We are back!! It's O-fficial. Semester #2 is less than one week old as I write this.
It's nice to be back. We saw our friends, visited with family, and experienced "seasons" (and they are over rated). It was interesting coming down this time because we are returning for the first time. It's no longer us walking around, experiencing everything for the first time. Now it's familiar, and some of it quite nice. Our home, thanks to recent purchases, is feeling more like an actual home, not an over-sized, under-kitchened dorm room. We have our pictures up, our sheets, our wall decorations, etc.
Outside of our home it's nice to be back with our new friends. We actually missed 'em. I was genuinely excited to get together and catch up with everyone as we returned from our own corners of the USA. St Kitts hasn't changed too much in our absence. However, the new bypass road, which lets us circumvent the traffic of downtown, is now open. It cuts 20 minutes out of your travel time to get to the beach on Fridays (a V E R Y important fact). Also, the national elections are in full swing, with elections less than two weeks away. People are clearly divided along party lines, and there are regular parades, rallies, and the occasional car carrying a sound system larger than the car, itself. This car "serenades" us with calls for reform, or more of the same (depending on the party). We have been warned to stay away from wearing red or yellow in town so as not to appear as supporters of one group or another, so.....yeah.
Alex is settling in to the new semester in a very *casual* manner. Where as last semester she dove right in and, if anything, worked too hard, now she is easing into her studies. I couldn't begin to tell you what she is studying, but let's assume it's all about animals and stuff.
I, too, am easing into my triumphant return to work. My high school, which did consist of 3 students prior to the break, has been whittled down to a party of one. Needless to say this student is receiving a great deal of attention.
In terms of my development as a teacher of the sciences, I feel better. Not that I have mastered any skills, but I am noticing trends and patterns and learning from my mistakes. While I still procrastinate in my preparation for the coming week, my ensuing panic attack has greatly diminished. Mission accomplished!
My hope for the ensuing semester is to continue to branch out, of campus, away from the world of Ross University. I'd also like to continue learning how to sail, just in case this global warming thing is the real deal. I also made a recent purchase of some snorkeling equipment and am looking forward spending some time discovering the ocean life represented in the safe, shark-free shallows of my local beaches.
Seacrest, out!!
