Culture

My students and I have moved on to the next unit of study, Latin America. We started by learning about the physical geography, and I showed them a short clip about healthcare in Ecuador. There was a part about a local medicince woman who used a Guinnea Pig to detect ailments in the people she was treating. She would take a live Guinnea Pig, and move it slowly around the person's body. She would then kill and disect the animal and where the pig had an ailment, supposedly so did the person. Well my kids thought this was cool/wierd/sad/gross, but related it to their own lives!

Most of them have had something similar done, but with an egg in place of a pet. Their mother or grandmother would move the egg around their body, and then crack it into a glass of water and let it sit. They would then examine the egg, and depending on it's color/the way it rested/what stuff was in it, they could tell what was wrong with their kid. AWESOME. They also told me about the "ojo" which is spanish for eye - they do the same thing to babies and also give them a black and red bracelet/necklace to wear to warn off the "bad ojo", or bad luck/sins. I then asked my students if they would raise their hand if they or their family was from a country that we are currently studying. Over 80% of my students raised their hands! Many are from central america or Mexico, and I hope to use that connection to make this unit especially relevent.

One of my students also introduced me to the idea that you can tell what gender baby you are going to have someday using a necklace and a ring. If it spins one way, it's a boy, and the other if it's a girl. Turns out I am going to have 4 kids - 1 girl and 3 boys. Umm... probably not! Hahah.

Mi Familia...

Found these photos this past winter.

They make me happy.

For Mom...

After talking to my mom, and hearing Dominic shouting in the background, I've realized I have been absent from the blogging world. So what have I been up to? What could possibly be going on in Houston? Well, allow me to fill you all in...

I love my students. Hands down, the freshmen class rocks. They are polite, smart, and inquisitive. They ask a lot of questions and seem to really like me! I'm glad that they seem to be enjoying school and my class especially.

Last weekend, being a three day weekend, meant that I could relax a tad and get some stuff done. And boy, did I get things done! I built (and by built I mean struggled to follow IKEA's directions) a desk, bookshelf, and side table for my room. I now feel like I have a bedroom instead of a room with a bed and some random boxes. I also finally unpacked the last of my belongings. I am no longer using boxes as night stands (but I still don't have night stands...), and my shelves are full of pictures of people I love and miss immensely. I definitely need new frames and need to print off new pictures, but that can wait. 

And do I need to mention again Twilight? I'm racing on of my students, Jim, to see who can finish the series first. As of today I was ahead. I really want to beat him!

I've been missing home a ton lately. It rained all day today, which is really strange for Houston. Usually it's just a STRONG thunderstorm in the afternoon, but today it started around 10 and stayed gray and wet all day long. I LOVED it!!!!!!!!!  My coworkers think I'm a little crazy, but that's OK. It reminded me of something I read a year ago in a class. It was about how the Scottish or Irish have over 20 words to describe snow, and that Portland has probably just as many to describe rain. I don't think my kids would know what I was talking about if I said the word "drizzle."  I really need to find that quote...

Oh! And I got a massage and haircut and I bought a George Foreman grill and a food processor! So many great things!

I really must get back to reading Breaking Dawn now. I think I might finish it tonight...

Cheers and love to you all!

Open House!

Open house is tonight. Let's see... I have 130 students, and each parent is required to come, along with their child. So if each student comes with two parents, I will have 390 people to greet, and possibly 90 people in my 8th period class. Wow. I only have 8 minutes with each class, so I really only have time to introduce myself and give out my contact information. I will also have a contact sheet for the parents so that I can contact them as well. 

I'm nervous because many of my parents don't speak English. I've decided to chose one student from each class to translate for me, and I hope that goes well. 

Pray for me. Please.

I'll update tonight!

I've been Twilighted!

I've been sucked into the obsession. I've spent all day reading Twilight and have moved on to New Moon. Dear Lord, what have I gotten myself into? I don't have time to be doing this!

When they can write what they really think...

I gave each student a survey to fill out on the first day of class. Here are some of the questions and answers I received. 

Q: What is your biggest fear entering high school?

A: how big it is and not having the courage to ask for help; 

Q: Who was your favorite middle school teacher and why?

A: Ms. Javidpour because... she understood us students...when I needed help she was able to help me when I needed help...she challenged me to do my best...

Q:What profession are you interested in?

A: Pharmicist, police, engineering, Be a CEO of something like Microsoft; Musician; geologist or archeologist; 

Q: Who is your favorite singer/band?

A: Demi Lovato, Michael Jackson!; ACDC; Selena

Q: What qualities do you like in a teacher?

A: Make class fun; nice, fair, helpful, and non neglecting; I hate a push-over; that doesn't yell; 

Q: If your life were a movie, what would the title be and why?

A: Conspiracy theory because I believe everything is a conspiracy

Q: If your movie had a soundtrack, what would one of the songs be and why?

A: It's all a lie because as I said everything is a lie and the government is out to get me

Wow. There were even more but I can't enter them all. I really love learning about my students. I am still having trouble putting names to faces, but that has always bee a problem of mine! 

Highs and Lows

I'm almost half-way done with week 2!  Here are some highs and lows:

Highs: getting to know my students, being called "miss", text messages from my kids, the VP sharing my bathroom pass policy with the other teachers as a great system, reading the essays my students wrote and laughing periodically when they write things like "Pop goes the embryo" and other musings, getting paid.

Lows: lack of sleep, lack of internet at school on sporadic occasions, loss of my computer's hard drive and all of my music, pictures and documents.

At least my highs is a longer list than my lows! As long as that trend continues I know I'm in a good place. 

Everyone needs to check out Wyeth's blog: wyethlarson.blogspot.com. It's all about his Sweden adventure and he puts up some really pretty pictures.

I think I'll be back in Oregon for a short time in September for Garrett and Ariel's long-anticipated wedding. I can't wait!

Love you all tons!