So the first week of real life has come to an end, and it came just in the nick of time. I have been working for 10 days straight at the prep school due to required faculty work shops, and Al needed a few days of no new information so she could do her best to learn the old information. I am ready for a day off to recuperate and wrap my mind around next week.
The first week at the prep school went really well; better than I thought it would. I teach two science classes back to back to start the day, each for 75 minutes. It's difficult to get teenagers engaged any time, and first thing in the morning is not helping things. We had fun, as I thought we needed to take a few days to get to know each other (and I was in no rush to start creating science lessons). We played games, talked about our summers, etc. The only genuine teaching I did was a two day lesson on "learning how we learn and thinking about how we think", and it worked out really well. The kids were asking lots of questions and I think the felt acknowledged when I taught them about Gardner's Multiple Intelligences. The purpose of these lessons was to get the kids to think about what kind of learner they are, where their strengths are, and how they can help themselves to learn better. It was their introduction to metacognition. Plus I did the whole thing on a Power Point (which I taught myself how to use the night before) and the kids liked all of the pictures and little tricks I built into the presentation.
From an outsider's perspective, I'd say Alex's first week of classes went well. There is a heavy reliance on print outs and on line class notes, and Alex ( along with every other first semester student) is trying to figure out how to track all the documents down, use them, and keep them organized. We also are currently sharing our dorm room with a tupperware container of dog bones, which is.....interesting...(?) Alex has jumped right into the groove of academic life after a few years break. She has organized a study group and they even met with the T.A. for one class saturday morning to review from the week. That is a lot more than I ever did for any of my courses, so kudos to her.
We have acquired a car down here on the island. It's a 1996 Toyota Rav 4 with peeling flame decals on the sides. We have been in legal possession of the car for over a week but unable to drive it because of paper work challenges. There is no clear sequence of events that need to be done to fully register and insure the car, and the offices we must go to are not very employed-person friendly. First stop has to be the police station, which closes at 3 most days, but 2:30 on Fridays, and is closed on the weekends. There we needed to get the ownership paperwork documented so it would be recognized as being in our name. Alex had to go twice to that office because the first time she went it was 3:10 and, although the woman was still there with all of her supplies handy and all she had to do was sign and stamp it, she declined and invited Alex to try again later. Next up you need insurance. Insurance closes at 5 pm most days, but 4:30 on Friday. Alex made a run down there twice as well; once to put her on the insurance, and the second time to add me. Still on the agenda is a visit to the office of inland revenue to pay some sort of a fee related to our acquisition of the car. We don't know whether it's a flat rate, no matter what the car is, or if it is a percentage of the value of the car. No one, in fact, seems to know how much the fee is or what it's for, including the cops...odd.
Saturday night was the Mr. RUSVM show; a fund raiser that is put on at the beginning of each semester. It's like a pageant show to crown the biggest frat-boy. Because the ratio of male to female students is so skewed in favor of women, this show is put on to offer them some eye candy, in the form of out of shape, awkward vet students. Each semester enters one contestant, plus there is a rep from the VIP group (Very Important Partners, of which I am a member). There was a sleep wear portion, super hero portion, and talent portion. There were three judges form the school; two professors (including one associate dean), and a woman who seems to give people coffee and bagels...I know that seems random, but that's the info I received. Anyway, it dragged on for a couple of hours with lots of thinly veiled sexual references, including two different contestants choosing to portray the Trojan condom guy as their superhero of choice, while a third came out as the "boob-fairy". We left before the winner was announced.
So far our transition has been smooth, which is a nice feeling. We are quick to recognize that this is a bit of a honeymoon period, where everything is interesting and new, and that we will go through highs and lows. I am already sensing a need for some separation from Ross U life. Al spends her days in the classroom, and I at the prep school on campus, and then we retire to our dorm, which is a 2 minute walk from our respective work places. It will be nice to have a home to return to to reinforce the feeling of a clear division, work from home. We aren't rushing to make this change, as however. Right now our tentative plan is to remain on campus through Al's 2nd semester, which will take me through my first full school year. Between 2nd and 3rd semesters we will try to find a place within a reasonable distance from school that offers security and a bit more personality (these dorm spaces are oh-so sterile and generic).
That's it for now....Seacrest, OUT!
