The title of this blog says it all. This entire post will be full of just my ramblings. I just turned in Quarter 1 grades this weekend and it feels amazing to know that my first quarter of teaching is done! These last two weeks have been insane work overload. But, I learned a lot from this first quarter. How to better plan, how to grade assignments, and which categories of assignments I need to have to give the students a good grade, and most importantly how to not let my students fail.
We actually are physically not allowed to fail any child at this school. So if they fail any test, paper, quiz, or project we HAVE to let them redo it as many times as it takes for them to pass. This little kink in my grading meant the last two weeks I was cramming trying to get students with low scores up. But it is over and there is no time to relax because now Quarter two has started. The rest of the time until December break is going to fly by! This weekend we are having a staff Thanksgiving meal at the school, we work on the weekend for parent teacher conferences, have a four day weekend, and have National Day celebrations (which actually take up an entire week before the actual National Day since we get that off).
The entire week before our long weekend and National Day no teaching will happen. Instead students will decorate their classrooms, create parade floats and banner, bring in an unhealthy amount of chocolate, and celebrate. I already have 5 bags of decorations that my girls have brought in and when I went to school today I saw they had put up lights all around the outside of the school spelling out "42 Years." It is crazy that this country is only 42 years old! Sometimes it is easy to forget that this country is so young.
On another note. I finally got my UAE drivers license. Of course the picture is almost as bad as my American one, but now I can rent cars here and actually legally drive (even though I've already driven several times). Many people rent cars for the whole year but I only plan on renting them after Christmas vacation so I don't have to bus it back.
Speaking of Christmas vacation. . . I will be in Italy for the holidays. Since I just recently went home I couldn't afford a ticket home and this one only cost me $200 US. So, since I won't be able to spend Christmas with family I thought why not spend it where I can go to midnight mass in the Vatican. I fly into Rome and will spend 5 nights there up until Christmas. After that I am making no plans. My idea is to go to Florence, Venice, Assissi, Vernona, and I fly out of Milan.
I have really been missing home right about now. I love being here and all, but I miss the daily interactions with my friends and family, my nieces and nephews growing up, and the rain. Ha it is finally cold here though. I have to have a jacket on most days anymore, which is weird when it is 75 degrees Farenheit. Thanks for reading everyone!
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