Q1...Done.

Howdy.

It's hot here.

The end of the first quarter is here for all of us at CIC Valencia and not a moment too soon.  Teachers have an innate ability to read students and their temperament, and I think I speak for most of the teachers here when I say these kids need a break.  We've gone nearly eight full weeks non-stop.  No early out, no in-service, or anything.  It'll be good on behalf of both parties to get away from each other for a while.

This past week was rather uneventful as the school grind has pushed on.  We were supposed to have the big "Parent Teacher Social", but due to the long-time headmaster falling ill the parents thought it was in good conscious to cancel the party in light of his sickness.  A kind gesture to a man that had given many years at this school. *About an hour after I first drafted this paragraph, this particular headmaster passed away.  It had a visible impact on our staff.  

Instead of the Social, a group of us went out to the rather nice hotel in town for some drinks and sushi.  It was a very classy place that had a open stone dining area and some nice outdoor seating.  Behind the outdoor seating and down some stairs was a private party that had live music and security.  We were not that cool.  Instead we had some cocktails that were the color of "Slimer" from Ghostbusters and a few rolls of Valencia's finest.  We talked about the country, how adaptation and assimilation are a challenge and discussed school based issues.

The music from behind us was getting louder as more people started to roll in.  The music turned to a more traditional blend with dancing and clapping.  Near us conversations for surrounding tables were scented with a mixture of foreign and domestic cigarettes.  I started to fade out of the conversation at our table to check the score of the CHS football game.  Our team had been down big at the start of the second half and yet had started to mount a comeback.  They had begun what was to be the winning drive when I committed to giving up on my surroundings and focusing slowly on the game.

That drive caused me to age several years within a few short minutes.  The River Kings drove down the field and with a few small set back ended up scoring the go ahead touchdown.  Imagine me in a nice place holding my phone up to my ear, yelling swearing, rolling my head back, and intently hanging off every syllable of Gary Determan's play by play.

Something strange happened. I looked up at the tall hotel, over my shoulder at the pool, and into the dining hall through the huge glass windows.  I felt lost.  I felt abandoned, and not by anyone or anything, but from whatever idea I had in that moment.

I looked at my watch, 11:15.  I started to regain composure and yawned.  I was tired and prompted the others to head out.

I knew what hit me, the impending decision that is looming at the end of this month.

Stay or go.

On Sunday, Jon and Randi had a big group of us over for brunch.  It was a lot of fun and some great food.  Everyone brought something potluck style and we all enjoyed a mixture of Venezuelan and American dishes.  Pancakes were a big hit (with real syrup).  We would have had some chocolate chip waffles, but the power was out so no one could use the stove.  Not that anyone could have used to oven as it exploded and attacked Randi last week.  She took it off the leg, but won the war it's gone.  Thankfully, it didn't hit their son.

Jon, Ryan, and I needed our football fix so Dr. Macuare called her husband and we headed over to their place to watch the 12:30 game.  The Bears got beat so Ryan and I put our Cutler hating hats on.  Meanwhile, Jon and Dr. Macuare enjoyed wins by their Ravens and Bengals teams respectively.

Other than that things have been pretty slow.

A group of 10-12 of us are heading to a posada in a town not terribly far from here for some beach and relaxation.  I'll hopefully have some good pictures and a few stories to share for next week.

By The Numbers

1957:  Today marks the day that Jerry Lee Lewis recorded "Great Balls of Fire" and later covered by Goose in "Top Gun".  I won't judge which rendition is better.
 

Zohan

Neymar

17: Number of kids that told me today that they didn't like my hair and that I should cut it.  (I used to have it kind of messy, not it's just "normal" and they hate it). One student said I should go to this stylist the kids call the Zohan and get my hair cut like Neymar.

6: The number of weeks it took me to receive a box of stuff shipped from my parents in Clinton, IA to the school.  They sent it in one big box and I received it in two smashed boxes.  I suppose better late and moderately in tact than never.   

 5.5:  The number of weeks it took my seven person newspaper staff to complete our first issue.  May seem like a lot, but none had any previous newspaper experience.  I'll try to post a pdf to show you our first step in the process.

2: Number of dumb things I did yesterday.  I left my window of my apartment open (while I was working out) during what turned out to be a monsoon.  One of my couches got soaked and I had a huge puddle on the floor.  Secondly, I accidentally didn't shut my fridge door last night and came home for work today to a bunch of ruined food.  Awesome.

1a: Awesome piece I watched involving one of my favorite bands and a very inspirational figure, Steve Gleason.  Long story short, Steve was a pro football player who made a key play during the Saints return to the Super Dome after Katrina.  He was later diagnosed with ALS and has been fighting the disease while trying to help others in his situation and create a video journal for his son Rivers.  He sat down to talk to the band about music/sports, life, leadership and conflict.  I cried each time I have watched it (2), but it had an impact on me and maybe it will on you.  I donated some money to the cause and got a few t-shirts as well.  You don't have to spend any money, but take 9 minutes while you're eating your cereal and reading your phone to watch it.   You won't regret it.  

1b:  Pearl Jam's new single, "Sirens".  Find a more emotionally attaching song written this year and we can have a debate.  Simply wonderful.

Sorry for the shameless Pearl Jam tie in, but I'm excited for there new CD to come out next week.  And since I somehow lost all their albums (probably around 200-300 songs) from my computer when I connected one of my phones, I've been without their music (another dumb thing I didn't know it did).  Rough week.  

Well that's all from down here.  I apologize for the lack of interesting events, but I'm sure that things will pick back up.  

Enjoy the rest of the week and have a great weekend.

Until next time,

KRS