After a long break...

Good Evening all,

It's been about twenty days since my last blog. Inexcusably long I know; and I can only say, as Caroline has so pleaded our case, that the sheer busyness of preparing a new year of school has been overwhelming. My position has some particularly unique challenges being that I am the only 9th grade language arts teacher, and as such, am entrusted with great privilege and responsibility. Most teachers would kill to be the final say on all things academic in their faculty; however, as a new teacher, with one hundred and fifty students all jockeying for position in the next private high school, it's lonely at the top. I've had to make a lot of planning decisions with no advice other than my common sense, but managed to tread water so far. Moreover, I should say that I not entirely without aid, as Caroline's good humour, and the support of other staff at the school has been invaluable.
As for the school; well it is a modernist's paradise with expansive open spaces, a lush fountain, and botanical garden reminiscent of the old Greek schools of Socrates. My classroom is a fishbowl; all walls are glass to the interior. I have a ceiling installed projector, and best of all, a Smart board (if you're into the sort of thing). Personally, I'd just be happy if everybody would synchronize their watches and the guards spoke English. My students are quite good, but the sheer scale of everything is immense. Any activity sheet I wish to use must be photocopied 150 times :S Needless, to say, in the name of sanity (more than mere environmentalism) I have become much pickier about what I photocopy than I used to be.
I shall not indulge, though it is tempting, in describing all the events that have occurred since my last post. Caroline, in her diligence, has kept you quite abreast of our excursions. However, I will say by Wednesday of last week I was literally a zombie. I can't remember being this tired since my basic Army training ten years ago. As tiring as the schedule is, I also find the prospect of being a classroom teacher, with my own little literary agenda to run, quite rewarding, and it will be difficult to return home.
This weekend, we collapsed into a balmy Friday afternoon at another colleagues patio and engaged in a little shop talk, and a lot of discussion about our plans for future travel. As the evening wore on, Caroline and I retired early, and I'm quite sure I slipped into a coma that night.
Saturday night, I took my lady on the town, as we strolled the Santa Lucia canal at the height of a number of festivities for whose origin we were not entirely sure. We enjoyed a tantalizing dinner from a surprisingly attentive staff, but by Sunday morning we were back at the grindstone.
Alas, friends, I must sleep. I shall try to be more consistent in the future as I now have all the "start up" wrinkles out of my system. Till our next adventures.


vaya le bien!