sallyrose

here are the photos i put up on facebook of my trip to bali this christmas/new years: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2432677&l=df4b7&id=13910347 http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2432679&l=1e1df&id=13910347 i had a lot of photos, so they wouldn't all fit into one album...... read more

THE COMMISSIONER IS ADVISING ALL PRINCIPALS TO KEEP ALL STUDENTS INDOORS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE DUE TO THE VOLCANIC HAZE MOVING TOWARDS THE ISLANDS OF SAIPAN, TINIAN, AND ROTA. WE WILL KEEP YOU ALL POSTED AS SOON AS WE RECEIVE THE NEXT BULLETIN FROM THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICE. THANK YOU this is a memo i got today after everyone stepped outside for break and couldn't even breathe it was so sulfury. yuck. sorry i haven't updated in forever. 3 day weekend coming up...i will write soon :)... read more

i woke up this morning to the roar of a big storm. the sky is dark and clouded over, and the wind is howling. as angry as it seems outside, it is so peaceful in my house. i have some candles lit for if the power goes out (which i assure you, it will), and a big cup of coffee sitting next to me. now it's time for an update: i have joined a gym! it's called the mandi asian spa and it's at a resort at the north end of the island. since it is a full spa facility and i have a year membership, i get to work out, use all their fancy pools, saunas, library, and HOT showers! it also gives me discounts on massages, hair treatments, and all the food served at ... read more

as i was talking to my mom this morning, i realized that i hadn't updated this thing in a real long time, so here are some snippets: a week and a half ago one of my students punched through one of the windows of the classroom next door to mine (long story) and ended up losing over 2 pints of blood. that's a lot of blood. it was super scary and he has missed 6 days of school because of it. on monday, there was an island-wide blackout for an hour and a half. we were doing the baking soda and vinegar lab that day, and with no a.c. and 33 smelly 7th graders, it smelled really bad in my room. luckily, the school decided to let everyone out early, so i didn't have to put ... read more

today we had our first pep rally. it was a half day because of parent report card pickup in the afternoon, so the students who were not misbehaving or failing any of their classes were allowed to attend the event. it was held outside because there is no place large enough to hold all our students. there were performances from different students including raps, break dancing, poetry readings, and other forms of dance. at first it was pretty cool because we got to see just how talented the kids are here, but after the first 45 minutes, everyone started getting a bit bored and found ways to entertain themselves... during one student's song he was singing, girls rushed to the outdoor stage and started dancing and grinding with one another. break dancers started coming out in ... read more

here are some more photos i have taken lately: these are from a disgusting sushi experience my friend caitlin and i had: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2365243&l=d864d&id=13910347 and these are some touristy photos taken around the island: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2365249&l=daaef&id=13910347 AND, you should check out the other picture i added to the creatures one, because i found a super cool spider web.... read more

today is the first day of a 3 day weekend and boy do i need it. we haven't had a day off for over a month and i'm starting to feel a bit burnt out. the vice principal always teases me because i get to school early and leave late everyday. it's time for some relax time. i was going to go with some friends to forbidden island and go cliff jumping this morning, but it has been raining like crazy for the past couple days and the trail is really bad right now. also, it makes the water really choppy, so it wasn't a great idea to go. oh well. instead, i made myself some breakfast and watched a movie. i think soon i'm going to go wander around town and do a bit of ... read more

here are some strange things that i now encounter everyday: *because of the crazy high humidity (about 92% everyday), my clothes and shoes have started to grow mold. the pictures on my fridge have begun to mold also. *when i do dishes at night and set them in the drying rack, they are still wet in the morning because the air is so moist. all our silverware and knives have already rusted out. *my towels never dry *there are geckos constantly climbing all over the walls and windows in my house, and i have come to love them because they are cute and eat the bugs. i just wish they would help with the rent. *coral is sharp and hurts a lot when it digs into your skin when you're snorkeling *i have gotten used to ... read more

tomorrow, it will be two months since i left for my big adventure to saipan. i can't believe it. the time has gone so fast, although i feel like i have lived here and known my new friends my whole life. things have been going really well at school. my fourth period is the only one i have problems with, and i am constantly trying to figure out what i can do to keep these kids on track. i am amazed at how much i am loving teaching middle school. i never saw myself teaching any grade higher than 4th, so i was quite apprehensive about teaching 7th, but after hanging out with my students and getting to know them, i honestly don't know if i can go back to teaching younger students. i love being ... read more

not much has been too exciting lately. school is going really well. we finished up our health unit and have officially moved on to physical science. we had our first big exam on tuesday and about half my class failed it. it's quite discouraging, but these kids have never learned any study skills. i did everything possible for them to succeed, and have run out of ideas. we covered all the material super thoroughly, they had a complete study guide covering everything the test touched on, open notes and composition notebooks for the test, and two full days of review before. after i handed them their graded test back, a lot of them were really disappointed. i let them take them home for the weekend and correct their mistakes for half credit, if they wanted to. ... read more