'Tis January 6th, and I am much overdue for a blog entry.
Sitting in my office here, preparing for the rush of students tomorrow, I am excited for the fresh start, but also a little leery of beginning again- and what that might bring. Have almost 3 weeks off makes me a little nervous that I will forget a name, or somehow forget how to interact with high schoolers. I think these are irrational fears, so I shall prompty forget them and focus on my excitement, whew, okay!
Although my break was both fulfilling and relaxing, I somehow managed to catch what we suspect (and tests shall confirm or deny shortly) to be the whooping cough, in addition to a sinus infection. Ah, so literally every day since Christmas now I have been dealing with the additional stress of illness, but amazingly so- I still had a wonderful time with family and friends over break... and other than raving about my students, I put little thought into school work... One idea I did procure over break, which I am thoroughly excited about, is a "would you rather" board... YES! I think this will be a great avenue for conversation with the students...they can add their ideas to the questions I ask, such as "would you rather be a monkey or a lion" and "would you rather be able to fly or read other people's thoughts?" Yes, I know- quite profound, really. :):)
It has been good to be back and see my fellow volunteers again... just last night I had a conversation with Rachel about our reflections over break, our undecidedness about a lot of personal choices, and our resolve to be more positive and faithful this second half. I really enjoy fresh starts, and this one in particular is exciting for me- here are a few of my ideas:
-Not eat as much fried foods (already broken, but hopefully redeemable)
-Take a Lakota Language class (and quickly learn the specifics of registering for that class)
-Speak only positive things of my co-workers and housemates
-Not spread my illness (yikes, it's considered a disease!)
-Read through the NRSV translation of Scripture
-Take care of myself physically and emotionally.
Okay, so you might be thinking "this is pretty boring stuff, Em- I mean, usually you have stories about students to share, or something of that nature"- but must I remind you that I have recently been on a 'siesta from school'; hence- no great student stories until...TOMORROW!!!
Um, I retract that last statement- I actually want to share with you a bit about my bus driving experience in Rapid City the weekend before Christmas. First of all, the wrestlers are a great bunch of students, and they made my time worthwhile. The first day they took it easy, practiced a bit and such, and after watching the guys' b-ball game in the evening, I was to pick them up behind the civic center. I stroll out to my bus, feeling pretty good about the day (minus the awfully cold weather)....only to find that the massive amount of space I had thought would be surrounding my bus only amounted to 2 feet in the front and 4 feet in the back. The front was blocked by a suburban, but the back was thankfully blocked by a car pulled in at an advantage angle. Thus, after resolving to NOT go inside and make a "move your car, please" announcement, I tested my maneuvering skills. After a few- perhaps several- pulling forward and reversals, I managed to successfully squeeze out of the space, WOW! Yes, I did feel pretty great about that, but more great about the lesson "Empty spaces WILL fill up with time- be cautious of where you park a bus."
Later that night when I was picking up the guys, the process took a whole lot longer than expected, and this security guy came to direct me into a parking space behind another bus to wait, so... as I am backing up to do a parallel parking job of sorts, a senior wrestler who is pretty 'tough' and not all that talkative, says to me as I'm backing up...in all seriousness..."Oh my gosh, aren't you scared? I'd be SO nervous if I were you right now!" It was a funny reminder that having a CDL somehow makes guys respect me more as a woman...and that I enjoy! The best part of the day came when two of the junior wrestlers exited the bus and to thank me for driving, they both gave me hugs!!! Awe, so sweet- which is sometimes necessary to counteract the several random trips back to the bus to unlock and re-lock (in nearly negative weather conditions). Hmm, all in all, a pretty wonderful experience.
Okay- this is it- I'm calling it quits on my rambling, for my housemate Katie is about to arrive and I would like to be home to greet her!
A few things to look forward to in my next post:
-hopefully I am well. (Okay, I'M looking forward to this) :)
-An update on my new student teacher friend, Corey
-Responses to the "would you rather" wall.
That's all for now, folks! May you experience the abudance of all life offers as 2008 begins in full swing for us all!
Emily Nicole
Final Post
15 years ago
3 comments:
First of all, let me say "Welcome Back" to your blog world. My wife always got sick over Christmas and Spring Break as a teacher. She said she was exposed to all the germs during the year but didn't have time to get sick. Bam! have time, get sick! I think it was the hugs as she was leaving that gave her something to travel with.
I love your idea to get the kids to think out loud. I don't think our teachers convey to our students that it is OK to have their own opinion. You could further build on this by allowing them to give you answers in writing and post them (without names of course) I would encourage you to help them build a plan for the future and discuss those plans with them. The worst thing young people have done to then today is we don't help them understand that a good education and a lot of work will be rewarded. My wife and I grew up poor and we both have worked hard to get to the top. After over 70 years (combined) we have finally achieved a place where we have everything we need and most of what we want. (I throw in that there is also a WalMart nearby) Have a great new Year and I am looking forward to reading your adventures. Love the bus story. MUD
question...do you have the whooping cough? i love you.
Wow...I hope you're feeling a little bit better! Thankfully, I did not get sick from the flight to France, even though I usually do! I'm excited to be able to keep up with your adventures from this side of the world!
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