First real week of preplanning

So... I'm having a hard time trying to organize the massive amount of information that I learn on a daily basis for you. I'll start with some of the more boring stuff and include some random facts and tidbits on a separate post. 2 weeks in and I am still very much in the place where everything is new. 

On Monday, we got to meet our administrators and the new local staff. I very much enjoyed meeting everyone and was encouraged at the atmosphere. It feels very welcoming and fun-loving with high expectations. I would be lying if I said I wasn't slightly intimidated by the great success of the AP program at the school. They had a 95% pass rate for all students that took any AP test and only one person out of 60+ failed the calculus exam. Huge shoes to fill... With that said, I am in a great place to learn and grow professionally and feel that I have a good support system. 

We left school at 3 to attend 'happy hour' at a really neat place. I tried a drink called lemonada de coco and it was very rich. They had multiple different appetizers brought out to us and we had a great time getting to know each other a little more. I got some brownie points by trying the blood sausage but only after I made a local eat it first. 

one of the plates with all kinds of yumminess 

I hunted down some fresh ground peanut butter before heading back to the apartment in a taxi with two others that live close. It really would be nice to live a little closer to the heart of the city. We struggled a little with directions so I asked to get dropped off at exito to get some groceries. I like to tell myself that food always tastes better after carrying it home. 

Tuesday was more meetings and more settling in.... pretty much the story of the week. One of the admin talked about how they were 'a school of yeses' and I liked that openness to new ideas and continual improvement. They are encouraging everyone to step out of their comfort zone and broaden the audience of the students works. We learned a more about culture and what that means for students here. Basically, they love to talk. Classroom participation should never be a struggle but classroom management might be. 

This is in the middle of one of the malls here. The whole city is preparing for the flower festival. 

Wednesday meant more of the same- professional development. So far, I have been impressed with the professional development offered. They generally practice what they preach and model what they want to see. We learned about their lesson planning guide and I was interested to learn that ethics was a part of that. They would like each lesson to have a component of ethics in it. This is because we have students that are coming from wealthy families and will likely be thrust into positions of authority relatively soon. 

I got to meet Sam this morning. Sam has been teaching AP Calculus here for the past 7 years or so and is moving up to be the math coach this year. I am so thankful for his willingness to share, help, and support me. 

I went to my first intercambio Wednesday night. An intercambio is a free language exchange where people come to practice their Spanish and English. It is a really neat atmosphere where the conversation fluidly switches between languages. Everyone is very nice and obviously there to learn so the stakes are not very high. 

Thursday, I went out to lunch with some people at a very neat restaurant. Speaking of food, I seem to be struggling to find my normal. But don't worry, I am still trying everything and seeking out all the new goodies. I didn't have to really change much with the AB curriculum so I finished the bulk of that today and am now trying to sort through BC. 

Restaurant up top. Grocery store down below. Piano in the middle. 

For some reason, Thursday was a bit of a tough day for me. Tough enough that I opened up the last three of my cards (thank you again to everyone). I think my brain had just reached its limit. There really in no time to shut it off because the normal things that you don't have to think about at home are still added stress here- especially because its in a foreign language.  How do you get consistently hot water? How do you get the mail? Where is the gym? Where is ___ at the grocery store? How do you recycle? How do you email your secretary to request supplies (<- google translate). The list goes on... I am ready for the kids. I want to meet them, build relationships with them, encourage them, help them. But yet I'm not ready for kids because I still have so much work to do. 

Its the slow times that life gets hard. Times when I'm surrounded by my blank white walls. Times when I can't tell my taxi driver how to get to my apartment. Times when I have different food in my panty. It's then that I have to remind myself how much I wanted to and still definitely want to do this. This, by no means, is not a woe-is-me post or a buy-me-a-ticket-home post. I just want to be real. This blog is meant to be a forever journal for me that I just decided to share with the rest of the world. So the real me, the realistic me says, yes, life gets hard. 

BUT the great thing is that there are as many and even more things that I am loving about doing life here. And those are so easy to list off and so easy to realize - especially when I am out and about, experiencing new places, and cementing great memories with some awesome people. 

Even in a mall, you can't escape the green. 

I hunted down my soon-to-be gym Thursday. Its called smartfit and it is in the mall near me. Let me just tell you how much altitude affects the body. I was dying!! This mall is quite nice and even exciting enough to have a zip line running through it! 

Anyways.... Friday was back to the grind at work. I tried the cafeteria at school where I believe I will be eating everyday. There are many choices and the food is of course fresh. We eat around 1:30 everyday though so I'll have to work on that snack. I got home and worked the rest of then evening to get the first day powerpoint, syllabi, etc done and went to be early for the big adventure Saturday. 

Walking through his neighborhood. 

Roger, my high school principal, offered to take us all hiking so of course I was all over that. He lives on the other side of the mountain/ past the school. I took a taxi to San Diego mall where we were meeting and hopping on the local bus. We packed in there and got off at his neighborhood. We walked to his house, dropped off our stuff, and headed out with some of his neighbors. 

red bellied grackle 

We climbed up over some hills, through different gates and properties, and eventually in the river. It was a river hike the rest of the way so it was a little slow going. It was incredible. We saw a couple trout in the river and just enjoyed the challenge and scenery. Eventually, we made it to a beautiful waterfall. 

We hiked back (its always quicker getting back!) and made it to Roger's house where he made a nice spread for us. A couple of us picked some oranges off his trees in the backyard for some juice. Delicious tacos and fruit was on the menu. It was quite the spread. I was already feeling spoiled and the day was far from over. Appreciative is an understatement.  

Next stop was a nearby town. He offered to take us to El Retiro, just a few km away. We stopped at a bakery where I had a rich chocolate peanut butter treat. Then we crowded in the cars and drove a little farther into town. It was such a nice, quaint town. Nothing touristy. No gringos in sight. 

Chiva 

If you can't tell, I just love all the different doors. 

Overall, Saturday was just what I needed. I got out of the hustle and bustle of the city life. I was surrounded by nature and good company. 

When you go to bed at 9, 6:15 isn't a bad wakeup time. These early wake up times here on the weekend make the weekday alarm clock hurt a little less. About 7:30, I walked into town to meet up with Andrea at the farmers market. It was so fun to walk around, sample things, and buy some groceries. I walked down the mountain to get there so there was no way I was going to make it back up with all my food. Taxi it was! And I even managed to give good directions. 

my first arepa since arriving. Arepa con quesito. 

A little food prep and house keeping was on the agenda for the rest of the day. I even managed to get  some pictures up on my walls to spice it up a little. 

One more week of pre-planning. This week, all staff will be back. I am excited to meet the rest of the school family!