First, an apology

Greetings and salutations,

first, i want to apologize for my lack of updates. i have been teaching 2 different grades here at CAJ, and between lesson preparations, and grading assessments, i have managed to keep myself quite busy. plus, i've made it a point to spend as much of my weekends away from my house as i possibly can, so my time for reflection has been quite limited.

I have turned the 8th grade class back over to their teacher, and though it was difficult, i learned a lot. they are a quiet bunch who do not easily speak up in class, but they are very bright, and have given me some great insights in the lessons we have been having together. my 11th graders are really good kids too. right now we're talking about the Civil Rights movement (one of my favorite times in recent American history), and the questions that they have been posing have been really interesting for me to try and answer. the seniors here are really good kids too. they are a small group, but fairly tight-knit. almost like a big family.

it has been different for me to be here and experience all of this, but i will definitley be sad to go. i have determined that i want to return to this country in the future, but to what extent or capacity, i do not know. i am excited to return to the States and see all of you, and i am excited to see what all of you at MaST have been learning. i want to come visit the school at some point, but right now i do not know exactly when.

if anyone knows of a school looking for substitutes, or openings for middle or high school social studies teachers, please please please let me know

oh yeah, my Master's degree came to my house in the mail today, so i'm no longer a grad student. . . i'm a grad

finally!!!