Thursday, June 4, 2015

reflecting on daily life

Ahhhh... We're safely into the beginnings of a summer break here at WS, and it is glorious! Today Chris and I played our favorite game -- "what would we be doing right now?" We look at the clock and remember what class or meeting we would be in at the time, and then exclaim "Yay!" when we look at our current state: taking a nap, reading a book for fun, walking the dog slowly around the chakkar.

spot on!
Don't get me wrong. I love teaching and working with students. I was a distraught mess during this year's graduation ceremony and miss the kids already. But, as I've noted before on this blog, it's an exhausting profession. We need summer breaks, and so do the students!

Still, now that I am safely out of the chaos, I can finally post a short photoblog of a "typical" day during the school year. Family / friends back home, this will give you a bit more perspective on what our days are like here.

6 am morning coffee, cereal / yogurt, and FB -- a consistent pattern!
sadie is still sleepy...
...but she perks up as soon as we head out for her walk!
the sun is still rising over the mountains; i never tire of this view
a few minutes later and it's time for a run
on the way to school, the snow peaks come out -- what a commute!
headed down the zig zag
my AP12 class "works hard" to discuss poetry
the other half of class -- it was great to have such a small and fun group!

during my prep, a mountain of identity projects awaits me for grading

the only way to tackle the pile is with more coffee!!
after a long day, a nice meal is a treat! buff steak with mushrooms,
garlic mashed potatoes, and string beans. yum!

Of course, these sparse photos don't tell the whole story. You're missing tea break, when staff members chat while enjoying refreshments, and lunch break, when we escape to the sun in the tea garden out back. You can also multiply my class photos by four, since this only gives you one glimpse into my teaching day. And I've left out Chris's and my nightly stroll with Sadie -- a 40-minute walk full of our musings about the day, problem students, lessons gone wrong or right, etc. There's no way to capture it all! And though I may complain about life while in the moment, I must admit I feel pretty content. 

Happy break to all my teacher friends out there!!