The day I left my home on May 30th to come here, it was a brisk 50 degrees. Since then, the only time I've felt 50 degree weather has been when I have class in the icebox known as Guyton Annex. Needless to say, it's hotter than grits straight out the pan! (That was me adding a little southern flavor to this post) Now, I'm a summer baby, so I wouldn't say that I dislike the heat. But i do dislike sweating and I do dislike skin cancer. The other day while we were looking for housing I noticed that the car temperature read 105 degrees, a temperature you don't really expect to see outside of Africa, or the Jungle, or the desert. So that's all I have to say about that.
Next, the critters. Now, I've been camping in the New England Woods. I've even pitched tents on mountains or slept outside on hills, but until I came here I didn't know how big bugs could get. It's like the southern sun just causes the bugs to swell up to capacity, so that mosquitoes actually end up looking like swallows, and crickets look like lobsters. Today I counted 7 bug bites on one arm, and another in a VERY unfortunate location...I'll leave that one up to the imagination.
Housing. Looking for housing has been tricky and frustrating. Having just graduated from college where I lived on campus for all 4 years, its hard for me to really know what the heck I'm supposed to be looking for. And it has definitely been a little overwhelming. But I've really enjoyed getting to know the people who will be working in the same school/ region as me. Spending 8 hours in and out of cars/ apartments has allowed us all to bond and I know I'll be able to count on them when I inevitably struggle next year.
My subject. So I found out that I'll be teaching 7th grade social studies which I'm both excited and anxious about. I'm excited because the information is really interesting! I get to talk about the Greeks, Chinese Dynasties, African societies (including the Egyptians) and Australian societies prior to the mid 1700s. I love the fact that my content is really dynamic and that i can create a lot of role plays and activities. But I'm also anxious knowing that no other MTCer has taught the same subject. So I may be kind of on my own in that regard. Could get tricky. But I accept the challenge. I'm also excited that DK and AB will be another 2/5 of the 7th grade team at my school. Since they'll be teaching Reading and Writing I anticipate a lot of opportunity for collaboration in materials. Should make for a great year and hopefully a fun one!
I'm really excited that you'll be teaching social studies. I'm teaching English, a strictly state tested subject and my concern is that I won't be able to be creative in instruction. However, with social studies I feel like you will have the opportunity teach students basically whatever you want and expose them to histories and ideas that they have not heard before. The fact that no other MTCer has taught this before does seem a little daunting but I'm confident that you can handle it. You'll do great!!!
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