Friday, August 20, 2010

Clarification on trip across the country

In response to the question, "Dude, why are you such a wuss? Why didn't you change your own tire instead of wait for AAA?"

The car was so packed with crap that it had about an inch and a half of clearance without a blown tire. With a blown tire there wasn't enough space under the car to fit a winch, plus the debris might have cracked our exhaust or cut a brake line. Added to this was the fact that unpacking and packing the car would have taken about 4-5 hours with all of mostly Gita's stuff. So, taking into account that the car still might not go even if we managed to put a donut tire on, and that it would take us forever in the ridiculous heat of North Carolina in August, we decided to wait. I think it was the right decision, sorry if I didn't make that clear in the first edition, I'm still trying to see how many details to include without boring my audience ;)

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Trip across the country

Hello Fellow Postees,

It has been about three weeks since my last blog and it’s been fairly eventful, so I figured a new post was warranted. I had a wonderful two weeks with my parents in Port Angeles, WA hiking and camping on the beach, a beautiful day in Victoria, runs with dad and tickling mommy and squeezing mommy’s cheeks made for an excellent time at home. Then I was off on a sleepful red-eye flight to Boston where I hung out with a good friend Sarri, but then the true adventures began…

Gita and I are driving out to NM where we will be living together as I teach Biology at the UWC and she will be going to a massage therapy school in Santa Fe. We are both very excited about our occupations and being able to be surrounded by some of the best kids the world has to offer.

I figure, I’ll give you a play by play account of how the travel days have gone, transcribed by my secretary Gita from the passenger seat (therefore any grammatical errors and typos you can blame on her), as we compose this from the side of the highway with a flat tire waiting for AAA to arrive.

The trip has been wonderful so far, despite the fact that throughout our travels wherever we were, seemed to be experiencing record temperatures. Yuck.

Day 1

Leave Sarri’s apartment at 7 in the morning after a fun night in Boston (I was introduced to StarCraft II – pretty cool) and take a train to Worcester (pronounced Wooster by those crazy Mass people) where I rendez-voused with Gita and maliciously threw away some of her possessions in order to make space for myself in the car. These included a plant, hangers and fungi cultures she uses to make yogurt with. Me, the jerk, then continued to complain that I could not see in my rear view mirror except for apples and pears that when breaking suddenly, as sometimes happens when driving, would proceed to fly about and hit us along with other miscellaneous objects (not safe!). A reorganization was in order, but we proceeded to Becket, MA where we watched a very innovative and cool dance program at Jacobs Pillow where Gita spent a summer during her time at Middlebury (admission, $120, was free after we helped with parking). Then it was on through eastern seaboard traffic all the way down to Washington D.C. to spend the night with my sister. We arrived at midnight in our nicely air-conditioned car and as we emerged to greet the sister, our pores opened their mouths instantly and salivated sweat (yum!).

Day 2

I woke to see that Gita had already risen and left the room. Upon further inquiry I found that she had unpacked her car and ruthlessly examined the contents and made quite a pile of belongings that she was reluctantly willing to part with. These items were things such as a complete papasan chair, many canned goods, and shampoo. She had done all of this before 10 am in a futile attempt to avoid the heat but made significant progress nonetheless. We then decided to send the sister to work and spend the rest of the day in air-condition movie theatres and museums. En route to these attractions our wonder at the ability of people to be out in such muggy and deplorable conditions turned to amazement as we withered in the heat. The one redeeming quality about being outside was that Kraft Foods was launching a new home-style macaroni and cheese. We collected four units of said mac’n’cheese and two Kraft Foods hot pads (YES – it was for free). After watching Salt in which Anjelina is still hot, we went to the National Portrait Gallery for a free tour and learned some pretty cool stuff about American history through pieces of work that are not very well known. The sister met us there and we proceeded to dinner at a place that Lara had always wanted to try but had been intimidated by the price. Armed with the parents’ credit card we enjoyed a very tasty meal and were graciously treated to a few appetizers by an acquaintance of Lara who works there. Pleasantly full but not overfull we proceeded to the National Mall. Upon arrival I was reminded of the greatness of our country as I saw the White House on one side, the Washington Monument on another, and segue tours running the distance in between. We hung out at the Washington Monument where Gita and Lara had quite the UWC conversation about how to change the world. Then it was back to the apartment where we prepared tuna mac’n’cheese (curtsey of Gita’s contributions and Kraft Foods) for the next day’s lunch. NOTE: Lara’s apartment and roommates seemed to be of high quality, which has not always been the case (the family rejoices).

Day 3

In an attempt to beat the D.C. traffic we were on the road by 6:30a.m. We arrived at the Dismal Swamps of Virginia and North Carolina in sweltering 10a.m. temperatures. We found our way to a wonderfully helpful ranger station and then proceeded to the Dismal Swap (Lake Drummond), which is accessible via car (thank God). Upon arrival at the swamp, Gita was called by nature to make an excursion into the woods where, en route she tripped over a branch and bruised herself so badly that it looks as if I beat her with a baseball bat. The swamp is more like a lake except that the water is the color of thick coffee, so our desire to swim was quickly replaced by the desire to get back into the air-conditioned car.

Then it was off to the Outer Banks the birthplace of heavier-than-air flight. For those who do not know, the Outer Banks is a 100-mile long spit that runs parallel to the coastline of North Carolina. It experiences constant winds, which helped the Wright Brothers to have controlled testing grounds for their flying apparati. We looked at the famous flight grounds… they were flat, grassy fields (big surprise)… The Outer Banks is on average about a quarter of a mile wide and extends into the Atlantic Ocean so far that the mainland is beyond the horizon. Definitely a vacation destination, check it out online.

We drove down the entire spit and boarded the ferry in an impeccably timed/barely-made-it fashion to Pony Island, the very end of the Outer Banks. As the sun was setting we approached the only town on the island, Ocracoke. We took a local’s suggestion and enjoyed a wonderful seafood dinner. We then set up our tent and decided that since we were going to be in the middle of New Mexico being this close to an ocean and not taking a dip would just be silly. Unfortunately, the silliness was just about to commence. In the dark heat of 10 p.m. we got directions to an ocean access point from a surfer dude and took a turn-off onto a packed washboard, sandy road. After driving for about a mile (where is this ocean?!?) it was as if a double-sided mirror was put in between Gita and I, for we both turned to look at each other and said ‘OH SHIT’ in perfect unison. The hard packed sandy road had abruptly turned into loose, deep sand in which we got heavily mired. After futile attempts to drive out of the predicament, we started digging. The situation still looked bleak after half an hour but as if planned, one EMS truck came from the sea and a Coast Guard truck came from the road and converged, almost eerily on our marooned automobile. From the way they dismissed us, it was apparent that our plight was common. But when they saw the sand that had caked upon our arms and faces they lent a very appreciated hand and pushed us out. NOTE: Deep sand behaves in a surprisingly similar fashion to wet deep snow, an observation that was lost on our southern helpers. At this point it was getting late but we still had enough pluck to ask the Coast Guard officer how to get to the ocean. We followed his high-quality directions and walked to a dark beach that was lit by the light of the Milky Way and the crashing waves. We also discovered bioluminescent bacteria that light up when disturbed. As we waded into the surf we saw salt-crystal sized colonies light up with each crash of the waves. After a quick dip in which our feet did not leave the bottom, because night swimming in the ocean is very dangerous, we headed back to the campsite for a night of fitful sleep in the heat.

Day 4

I woke up in a haze to a vibrating cell phone alarm. I quickly discovered that the phone had been going off for 25 minutes and that we had very little time to catch the ferry… but alas where art Gita? I emerged from the tent to find her splayed on the picnic table in an attempt to escape the stifling heat of the tent and the large spiders and snakes on the ground. We broke camp in record time and made the ferry to the mainland. When we hit land we were off to a lunch-date with some UWC friends in Durham, NC (ETA 3 hours). Two miles later however, unavoidable road debris reared its ugly head and bit us in the buttocks popping our back passenger tire. We did a time/risk/benefit analysis and decided that because the road debris was stuck in the tire and had shaved metal filings onto the ground, an attempt to change the tire may still leave us with an undrivable car. This, coupled with the fact that we would have to completely unpack the car in order to change the tire (estimated length of job 4 hours), resulted in a phone call to AAA for a tow truck (ETA 45 minutes). Two and a half hours later a red 1990s Volvo with a small AAA sticker in the window pulled up to give us a hand. There had apparently been a miscommunication. He assessed the tire and not having brought a tire or a winch himself, helped us call a TOW truck from AAA. After AAA called numerous times to check on how we were doing in the summer heat, we determined that, instead of trying to replace the tire ourselves, waiting for a tow truck was still a good idea. Three and a half hours later however, the tow truck FINALLY arrived. The driver was very nice and we were quickly on our way to the repair shop. Upon arrival it was determined that no serious damage was done to the car but we had to stay in Greenville, NC for the night.

Chinese food in the hotel room, Everyone Loves Ramon, air-conditioning, shower, good night sleep = everything is gonna be alright.

Day 5

We started the day with three days worth of driving ahead of us with only two days to do it in. Thus, since this post is getting long I will paraphrase, which is still a quite good description of the day’s events.

We drove a lot.

17 hours of driving landed us in Little Rock, AK.

Day 6

We woke after 4 hours of sleep and made it to NM that night. The summer monsoon-like rains of NM had turned the landscape into a beautiful mixture of green and the pinks, oranges, and reds we were so accustomed to during our time at UWC which was during a 7-year drought.

We unpacked the car and admired the scenery. I think we are going to enjoy being here. Thanks for reading.

Kris and Gita

P.S. For pictures check out my facebook album.

Monday, July 26, 2010

My time in KY in one quick post

I figure I should explain how my time in Kentucky was for those who don't know and so that all readers have something with which to compare my anticipated time in New Mexico at the United World College. If you know how my time was, skip this post. This is where I'm going to detail my time for my own memory's sake.

I arrived in KY a week after graduating from Middlebury College with a B.A. in Molecular Biology and Biochemisty. Apparently, KY needs teachers so bad they're willing to give me full time employment and a master's degree at reduced cost if I teach there. Sounds like a good interlude before med school for me, so I decide to "just try out teaching for a couple of years".

I picked Kentucky because of a program there called Teach Kentucky which is based in Louisville and sends most of its teachers to Louisville's public school system (JCPS). TKY is similar to Teach For America (TFA) except that it is much smaller, personalized, and supportive, while getting you that master's degree at the same time which seems to be more of minority option in TFA than the standard. There's also this incredible salesman named Rowan Claypool, who could sell milk to a dairy farmer, who decided that selling real estate was not as fulfilling of a life endeavor as filling KY's public schools with young strapping recent graduates from the U.S.'s top colleges. Rowan's enthusiasm, anecdotes, and personality enticed me and other teachers to move to... KY, and his attributes also recruit enough money to fund his program. His energies and those of his more experienced recruits now put TKY at the forefront of change for the betterment in KY's education system and more broadly as well.

So, first summer before teaching is filled with survival classes taught by a very entertaining, scary, brash, and exactly-what-we-needed middle school teacher who decided to pick up some extra cash by teaching at U of L. I remember standing in my single dorm room after a class about defeated teachers and literally shaking and wondering just what exactly I had gotten myself in to. I finally got an apartment with two other TKY teachers, got a job, got a car, started to feel comfortable in Louisville. I got geared up for the year. Met my fellow Conway Middle School teachers who I thought were a bit redneck and rowdy (later I learned that this is simply their way of surviving the trials and tribulations of the job + a little bit of their own character + the local culture). I set up my classroom, and then before I knew it there were kids in my room wondering where to sit, what my name was, and running back out to their lockers to talk with their friends...

The noise, energy, questions, yelling, and disrespect that followed that year still bring my blood up as if I were about to enter a no holds barred death match. Conway Middle School is not one of those hood urban school where nothing at all works right. It is a school that has many issues and many dedicated individuals working to correct or deal with those issues who I think will eventually succeed in bringing Conway to a place of prominence and excellence. My year was incredibly difficult because of how my micro-climate within the school had been constructed by poor previous administration. I had a totally inept and incapable Team Leader (handles discipline and team structure on a small scale before the administration needs to get involved). His presence was toxic because his classroom fostered a lack of caring about learning (he did not grade work and gave all students A's and B's or D's if they couldn't read), a lack of respect for teachers including himself (he had no classroom management and let the kids play him like a fiddle), a sense of inequality (he blamed the reactions of other teachers to his ineptitude on his race instead of himself); couple this with his inability to plan or see ahead and everything surprised him and the rest of the teachers who unfortunately had to rely on him... plus, he is tenured, got CPS called up him for beating kids, but was in with the union and bribed the kids so he still is gainfully employed in JCPS... ok, enough about him. I was also inexperienced and handled issues as well as I could (which was with a lack of total effectiveness or understanding). I remember, with a bit of bitter callous humor, the looks I got from observers. I got looks of someone who had been fed to the wolves and they could only watch because of the powers that be. I remember my body starting to get an adrenaline rush at 4:55 before my alarm went off at 5:00, my nights were sometimes so tormented by the events of the day that I would hear student yells far into the night, and I dreamt about med school. Now, when people ask me about teaching, I say it was like boot camp. A great learning experience where I grew a lot, but I would NEVER want to repeat it. That first year ended and I slept for the whole weekend. Then grad school classes for the summer started up on Monday ;)

The second year was black and white different from my first year. I knew the game the students would try to play, I was prepared, and it was my classroom no matter what happened outside, AND I was blessed with the most amazing teacher/team leader I have ever met. Sheilah Trowell was in the house and it was her house. Nothing ruffled this lady's feathers and she ruled with a firm, but laid back hand that taught students respect and to think before they acted; something that is probably the most important thing students in our demographic need. We also had fun messing with those kids and each other. Team Honor was a good team that year. Plus, I was able to actually teach! I know this is what teachers are supposed to do, but... well, just try it first. In my second year I had students reprimanding other students for silly questions because they had already been taught that, or students saying, "Shut up! I want to hear this!". I built a rapport with students and actually feel like I made a positive impact on most of the students. It was amazing and made me want to stay in the profession. By the end of the two years I had my master's degree in teaching, I was certified to teach wherever I want in KY, I had savings built up, I had a social group, and I felt capable and that I was well qualified to do my job...

That's the big part about teaching in KY. There was plenty else, but I'm writing a blog, not a novel. Ask me about Derby, girls, med school, Mammoth, etc. if you care.

Take care Y'all.

First Post on my First Blog

Hello Everyone :)

This Blog is meant to be a quick and easy way for me to keep a journal while subsequently keeping you all posted (ha ha ha pun intended, since I'm posting a post... see it's a pun... ok, sorry) on what's up with my exploits in teaching, life, and petty mischief.

Where to start? I could start with arriving in New Mexico after a 12 hour drive from Omaha. It was a starry night and the slightly sweet clear air of New Mexico greeted me as I creakily stepped out of my over stuffed Honda Civic. I met the security guards at "the little castle" (guard shack) and they escorted me up to my new humble abode. It is a single level duplex with a porch and ample space for growing little food stuffs. It has two bedrooms (I get the big one) a living room, nice kitchen, and a bath. Totally adequate for my simple needs and can readily accommodate any friends who wish to stop by Northern New Mexico ;)

Anyways, I arrived at about 10pm and got a burst of energy so I unpacked my car until about 1, and then passed out on the bed that Adrianna and Fernando (Vice President and husband Head Groundskeeper who taught me Bio when I was a student here) set up for me. Woke up, finished unpacking my car and started trying to figure out what "stuff" I should get accomplished so that no paper work jumps up and bites me around November as has been known to happen in any kind of bureaucracy.

After that, it has been a blur of paperwork, trying to set up my classroom, office, and apartment. I took two week long sessions on how to teach IB (International Baccalaureate which is a huge international program, like AP, but for the whole world so that students with an IB diploma can attend school anywhere in the world which is advantageous for the diverse student populations that attend UWC). The sessions were exactly what I needed, and now I at least know what to expect, and hopefully how to manage all of the things that go into being the only Biology teacher at the school; writing letters or rec, advising Extended Essays (4,000 word essay required for graduation), supervising community services (x3), not to mention all of the stuff that normally goes into teaching.

I also went with a teacher to Albuquerque to check out the big city... yeah not much. We decided to hike 4,000 ft up to the 10,000 ft peak of Sandia Mountain, starting at 1pm, in 100 degree heat, with only 3L of water... it was a butt kicker to say the least. Note: Next time bring more water and start hiking at 7am. It was beautiful though. I could appreciate this fact more once we reached the top and I determined that survival was probable instead of possible. I wanted to check out Santa Fe on that trip, but my teacher friend got her iPhone4 stolen as she packed to get out of the hostel so we chased another one around for the rest of the day. I hooked her up with my ex-girlfriend Caitlin Sargent so that they could send the phone to her, because they don't keep them in stock, and this teacher is traveling around California without reservations anywhere for the next month... I told her Good Luck. I hope she'll find nice people along the way. Note: iPhone4s cost $700 if you don't get a premature contract renewal. Yowch!

So, yeah, I've been dancing with other teachers at the Thursday night parties, playing indoor soccer with the five summer student workers, and trying to get benefits, drivers licenses, and all of the miscellaneous crap done so that I can just arrive and start kicking butt in August. I'm going to keep this first entry short so that you can comment/question and then I can embellish later if you even care. I hope you're all well. My goal is to keep this thing somewhat current, so If it's been a while, shoot me an email and I'll update :)

Take Care,
Kris