Boys and Bugs

What it is about boys and bugs remains a mystery to me, but I do know that, as a teacher with 15 boys and 5 girls, the bug factor needs to be alive and well in our classroom. Luckily, I think bugs are pretty fun too. Yesterday, we decided to see what would happen when a cockroach, ant and scorpion all spent some quality time together in a rather small jar. Here are a few pictures...

Classroom Surprises

Last night I decided to stay late and work in my classroom. The fifth grade teacher, Leslee (who is a really neat person and now my mentor teacher) was there in her classroom too and we were just working away when suddenly the lights went out. This is not uncommon here, but suddenly I realized the implications. It gets dark early here, around 7pm, and when the electricity is out, its out and you just have to wait. That is except when the generator is on but I haven't yet learned the delicate balance between when the generator can be used in relation to city power, but let's just say that last night, we were stuck in the dark. So I went and got my hand-crank flashlight which barely illuminated the darkness in front of my face and kept at it a little longer until, lo and behold, the power came back on. No big deal- I had to work in the dark for awhile but it was fine. At least I got something done.
Well, today I decided to rearrange my room a bit, still trying to get it settled into a workable formation. I moved a bookshelf and was looking at the wall behind it a few minutes later when I realized that the crescent shaped dark lump on the wall was actually a small scorpion. Hmm...and less than 24 hours ago I was wandering around barefoot in the dark...Well, I learned my lesson. Next time the power goes out I'll be prepared and keep my shoes on and use my big, powerful headlamp instead of my measly flashlight, just like my neighbor Jo Carol does when she has the urge to till her garden after dark.
The scorpion is now in a jar, a perfect class pet.
Here's some pictures from his capture:



Look closely and you'll see that this is not just a picture of me and a white wall!

Fishbowl Shopping

As I discovered today, shopping here is a whole new challenge. At home, I usually dread going to the store. I get indecisive when it comes to buying things. I think the best way to shop is to know exactly what you want, grab it as quickly as possible and get out. Well, here its not so easy. First, there's no such thing as "one-stop shopping". If you want furniture, you go to the street where they sell furniture. If you want plastic containers, you go to "plastic container street". Everything is grouped. But don't think this makes it organized because it isn't. At least to my eyes, it seems there's no real order. And if you bought it there yesterday, you may not be able to get it there today. So the rule is to buy it when you see it, with no time for indecisiveness. If this wasn't enough, there's the unique fishbowl aspect of shopping. Let me illustrate this aspect for you.
Today, Leslee, Sharon, Mandy and I decided we'd like to get fabric for our classroom bulletin boards and some clothes. Lucky for us, there's one area of shops nearby that sells both. So we hopped in the truck and Ali drove us to what I suppose would be considered a "fabric and clothes mini mall" of sorts. But for us, it was a fishbowl. All the store workers were men and most of them came to the door of their shop, or even outside, to stare while we looked at what was hanging in the windows. As we worked our way along, I snuck a peek back over my shoulder and, sure enough, there was a long row of brown eyes following us as we walked along. Every piece of fabric we looked at, every shirt we thought looked nice or wierd or way too sparkly, was noticed. I may dread shopping at home, but at least I can do it without every one around me examining my purchases! So, I'm realizing that I've got to say goodbye to quick "runs" to the store. Choas, bargaining and fishbowl shopping must become a new way of life!
We did buy some fabric from a nice man who had lived briefly in England and spoke English well. Here's a picture of his fabric shop:

Arrival at Final Destination

The last leg of my trip is finally at an end and here I am walking dusty streets and trying to make sense of a new culture. I've been able to get out a little, visiting some nearby stores and the bakery too! I've also enjoyed meeting the staff here and experimenting with the language. I'm trying to learn a new phrase or word each day. My home here is beautiful! It is so nice to have a comfortable place to go to in the chaos of this city. And also from the choas of my classroom, which I will begin trying to organize starting tomorrow. I’ve included some pictures of the school and my house, along with a picture of the sunset my first evening here, taken from our roof.

My bedroom, in what they call here "The Marble Mansion". There are six of us living here. I have a nice patio and view out the back window. (Check out the crazy light fixture!)




The building for grades 3-6 and my future classroom:




Our roof is great! Its often nice and cool up there in the evenings and provides a great view of the city:

Bergen, Blumen und Backerein (Mountains, Flowers and Bakeries....oh my!)

If these are the ingredients for a good vacation, my time in Europe definitely qualifies as one! The last two weeks I’ve been blessed to spend time hiking in the Alps with my mom and our good friend Jo Carol, as well as spend some time in Austria with my relatives as we gathered together for my cousin’s wedding. In Switzerland, we stayed in a small mountain town and did several hikes right from our cabin/chalet, as well as a few trips to the bakery and back again! In Austria, after recovering from an all-day and late-into-the- night wedding, we toured some local salt mines, went hiking, visited Vienna and ate lots of good Austrian food. Here are a few pictures from my time in Europe:



After hiking around these mountains, my mom and I stopped at this lake to cook up the bratwurst we’d brought along for lunch. The glaciers in this area were gorgeous!



All the green meadows were filled with colorful wildflowers!





I’ve never been one to pass up a stop at the bakery! After a long day of hiking, we enjoyed relaxing on our porch while tasting locally baked treats!





Dressed for the salt mine tour, we rode a “train” into the middle of the mountain and learned all about the history of salt production in this part of Austria.



A typical Austrian hike:
Climb the mountain, stop at the restaurant at the top for coffee and apple strudel and enjoy the view before scampering down again.

My Mississippi Mattress

Greetings from the South where I am living with teachers from all over the world for two weeks, learning more about how to transition into a new culture, how to teach kids who have lived in several cultures and sleeping on a mattress on the floor of a classroom. Along with hearing humorous stories about cross-cultural adjustment and experiencing huge Mississippian thunder storms, the best part has been meeting my new team. Our school director was here for a couple of days and so we got to know him and ask him plenty of questions. Also, two of the teachers here taught at our school last year and have been able to offer us newbies lots of insight. Here's a picture of our school group here at PFO (Pre-field orientation).
From left to right, back row: Mandy, Joel, Dan, Byron (our director), Ken holding Jett, me
front row: Leslee, Becky, Jaden, Erin, Ava



Left: Becky and Joel, married 3 days before coming to PFO!
Right: Jaden prepares for a cultural transition
Bottom Left: Erin and Ken, a brave couple who are bringing along their three kids, willing to raise them in the country we are going to.

Blue Tubs, Cherries and Goodbyes

The days are dwindling and I'm almost ready to go. My life for the last week has revolved around two blue plastic tubs pictured below. Many of my belonging have to fit inside, both for me and my classroom. Not an easy task, but a great chance to learn to live with less. I keep telling myself that many people in the country I'm moving to probably wouldn't own enough to even fill two tubs that size. I am rich beyond measure.


This week I also got to take a break from packing and showed a movie about the country I'm going to to some friends. The Matteo kids and Hannah helped me make snacks and we had a fun evening together. Here's some pictures.



This has also been a week of goodbyes. I'm leaving for two weeks of training in Mississippi along with all the other new teachers in my organization. So some of my friends thought that it was high time for some crochet and cherry pit spitting contests before the summer gets away from us.

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