Busy week indeed

Well I made it through parent teacher conference week!  It was quite a week - Wednesday and Thursday were the conference days, and overall, they really went quite well!  The 6th graders are beginning to shape up more and more each day.  I think they are finally starting to realize that their parents won't stand for them not turning in homework either...which is good!  Now, we are heading into the last three weeks of the first quarter already.  Beginning next week, I am starting a novel with the sixth graders which I am quite excited about - they are voting on Monday to decide between The Giver  and Sign of the Beaver.  I think it will be fun to really engage them in a book together as a class - and see how they do with that.

I didn't even get a chance to mention anything about our day adventure to Canyon De Chelly last Saturday.  The Canyon is a sacred place for the Navajo - Spider Rock (pictured below) is symbolic for their Holy Spider Woman who taught them how to weave!  It was quite a day to say the least - we had the chance to hike down into the canyon and look at some more ancient ruins.  And the craziest thing about the whole day was the fact that we only drove about an hour or so from our house - there is just so much beauty in the land all around here!

Currently, I am sitting at the other volunteers' trailer watching the Packer game...it isn't exactly the same watching it by myself in Arizona - but hey Go Pack Go!  Earlier today, the parish held its annual Harvest Mass outside which was a beautiful mass indeed.  And was of course, followed by a potluck! YUM!  Then, Mary Rose and I stayed after to rehearse for a short play we are going to be in on Wednesday night.  Wednesday is the feast of St. Francis and since the priests here are Franciscan, the four Postulants (novitiates) are putting on a short depiction of Francis's life and death.  We were asked by Noel, one of the postulants, to help out, so we said sure!  I will be a Soldier and a bishop and Mary Rose is going to be St. Clare.  It will be a pretty neat experience.  And, I am happy to have met the four postulants - Noel, David, Anthony, and Patrick.  Hopefully, I can take some time to hang with them from time to time.

Anyways, on to another week of teaching - Days go by pretty darn fast but there is never a shortage of work to do as a new teacher.  I just try my hardest to make sure I find some time for myself every day - for my own sanity.  Alright, I'm off to cheer on the pack - check in again sometime this week hopefully!

Enjoy the pictures:

Spider rock

First REAL full week almost complete!

Well, the first REAL full week of school (even though its actually the 5th week) is coming to a close tomorrow!  It has been a pretty darn good week to say the least.  It started off a little rough on Monday, but I believe my 6th graders in particular are really beginning to realize that this is school...and Mr. D. will not stand for not turning things in or turning things in that are clearly not even close to sixth grade standard.  Bit by bit they are coming along...and I'm just trying to keep a hold of myself while it happens! :)

But really, I am starting to truly enjoy coming to school on most days which is definitely a plus!  Life at our house is great - we had a wonderful spirituality night last night in which we watched the movie Crash and then I led a short discussion!  Great topic of discussion to say the least.   Mary Rose, Stacy, and I are really starting to get going on our training for the team marathon we are doing in Albuquerque next month!  We will be running with Dan, a high school teacher, and Mary, a volunteer from last year who stayed at the special ed school this year as a paid employee!  It will definitely be a great time, but getting myself up to running longer than 2-3 miles is a challenge....especially in this altitude!  Seriously, it makes a difference...I don't care if you don't believe me!  Anyways, we are getting excited.

Coming up this weekend, we are planning on taking a trip to Canyon de Chelly - an extremely sacred place for the Navajo people as I understand.  Should be a good day trip on Saturday!

Alright, just thought I would check in.  Thanks for reading - look for another post sometime this weekend!

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!

El Morro, El Malpais, Ice Caves, Acoma, and Week 3!

Another week of teaching complete.  What a week it has been!  I'm going to try to give a quick run-down of last weekend (which was amazing) and the very shortened week of school.

Last weekend, 10 of us went on a little National Park/Monument tour of the surrounding area.  On Saturday, we made stops at El Morro National Monument, El Malpais National Monument, and the Ice Cave.  They were all absolutely wonderful places with so much history.  At El Morro, the main attraction was the Inscription wall - the rock formation itself had tons of inscriptions on it of people from as far back as the 1600s who had passed through the area in order to get access to the only water for 150 miles.  There was a little guide book they handed out that explained some of the more significant markings - who the people were and such.

walking up to the wall

Water hole - only water for 150 miles back in the day!

Hand prints, names, you name it

Once you walked around the main inscription wall, you could climb up to the top of the formation and look out for miles in all directions - Beautiful - the pictures don't even do it justice of course!

The gang

Cool huh?

After El Morro, we headed on to the Ice Cave.  This place was simply amazing.  First, there was a bandera (Volcano cinder cone) that you could hike to top of and look down into.  It was amazing - the volcano erupted some 10,000 years ago.  Not to mention on the trails, there was all sorts of igneous rock formations that were really neat (The inner geologist was definitely coming out of me the whole day!)  After seeing the cinder cone, we hiked to the ice cave which itself was formed by a collapsed Lava flow tube.  Apparently "The combination of cold air settling and insulation of the porous lake keeps the ice frozen year round."  (From a sign at the cave)  As you took the stairs down to the cave/lake, the temperature dropped about 10 degrees every 2 or 3 steps!  The temperature at the bottom stays a brisk 31 degrees year round!  Pretty neat!

cinder cone

Funny sign - disturb the lava?

stairs into the ice cave

The ice cave!!!

After the ice cave, we headed to El Malpais, which was yet another large national park with a dormant volcano cinder cone.  Here, we hiked another few miles and some absolutely breathtaking views to take in.

Cinder cone - erupted 100,000 years ago - much more overgrown!

  

Oh yeah!

The Jesus Rays we see almost every night!

And after all this, we treated ourselves to a little dinner and then crashed in our two cheap hotel rooms!

The next day was just as wonderful as we traveled to the Acoma sky city.  The Acoma Pueblo who have lived in this small town on top of a mesa for around a 1000 years celebrate the feast of St. Stephen every September 2nd!  The feast itself is open to the public and the day included vendors of all sorts selling handmade pottery, jewelry, clothing, you name it all over the small town.  It also included hours of traditional Acoma Pueblo harvest dances in the middle of the small streets while all observed.

Really cool mesa along the drive

The city is on top of the mesa right there!

However, the highlight of the day had to be the lunch we got to experience.  When we first arrived, Stacy, Mary Rose, and I were walking around checking out the different streets when a man who was setting up his vendor station stopped us and welcomed us to Acoma.  After introducing himself, he invited us to come back for food later in the day stating "It's feast day!  We feed any and all!  It's a celebration!"  Therefore, when it came to be around lunch time, we walked back to (his sister's small home) and he invited us right in where there was a large table set up with all sorts of dishes.  There were a few other guests at the time as well simply sharing a meal and really being served by the home owners.  We were invited in and treated with the utmost respect.  We eventually learned that the man's sister (whose home it was) actually graduated from St. Michael's!  What a neat connection.  It was quite a lunch and day to remember to say the least!  However, there are no pictures to show because cameras were not allowed at the festival.

Well after that weekend, labor day came as a blessing - got some work done at school and then simply relaxed!  The week of school went by fast yet again because the Navajo Nation fair has now begun right here in St. Michaels/Window Rock area!  This is quite the fair!  Hopefully, I will have more pictures to share by the end of the weekend, but Stacy and I already enjoyed a free barbecue and fry bread contest last evening.  So much to share - you really have to experience it!  We did meet a gentleman and his wife at the contest who was very nice and told us all about fry bread and tid bits of cultural information.  He even ended up inviting us to his home next weekend for dinner and another ceremony of some sort!  We cannot wait!

I just finished up planning out next week, so I think I am starting to get the hang of this teaching thing a little bit.  I have no doubt there will continue to be ups and downs - but I continue to learn how to deal with those days of struggle in different ways!  There really is so much to experience here, and it is great to finally be realizing it at a deeper level.

Alright, could talk forever about this place - but Stacy and I need to go figure out some things for the house before heading to the fair again!  Oh and I forgot to mention - we don't have school today due to the fair...pretty crazy!  There are people camping out all along the main streets here.  Tonight, there will be hot air balloons lighting up the sky as far as I understand.  And tomorrow there is the parade and various other events including a rodeo....

Peace friends and family!  Continue to keep my in your prayers and I always welcome cards/packages! :) hahaha

Cows, dogs, snakes on the playground? Week 2 complete!

Week 2 complete!

Well, made it through my second week of teaching! And man, was it a heck of a week - and LONG.  However, I already feel as though I have made strides in my expectations of myself, of the students, of the school, of my community, of everything really.  It truly has been (and will continue to be for a while I'm sure) a time to reflect on the true reasons I am here.  Yes, I am here to teach 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students.  BUT, am I here to only focus on that?  I don't believe so!  haha.  I am here to live in community with others and even more so live in solidarity with those 4th, 5th, and 6th graders.

Each day of the week was definitely a new day that brought various challenges from a blown science lesson that was clearly geared more towards 6th grade than 4th grade to half of my class suddenly being summoned to help with handing out donated supplies today and missing most of the day?  haha.  Not to mention (if you didn't notice from the title) cows on the playground, snakes on the grounds right where I wanted to do an activity, and some more of those darn dogs hanging around bothering us as we tried to do a science experiment outdoors.  You truly have to have a back-up plan here in AZ!

Alright, I am sadly going to have cut this post short due to other things calling me.  An official request for us to get internet is in at this point, so hopefully that will happen by the end of next week.  That way I won't have to cut these posts as short anymore!

This weekend, there is a group of about 10 of us that are heading to see two national monuments in the area "El Morro" and "El Mapais."  Then, staying overnight in a town before heading to a festival near Grants, NM on Sunday.  I am excited to see and HIKE some more of the beautiful scenery here in AZ. That is one thing that never fails to uplift my spirits no matter how hard the day has been.  The sky is absolutely beautiful every night and the hills/rocks are breathtaking in the morning and evening sunlight!

Alright off to run some errands before heading back to the house.  I leave you with the theme for the last couple days' readings - STAY AWAKE - Recognize and enjoy God's presence among you in the here and now!  I need to do this!  Peace friends and family!

Painting the dining room - looks a million times better

Window Rock - 2 minutes from our house!

The Mission church right near the school!

Desert house of prayer 40th anniversary pot luck and Vespers service!

On to week 2

Well on to the second week of teaching - I haven't had time to write much this weekend obviously but it was a pretty darn good weekend.  Painted the dining room in our house yesterday and it looks amazing.  Then, planned for the week and I know what I am doing tomorrow - that's all that matters right?  one day at a time - definitely taking that seriously.

Alright off to pick up the rest of the house to go to a pot luck at the Desert House Sisters - followed by a Vespers service at 5 inside of a Hogan - Octagon shaped building representing part of Navajo spirituality.  (I will hopefully find out more later so I do not sound culturally insensitive.)

Peace and talk soon!

3 days down

Hello all!

This will be another short post but hopefully I will be able to share more about my first week teaching tomorrow.  Overall, it has been a pretty good week.  I am definitely taking it one day at a time right now and trying not to think too much about anything beyond that.

The students (for the most part) have been great.  It is definitely tough getting them back into the "school mode" in which their attention span is a little more than just 2-3 minutes....I have already noticed that it will be quite a difference every day going from teaching 6th graders to 5th and then 4th graders (and then back to 6th graders).  There is such a difference in the students in those three years - it will be a challenge but a fun one I think.

One of the highlights of the week has to be sharing my powerpoint of pictures to the different grade levels and seeing their reactions to how I looked in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th grade...The sixth graders I'm sure enjoyed the opportunity to see that I was once in their seat.

Alright, I'm off to finish up a few things here and there in the classroom and then back to the house - the days are both quick and Long...they seem to be long usually the last hour or so of school and when I think about how much I have to do, but they speed up and when I lay down in bed at night I have been constantly thinking, "What the heck did I do all day today?"  One more day of school this week - then a diocesan Religion teacher's in-service on Friday.

I hope to update tomorrow - thanks for checking in!

PEace