testing brought back memories of HONDURAS

well, here we are again...testing wears me out! first it was taks...now it's staar season. i'm not a fan of testing, because it makes for a treacherously long day! and i get so stinkin' bored! at least i was with my students from last year. as i was looking around the room, i was reminded of how much i miss them! they were a good class! i don't remember if i thought that last year, but right now, i am REALLY missing them!

so as i was 'actively monitoring', i had to strategically move around the room. and amazingly enough, it seemed like every time someone important would walk by or pop their head in, i was in the same spot, hence making it look like i wasn't really moving around the room (but if you ask those kids, i think they were getting dizzy...and i did it with such stealth, that they would quietly look around to locate my position).

yesterday was better than today because the windows were open (it was so hot in the room, they had to open them), and it was great to feel the breeze, and hear the fountain and the birds! relaxing. at one point, it made me think about high school in HONDURAS  at e.i.s. we kinda had an open-air ventilation system. i transported myself back to the good-ol-days when i had to do social work-collating dirt, filling 100s of bags full of dirt for our greenhouse, planting plants all around the drive...as much as i didn't enjoy social work because i'd rather have been playing volleyball, i look back on it fondly...if those were the "unenjoyable" moments, you can imagine how incredible the other moments were! i truly enjoyed every minute of it! some moments:

typical computer class..notice how few computers there are..hmmm..

this picture is special to me because freda was one of those friends who was so humble and fun and everyone adored her and her quiet spirit-she recently passed away due to cancer, but her spirit and way of being remain fresh in my memories!

just taking a moment to play a little air-guitar...

eis breakfast club (special spanish class...and we were pretty special....in our minds)

yanira my volleyball pal-and i believe that is chin behind us (he was one of the guys who helped us improve our game)

and here we are at a game-i don't stick out like a sore thumb do i?

i wouldn't give up my high school years in HONDURAS for all the money in the world! sorry-total tangent...wait, no, i'm not sorry! every once in awhile i have to talk about the amazingness of my past because it has shaped who i am today! (someday i will have to share some of the stories about individual friends-erika, helen, sheryl(little sis), bernadette, and so many more!)

so back to testing...last night i decided to make some food for today-somehow it just makes the day a tiny bit better...so i was looking forward to that while we were testing, which made every minute take 7 minutes to pass (and as everyone knows, every seven minutes, someone is thinking about abraham lincoln); by then most of the kids were done with their test. so after lunch, i was a little tired..in fact i may or may not have tried to hypnotize myself into staying awake with my classroom keys....and the natives were getting restless- lots of fidgeting. so when that final student raised his hand to let me know he was done, i rejoiced!

and then when i took students outside to be picked up, i was blind-sided by the cold weather BOOM! there it was! so i was very excited to come home and put on my long-sleeve t that i mentioned yesterday (pretty sure i have worn it every day since i got it). in fact, i have TWO shirts on! i also have the soft, green one (also from bmayes, also from wyoming!) i have just come to realize that i am passionate about awesome comfortable t-shirts! thank you bmayes for helping me to learn that about myself! so, there you have it...to all potential gentleman callers out there (but let's be honest, who even says 'gentleman callers' besides jane austen and marilla from anne of green gables..) but i digress, it's like i was saying, apparently tulips and daisies are only one way to my heart, comfy t's are the other! so , the one who comes bearing said gifts will most certainly be up there on my list (but then he has to pass the intelligent conversation test, and meet the high expectations and make me laugh) well, in the meantime...i'll just buy my own flowers or grow them and wear the t-shirts my friends get for me!

julie