{"title":"An Innocent Abroad","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"still-innocent-abroad-book-david-m-addison-9780993493225","title":"Still Innocent Abroad","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn this sequel to his award-winning \u003cem\u003eAn Innocent Abroad\u003c\/em\u003e, Scot David M. Addison continues his account of a year spent as an exchange teacher in Missoula, Montana in the western United States.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e When he embarked on the exchange, the author vowed he would embrace every experience (within reason) that came his way and mostly they were reasonable, though there were some he would not care to repeat.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In the course of this book, he experiences seasonal activities such as Hallowe'en (American style), Kris Kringle and Thanksgiving. He also sits his driving test in his wreck of a wagon which he not-so-fondly dubs The Big Blue Mean Machine and whose malfunctions continue to plague him in this book, just as they did in the last.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Nevertheless the author and his young family put their trust in it to take them, in winter, on the 1,200 mile round trip over the snow-clad Rockies to visit relations in Canada - just for a long weekend. Which just goes to show you that although he may have learned some things, this author from a small island is still very much an Innocent abroad in this vast and mountainous land to even contemplate embarking on such an expedition - particularly since he set out so ill equipped.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Meanwhile, at school, he is on his best behaviour as he tries not to repeat the shocks and alarms of the first few days when he found himself up to his neck in trouble with parents out to get his guts for garters. The reader will not be disappointed to discover that he still finds some parents and students challenging. At the same time, he is also on his guard for attacks from the enemy within - his practical-joker colleagues who are all too keen to exploit his innocence for their own amusement.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The narrative ends with the traumatic events at Christmas. It would have been a memorable day whatever happened, but no-one bargained for the Addisons turning their hosts' Christmas Day into one they would not forget in a hurry.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49545616982289,"sku":"GOR010014178","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52616546255121,"sku":"NLS9780993493225","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52741252219153,"sku":"NIN9780993493225","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/099349322X.jpg?v=1750706323"},{"product_id":"innocent-abroad-book-david-m-addison-9780993493201","title":"An Innocent Abroad","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen, in 1978, taking a bold step into the unknown, the author, accompanied by his wife and young family, swapped his boring existence in Grangemouth in central Scotland for life in Missoula, Montana, in the western United States, he could never have foreseen just how much of a life-changing experience it would turn out to be. As an exchange teacher, he was prepared for a less formal atmosphere in the classroom, while, for their part, his students had been warned that he would be Mr Strict. It was not long before this clash of cultures reared its ugly head and the author found life far more exciting than he had bargained for. Within a matter of days of taking up his post, he found himself harangued in public by an irate parent, while another reported him to the principal for corrupting young minds. Outwith the classroom, he found daily life just as shocking. Lulled by a common language into a false sense of a lack of foreigness, he was totally unprepared for the series of culture shocks that awaited him from the moment he stepped into his home for the year - the house from Psycho. There were times when he wished he had stayed at home in his boring but safe existence in Scotland, but mainly this is a heart-warming and humorous tale of how this Innocent abroad, reeling from one surprising event to the next, gradually begins to adapt to his new life. And thanks to a whole array of colourful personalities and kind people (hostile parents not withstanding), he finally comes to realise that this exchange was the best thing he had ever done. This award-winning book (a prize title in the 2015 Bookbzz Prize Writer Competition for Biography and Memoir) charts the first four months of the author's adventures and misadventures in a land which he finds surprisingly different.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49601700266257,"sku":"GOR012896370","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52258671362321,"sku":"GOR009836688","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52597879570705,"sku":"NLS9780993493201","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52741243306257,"sku":"NIN9780993493201","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0993493203.jpg?v=1751172091"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/an-innocent-abroad-book-series.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}