So, another couple of months have gone by and I haven't updated this thing. What has happened to me? Too much and too little. Too much to put into a single diary entry, and too little that is of interest to anyone but me.
The summer at camp was amazing, of course. It wasn't what I expected, but nothing ever is. I don't know what I thought that I would get out of it. I guess I thought that it would give me a chance to get out of the city, meet some friends, maybe work on opening up to people. (I'm not exactly famous for being warm and friendly and open with people.) I think that I did all of that. But the meaning of the summer was something else, something that I can't quite express. I can feel it slipping away from me as I immerse myself in my job again. It's strange being alone again. I'm so used to waking up in the night and hearing the people around me, spending my free time listening to someone's guitar playing, always waking everywhere and never really being alone. I miss it. I tend to forget how much I need people. I realized it just as the summer was over, and now I'm alone again.
School is interesting, it always is. I have 21 students in my class this year- 14 boys and 7 girls. They are a fun group, and full of energy. This last week was hard, more because I wasn't used to the stress and the hard work than because of the kids. This week will be easier- no school tomorrow because of a teacher inservice, and Friday is a half day because of Labor Day. I have a lot of fun stuff planned. (I think it's fun, at least,) We are measuring lots of things, using string to explore body ratios, and learning about properties of matter. In math we are taking surveys and graphing the results. In language arts we are writing reminiscences and sharing stuff about ourselves. In religion (I have to teach religion, can you imagine?) we are interviewing adults about their religious history. Nothing too controversial, just where did you go to church as a kid, were you confirmed, that kind of stuff. I don't want to get fired or anything, I just want the kids to do some thinking about how their religion is similar and different from others. I worry about these kids sometimes– they come from a place where everyone is the same. They are nearly all Hispanic, nearly all Catholic, middle class, not disabled, etc. I think that their view of the world is limited because of this. I worry that they will not be as accepting of different kinds of people as they might be if they came from a place where people were very different.
So, that's my life right now. Lots of other exciting things have happened to me (well, not that exciting,) but this is dragging on already. More later.
