Oh.my.GRACIOUS....we made it. Where ON EARTH did this year go. I'm finished. Done-zo. First year of teaching is in the books...what???? Sara made me update, but refused to make an outline of things I need to cover, so it'll be sporadic.
We finished our three+ weeks of testing....thank goodness that part was over. It rocked to finally be able to do our nine-weeks test whole group (meaning I don't have to administer them one-on-one). The last week of school was spend preparing for our "transition program." A whack title, but no one asked me. The night before, I was stuck at school for an extra 90 minutes printing off certificates for this program. We had promotion certificates all signed and ready, but since not all students were being promoted, they obviously couldn't get them. Lame. I figured we would be a hot mess, as my class normally is for ANY type of program. That morning they came dressed to the nine's. It was only the 2nd day all year they didn't have to wear their uniform...and most of them came to school with their "hair did." Did I mention that more than one of the boys had light blue polyester multi-piece suits...wicked cute!
Anyway, we started the program with our kindergarten poem. I had the letters spelling out Kindergarten and each of them shared a big letter with a partner. They would go to the microphone and say their lines. Such as, K is for kindergarten....hip, hop, hurray. Well, we were doing alright, until we got to the last E. My two youngest, most immature boys were in charge of that letter. Well, when it was time for them to walk up to the microphone, it looked basically like deer in headlights, they totally balked. I thought, oh.friggin.cripes. What are we going to do. Well, I was sitting in the front row, so I went up the steps and coaxed the first one to the microphone telling him that I would say it too. This is the child who doesn't talk, so clearly I anticipated this going smoothly. He takes my hand, we walk to the microphone and together say, "E is for excitement..." The crowd is laughing hysterically, mostly because of the boys that refused to say their line, partially because I'm up there in a dress and heels reciting the same lines as 5 year olds. I take him back to his spot and have to coax the other one. He cried most of the morning (didn't like his outfit I guess) and didn't necessarily need my help, but walked to the microphone and in the crabbiest, maddest voice EVER said, "this.year.we've.had.some." which caused everyone to laugh again, but at least he was done. Oh goodness, get me off the stage, out of these shoes, and away from an audience making my kids cry. However, that was our final hurdle. We survived. We were done.
So....the last couple of days were spent cleaning and packing. Blah. I left school on Friday (the last day) not feeling as joyful as I anticipated. But a bonfire that evening was totally necessary. I spent memorial day weekend sulking about not being on the lake...and grading/doing grad school work. Tuesday was our last teacher workday...it should be listed on our yearly calendar as "day from hell." We had to be there at 7:30 a.m. only to sit around and pick our noses until everyone else finished their grades. Report cards had to be printed, verified, signed. Cumulative folders had to be finished, verified, immunization records updated, and stickers put in with grades. Let me tell you, none of this was even STARTED to be printed or verified until 3:30 p.m. I left at 6:10 and was one of the first 5 finished. ANNOYING! However, I literally screamed the entire way to Indianola, so frickin' excited to have survived and put the first year behind me (I was light-headed from screaming so much!).
Two days later....up at 5 a.m....16 hour drive to Amboy. It wasn't even awful (except for the moment I realized I forgot my fishing poles in Ruleville)! Granted, I'm thankful for having friends call me and having the internet on my phone ;) I'm not a fan of Missouri though...I will put that out there. It's been a whirlwind this past week....Amboy for a couple of days, Ingrid's bridal shower, turning in my 4th and final grad school contract, procrastinating starting my thesis paper, and L.O.V.I.N. my life in Winona. It's so beautiful here....enough to get us up at 6:15 a.m. to power walk around the lake. If you talk to me this summer and I don't have my thesis done, yell at me. If I'm sitting outside and haven't been to the library yet, yell at me. If I have been fishing and playing golf but not working on that stupid paper....feel free to drop kick my butt to next week.
Headed to the cabin for the weekend....fishing, swimming, laying out, reading books, eating smores and hotdogs over the campfire and eeeeekkkk'ing about how much I love life :) :) :)
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
sig g's and freezees
Wow, I feel funny. Like not normal and definitely not myself. School is over in 2.5 days. I made it, almost. I'm sort of in a whimsical state, like not quite believing that it's possible, but also not wanting to wake up from that dream. We finished our math nine-weeks test yesterday and the reading today. We technically are supposed to give them on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday....but because we have kindergarten and they generally take longer, we got to start early. No one needs to know how early we finished though. Don't worry, we don't sit around and watch movies all day. Last Wednesday my principal decided we were going to have an awards program for the lower grades (K-2nd) and the kindergartners were going to do the program to show what they learned. It's like a graduation, without calling it such. I think we call it a promotion program or transition program, I forgot. Either w
ay, we have to learn a song/dance and do some type of performance to show "what we learned." Well, my kids are going to be doing a Kindergarten poem, which they started learning today. Whoops...they each have one line written on the back of a big card and the cards spell out the word kindergarten. I'm not sure how many will freeze up and either refuse to talk or forget their lines, either way, it'll be a hot mess just like every other performance we've done this year! But, they get to wear their "Sunday Best" so you better believe I'm going to have my camera battery charged!! oh.em.gee, I'm nervous for our "performances"...if we hadn't been testing ALL of last week and most of this week we could have spent much more time practicing...however, that CLEARLY would have made sense.
We had a Pre-K transition meeting today for all parents of future Kindergartners. About 8 showed up, typical. I'm not sure if the invitations went out, nor do I think phone calls were actually made about it. However, each parent got a sweet workbook to work with their children this summer along with a pencil box of triangle-sided crayons, pencil and scissors. Pretty sweet...just for showing up. Because the other Kindergarten teacher is leaving next year, parents want their kid in my room because no one knows what the next teacher will be like. I just keep thinking, "HA, you say that now...." However, rumor has it that they hired a teacher that was here 3 years ago...she's of the motherly-age....and apparently wicked good. Perfect.
In terms of TFA and my first year of teaching...I'm D.O.N.E! I had my end of year meeting with my program director tonight. He was wicked excited about the reading levels my kids finished on and how they did on their big TFA math test. Our class average was a 92% for meeting kindergarten math standards. And we finished the year with a 1.37 growth in reading, thus meaning we grew more than one year in our reading...or so they say. This leads to the term significant gains or "sig g's" as Lois and I refer to it. TFA is all about having corps members make "sig g's" in their classroom because it means your students are learning more than expected in a typical year. I don't know how they figure out if you actually make "sig g's" but I guess I did. I just wish I were more confident in a handful of children moving on to first grade but seeming low in reading and math skills. What can you do at this point though. I'm retaining two students and will request getting one of them back. The other one can go into the other classroom and I'll be happy with that! It's mean, but he's a baddddd little boy. He still sucks his fingers, he doesn't talk, yet he is just bad. He takes pencils from other tables, he takes books from other kids, he doesn't do his work, he doesn't pay attention, he doesn't do ANY work unless I'm standing over him, he just needs to mature and stop writing jibberish all of his papers! Blahhh....done venting about the only mostly-silent child in my room...
Was in Winona last weekend to celebrate the sissy that graduated! It was soooo wonderful to be back! I really love that place...in case you hadn't heard, and if that's the case, are we really friends!? Basically flew back into Jackson in the middle of a tornado warning, life is sweet. Last week it rained ALL of the flipping time. And if it wasn't raining it was 85 with 90% humidity...FA REAL. I gave up running after I felt like I was going to die one afternoon. Friday is our last day of school, my room is getting pretty much cleaned/packed up. I do a lot during school!! Tuesday we have to come in to do grades and turn in things...sounds simple but I heard last year they were at school until like 7 p.m. Lame. Wednesday I'll pack and Thursday I'm going to ATTEMPT to drive the entire way from Ruleville to Amboy! Wish me luck and PLEASE call me SOMETIME during the day :) I wish my computer had auto-type so I could just say what I wanted it to type....then grad school would be done and out of my hair...it's all due on the 31st...EEEEEK!! How can the official start of summer (Memorial Day) happen without being at the lake or grilling or eating smores or sitting outside with freezees...instead I'm going to be pulling my hair out in human development crap. While doing so, maybe I'll go burn some student papers and toast some mallows....the.life.
Lastly....I'm in DESPERATE need of some Kindergarten and first grade workbooks to use for homework packets for next year. I have a few, but they won't get us through the year. The ones we used this year are being returned to the teacher they were borrowed from. Anyway...if you find any that are cheap but have enough activities/problems on the page to make it worth copying for my students...please let me know.
Miss you immensely and see you soooooooooooon :) :) :)
ay, we have to learn a song/dance and do some type of performance to show "what we learned." Well, my kids are going to be doing a Kindergarten poem, which they started learning today. Whoops...they each have one line written on the back of a big card and the cards spell out the word kindergarten. I'm not sure how many will freeze up and either refuse to talk or forget their lines, either way, it'll be a hot mess just like every other performance we've done this year! But, they get to wear their "Sunday Best" so you better believe I'm going to have my camera battery charged!! oh.em.gee, I'm nervous for our "performances"...if we hadn't been testing ALL of last week and most of this week we could have spent much more time practicing...however, that CLEARLY would have made sense.We had a Pre-K transition meeting today for all parents of future Kindergartners. About 8 showed up, typical. I'm not sure if the invitations went out, nor do I think phone calls were actually made about it. However, each parent got a sweet workbook to work with their children this summer along with a pencil box of triangle-sided crayons, pencil and scissors. Pretty sweet...just for showing up. Because the other Kindergarten teacher is leaving next year, parents want their kid in my room because no one knows what the next teacher will be like. I just keep thinking, "HA, you say that now...." However, rumor has it that they hired a teacher that was here 3 years ago...she's of the motherly-age....and apparently wicked good. Perfect.
In terms of TFA and my first year of teaching...I'm D.O.N.E! I had my end of year meeting with my program director tonight. He was wicked excited about the reading levels my kids finished on and how they did on their big TFA math test. Our class average was a 92% for meeting kindergarten math standards. And we finished the year with a 1.37 growth in reading, thus meaning we grew more than one year in our reading...or so they say. This leads to the term significant gains or "sig g's" as Lois and I refer to it. TFA is all about having corps members make "sig g's" in their classroom because it means your students are learning more than expected in a typical year. I don't know how they figure out if you actually make "sig g's" but I guess I did. I just wish I were more confident in a handful of children moving on to first grade but seeming low in reading and math skills. What can you do at this point though. I'm retaining two students and will request getting one of them back. The other one can go into the other classroom and I'll be happy with that! It's mean, but he's a baddddd little boy. He still sucks his fingers, he doesn't talk, yet he is just bad. He takes pencils from other tables, he takes books from other kids, he doesn't do his work, he doesn't pay attention, he doesn't do ANY work unless I'm standing over him, he just needs to mature and stop writing jibberish all of his papers! Blahhh....done venting about the only mostly-silent child in my room...
Was in Winona last weekend to celebrate the sissy that graduated! It was soooo wonderful to be back! I really love that place...in case you hadn't heard, and if that's the case, are we really friends!? Basically flew back into Jackson in the middle of a tornado warning, life is sweet. Last week it rained ALL of the flipping time. And if it wasn't raining it was 85 with 90% humidity...FA REAL. I gave up running after I felt like I was going to die one afternoon. Friday is our last day of school, my room is getting pretty much cleaned/packed up. I do a lot during school!! Tuesday we have to come in to do grades and turn in things...sounds simple but I heard last year they were at school until like 7 p.m. Lame. Wednesday I'll pack and Thursday I'm going to ATTEMPT to drive the entire way from Ruleville to Amboy! Wish me luck and PLEASE call me SOMETIME during the day :) I wish my computer had auto-type so I could just say what I wanted it to type....then grad school would be done and out of my hair...it's all due on the 31st...EEEEEK!! How can the official start of summer (Memorial Day) happen without being at the lake or grilling or eating smores or sitting outside with freezees...instead I'm going to be pulling my hair out in human development crap. While doing so, maybe I'll go burn some student papers and toast some mallows....the.life.
Lastly....I'm in DESPERATE need of some Kindergarten and first grade workbooks to use for homework packets for next year. I have a few, but they won't get us through the year. The ones we used this year are being returned to the teacher they were borrowed from. Anyway...if you find any that are cheap but have enough activities/problems on the page to make it worth copying for my students...please let me know.
Miss you immensely and see you soooooooooooon :) :) :)
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
In Mis'sippi the rain dudn't drain, them skreets be flooded.
Well, here's another round of quotes from my class....I wrote down one today and realized how many I had stuck in a book and figured I'd better share them soon....
Me: read this word "cash." Did you hear the /sh/?
L.G.: Ms. Ward, when I grow up, Imma make me some caaaaash.
L.G.: Oh my Lord!
I look at him...
L.G.: I didn't say that, I didn't say that!
J.W. reading: Can the ______. It can't get up in there. Can the elephant get in? No it can't.
P.H.: I like Ms. Ballard
Me: That's fine, so I do I, she's my friend.
L.G.: No, he said he go with Ms. Ballard!
I.W.: Ms. Ward? You got make up on your eye? Close your eye, lemme see. (I closed me eyes) YEP!
unknown: Ms. Ward, Tyler just said s o o
Me: so? who cares, sit down and read.
L.G.: na-uh that's a curs word!
Supposed to find the beginning letter of nail. T.W. says, "it's an l." C.C. says, "that ain't no L, it's a dog-gone N." This child doesn't speak.
Talking about the underground railroad, Me: what were those people called?
J.T.: Chinese!
(oh.crap)
L.G.: Ms. Ward, you getting real, real flat (patting his stomach) (for a second I thought he said fat!)
Me: Is it raining?
D.W.: it fit to
translation: it's about to
"say what?"
Me: say what? say what? (like on Hannah Montana)
ALL kids: OOOOOHHHHH! (they totally think I'm uncool and don't watch Hannah Montana!)
L.G. gives me a hug in line for lunch.
Me: aw, you're so sweet."
L.G.: I'm a lil love bird
J.T.: I went to the doctor
Me: why?
J.T.: I was throwin' up!
Me: OH NO!
J.T.: I stayed there 'bout two weeks and came home with toys. They gave me two baby dolls.
T.W.: There a livin' room?
L.G.: Ain't no dog-gone livin' room up in here, it's uh classroom
Me: Don't even pretend to have something in your mouth
L.G.: I'm eatin' my tongue.
Muh Ward, I got uh cricket in my stomach, Ima mean in my throat. (aka a hiccup)
(acting like I was crying) it's so sad someone wrote in my book. I wonder who did that?
T.W.: probly erylast one of 'em
T.W.: I ain' nothing but a cockeyed!
Me: WHAT?
(after lots of questions…)
T.W.: you know, one eyed cockeyed, one not.”
Me: Oh, can you see me?
T.W.: Yep, an I can see the wall too.
Me: Oh? Can you see the book? Good, let’s read.
T.W.: Ahhhh, you be stressin’ me outttt….
L.G.: (supposed to be looking at the word wall) I need to go outside ‘n teach my brudda how to swing—as he stares at the pre-k kids on the playground
(reading a book about a girl sitting out on her tree house) “man, that girl be sitting there and get real, real black. She gonna be a black choca chip.
L.P: I can’t eat orange no more cause I throwed up
L.G.: I can’t eat bread no more
Me: Yes you can, you’re telling me a story (aka a lie)
L.G.: No I’m ain’t
Me: Say no I’m not.
L.G. No I’m ain’t
T.W.: Muh Ward, if yo teacher has a baby, you hafta help her (RANDOM)
I.W.: (during rest) Muh Ward, muh sista had a baby
Me: (not listening very well) What? Your sister?
I.W.: Yea, cause she be havin’ sex wit a boy…
Me: use white in a sentence
Kids: your board is white. You white.
L.G.: Sydney’s white
Sydney: I ain’t white, I brownnnnnn
M.R.: (after talking about my “truck) Muh Ward, you must got no kids (I guess I don’t get our connection here?)
Student: what that right there? (pointing at my neck/chest)
Me: Sunburn, cause I sat in the sun yesterday. Your skin gets darker when you’re in the sun.
L.G.: nu-uh, I’m BLACK.
T.S.: My cousin get like that?
Me: Oh yeah? How come?
T.S.: Cause he white
Me: (saying the sounds in the word hippo)
S.H.: Hippo
Me: Good, with an s on the end we would say….
S.H.: hungry hippos
Me: it word family, what letter could you put in front
L.G.: B?
Me: okay, write the B first, then i t.
L.G.: B E T?
Me: No, we’re not watching BET.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Well, I'm back in Winonaaaaa....oh my gosh, I love my life. I flew out yesterday to spend a couple of days here for Cassie's graduation. Thought I wasn't going to make it, I had to fake a migraine yesterday to leave school early and catch my flight, then I broke my favorite watch....stupid karma. Then I got to Jackson only to realize my flight was delayed 15 minutes, no big deal. However, the screen said I would be getting to Dallas/Fort Worth at 7:10 and my next flight was at 7:15. Don't worry, I got to Dallas at 6:55 and trucked it to my gate making it to the final boarding call. PHEW! Sara GRACIOUSLY brought it to my attention, "you realize you hardly have time to make it to your flight, what about your bag." Well, lo and behold, my bag was at baggage claim in MSP before I even made it there!! Cassie and Joe picked me up (and brought me a delightfully organic sack lunch) and we made it to Winono-where by 12:15!
Hard to believe there are only two weeks left of school...and I am taking two days off, whoops. We spent all week testing and will spend all of the next two, testing as well. They're in kindergarten for cripes sake, but whatever. Is it real...did I really make it to the end of the school year? Wait, rewind that, we haven't made it yet.
Forgot to write about a big event in Kindergarten a couple of weeks back....we took a trip to the natural science museum in Jackson. It was an adventure. It was also the day after Easter break. Once we left the Delta, we were going over the los hills (I think that's what they're called--they are rolling hills, but in the Delta we have pure flatness) and each time we went over one the entire bus would say, "OOOOOOHHHHHH!" Heck, we could have skipped the museum and driven over hills and they would have been happy. I had a few parent volunteers, so I gave each of them 5 kids to be responsible for...well some were very concerned about their 5 
students, while others were not. Rude. Whatever...no one got lost. But just in case they did, I made them put a slip of paper in their pockets that said, "If found...please call this student's teacher at ....." Haha, it's like putting a tag on your dog, right?! I even have a picture of me HOLDING A BIG FRIGGIN SNAKE!! It'll be posted, eventually!
Okay, happy Thursday....sorry for all of the suckas that have to work for the rest of the week ;) Congrats to Cassie on finishing her undergrad...and running a pseudo-half marathon today! Pray for my cousin Rachel's surgery tomorrow.
Gotta jet....gonna go stick my face in the lilac bushes since they are BLOOMING (and we don't have those in the delt)!!
Me: read this word "cash." Did you hear the /sh/?
L.G.: Ms. Ward, when I grow up, Imma make me some caaaaash.
L.G.: Oh my Lord!
I look at him...
L.G.: I didn't say that, I didn't say that!
J.W. reading: Can the ______. It can't get up in there. Can the elephant get in? No it can't.
P.H.: I like Ms. Ballard
Me: That's fine, so I do I, she's my friend.
L.G.: No, he said he go with Ms. Ballard!
I.W.: Ms. Ward? You got make up on your eye? Close your eye, lemme see. (I closed me eyes) YEP!
unknown: Ms. Ward, Tyler just said s o o
Me: so? who cares, sit down and read.
L.G.: na-uh that's a curs word!
Supposed to find the beginning letter of nail. T.W. says, "it's an l." C.C. says, "that ain't no L, it's a dog-gone N." This child doesn't speak.
Talking about the underground railroad, Me: what were those people called?
J.T.: Chinese!
(oh.crap)
L.G.: Ms. Ward, you getting real, real flat (patting his stomach) (for a second I thought he said fat!)
Me: Is it raining?
D.W.: it fit to
translation: it's about to
"say what?"
Me: say what? say what? (like on Hannah Montana)
ALL kids: OOOOOHHHHH! (they totally think I'm uncool and don't watch Hannah Montana!)
L.G. gives me a hug in line for lunch.
Me: aw, you're so sweet."
L.G.: I'm a lil love bird
J.T.: I went to the doctor
Me: why?
J.T.: I was throwin' up!
Me: OH NO!
J.T.: I stayed there 'bout two weeks and came home with toys. They gave me two baby dolls.
T.W.: There a livin' room?
L.G.: Ain't no dog-gone livin' room up in here, it's uh classroom
Me: Don't even pretend to have something in your mouth
L.G.: I'm eatin' my tongue.
Muh Ward, I got uh cricket in my stomach, Ima mean in my throat. (aka a hiccup)
(acting like I was crying) it's so sad someone wrote in my book. I wonder who did that?
T.W.: probly erylast one of 'em
T.W.: I ain' nothing but a cockeyed!
Me: WHAT?
(after lots of questions…)
T.W.: you know, one eyed cockeyed, one not.”
Me: Oh, can you see me?
T.W.: Yep, an I can see the wall too.
Me: Oh? Can you see the book? Good, let’s read.
T.W.: Ahhhh, you be stressin’ me outttt….
L.G.: (supposed to be looking at the word wall) I need to go outside ‘n teach my brudda how to swing—as he stares at the pre-k kids on the playground
(reading a book about a girl sitting out on her tree house) “man, that girl be sitting there and get real, real black. She gonna be a black choca chip.
L.P: I can’t eat orange no more cause I throwed up
L.G.: I can’t eat bread no more
Me: Yes you can, you’re telling me a story (aka a lie)
L.G.: No I’m ain’t
Me: Say no I’m not.
L.G. No I’m ain’t
T.W.: Muh Ward, if yo teacher has a baby, you hafta help her (RANDOM)
I.W.: (during rest) Muh Ward, muh sista had a baby
Me: (not listening very well) What? Your sister?
I.W.: Yea, cause she be havin’ sex wit a boy…
Me: use white in a sentence
Kids: your board is white. You white.
L.G.: Sydney’s white
Sydney: I ain’t white, I brownnnnnn
M.R.: (after talking about my “truck) Muh Ward, you must got no kids (I guess I don’t get our connection here?)
Student: what that right there? (pointing at my neck/chest)
Me: Sunburn, cause I sat in the sun yesterday. Your skin gets darker when you’re in the sun.
L.G.: nu-uh, I’m BLACK.
T.S.: My cousin get like that?
Me: Oh yeah? How come?
T.S.: Cause he white
Me: (saying the sounds in the word hippo)
S.H.: Hippo
Me: Good, with an s on the end we would say….
S.H.: hungry hippos
Me: it word family, what letter could you put in front
L.G.: B?
Me: okay, write the B first, then i t.
L.G.: B E T?
Me: No, we’re not watching BET.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Well, I'm back in Winonaaaaa....oh my gosh, I love my life. I flew out yesterday to spend a couple of days here for Cassie's graduation. Thought I wasn't going to make it, I had to fake a migraine yesterday to leave school early and catch my flight, then I broke my favorite watch....stupid karma. Then I got to Jackson only to realize my flight was delayed 15 minutes, no big deal. However, the screen said I would be getting to Dallas/Fort Worth at 7:10 and my next flight was at 7:15. Don't worry, I got to Dallas at 6:55 and trucked it to my gate making it to the final boarding call. PHEW! Sara GRACIOUSLY brought it to my attention, "you realize you hardly have time to make it to your flight, what about your bag." Well, lo and behold, my bag was at baggage claim in MSP before I even made it there!! Cassie and Joe picked me up (and brought me a delightfully organic sack lunch) and we made it to Winono-where by 12:15!
Hard to believe there are only two weeks left of school...and I am taking two days off, whoops. We spent all week testing and will spend all of the next two, testing as well. They're in kindergarten for cripes sake, but whatever. Is it real...did I really make it to the end of the school year? Wait, rewind that, we haven't made it yet.
Forgot to write about a big event in Kindergarten a couple of weeks back....we took a trip to the natural science museum in Jackson. It was an adventure. It was also the day after Easter break. Once we left the Delta, we were going over the los hills (I think that's what they're called--they are rolling hills, but in the Delta we have pure flatness) and each time we went over one the entire bus would say, "OOOOOOHHHHHH!" Heck, we could have skipped the museum and driven over hills and they would have been happy. I had a few parent volunteers, so I gave each of them 5 kids to be responsible for...well some were very concerned about their 5 
students, while others were not. Rude. Whatever...no one got lost. But just in case they did, I made them put a slip of paper in their pockets that said, "If found...please call this student's teacher at ....." Haha, it's like putting a tag on your dog, right?! I even have a picture of me HOLDING A BIG FRIGGIN SNAKE!! It'll be posted, eventually!Okay, happy Thursday....sorry for all of the suckas that have to work for the rest of the week ;) Congrats to Cassie on finishing her undergrad...and running a pseudo-half marathon today! Pray for my cousin Rachel's surgery tomorrow.
Gotta jet....gonna go stick my face in the lilac bushes since they are BLOOMING (and we don't have those in the delt)!!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Roach races and rodent wars
Alright, alright, twice in the same week....don't get your undies in a bunch, it's just been one helluva week. Let me preface this story by saying that I REALLY dislike bugs or any animal in the house that does not use a litter box. Even at the age of probably 20 I would wake my mom up in the middle of the night to kill a spider in my room. I was sitting on my bed on Sunday night getting some work done when I thought I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I leaned over, and sure enough saw something move again. Well, at this point it was moving so fast that I wasn't sure if it was a mouse or a roach...but it didn't appear to be black (like most roaches). None the less, I sat on my bed screaming for my roommate. I pointed in between some boxes, she started kicking them and I saw the rodent race around the outside of my room. I kept screaming and pointing, and Lois was always about two feet behind. By this point I am standing on my bed screaming bloody murder. Finally it runs into my closet/laundry room. To make a long story short, we have a brilliant idea to barricade the door with plastic tubs, rags, cardboard, tag board and a broom (thinking this thing couldn't get higher than 5.5 feet). We were on our way to Wal-Mart to get a trap (at 9:30 on Sunday night). Luckily Ballard had some sticky traps, so we saved ourselves a trip. We baited it with a peanut butter glob the size of the rodent itself and let it sit. In about 2 minutes we heard it squeal. Lois was brave and stood on the chair we had drug into my room and peered over our barricade only to see the mouse stuck on the trap. PHEW. Well, we are wimps...and she sort of practices Buddhism (aka she doesn't like to kill animals) so we decide to leave it for the night and we'll take care of it in the morning.
Morning: right before we are about to leave...we go to get the mouse and decide we could just leave it outside and let the cats have their way with it. We (Lois) peer over the barricade only to find....nothing. The mouse AND trap are gone. WTF...how is that possible. I spent the day in disbelief, thinking that mouse was in my room and probably in my bed. That afternoon our landlord called in a pest person who laughed at our barricaded closet...and told us those sticky traps will catch mice but they can also get out of it easily. He put out little bags that will attract the mice and somehow makes them so thirsty they HAVE to go outside in search of water and will die out there....perfect. However, less than an hour after he left, I was doing work (again on my bed) and I heard that friggin mouse eating at the bag...HE WAS STILL IN MY ROOM. Like a bad song on repeat, I screamed for Lois and we listened to the mouse eat the bag, both highly disturbed. I wanted to open the door and chase it out with a broom, but the chances of that being successful were probably slim to none with our luck.
Anyway...here it is 4 nights later, I'm still sleeping on the couch...I wear shoes AT ALL times...and the mouse ate from the bag two separate times but the bag hasn't moved since. I HATE MICE...and the idea of one in my room, ick, ick, ick, ick, ICK. My kids learned about mysteries this week, since the fact the mouse and trap were gone on Monday morning was a definite mystery (don't worry, we found the trap under the dryer).
To top it off, I went to school on Tuesday morning and saw a roach scamper past the door when I opened it. Sick...but it went behind some shelves so I wasn't too concerned. However, a few minutes later I walked over to get copy paper out and the darn thing was rushing after me. I turned and hopped to the rug and it followed....ick, ick, ick...how on earth am I getting chased by a ROACH. I BRAVELY took off a shoe and dropped it on him...luckily I had good aim. Normally I go to the cafeteria and get a kid who will come kill it for me :) I guess I'm getting to be a big kid, huh?!
Today was supposed to be our first soccer game, but my principal didn't want all of those kids in the damp grass...what? Have I mentioned that I coach soccer nowadays? Well, I'm not sure if you call what I'm doing "coaching." But, I don't know if you call what these kids are doing "playing soccer" either. I mean really they are in 1st-3rd grade...it's nothing major. My team is full of high-strung boys that I have to scream at to stop fighting over the ball...but I think once we start games they can run off all of that energy! These kids just aren't used to anything being organized...therefore when they try something new they go crazy with new found freedom. I really just want games to start because I know NOTHING about soccer and run out of things to do to keep them entertained at practice!
Don't worry, I made it until May 1st without turning on my air conditioning! Some teachers have had theirs on for several weeks. EVERYONE that came in my room yesterday complained that it was hot. Even the stupid people that come to test my kids for this pilot program about vocabulary. WHAT ON EARTH, I'VE NEVER EVEN MET YOU! Our therapist told me she couldn't breathe because it was so hot in my room...I think if I were wearing a pink wool suit I would feel the same. To tell you the truth, I'm afraid to turn on my AC for fear that a GIANT cloud of dust is going to come out of it. No.joke.
Quote from my kids referencing my sunburn on Monday, "muh Ward, what's that red stuff all ova yo neck?" Or "lemme touch that." PS, I saw my first armadillo the other day, granted it was dead on the side of the road, it was an armadillo none the less. PPS, the movie Steel Magnolias is much more real to me now that I have lived here...and much more witty than I ever remember it being! LESS than a week until WINONA :) :) :) :)
Happy May Day tomorrow...it will forever remind me of the Grover's and living in the country.
PS, sorry for those of you that read the Jeannie-un-edited version....who knew I had grammer critics....
Morning: right before we are about to leave...we go to get the mouse and decide we could just leave it outside and let the cats have their way with it. We (Lois) peer over the barricade only to find....nothing. The mouse AND trap are gone. WTF...how is that possible. I spent the day in disbelief, thinking that mouse was in my room and probably in my bed. That afternoon our landlord called in a pest person who laughed at our barricaded closet...and told us those sticky traps will catch mice but they can also get out of it easily. He put out little bags that will attract the mice and somehow makes them so thirsty they HAVE to go outside in search of water and will die out there....perfect. However, less than an hour after he left, I was doing work (again on my bed) and I heard that friggin mouse eating at the bag...HE WAS STILL IN MY ROOM. Like a bad song on repeat, I screamed for Lois and we listened to the mouse eat the bag, both highly disturbed. I wanted to open the door and chase it out with a broom, but the chances of that being successful were probably slim to none with our luck.
Anyway...here it is 4 nights later, I'm still sleeping on the couch...I wear shoes AT ALL times...and the mouse ate from the bag two separate times but the bag hasn't moved since. I HATE MICE...and the idea of one in my room, ick, ick, ick, ick, ICK. My kids learned about mysteries this week, since the fact the mouse and trap were gone on Monday morning was a definite mystery (don't worry, we found the trap under the dryer).
To top it off, I went to school on Tuesday morning and saw a roach scamper past the door when I opened it. Sick...but it went behind some shelves so I wasn't too concerned. However, a few minutes later I walked over to get copy paper out and the darn thing was rushing after me. I turned and hopped to the rug and it followed....ick, ick, ick...how on earth am I getting chased by a ROACH. I BRAVELY took off a shoe and dropped it on him...luckily I had good aim. Normally I go to the cafeteria and get a kid who will come kill it for me :) I guess I'm getting to be a big kid, huh?!
Today was supposed to be our first soccer game, but my principal didn't want all of those kids in the damp grass...what? Have I mentioned that I coach soccer nowadays? Well, I'm not sure if you call what I'm doing "coaching." But, I don't know if you call what these kids are doing "playing soccer" either. I mean really they are in 1st-3rd grade...it's nothing major. My team is full of high-strung boys that I have to scream at to stop fighting over the ball...but I think once we start games they can run off all of that energy! These kids just aren't used to anything being organized...therefore when they try something new they go crazy with new found freedom. I really just want games to start because I know NOTHING about soccer and run out of things to do to keep them entertained at practice!
Don't worry, I made it until May 1st without turning on my air conditioning! Some teachers have had theirs on for several weeks. EVERYONE that came in my room yesterday complained that it was hot. Even the stupid people that come to test my kids for this pilot program about vocabulary. WHAT ON EARTH, I'VE NEVER EVEN MET YOU! Our therapist told me she couldn't breathe because it was so hot in my room...I think if I were wearing a pink wool suit I would feel the same. To tell you the truth, I'm afraid to turn on my AC for fear that a GIANT cloud of dust is going to come out of it. No.joke.
Quote from my kids referencing my sunburn on Monday, "muh Ward, what's that red stuff all ova yo neck?" Or "lemme touch that." PS, I saw my first armadillo the other day, granted it was dead on the side of the road, it was an armadillo none the less. PPS, the movie Steel Magnolias is much more real to me now that I have lived here...and much more witty than I ever remember it being! LESS than a week until WINONA :) :) :) :)
Happy May Day tomorrow...it will forever remind me of the Grover's and living in the country.
PS, sorry for those of you that read the Jeannie-un-edited version....who knew I had grammer critics....
Saturday, April 25, 2009
"And then she be says."
I'm not sure if it is a result of living here or teaching kindergarten, but my english is going to shit. The title, TOTALLY said by yours truly. When I want to ask someone what time it might be, I often have to stop and think about how to ask it. "what time is it?" or "what time it is?" I used the later one in a joking manner all too often and now I forget which way I'm supposed to say it.
Well, Easter with the parentals was sufficient. After spending 5 hours driving around Memphis on a Thursday night (looking for Target that my GPS swore existed but didn't) and finally heading down to Beale Street by myself...the folks landed at 11:39 p.m. Minor problems with weather in Dallas, resulting in a missed flight, flight times changing, sitting on the runway...all leading up to their grand arrival in the DELTA, womp, womp, womp. On Friday, after touring Ruleville (it took 5 minutes), I put them to work...we hung curtain rods (curt & rod if you like puns like Bruce does), cleaned my fans, set up the fire ring, Jeannie slept, dad found all of the things wrong with my 
house and made a list for the landlord, baked some treats. SOS...I need someone to teach me how to make rice crispy treats...I'm a failure. 0/2. We went for crawdads and shrimp that night at a place called Crustaceans....they had a big ole crawdad painted on the side of the building, it was a ritzy establishment. Saturday and Sunday were spent in Jackson with Mike and Gretchen enjoying the gorgeous weather, egg bake, and mildly-intoxicated neighbors having an easter egg hunt for their kids the night before easter. Don't worry, I found 10 eggs that the kiddos missed (I MIGHT or might not have taken part in hiding them extra hard so they would be more of a "challenge"). It was a fun weekend and actually felt like a vacation.
We have LESS than one month of school left...omg. We are officially done on May 22, but that last week is going to be consumed with testing. A little bit nervous....I met with my program director the other day and in order for my kids to have advanced 1.5 years in reading, I need to push them these last couple of weeks and hopefully have each student moved up one reading level. TFA is all about data, sometimes it's good, sometimes it blows. Of course I want my kids reading well into a first grade level, but not at the expense of the lowest learners who need as much of my attention as I can make time for. We'll get close, I'll tell you that much.
Last week I got sent home from school. It was 7 a.m....I was wearing a dress with leggings under it. Apparently, you can't wear leggings to school. My principal said it was in the handbook, but someone else disagreed. Either way, an hour later I was walking back into my classroom in a new outfit. It was pretty hilarious but highly annoying at the same time. I wish I had my handbook here so I could verify if that were true or not. This week we had a meeting with our superintendent...it was the entire district crammed into a cafeteria in Sunflower. The moral of the meeting, "do not hit children." Well, like that was ever a prevalent message before. Let's say this, people have paddles, it's not uncommon. Some people go as far as to NAME their paddles. Some people have multiple paddles. Many people have paddles that have been broken. My kindergartners get into fights. They swear at each other. They use the finger sign (give the middle finger). People are yelling ALL.OF.THE.TIME. Welcome to my life in the delta.
Last weekend some of my friends and I ran a 5K in Cleveland, MS. All I have to say about our performance is that we weren't last. This weekend we grilled out last night and helped my friend get ready for the Ruleville prom tonight. We frosted 150 cookies, blew up 200 balloons, made the backdrop for pictures, you know, typical Friday night stuff. Tonight we're supposed to be having a bonfire but I realize that finding firewood around here is darn-near impossible. Although I think we have enough sticks and whatnot in our yard and abandoned shed to suffice for a couple of fires.
GUESS WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTT?!?!?! I'll be in Winona in 11 days!!! EEEEEKKKK! First I have to write a letter to the superintendent asking for Thursday and Friday off. If he doesn't give me those days off I will be calling in sick. Ridiculous. As of May 1st our two measly personal days are converted to sick days and no one can take personal days in May. Well...you better believe I'm taking two days and they can call them whatever they'd like. It's not like my kids are missing out in educational material. Friday is the annual May Day and from what I hear is a major cluster ****. They play games, eat snacks, there is another pageant, an assembly in which all classes do something for. Speaking of, the theme this year is China. What on EARTH can my kids do that is at all related to China. Usually they sing songs or something, I'm dumbfounded on what my class is going to do, I obvs. can't teach them anything in Chinese. Last year it was Africa and they sang "in the jungle." The May Day committee MIGHT be on crack this year. If you know of any songs or things they can do, PLEASE call me ASAP!!!
Okay...better get busy on grad school work....it's crunch time. Enjoy the weekend....even if it isn't 85 there ;)
Well, Easter with the parentals was sufficient. After spending 5 hours driving around Memphis on a Thursday night (looking for Target that my GPS swore existed but didn't) and finally heading down to Beale Street by myself...the folks landed at 11:39 p.m. Minor problems with weather in Dallas, resulting in a missed flight, flight times changing, sitting on the runway...all leading up to their grand arrival in the DELTA, womp, womp, womp. On Friday, after touring Ruleville (it took 5 minutes), I put them to work...we hung curtain rods (curt & rod if you like puns like Bruce does), cleaned my fans, set up the fire ring, Jeannie slept, dad found all of the things wrong with my 
house and made a list for the landlord, baked some treats. SOS...I need someone to teach me how to make rice crispy treats...I'm a failure. 0/2. We went for crawdads and shrimp that night at a place called Crustaceans....they had a big ole crawdad painted on the side of the building, it was a ritzy establishment. Saturday and Sunday were spent in Jackson with Mike and Gretchen enjoying the gorgeous weather, egg bake, and mildly-intoxicated neighbors having an easter egg hunt for their kids the night before easter. Don't worry, I found 10 eggs that the kiddos missed (I MIGHT or might not have taken part in hiding them extra hard so they would be more of a "challenge"). It was a fun weekend and actually felt like a vacation.We have LESS than one month of school left...omg. We are officially done on May 22, but that last week is going to be consumed with testing. A little bit nervous....I met with my program director the other day and in order for my kids to have advanced 1.5 years in reading, I need to push them these last couple of weeks and hopefully have each student moved up one reading level. TFA is all about data, sometimes it's good, sometimes it blows. Of course I want my kids reading well into a first grade level, but not at the expense of the lowest learners who need as much of my attention as I can make time for. We'll get close, I'll tell you that much.
Last week I got sent home from school. It was 7 a.m....I was wearing a dress with leggings under it. Apparently, you can't wear leggings to school. My principal said it was in the handbook, but someone else disagreed. Either way, an hour later I was walking back into my classroom in a new outfit. It was pretty hilarious but highly annoying at the same time. I wish I had my handbook here so I could verify if that were true or not. This week we had a meeting with our superintendent...it was the entire district crammed into a cafeteria in Sunflower. The moral of the meeting, "do not hit children." Well, like that was ever a prevalent message before. Let's say this, people have paddles, it's not uncommon. Some people go as far as to NAME their paddles. Some people have multiple paddles. Many people have paddles that have been broken. My kindergartners get into fights. They swear at each other. They use the finger sign (give the middle finger). People are yelling ALL.OF.THE.TIME. Welcome to my life in the delta.
Last weekend some of my friends and I ran a 5K in Cleveland, MS. All I have to say about our performance is that we weren't last. This weekend we grilled out last night and helped my friend get ready for the Ruleville prom tonight. We frosted 150 cookies, blew up 200 balloons, made the backdrop for pictures, you know, typical Friday night stuff. Tonight we're supposed to be having a bonfire but I realize that finding firewood around here is darn-near impossible. Although I think we have enough sticks and whatnot in our yard and abandoned shed to suffice for a couple of fires.
GUESS WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTT?!?!?! I'll be in Winona in 11 days!!! EEEEEKKKK! First I have to write a letter to the superintendent asking for Thursday and Friday off. If he doesn't give me those days off I will be calling in sick. Ridiculous. As of May 1st our two measly personal days are converted to sick days and no one can take personal days in May. Well...you better believe I'm taking two days and they can call them whatever they'd like. It's not like my kids are missing out in educational material. Friday is the annual May Day and from what I hear is a major cluster ****. They play games, eat snacks, there is another pageant, an assembly in which all classes do something for. Speaking of, the theme this year is China. What on EARTH can my kids do that is at all related to China. Usually they sing songs or something, I'm dumbfounded on what my class is going to do, I obvs. can't teach them anything in Chinese. Last year it was Africa and they sang "in the jungle." The May Day committee MIGHT be on crack this year. If you know of any songs or things they can do, PLEASE call me ASAP!!!
Okay...better get busy on grad school work....it's crunch time. Enjoy the weekend....even if it isn't 85 there ;)
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
y'all fixin' for some crawdads?
I think I can honestly say that it is becoming easier to use the word "y'all" I never thought I would admit this day came, but it has. Really. I'm sorry.Anyway, thank you grandma black for the nice Easter card (and guilt trip for not positing a blog since March 16). Kidding...I keep thinking about things to say, but feel like my life is so mundane, yet annoying chaotic, I don't know what to even write?!
First of all....my trip to Hawaii was frickin' amazing. I know I ended the last post on Wednesday night. On Thursday, Ambjor and I went to Pearl Harbor, hung out in Waikiki, then I
drove back to Waianae (I had Maggie's car while she was in school). Friday I went to school with Maggie for the morning, got to see her class and Brianne's class...it was crazy to see what Kindergarten is like in another state (quite possibly felt like another country). Makes me feel like Mississippi isn't as far behind as I thought...or isn't the only state in which public education is downright terrible. Her school had such a different atmosphere, I mean, yeah, it's in the middle of an island in the pacific ocean, how much better could it get? But really, it felt welcoming and friendly...not the hostile feeling I get walking into school each and everyday. I spent exactly two hours that afternoon on the beach and fried my shins....whoopsies. Hey, I got a WICKED tan out of the deal! That night we went to Waikiki and went out and then everyone met on Waikiki beach to spend my last day doing my favorite thing of life...laying on the beach reading Harry Potter. Okay, I was the only one reading, whatever. Our flight left at 9 p.m. that night...got to LA 5 hours later (but it was 5 a.m. their time). Slept on the floor at our gate until 
Cody woke me up saying we were boarding. Flew to Chicago, sat there for a couple of hours. Flew to Memphis, drove two hours home, went to bed. Was at school by 6:55 a.m. the next morning ready....or at least pretending to be. None of my students really commented on my tan although they all gave me a quizzical look...one student in another grade said, "mannn, all the white teachers came back orange."Okay...school. I have been FREAKING out since break because we are in our last quarter. I feel like I have some kids that are so low...I don't want to retain THAT many...I don't know what to do to get them to where they need to be...ahhh! Grades were due right after break and report cards went out...so, I had several meetings with parents saying, "uh, unless they get it together and we practice EXTRA hard both at home and at school...I'll be seeing them again next year." It kind of makes me feel like a failure thinking I can't get these kids to where they need to be. However...today I had a meeting with my literacy coach...just me for once...and she basically told me that my kids are doing fine. I am pushing them plenty far this year, they are learning more than enough to adequately be ready for first grade, etc. I had some kids struggling with the word "important" in their books today...really all they need to be able to read are words like "made, bug, truck, gave." Holy hannah...we might get there. Because of a new goofy rule, all teachers have to stay after school until 4:00 now...so that gives me perfect opportunity to tutor one girl who is really on the fence...and hopefully I'll only be retaining two...fingers crossed.
Big weekend coming up. If you only understand how much I like egg bake.... ;) Kidding...the parentals are coming. We're going to get dinner on Beale Street in Memphis, tour Ruleville (that'll last 5 minutes), eat crawdads, spend Easter with Mike and Gretchen in Jackson, fix my car:), hang some curtains, you know all of that fun stuff! They have no idea what they're in for in the middle of frickin' no wheresville!
AH....let me tell you about my day yesterday....it was 9:30...I went to use the sketchy teacher bathroom/closet. I walk in, turn on the light, instantly turn around flipping out because there are two cockroaches on the wall. GROSS. I ran into the janitor in the hall who knows how much I love cockroaches. They were laughing at me. Anyway, I used the kids bathroom which is equally as scary. As I walked past the cafeteria I noticed that there was a strange smell coming from that direction of the school but didn't think much of it. About 20 minutes later, the lead teacher who was in charge because my principal was out of town came in. She tells me we are evacuating the building. To get the children's coats on, bring work, get out the back door and head to the counselor's room. WTF, this is not a joke, right? We spent an hour in the counselor's room watching Peter Pan (it was my planning period, I'm allowed to show movies). Turns out...the maintenance people were annoyed with the sewage smell coming from the janitor's closet. So, first they poured bleach down it. That didn't suffice. Then they poured liquid acid. Thus resulting in an acid cloud INSIDE the janitor's closet. The man who did it definitely inhaled it as well. Once word got out what the smell was, we had to evacuate. Smartie-pants maintenance worker didn't think it would be a problem for children to be inhaling these fumes. He was told to get himself to the hospital and get checked out. Oh the things that happen at JCRE. By lunch the smell was gone and the school was freezing, all of the windows and doors had been open to get the smell out and it was about 49 degrees yesterday.
Last tidbit....the new superintendent of my school district just started in January and has been changing things up ever since. The latest rumor is that both principals and teachers may be moved from school to school. Therefore, we'll sign a contract with the district, but are not guaranteed our same school if they decide to change something. Some people are freaking out. I'm not...I'll worry once I actually see something happen. Plus, I'm a short-term teacher...what's the purpose of moving me knowing I will not be here forever.
SHOUT OUTS....yay to Cassie for not getting lost in New York. Go feed the pigeons in central park like Kevin in Home Alone! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to aunt Jackie for the box of books...we've already read most of them since getting the package!! Happy Belated birthday to Grandma Davis and Ingrid.
.....PS, this is the week I'm supposed to be on spring break in Florida with the crew :( Miss you, all!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Irish Hawaiians in Chinatown
OMG, I love being a teacher...wait, I mean I love the perks of having a week off for spring break!! We made it to Hawaii on Sunday after 17.5 hours of traveling. We had to get up at 1:30 a.m. to drive to Memphis to catch our flight...however, it was 2:30 p.m. and sunny when we arrived in Honolulu. Basically, I love this place...I love that fact that I am seeing the REAL Hawaii staying with my friend versus being in a resort or hotel. Mind you...this post will ONLY be about my vacay, and mostly just so I can remember what I did each day...if you know me at all you'll know I'm mildly loosing my mind this year ;)
Sunday: picked up at the airport...went straight to pick up one of Maggie's friend and then down to Waikiki. We did some shopping, had a couple of lava flow drinks at a pink hotel on the beach and ate puka dogs (the greatest/strangest fashion of making a hotdog but so wonderful). The best part? It was the Honolulu Festival and I SAW A PARADE. Love.it! After a long day downtown and other random errands, I showered and was in bed around 10...25 hours after I got up (with the time change it was 3 a.m. in MN).
Monday: woke up bright and early at 7 a.m. Hawaii time (noon in Minnesota). Maggie was at school...so went for a jog (and heard goats in the mountain I was running along), checked out the pools at her apartment complex, ate some breakfast and plopped my butt on the beach a mile down the road for 3+ hours. I came back, took a dip in the pool and had a sun-successful first day in Hawaii! Maggie took me to a little cove in her town that is notorious for having sea turtles. It didn't disappoint, there were 3 HUGE sea turtles just hanging out on shore. You can get as close as you want (without touching them--it's illegal, they are protected by Hawaiian law) and they don't even move. Then we went for a hike on the very west-edge of the island almost to Mokuleia. We saw whales within 10 minutes of our hike. We also found one lone seal trying to maneuver through the rocks, he was sooo cute. A little further down, we saw more whales just having a DAY. They were flapping their tails over and over and we even watched one jump half way out of the water and splash himself down sideways. You DON'T get this in Ruleville. WOW! To end the day, Maggie and I went to Ko Olina resort (the place where pro bowl football players stay...wicked amazing) and went hot tubing and swimming...sssshhhh, no one knew we weren't staying there!
Tuesday: Maggie took the day off so we headed across the island to Kailua, particularly the BEAUTIFUL beach called Lanikai. My friend Ambjor is also in Hawaii this week and she "attempted" figuring out the bus system and after a couple of tries, got on a bus to meet us in Kailua. Thank goodness for the GPS on her blackberry, which told her when she should get off! The drive to the east edge of the island was INCREDIBLE. The mountains are jagged and the jungle covers EVERYTHING. Besides the road, there is no sign of human life within the greenery. We spent the day on a WICKED gorgeous beach with white sand, clear blue water, and many asian tourists. Although it was semi-overcast we got plenty of sun! Don't worry Grandma, Maggie is a nag about making sure we all wear sunscreen! Then we headed into "town" (Honolulu) and met Ambjor's friend Beth who we stayed with. We got ready, made dinner, had some drinks and headed down for a St. Patty's Day block party a couple of blocks away. I can now cross off: partying on St. Patrick's Day in Chinatown with a bunch of Irish Hawaiians from my to-do list of life. It was pure madness and LOTS of people (even met up with Tony Roeloffs briefly!). Lucky for us, we were late getting down there and the block party cleared out at 10. We were able to hang out with Cody (also from the Delta) and his friends for a bit before crashing like old/lame people. Saw some "interesting" people on our walk back to the hotel though!
Wednesday: Today we took our time getting up (go fig) and finally made our way toward the North Shore to be beached for the day. The North Shore is where professional surfing competitions are held, Lost is filmed, wealth ensues, you know...we went to a GREAT beach and parked it for 4 hours. My friend Brianne from summer institute also took the day off and we had a great girls-day at Waialua. It was also my first experience with shave ice...holy amazing. Although we each got smalls, I'd be a little nervous to see what a large might be! Tonight, our crispy-selves ate dinner in a COLD restaurant in Beth's building and are laying low for the rest of the night. Those teacher-folk headed back to Waianae because they are actually teaching tomorrow ;)
Now I'm caught up, phew. I'm sure you're bored, but it's good for me to remember what we actually did. The scenery is A-MAZING and changes drastically as you cross to different parts of the island. The traffic is mildly out of control...too many people in a little space will do that. I'm staying with Ambjor and Beth again tonight and tomorrow we're headed to Pearl Harbor, Waikiki and some shopping. AHHHH, I LOVE it here...so natural and full of culture. About to pass out down with sun burnt eyelids....
Aloha.
Sunday: picked up at the airport...went straight to pick up one of Maggie's friend and then down to Waikiki. We did some shopping, had a couple of lava flow drinks at a pink hotel on the beach and ate puka dogs (the greatest/strangest fashion of making a hotdog but so wonderful). The best part? It was the Honolulu Festival and I SAW A PARADE. Love.it! After a long day downtown and other random errands, I showered and was in bed around 10...25 hours after I got up (with the time change it was 3 a.m. in MN).
Monday: woke up bright and early at 7 a.m. Hawaii time (noon in Minnesota). Maggie was at school...so went for a jog (and heard goats in the mountain I was running along), checked out the pools at her apartment complex, ate some breakfast and plopped my butt on the beach a mile down the road for 3+ hours. I came back, took a dip in the pool and had a sun-successful first day in Hawaii! Maggie took me to a little cove in her town that is notorious for having sea turtles. It didn't disappoint, there were 3 HUGE sea turtles just hanging out on shore. You can get as close as you want (without touching them--it's illegal, they are protected by Hawaiian law) and they don't even move. Then we went for a hike on the very west-edge of the island almost to Mokuleia. We saw whales within 10 minutes of our hike. We also found one lone seal trying to maneuver through the rocks, he was sooo cute. A little further down, we saw more whales just having a DAY. They were flapping their tails over and over and we even watched one jump half way out of the water and splash himself down sideways. You DON'T get this in Ruleville. WOW! To end the day, Maggie and I went to Ko Olina resort (the place where pro bowl football players stay...wicked amazing) and went hot tubing and swimming...sssshhhh, no one knew we weren't staying there!
Tuesday: Maggie took the day off so we headed across the island to Kailua, particularly the BEAUTIFUL beach called Lanikai. My friend Ambjor is also in Hawaii this week and she "attempted" figuring out the bus system and after a couple of tries, got on a bus to meet us in Kailua. Thank goodness for the GPS on her blackberry, which told her when she should get off! The drive to the east edge of the island was INCREDIBLE. The mountains are jagged and the jungle covers EVERYTHING. Besides the road, there is no sign of human life within the greenery. We spent the day on a WICKED gorgeous beach with white sand, clear blue water, and many asian tourists. Although it was semi-overcast we got plenty of sun! Don't worry Grandma, Maggie is a nag about making sure we all wear sunscreen! Then we headed into "town" (Honolulu) and met Ambjor's friend Beth who we stayed with. We got ready, made dinner, had some drinks and headed down for a St. Patty's Day block party a couple of blocks away. I can now cross off: partying on St. Patrick's Day in Chinatown with a bunch of Irish Hawaiians from my to-do list of life. It was pure madness and LOTS of people (even met up with Tony Roeloffs briefly!). Lucky for us, we were late getting down there and the block party cleared out at 10. We were able to hang out with Cody (also from the Delta) and his friends for a bit before crashing like old/lame people. Saw some "interesting" people on our walk back to the hotel though!
Wednesday: Today we took our time getting up (go fig) and finally made our way toward the North Shore to be beached for the day. The North Shore is where professional surfing competitions are held, Lost is filmed, wealth ensues, you know...we went to a GREAT beach and parked it for 4 hours. My friend Brianne from summer institute also took the day off and we had a great girls-day at Waialua. It was also my first experience with shave ice...holy amazing. Although we each got smalls, I'd be a little nervous to see what a large might be! Tonight, our crispy-selves ate dinner in a COLD restaurant in Beth's building and are laying low for the rest of the night. Those teacher-folk headed back to Waianae because they are actually teaching tomorrow ;)
Now I'm caught up, phew. I'm sure you're bored, but it's good for me to remember what we actually did. The scenery is A-MAZING and changes drastically as you cross to different parts of the island. The traffic is mildly out of control...too many people in a little space will do that. I'm staying with Ambjor and Beth again tonight and tomorrow we're headed to Pearl Harbor, Waikiki and some shopping. AHHHH, I LOVE it here...so natural and full of culture. About to pass out down with sun burnt eyelids....
Aloha.
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