Hey ladies!
I have really enjoyed readig all your posts and learing about your curret lives and happenings. I have to say my life does not have the peace since we do not have our weekly meetigs to check in. So far my life has bee a whirl wind...I mean what els is new? Workig at the ew Windsor Catonment state historic site...is fun...its my own little family. But I have been doing it for so long..not really any room for growth..but its fun and comfortable. So far ive been dressing in revolutionary war clothing..cooking meals on fires..hanging effigies...trying to get grappling hooks out of trees..monitoring the blacksmith shop..playing chess, stool ball(old fashined baseball), sewing, laundry, and cutting down trees for fort fortifications...haha its a world of its own. I also wet to California with my great gradmother...ad our family there wanted ot show me EVERYTHING! and we did see a lot...it was so beautiful. Just halfway through the trip my grandpa..in NY had a heart attack and the ext day had open heart surery..4 bypasses...and now is home recovering..so I spet a majority of the trip worrying and wantig to be home...but it was still nice. It was still nice getting to kow other family I do not know well...seeig beautiful parts of our country and spending time with my great grandma. Other than that thigs have been the same old same old. Each weekend Ive been busy trying to go to a grad party or meet up with someone. I feel the summer is going by wayyy to fast and that I am desperaely tryig to seize each moment before I leave...yet in doig so I might be missing the moments..ad ot being fully preset most of the time....any suggestions on how to clam down..fit it all i and still ejoy each moment of each day? well i miss you all...hope the wrld is good on your ends. Alida...i know youre not permanently statined yet..but some ppl I kew who did teach for america often needed more supplies and stuff for their classes bc the kinds/ school did not have necesary stuff...if there is anything I can try ad sed u or that you need...let me know :) love you ladies so much! wishing you the best!
Colleen
Monday, June 29, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Aloha!
Hey everyone! Jenna, I'm so glad you got this started! I'm so happy to hear that things are going well, Alida, Jillian, and Jenna, and I hope they continue to for everyone! I just came back from Hawaii tonight. The time difference is kind of crazy--we left at 8:50pm Hawaii time and arrived at 5:00pm Eastern time--so we lost 6 hours. I can only imagine how much crazier it will feel when I lose 12 hours in Cambodia.
The trip was absolutely amazing--and so much needed. I finally got to relax and do nothing--and I think I read something like 8 different books over the three weeks (horray!). I spent 18 days on the island of Kauai with my family. We were welcomed to the island with dolphins our first morning, and our last night, we were blessed with a rainbow. In between, we did a lot of snorkeling and chilling on the beach. One of my favorite moments came when snorkeling--I was out on an edge of the reef and stumbled across a sea turtle resting under a rock. I just floated and watched it for a while, watched it surface and then return. It was incredible solitude, where it seemed only the turtle and I existed, one of those moments where I could live simply in the present and all was right in the world.
Probably one of my other favorite things was a motorized hang glider trip along the NaPali coast, where I learned to fly it, and we watched dolphins and turtles along a coast that is overwhelmingly beautiful. My dad, my brother and I also hiked the NaPali coast--11 miles to a permit-only beach. The trail was challenging--but in a good way, and there were views that there really were no words to describe all the time. We had an off day between hiking there and hiking back. I kayaked a little with a guy we met (50+ year old aged hippie/surfer but utterly fascinating person), and we went to beaches where it was just he and I and the birds and waterfalls running off the trail into the beach. It was perfect.
Now that I'm back, it makes Cambodia and Trinidad and everything feel very real...I'm so excited, but the reality of what I'm doing is also really really intimidating.
Miss you all!
The trip was absolutely amazing--and so much needed. I finally got to relax and do nothing--and I think I read something like 8 different books over the three weeks (horray!). I spent 18 days on the island of Kauai with my family. We were welcomed to the island with dolphins our first morning, and our last night, we were blessed with a rainbow. In between, we did a lot of snorkeling and chilling on the beach. One of my favorite moments came when snorkeling--I was out on an edge of the reef and stumbled across a sea turtle resting under a rock. I just floated and watched it for a while, watched it surface and then return. It was incredible solitude, where it seemed only the turtle and I existed, one of those moments where I could live simply in the present and all was right in the world.
Probably one of my other favorite things was a motorized hang glider trip along the NaPali coast, where I learned to fly it, and we watched dolphins and turtles along a coast that is overwhelmingly beautiful. My dad, my brother and I also hiked the NaPali coast--11 miles to a permit-only beach. The trail was challenging--but in a good way, and there were views that there really were no words to describe all the time. We had an off day between hiking there and hiking back. I kayaked a little with a guy we met (50+ year old aged hippie/surfer but utterly fascinating person), and we went to beaches where it was just he and I and the birds and waterfalls running off the trail into the beach. It was perfect.
Now that I'm back, it makes Cambodia and Trinidad and everything feel very real...I'm so excited, but the reality of what I'm doing is also really really intimidating.
Miss you all!
Holla from Houston!
Hey y'all! I'm so glad this got started (you're a rockstar Jenna!) and I totally believe the Jillian bugging you part! I was actually just going to send out an email to everyone today, but this is so much better. So it's Saturday morning of my first real weekend in 2 weeks. I've been traveling/getting up at 5:30/going to classes since last Tuesday. Thus, it's actually hitting me how far away from home I am. But, it's been a good, busy ride so far. I caravaned down with some people from the Northeast and luckily we've all become pretty close. It's nice to have a steady group of people to come "home" to at night (they definitely don't match up to the reflection and healing power of you guys though.
Institute in Houston is pretty tough. I have about 5 courses a day and start teaching on Monday. I'm teaching 6th grade world History and Geography to a class of 15. I'm pretty excited because we're starting off with 2 weeks on the Aztecs, Mayans and conquistadors, so most of my time can be spent on figuring out how i'm going to teach it instead of the content. On Monday, and every day following for the next 4 weeks, I'm going to teach for an 80 minute block, have 3 classes a day, and bus duty. Doing the reading and stuff kind of got me ready, but talking to some of the teachers here, it's pretty obvious why there's this huge achievement gap in our nation's schools. (and I'm not just saying that because they've been brainwashing us!)
Anyway, my quick stay in Mississippi was good, it's incredibly flat and wet and at somepoint I'll get some pictures. I don't know my placement for the year yet, but it will be somewhere in Mississippi and not Arkansas. Enjoy your weekend and I hope to be hearing from y'all soon. (oh and by the way, i started picking up an accent while in Mississippi, but it's gone now)
Institute in Houston is pretty tough. I have about 5 courses a day and start teaching on Monday. I'm teaching 6th grade world History and Geography to a class of 15. I'm pretty excited because we're starting off with 2 weeks on the Aztecs, Mayans and conquistadors, so most of my time can be spent on figuring out how i'm going to teach it instead of the content. On Monday, and every day following for the next 4 weeks, I'm going to teach for an 80 minute block, have 3 classes a day, and bus duty. Doing the reading and stuff kind of got me ready, but talking to some of the teachers here, it's pretty obvious why there's this huge achievement gap in our nation's schools. (and I'm not just saying that because they've been brainwashing us!)
Anyway, my quick stay in Mississippi was good, it's incredibly flat and wet and at somepoint I'll get some pictures. I don't know my placement for the year yet, but it will be somewhere in Mississippi and not Arkansas. Enjoy your weekend and I hope to be hearing from y'all soon. (oh and by the way, i started picking up an accent while in Mississippi, but it's gone now)
Hi Everyone!
Thank you, Jenna for making the blog. Hope everyone is having a great summer. I am jealous of your nice weather in N.C. because I have had a few nice days here, but other than that it is chilly and rainy. My summer is going ok so far. I definitely wish I was back at Marist because I do not like living back at home. I have been applying to jobs, but no luck so far. A lot of people that I have been talking to said that the schools do a lot of hiring in July and August, so I guess I will have to wait and see. It did not really hit me that we graduated until yesterday when I received my teaching certificates in the mail and realized that I was officially done with Marist :( Anyway, for now I have been working a bit at the day care center that I have been at since high school so at least I am making some money. It is actually nice not having to work full-time there because in the past few summers I have worked 50+ hours a week and it is nice to have some free time and days off to spend with friends or just read a good book and relax (although, I am not totally comfortable with this less stressful life:) Well, I have to run because my mom is yelling for me to do something, so I will talk to you all soon. Thanks again, Jenna! Miss you all tons!!!
Friday, June 12, 2009
1st post!
So, thanks to Jillian for her nagging (just kidding, it was one message), I started our women's group blog and can't wait to hear from all of you ladies about how your summers are going and how life post-Marist (except for Katie:) )is going! As for me, right now I am down in North Carolina at my parents' house for the next week and am basically just enjoying the amazing weather we've been having. Andrew was down visiting for a week and then a couple of my other friends came for another week. It's been a lot of fun and I'm kind of dreading coming back up north because after that I'll be working every day for a longgg time. Welcome to the real world I guess. Anyway, I can't wait to hear from everybody else. Miss you & love you all lots! Jenna
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