It seems I have gotten lazy on the blog front. Not because there hasn't been much going on in my life, but perhaps because there has. April was a month of memorable adventures, including a midnight skinny dip in the pool surrounding the Statue of Liberty on the 18th hold of a mini golf course with a bunch of people, the majority of whom, strangely enough, were from Australia and named Dave (strange, but true.) I had a weekend to recover from that before taking off into the jungle with the crew of misfits I love and call my friends only to get lost and wander around for hours and hours and hours, scrambling up and down rocky paths among the teak trees and bamboo groves. It's a good group of friends that can do that together with humor and laughter, as the light is failing, the water is running out and there is still no end, but many hills in sight. The adventure ended spectacularly with two stunning waterfalls, an idyllic camping spot and a ride out two days later on the backs of a couple of elephants.
At work, things were (and still are) moving at a frantic pace as we scrambled to get ready for graduation. I almost cried giving my speech this year, although I also almost laughed hysterically as I won a bet by incorporating the phrase "flaming jellybeans" into my speech. The day after grad, the students took the teachers and a group of students from the local school on a trip into the jungle behind the camp to play games and frolic in a couple of beautiful shaded waterfalls.I enjoyed a quiet weekend of relaxation after that, enjoying the feeling of success, reflecting on the wild year I had just passed through and ultimately, feeling proud and content.
Then I got back to work on Monday and remembered that one year stops and the next year already needs to be on the roll. So here we are, frantically scrambling, as always: hiring teachers, planning to recruit students, placing graduates in community work. No problem. In addition to all this, we are opening a new school and beginning a new program. Still no problem. In addition to that, our goal is to have an internationally standardized primary curriculum in Math, Science and Burmese for grades 1 - 4 in place in the migrant school system in Thailand. On my desk to the right are books such as Benchmarks for Science Literacy, and Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards. On my right is the New South Wales' guide to outcomes and indicators for mathematics K-6 and open in front of me, from which am currently taking a break, is the Alberta K-6 Common Curriculum Framework for mathematics. There's one around here for English somewhere too I just read and I just printed off the Northern Ireland's primary curriculum standard guide.
It's a challenge and sometimes it feels invigorating and exhilarating to be a part of. Other days, especially before my caffeine kick hits, I feel just a little overwhelmed.For my own curiosity, professional development, sick enthusiasm, I have another pile of binders on my desk, dealing with organizational management policy. I find it both fascinating and terribly boring (as you can imagine). But any free time I have, or anytime I just want to switch things up, I am reading these and working on designing the new organizational policy guide with our Country Director.
So for a while there I actually thought I had a social life, but as it turns out, I'm just up to my ears in work, as usual. There is, however a holiday going on right now, as I type, with water flying outside my window and people all over the country kicking back the whiskey from 11am to 11pm every day this week. One of these days I might actually get out from behind my desk and go join in.
