First Day With Kiddies

I turned the alarm off this morning and woke up at 7:15. I'm supposed to be at work at 7:45 and I live 15 minutes from work when there's NO traffic. Needless to say, I got to work late. What a great start to the school year!

It was a race today to stay up with all the requirements, but I feel decent about having met my responsibilities once I got there. No more turning off the alarm without putting my feet on the floor!

Kids were good today, but there's always a "honeymoon" period. By Monday the goodness will wear thin, and by Tuesday, we'll have normal teens. So far our biggest class has 29 in it. It's shoulder to shoulder in there with 29.

I did a count today while we were talking about countries we've visited, and I've been to 11 countries! Canada, Mexico, France, England, Belgium, Switzerland, British West Indies, Bahama, Belize, Honduras, Luxembourg. Have a passport, will travel! Sometime before I croak, I'd like to see Northern Ireland, Prague, Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, Germany and if get to all those places, then I'll think about places in SE Asia, and even though it's really a part of the US, I want to see Alaska too.

It's interesting to me, and disappointing that so many students who have not been any farther than Alabama, don't want to travel, don't think there is anything to learn by traveling, and are harboring a lot of anger at people from other places who live here. They assume that all immigrants are illegal. A very poor generalization.

One of those palatial homes and businesses in Honduras. The toilet facilities were out back, and I think the bathwater is in the ocean. The woman in the "window" (sans glass) was preparing food. According to teens in Haralson County, all Latino's are Mexican, and I have no idea why anyone would want to leave here for America -- legally or illegally. Our taxi driver in Honduras said there was no reason to leave the island when the hurricanes came, because anyplace they'd fly you would be innundated by water too, so you might as well die at home. It was clear that this island had been very damaged by storms sometime recently. Food here has to be a whole different kind of thing. Nothing like a Publix or Ingles here. The astonishing thing I found was how starched and crisply white the school boy/girl shirts are, and everyone has a white shirt to go with their uniform pants and skirts. I suspect since mom/dad PAY good money to send their children to school that the students are a lot more polite and that horseplay would not be viewed well, either. Neither public nor private schools in these countries put up with students misbehaving. They just throw them out. But..........I digress.

The good news is that I think my hair is about one-inch in length now.

More good news: I got the teacher duty that I really like (really). Every three weeks it'll be my turn to direct traffic in the parking lot. I love telling people where to go. :)

I do have one duty that I really despise. I have to go in and do a "walk through" of the girls bathroom every morning. It is humiliating to have to do that, and it makes me really, really nervous that I'll end up in court someday trying to explain why I was in the student restrooms. Ick! Mostly what I learn is that next to no one washes their hands. Double and triple ICK!

Tomorrow I really can just sleep until I wake up on my own. Ahhhhh, the good life!