Friday, March 23, 2012
Spring has sprung in D.C.
This week was much calmer than last week and I spent as little time walking as possible. Nothing too exciting happened at school. I gave my first test in Pre-Calculus and started my third chapter with Algebra II. I'm only going to teach 3 of my classes two more times. Crazy! The term ends on Friday, so we'll have a half day and it's the last day of school before Spring Break. Any guesses as to how many kids don't show up? A lot of my students were gone by the end of this week on various school trips. I'm kind of jealous of the kids that went to Europe. They will be gone up until the day before Spring Break. I ask myself, "What's the point in them coming back? It's not like they can make up all the work they missed in one day. Lucky ducks." I did get a little break. Today was professional development day, so I didn't have to plan any lessons for today. Yay! And as if that wasn't exciting enough, I got to go to a very scrumptious brunch this morning. I love food! I got to sleep in an hour, got a tasty meal and our meeting got out an hour early. From our meeting, I walked to the Tidal Basin and took pictures of the cherry blossoms with all the other 4 zillion people there. Despite the crowds, I think I got a few that are worth framing. I came home from my little stroll and starting working on my Teacher Work Sample. It's a portfolio of a unit that I taught that I have to turn in to BYU. If I don't pass it, I don't graduate. No pressure. I'm about two thirds done now. All I've got left is the hard part. Joy. Oh and I did a little job hunting this week too. I've got fingers crossed for some things to work and I've got my toes crossed for extra luck on others. The semester's starting to wind down and April is coming fast. Before I know it, I'll be home. I've got to make the most of these last few weeks (25 days to be exact, but who's counting?) This is my time to shine and live it up. I've got miles to go and promises to keep, but for right now, it's time for me to go to sleep.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
The buddies laughed as they walked and walked and walked and walked....
Sorry it's been so long but let me catch you up on what I've been doing. I've been walking and teaching and walking and grading and walking and planning and walking. Did I mention that I've been doing a little walking? You see, my best friend from high school, Annie, spent her Spring Break out here with me. She flew in last Friday morning and as soon as I got out of school the week of walking began. She and her uncle (Uncle Keith who happens to be in my Stake Presidency) picked me up from school and we went to lunch and then the National Zoo. It was a beautiful springy day and it was so nice to see Annie. The zoo was a blast! We laughed and cracked jokes and had the best time. Then Uncle Keith took us to the temple so we could see it. We got there just in time to see it in the most beautiful light that comes at the beginning of the sunset. From the temple we went to Uncle Keith's house to stay the night, grabbing a few groceries on the way. We dropped off our groceries and then went to dinner. I had almost forgotten what real food tasted like. We went back to the house and we got to hear some of Uncle Keith's stories about all the cool places he's lived (Mexico City, Brazil, Beijing, Thailand...) By about 10:00 we were all exhausted and a little after 11:00 we were all in bed.
For the first time in 2 moths I slept in a comfortable bed in the most beautiful room. The windows in the room were on the east side of the house so I woke up around 8:30 to the sun shining on me, feeling perfectly rested. Annie and I got ready for the day, had our breakfast and Uncle Keith took us to Mount Vernon. The second time around was even better. We walked around the entire grounds and had a grand time laughing with each other. At one point the three of us got the giggles at something one of the workers said. When they send you on tours of the mansion, they break you up into groups. Well this particular worker informed us that they "typically break you up into groups of between 20 and 21 people". We all waited until she was out of ear shot and then laughed at the idea of 20.5 people in a group. After the tour of the mansion, Uncle Keith left us to explore the rest of the grounds and the museums. Then Annie and I walked two miles along the George Washington Parkway Trail. It's a pedestrian trail that goes through the woods between the Potomac River and the George Washington Parkway. We called Uncle Keith and he met us at the 2-mile check point, picked us up and from there we went to Old Town.
We did a driving tour first. We saw all up and down King and Duke street and stopped for a photo shoot at the George Washington Memorial Masonic Temple. Then we drove back to King Street and did a little shopping and had dinner. After dinner Uncle Keith drove Annie and I to my apartment. We took our stuff upstairs to my place and then walked to the grocery store for more food and brought it home. Then we went upstairs and borrowed a mattress from the other girls in our group. We brought it back down to my apartment, got it set up and crawled into bed around midnight.
Well with the long week of teaching beforehand, two straight days of adventure and Daylight Savings Time, I slept through my alarm and we missed my ward. So we got up and walked to church to catch sacrament meeting with the ward that meets after mine. Then we walked home and changed back into our adventure outfits. We started our adventure by walking back to the grocery store to get the groceries that I left there the night before (oops!). Then we jumped on the Metro and went to Arlington Cemetery. We walked around there for a bit, watched the changing of the guard and two wreath laying ceremonies, and went to the burial site of JKF. Then we walked back to the Metro and went to the Pentagon Memorial walked around there for a while and walked home.
Monday I went to school and when the day was over, I walked to the Mall and met up with Annie where we continued to walk until Annie got pooped on by a bird. Perhaps it wasn't very nice of me, but I laughed so hard. She FLIPPED! She really doesn't like dirt or germs and that almost did her in. We promptly walked to the Metro and came home so she could change her clothes. A little while later her cousin Betsy picked us up and took us to dinner. Mmm! Pizza!! It was so tasty! After dinner Betsy took us to see Iwo Jima (the Marines monument). When she dropped us off at my place we made plans for another outing Wednesday evening to see the Mall at night. I was very excited for that! We got up to my apartment and once again I collapsed.
Tuesday I got early again and went to school. After school I walked to meet up with Annie again. We went home dropped off my heavy backpack and headed out for Old Town again. This time we got to take our time and not have to worry about boring Uncle Keith with all our shopping. We walked up and down King Street, did some real shopping mostly for Annie's souvenirs and a lot of window shopping. Then we came home and Annie helped me with my grading. We tried to get to bed kind of early because we had a big ahead of in the morning. Annie was going to come to school with me for Pi Day!
So we woke up around 5:30 and got ready for school. We got to school and had a Pi Day party with my first period class. Some of them thought that it was lame and that they were too cool for it but I think they're just being dumb teenagers. They need to learn to have a little fun. The rest of us had a grand ol' time eating pie, listening to a cheesy song about pi and I read them a children's book about pi. I think the party went off without a hitch. Second period was homeroom and they made waffles. Third period I had planning period so Annie and I walked to Georgetown for some cupcakes. Mmm! Clearly today is not about eating healthy :) We ate our cupcakes and I walked Annie back to the Metro so she could go to a museum before going to meet up with Betsy for lunch. Then I walked back to school and had another Pi Day party with my fourth period class. From school, I went to my weekly seminar where we ate more pie since the majority of us are math teachers. After the seminar I walked to the Metro and met up with Betsy and Annie for our nighttime tour of the Mall. We parked the car and walked around the Lincoln, Korean and Vietnam Memorials. Then we got back in the car and drove to the Tidal Basin where we walked around the FDR Memorial and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. I got to see my very first cherry blossoms! They are so pretty!! After our tour, we went to dinner, had another piece of pie and then Betsy took us home. We walked in the front door of my apartment at 11:45 (fifteen minutes before midnight), kind of late for a school night, but it was SO worth it.
By Thursday morning I was starting to feel it. All this walking and burning the candle at both ends and in the middle was starting to wear me out, but I wasn't throwing in the towel yet. I still had Annie for two more days and I had to make the most of them. Thursday I got observed by my supervisor again. She said that I keep improving which made me really happy. After school I walked to the International Spy Museum and met Annie for our last full day of fun. We crawled in air ducts, took a couple forbidden pictures, walked some more and laughed a lot. We stayed until it closed and then walked to the Metro and came home. We cooked dinner which we were too tired to eat and crashed around 10:30.
Friday, I woke up telling myself I only had to make it to 12:30. I had fourth period planning so I was going to leave school at lunch to see Annie off. One of my students from third period pushed my buttons and I almost went to get the principal to handle the situation, but we got it resolved and the period ended. I've never been so excited for the weekend in my life. My sanity was slipping through my fingers and I had had all that I could take. I needed a break. I ended up having to stay through lunch to help students but at least they were the nice ones. When I got my chance, I booked it out of there! I met up with Annie at the Mall again. We walked to the Metro and went home so she could finish packing. Then I saw her off to the airport, went back to my apartment and took the rest of the weekend off. I posted a few pictures of our week, took it easy and went to bed extremely early (9:30). I slept straight through the night until 8:30 the next morning. Feeling well rested again, I woke up got ready for the day, put on my St. Patty's Day socks, and got to work. I did all my laundry, cleaned my room, and spent the remainder of the day grading papers while watching movies.
Today was the first time I left my apartment since Friday. I went to church, came home, read a little Narnia, went to lunch at the second councilor in my bishopric's house, came back home, put on my sweats and resumed the lesson planning and paper grading. Well folks there you have it. The week of walking and laughter. It's been the most intense week I've had out here, but it's also been the most fun. I think I'll give my feet some time before I do that again though. I have 9 school days left to teach and 29 days until I come home. The light at the end of the tunnel is starting to burn bright but I've got miles to go before I'll have everything done and be ready to come home.
For the first time in 2 moths I slept in a comfortable bed in the most beautiful room. The windows in the room were on the east side of the house so I woke up around 8:30 to the sun shining on me, feeling perfectly rested. Annie and I got ready for the day, had our breakfast and Uncle Keith took us to Mount Vernon. The second time around was even better. We walked around the entire grounds and had a grand time laughing with each other. At one point the three of us got the giggles at something one of the workers said. When they send you on tours of the mansion, they break you up into groups. Well this particular worker informed us that they "typically break you up into groups of between 20 and 21 people". We all waited until she was out of ear shot and then laughed at the idea of 20.5 people in a group. After the tour of the mansion, Uncle Keith left us to explore the rest of the grounds and the museums. Then Annie and I walked two miles along the George Washington Parkway Trail. It's a pedestrian trail that goes through the woods between the Potomac River and the George Washington Parkway. We called Uncle Keith and he met us at the 2-mile check point, picked us up and from there we went to Old Town.
We did a driving tour first. We saw all up and down King and Duke street and stopped for a photo shoot at the George Washington Memorial Masonic Temple. Then we drove back to King Street and did a little shopping and had dinner. After dinner Uncle Keith drove Annie and I to my apartment. We took our stuff upstairs to my place and then walked to the grocery store for more food and brought it home. Then we went upstairs and borrowed a mattress from the other girls in our group. We brought it back down to my apartment, got it set up and crawled into bed around midnight.
Well with the long week of teaching beforehand, two straight days of adventure and Daylight Savings Time, I slept through my alarm and we missed my ward. So we got up and walked to church to catch sacrament meeting with the ward that meets after mine. Then we walked home and changed back into our adventure outfits. We started our adventure by walking back to the grocery store to get the groceries that I left there the night before (oops!). Then we jumped on the Metro and went to Arlington Cemetery. We walked around there for a bit, watched the changing of the guard and two wreath laying ceremonies, and went to the burial site of JKF. Then we walked back to the Metro and went to the Pentagon Memorial walked around there for a while and walked home.
Monday I went to school and when the day was over, I walked to the Mall and met up with Annie where we continued to walk until Annie got pooped on by a bird. Perhaps it wasn't very nice of me, but I laughed so hard. She FLIPPED! She really doesn't like dirt or germs and that almost did her in. We promptly walked to the Metro and came home so she could change her clothes. A little while later her cousin Betsy picked us up and took us to dinner. Mmm! Pizza!! It was so tasty! After dinner Betsy took us to see Iwo Jima (the Marines monument). When she dropped us off at my place we made plans for another outing Wednesday evening to see the Mall at night. I was very excited for that! We got up to my apartment and once again I collapsed.
Tuesday I got early again and went to school. After school I walked to meet up with Annie again. We went home dropped off my heavy backpack and headed out for Old Town again. This time we got to take our time and not have to worry about boring Uncle Keith with all our shopping. We walked up and down King Street, did some real shopping mostly for Annie's souvenirs and a lot of window shopping. Then we came home and Annie helped me with my grading. We tried to get to bed kind of early because we had a big ahead of in the morning. Annie was going to come to school with me for Pi Day!
So we woke up around 5:30 and got ready for school. We got to school and had a Pi Day party with my first period class. Some of them thought that it was lame and that they were too cool for it but I think they're just being dumb teenagers. They need to learn to have a little fun. The rest of us had a grand ol' time eating pie, listening to a cheesy song about pi and I read them a children's book about pi. I think the party went off without a hitch. Second period was homeroom and they made waffles. Third period I had planning period so Annie and I walked to Georgetown for some cupcakes. Mmm! Clearly today is not about eating healthy :) We ate our cupcakes and I walked Annie back to the Metro so she could go to a museum before going to meet up with Betsy for lunch. Then I walked back to school and had another Pi Day party with my fourth period class. From school, I went to my weekly seminar where we ate more pie since the majority of us are math teachers. After the seminar I walked to the Metro and met up with Betsy and Annie for our nighttime tour of the Mall. We parked the car and walked around the Lincoln, Korean and Vietnam Memorials. Then we got back in the car and drove to the Tidal Basin where we walked around the FDR Memorial and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. I got to see my very first cherry blossoms! They are so pretty!! After our tour, we went to dinner, had another piece of pie and then Betsy took us home. We walked in the front door of my apartment at 11:45 (fifteen minutes before midnight), kind of late for a school night, but it was SO worth it.
By Thursday morning I was starting to feel it. All this walking and burning the candle at both ends and in the middle was starting to wear me out, but I wasn't throwing in the towel yet. I still had Annie for two more days and I had to make the most of them. Thursday I got observed by my supervisor again. She said that I keep improving which made me really happy. After school I walked to the International Spy Museum and met Annie for our last full day of fun. We crawled in air ducts, took a couple forbidden pictures, walked some more and laughed a lot. We stayed until it closed and then walked to the Metro and came home. We cooked dinner which we were too tired to eat and crashed around 10:30.
Friday, I woke up telling myself I only had to make it to 12:30. I had fourth period planning so I was going to leave school at lunch to see Annie off. One of my students from third period pushed my buttons and I almost went to get the principal to handle the situation, but we got it resolved and the period ended. I've never been so excited for the weekend in my life. My sanity was slipping through my fingers and I had had all that I could take. I needed a break. I ended up having to stay through lunch to help students but at least they were the nice ones. When I got my chance, I booked it out of there! I met up with Annie at the Mall again. We walked to the Metro and went home so she could finish packing. Then I saw her off to the airport, went back to my apartment and took the rest of the weekend off. I posted a few pictures of our week, took it easy and went to bed extremely early (9:30). I slept straight through the night until 8:30 the next morning. Feeling well rested again, I woke up got ready for the day, put on my St. Patty's Day socks, and got to work. I did all my laundry, cleaned my room, and spent the remainder of the day grading papers while watching movies.
Today was the first time I left my apartment since Friday. I went to church, came home, read a little Narnia, went to lunch at the second councilor in my bishopric's house, came back home, put on my sweats and resumed the lesson planning and paper grading. Well folks there you have it. The week of walking and laughter. It's been the most intense week I've had out here, but it's also been the most fun. I think I'll give my feet some time before I do that again though. I have 9 school days left to teach and 29 days until I come home. The light at the end of the tunnel is starting to burn bright but I've got miles to go before I'll have everything done and be ready to come home.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
I'm rather fond of walking.
Since I've been out here, I've traveled many miles and most of it has been on foot. I'm good really good at walking places. I've learned how to get by without a car. Since I'm out hoofing it around D.C. everyday, I've realized something. I love going on walks! Not just a little bit. A lot! I love to just take my time and take it all in! The neighborhoods are my favorite. They are so quaint and quiet. The houses are beautiful! It's kind of funny that I would come all this way to see the sights of our nation's capitol and fall in love with the neighborhoods in the suburbs.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Cell Phone Police, Cool Points and My First Trip
What a week! I got so pumped for Pi Day (March 14 because it's 3.14). I already have the festivities planned, but I can't tell you right now. It would spoil the surprise. So, you'll just have to wait for another week and a half. Get excited though. It's going to be epic!:) This week, I felt like I really took on the role of teacher. It felt more natural and things just started coming to me. I caught 4, count them FOUR girls in a single class with their cell phones. I have to admit that I almost laughed. I mean, either they weren't all that sneaky or I have a sixth sense. It was awesome!! It actually gave me an opportunity to talk to those girls after class and get them on my side a little more and the rest of the week I saw a big difference. Speaking of students and seeing a big difference....my one student that I was having problems with had a much better week after I contacted her parents. That's a tally in the win column folks! Whoo! I'm on a roll!!
After school on Wednesday, I was helping a student and she gave me three cool points, two of which came from having "There's a whole in the bucket" on my iPod and playing it for her. Looks like Chloe will be in the running for favorite. Just kidding! But I really am grateful for students like her that will laugh with me through my mistakes , be patient with me through the rough times, and have fun with me and enjoy the good times. It's those kinds of students that make teaching so worthwhile. I love feeling cool even if she thinks I'm a little crazy. :)
After helping Chloe, I got on the Metro and went back to my apartment. There was a quartet singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" at the entrance of the Metro Station and it put me in an even better mood. I was all aglow. Life could not get better. I got off the Metro still floating somewhere between cloud 8 and 9, when I came crashing down....literally. For the first time since I've been out here, in my life and possible in the history of man kind, I tripped up the escalator. Who does that?! All you have to do is stand there and it will do the work for you. Well apparently I was a little too excited to stand still, so I decided to walk up it. Now I usually walk up the escalator, so I've had plenty of practice but we all know how little grace I have. It was bound to happen. But don't worry, there's more to the story. So after tripping and catching myself with my hands just in time to save my face from meeting the steps of the escalator, I thought I had better try to play it cool and keep trucking. I took one more step and what should happen? My shoe goes flying down the escalator behind me. Right in the middle of rush hour, really? It's like my subconscious wanted to play Cinderella or something. The Metro Station during rush hour is most definitely not the time or place for that. The worst thing is that there's no pulling that one off or covering it up. You're going to get caught. And get caught I did by the man behind me who coincidentally caught my shoe. He was kind enough to walk it up to me, but I didn't have time to get it on before I reached the end of the escalator. So, for fear of being trampled I continued to walk looking very guilty with one shoe on and the other in my hand. All the man said to me was "One of those days, huh?" to which I promptly replied, "Oh yeah. It's Wednesday." "It's the third Monday of the week." was his friendly reply before we went our separate ways. I walked the rest of the way to my apartment with a bruised hand and a wounded pride laughing all the way.
The rest of the week was more like fourth and fifth Mondays as the shoe catcher would've called them. I struggled with counting and saying words in the right order or simple mundane everyday things but my students and I got a few good laughs out of my week full of Mondays. I know there were a few rough weeks, but I feel like those are behind me for the most part. I'm sure challenges still lay ahead, but I feel like I can take them on now. There's only 18 school days left to teach. I can look back now and see how far I've come and I feel good about it. No, I am not the perfect teacher. I'm not even half the teacher that I want to be one day, but I am twice the teacher that I was and that's the important thing. It's crazy to think that next month I will be coming home. It's coming so fast and I'm excited and at the same time I feel like I'm just getting the swing of things out here. Luckily I still have this month to live it up and make it all count. :)
After school on Wednesday, I was helping a student and she gave me three cool points, two of which came from having "There's a whole in the bucket" on my iPod and playing it for her. Looks like Chloe will be in the running for favorite. Just kidding! But I really am grateful for students like her that will laugh with me through my mistakes , be patient with me through the rough times, and have fun with me and enjoy the good times. It's those kinds of students that make teaching so worthwhile. I love feeling cool even if she thinks I'm a little crazy. :)
After helping Chloe, I got on the Metro and went back to my apartment. There was a quartet singing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" at the entrance of the Metro Station and it put me in an even better mood. I was all aglow. Life could not get better. I got off the Metro still floating somewhere between cloud 8 and 9, when I came crashing down....literally. For the first time since I've been out here, in my life and possible in the history of man kind, I tripped up the escalator. Who does that?! All you have to do is stand there and it will do the work for you. Well apparently I was a little too excited to stand still, so I decided to walk up it. Now I usually walk up the escalator, so I've had plenty of practice but we all know how little grace I have. It was bound to happen. But don't worry, there's more to the story. So after tripping and catching myself with my hands just in time to save my face from meeting the steps of the escalator, I thought I had better try to play it cool and keep trucking. I took one more step and what should happen? My shoe goes flying down the escalator behind me. Right in the middle of rush hour, really? It's like my subconscious wanted to play Cinderella or something. The Metro Station during rush hour is most definitely not the time or place for that. The worst thing is that there's no pulling that one off or covering it up. You're going to get caught. And get caught I did by the man behind me who coincidentally caught my shoe. He was kind enough to walk it up to me, but I didn't have time to get it on before I reached the end of the escalator. So, for fear of being trampled I continued to walk looking very guilty with one shoe on and the other in my hand. All the man said to me was "One of those days, huh?" to which I promptly replied, "Oh yeah. It's Wednesday." "It's the third Monday of the week." was his friendly reply before we went our separate ways. I walked the rest of the way to my apartment with a bruised hand and a wounded pride laughing all the way.
The rest of the week was more like fourth and fifth Mondays as the shoe catcher would've called them. I struggled with counting and saying words in the right order or simple mundane everyday things but my students and I got a few good laughs out of my week full of Mondays. I know there were a few rough weeks, but I feel like those are behind me for the most part. I'm sure challenges still lay ahead, but I feel like I can take them on now. There's only 18 school days left to teach. I can look back now and see how far I've come and I feel good about it. No, I am not the perfect teacher. I'm not even half the teacher that I want to be one day, but I am twice the teacher that I was and that's the important thing. It's crazy to think that next month I will be coming home. It's coming so fast and I'm excited and at the same time I feel like I'm just getting the swing of things out here. Luckily I still have this month to live it up and make it all count. :)
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