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. :)