Reunited and it Feels So Good!

Top: Sherwin, Jason, Norea, Ervin, and Paul
Bottom: Lorial, LJ, and Maricel (my roommate in the Philippines)
I'm randomly in between top and bottom

Back in 2003 at the University of Washington, I went to class one morning and my Filipino professor (Dr. Bonus, who is totally awesome) began class with an announcement. He announced that there was a new study abroad program offered to students throughout the USA, that would run throughout the summer at the University of the Philippines. My ears immediately perked up, and I was instantly interested. So, that summer, I packed up and went to the Philippines to study along with 31 other college student from everywhere in the US. We were the guinea pigs of this new program, so we all kind of struggled together, and had so much fun doing it.

My time in the Philippines that summer was one of the most enriching experiences of my entire life. I learned a lot about my own heritage, and most importantly, I met some really great people who will be my friends for the rest of my life. We were all part of something so great, and this group of people mean a great deal to me. Though I was not super close to all of them, we all had a lot of respect for each other, and when we were all together, it was such a good time. You would think that 31 college-aged young adults with very different personalities would create drama, but we had nothing but a good time together. I kept in touch closely with some, who also kept in touch with others, who kept in touch with others, so we're all still connected somehow.

Last weekend, some friends from the program flew in to Seattle from New Jersey, New York, Chicago, LA, Santa Cruz, and Alaska for a mini-reunion and it was so great to see them all. We truly picked up where we left off, even after 5 years. It was nice to see that everyone is doing wonderful things in their lives. The weekend came and went all too quickly. I can't wait to see them all again.

I've been tagged. . . (by Mar)

Ten years ago I . . .

1. I was a sophomore in high school.
   
2. was Sophomore Class President
   
3. was on the cheer squad
   
4. had my driver's permit
   
5. lived with my parents and my bedroom was just across the hallway from theirs.
   

5 things on today’s to-do list . . .

1. Pack up my apartment
   
2. Prepare lessons for class tomorrow
   
3. Send loan papers to Countrywide
   
4. Call Honda
   
5. Finish newsletter for class
   

5 snacks I enjoy . . .

1. Pirate's Booty
   
2. Nectarines
3. Sugar Snap Peas
   
4. Chips and Salsa
   
5. White Cheddar Cheez-Its
   

5 things I would do if I were a millionnaire . . .

1. Buy a house on the top of Queen Anne overlooking Seattle
   
2. Travel the world
   
3. Open up my own school
   
4. Hire a chef
   
5. Share it with my family.
   

5 places I have lived . . .

1. Lakewood, WA
   
2. University of Washington
   
3. Quezon City, Philippines (for 2 months)
   
4. Queen Anne, Seattle
   
5. South Lake Union, Seattle (in about 2 weeks!)
   

5 jobs I have had . . .

1. baby sitter
   
2. back up singer
   
3. kindergarten teacher
   
4. first grade teacher
5. full-time daydreamer
   

I tag . . . Steph!

The End of an Era. . .

Sad news, ladies and gentlemen. My beloved active student who I've mentioned in my last few posts has transfered to another school. It was a decision made by her whole family, which will make their lives much easier since her new school is closer to home. Her final day with us was on Thursday, and that afternoon we had a good-bye party for her, complete with cupcakes, dancing, and a friendship circle in which all the children had to mention something that they'll miss about her. Things mentioned were, "I'll miss how she lets me cut her in line," "I'll miss playing games with her in math, " and "I don't know."

I wish the young lady well in her new school. . . and I will pray for her new teacher.

Now my classroom is down to 16 students, 2 of whom were absent on Friday. Man, was it a good Friday!

Inspector Catty and Daddy

So, I had the total case of the "Mondays" today. . . until about 3:30pm.

• I woke up sick this morning. Egh.
• The kids were crazy. They had a case of the "Mondays" too.
• My check engine light is on AGAIN after weeks of dealing with the dealership, the insurance, the autobody shop, and rental car people.

However, there was a great part of the day. Actually, it was so awesome. I had my first inspection for my new condo earlier today at 3:30, and I instantly forgot all of my Monday woes. As soon as the bell rang, I left school and met my dad at the condo, and arriving there was all so wonderful! We looked around the the unit and found just a couple of knicks and scratches here and there, but nothing that a painter can't fix. Then I got back to my current apartment, and as soon as I walked in, I thought, "Man, get me out of this craphole!"

Here are a couple of pictures of my new home, and I can't wait for you all to see it in person. (Please excuse the quality. These were taken on my phone. I forgot my actual camera.) I should have taken more pictures. These pics do the new place no justice.


(The woman in the photos is the Veer Lofts representative, Deanna. She had a really sharp eye for things that my dad and I didn't see.)

TGIF!

Today we had a walking field trip to a P-Patch a couple of blocks away from our school. The children brought clipboards and a pencil so they can make observation drawings of the plants that were at the P-Patch. They've been so hyped about this field trip all week, and they were so fascinated by all the plants and creatures there. The entire trip took up 2 hours of our morning, and we were back in time for lunch.

When they got back from lunch, they were so grumpy! I think the field trip had exhausted them all, and there was constant arguing and tears, whining and tattling. They were all so tired that they just couldn't even handle the day anymore, and I had ended up having to put out so many fires.

I was consoling a child who was crying because he didn't have enough time to play on the monkey bars, and we were talking about the situation. He was crying hard enough to not be able to talk because of the stuttering inhale. I reached and gave him a prolonged hug, and as I was releasing from the hug, he dug his head into my stomach and wiped his nose on my sweatshirt! I looked down and took a deep breath, thinking to myself, "Oh HELL no! Are you kidding me?!"

It really was one of those "Calgon, take me away!" moments. I hope they all get good rest over the weekend.

Repeat Offender. . .

So, the same girl who tried to agree with me that she'd be good every OTHER day found herself having another discussion with Miss Picardal today. (I've actually had discussions with her every single day, but this one was particularly funny.)

During math time, the children use little mini white boards and dry erase markers for quick mental math problems. Each table has their own bin of white boards that they bring to their table during that time, and put away after we're done with mental math. Well, we had just finished the last mental math question and I instructed for everyone to put their white boards and their markers into the bins and one person from each table put the bin away.

So, she was in charge of putting her bin away for her table, and she was waiting on one person to put his materials in the bin. And so, in a robot voice, she kept asking the one person and just kept repeating, "Put it in the bin. Put it in the bin. Put it in the bin. Put it in the bin. Put it in the bin. . ." Over and over and over again, and it was driving me absolutely up the wall. I said, "Excuse me (name), please stop saying that. When you keep saying it over and over again like that, it gets very annoying to the rest of us. You just need to ask once, and if he doesn't hear you, you can ask again."

She said, "Ok, like this? Put it in the bin."

I said, "Yes. Just like that."

She said, "Or how about like this? Put it in the bin." (She said it in a normal voice.)

I said, "Yes, that's fine too."

She said, "What about this? Put it in the bin." (In a robot voice again.)

I said, "Sure. . . "

She said, "Or maybe this? Put it in the bin." (In a happy voice.)

I said, "Ok."

She said, "Or what about this?. . ."

I said, "Now, you're repeating yourself again."

Let's make a deal.

So, the summer is over. Yes, it was great. I had family time, friends time, me time. I couldn't ask for more. I was so not looking forward to work again, mainly because I had to change classrooms (which any teacher knows is a complete pain in the you know what) and I switched teams too. To me, they were both changes that I really didn't want to happen, but I did it for the good of the school. (Yay me, right?)

We've finished 2 weeks of school. First week was the honeymoon phase--the children were just getting to know each other and me, so there was a lot of hesitation to be "their true selves." Now that we're starting to catch onto the routine and getting more comfortable in our surroundings, the personalities are starting to come out. This means, I'm starting to see the good, the bad, and the ugly. (No, it's really not that bad, but you know what I mean.)

There's this one girl in particular, who is just in her own little world and very social. My mom would tell me that I was this student when I was younger. You can tell she's always thinking of something else other than what she should be focusing on because she will, in the middle of a lesson, get up out of her seat and go to her backpack, or at any given moment bust out in song, or walk over to her friend and ask her a question, ask a question completely irrelevant to the topic, etc. Well, just the other day, I had to "redirect" her about 7 times in 10 minutes, which is truly not an exaggeration. So, during recess, we sat and talked about the importance of listening and how it effects her learning and the learning of the rest of the class, yada yada yada. Here is her response:

"Ok, Miss Picardal. I'll be good every other day."

As if it was negotiable. I would go on with what I said, but I thought that would be a good ending.