Well, I am official back to work.... summer is over. It is great to be back though, and I am truly loving this experience of being at the same school and in the same room for two years in a row! What a concept! This week we have been meetings pretty much all day, which is mentally tiring. This morning we had a 4 hour training that reminded me of the diversity day episode from the office. The training was put on by the office for civil rights and the reason we were having the training was because of an incident that happened like five years a go. Don't get me wrong, I think the idea of the training is great. But I just couldn't help but think of the Office. There we were getting trained because of something that happened at another school. And if you are as big of a fan of the office as I am, you know exactly what I am talking about!
I am very pleased with how my room has turned out. And I am even more pleased with the minimal effort I have had to put in, seeing as how I am just setting things up and not having to clean up someone else's mess first! I hope to remember to take my camera to school tomorrow so I can take pictures, and then you all can see what it looks like.
Complete
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Hello again old friends!
I know it has been awhile since I last updated (so sorry!), but here is the skinny of what has been going down with me and my life in Kona....
On the very last day of work, minutes before I left for summer vacation, the principal at my school offered me a job for next year. I will still be in Kindergarten, which is great, but I will be teaching Senior Kindergarten next year, also referred to as "transitional first grade". The class is for kids who were 4 years old when they started kindergarten last year, and are not quite ready for first grade this year, but don't need to repeat all of Kindergarten again. I am very excited to teach this because my class will already have been at the school for one year, and I will still get to work with the same teachers. It is the best of both worlds, or so it seems!
I had every intention of going into my classroom early to get started on putting things on the wall and organizing some stuff, but I just haven't made it to that... and I dont' think I will!!! My summer is shorter this year and I want to enjoy every last moment of it. Also, I get to be in the exact same room I was in last year, which means I won't be walking into a total mess! Which I have done for the last two years! Whoa! This is going to be my third year of teaching! It feels surreal!!!
Well, that is all for now.... dont' want to bore you all! I will try my best to try to keep this thing more updated!!!
On the very last day of work, minutes before I left for summer vacation, the principal at my school offered me a job for next year. I will still be in Kindergarten, which is great, but I will be teaching Senior Kindergarten next year, also referred to as "transitional first grade". The class is for kids who were 4 years old when they started kindergarten last year, and are not quite ready for first grade this year, but don't need to repeat all of Kindergarten again. I am very excited to teach this because my class will already have been at the school for one year, and I will still get to work with the same teachers. It is the best of both worlds, or so it seems!
I had every intention of going into my classroom early to get started on putting things on the wall and organizing some stuff, but I just haven't made it to that... and I dont' think I will!!! My summer is shorter this year and I want to enjoy every last moment of it. Also, I get to be in the exact same room I was in last year, which means I won't be walking into a total mess! Which I have done for the last two years! Whoa! This is going to be my third year of teaching! It feels surreal!!!
Well, that is all for now.... dont' want to bore you all! I will try my best to try to keep this thing more updated!!!
Monday, May 11, 2009
19 days and counting...
There are only 19 days of school left! I can't believe it! The school year is coming to close. It has been crazy with having to get everything ready for the end of the year, but the kids and I have had a lot of fun as well. We spent last week working on our mother day projects which included a magnetic picture frame. They turned out really well! We also went on a field trip last week to the Onizuka space center. It is a museum at the airport!!! It was totally cool. It had a lot of really cool hands on stuff for the kids to explore with. I really want to go back sometime just for me since I was busy keeping an eye on the kids and didn't get to play with anything myself... well, maybe I played a little bit ;) The Onizuka space center is named after Ellison Onizuka. He was from Kona and was the first Hawaiian and first Asian astronaut. His second mission was the Challeger, so the museum is a memorial to him.
One month from today I will be back in California for a bit and in two months my sister Avila will be here visiting me! Yay! If only the summer was longer!
One month from today I will be back in California for a bit and in two months my sister Avila will be here visiting me! Yay! If only the summer was longer!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Adeus Brazil!
Today I leave Brazil and head off to NYC! I have had wonderful time in Brazil, and would love to come back again some day (hopefully in next 5 years while my visa is still good!)
Here are some of the pictures that I have taken over the week in addition to the ones I posted at first. On Tuesday or Wednesday (I don't remember which day!) the giant map that Jill made was laid out on the gym floor. People got to pray and worship on the map, and it was amazing! On Wednesday afternoon Jill did her first of two workshops, which I sat in on. Even though I had heard it once before, it was still really cool to hear again how God is using mapping to fulfill the great commission. It has been really great being here this week, seeing people come together and strategyzing how to reach each and every person in the world!!! Wow! It's an amazing task that is in progress!
I have had a lot of down time this week, which has been nice, since I pretty much left for this trip straight from work! And it has been great supporting Jill in which ever way I can.
Since the Call2All congress ended on Friday morning we had the afternoon to do what we wanted. So we walked through the town to try to find some souvenirs but everything was so nice and expensive! We went to a mall to look around (which had like 5 levels!) but it was way out of our budget :) We don't even have a mall in Kona, and this one was way nice and way cleaner than even the one in Santa Rosa! The whole city is way cleaner than any city I have seen in the US, and it definitely feels safer than a lot of places in CA!
We did eventually find a little shop that sold turisty stuff so yay for that!
Okay, well, check out is in 20! Got to run! Hope you enjoy the pics!
Here are some of the pictures that I have taken over the week in addition to the ones I posted at first. On Tuesday or Wednesday (I don't remember which day!) the giant map that Jill made was laid out on the gym floor. People got to pray and worship on the map, and it was amazing! On Wednesday afternoon Jill did her first of two workshops, which I sat in on. Even though I had heard it once before, it was still really cool to hear again how God is using mapping to fulfill the great commission. It has been really great being here this week, seeing people come together and strategyzing how to reach each and every person in the world!!! Wow! It's an amazing task that is in progress!
I have had a lot of down time this week, which has been nice, since I pretty much left for this trip straight from work! And it has been great supporting Jill in which ever way I can.
Since the Call2All congress ended on Friday morning we had the afternoon to do what we wanted. So we walked through the town to try to find some souvenirs but everything was so nice and expensive! We went to a mall to look around (which had like 5 levels!) but it was way out of our budget :) We don't even have a mall in Kona, and this one was way nice and way cleaner than even the one in Santa Rosa! The whole city is way cleaner than any city I have seen in the US, and it definitely feels safer than a lot of places in CA!
We did eventually find a little shop that sold turisty stuff so yay for that!
Okay, well, check out is in 20! Got to run! Hope you enjoy the pics!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Brazilan Worship
Hello all! Well, it is another day here in Curitiba and I am absolutely loving it! I am having way more fun than I imagined I would, except I think I am still feeling the jetlag a bit! I am having a wonderful time helping Jill and participating in congress. Yesterday morning was the big prayer event over the enormous map that Jill made. I have pics that I took from it that you can see on my facebook... otherwise you can wait and you can see when I have a chance to put them up on here. I filmed some of the worship from yesterday and wanted to put that on (I mainly filmed the drummer for my mom, since she says that they never show the drummer! So this is mainly for her, but figured others might want to see it too!)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Day 2 of Curitiba
Bom dia! Today is my second full day in the city of Curitiba, and the first day of the Call2All conference. It has been a busy, fun and amazing day. The breakfasts that are included here at the hotel are amazing! Definitely my favorite meal of the day! They have a spread of fruits, pastries, cereal and more. And the coffee is absolutely wonderful!!!! They even have cocoa powder for you to make your own mocha!
The day of the conference started with worship and since they had the Portuguese words on the overhead, I was able to use what Spanish I know to figure out what most of it said, so that was fun. I have become more comfortable with speaking the language, even though I don't know much and I know I am probably saying stuff wrong. At least I am trying!
For the conference Jill had 200 maps of South America printed (which I folded last night!) and today I helped her lay them out on the tables for the pastors to work on this afternoon. During their seminar they had to color in the regions where they are present, and then later me and some other volunteers looked at all the maps and compiled the numbers which Jill then put on her computer.
I have taken a few picture so far, so I thought I would put up what I have. Enjoy!
The day of the conference started with worship and since they had the Portuguese words on the overhead, I was able to use what Spanish I know to figure out what most of it said, so that was fun. I have become more comfortable with speaking the language, even though I don't know much and I know I am probably saying stuff wrong. At least I am trying!
For the conference Jill had 200 maps of South America printed (which I folded last night!) and today I helped her lay them out on the tables for the pastors to work on this afternoon. During their seminar they had to color in the regions where they are present, and then later me and some other volunteers looked at all the maps and compiled the numbers which Jill then put on her computer.
I have taken a few picture so far, so I thought I would put up what I have. Enjoy!
Monday, March 23, 2009
2 down and 5 to go!
One of my goals in life is to travel to every continent. Until yesterday I had only been in one (North America) but now that number has doubled! I am now in the other part of the Western Hemisphere - South America. Brazil to be more exact. After 5 airports, 4 airplanes and about 40 hours I finally arrived to my destination. I have only taken a few pictures thus far, and once I have taken more I will hopefully be able to put them up for you all to see.
I am here with my roommate who is here for work. There is a conference going on for pastors to attend to, that is pretty much all the info I have on that, and I am here to help out in any way I can. It doesn't start til tomorrow so I am spending the day catching up on some work for school. That is not all I have done though! So don't worry! We walked around a bit and saw the church we will be meeting at. The city we are at is very clean and seems very nice. For the most part you would think that you were in a city in the US, except that everything is in Portuguese.
Speaking of Portuguese, I haven't gotten to use much so far. I know how to greet people and say thank you, which is a good start, and I am trying to learn new words as I go. I have tried a little Spanish, but not all of it translates over so there is still some confusion.
I know starting tomorrow things are going to get busy, but hopefully I will have time again before I leave to update you on what is going on with me here in Brazil! Please keep us in your prayers!
I am here with my roommate who is here for work. There is a conference going on for pastors to attend to, that is pretty much all the info I have on that, and I am here to help out in any way I can. It doesn't start til tomorrow so I am spending the day catching up on some work for school. That is not all I have done though! So don't worry! We walked around a bit and saw the church we will be meeting at. The city we are at is very clean and seems very nice. For the most part you would think that you were in a city in the US, except that everything is in Portuguese.
Speaking of Portuguese, I haven't gotten to use much so far. I know how to greet people and say thank you, which is a good start, and I am trying to learn new words as I go. I have tried a little Spanish, but not all of it translates over so there is still some confusion.
I know starting tomorrow things are going to get busy, but hopefully I will have time again before I leave to update you on what is going on with me here in Brazil! Please keep us in your prayers!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Party Like a Rock Star!
Before I moved to Kona I told my friends that my one goal in moving here is to make friends with someone who has Rock Band, because it is simply the greatest game ever! Well, after 8 months I have finally accomplished that goal! Last night I went to a Rock Band party where we all dressed up as rock stars. It was so much fun! I had a lot of fun getting dressed up and even more playing the game! I went with my two roommates and there were other YWAM people at the party as well. Below are some pictures from the totally radical time last night!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
One Amazing and Crazy weekend!!!!
Aloha all! I had a long weekend these last three days with it being president's day yesterday and I had a really great, relaxing time. I had two really great noteworthy things that I would like to share...
The first is a word of testimony. It can kind of be a long story the way I tell it, so I will try to keep it short. I decided to try to get my taxes done this weekend, but I found out it was going to cost between 130 and 180 dollars because I have to do taxes for both Hawaii and California. My dad told me it would be worth it to pay the bucks this time since i have so many different variables with taxes this year. But the Lord is good! Because as I was frantically searching for a form (which I haven't even received in the mail yet!) I found an unopened envelope that had a dividend check for 150 dollars!!!! Isn't that AWESOME!!!! The Lord works in mysterious and marvelous ways!!!! Cause that is just about how much I am going to need!
The second great story I have to tell is actually kind of sad, however, I think it is the funniest thing that has probably ever happened to me. So my roommates and I went to the movies on Sunday and as I was driving back home there was a pigeon in the road. Now, usually, things like that get out of the way. So I didn't think to slow down, I just kept on going, thinking it would move. Well, I got to about 5 or 10 feet away from it wasn't doing anything so I said, "Move birdy, move!" Well, it didn't and so I thought it woudl just go under the car, and be unharmed. Well, at the last second it decided to fly away, which was a huge mistake for the bird, because it totally hit the front of the car! I looked in the rear view mirror but didnt' see anything, but there is no way it coudl have survived. My roommate and I laught hysterically the rest of the way home, and all the way into our apartement, and then even a little bit after that. I don't know why it was so funny, but it was..... and is.
The first is a word of testimony. It can kind of be a long story the way I tell it, so I will try to keep it short. I decided to try to get my taxes done this weekend, but I found out it was going to cost between 130 and 180 dollars because I have to do taxes for both Hawaii and California. My dad told me it would be worth it to pay the bucks this time since i have so many different variables with taxes this year. But the Lord is good! Because as I was frantically searching for a form (which I haven't even received in the mail yet!) I found an unopened envelope that had a dividend check for 150 dollars!!!! Isn't that AWESOME!!!! The Lord works in mysterious and marvelous ways!!!! Cause that is just about how much I am going to need!
The second great story I have to tell is actually kind of sad, however, I think it is the funniest thing that has probably ever happened to me. So my roommates and I went to the movies on Sunday and as I was driving back home there was a pigeon in the road. Now, usually, things like that get out of the way. So I didn't think to slow down, I just kept on going, thinking it would move. Well, I got to about 5 or 10 feet away from it wasn't doing anything so I said, "Move birdy, move!" Well, it didn't and so I thought it woudl just go under the car, and be unharmed. Well, at the last second it decided to fly away, which was a huge mistake for the bird, because it totally hit the front of the car! I looked in the rear view mirror but didnt' see anything, but there is no way it coudl have survived. My roommate and I laught hysterically the rest of the way home, and all the way into our apartement, and then even a little bit after that. I don't know why it was so funny, but it was..... and is.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Chloe
Aloha readers!!!
I keep meaning to update you all on life here in Kona, but things have been a bit hectic here lately. Let me begin by telling you all about Chloe. She is our new class pet, and the kids love her! She is a beta fish. She gets fed Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the kids. It is a reward for the kids to get to feed her, so it is a nice little extra motivator.
For the last three weeks I have been taking Sirac (not sure on the spelling!) lessons at the YWAM base which is right next to where I live. It is a form of dancing that is a mix between swing and salsa. I love it! I go with some people from church, and then of course there are a ton of YWAM people there. Some I know and some I don't, but I am getting to know people's names more and more as I go. It is on Sunday nights and it is a great way to end the weekend. The best part is that it is only 4 dollars per class! What a deal!
I also got a new roommate yesterday. Her name is Leah and she is fantastic! She is so sweet and nice, and she loves the Office, which is a deal breaker for me :)
I keep meaning to update you all on life here in Kona, but things have been a bit hectic here lately. Let me begin by telling you all about Chloe. She is our new class pet, and the kids love her! She is a beta fish. She gets fed Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the kids. It is a reward for the kids to get to feed her, so it is a nice little extra motivator.
For the last three weeks I have been taking Sirac (not sure on the spelling!) lessons at the YWAM base which is right next to where I live. It is a form of dancing that is a mix between swing and salsa. I love it! I go with some people from church, and then of course there are a ton of YWAM people there. Some I know and some I don't, but I am getting to know people's names more and more as I go. It is on Sunday nights and it is a great way to end the weekend. The best part is that it is only 4 dollars per class! What a deal!
I also got a new roommate yesterday. Her name is Leah and she is fantastic! She is so sweet and nice, and she loves the Office, which is a deal breaker for me :)
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
One of those days...
Aloha all! Today has been quite a day, and I must say that I am ever thankful that it is almost over. Although it was nice having a three day weekend, I was sick all day yesterday, so I couldn't even do anything fun. I just stayed on the couch all day and watched pretty much all of cycle 11 of ANTM. When I woke up this morning I did not want to get out of bed, so I prayed for strength for the day and got ready for work. I usually get to work at about 7am, and wanted to make sure that I did not run late today because I had a meeting a 730, and I knew it would cut in to my prep time for the morning. Well, I was out the door at about 10 to 7 (right on time!) but when I got to my car it wouldn't start! The battery was completely dead! I didn't know what to do at first and started to freak out. When I am tired I tend to be more emotional, and I was definitely tired from not feeling well, and I knew I couldn't be late to this meeting. So I called a friend from work and asked her to pick me on her way to work. I got to school just a few minutes before 730, which left me no time to get anything ready in my classroom.
The rest of the morning went ok. We watched a small (and I do small) bit of the inauguration in class and later wrote about what we would do if we were president.
Over the course of the day I had 3 students go home early because they were sick. They all seemed to have stomach sickness which is not what I have, so please pray for me that I don't get it!
So that was pretty much my day. I can't wait to go home and just chill for the evening. I do need to go get a new battery for my car though! Hopefully that will fix my problem so I will be able to go to work tomorrow :)
The rest of the morning went ok. We watched a small (and I do small) bit of the inauguration in class and later wrote about what we would do if we were president.
Over the course of the day I had 3 students go home early because they were sick. They all seemed to have stomach sickness which is not what I have, so please pray for me that I don't get it!
So that was pretty much my day. I can't wait to go home and just chill for the evening. I do need to go get a new battery for my car though! Hopefully that will fix my problem so I will be able to go to work tomorrow :)
Monday, January 12, 2009
Back from the mainland
Aloha Friends and Family!
I hope that you are all having a wonderful new year! As I am sitting here printing out the remaining half my report cards I thought I would take this opportunity to catch you all up on my life now that I have returned to Kona!
I got back to Kona Saturday night and was greeted by my roommate Jill. On the drive home she gave me some most amazing news. Apparently the crater here is beginning to fill up, and as a result the vog will hopefully begin to subside. I have only been back a couple days now, and I can already see a difference! Everything looks so much clearer and vibrant and we actually have blue sky!
Yesterday was my first Sunday back in Kona, and I almost didn't go to church because we had a storm hit! Luckily, it subsided about a half hour before church started, so I quickly got dressed and headed to church. I am so thankful that I got to go because as much as I love my church peeps back in Cali, I really missed my church here.
Well, I guess that is it for now. I have much work to get done before all the kiddos show up on Wednesday. I must say that I do miss them and can't wait to see them all!
I hope that you are all having a wonderful new year! As I am sitting here printing out the remaining half my report cards I thought I would take this opportunity to catch you all up on my life now that I have returned to Kona!
I got back to Kona Saturday night and was greeted by my roommate Jill. On the drive home she gave me some most amazing news. Apparently the crater here is beginning to fill up, and as a result the vog will hopefully begin to subside. I have only been back a couple days now, and I can already see a difference! Everything looks so much clearer and vibrant and we actually have blue sky!
Yesterday was my first Sunday back in Kona, and I almost didn't go to church because we had a storm hit! Luckily, it subsided about a half hour before church started, so I quickly got dressed and headed to church. I am so thankful that I got to go because as much as I love my church peeps back in Cali, I really missed my church here.
Well, I guess that is it for now. I have much work to get done before all the kiddos show up on Wednesday. I must say that I do miss them and can't wait to see them all!
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