a day in the life.

you may be wondering, at this point, if i've possibly embarked on some party of a lifetime adventure.. which in one way i definitely have. however, there is another aspect that i think has been missing in this blog - perhaps what i do everyday? cool. i'll tell you about it.
6:00 am. band plays (bang bang BOM BOM BOM, see previous post). i know i have to wake up in 15 minutes.
6:15 am. roll out of bed, get ready, pack for school, make some coffee and head out the door. sometimes some last minute preps for the day.
7:00 am. wait for the bus out front of my apartment building. with kathleen and grant. usually we talk about the army base band and how they sounded this morning.
between 7:05-7:20. board the staff bus that picks us up. it is sometimes, however not usually, punctual. we pick up a bunch of teachers on the way, and wind our way down the mountain, back up the mountain, through the nighttime rain puddles, and up to school. usually this time of day is the best for seeing the snowcaps. they are pretty breathtaking in the morning, and by early afternoon they are hidden in the clouds. It is wild to be amongst tropical plants and gazing up at snowcaps... i sometimes have to kick myself a few times. YES! you are really here.
between 7:25 -7:45. arrive at school. try not to fall down the slippery stairs, usually i'm carrying way too much stuff (today, for example, a cake i baked in our new oven!) say hi to students, open my room, get ready, the usual.
7:55. school starts.
kids pile in. usually i have 9B first period (every day in the cycle except for one) they sit down to some writing and reflection on what we learned yesterday, we listen to music.. and then start class about ten minutes into the period.
today was a review day since tomorrow they have a test. i can't believe i got throught my first unit. i mean, it was easy content but still - great success. now i just have to get through, i don't know... 7 more?
8:55. end of period 1. kids pile out. they are always so quick to leave, but also so slow to arrive... oh highschool students.
8:58. period 2. usually prep. sigh. photocopying, cleaning up, doing lifeskills evaluations (i do them EVERYDAY for ALL my students. it's a lot), getting ready for the next class.
10:01. period 3. 9A piles in. i can't wait until i get my camera cable, i have some pictures of my 9s and their macromolecule projects. they are so hilarious.
11:01-11:24. break time. today it was cake-break with a few kids from student council. yummm.
11:24-12:24. period 4. sometime prep, sometimes 10A, depending on the day. the tenth graders are awesome. there are WAY less of them, and they are much more responsible/mature. on friday, for example, we were all feeling a bit jittery. so i took them outside, and they sat around me on the grass, and we read a few (INTERESTINg, i promise) parts of the origin of species. I think they liked it. well, maybe just the outside and storytime part.
12:27-1:27. period 5. Usually 10B. this group is trying to fundraise to buy a class pet. they have told everyone to bring in 1000 pesos so we can buy one. they want a snake. i say that's ok, as long as THEY (not me) are willing to feed it (rats i think... gross). i would rather just get a fish. but hey, that's too simple, right? gosh.
1:27-2:20. lunchtime! by this time we are all pretty hungry and restless, so lunch is a welcomed break. it's nice to chat with my colleagues rather than 13-16 year olds.. and we get fed delicious hot colombian food. (well, some days more delicious than others). and it is enough food for me for the entire day (soup, rice, beans, meat, arepa, platanos, yuca, potatos ... some funny fruit usually). when i get home, i'm usually craving either a)vegetables or b)cheesecake.
2:20-3:20. period 6. usually prep or 10A. more photocopying/getting ready for the next day/cleaning up from my classes.
3:20. school's out. visitors drop by, some for extra marks, others to say hi, others to tell me about the manizales jazz festival coming up next week, others to find out what i'm doing this evening/weekend. they are nosy kids.
3:30. try to take off from school. only works on monday and friday though. usually we stay for meetings, prep, etc.. and sometimes we have yoga/ultimate/soccer practice.
4:30. take the bus home.
i usually crash pretty quickly after that. it's a long and lovely day.
and then it all starts again the next day...