quad Biking. And what struck me is the distances and the speed at which you were driving well over 100kms per hour...scary but it really didnt see so fast on the perfect Dubai Roads.

Then our friend too us for a Dubai by night drive!
The city was lit up so beautifully!