Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Lo siento...

Sorry...for the lack of posts. I have been soooo busy! I don't leave school til about 6 everyday, then I pretty much just come home, cook dinner and watch 24! I'm trying to watch all the seasons before the new one starts.

School is going well, but I have a difficult class. I really, really love my students, even when they drive me nuts, which is pretty much everyday. for the love! Hope everyone is doing well!

Sunday, August 20, 2006

church

Well, I tried my first new church today. Twin Lakes Church in Capitola. Wow, it was HUGE! I mean, there was an upstairs to sit too! The pastor wasn't there, he and another pastor switched for two weeks. The guest pastor was really good, but I'm interested to see the regular pastor. I enjoyed the service, but am looking forward to checking out some other churches.

One thing I had a hard time with was the scripture reading. I was one of maybe 5 people who opened their bibles. Even the pastor read from the piece of paper in the bulletin. I noticed they also had it up in power point. I guess when it is already there for you twice, why open the bible? That bothered me a tiny bit. Mostly because at Grace, Pastor Tim was always very adamant about opening out bibles, and I loved that.

Today made me Slo sick, really bad. I was really sad afterwards. Mostly I have been too busy to be sad, but then it just hit me! Can't wait to get back to visit.

I will be out of town next week with Christy, but the week after I think I will check out Santa Cruz bible church. That is also a huge church! If you know any churches up here, let me know!

Saturday, August 19, 2006

The First Week...

So by popular demand...here is my first week of school. (as a teacher, i mean!)

On Monday, we had a whole day of training. 8:30-3:30. After that the first and second grade teachers stayed another 1.5 hours to figure out a problem. There are 2 bilingual classes and two english classes. There is only 1 bilingual teacher, and 3 of us english speakers. The district wants us to be teaching 50 percent spanish and 50 percent english. To make the program bilingual, my class switches with another class for language arts. I teach both classes in english and Laura, the Spanish Speaker, teaches it in Spanish. The first day, I met a lot of my parents. Only a few of them speak English. I was surprised at how much Spanish I remembered! Good thing too, since I have been speaking Spanish for about 85 percent of the school day! I have a few students who don't speak English, so speaking Spanish is the best way to clear up instructions. I should be completely bilingual by the end of the month!

My class is very sweet, but very loud! On the second day, they took advantage of me a little bit, so on the 3rd day, I turned into a meanie. I took away 7 recess' and the whole class had to stay in for 5 minutes during one! Needless to say, it worked. They were shocked, and I will continue to be that way until it works.

All of the teachers at the school are amazing. They are all very young and very fun! I get along with all of them and have become friends with a few! I am enjoying being a teacher, but there is so much work that goes with it! I am always so tired, so I rarely do anything after work! I am looking forward to trying out a church tomorrow. And tonight, I'm going to Jessi's belated graduation party! She's the only one I really know in the area, so I am excited to hang out with her! Plus I havent been anywhere but Watsonville and Gilroy for the past week. Speaking of Gilroy, that place is the greatest, with the exception of the smell lol. 145 outlets...that place is so amazing! I can't wait to go back!

I am missing SLO a lot! But, I am trying my best to move on and make my life here. I am missing you all, and I hope everyone is doing well!

Sunday, August 13, 2006

more Hawaii...


Girls "night out" haha


parasailing!

ok..my computer is being too slow..more later!
Work starts tomorrow! ahh!

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Hawaii in a nutshell...hehe

Way too much to tell, so I'll do my best!

Day 1:
-Almost missed our flight in SLO, nugent party of 3, alderton party of 1, last call..haha
-Found out we were going to the big island, flying into Kona (it was a surprise!)
-Christy met us at LAX (was supposed to be a surprise, but i kinda knew, nevertheless, i was ESTATIC!)
- We got to Kona about 11:30 am, hit up costco and the grocery store, settled into the condo, and slept!
- spend hours trying to figure out why hawaii looked more like a desert than a tropical island...gotta love the lava rock!
- settled into our condo in Waikaloa
- I honestly dont know what happened the rest of the day haha

Day 2:
- went snorkeling at Kaphu'u beach, or something like that
-soooooooo awesome, snorkeling is so cool, and we saw tons of fish
- hung out the rest of the day at the pool and condo

Day 3:
- sooo sick, not cool
- we went to a private beach, where only 25 outside cars are let in
- it was awesome, but i was sick, so i didnt really get to enjoy it, no good
- went to downtown Kailua-Kona with Christy, trying to find the "Scene"
- apparently people dont go out on Mondays, no luck, haha
- did tons of shopping though!

Day 4:
-took a drive to the other side of the island, Hilo
-it was much more tropical, swam in a waterwall, hiked to a few others, and bought a fresh, ice cold coconut from a cute hawaiin boy
- we also went to the hilo zoo for 15 minutes, because it closed at 400 and we got there at 345 haha, turbo tour, otherwise known as the blair zoo project on my video camera!
-went to a park in hilo and just enjoyed that side of the island

Day 5:
- probably my favorite day in hawaii!
-in the morning we went to the pool
-then, Christy and I went parasailing!
-we went up to 1200 feet! if you know me, thats a big accomplishment.
- I saw a group of about 15 dolphins, soo lucky!
-boat drivers definitely made the trip even more fun, good times!
- that night we went to a luau at the marriot(we= Christy and I)
- it was awesome. awesome food, awesome show, awesome company
- our table was a lot of fun, although the host guy couldnt find us 2 single guys! :o(
- Snuck into the marriot pool, then called it a night hehe

Day 6:
- kayaking! we all rented kayaks and kayaked a mile in the ocean to a prime snorkeling spot
- the snorkeling was great, and the kayaking was hard work, but wow Benjamin did awesome!
- on the way out, christy and i got stuck on a rock, hilarious, but we got out!
- took the kayaks back to the Kona Boys, and got ready for dinner, after some home made macademia nut ice cream!
- we went to a nice dinner at Cafe Pesto...yummy!

Day 7:
-we went out to the beach at the mariott resort!
- not great snorkeling, but the waves were a good size for benjamin
- talked to a fireman(got paid 5 bucks haha), who tried to talk me into moving to hawaii to teach, apparently theres a good job market
- after my credential is cleared, i will seriously consider it! ( you all have 2 years to save up to visit me in hawaii!)
- Katie and Tim took a snorkeling cruise, so christy, benjamin and i headed over to the hilton to see the dolphins and sneak into the amazing pool! haha
- that hotel is AMAZING, you have to take a tram to get around it!
-we packed up the car and went to bed early!

Day 8 (last day) :o(
-left really early to turn in all our gear, and head to the other side of the island
-we headed for the Hawaii Volcanoe national park. We saw craters, went in pitch black lava tubes and took a 3 mile hike to a crater.
- Did i mention there was an active volcanoe directly in front of us? It was awesome!
- Drove back around the hilo side, and stopped at a stand and had white pineapple, soo yummy!
- went to the firestation to buy a shirt, no one there :o(
- dinner at the beach front hard rock cafe, then off to the airport!
- Our flight, which was supposed to leave at 10 pm, didnt leave til 12 am!
- It took us a few hours to check our luggage!
- We got to SLO around 1130 CA time, i took a nap, did some laundry, then headed up to oakland for traning!


That's where i am now. I'm staying at a friend's house in Pleasaton, until thursday, then a hotel thursday night. I am going on my 3rd day of training. It's not too bad, im just stressed that I am here and not in my classroom where I should be! I talked to my new mentor teacher and the new principal. I think I am going to be richly blessed in that area. I have heard great things about both! yay!

I hope to upload some more pictures once i get settled in! Hope everyone is doing well!
-

Friday, August 04, 2006

Hawaii!!!


We're in Hawaii! We are having a great time! Christy and I went parasailing and to a luau yesterday! We had an awesome time doing both! Today was kayaking and snorkeling! Wow, I'm exhausted! We are on the big island of Hawaii, about 30 miles from Kona. This island is different because it is full of lava rock! The island was formed by volcanoes and still looks like one. Haha. We also went to the other side, and its very tropical! More Hawaii-ish! The island is huge, all the other islands could fit on this island, with room left over! I am really enjoying the time away, and am not looking forward to getting back to normal life! Benjamin is holding up well, but he is really jealous that tee-ti got to see dolphins when she was parasailing! Hope everyone else is doing well! Back on Sunday, then its off to Oakland for training!


Aka Aka Falls