Another week on the rez!

Well hello to you all once again.  I am happy to announce that I am currently writing this post sitting in my living room!  Yes, we have internet at our house!  It is definitely a little weird to have the access and am still getting used to it - woke up today and said to myself, "I better go in to school to get some work done on the internet."  Then, after sitting at the table for a few minutes, laughed to myself because I realized I CAN DO IT HERE!  And that's exactly what I have been doing for the past hour and a half or so.  Anyways, here are a few updates from this past week:

Last weekend - the Navajo Nation Fair engulfed our little town of Window Rock / St. Michael's, Arizona.  It was a weekend to remember to say the least.  From seeing multiple Fry Bread contests to watching a pow wow to experiencing my first real Rodeo to you name it - the fair had it all!  What an amazing opportunity it was to share in the culture of the Navajo.  I don't really no what else to say about it but that. I even spent quite a few hours at the fair just walking around by myself...thousands of Navajos as well as travelers from all over.  A few pictures:

Right above our house Saturday morning! Woke me up - I said Good Morning to them and they talked back! haha

Pow wow grand entry last Friday night - wow!

Parade - Navajo Nation flag on the right 

RODEO!

Now, the weekend didn't really end on a strong note with a Packers opening day loss, but it was still great!  And they ended up making up for it with a nice win on Thursday!!

Anyways, in regard to school, the week was good.  We finally have all of our Specials for the students up and running - the art teacher arrived this week.  The students are a challenge from time to time but truly are a joy to teach.  And, I feel as though I am starting to really get to know more of the staff as well which is great!

I'm still trying to figure out what kind of resources I have to work with in regard to science materials though.  Here's a little plug - if you have any or know of anybody who has any type of science materials laying around - send them my way!! seriously!  But, so far I have been doing alright - one week at a time!

Cathedral in Gallup

Last night, I did get a new phone after our teacher in-service in Gallup at the Cathedral.  The church itself was beautiful - the art in the churches here is so unique to the culture which I absolutely love!  I love seeing the intertwining of Catholic and Navajo spirituality.  Alright, well I'm off to school just for a little while to check out my new WHITEBOARD which was installed yesterday!  OH yes, I am excited because using chalkboards constantly is a bit much so even a whiteboard is an amazing addition to the classroom.  And hopefully, I can find some magnets lying around to use this week in science as we move into magnetism.

Please know that I continue to think about all of you a lot and hope all is well.  Maybe with the internet at our house now, I can give a few more quick updates about events at school or something.  This past week did end with quite a bang as I took the classes outside to throw their paper airplanes in science.  Which design flies the farthest?  The kids seemed to love it! and so did I!

Alright, peace to all!