Paradise Re-found

It's been insane here.  I've been so busy with teaching.  The rest of the teachers and I are about to drop dead.  We've been having meetings almost everyday after school (it seems).  School ends at 2:30 but I almost never get to leave before 5 o'clock.  We've all been coming in on Saturday and Sunday as well and working 5-8 hours each day.  

We've been trying to get the International Baccalaureate system implemented at my school which is on top of the hundreds of other things that makes teaching stressful.  We are trying to get approved for both the Middle Years Programme (grades 7-10) and the Diploma Programme (grades 11 and 12).  This has become a HUGE endeavor and the teachers look like our brains are about to break. 

Right now, we have a five day weekend for Easter.  Yesterday, I took the ferry over to St. John for some hiking and beaching.  I ended up being at a beach with very few people for about 4 hours.  The sad part is that I didn't really feel relaxed for the entire time.  My brain has been in overdrive for so long that I have forgotten how to stop thinking about teaching.  I'm afraid that I'll go back to school on Tuesday without having properly rested.  I can't sleep in to save my life.

On another note, I'm totally pumped about going to the NCTM conference in 11 days!  It'll be three days of super math teacher ideas being crammed down my throat.  I'm also stoked about getting to go to Washington, DC again. 

I've been in St. Thomas just over two weeks now. I'm leaving at a temporary place that is located on the school's campus. So I'll be looking for a new place to live. I'm also looking for a used vehicle to buy. I'd love to get a Jeep Wrangler. The islands have tons of Jeep rental places that will sell off their older vehicles.

I arrived here on Friday August 15th. I had that whole weekend to just play around and do whatever. That Monday all the teachers had to start showing up to school. We spent the entire week planning. Then Monday August 25th all the students started showing up. We spent the entire week basically getting to know the kids. We gave them several projects to work on and plenty of other things to do. On Friday, we went on our first field trip of the year. We went kayaking and snorkeling in a mangrove lagoon. I think the teachers needed it more than the students did. We've been busting our asses all week. It's been pretty stressful (and dramatic).

Saturday, three other new teachers/staff and I took the ferry over to St. John to explore the island. We spent the whole day there. We also found out that there are ferries going to the island of Tortolla, St. Croix and even Puerto Rico. So I'll definitely be there in the near future.

Without a vehicle, my exploration of St. Thomas has been limited. The village of Red Hook is only 5 minutes walking. There are some good restaurants there as well as the ferries to get to other islands. So far the rest of my time has been spent at the beach. There's a beach called Secret Harbor that only takes 10 minutes to walk to and it's hidden so it's not very touristy. The beach is great except that there is a type of fish that will attack people (esp me). I'm not sure what type it is but it's silver and blends in really well.

Tomorrow is the first day of class. I have a feeling that the students will be pretty weak in math (for the most part). This school year will be interesting.

( Click for pics... )