First mountain to beach experience

The cabin and a view of Guatemala.

This past week of school flew by and this weekend was one of my favorites since I got here. On Friday night, I went out with some friends to celebrate a friend's birthday at one of the clubs. It was fun to go out with everyone and we were dancing all night long. On Saturday, I slept in and then went with Valeria (another 5th grade teacher), her boyfriend and her mom to their cabin up in the mountains. It was beautiful and soooo much fun. Definitely something very different and relaxing to get away from the city.



The road STRAIGHT down from the cabin.

The house was WAY up in the mountains. I'm talking unpaved roads and necessary 4 wheel drive. The road was literally straight up. We went out to dinner in Ataco and then went back up, relaxed and watched Love Actually in Spanish. Sunday morning we woke up and her mom cooked us a delicious Salvadorian breakfast....eggs with ham, beans and tortillas, it was amazing. We packed up and left around 10:30am to make the hour drive down to the beach. Her uncle has a beach house that we hung out at for the day. It was so crazy going from freezing up in the mountains and by freezing I'm talking like 60 degrees haha to being at the beach laying out in only an hour.


The beach house. Most beach houses here have pools too, not sure why :)


Valeria and I on the beach.


Oh just hanging out reading in the hammock.

We spent the day relaxing at the beach and laying out, it was definitely the best of both worlds all in one day. This week is already off to a great start. One day down, one and a half to go. I can not wait for Friday to be here but I am not looking forward to the 70 degree temperature change in one day, I'm not sure the body is going to like that so much. I'm already dislike winter so am going to do my very best to not complain. Well I'm so excited to see everyone, I can't believe the time is actually here!

First trip to the Volcano

So after the long weekend it was hard to get motivated again for the week but the first week back flew by. Only the rest of this week and 2 1/2 days next week before I come home for break, I can't wait. The week was pretty normal last week, nothing too exciting. Looking back on it, I really don't remember what I did haha. Then the weekend was here. Friday I played in the Multisports Cup which was an event at the upper school. All of the varsity sports teams were playing against coaches, teachers and other parents. Well as life is here, the whole event was very unorganized and I had volunteered to play soccer about a month ago and then never heard anything more about it. Well Friday night I went down there and it was just me and the varsity girls so we just mixed up teams and some boys played too. It was fun but also kind of awkward.

Saturday I went out to lunch with some friends and then ran some errands and did some christmas shopping at some of the markets. At night, I went to an electronica/ techno concert. It was an interesting experience haha. A friend here is really into that kind of music and he Dj's so we was asking around to see who wanted to go. It was something different and a small group of us went. It was fun but super smoky in there. My clothes still stink like smoke, I miss places where you can't smoke inside.

Sunday I slept in and then laid by the pool for a while and read. In the afternoon, I went with some other Complejo people up to lunch on the volcano. It was beautiful up there both weather and views. There were spots that you could stop along the way and have a view of the whole city. There are a lot of restaurants up the way and it's only a 20-30 minute drive so I will definitely be going back.


This is a view from where we ate lunch. On top of one volcano, looking over another.

I'm struggling to be motivated this last couple of weeks. I am getting so excited to come home and have been talking to so many of you that I am ready for next Friday to be here now. This week will go by fast though and then next week is all fun and games at school and santa comes on Wednesday, hooray!!! haha. No big plans for this weekend yet but I'm sure something will come up throughout the week. Hope everyone is doing well at home and I'll see you all very soon. Lots of love!

First Salvadorian Thanksgiving

First Thanksgiving in El Salvador
So because the weather is still so warm here I had a hard time realizing that it was actually Thanksgiving. It was a great day, even though I was unable to be with my family. I woke up and just relaxed all day, hung out by the pool and was still adjusting to the idea that it was Thanksgiving and I was sitting by a pool. Later in the afternoon, one of the couples had a bunch of us over to celebrate so I had dinner #1. Then one of the guys in the complejo had invited me over so I went over there for dinner #2. I was bursting by the end of the night but it was delicious!! I'd say a successful first thanksgiving in El Salvador and definitely thought about all of the many things that I am thankful for....family, friends, experiences I will never forgot, food on the table, a house to live in, all of the things that I have....the list is endless.

First class trip to the Finca and first student in my house
So the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, all of the fifth grade classes walked all the way across campus to have lunch in the finca which is a little forested area up near the complejo. So we hiked all the way over and it was super hot so we were all sweating to death (rough, i know) but we ate and everything was going great and then one of my students says "Uhhhh Miss Marissa, I really have to go to the bathroom" and I said "Uhhhh, can you wait until we go back?" and that wasn't happening so it was either run over to my house which was super close or go all the way back to the school which was like a 5 minute walk so I said ok, let's run over to my house really fast. So that's what we did....she came into my house, met Sarka (she called her a small horse haha) went upstairs, used the bathroom and that was that. Definitely a first for me....


The girls in my class with the nina pinata at the Thanksgiving lunch.

First breakfast from the maid
So Friday morning I was going to the beach early in the morning and I got up and went for a run with a friend. I came back and Antonia,my maid, was here. She was cooking breakfast and said she thought I had still been sleeping because my door was closed and she was sorry that she hadn't been able to get my clothes out yet to start washing them but she was making me breakfast. I said....Antonia it's just fine and yes, I would love breakfast. So I showered quick and then had some lovely fried plantains, coffee, and beans for breakfast, it was great :) I also talked to her (because she usually comes when I'm at school) but she's going to start cooking for me so every Friday she will cook meals for me for the week, can't wait!!

After the lovely breakfast, I went to the beach for the night with a couple friends. It was soooo relaxing. We stayed in an all inclusive resort so all drinks and food were included. Meals were great and there was one waiter that loved serving us. His name was Luis and anytime we would come out to the pool he would run over to us and ask us how he could help us.


Drinking a coconut by the pool....delicious.


Emmy and I hanging out by our personal pool at the resort....no big deal.

First becoming a Salvadorian moment....at the salon
After the relaxing days at the beach, we decided we wanted to get our nails done so I called my friend Diana, whose family owns a salon here in the city and asked if we could go get our nails done. So we went over and got our fingers and toes painted and then they asked if we wanted anything else so they did our hair too. It makes me laugh because many Salvadorians go to the salon to get their hair done before they go out and I'm becoming one of them haha. Not sure what we are going to do tonight but just going to enjoy the last day of the vacation tomorrow before it's back to work on Monday. Only 2.5 weeks of school though until I come home and I'll be home in less than 3 weeks, CRAZY!

Wow I just reread this and I am living a ridiculous lifestyle right now haha i love it. I really do work sometimes too and get very stressed out and overwhelmed at times. I just choose to focus on all of the good things :)

First Baby Turtle Release

First baby turtle release

These are all of the baby turtles that we released into the ocean.

The school offered a trip on Wednesday after school to go down to the beach and release baby turtles. So 5 other teachers and 4 high school students went down. They talked to us a little bit about the different species of turtles and what we would be doing and then we went out to the beach. There were sooo many turtles that we released but they told us that only 1 in 1,000 survive and mature into adulthood. How sad is that? It was a really cool experience though and something very different. The mama turtles come up on the beach and then there are certain safe areas that people collect the eggs and leave them until they are ready to hatch and go into the ocean. Otherwise, other animals and people would steal them.



All of the turtles are making their way.



Here's me cheering my turtle on.


First Bake Sale
So 2 of the 6 fifth grade classes had their bake sale well "snack" sale this week so students brought in different items to sell to the other 3rd,4th, and 5th grade classes. It was called a "snack" sale because they could bring in no baked items. The school is trying to provide healthier snacks, so we were given a list and students were assigned an item from that list. It was items such as fruit, granola bars, lemonade, fruit popsicles, vegetables, frozen yogurt, corn on the cob, mixed nuts....haha the kids were like "But Miss Marissa, really?" But the kids still had a great time and it was hilarious watching them try to sell their item to all of the kids, shouting things at them and trying to bargain. One kid brought in pupusas and set up a whole station with all of the sauces and everything that you put on them, plates, napkins, everything. He was great!

First soccer game
I finally got to play soccer. I went over to the embassy on Monday and played with a few of the marines, a ton of people from the embassy and some random salvadorians both young and old. There were people of all ages and all ability levels. I was a little worried that I would be a little rusty but I actually did alright. I was definitely sore the next few days because when I play, I can't just not try so I was going all out and I'm very much out of soccer shape. But it was a blast and I definitely want to play again soon. Just need to bring my cleats when I come back from christmas. Playing in tennis shoes was a little rough.

First classroom tepee


So we are learning about the Native Americans and were talking specifically about the Great Plains tribes. So I decided...hey, why not make a life-size (well, classroom size) tepee for my classroom. The kids made decorations to put on the outside and I just bought 4 poles and some brown fabric and my friend Diana helped me put it together last night. The kids LOVED it today and were all fighting over who got to do their work in the tepee. It's pretty funny what a few sticks and some fabric can do to motivate kids.

Overall, life is going well. This week was rough at points but overall went really well. Being my first year teaching, I've learned soooo much and it's been a roller coaster of emotions. This weekend is going to be very busy...happy hour and then going to see Harry Potter tonight. Tomorrow a full day yoga/surf day at the beacn and then Sunday off to a different beach, back in time to go to a concert that one of my student's is performing in. Oooof, thank goodness next week is a short week! I'll try to post again after the weekend. I'm home exactly 4 weeks from today, wow!!! Love you all!

First Bingo Night

Last night was the big PTA Bingo Night at school. It is a HUGE deal and the whole community comes out. It's $6 for a ticket and then you can win fancy prizes like ipads, plane tickets, big gift certificates. In between bingo games, they would call out things like "first 5 kids wearing a blue shirt to the back table win a prize" and all the little kids would sprint to the table, pushing and shoving each other...it was quite dangerous. I didn't stay long because it was a little overwhelming, I just wanted to say hello to some of my students and it was so strange to see them not wearing their uniforms. I didn't win anything but in the time I was there, they only played a few games.

So this last week was a long one with lots of tension between teachers and intense meetings with people getting upset with each other. The 5th grade team consists of me, another american who is new this year, another 1st year teacher that is salvadorian and 3 salvadorians that have been teaching here for at least 5 years. Everyone is very opinionated and thinks that things should be done a certain way so I just choose to keep my mouth shut most of the time. However, this week I just couldn't take it.

We have to give semester exams in December....yes, cumulative semester exams to 5th GRADERS!! It's a little ridiculous if you ask me but I'm just going with the flow. So we were trying to get the study guides ready for the students and talk about what the exams are going to be. Well, the writing exam is that the students are given a prompt and they have to write a paper from beginning to end. They have to brainstorm, make an outline, edit,revise and then publish. So no one told me or the other new teachers that this was what the exam was going to be like so we have only done one assignment that we have taken through the whole process. One of the other salvadorian teachers has done 3-4 papers through the whole process so her students will obviously do better than ours! Same with math, we all agreed to give the same math tests at the end of each topic and then at the meeting the other day, she told us that she has been giving a different test. WHAT? We all decided to give the same one! Grrr

Everything with my class and my students is going very well it's just challenging in our teacher meetings at times. This weekend is going to be very relaxing. It's the first weekend in a long time that i have NOTHING planned and I can't wait. I have some work to get done but I plan on just laying by the pool and sitting around doing nothing, can't wait. Less then 5 weeks and i'll be home!! Hope everyone has a great weekend. Miss you all!

First Marine Ball

So this weekend was the big Marine Ball and it was soo much fun. We went to get our nails done on Friday and then just hung out and went to bed early to prepare for the next day. Saturday afternoon we got out hair done and I am not too picky about what my hair looks like so my friend Diana had found a few pictures online and I asked if I liked them and I said "Yeah sure, looks great" haha. So we went to the salon and it turned out soooo well, i loved it. It was parted on the side, with a french braid on one side and then the rest of my hair twisted in the back to a low curly bun off to one side. There were two other girls getting their hair done too and salvadorian style (things always take waaaaaay longer than they should), we were running very, very late. So late that I had 15 minutes to get dressed, do my make up and get ready to go. That was exciting. We ended up making it on time and everything worked out perfectly.


All of the marines are introduced and line up to be "presented".


This was the ambassador (the guest of honor) getting the first piece of cake-that they cut with a sword-interesting.

We got to the ball and the first hour was just drinks and socializing, oh and taking some nice prom style pictures. Then we went into the dining room and sat down before the Marine ceremony. It wasn't too long of a ceremony, the ambassador talked, they cut the cake, and we watched a short video....short and sweet. Then it was time to eat. We had salad, i had chicken, and then they had little mini cheesecakes and the big cake for dessert and open bar all night long. After dinner, the dancing started and I don't think I sat down once from 10pm-1am. I didn't really drink a whole lot because I was too busy dancing. It was a good mix of spanish and english music and oh my gosh I was sooo tired by the end of the night. Everyone was having a great time and just enjoying the night.


My friend Diana and I. Both dresses are hers (I borrowed one because I seemed to have forgotten all of my formal gowns when I came here.)


A whole group of us at the ball.

Today I relaxed most of the day and hung out with Sarka (the dog) because Holly was gone for the weekend. I went to see Wall Street at the movies this afternoon. It was good and only $3.25. I can definitely get used to that!! Nothing too out of the ordinary this week. We are already a week into November now, can't believe it. Also, I'm excited because now that Daylights Savings is done, we are on the same time zone!! Hope everyone had a great weekend.

First El Cuco Beach trip

So this past weekend we had a 4 day weekend because of the Day of the Dead holidays on Monday and Tuesday. I stayed around here for the first part of the weekend and then went to a new beach on the southern coast called El Cuco. Saturday night before we left on Sunday, I went to a Halloween party and dressed up as a crayon. A group of my friends from home were also being crayons so I decided to participate in their theme from down here :) I went down with a couple of friends and we met 3 of the families from the Complejo down there and all stayed in a beach house together. The only problem was an overheating car on the way down there but we solved the problem and just put a little water in until we could get to a gas station. The trip was lots of fun and a big group of us went. The beach was beautiful and you could walk for miles.


This was sunset on the beach!

We came back Monday and still had Tuesday off to relax. I decided to go watch Juan Felipe (my roommate Holly's bf) go paragliding because the spot they were going to was gorgeous!! It was over near the volcanos and we drove up a mountain...some true mountain driving...we drove through a small river and on a road that wasn't even really a road. There were 3 guys and they all got out all of their equipment and we got all set to go. We hiked up a little bit more and took everything out. It's quite the extensive process. They get out the parachute part and get all of their harness and landing bags set up and wait for a gust of wind and then take off running down the mountain to take off. It looks like a lot of fun-not sure I will try it though because it's quite dangerous.


This is Juan Felipe flying down the mountain. It was his first flight with the new "wing"-he was pretty excited!

This 3 day week is going well-glad tomorrow is Friday and it should be a pretty low key day. This weekend is the Marine Ball so I have to get all done up. It's like prom all over again. We have nail appts tomorrow after school and then are getting our hair done on Saturday afternoon before the big event on Saturday night. I'm borrowing a dress from a friend because I obviously don't have any ball gowns here. I'm not really sure what to expect but it will be an experience and something fun to do :)


A few friends and I on Halloween. I had a cone to top off my crayon costume but it kept falling off my head so I just carried it instead.

Another funny class moment
-So one of the boys in my class is really into this book that he is reading but it's in spanish so he's not supposed to read it in english class. So I asked him to put it away. He went and got another book but the next time I looked at him, he was hiding the spanish book inside of the english book so that it looked like he was reading the english book. It was hard not to smile because it was so cute and so great that hes so excited about his spanish book, it's just not the time!!! haha

Well that's what's going on in my life these days. This weekend should be fun and I'll try to post more pictures next week but my camera is currently MIA. Hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoys the weekend, miss you!!

First "small world" moment

So I was out with some friends last night and one of the guys girlfriend is here working for US AID and we got to talking and both said we were from the suburbs and she is from Aurora!!!! How crazy is that? Such a small world, kind of crazy!

Just forgot to add that to the last post.

LOTS of Firsts...

First Fall Festival
My class had collected enough coupons to earn a reward and so the class decided that they wanted to have a Halloween party but the principal here has to approve everything and she said No Halloween, No Candy, No chocolate. So the kids wanted to go "trick or treating" around the classroom for different things and brought things like pencils, stickers, erasers, little slinkies, random things. One mom came in with a popcorn making machine and made popcorn for the kids. The kids also brought in decorations to decorate the room and had a great time putting things up. It was a really fun time and the kids really enjoyed it.

This is a picture of some of the students decorating for the Fall Festival.


More decorating for the Fall Festival.


First Dance Production
So Friday Night was the Junior Dance Production at the school and a PRODUCTION it was. They spent near $25,000....yes 25 THOUSAND DOLLARS! They hire a choreographer to come in and they do about 7 different dances to all different types of music. In between each dance they have a music video that they had professionally made recreating some old songs. It was WAY over the top and there were restaurants and other businesses there with stands, 3 volvo cars out front for sale, it was ridiculous....quite the experience. The dances were slightly provocative too, lots of thrusting and shaking....would definitely not be allowed in the states.

This is a picture of the stage for the Dance Production. The big screens on the sides are where the videos were played.

First silly spanish moment
So I've been practicing Spanish with a friend every Tuesday and Thursday. Sometimes we talk in Spanish and other days we talk in English because she is trying to improve her English. Well I was telling her a story in Spanish the other day and I was trying to say "Thank god" and she helped me and told me it was "Gracias a dios". Well I started laughing because I hear people say that all the time but when you say it fast together it sounds like "Gracias Adios" like Thank you, goodbye and so I always thought thats what people were saying and was always very confused. Diana laughed at me for a good 10 minutes and still makes fun of me to this day.

First tears
So I rarely ever cry....if I'm happy or sad. But this past week I was feeling very emotional for some reason. We had the honor roll assembly and all of the parents come and the students who got the Honor Roll get recognized for their efforts. Well when my students were getting their names called I started to tear up and got all emotional and I was thinking, what is going on here? Haha I was so proud.

Well this weekend is a long one with Monday and Tuesday off for Dia de los Muertes (Day of the Dead). I'm heading to the beach tomorrow for the rest of the weekend and just relaxing around the house today. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the lovely fall weather you are having :) Miss you lots!

First El Tunco experience

So this weekend was a friend's bday so a big group of us went down to the beach and stayed at a beautiful house for the weekend. We went down Friday and just hung out, had some drinks and relaxed. Saturday morning...woke up, some people went surfing and others just stayed back at the house and laid by the pool and hung out. I stayed by the pool. The day was wonderful, I took 2 naps in the hammocks, read 1/2 a book and got some good sun. Before dinner, I went down and hung out on the beach at this surf cafe while one of the girls surfed. It was nice, met some new people and watched all of the surfers. The waves were HUGE but a lot of the surfers were really good and fun to watch. We went back to get ready to go out in the evening. We went out in El Tunco which is the beach party town. I had never in but it was pretty much what I expected. A lot of drunk people dancing, hitting on you and stumbling all over the place. It was fun but definitely not really my scene. It was still fun though and we had a good time dancing all night. We were all pretty tired from being in the sun all day so we went back semi early so we could get up and have another full day today.


This is one of the bedrooms at the house. There are 2 other rooms just like it.

Same as saturday, some people got up super early and surfed and others stayed back. I went along with the surfers this time but just sat on the beach and talked to the people there. One girl brought her two dogs too so I was playing around on the beach and in the water with them too. We headed back semi early because we all had some stuff to get done today and one girl had to catch a bus back to Guatemala. We did stop at a fish market on the way back and ew,ew,ew! It made me never want to eat fish again. All of the fish was just out there with eyes and all and it stunk sooo bad.


This is the pool where I spent much of my time. Waterfall and whirlpool included :)

Overall, it was a super fun weekend. I'm feeling ready for this week and we have a long weekend next weekend so that will be nice. I think I'm going to go along with a couple of the families here in the complejo and a couple other people that rented a beach house in another part of El Salvador. The families each have a 1 year old so who are adorable!! Well, that's all I got for now. Hope everyone had a great weekend.


Dining room area and hammocks where I took most of my naps!

First set of full parent teacher conferences

So I have been slacking....A LOT. I just haven't felt like anything was THAT exciting to post about but now I'll fill you in on my life in the last week or so. So last weekend was fun....went to the embassy on Friday night and then a party at the complejo. Saturday hung out around the pool for the day and then went out to dinner with some friends and hung out at their apt in the evening. Sunday went to the beach for the day and met some Canadians who were really cool. This week has gone by really fast. I can't believe it's already Friday and time for the weekend again.

Today was Parent/Teacher Conferences all day so the kids had no school which was nice. They went very, very well. I only had to do a few in Spanish but got them done. All of the parents were very nice and told me how much their kids love being in my class which made me feel good. I also got a few more invites to lake or beach houses at some point so that's exciting. I also had a couple of parents cry because they were so proud of how well their kids are doing. I wasn't sure how to respond to them but just told them that their kids totally deserve it and are working really hard. Overall, a success and completed my first set of parent teacher conferences.


This is a picture of the classroom. Everyone was asking....so here they are.


This is from another angle. The set up of the desks change all the time and next week will be in a different way.



This weekend I am heading to the beach all weekend. Leaving tonight and coming back Sunday. It's a friend's bday so we are staying at a beach house and I can't wait. It's a big group of us going and should be super fun. Next week is a regular week and then another long weekend the following weekend because we have November 1st and 2nd off for Day of the Dead. October is almost over and it has flown by.

School/teaching are still going really well. My class is great but we definitely have our issues every now and again. A few of the boys are getting a little bit too comfortable in class so we are working on getting that problem fixed. That's all I really have for now. I'll write again after the weekend when I have more things to talk about. Until then, enjoy the pictures of the classroom!

First emergency drill

So this weekend was great....Friday, 2 of the parents from the school invited all of the teachers from the Complejo over to their house for a sushi night. Their house was beautiful and they are such nice people. A whole group of us went over there and ate, hung out, and relaxed after the long week. I went to the beach on Saturday and hung out by the pool all day Sunday. I could definitely get used to that lifestyle. Teach all week and lay out all weekend...it's pretty great.

This week is off to a good start so far. I'm just enjoying teaching so much and things are going so smoothly. Today we had our first emergency drill at school. That was an interesting experience. So when the alarm starts going off, the kids are supposed to get under their desks while I count to 30. Then we all line up and walk outside to the field. Once we are there, they stand in 2 lines....a boy line and a girl line. They have to stay quiet while we take attendance and then we sit outside and wait...and wait....they call out random family names that have lots of kids in the school to make sure that everyone is there. It took 30 minutes, but at least it was nice out.

After school I had spanish class. Classes are going well...Monday,Wednesday at school and Tuesday, Thursday with my friend Diana who is trying to learn English, so we help each other out. I also got an email today that made me tear up a little bit. So every Monday I send out 5 positive emails because parents usually only get negative things. The parent's responses have been sooo positive. One of the mom's responded to me today and said that she had never received such a positive email and that her son has never been so motivated in school. He is so happy in my class and that their family feels so fortunate that he's in my class. It is moments like that that make me realize how much I love teaching.

Well the rest of this week is a normal week. No big plans for this weekend, probably more of the same. 1st quarter grades go in this week so I will be busy getting all of those entered. Next week I have a day full of parent teacher conferences and I'm actually pretty excited. Hope everyone has a great week!

First half day and professional development

So this week went by soooo fast and things are going wonderfully. I love my class so much and we have so much fun. I am definitely in a routine now with the kids so we know what is expected in our classroom. During the week, I had lots of Spanish classes and went out to dinner with some friends at an Indian restaurant that was delicious (I guess it was another first for me...eating Indian food). The food was good but it was super expensive!

I have the Spanish classes at school after school on Mondays and Wednesdays and then am meeting on Tues and Thurs afternoons with a salvadorian friend named Diana. She is trying to improve her English so we switch off working in English and working in Spanish. I feel like I am getting a lot better which is good because.....

Today we had a professional development meeting in the afternoon and it was entirely in Spanish which was just awesome. NOT. I was able to understand probably 85% of it but there were still some things that went over my head. It was pretty boring actually (even in Spanish) and was about "Managing and Handling Difficult children in the classroom". It was 2 hours long and it could have probably been 15 but oh well, I survived.

I'm so glad today is Friday and have a few parties tonight and then am planning on going to the beach tomorrow and possibly Sunday too to relax and hang out. Tonight is one guy in the complejo's bday and then another couple is having everyone over for sushi night, can't wait!!

But overall, life is great. I can't believe we are already a week into October now. I'm going to be home before I know it. I will write again after this weekend but just wanted to check in and let everyone know I was thinking of them. Hope all is well. Love you all!

First earthquake

So I have experienced LOTS of firsts in the last couple of days and I don't even know where to begin....

1. First earthquake....Thursday night I was just laying on my bed looking up something on my computer when all of a sudden I hear the things starting to shake and I'm like hmmm I wonder if this is an earthquake? Then it got a lot stronger and things started shaking harder. I decided it would probably be a good idea to go downstairs so I headed down where my roommate was in the living room but by then it had stopped. It wasn't a very big one and only a few things fell but it lasted about 15 seconds probably and was definitely the strongest earthquake I had ever felt and some of the other teachers that have been here 3 or 4 years said that it was the strongest they had felt in the time they have been here too.

2. First discussion with the principal on my observation....she was very impressed and had lots of good things to tell me about what she observed when she came into my class. She did however have a few suggestions of things to work on but they were all silly things like....a few students had their feet up on the bar of their desks, one student had a water bottle in the classroom, one needs a haircut and a couple boys were chatting a bit so she suggested that I move their desks haha. Overall though, it was great. She said 2 things that meant a lot to me. The first thing she said was that when you enter my classroom there is just a feeling of calmness. You can tell that all of the students feel comfortable and that I rarely ever have to raise my voice. That I am very calm, which then in turns allows the students to relax. She said that she thinks my strengths are time management and classroom management. She said that in the past, many of these students have had lots of discipline problems but they are so well behaved in my class and engaged in the learning. Another thing she said was that she knew when she hired me that I was going to do a great job. She said that a few people were concerned about hiring a first year teacher from the states and that she rarely EVER does that but with me she saw something great and knew she was making the right decision. I guess she will come in 3-4 more times throughout the year at different times throughout the day to observe different subjects and things so we'll see what happens.

3. First yoga class at a yoga studio. I went with a friend to my first yoga class after the retreat because I enjoyed it so much. Well, the class was all in spanish and I don't really know the names of the poses in English so that was interesting. I had to do a lot of looking around at the others to see what I was supposed to be doing haha, it was a great class though and I'm going to try to continue going at least once a week.

I'm definitely starting to get into a weekly routine here and the weeks are flying by. I can not believe that it is October already and I'm sure it will fly by, then November we have only 2 full weeks of school so that will fly and then it's December already. I was telling the kids yesterday that we only have 2 more weeks of first quarter and then we are a quarter of the way done with the school year. How crazy is that. I can't believe it. I love my class so much though, I spend more time with them in a day than I do anyone else haha. Well that is all for now. I went out last night and am hoping to just relax for the rest of the weekend. Miss you all!

First serious conference/observation..both on the SAME day

So this week got a little intense very quickly. I had emailed a few parents last week about setting up a conference time because I had some concerns about their kids. Well then I got an email yesterday from the secretary saying that one mom was coming in today. Whoa ok great. So I had to quickly prepare for that and decide what I was going to say.

Well the mom came in and we talked about my concerns and what we could do to move forward and better help her son. So I asked how things are at home and she said that he is pretty much in control at home and that she gives him $1 everyday for doing the things that she asks him to do like pick up his things, etc. I wanted to say ARE YOU KIDDING ME? No wonder he acts the way that he does. He acts like he doesn't have to follow the same rules as the other students and now I see why. She basically told me that I have to praise her son like crazy in order for him to behave or do things that I ask. I was like ummmm ok I can try that but I'm not going to over do it either. We also have this other system that we are trying out with him so we'll see how that goes. Well that was in the morning and then after lunch...surprise! The principal comes in to do a surprise observation, so thats just awesome.

Sometimes I like that I am so easy going because I wasn't really nervous at all and was like well, ok here we go. She just plopped down in the back of the room and took notes but was in there for 45 MINUTES!! I had talked with other teachers and they said she usually stays for 10-20. Well either she was very concerned about something or was really enjoying my class. She got to watch us do a little spelling pretest, go over the answers and then talk about our class election. The kids gave their speeches and I think she may have stayed to hear some more of those. I am meeting with her on Friday morning to discuss what she thought.

Also, apparently El Salvador is now on red alert because of all of this CRAZY rain we have been having. Red alert means that all of the schools have to close because of the unsafe conditions. Well lovely Escuela Americana decided to be the only school to NOT cancel tomorrow so I again get to trudge all across campus in the pouring rain, awesome!! Well I think that is all for today, I'll write again soon!

First time dog sitting

So Sarka (my roommate's dog) and I have been hanging out a lot this week/weekend. My roommate (Holly) went back to the states for her sister's wedding so I was put on dog duty. Well I don't mind dogs but they also aren't my best friends in the whole world. Well early in the week, things were good. She went to a neighbors house for a couple nights because they have a dog that is friends with Sarka so that was nice. Well apparently that dog is crazy and Sarka is very peaceful so I said it was fine to bring her back to our apt. Well that probably wasnt the best choice. Sarka doesn't like to sleep alone in Holly's room so I had to sleep in there all weekend. She just whimpers and whines if she is in there alone. Well then she was all distraught from the change of location so she wouldn't eat for a few days. Then she started eating again but then threw up this morning. The dog is crazy and thank god Holly is getting back tonight haha.

I also wanted to post a few pictures from the lake when I tried kneeboarding. The mom sent me the pictures so I thought I would put some up.



Pulling yourself up onto the board was the hardest part.

This week will be a normal week and then this weekend I might go with some friends to some parties at the beach, still not sure yet. After this past weekend of solid rain,rain,rain it would be nice to get away for the weekend and do something exciting. Well hope all is well, miss you lots!

First laugh out loud moment

Two things happened today that I just had to share...

1) We were playing a game in math to practice multiplication where there were two teams....boys vs. girls and I had written a bunch of answers on the board. I called out a problem and each team had a fly swatter that the first player needed to go swat the number on the board. Well a few times one of the teams would swat the incorrect answer so the other team would have a bit more time to make sure they got it right. Well there is one boy in the class that has a hard time paying attention and is always distracted but he was REALLY into this game. So one time the girls swatted the wrong answer and he got soooo excited and was like "OK, TAKE YOUR TIME! YOU HAVE ALL THE TIME IN WORLD" and he was soooo into it! I loved seeing him actually be excited about something. I wanted to say something to him about being quiet and not yelling but I just started laughing.

2) We are having a class election on Monday because we are learning about democracy, forms of government, and voting. So the kids had to decide which position they wanted to run for and then write a speech about why they think the class should vote for them. Some of the speeches are sooo cute and the kids will give them on Monday, they are really excited. Well a few kids were asking me if they could bring stickers or little candies to give to people to try to get votes. To start with I was like...stickers, ok....a little candy, ok....then I get to one of the boys and he asks if he could bring personalized scissors for everyone and a FISH!!!! I was like uhhhhh scissors, maybe.....a fish, no way!! But he could not understand why that wouldn't be ok. He told me that he could just bring in his tank and everyone could take a fish home in a cup. hahaha I was trying so hard not to laugh and didn't know what to say. After that ordeal, I decided that it would be better if nobody brought anything. I turned it into something positive and made something up like "It should be about what you say anyways, not what you bring to give to people" haha

Oh it was a hilarious day. Tonight I'm going to the embassy with a bunch of other American teachers for happy hour and then probably just relaxing. Tomorrow, one of the other teachers here is having an Oktoberfest party so that should be fun. It's supposed to be pretty rainy and there is a hurricane in the area so it might be a great weekend to curl up, watch some movies and lay around. Can't wait :)

First Surf/ Yoga retreat

The retreat was amazing. We left Friday evening and drove the 45 minutes down to the beach house that we would be staying in for the weekend. The house was amazing. There were 3 bedrooms, an outdoor living room area, dining room and kitchen. Huge deck area where we did the yoga and then the pool. It was gorgeous and the weather made it even better!!

We had great meals all weekend. All vegetarian food and amazing! There were 2 other people from El Salvador and then 4 teachers from the American school in Guatemala. It was a good group. Saturday morning we woke up and did some yoga. I had never done it before so it was definitely a new experience. I really liked it though and it was very relaxing

This is the table where we ate all of our delicious meals. This was breakfast, complete with fresh coconuts.

After our morning yoga, we relaxed around the pool and then went down to the beach. At the beach, we did a bunch of synergy yoga or partner yoga. It was fun and intense because you really had to trust the other person. After the beach, we had some lunch and sat around the pool. In the evening, we went to a sweat lodge. It was this little cave and I mean little. They crammed about 20 people into there and it was pitch black. Then they brought in burning rocks and a man was talking about things and pouring water on the rocks so it was getting very very steamy. I didn't really like it that much so when they opened the door one time to get more rocks, I left and hung out in the pool outside until the ceremony was finished. Saturday night was more eating and relaxing.


The waves were HUGE over the weekend so we practiced in the pool, learning the basic idea of how to get up on the board.

Sunday morning, I had a thai massage which was awesome! It was 100x better than the massage I had last time. That last massage was kind of painful but this one was really different. We had another morning yoga session, another trip to the beach and then just hung around the resort. We came back Sunday afternoon but it was such a relaxing, wonderful weekend that it was hard to come back to reality for work on Monday. I got some sun too which is always nice. I think I will try to continue doing yoga because I was definitely sore and it was very relaxing. I think I might go on one of the retreats again in the future. It was a great time!

First kneeboarding experience

So today was the big day. We had the day off for Independence Day and I went with a student's family to their house by the lake. It was a great day and so much fun. We got there around 11am and relaxed for a while before going out on the boat/jet ski. There were 5 other teachers from the upper school that went along too because my student has an older sister too. So it was the other teachers, the sister, Shelly, my student, and the parents. The whole family was soo nice. I went on the big boat with most of the group and we were all knee boarding. I had never done it before but I got up on the board and did really well (pictures of that are to come later). It was such a good time. After we were out on the water for a while, we went back to the house and had lunch. Sooooo much food, it was delicious. Burgers, tamales, corn on the cob, cake, ice cream, cookies and m&ms. Amazing!


Sitting on the deck by the lake.

After dinner we sat by the lake chatting and relaxing, it was wonderful. It was a really nice day but felt strange that it was a Wednesday but feels even more odd that I have school again tomorrow. I'm going to be so sore tomorrow too from the kneeboarding. My arms were burning sooo bad while I was doing it.


View of the back terrace, complete with volleyball court below.

I'm so excited for this weekend too cuz I'm going on a surf/yoga retreat. Should be a good time. Lots of relaxing, learning how to surf, doing some yoga, thai massage and eating all cleansing vegetarian food. Just have to get through 2 more days of school first :)

First invite from a student

Hello!
This week has gone really well. We had a full week, no Labor Day off for us, but it has gone by soooo fast. I can't believe it. Another week down. The weather has been gorgeous the last couple of days too which really helps out a lot. We have a four day week next week though because of Independence Day on Wednesday. Which brings me to the invitation....

So one of my students is part of a big family that goes to the school so she has lots of brothers and sisters in the middle and upper school. This family is very well known in the area and owns a department store here similar to a Sears maybe? Anyways...she invited me to go with her family to their lake house on our holiday next Wednesday. She was so cute and told me that I didn't need to bring anything and they would drive me. All I needed to bring was myself, my bathing suit and a change of clothes. I could even bring a friend if I wanted to and a few of the other international teachers were invited too (by her siblings) so I would know other people that were going. She was so cute and I told her that I would love to go. It will be an interesting experience and something that would be such a no-no in the states. Culture here is just so different and it's not uncommon for this type of thing to happen. I can only imagine how ridiculously nice the house must be too. The mom asked me if I know how to water ski and told me that if I didn't, her daughter would be able to teach me haha I'm excited. It should be fun.

Other than that, this weekend will be nice. Tomorrow night we have another little happy hour/ TGIF party at one of the apartments here and then Saturday I'm going to meet up with some ladies for lunch. My friend Hanna's mom had some friends coming down here so they sent a box of things with them to give to me. I'm excited to see what they sent :)

I also started Spanish classes at the school this week. I was put in the intermediate class which surprised me but I did just fine. So every Monday and Wednesday after school, we meet for an hour and a half. It will be so great. I felt good too because when the teacher was talking and introducing the class and stuff, I understood everything he was saying. It's definitely all coming back to me. Other than that, not a whole lot. Hope everyone had a great week and enjoys the weekend! Lots of love!

First pictures of the apartment

More pictures of the house are to come but here are a few....


This is the living room/dining room and oh hey there's Sarka :)



This is my backyard.


This is some crazy plant that is growing in our yard. It looks like a pink pine cone and feels very waxy but if you push too hard it collapses in.


This is the kitchen.

My room is still a work in progress but I will put pictures of that up once it is more complete. Enjoy!

First "I love teaching moments"

This week at school went really well. The kids and I are in routines now and know what is expected at different times throughout the day. We had the first math test and most of them did really, really well. There were a few moments throughout the week too that were so rewarding and reminded me how much I love teaching.

1.On Wednesday, we had been talking about simple and complex sentences in the morning and practicing identifying conjunctions of complex sentences. Well later in the day, we were reading about the scientific method in the science book and one of the girls raised her hand and says “Miss Marissa. That is a complex sentence and the conjunction is and”. Haha It was so great and I loved how she was thinking about things we had learned earlier in the day.

2.We started reading Esperanza Rising as a class this week. For now, I have been reading it to them and having them follow along. There are points along the way that we stop and talk about important events, make predictions or talk about vocabulary words. Well there were 4 pages left in the chapter but we needed to go to music so I said “Ok, we are going to have to stop there for today” and the kids were like “Nooooooooo! Can we finish it when we get back?” haha they were so into it that they couldn’t wait to see what would happen next and wanted to finish the chapter. It was so cute and I love how engaged in this book they are

This weekend should be relaxing. I have some errands to run and other things to get organized for next week. No labor day off for me. My next day off is September 15th for Independence Day. Hope everyone has a great weekend! Love you all!

First $10 massage

So I have never had a massage in my whole life and people here get them pretty regularly so I thought I'd try it out. There are a few people that come to the complejo and give cheap massages. I mean $10 for an hour long massage, you can't really pass that up. The lady came over after school and it was wonderful. A great way to wind down from the day. I was so relaxed all evening and slept great last night.

I can't believe tomorrow is already Friday. This week has gone by so fast. Overall, the week has gone really well. We started our first class novel, Esperanza Rising, and the students are really into it. There are parts in Spanish so they laugh at me when I don't pronounce them exactly correctly or with an "English accent" they always giggle and say "Miss Marissa, you have such a funny accent". I really love my class though! We also had our first math test this week and I was a little worried because they were having a lot of trouble with the concepts. As a whole, the class did really well. There were even 3 kids that got over 100% with the bonus question. There were also a few that didn't do so well so I'm thinking since it was the first test, I may give them the option to retake it. So many of these kids are little perfectionists so I don't want them to get down on themselves after just one test. I explained to them that it was one test and they will have plenty of opportunities to make up the points.

This weekend I don't have too much planned. Hopefully relaxing quite a bit and maybe going to the beach. I have another Spanish lesson tomorrow after school. A friend of a friend is helping me out with my spanish. We got together for an hour and a half on Tuesday and spoke only Spanish. She is so helpful and refuses to let me speak English. I'm sure my grammar was horrible but she would ask me questions about things and we were just talking about all kinds of things....some of my students, my family, studying abroad in Ireland, my day at school. My spanish is definitely getting better and better.

Other than that, nothing really new going on. Very rainy weather because it's technically the "wet" season but it's usually at night so isn't a problem at all. I'm hoping this weekend is nice so I can get some sun. I hear it's been pretty hot at home so hopefully it starts to cool off soon. Miss you all!

First Open House....check

I survived my first open house and it went soooo well. I was not nervous at all and was just thinking "well this is me, if they like me they like me, if not, im not going to change who I am to try and impress them". Pretty much my outlook on life :) We all started out in the cafeteria where the principal and director talked to everyone and introduced us to all of the parents. Then we went to our individual classrooms to set up any last minute things. The parents all came down 10 minutes later and came into our rooms. The spanish teacher came to my classroom first so he did his little 10 min speech and then I was on...We had to give the parents a bunch of information and the yearly curriculum plan but I figured the parents could read all of that on their own and didn't need me to read it to them so I just talked about myself and my philosophy on teaching and things specific to my classroom. The parents were all so nice and it was so funny to try and figure out which parents went with who before they introduced themselves because so many of them look just like their kids.

They all told me how excited they were that their children were in my class and many said that their children have told them how happy they are in my class. It made me feel really good. It was a long day but I really enjoyed it. This week is off to a good start. Today was fun and hopefully the rest of the week goes well. It's a nice breath of fresh air to have open house done.

This past weekend was nice too. I went over to Valeria's house for her birthday so was able to meet all of her friends and family. Everyone is super nice and it was fun to hang out with people my own age. Sunday night one of the other American teachers that lives outside the complejo invited me over for dinner so I went over to her house. She is so wonderful. She's probably in her late 20s but has been here for a few years and is married to a Salvadorian. She taught 5th grade last year but this year she is in charge of technology and reading. Anything I need she is always there for me and offering me support and advice. But overall, life is good!! I can't believe it's almost September already, crazy!

First pupusa experience

So another week is almost over and things are going great. We had our ups and downs this week at school and I felt some days went better than others but overall it was a wonderful week. I had my first pupusa experience this week which is basically a tortilla filled with beans, cheese, avocado and sometimes meat. I went out with Rachel, my roommate Holly and Holly's boyfriend on Sunday to try them out. They were actually really good. I avoided everything cheese related and stuck with the plain beans but still delicious. Pupusas are very popular here and a traditional Salvadorian food.



This week I also started working on Spanish with a friend of a friend that is Salvadorian. She wants to improve her English and I definitely need to improve my spanish so we are going to help each other. We are going to meet once a week, maybe twice if we can work out our schedules. I'm really excited. Spanish classes at the school are starting up soon too and almost all of the other American teachers take the classes. They have three different levels so that you are working with people around your level.

The students at school never cease to amaze me with their perfectionism and people pleasing behaviors. I was reading something from a book and all of the kids were sitting on the floor in front of me. Something blew off of a table and a boy got up, walked over and picked it up. Well the fans were blowing, so it fell down again. So he proceeded to walk over to my desk, get the tape and put the tape on top of the poster so it wouldn't fall down again. Anytime they come back from recess, specials, or lunch...there are a few students that always say "Good afternoon Miss Marissa" or in the mornings "Good morning, Miss Marissa"...never fails. They are really amazing kids though and I'm so excited to have them as my first class.


This is a view from part of the city Suchitoto. I took a day trip there in the week before school started. It was beautiful!!

This weekend is full again. Friday an American teacher that lives outside the Complejo is having everyone over for "Happy hour" and then Saturday is Valeria's (the other 23 year old 5th grade teacher) birthday so she invited me over to her house for her party. It should be fun. Well I'm definitely glad tomorrow is Friday and ready to enjoy the weekend. Miss you all!

First month in El Salvador

I can not believe that I have been here a month already!! Time has flown by but I am enjoying every second of it. After having a full week of school, I am getting into a routine which you all know is something that I definitely need in my life.


This is a picture of the track I get to run on in the mornings :)

At school, we have established lots of routines in the classroom too so the kids are starting to understand what they need to be doing at different points throughout the day. It helps things to run a lot smoother. This weekend I was able to relax some because I have most of next week planned already. Friday night, it was an American teacher's birthday party so we celebrated at the pool here where I live. Many of the other international teachers were there along with some of her Salvadorian friends because she has been here 3 years now. She is 24 so her friends were closer in age to me and it was nice to talk with them. I enjoy this lifestyle so much of sitting around, chatting, enjoying other people's company rather than the bar scene or going out all the time. It is very relaxing and a great way to wind down from the week.

Over this past week, I have also been thinking about this experience a lot and never really thought about how big it was until now. Many people have been telling me (both people I meet here and people from home) that I am so brave for doing this and they couldn't have done it. For me, it was just what I felt was right and what I wanted to do. It means so much to me to know that I have so much support at home. So thank you to each and every one of you for your emails and messages of encouragement.

Last night, I went out to dinner with another 5th grade teacher who is Salvadorian. She is also 23 and a great friend. It was Valeria, her bf, another one of their friends and me. It was wonderful to hang out with new people and get to know them and find out more about their lives. Talking with them definitely opened my eyes to how much people take for granted. They all grew up with maids and fancy cars and with everything they wanted, which is great but not for me. It made me appreciate and feel fortunate for the way that I was raised and the values that I have.


This is a picture of a painting on the side of building in Ataco, El Salvador.

Overall, I feel like I have grown so much in just the one month that I have been here and am a real teacher with my own class. I still can't believe that. Sometimes I have to remind myself that this is really happening. Miss you all!

First full week winding down

So I've been slacking on the posting but it's been a busy week. I've had a really great week so far. We are starting to get into routines at school so the students know what is expected of them and that makes things soo much easier. I have a nice schedule each day because the students come in the morning and I have them for 15 minutes before they go to spanish right away. After spanish, they have recess so I have a good while to do some planning or other last minute things that I need to do in the mornings. It makes for long afternoons with the kids, but I try to break things up and take little breaks here and there.

I definitely have days that I think go really well and days that I wish things had gone differently but I just take each day as it comes. All of these kids are little perfectionists and always check everything with me before they do it because they don't want to make mistakes. Everything is "miss, miss is this right?" "Miss, is this going to be graded?" It's a little ridiculous at times. Another thing, everything they write has to be in cursive (school policy), so when I write things on the board, I need to model cursive. That has been interesting haha.

Overall, things are going really well. I realized that I think Thursdays are going to be my favorite day of the week. Thursdays mean only one more day in the week and no morning meetings on Fridays so no rushing around. This weekend, I have a friends bday party at our apartment's pool on Friday and possibly going to the beach for the weekend (rough life, I know haha) Hope all is well at home. Miss and love you all!

First first day of school

What a GREAT day!! It was so much fun and I think it's going to be a great year. After the last minute schedule change, having that morning plan time when the students are at Spanish is going to be awesome. So the 22 students came in, we separated their supplies for English and Spanish and they took off to Spanish class. Then I had some time to relax.

The rest of the day was filled with getting to know them and talking about what they did this summer. Many of them had very eventful summers such as learning how to fly their dad's plane, going to Miami, going on cruises, scuba diving, GOING to South Africa to see the world cup games, no big deal. They are all so cute though.

I'm feeling so good about everything. Not nervous or freaking out at all. I was home at 4:30 today and feeling fully prepared for tomorrow. I just can't believe I have my own class. I let them sit where they wanted to today just so I could get a feel for who is friends with who and who should not sit next to who. It worked perfectly :)

It's very nice that tomorrow is Friday so that I will have the weekend to recap and get ready for the next week. Overall, a wonderful day and my first day ever under my belt. I think it's going to be a great year.

First night before the first day of school

So it's finally here. The first day of school is tomorrow and I can not wait!! I am not really nervous at all and I am just feeling very ready to go. We started on Monday with grade level meetings and prep time in our classrooms. The class lists came today and I have 22 students. 13 boys and 9 girls. 3 Diego's....that should be interesting. I met a few students today and I think it's going to be a great year. It's so funny the difference in culture. In the states, it is a no-no to hug students or anything like that for legality reasons but here all of the students, parents, and other family members come in and greet with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly. All of the parents that came in today offered their help with anything I needed both inside of school or outside of it.




The room is all ready to go and activities planned for the day. The students will have spanish right away in the morning so I will have some extra time right away which will be nice. My schedule was changed as of yesterday so I've already learned to be VERY flexible with things at this school. I'm just going with the flow and taking things as they come.




I can't believe this day is really here, after all of the classes in school, student teaching and preparation. It's time to go out on my own and have a class that is all my own. I will never have another night before my very first day but I am definitely ready to go. :)

First taste of salt water

So this week has been very relaxing and I've been trying to settle in and realize that this is life now and let the whole experience sink in. We were so go-go-go last week that I didn't have much time to myself to think things through. I've been trying to get my classroom ready while also not stressing out too much and still enjoying the vacation before craziness starts on Monday.

My roommate and her dog, a greyhound named Sarka, got in last week and we get along really well. She has been in El Salvador two years now so knows the area really well and lots of fun places and things to do. I've been hanging out with her and her boyfriend this week quite a bit. We went trail running in an eco park one day, went to the beach where I attempted surfing and climbed a volcano. Surfing was... well interesting...I attempted but it is definitely something that I will need to work on. The salt water is going to take some getting used to as well. Especially when you wipe out while surfing, getting a mouth/nose full of that is a little rough. The volcano trip was a great time. We hiked up Santa Ana and went almost to the top but you can't go quite all the way. It was a beautiful view. This is a picture in front of one of the other volcanoes in the area, it was gorgeous!!



I've been realizing this week too that this is the place for me right now. A lot of the other international teachers here are older than me but it is so nice to be around mature people who are interested in the same things that you are. We can talk about teaching, life, past experiences and just enjoy each other's company. I've been getting to know everyone and hanging out with so many different types of people.

Another realization that I had this week was how much of an impact I am going to have on these kids. I've talked to a few salvadorians and they have told me that teaching the students at this school is basically teaching the future leaders of this country. Teaching in general, you hope to make a lasting impact in the lives of your students but many of the business owners, politicians and future leaders of the country, come from this school. It's a lot to think about but something I feel very privileged to be a part of.

I have one more day of vacation and then staff meetings start Monday. I am definitely ready to get started and meet my students. I think it's going to be a great year :)