As much as I try to forget and push off the ending, it is impossible to ignore. This week was the beginning of the end. Tuesday marked the seniors last official day of school. I've become so used to seeing them run into my classroom every morning seconds before the bell finishes ringing and pour out their excuses for being late. I love singing with them for worship, even when they take some pushing to get them singing. I look forward to sharing a devotional thought with them and starting the day with their math class. Their antics throughout the day make me smile even when they are driving me crazy. I love my class. How did the year come to an end so quickly? It seems like just yesterday I had half the year to look forward to still. The last couple days of school with them will remain fresh in my memory for a long time. They started with their last chapel on Monday morning. They lead singing and then one of my senior boys spoke. He had trouble last time he spoke but after we talked he did a lot better this time. To end a video had been prepared showing their junior and senior years. The rest of the day was spent working on finals and finishing the quarter. My favorite day was Tuesday. For their last day I made them a special treat, nutella peanut butter brownies. I let them sing a little longer then usual in the morning, lead by the ukulele (their instrument of choice). One last devotional from Jeremiah 29:11 and then I gave them their gift. I had the book "Oh the Places You'll Go" for each of them with a message I wrote in the beginning. I wasn't sure if they would like it, I thought they might find it silly. But they loved it, for a second it was like I was teaching an elementary class, "Ms. will you read it to us?!". They all sat quietly, quieter then I think they have been all year, and slowly flipped through the pages as I read it to them. "You have brains in your head, you have feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself any direction you choose...". The rest of the day flew by, they coated my guitar case in their names until it looked like a rainbow of paint exploded on it, it makes me smile.
I was sad starting the school day Wednesday thinking I would just be in my empty classroom for first period but to my surprise lots of my seniors came! They hung out with me and worked on last minute make up work. It isn't entirely over yet! We even had a cake fight on Friday :). This week starts the last full week of school, then finals, then graduation. I hope and pray it all goes well, or at least that God continues to help is through no matter how things turn out! I think one of the biggest lessons I've learned this year is that perfection or things "going right" can be extremely over rated. Some of the best memories and experiences here have occurred when things didn't go quite as planned. So instead I guess I'll pray for the wisdom to work through whatever is ahead and the strength to accept that the end is coming.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
Firsts and Lasts
This week went by fast, too fast. It had a lot of firsts in it; first time to bird island, first time to see a Manta Ray and a shark, first paper ball fight in geography class. It had a lot of lasts also; last regular school day with my seniors, last week of prayer, last time speaking for vespers, and most likely the last baptism. We started the week with a trip to bird island on Sunday. Bird island is very small, and mostly rocks, it's kind of like a miniature rock island from Palau. Their isn't much land, mostly rock covered with crabs; but it is completely surrounded by white sand and reef! They took us out in shifts on the boat. We swam most of the time, explored the poky rocks, and screamed multiple times when crabs the size of my face scurried out of a crevice next to my hand. As the tide went out a nice little beach formed around the rocks. School started as usual Monday, but this week was week of prayer. We had a special guest speaker, Jesse's grandfather, come and speak to the high school and middle school. It's always exciting to see some of the students decide to give their life to Christ during week of prayer. One student in particular has been struggling this whole year. He really wanted to be baptized but his parents wouldn't let him. He finally felt so called to be baptized that he came to church today and we went to the water right after church. I know it is going to be hard for him at home, but I pray God would give him courage and faith to face what's ahead.
This was my last full week with my seniors. All I have is two days of finals next week and they will be dismissed early. I can't believe it is almost over. I really can't imagine a morning where they aren't running in just as the last bell rings coming up with their excuses for being late, hearing them sing as loud as they can to try to earn a star on the board, or trying to persuade me that I don't feel like teaching math this morning. I just can't imagine it, I'm really going to miss them. I was getting really frustrated with how messy they were leaving the room so they made a special effort to clean the classroom. I came back from geography and found they had thoroughly cleaned out everything and rearranged the desks. They say the are excited for summer, but I can see they are also sad to see this chapter of their life over. One of the girls told me "Ms. college sounds cool, but I don't want this to end". I know exactly how she feels, but I reminded her what I always remind myself. Life doesn't stop and we have to keep moving with it or we will miss out on the next amazing plan that God has ahead for our lives. I am going to try to fit as much fun into the last few days with my seniors this week. They only have a few finals and then free time, so we will see what happens :). I find myself recording and taking pictures of the most mundane things because I know those are the things I will probably miss the most.
My favorite moment this week was my last class of the week, geography. I started class with some pictionary to review India before giving an intro to China. The kids started quietly throwing paper balls at each other, trying to be quiet. Eventually one ended up hitting me, and then another. I looked around and the kids were all smiling, I could tell they weren't trying to be mean or disrespectful, they were just having fun. So I picked up the ones thrown at me and started to throw back, this of course resulted in an all class paper ball war. The kids were having so much fun and of course I became I giant target. I eventually got them settled back down and I continued the lesson. The kids were all talking about how fun class was afterwards and saying they were glad I knew how to have fun. I think this year has taught me how to embrace things as they come. I could have gotten upset with the kids and told them to stop and pay attention, but then I would have missed out on a fun memory with them.
We had a holiday Friday so we took a boat out in search of Manta Rays. You are guaranteed to see manta's year around in Yap, if you dive. It is sometimes harder to see them just from the surface. But we found several! The ones we saw were only babies, which is crazy because they were the length of my arm span. The full grown mantas can get between 18 to 20 ft wing span, large enough to pull the boat! We jumped in the water so see them snorkeling, they are harmless, but they were scared away by that time. They took us to see a shark too. We saw a big reef shark out really deep, I was really scared to get in the water but they said it was harmless so we jumped in! I was so nervous, but the shark stayed hidden while we were swimming around. I was hoping it would come out so I could say I swam with a shark! Maybe I still will before I leave.
Here goes a new week, I hope it is filled with as many memories as this week was.
This was my last full week with my seniors. All I have is two days of finals next week and they will be dismissed early. I can't believe it is almost over. I really can't imagine a morning where they aren't running in just as the last bell rings coming up with their excuses for being late, hearing them sing as loud as they can to try to earn a star on the board, or trying to persuade me that I don't feel like teaching math this morning. I just can't imagine it, I'm really going to miss them. I was getting really frustrated with how messy they were leaving the room so they made a special effort to clean the classroom. I came back from geography and found they had thoroughly cleaned out everything and rearranged the desks. They say the are excited for summer, but I can see they are also sad to see this chapter of their life over. One of the girls told me "Ms. college sounds cool, but I don't want this to end". I know exactly how she feels, but I reminded her what I always remind myself. Life doesn't stop and we have to keep moving with it or we will miss out on the next amazing plan that God has ahead for our lives. I am going to try to fit as much fun into the last few days with my seniors this week. They only have a few finals and then free time, so we will see what happens :). I find myself recording and taking pictures of the most mundane things because I know those are the things I will probably miss the most.
My favorite moment this week was my last class of the week, geography. I started class with some pictionary to review India before giving an intro to China. The kids started quietly throwing paper balls at each other, trying to be quiet. Eventually one ended up hitting me, and then another. I looked around and the kids were all smiling, I could tell they weren't trying to be mean or disrespectful, they were just having fun. So I picked up the ones thrown at me and started to throw back, this of course resulted in an all class paper ball war. The kids were having so much fun and of course I became I giant target. I eventually got them settled back down and I continued the lesson. The kids were all talking about how fun class was afterwards and saying they were glad I knew how to have fun. I think this year has taught me how to embrace things as they come. I could have gotten upset with the kids and told them to stop and pay attention, but then I would have missed out on a fun memory with them.
We had a holiday Friday so we took a boat out in search of Manta Rays. You are guaranteed to see manta's year around in Yap, if you dive. It is sometimes harder to see them just from the surface. But we found several! The ones we saw were only babies, which is crazy because they were the length of my arm span. The full grown mantas can get between 18 to 20 ft wing span, large enough to pull the boat! We jumped in the water so see them snorkeling, they are harmless, but they were scared away by that time. They took us to see a shark too. We saw a big reef shark out really deep, I was really scared to get in the water but they said it was harmless so we jumped in! I was so nervous, but the shark stayed hidden while we were swimming around. I was hoping it would come out so I could say I swam with a shark! Maybe I still will before I leave.
Here goes a new week, I hope it is filled with as many memories as this week was.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Frozen
Their are moments in life I wish I could freeze. Not forever, just for a few minutes so I could enjoy them a little bit longer. Time seems to move on so fast and their are things I just want to sit and enjoy a little longer. Sitting on the desk in the sophomore room surrounded by my girls sharing their problems with me and confiding in me. My seniors singing as loud as they can in the morning hoping to earn another star on the board. Being joined by several of my students during my morning supervision; they came up and sat next to me, usually they just go sit with their friends. Watching the sun set through the coconut trees from the almost broken deck outside our apartment; and leading the small congregation in worship for vespers barefoot with a guitar that refuses to stay tuned in the humidity. Life, however, doesn't slow down or stop it seems as if it actually speeds up. Despite the business of this week it had many blessings. The two students in my class who had the betel nut I found ended up being asked to withdraw, but they didn't give up! I was really worried that when they were asked to leave they would just give up on graduating, something I would just hate for them to do. But instead they worked hard to turn everything in to me and transfer their grades to Yap High so they can still graduate. Just when I was getting really stressed about graduation planning and the end of the school year my students would come in with something funny to tell me or do something to make me laugh. For example, they decided they wanted to play freeze tag for PE. I'm still really concerned for some of my seniors making it to graduation, but I just think they might make it. The ones who were ignoring their make up work are finally taking an interest in it, finding that last bit of motivation they need.
It can be really easy to think these kids are just like American kids. Especially when they are talking about their favorite Glee character and singing popular songs from the radio; but their lives are very different. I am reminded of this at random times. Like when I found out that one of my students is pretty much married. In Yapese culture marriage is a bit different then in the states, not quite as official. If a women is living with a man for a long time, a year or two, they are pretty much married in everyone's eyes. The only thing that could make it more official is if the father gives the groom the daughters marriage shells, then it is 100% official. The women don't have much of a say in it either. I mean some do, but if the father decides to give her shells to a man she has to go along with it. Anyways, it turns out one of the girls I have the hardest time with has been living with her boyfriend for several years and she is only 16. Her parents don't seem to be in the picture anymore because her aunt usually comes to parent teacher conferences. I'm reminded even more of the difference in life for the kids here as I drive through some of the villages. Their houses are small and made of storage containers. Many of the students, especially girls, aren't allowed to leave home much. I'm surprised to find out the kids are dreading summer, they hate breaks. Students who hate breaks?! Who has ever heard of such a thing? It isn't that they love school, they just hate being home. They don't get to go hang out with friends they work most of the time; babysitting, fishing, cooking, cleaning. They have very little freedom. Hearing them describe the village life to me and their family life and traditions gives me a new perspective on my own life; on life in the States. I hope I don't lose this perspective when I get back because I have so much to be thankful for, so many blessing I tend to pass by without noticing.
It can be really easy to think these kids are just like American kids. Especially when they are talking about their favorite Glee character and singing popular songs from the radio; but their lives are very different. I am reminded of this at random times. Like when I found out that one of my students is pretty much married. In Yapese culture marriage is a bit different then in the states, not quite as official. If a women is living with a man for a long time, a year or two, they are pretty much married in everyone's eyes. The only thing that could make it more official is if the father gives the groom the daughters marriage shells, then it is 100% official. The women don't have much of a say in it either. I mean some do, but if the father decides to give her shells to a man she has to go along with it. Anyways, it turns out one of the girls I have the hardest time with has been living with her boyfriend for several years and she is only 16. Her parents don't seem to be in the picture anymore because her aunt usually comes to parent teacher conferences. I'm reminded even more of the difference in life for the kids here as I drive through some of the villages. Their houses are small and made of storage containers. Many of the students, especially girls, aren't allowed to leave home much. I'm surprised to find out the kids are dreading summer, they hate breaks. Students who hate breaks?! Who has ever heard of such a thing? It isn't that they love school, they just hate being home. They don't get to go hang out with friends they work most of the time; babysitting, fishing, cooking, cleaning. They have very little freedom. Hearing them describe the village life to me and their family life and traditions gives me a new perspective on my own life; on life in the States. I hope I don't lose this perspective when I get back because I have so much to be thankful for, so many blessing I tend to pass by without noticing.
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