Coming back from South America was quite the shock - not typical reverse culture shock, but a real change of pace from last year. Over the summer, I realized many things about myself: primarily that I have changed quite a bit over the last year. Having responsibility of 100+ students for a year forced me to mature quickly, which is a very obvious change.
While I was in SA, I made many goals for myself for the upcoming year, a few of them detailed below:
1) Find happiness in every day. Last year I struggled a lot. While I realize that struggle is part of being a teacher, I also realize now that it can't be everything. I love what I do - I love that I get to spend my days with students who make me smile and laugh, teach me about the world, and surprise me every day. This year, I want to focus on the positive and be sure to remember the jokes, the insights, and the innocence of the students that I teach.
2) Explore. Since adventuring is what I do in SA, I figured I needed to bring that back home to DC with me. I still have so much to get to know in this city and around, so I plan to use this year to explore, camp, hike, run, and just get to know my new home.
3) Exercise. I am a better person and a better teacher when I exercise, so I decided I need to make it part of my daily routine. As a result, I signed up for a half-marathon for my birthday this year - it will be the most challenging thing I have ever done physically, but I am super excited!
4) Cook, read, write, and play guitar. These things help me process the events in my life, and they make me happy. And happiness is good :)
5) Expand my networks. I decided that I need to continue to seek out people who challenge me, inspire me, and push me to become better at what I do. I know this is not always easy, but I am willing to try.
These goals have kept me going the past week, and I hope they will push me to be a better person all this year.
Now, a few stories:
1) On the second day of school, I was in 4th mod teaching procedures to my students. Kniyah raised her hand. I called on her. She said, "Ms. Norgren, the classroom is shaking." And immediately afterwards, the room began to shake even more - I watched as the metal doorframe moved back and forth. I thought a million things, and my heart started racing. I didn't know what to tell the students except "get away from the windows and come over here!" I have never felt more scared in my life - I actually imagined for a few seconds that I was going to have to watch the walls around me crumble on top of 20 students. It was a nightmare. But the students stayed calm, and I pretended I was okay. After 5 minutes, the entire school evacuated to the outside field. Yes, it was an earthquake in Maryland. A 5.8 earthquake to be exact, which happens to be the biggest in 70 years. We waited until the building was inspected and then headed back inside for MOD 5.
2) Hurricane Irene. I am currently waiting in anticipation for Hurricane Irene to hit the DC area. I bought water, non-perishable food, and batteries for my headlamp. I haven't left the house since my run this morning. I've been cooking, relaxing, reading, and writing. Life is good. It has been raining off and on - the brunt is supposed to hit later this evening. Hopefully all is well!
Take care,
Anne Marie
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