A veces me pregunto, ¿cómo puede ser que esta es mi vida?

A veces me pregunto, ¿cómo puede ser que esta es mi vida? How is it that this is my real life? It is one of those extremely rare times since I started teaching that I actually have time to write and am in a mood to do it. But I was just thinking how extremely diferente my life is than what I imagined little over a year ago. On my computer I saw this page I had bookmarked last August that had links for schools to teach in Latin America. Remember that time it didn't matter where I needed to go just as long as I could teach somewhere? I was so prepared to go anywhere in the world that I think it's funny that God's plan was to bring me right back to my hometown. But now of course I'm so thankful to be where I am and I see little glimpses every now and then of just how perfect His plan is.

I don't know what I was thinking, thinking I could go off and start this by myself but I am so thankful to be near my family and my best friend Kaycie right now. And I'm so glad to be close enough that it's easy for Ethan and I to see each other. And I have this unique opportunity to be teaching in a bilingual program. This past weekend I got to be back with some of my best friends from college and I was reminded of just how sweet that time was. I miss it. But this time is sweet too.

As crazy and exhausting as teaching full time is, I still feel sorry for people who have any other kind of job. I love it so much that it's sometimes hard for me to fathom that other people wouldn't love it the same. My kids are fantastic and I'm blessed with 2 very small classes, making for a wonderful first year. Every day (well, almost every day) I see them and think, man, this is the best! However I am also becoming more and more aware of just how young and naive I am to the ways of the world. It astounds me how some of my kids have made it to the fourth grade and can't read or add. It hurts my heart for them. But then I'm also reminded how this is exactly what I wanted to be doing, these are the kids I always wanted and I understand that the circumstances are more difficult than I imagined before I started, but hopefully I can make some sort of a difference and positively impact these kids' futures in some fashion.

Fourth grade is the best because the kids are the perfect mix of hilarious and sweet. I enjoy these kids so much. But it's also a little terrifying because middle school looms just two years ahead and if the learning gap doesn't close right now it might not get another chance. I can't believe how quickly this year is flying by and I hope that the time we have is enough. I just have to trust that it will be.

The truth is that I can't believe I am already almost halfway through my first year of teaching! It doesn't seem real! Sometimes other teachers ask me questions and I think, why are you asking me? I'm not their real teacher. And then I remember that I am. So strange and so awesome. Everyday 22 fourth graders are entrusted into my care. I transition between languages a hundred times a day. I wake up in the morning and go to work at the job I have dreamed about and hoped for for so many years. Is this real life?

Amigas y Playas

This weekend I went on a long-awaited road trip with my best friends from high school. So. Much. Fun. There's really nothing like getting together with three of your best friends and catching up. The best part was I feel like we just picked up where we left off like it was nothing, even though the four of us hadn't been together since last May when Melanie got married. Now we all live in different places, but I'm so thankful that we're able to make time for each other and make little trips like this happen. This was a lightning-fast Texas road trip:

Thursday afternoon: Kaycie and I drive from McKinney to Austin to meet Melanie, stopping for coffee in Waco along the way.

Thursday night: Funtimes in our great state's capitol!

Friday morning: We find out that Katie's flight out of DC is delayed and she'll miss her connection in Houston and won't be able to fly into Austin until later tonight. That will clearly infringe on our beach time so we decide to drive to Houston to pick her up.

Friday afternoon: We pick Katie up at the airport, eat lunch in Houston and drive down south to South Padre Island. Woohoo!!

Friday night: Funtimes hanging out on the beach, catching up and eating fried shrimp :)

Saturday morning: Sunrise on the beach!!! Beautiful! Then laying out, playing in the waves and soaking up the sun!

Saturday afternoon: More laying out, playing in the waves, and soaking up the sun!

Saturday night: Funtimes meandering around the island. Lots of little souvenir shops!

Sunday morning: More laying out, playing in the waves, and soaking up the sun (although with a bit more sun screen than the day before)!

Sunday afternoon: Try to rid ourselves of all the sand (impossible), last lunch on the island and start the drive back to Austin.

Sunday evening: SAN ANTONIO!!!! Since we had to drive through it anyway, we stopped for dinner in one of my favorite places in the world. Mexican food on the river walk and a trip to the Alamo. Funtimes.

Sunday night: Austin. More funtimes hanging out and not going to sleep :)

Monday morning: Take Katie to the airport ridiculously early, sleep a bit, then head back to Dallas (making sure to stop in Italy, of course!).

Monday afternoon: Back home in McKinney! What a wonderful trip with wonderful friends. And Kaycie's such a trooper for driving that whole way!

We spent a million hours in the car, but really when you're with your best friends you have a great time no matter what, and our time together and on the beach made it totally worth it!

Esperando....

Lately it seems like all I am doing is waiting. Esperando. Hasta que pase...algo. No sé qué. Waiting for something to happen.

It turns out this whole out-of-state teacher certification is not quite as easy as it seemed. This has to be the longest process ever. I "got" my job in March. Spring Break. Before any of the other interns. I was so happy, it seemed perfect. A gift from God. A sign that this was exactly where He wanted me. Teaching in a 4th grade bilingual class, Language Arts and Social Studies. Perfect. Then of course through April I was still waiting, anxious for something to be more official since they had offered me the job in the interview. And I finally got the call with the offer. So exciting! But of course it was pending TX certification. NBD, this happens all the time. Nothing to worry about. So graduation comes and goes and I'm excited to start my first year of teaching. But I have to wait for my degree to post to get my transcript. Then I have to wait for everyone else's degrees to post so that the U of A certification person can take them to Little Rock. Then I have to wait for the Arkansas Department of Education to approve my certificate. And I wait. And I wait. And I realize I need to pay $100 more. And I wait. And this whole time I'm in communication with the certification specialist for McKinney ISD, but the Texas Education Agency won't look at my credentials until I actually have some. So I wait. And then Arkansas approves my license! Hooray!!! There was much rejoicing!!!

But I still have to wait for the certificate to come in the mail. But time is limited so I have them send a letter to TEA verifying my license. And I send all the necessary documents and get my fingerprints done and pay hundreds of dollars that I don't have to get everything submitted.

And after months of worrying and waiting I felt like things were finally happening for real. But then I called TEA to see if they'd received everything and they told me that it could take 2 to 3 more weeks to even scan anything in to process. And now, you see, time is sensitive. New teachers start back August 13. Three weeks puts me at the end of july. I can't take any of the tests I need to take until I get my review of credentials back. And no one can hire me officially unless all of this happens before August. I talked to the McKinney certification specialist again and there's literally nothing we can do except hope and pray. And wait. And meanwhile the other interns have found jobs, are attending professional development, meeting with their teams and setting up their classrooms.

Here's the thing. I have never been good at waiting. I am an impatient person. So maybe God is trying to teach me to learn to wait on Him. But waiting and not worrying is hard. In my heart I believe that He wants me here for a reason. That all of this fell together so perfectly because it's His will. But now I'm starting to worry because I really don't know what happens if this falls through. Teaching is the only thing I've ever wanted to do. I feel like I've waited so long for this first year. For someone who's known  what they've wanted to do since kindergarten, 13 years of public education, 4 years of undergrad and a year of grad school is a really long time to wait. And here I am all ready to start and it's not happening. I think maybe my greatest fear right now is that this is going to fall through. And I don't know what I'll do. Logically I know that my identity is not only in teaching but in Christ. That there is more to life than a job. That, in the scheme of 18 years of waiting, one more isn't so bad. But in my heart, I'm terrified. I don't know what happens if this job falls through. If I can't do the only thing I've ever wanted to do. Even though I am still fully aware of how blessed I am and how full my life is, right now this seems like the worst thing in the world and the waiting is torture!

But apparently at this point it's out of my hands and try as I might I can't really do anything about it. My tears fall in vain. All I can do is hope. And pray. And wait. And know that God is good. Because He is, you know. Even if this doesn't work out, God is good.

Un Mundo Diferente

So I guess I never really finished writing about Japan, but suffice it to say it was the trip of a lifetime and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Now it seems summer is in full bloom. Since moving back home I have been flitting about on little weekend adventures such as watching the Arkansas super-regional baseball game in Waco, visiting Erin's awesome lake house in Hot Springs, weddings in Fayetteville and Six Flagstimes funtimes. But despite all these fun times on the weekends, I found myself really lacking with things to do during the week. There's always coffee and pool time with my wonderful Kaycie, but I spent a lot of time just hanging around the house watching How I Met Your Mother and playing Words with Friends. Then one night I was at The Porch, which is this ministry for people in their 20s and 30s and the pastor was talking about time being our most valuable asset. You can have all the money in the world and all the skills in the world but once you run out of time, that's it. And we are only on this earth for a little while. So he emphasized the importance of using our time intentionally and making the most of every opportunity we have to serve others and share our faith. And as much as I love words with friends, it doesn't exactly provide with much outside interaction. SO I started looking for places to volunteer, that way I would be able to interact with new people and serve my community and I came across the Samaritan Inn. The Samaritan Inn is the only homeless program in all of Collin County, which is a very, very large county in the Dallas metroplex. I had volunteered with them in high school and after attending an informational meeting this year, I knew that was where I wanted to spend my time. They not only provide homeless people with a place to stay and food to eat, but they provide budgeting and parenting classes along with GED courses and job training. They're really committed to helping people change their life style and become self-sufficient.

So although I would love to spend much more time at this wonderful organization, they've only needed me a couple of times a week. But each time I am happy to help and hope that in some small way I can make a difference. It has been a really eye-opening experience. Even in my own town, there's a whole other world out there. I have been very blessed to never know poverty, even through hard times. But interacting with people who are my age or younger, have multiple children already and are homeless, that's a whole other life. Then there are people who used to be lawyers or nurses and for whatever reason lost their jobs and can't make ends meet. Or people who are trying as hard as they can to escape generational poverty and have nowhere else to go. All in my city. So this experience continually reminds me of how much God has blessed my life and how much I can and should be doing to bless the lives of others. Sometimes I forget and only think about places like Africa or third-world countries or giant, impoverished cities in the U.S., but there is so much to do even in a suburban city like McKinney, TX. Our world is so hurt. The least I can do is volunteer my time to help fix it, bit by bit.

No sé como decir 'aventuras' en japonés...

Mizu, sumimassen, arigato gozai-mas/mashta, onegaishi-mas, kore, hai, e-ie, cawaii...

These are essentially the only words I had to survive on during my week-long adventure in Japan. Water, sorry/excuse me, thank you, please, this, yes, no and cute.
 Fortunately I have friends who are much more proficient than I am.
Let's back up a little. Last July one of my dear friends went to Japan on an English-teaching program. This May, my very wonderful boyfriend decided to take me on a trip to visit him. So a couple of weeks ago we set off across the world and embarked on a Japanese adventure!
Departed: May 17, 2012, 6:00 a.m.: Little Rock.
From Little Rock to Houston, Houston to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to Tokyo we flew.
Arrived: May 18, 2012 4:30 p.m.
We traveled through time and space and, after crossing all manner of time zones, we arrived at Narita Airport in Tokyo. We navigated our way through the airport and miraculously managed to board the correct train. Fortunately Cooper was meeting us at the station where we needed to change trains.
After wandering around the station a bit, we finally saw our friend racing down the stairs to greet us! Needless to say Cooper was a bit easy to spot what his tall, skinny frame and american face and bright red toms shoes in a see of very small Japanese people.

As we rode the train to our Hostel in Tokyo, we were amazed by this strange new world.  
1. Pachinko everywhere. It's like Vegas and slot machines meets ping pong and anime.
2. ANIME. Although I'm not a fan myself, I do know enough to say that those characters could have plopped right onto a street in Tokyo and blended right in. Talk about some crazy styles. Socks with sandals, toe-shoes, crazy tights, multi-colored fingernails, hats, fancy dresses, wigs, costumes,   pants, etc...
3. Anything cutsie that is popular with the American age 4-8 crowd is a hit with all crowds in Japan. I'm talking karaoke walls lined with teddy bears, middle aged parents with dangling animal phone charms, and pokemon centers in the middle of the mall.
4. Hats are very in. Especially with the elderly. And Japan has many many elderly people.
5. There is no end to the city. Even the quaint, country towns have more than 100,000 people in them.

 That weekend we ate a lot of delicious sushi and took Tokyo by storm! We saw a spring festival, visited temples and shrines, drew fortunes and wandered through what could have been an enchanted forest right in the middle of the city. We saw the newest, trendiest aspects of technology, the world's tallest tower, metropolitan centers that mimic Times Square and an intersection about as big as the University of Arkansas. And we ended it up with a Shinkansen ride to Cooper's town.

Lesson 6: Shinkansen=Awesome! Bullet trains that go up to 275 mph and can get you half way across the country in a couple of hours? I think so!

El Fin

Wow! I can't believe that this year is already over. This weekend I graduated with my Master's degree in Childhood Education, thus ending this completely insane internship that has been consuming my life for the past year. Incredible. This time last year I was also graduating, but in looking forward to the M.A.T., not knowing what it would have in store, I was a completely different person than I am now. This year has grown me and changed me in ways I never thought possible. Last year Erin and I always talked about how big this would be. About how this was our mountain, thinking how on earth would we ever survive this. But now we're on the other side. We did it! And it feels so strange because what do you do after you've climbed that big mountain? Move on, I suppose. There will be other mountains. But just for today let's take a second to bask in the glory of surviving this extraordinary year.

This year started out crazy! I was so nervous about becoming friends with the other interns and meeting my first mentor teacher. We started off the year feeling like there was no way we were going to ever get good at this.

Then, just when I was getting really good at first grade and really connecting with my mentor, I moved to 4th. At first I felt like a visitor in someone else's class, not like it was mine. But before long I knew those kids and that class like the back of my hand. I absolutely adored everything about that class! I conducted action research and then defended it in front of my professors, teachers and administrators. Nothing like making what you're teaching your own!

Finally I went down to kinder and, OH what a change that was! Kinder was hard to get used to and not exactly my favorite grade, but I really loved those kids and bonded with them. I'm going to miss them.

Really, I'm going to miss all of them. I can't even imagine how hard the end of next year is going to be! I'm nervous about starting my own classroom. Fourth graders are my favorite but they're kind of scary. And what if my Spanish isn't good enough? But if there's one thing I learned this year, it's that you usually start out nervous and uncomfortable but by the end, you're loving it and doing well!

This quote really sums up this year:
"You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think!"- A.A. Milne

La luz al fin del túnel.

Ya veo la luz al fin de túnel. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I can't really believe how ridiculous this entire year has been. I feel like the past couple of months have been so fast and furious that I haven't even had time to breath, but now-at last! The end is in sight! I'm almost there! This year is most definitely the hardest thing I've ever done but now that I'm almost there, I'm so appreciative for all of it. I just had my 125 page action research report printed and bound, will bind an 80 page curriculum unit this week and finished my professional portfolio. All that's left is to defend my research on the 23rd and finish out the school year. Incredible. I remember thinking back in february that there was no way I could possibly make it to this point but here I am! With time to blog and everything!

And God just keeps showering me with blessings and reminding me how much he has planned for my life! Over spring break I went on my first and only job interview. It went so well so now, as long as I get everything taken care of with my certification this summer, I have a job as a 4th grade bilingual teacher in McKinney, TX! I've been hunting for jobs (at least in my head) since last july, and now that I have one I don't even know what to do! I've got my dream job straight out of college (not even actually) and will be back in McKinney. Unbelievable.

I graduate with my Master's degree in less than a month, am going on a trip to Japan and then will finally begin preparing my very own classroom. I can't even imagine. My life has changed so much this year it's hard to even think what could be next! As hard as the MAT has been, I am almost scared to finish. I don't know what next year has in store or how to do any of it, and that makes me pretty nervous and a little terrified. But this time last year that's exactly what I was thinking then too so I know I'll make it!

Maestra Jardinera

La vida de una maestra jardinera...I haven't really had a spare second to sit down and think about my transition to kindergarten because everything has been so busy, but now I can finally see the light. It's been incredibly hard leaving my 4th graders. I knew it would be hard, but I never knew quite how attached I was. I miss those kids and my wonderful mentor teacher so bad. I learned so much and even though there were days when I was very tired and not really excited to be at school, it was still the greatest experience I could have possibly asked for. I can't imagine a more positive, fun and supportive environment for me to really dive into teaching.  It's a tough change going to kindergarten from fourth. My mentor teacher is so nice and the kids are the sweetest little things you could ever see, but still... it's a very stark difference. The dynamic is just so different, but I'm also learning a lot about myself and what I think/want as a teacher. And one of the sweetest things has been getting to be with two other awesome interns. I'm really enjoying that part because I didn't really have that when I was the only intern in 4th grade. And I'm finally getting to go on field trips, which is so much fun. I've been to the drive-through zoo, I'm headed to the botanical gardens in a couple weeks, and best of all, I get to go on a couple field trips with 1st and 4th grades! So excited to see those kids again! And kindergarten is pretty fine, not quite as intense content-wise, but it's kind of nice to come in from recess and get bundles of flowers every day :)

Tecnología

La tecnología me quiere matar. I think technology is trying to kill me. Or at least force me to have a mental breakdown. It's kind of funny really because I never thought of myself as someone who was particularly challenged by technology. Not at least in the way some people are. But lately it seems as if everything I touch malfunctions. Or it could be user error. We can't be sure. Either way, me and technology seem to be fighting an awful lot lately and I've about had it. Let me preface this by saying that I have always loved my computer. A darling little 2007 macbook. Of course we've had our differences and over the past few months complications have arisen due to its old age (5 years is a long time for a little laptop) but for the most part we have always gotten along splendidly without any real problems. However, a couple of months ago my computer revolted against me. With the monumental amount of stress placed on me due to the MAT and the even more monumental importance of these projects I've been working on, I thought it wise to purchase an external hard drive. And so it began. Somewhere along the journey of backing up all my most important files, I must have offended my ever faithful macbook. It decided to strike back, hitting me where it hurt- Microsoft Office. Suddenly, my computer refused to run any sort of microsoft office document. This really wasn't too big of a deal except, oh wait, every single important document you could possibly ever need to open or create involves office in some facet or another. After skating by using a free trial of the newest version, I finally had to accept defeat and reinstall my 2004 version onto my computer. It worked and everything went great, nevertheless, tensions were still high.

Enter microsoft excel. Excel and I have never gotten along, probably because I've never been properly taught how to use it. However, in recent months I had really begun to see its merits. Until the t-tests. Odious t-tests. When it came to data analysis for my all-important action research, excel had me beat. And my once friendly little macbook gloated.

And even when working on my actual write-up, my computer would sneakily not save pieces so that I would have to re-do them, or revert back to previous versions of the document.

Then came the onslaught of formatting issues which made finishing my action research report, professional portfolio and curriculum unit nearly impossible.

Even Powerpoint, a program which has always come so easily for me was ridiculously difficult.

Finally however, I thought I had won the battle. I finished my research report and portfolio and had them printed and bound. I had even finished the content of my research presentation. All that was left was fixing a few cosmetic issues. Easy breezy.

False. Technology had merely been biding its time. Waiting for me to become overconfident and slip up. Then it would make its move and go in for the kill. I decided to work on these issues on Ethan's new computer because he had a newer version of office so I needed to mess with the design issues on it. I didn't realize it then, but even his computer was snidely combatting my efforts.

Technology: I refuse to recognize your flash drive
Kaitlyn: No prob, I'll just email it. Problem solved in a jiffy.
Technology: Fine, I'll make changing your color scheme trickier.
Kaitlyn: Psh. I've got time, I'll make it work.
Technology: Oh just wait. I'll refuse to recognize your template.
Kaitlyn: NBD, I can change all the fonts and sizes manually.
Technology: I'm only letting you think that I'm auto-saving your progress. Heh, heh, heh.
Kaitlyn: Hooray! Nearly done! Just gotta fix that formatting for my references!
Technology: heh heh heh...(Powerpoint- not responding)
Kaitlyn: PANIC!!! (Trying to save but it won't work.)
Technology: Hahaha I'll just hide all traces of your hard work on this Windows computer.
Kaitlyn: NOOOOOO! (Curls into a ball on the couch and cries. Then finally finds the powerpoint, but it is all corrupted and unusable)
Technology: Muahahahahaha

You've won this round technology, but I'll beat you one of these days!

Una conexión fuerte

Para los maestros, es importante establecer relaciones buenas con los estudiantes. One of the best things about teaching, I think, is getting to know the students. I feel like this past month I've really connected with a lot of my kids. Because my research is on writing, they write for me every week and although it's a lot of grading, it's pretty fantastic just to hear what they have to say. Sometimes it's just funny, like hearing that half of the students' favorite restaurant is Golden Corral and the other half prefers McDonalds. Sometimes it's sweet, like reading how much of an impact certain teachers and family members have made in their lives. And sometimes it hurts, like seeing how hard life is for some of these kids, how some of them face issues at 9 years old that no adult should ever have to face.

But either way, I feel like this project is helping me get to know my students on a whole new level and I'm loving it. This week especially, I feel like I've really been able to connect with one of my girls. She's just as sweet as can be but kind of painfully shy. It can be so hard to get even the slightest sound to come out of her mouth sometimes. If she could, I'm sure she would go the entire day without talking, and sometimes she almost does just that. But if you can get her hands to uncover her face long enough to see her smile, she's just the sweetest thing in the world. But life is hard for her and school is too. Sometimes she just shuts down and you can't get her to do anything or even look at you. This happened a lot this week and I felt like one day in particular she just was not responding well to me or anyone and was getting really frustrated. So that afternoon I was talking to her and asking her how things were. She said they were bad and I told her I could tell, because it seemed like she was shutting down. She kind of smiled like people told her this a lot. I told her that I knew how hard it was but that we had to find a way to not shut down, to keep going, even when things get really hard. That I wanted to help her to find a way to do this. So we talked for a bit and then the bell rang. On her way out the door, she gave me the biggest hug and said, "Goodbye, Miss Datzman!" Her spirits had lifted and her voice was clear. The next day, when she was starting to shut down during math, I just went over to her and talked to her a bit, got her to get a drink of water and gave her some encouragement. She came back ready to work. She hung around me all during recess that day and the next. Then, when I was working with her and another girl on math, she started talking a little bit louder. She was shy at first but then started gaining confidence and it was fabulous. It probably didn't look like anything from the outside. I mean, what's the big deal about a student answering a few questions out loud when correcting a math test? But in that little moment I could see our connection. I could see that she trusted me enough to talk and was going to put forth the effort because she knew I cared and believed that she could. Some of these kids have been conditioned to think so poorly of themselves that they just don't even think that it's worth trying. But when you can build up their confidence enough to get them to see that they can do it, and when they know you believe they can, anything is possible. It's things like this that remind me that I have the best job in the entire world.

¿Sueño? ¡Ja!

Me di cuenta el otro día, que la vida no es tan sueño. I came to the conclusion the other day, that life is not quite a dream. If only for the fact that to be dreaming you have to be sleeping and in my life there is certainly no time for that! Everyone I've ever talked to about the MAT program said that October is the hardest month because it's so busy. But now I'm beginning to wonder, did they somehow managed to skip over the rest of the year? Don't get me wrong, October was definitely crazy, but February seems to be even more daunting. I tried telling myself the other day, that if I could just make it through February, I'd be fine. Because February is the month of action research, parent conferences, curriculum unit design, curriculum unit implementation, and oh yeah, two weeks of solo teaching. So clearly it's kind of a big month, it should ease up after that, right? Todavía no. See the thing about February is that it is very closely followed by March, the month of action research post-assessments and write-ups, the end of fourth grade and the beginning of kindergarten, developing a professional portfolio and oh yeah, that whole applying for jobs thing. And then if you can make it till the end of March, there's still April, which is dominated by defending action research before a committee and teachers and principals, curriculum unit write-ups, final Pathwise assessments and a trip to the Arkansas Delta. So there's no slowing down there either. I'm starting to realize that from this point on, there's no slowing down, no letting up, no stopping, no sleeping. From here on out it's go go go. This MAT is like a marathon but at sprint speeds. I feel like I'm living 18 different lives right now and going full speed in all of them. Maybe the reason nobody tells you about February is because too many people might quit before even making it this far. By February though, you're in too deep to get out. You just have to keep up and hope for the best, knowing that it is all surely worth it and in a way, you're almost there. Because you see, the best thing about April is that it comes right before May and in May sí, se puede dormir. May is a breeze because it's just a couple of weeks of finishing strong and then graduation. Hooray! So really, if I can just survive February, March and April, I think I can make it. There is hope for sleep in the future. Un sueño posible. 

Velocidad Máxima

Corriendo, manejando, hablando.... lo que sea, voy volando con alta velocidad. These days I feel like I'm flying. Speeding through life so fast I can hardly keep up. At least that's what it feels like to me. The Arkansas State Police Department seems to think so too. I got my first speeding ticket a few months ago, and in an effort to keep the ticket off my record, I had to go to court and take a defensive driving course, send in my records from Texas and all that. This process of dealing with a ticket began in November and is now finally finished. I am free. But still flying it feels like. Actually I've been much more careful about my driving speed anyway. Although in some sort of mishap I got pulled over again a few weeks ago. This time, however it genuinely was not my fault. The cop that pulled me over clocked me at going 83 mph but I am one hundred percent positive I was going 74. His justification for pulling me over was that my car was black, and so was the car that was speeding. Ok. At any rate he gave me a warning so all's well that ends well I suppose.

But this whole ordeal really has made me stop and think, why the rush? Between student teaching, grad school, working at the church, tutoring, having a boyfriend, seeing my friends and getting ready to enter the workforce, it hardly seems realistic to go any less than 180 mph. Figuratively speaking of course. I don't think that a.) my car could even go that fast and b.) any police officer would just give me a warning for una velocidad tan alta. Really, with as fast as my whole life is going, that first police officer should have shown a little more understanding because 10 over is a pretty reasonable pace, all things considered.

Nevertheless, I guess it's a good reminder to slow down every once in a while. If only por un momentito.

De Vuelta a la Vida Real

So despite the way-too-short Christmas break, I cannot even begin to describe how happy I am to be back at school. I really don't think there's any workplace quite so cheerful or energetic as an elementary school and I feel so blessed to get to be there every day. It was so much fun being back with the kids. Tienen tanta energía que me parece imposible estar descontenta. AND this semester we get to teach social studies! Actually the depressing part is that we only teach 1 semester of science and 1 semester of social studies. The kids are so interested in these things and they're important but unfortunately there's not enough time for both I guess. ¡Qué lástima! It's no wonder our kids today aren't leaders in science and have no idea about history or geography or any of that.
But anyways, I'm really excited because social studies is so much fun! And I'm ready to dive in to action research! I start my research officially on Tuesday and I'm pretty pumped but also nervous. It's kind of stressful having this whole thing be on me. But at the same time, I'm really excited to get to teach something that's all mine every day! I think it's going to be fun! Espero.

The new year brings me back to the real world (well, sort of) so it's back to long days, early mornings, lesson plans, grad school, work, research and not near enough time to get everything done, but nevertheless it's good to be back!

Un Año Nuevo!

Feliz año nuevo! Chau 2011, ¡que venga lo mejor que 2012 pueda traer!

I can't believe how quickly this past year flew by! I still feel like it's about 2003 or so most of the time and here we are welcoming in 2012. This life is insane but I love it! But before we move on full speed ahead into 2012, let's take a look at the best 2011 had to offer.

Enero brought us feet of snow and weeks without school! Wonderful times trapped inside with my friends!

Febrero reminded us of dear old Abraham Lincoln's birthday and inspired so many wonderful and ridiculous parties with friends.

Marzo carried me and my awesome roommate (along with her mom and aunt) across the southeastern united states on a fabulous spring break road trip that included such beautiful places as Savannah, GA and Charleston, SC!

Abril saw the end of my Honor's thesis project and defense. Something I worked extremely hard on and stressed out about all year and was able to finish strong!

 

Mayo is a month so epic that it really has a couple tops! First came graduation, such an emotional end to four incredible years at the University of Arkansas and some sweet final weeks with irreplaceable friends!

Then came the gorgeous wedding of one of my best and oldest friends! Friends since we were 11 years old, I felt so blessed to be able to be a part of Melanie's wedding and new life with the man of her dreams!

Junio brought me through the ashes and soot in my long awaited return to mi querido Buenos Aires! There were so many obstacles in the way but those two wonderful weeks with my sweet friend Poli in my favorite place in the world made it well worth the trouble!

Julio watched as my mom recovered from knee surgery. She's so much happier now that she's not in pain, such a blessing!

Agosto kick-started my MAT adventures with a cheerful new school, a fantastic new mentor, a new class of kids to steal my heart and a great new group of friends to remind me that I'm not in this alone!

Septiembre changed things up with some new hair and new confidence as I dove head first into teaching 1st grade!

Octubre saw me through my first solo week and move forward to life in the 4th grade! The theme for october, supposedly the hardest month of the MAT, was survival, so survive I did!

After a wild and crazy october, noviembre made way for fun times with a new boy in my life :)

Y finalmente diciembre flew me and the other interns off to NYC, adding some new dreams to my heart and making for one of the most fun trips I've ever been on!

One other absolutely magnificent thing that happened in December is that I was able to come home to a house with dogs again. Or at least a dog. My mom got a puppy for Christmas and she's just the greatest thing in the entire world!

With such a completely wonderful 2011, it's no wonder I am so excited to see what's in store for 2012. ¡Vamos!