Thanksgiving and more...

FYI:: I wrote this on Saturday, but I was not able to get on the internet until today (Wednesday)

Wow so much has happened in the last two weeks! Let me update you…

School Stuff…

Right after my last post, I was informed that one of the other social studies teachers had quit to take another job outside of education. Yes, she quit half way through the first semester. Yes, this happens often here. So since there is a teacher shortage, it’s not really possible to get a “long-term-sub” like you would do back in the states, and highly unlikely that you’ll be able to hire another teacher to take their place. So I knew that when I got to school Monday morning, I’d likely have new classes.

After some shuffling of the schedules…(at one point they had me teaching American Samoan history! Ah!)…I now have 7 new students in my 5^th period world history, making it my largest class. I also have an additional U.S. history class 2^nd period. However, since the administration wanted us to all still have a prep period, one of my classes was given to another teacher. It just so happened to be my rowdy 6^th period that I mentioned in my last post. Some of the students were pretty upset that they had to have a new teacher, and I was too. Even though they drove me crazy, I still really enjoyed teaching them. But the nice thing about Voc-Tech is that it’s a smaller school and I still see those students every day. A couple have even come in to ask me for help on their homework.

The other change is that I now have a new classroom. Yes, they moved me again! But I actually like the new room better. It is smaller and easier to keep clean (teachers clean the classrooms, not janitors). The ceiling fans actually work too. It still gets hot in there, especially with my big 5^th period class, but it’s not too bad. I’m becoming used to the heat. The only problem is that I now have a giant world map that I cannot figure out how to stick to the wall! I have tried 4 different times, using sticky tack, special tape, ect…and it will NOT stay up. I’m running out of ideas….any suggestions?

Thanksgiving weekend!!

It was definitely weird not being with my parents and sisters on Thanksgiving. But on Wednesday, while they were flying off to Iowa to visit my family there, I was participating in the school activities we were doing. The kids played musical chairs, tug of war, and volleyball….as a freshman class advisor, I played volleyball with the girls, and we won! It was a half-day, so after lunch we were free to go. I headed to the store to grab a couple things, then back home to pack up my stuff. Julie and I had a room at Sadie’s by the Sea booked for the weekend. We were so looking forward to just laying around, watching tv, using the internet, and relaxing in an air conditioned room. I was even more excited because earlier in the week the weather had been bad and Julie wasn’t sure if she’d be able to get on a boat to cross over to Tutuila. But Wednesday was nice and sunny and we arrived at the hotel within 5 minutes of each other. After a bit of hassle, we got our internet passes and spent the rest of the day watching college basketball and movies on Starz. Neither one of us have a tv in our houses here, so this was a HUGE luxury.

On Thanksgiving day we woke up early so that Julie (a Wisconsin native) could watch the Packers game. Later we skyped with family and friends, then went to the café here to eat…they had a pretty good Thanksgiving buffet!! After that we planned on going to lay by the pool, but ended up taking really long naps instead.

Friday was the day of my school’s playoff game. At 8 am! So I got up early and went to the stadium. My cheerleaders met me there and the game started in yet another downpour. We were playing the number 1 team, and sadly, we lost. But the fact that we even made it to playoffs was amazing…first time in school history!! Afterwards I met up with Julie, Rosa, and Amber at pizza hut and later in the day Julie and I went and saw the new Twilight movie.  (So Cheesy!)

Almost December Already?

And that brings me here, the internet is not wanting to work right now, so I am just typing this before going to lay in the sun and will post it later. I can’t believe Thanksgiving is over. We spent the last 6 weeks looking forward to our mini-vacation, and now it’s done. But that means our next vacation (Christmas break!!) is right around the corner… it’s so strange to think of how fast time goes when you are busy just going about your day-to-day life. I only have 2 weeks of regular school, then finals week, then we are done with the semester. After finals we spend 2 days at our WorldTeach mid-service conference before heading off on our vacations. So in one month I will actually be able to SEE my family in person, and be able to hug them. I can’t wait. The month of November has flown by, and I imagine that the next few weeks will too.

I do miss my family and my friends back home, and I imagine how my life will be when I return to Washington. However there are days (and lately, more and more of these days) when I honestly ask myself HOW am I going to leave this place? HOW am I going to say goodbye to my students? It breaks my heart even now, just thinking about it. I know it will be a hundred times worse in June. I got here in July, and have been teaching for 4 months. In that short amount of time, this place and these kids have changed me. I went into education thinking that I knew just what to expect, since my mom was a teacher. I had seen the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of a career in education. I thought that I was well prepared for it. But I was not prepared for the connection and bond formed with a bunch of crazy Samoan teenagers. And I will never be prepared to say goodbye to them.

But that day is still months away! And right now it looks like it may rain..again..so instead of laying in the sun I’m going to catch more shows on Bravo while I have tv!

Until next time….