Settling into Fall

It'll be this way until December.

Me, right before speaking on KINY Radio!

This past week seemed to give me a glimpse of what the rest of the year will be like. I feel like the quartet has gotten into a good groove as a group already, which is really exciting! We have found a good rehearsal schedule and have even begun playing for some gigs around town, which will continue this week. We even got a chance to speak on the radio to talk about our quartet and the wildlife cruise we will be performing for this next weekend! It's been so great to have so many musical and educational opportunities here. We started off the week teaching with Lorrie at Glacier Valley and stayed after school every day to work with a small group of JAMM kids to prepare for a donor event we performed for on Friday. We let the kids pick the songs they knew and wanted to perform, and then the quartet helped conduct the one-hour daily rehearsal of the music. We came up with a song order and talked with the students about rehearsal and performance etiquette and what it means to be a leader. By Friday, they were super solid, and we teachers sang our praises over their hard work and ownership of the music. The quartet joined the kids in the performance of their songs and also played a Beethoven quartet movement halfway through the thirty-minute playing slot. It was so fun to help the kids work toward a goal and see them succeed so well! In addition to having us help out after school, Lorrie has been super great with letting us do as much or as little in the classroom as we want to right now. So this past week, each of us was given the opportunity to lead a portion of the class (usually it involved us teaching them a game or song). To be able to already start putting myself out there as a teacher helps me learn much faster because so much of it is through hands-on experience. There were some classes that I felt like I really just wanted to observe, though, because I had no experience and wanted to see what Lorrie did. So for example, the first graders began their first violin classes last week, and as a cello performance major, I have no experience with playing or teaching violin. So I hung back on the side of the classroom and took note of everything Lorrie did as she established routines and helped the kids become familiar with holding a real violin. It was a great learning experience, and I was able to join the following violin classes and help the students if they needed anything.

The quartet performed at a donor event with the JAMM kids!

I have been learning more about what drives elementary schoolers and how to have effective behavior management skills, which is something I really wanted to learn more about! I have also continued to see that I love kindergarteners! They are just adorable. We introduced them to the music classroom last week by reading one of Glacier Valley's signature storybooks, "Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes" to them, which has a repeating musical refrain. The kinders came into class later in the day with adorable little paper cat hats on their heads, so they can be Pete, the cat. So cute!!! And the most adorable thing about kinders? The oblivious things they do and say!!!! After that last kindergarten class for the day, we had a fifth grade class, and we were all sitting in a circle to play a name game. As we began doing this, a little kindergarten boy knocked on the door, looking into the room with his mouth sitting open. Lorrie opened the door, asking where he was supposed to be (he was supposed to be eating lunch in the cafeteria next door to the room), and he just kept asking with a voice full of awe and confusion, "What are you doing???" over and over, his mouth continuously agape and his eyes just looking straight into the music room. He eventually left to return to his food, but we teachers all laughed about that adorable encounter later.

We also observed/helped out at another elementary school, Riverbend, where I will be spending my time my second semester of student teaching. It was neat to see a different teaching style and different school environment. It was also cool to see the similarities, especially between the content of the two schools! I'm learning that the music teachers in Juneau don't have an idea of what the other teachers are doing in their schools, so our quartet can sort of be the eyes and ears to bring any suggestions and make connections within the music teacher community. It's awesome to help in that way!

Besides that, the quartet is preparing for a performance tomorrow night that is in honor of the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, which is such an amazing opportunity! We are very excited about that. We are also having paper violin nights this week, so we will go to Glacier Valley and Riverbend to help students create their own paper violins (which we got to do last week!)! And the wildlife whale-watching cruise I have been looking forward to for months is finally this Saturday!

Me and Tobin, on Mt. Roberts!

There were a few beautiful, sunny days last week that went away just in time for my good friend, Tobin to come visit me over the weekend. However, he was born and raised in Seattle and actually enjoys rainy weather, so it was no problem for him! We had a great time exploring Juneau together: we took the tram up Mt. Roberts and hiked some (I finally saw a marmot!!), we drove to the end of the road on one end of Juneau, we browsed the shops, watched movies, went to a brewery, shopped around Fred Meyer (which is both my and his favorite store!), and went to my church. He also followed me around school and the donor event on Friday, so he got to see what I have been so excited about here! It was a happy weekend that reminded me of some of the things I've left behind to be here, which made it bittersweet.

The sun might make an appearance for a little bit this week, but I've been warned that Fall is usually consistently rainy. I've been told to expect every day to be rainy from now until Winter, unless it is too warm for snow! I start one of my online classes this week, which I sort of forgot about until yesterday...So, back to business!

Holding onto the sunlight. :)

Exciting Times!

Oh wait. Sometimes, when you move, it's not across the country...just across town. Oh my! Another week has gone by! ...Just two days spent in the music classroom, and I’m already speaking in rhymes. So as of yesterday, I have been in Alaska for a month. It’s crazy to think! I feel like I have just scratched the surface with learning about this place, culture, and music scene.

A few big things happened this week: school with the little chickies (oh, and the kids) started last Thursday. I started a Facebook page for our quartet, and I moved into my new place that will be my permanent home this year!

Airabex (Sue's dog) and I have become very close.
And she still loves me, even when I'm too tired
to make eye contact with her when we hang out.

So, I started student teaching at Glacier Valley Elementary this week! And although classes were only on Thursday and Friday this week, I could not wait for the weekend to come. And it’s only because I was so tired after just two days with tons of little students running around! But oh my gosh, how I loved it. The week started off not being quite as fun, as I was in teacher in-service meetings for three days. Talk about a rude awakening into the life of a teacher! I sat in meetings that talked about policies, safety protocols, new and old testing standards, and behavior management tips. My brain felt like it went from receiving and downloading new information every hour to being overloaded with new data every 20 seconds. By the end of Wednesday, I don’t think I was even capable of maintaining eye contact with other humans. Or dogs. It was sad. I, for sure, could not pick up on social cues or carry on a remotely-interesting conversation at that point. It was at that time in the week I started to reconsider jumping on the coffee addiction bus that so many of my friends have seemed to been riding for years now. But then I realized that I hated the taste of coffee and didn’t even know how to make a cup or order it. So then I decided to become addicted to Mountain Dew. Then I looked up its side effects. So then...I just decided that dead, robot Ruth would have to be acceptable once it hit 3pm every day.

The quartet and I demonstrated our instruments for the class
 before performing a tango for them!

And then I discovered that I would have to be at school most days at 7:30am and decided that caffeinated tea might be something I should look into!! But the in-service training was extremely helpful and necessary, even if it felt like information overload. And the good news is, I now know the basics, so it won’t feel so overwhelming in the years of training to come, if I decide to be a public school teacher in Alaska! But the real fun began when that first group of kids walked into our classroom at GV on Thursday. All of a sudden, all those meetings about hypothetical situations and imaginary kids were brought into perspective. I had faces and names and real scenarios! My quartet and I planned with Lorrie for each elementary music class those two days, and it usually consisted of a name game of some sort, a small performance from our group as a way to introduce ourselves and get the students excited about the year, and a song/dance to get the kids moving and review what they had learned the previous year. We saw a variety of classes, from grades 1 to 5, and I have decided that so far, I love the littlest ones! The first through third graders are just so precious and young and so eager to learn. The fourth and fifth graders were also awesome and very knowledgeable. They had some great comments and questions about the tango we played for them! But I gravitated toward the younger classes, which is exciting to know! Not only did I enjoy interacting with the kids, I really loved seeing how Lorrie interacts with them. She is seriously the master at positive, effective behavior management. She creates an atmosphere of trust, respect, and joy in the classroom while still expecting the students to behave in an appropriate way. I was amazed when I saw how she handled different behavioral problems that are bound to occur in a class of 20-30 kids. Glacier Valley is also a Title I school, with students that face great challenges in their everyday lives, which makes it even more special that they are receiving this fabulous music education. And in their other classes as well! I have really enjoyed seeing some of the other teachers at work. The music class partners with other teachers, including the gym teacher and school counselor, to do activities together. It is a great real-life application of integrating the arts across all content areas. I am very excited to learn from Lorrie and the other GV teachers, as well as from music teachers from schools around Juneau. The quartet actually sat down with Lorrie last week and figured out our schedules so that we will be able to student teach at a variety of elementary, middle, and high schools, since we are being certified to teach music, K-12.

So I am excited for another few days of being in the Glacier Valley classroom with Lorrie and then at two other elementary schools, Auke Bay and Riverbend at the end of next week! I have already met and worked with the music teachers from both of those schools (at the summer string workshop!), so I am excited to learn more from them. Man, I say “excited” a lot, don’t I?! I’m sorry- everything is just so exciting!!!

So, yes- I also got our quartet’s name out on Facebook a little bit this week! We have decided to officially call ourselves “The Mendenhall Quartet”. The Mendenhall Glacier is one of the main tourist attractions in Juneau, so I thought it was only fitting to suggest we name ourselves that. I was also surprised to see that no one else has called themselves by that name! I got the idea to start a Facebook page (called The Mendenhall Quartet- the link can be found here) as I was reflecting on my time in Peru and the similarities and differences between the two experiences. I thought about how as an in-country coordinator last summer, one of my jobs was to maintain our social media accounts, and it was very valuable for making connections and raising support. And a handful of people had already been asking us when we will be performing and how they could be informed about those concerts, so it only made sense to make us a page! I have an interesting work ethic with starting new projects: I feel much more motivated to do something when I haven’t been asked or required to do it but came up with the idea myself (egocentric much?!). But it’s true! I felt like this would be a good way to build a presence in Juneau and keep people updated about our experiences here, and I feel very motivated to keep up with the page throughout the year. I have also already been thinking about next year and how I would love to help the prospective students get a glimpse of the program. I think that my time working in DePaul’s Admissions Office has given me a soft spot for incoming college students. :) I’m learning that I like some aspects of public relations and outreach- who knew?! So, please like our page if you are interested in seeing our quartet from a different perspective than how I talk about it here! And you can see when our performances will be!

My amazing new room!

Besides that, the other big thing that happened was my move to Koren and Rob’s yesterday! Sue was her usual, fantastic self and cooked me a goodbye dinner on Friday night, and I had a blast eating, playing games, and singing/playing the piano with her and her daughter (who happens to be moving to Chicago next week for college!!!). My little Alaskan family is awesome and quirky. I then slept for 10.5 hours (yeah, no joke about being dead! I could finally speak in complete sentences again!!) and woke up to a wonderful breakfast with Sue before she helped me move out. I had spent a couple hours packing after dinner and games the night before, so we just had to load up all my stuff -which has definitely grown in amount- and drive on over to my new home! The moving-in process went fairly quickly because Sue’s fabulousness remained intact, and she helped me lug everything into my new room in the basement! And let me tell you, my room is beautiful! Just being away from it today while I was at church and quartet rehearsal felt like too much. I needed to be back in my lair! Nothing could ever replace my time at Sue’s and my wonderful room there, but there’s something about sleeping in a warm bed that is twice the size than what I have ever had before, and being completely unpacked that makes it feel like an exciting place to come back to.

After moving all my things in and unpacking for a little bit, I piled in the car with Koren and Rob (who are equally as awesome as Sue! I can’t wait to get to know them better!) and went back to Sue’s for dinner!!!! Koren and Sue happen to be best friends, so I have a feeling I’ll spend a lot of time with Sue still! They have known one another for over 20 years. 20 YEARS. That’s pretty much my entire lifetime! It was amazing to sit at the table with them and listen to them reminisce about times from long ago and see how much love and joy there is in that relationship. Their priority of having “friend dinner dates” and large dinner parties is really neat. I really love the “small-town feel” of Juneau and want to be in, and create, that same environment wherever I end up! So we had a blast eating Indian food and playing the same games I had played the night before with Sue and her daughter. I noticed that we were all much more competitive last night: we were hovering over the table during an intense card game, shouting and yelling when other people were winning! Love it.

So it has been another lovely week in Juneau, even though it seems that Fall is finally starting, which means lots of rain, wind, and Extratuf boots (by the way- Extratuf boots are even CUTER when kids are wearing them! So little and tiny and cute!!!).

The view I had during one of my runs this past week!
It was right by the entrance to the Perseverance Trail.

It’s funny- as Sue was driving me to my new place yesterday, I started to feel very melancholy because it felt like I was leaving and that time in my life was over (yeah- when I’m tired, I don’t quite think logically; I forgot that I was still going to live in Juneau, Alaska). And then I realized, “Oh wait- I’m here for an entire YEAR!” And...Sue lives less than ten minutes away. If you can’t tell, I’ve gotten very attached to her! So I am very excited to continue this journey and am grateful that I have so much time! Time to get to know the amazing Juneauites, time to hike and explore the beauty of Alaska, time to spend with my new students and learn from Lorrie, time to figure out what on earth I am doing next year- and no, I have absolutely no idea where I will be or what I will be doing!- time to enjoy this new chapter in my life.

Also, I feel super cool to say that I’m a grad student. So let’s keep that going for a while. ;)

...And all of a sudden, I’m a teacher!

YAY! I seriously can’t believe it’s been just 9 days since I last wrote! Every week I am here has felt so long in the best way; it has definitely helped to have so many different educational opportunities week by week.

I greatly enjoyed my “first” First Friday experience! I walked around downtown with Sophia, and I had my first fish taco. It was from a food truck, and it was AMAZING! So fresh and delicious! We ran into some people we had met at the Institute, which was just another cool reminder that I’m living in a small, tight-knit community that is even tighter in its musical circles. We met some new people and have already had multiple offers for gigs as a group around the city! I think I might get more gigs here than I did in Chicago! It definitely helps to only have a few other cellists here. :P

Running downtown!

Last weekend was a relaxing one full of lots of sunlight and down time. I explored around downtown on Saturday on my own. I walked through the shops and participated in some fabulous people-watching as I watched the tourists lurk around in the touristy shops and on the streets. I ended up sitting for a couple hours in a park on the ocean and saw a bride and groom see each other for the first time!!! Ahh! And then I fell asleep. And then I got sunburned. No regrets, though!! Even though my calves are now a different shade from the rest of my legs. As I look at the forecast for the next ten days and see straight rain every day, I pat myself on my sunburned back for all the sun I have managed to get on those good days. On Sunday, I and the other girls saw the music classroom at Glacier Valley Elementary School (where we will be teaching regularly) for the first time and helped Lorrie clean it up and move things around. It was very exciting to be in there, where all the magic happens!!! And that magic is soon coming upon us...as in, this Thursday. Whoa. School starts this Thursday! But after this week, I feel much more prepared for it.

So I really loved the Juneau Basic Arts Institute because I learned a lot about teaching and implementing the arts and met some awesome teacher colleagues. This week, we got down to business and really honed in on music pedagogy. And, we gained unintentional teaching experience! Monday and Tuesday were spent in the Glacier Valley (GV) classroom all day, as Lorrie taught us different songs (including ones on the African drums!) and dances. We had great discussions, and Lorrie provided us with fabulous packets full of resources for music teachers. I now have copies of a lot of the lyrics and music of the songs she commonly uses. I also learned a lot about behavior management during those two days, which is just as important as teaching the content and is often harder! Lorrie’s big behavior management philosophy is “consequences with empathy”, which I absolutely love. Instead of scolding kids and making them feel like their behavior is their identity, she makes her expectations clear, and if students act up, she will be kind but firm with implementing those consequences. She also believes in not singling out students when they are engaging in smaller behavioral disturbances (such as talking while she is talking). Instead, she commends the students who are behaving properly and respectfully, thanking them for their quiet, attentive listening. And you know what- it totally works!!! After spending two days in the classroom, we were able to see Lorrie at work at a summer strings workshop for Juneau kids, ages 10-18. And while we thought we would spend those three days observing and then each teaching one percussion group class, we ended up teaching a lot! This was the first year of the workshop, and it became clear that more teachers were needed after a couple of classes on day one. And thankfully, we three fresh, new teachers were eager and totally willing to do whatever we could to help and gain more teaching experience! While it was a little surprising at first and definitely felt scary, I think it was actually better to show up that first day and find out that they would need me to lead a masterclass later that day. It gave me barely any time to freak out! And I got into that classroom full of 20 10-14ish-year olds and just owned it. I did not expect that, but I loved it, and I wasn’t the least bit nervous! And when I heard that the next day, I would no longer be co-teaching that class with the amazing violin teacher who was instrumental in JAMM’s success, Mr. Xia, I felt excited. Excited to spend an hour with 20 kids on my second day of teaching?! Yes, I am a little crazy. But I just love being with kids.

The compliment sandwich.

I also taught a percussion class and a lower strings technique class, but the masterclass felt like my shining glory because of what I did with the kids those next two days. I came up with the idea of creating a string version of American Idol for the kids, having three of them at a time be judges and allowing each student to perform if they wanted to. Not only did the kids completely love it (one of them told me I was the best masterclass teacher EVER...of course, I’m pretty sure that was his first masterclass experience...), but I think they learned important things about being a musician because of it. I focused on teaching the kids how to give helpful criticism to others by using the “compliment sandwich” (say a compliment, give a helpful criticism, and finish off with a nice compliment that will make the performer feel warm and fuzzy inside), and I talked with them about proper audience etiquette and how to have good stage presence. And I felt like I learned so much from that experience. I’m learning about myself as a teacher each time I lead in a classroom. On the second day of finishing American Idol, Lorrie and other teacher friends sat in on the class, and they were extremely helpful with pointing out behavioral/potential behavioral issues happening in the classroom. They were my other pairs of eyes, which helped a lot. The “having the eyes in the back of your head” skill is one I want to develop this year! And while I don’t want to be that terrifying teacher who always yells at the kids because I know what they’re doing all the time, I think it will be helpful to apply that idea of “consequences with empathy” by showing my students that respect can be a significant part of the classroom environment, if they learn to take responsibility for their actions and invest in their learning time. So those three days of applying what I learned the previous two days were extremely helpful for me. And at the end of each day, we would debrief with Lorrie about how we were feeling, and she gave us helpful comments and criticisms about how we taught the classes she observed. And even when she wasn’t in that particular class, she listened to us describe it and gave helpful feedback. Having her unending support has been a significant reason why I know this MAT program will work. I feel completely invested in and am completely, pleasantly surprised by the organization of this program thus far. Even though it’s in its first year, there really haven’t been many unexpected aspects, and I have never felt like this program is unclear or disorganized. I also really have felt that everything I have participated in at this point has been completely relevant and extremely helpful. I feel my teaching “toolbox” and my brain growing exponentially after every class!

And this week has another change of pace that will, I’m sure, be another huge learning experience for me that I previously mentioned: school starts for the kids! So I will be doing in-service the first three days of the week, being trained and preparing for school. I’m excited to meet the other teachers at school tomorrow. It’s just crazy to me that all of a sudden, I’m colleagues with these awesome teachers! I wonder if I get a cool lanyard and ID badge?! I’m a BIG KID NOW!!!! Ahhhhhh!!!!!! I will say that I looked at the schedule for this week and did not think about how early school starts for younger kids. So, having to be at school at 7:30am does sound a little like death and already makes me tired...but it’s so worth it. :) I walked away from the workshop that first day feeling completely energized and was all smiles, even though I had been with 40 kids from 8:30 to 3:30 that day. It’s all so worth it.

The salmon hatchery.

Also, praise the Lord for weekends. Having two complete days off has been such a gift. And by Friday, you’d better believe I was falling asleep if I ever had to sit still! That was sort of awkward when we were sitting in a circle around the kids as they performed in a final showcase, and I was facing all the students’ parents...OOPS. But I feel much better after a couple nights of longer sleep. Yesterday began with a fantastic tour led by one of our teaching colleagues of the local salmon hatchery. And the craziest thing- her dad brought that place into existence! She knew everything about it. And about salmon! I FINALLY learned about salmon and its different kinds, so I can check that off the list! AND….I SAW SEALS. That was my first seal-sighting. And while they just looked like slippery black lumps in the water, just knowing they were there got me so excited. So, thank you so much to Amy Jo for that wonderful tour! It was super fun. I then spent the afternoon on Sue’s back porch. :) And then I went for a run down the very same flume trail I never thought I would face again! I don’t know why, but I was just feeling inspired to face my fears again. I think it was the salmon. Plus, it was so nice out, and I didn’t really know where else I could have run...but it was amazing!!! I’m more adjusted to the idea of possibly seeing a bear and have been educated on what to do, so I felt fine about that. I really, really enjoyed running on the once-terrifying bridge. And the craziest thing- running takes significantly less time than walking! Who knew?! So I didn’t even have time to think about the scary waterfall or anything. I even sat on some rocks overlooking the waterfall at the trail entrance afterwards. Did I turn around every couple minutes to make sure I wasn’t about to become an afternoon bear snack? Yes. Did I have two possible escape routes planned out in my mind? YES. Boom. And then, we finally united with our final quartet member, Lindsay, last night! Her family had us over at their gorgeous cabin that is right on the ocean, and it was so nice. She is super sweet, and her family can COOK. I had fresh fish they had caught the day before, and we sight-read quartet music together. It was so great!!

The Mendenhall Quartet- Lindsay, Sophia, Heidi, and I
are the four UAS MAT students!

The Mendenhall Glacier!

And then today, I went to church for the third time and totally loved it. And then, I hiked to the glacier with the quartet girls, plus a few friends!!!! It was definitely one of those hikes that I really didn’t enjoy at the time, but now that I’m in bed in warm clothes and am showered, I’m feeling a lot better about it haha!!! It took us 4.5 hours, and it wasn’t super grueling. It was the terrain that completely freaked me out. We were walking on tight trails through creeks, scaling down large rock faces (definitely slipped and fell on one of those at the beginning! So I was obviously very excited to keep going for hours after that...haha), climbing up large rocky cliffs, and walking on mountainsides with plenty of loose rocks that could easily be my travel buddies in my plummet down the mountain. Maybe I am being dramatic, but for someone who still has very minimal hiking or really outdoors experience in general, it was scary!!! But my group was awesome, and I enjoyed making a lot of jokes about it all. They kept reassuring me that if I fell and broke something, a helicopter could come airlift us out. So I was excited about the prospect of having my first helicopter ride. However, I decided to avoid that scenario and enjoyed sitting down on the rocks as I slid down steep hills. A little butt-surfing never hurt anyone, right?! And then we finally got to the glacier and it was so worth it!!! It was amazing to be near something so huge and sort of gentle-looking. The way it sloped and curved, highlighted with deep aqua blues in its crevices, made it look so grand and inviting. I loved it. I also loved being there because that meant I was away from the possibility of slipping and falling for a few minutes. The hike back was significantly faster and less terrifying, so I felt good about it! But the moment I saw the parking lot, I started laughing joyously and raised my hands to the heavens. We had made it. Honestly, every time I come back from these hikes I feel incredibly thankful for God’s protection of my safety. Because you really never know, and I know that not everyone has returned from these hikes. It’s a sobering thought that always puts things into perspective when I get back in the car and return home. The hike was very hard on my knees, as we were taking large, heavy steps down rocky cliffs, so I am wondering how long I can stay in this bed before I become the star of the next hit reality tv show. Maybe it’ll be called, “The Girl Who Never Got out of Bed”. Nice and simple. But I am open to taking creative suggestions.

But yeah, enjoying the gorgeous nature here has been refreshing to my body and soul. I love sitting

Birthday pancakes!!

in nature. It makes my problems seem so small, but not in a diminishing or demeaning way. I look at the mountains and large streams and just feel God’s protection and love. I know that He is taking care of me as I am on this journey. And it’s really great because I really haven’t felt lonely that much since being here. I definitely miss my sense of “normal” and my loved ones, but He has totally provided with incredible people here. And that definitely hit me this past week because it was my birthday!! Even though it was on a weeknight and we had been in classes all day, Sophia and Heidi were amazing and helped me cook breakfast for dinner (one of my personal favorites). We had pancakes with candles and everything! I really enjoy just cooking together and talking. I then tried a “Duck Fart”, which is an Alaskan alcohol staple! It was pretty good, but the bartender had to mix it better because I could not do it like a shot, which is how it is intended to be. She looked at me and was like, “How old are you?!”. NO SHAME. We were hoping to do karaoke together that night as well, but it didn’t work out, so we are hoping to go another time! But it was a blast. And lo and behold, I got home that night to find a birthday present from my hostess, Sue, on my bed!!!! I felt incredibly loved. And having wonderful people at church and Lorrie has made it even greater. Ahh I love it here!

So, yeah! I got some good teaching experience this past week and am excited to be in the classroom more this week!!! I’m feeling very thankful- thankful to be here, to be with these people, to work with these kids, and to just be alive, especially after today!!!! As Lorrie would say, “YAY!!!!!”

Week Two- DONE!

I’m a graduate...again!


So I just have to tell you that I am currently soaking up the sun on Sue’s back porch, which overlooks downtown Juneau and the ocean. I think that image is a good one to describe my entire time in Alaska thus far! It’s been a time full of tons of natural beauty, light, and exciting views of the world.

I started off the week feeling refreshed after an amazing weekend. I spent Saturday hiking Mt. Roberts with Sophia and Heidi and ended up running into friends from the Institute (the Juneau Basic Arts Institute, which I have been doing the past two weeks) at the top. The hike was a steady three-mile ascent, which was a good challenge for me. I definitely found myself out of breath more than I would have liked! The trail up this mountain (which is one that many tourists climb or take a tram up, in order to see the excellent view of Juneau) is just a 10-minute walk from my house, so I am going to make it my goal to hike up it a lot to get some good exercise and fresh air! When our group got to the area where most people stop climbing, we continued further, since the mountain still had two miles of length to scale. I ended up hanging behind in an open valley as the others finished their hike- I did that so I could sit in the quiet for a little bit, and so I could take a ton of selfies with my selfie stick and not feel as lame (whatever- I get awesome pictures with my selfie stick of embarrassment!)! It was incredibly peaceful, though. I sat alone, looking out at the ocean, listening to the strong flapping of the ravens’ wings above me. The day ended perfectly: a bunch of us went to a performance by one of our leaders from the Institute, Ed (the Tlingit culture teacher who is also a fantastic jazz percussionist!), and enjoyed listening to a jazz trio for a couple hours. We finished off the night by going salsa dancing at a nearby place, which was loads of fun. Even if I was completely sober and accidentally went into the men’s restroom. Classic Ruth.

My new church!

Sunday was another glorious day! I attended Chapel by the Lake church and totally loved it. It was exactly what I was looking for in terms of congregation size, music style, and beliefs, so I am set with a church! I met a good number of people in the congregation already, including the worship coordinator, and she was very excited that I played cello. I am trying to hang back and not get too involved in leadership in the church this year because it was something I did so consistently at church and school in Chicago, but I am excited to maybe play every once and a while. After church, I went straight to Auke Bay near UAS to go kayaking with a group of five other teachers who were doing the Institute! I was apparently the only one who had no kayaking experience, so I was put with the most experienced person in the group. We all had such a great time! And although it was a little terrifying for the first few minutes, I actually loved being so close to the water’s surface. We ended up kayaking to the closest island which took about 30-45 minutes and hung out there for an hour, collecting objects as we sat on the beach. It was gorgeous! I’m still in awe of the beautiful water that is always lined with mountains of some kind.

This week of classes just flew by. From the beginning of the week up until last night, we were preparing for our big performance (which happened last night). The performance showcase featured us, dancing and singing Tlingit songs, doing some improv activities in front of the audience, and performing some neat body percussion. It was awesome! The performance night was a huge success and was so well-organized. We had all of our artwork hanging outside and inside the room for all to see. And while the audience was smaller than our group, it was so sweet to see my colleagues’ families come and support them. So many cute kids!!! The days leading up to the performance were a little stressful, as many people were feeling nervous about the idea of being up in front of other people. It was honestly quite a revolutionary concept for me. I realized that I am really not used to being around adults who don’t perform often and are afraid of being up in front of people. I have seen kids get nervous about small shows for their families like this one was, but not people older than I am! It helped me see this whole performance preparation process through a non-performer’s eyes and also made me very grateful for my experiences as a musician. And I definitely had at least two people in my group tell me that they were watching and relying on me for every part of the show that involved music, dancing, or movement. Okay. That’s basically everything. No pressure…!

The participants and leaders of the Juneau Basic Arts InstituteI!

We wrapped up the Institute this morning by sharing our lesson plans we had developed throughout the two weeks and had a cute little “graduation ceremony” (with the music and fancy pieces of cardstock and all!). Now that the Institute experience has come to a close, I have been thinking about all that I have learned in just two weeks here. I learned about the Tlingit culture, which was one I did not even know existed until I got here, and I realized that I love studying different people groups and really enjoy the unique qualities each one has. I have learned a little bit about teaching in the classroom, both through the lectures and classroom discussions, and through watching the leaders teach. I also learned a lot about what it is like to teach through eavesdropping on the conversations my fellow teachers had during lunch! I mean, if you’re going to sit at my table and I have no one else to talk to, I’m going to listen in on your conversations. Sitting at a lunch table, listening to people talk about all the things they care about as teachers and what they have experienced throughout the years as they munch on their cafeteria burgers and salads made me feel a little clueless, since I haven’t done that yet, but also excited. It feels like I was inducted into the “cool club” or something. I have always had such a great respect for teachers and have never understood why anyone would be looked down on for being one. Teachers are given this special gift of guiding children in their learning- both about school subjects and life! You get to see a child “get it” without ever disregarding or forgetting the struggles they went through to get to that point. It’s a beautiful, incredibly demanding and time-consuming job. Just hearing about everything teachers have to do makes me want to go take a nap!!! Or maybe it’s just because it’s been a long week, and I’m TIRED. But I have also learned how important the arts are to learning, and it makes me so happy that I have had such an extensive educational experience centered around the arts. Applying the arts to any content area is totally possible; and not just possible- it is necessary! Hearing the ideas other teachers in the group came up with for their future classes that will incorporate the arts in their classroom made me feel so inspired. It’s a proven fact that people learn things faster and better when they have a movement, a melody, a visual- something with which to associate the topic they are learning. I heard a science teacher talking about teaching a song about the weather patterns to her students and a math teacher talking about showing her middle schoolers how to use digital storytelling (mainly stopmotion) to help them understand geometry. It’s incredible! And it makes me think about my experiences in public school and how the cool projects like that- the ones that sparked our creativity and made the subject personal to us- were always the most fun and exciting to do. I feel like my brain has grown beyond its normal growth capacity these past two weeks, as I’ve been pushed to think outside of the box constantly. The lazy, Netflix-watching part of my brain just wants to teach kids the material without anything fun or creative and then move on. But when I think about how much more enriched and helpful learning can be when you push yourself as a teacher to make connections for your students and be innovative in your planning, it makes me want to shove my wimpy brain muscle off the couch and force it to keep exercising!

So it has been a great week. It has also been stressful, and I definitely had a day where I just felt completely overwhelmed with all these new things I have been learning. It has just been nonstop learning since I’ve been here! Not only have I been learning how to teach in a classroom for the first time and how to act around adults who now think of me as their “colleague” (whatttttt?!), I’m also adjusting to a brand new environment full of animals and vegetation I had never even heard of! Does EVERYONE know what a hoary marmot is but me??! It’s like a giant squirrel. NO JOKE, RACHEL. What is that?!?! I WANT ONE. And did you know that there are a bunch of different types of salmon?! I had no idea that was a thing. I have much to learn!! So, being super out of my element is something I absolutely love because I always grow so much, but there are also times when I just have that impulse to slip back into my element where I feel comfortable. And you know, it’s odd- I always want to play my cello more when I feel like this! And see my family...but that’s not going to happen anytime soon, so Mr. Cello it is! But taking time to myself definitely helps.

After our graduation ceremony from the Institute today, Sophia, Heidi, and I went to the beautiful Auke Bay beach that was so different than any beach I had been to before! It had rocks..and mud! And dead fish everywhere. But let’s not talk about that and how disturbingly interesting I found the fish in their varying stages of death. I saw humpback salmon jumping out of the ocean right by the shore as they frantically avoided the hangry, GIANT seagulls attempting to eat them, which were squawking a major second apart from one another. The singing seagulls reminded me of middle school choir. Actually, I guess the whole scene reminded me of middle school choir. HA! And the humpback salmon was one of those types of salmon I didn’t know about. Sophia saw them first and was like, “Oh, look! A humpy is right there!” and I foolishly thought she meant a humpback whale...I didn’t know how humpback whales could be swimming literally next to the shore, but I didn’t question it. #CluelessAlaskan. We all walked around in the mud, giving ourselves nice little foot massages and headed back to our homes to rest for a bit. I will soon be joining my friends from the Institute to walk around downtown Juneau to partake in First Friday celebrations. First Friday is not a concept with which I am familiar (oh look- another new thing!!!), but I am really excited to learn about it! It seems like it is a time for the city’s residents (and tourists- let’s just be real) to enjoy and support the local artists, the first Friday of each month. There are art galleries that premiere new shows and food trucks that are parked outside. So I am going to walk around downtown soon and see how this beautiful city celebrates its people and their artistic talents.

The Auke Bay beach!

This weekend is going to hopefully be a relaxing one, as I am trying to not make any plans besides church and helping Lorrie set up her classroom for the year! I am beginning another class next week with Lorrie and the other two girls, called Music Pedagogies for Elementary Education, which I am very excited for! I am also hoping that the class won’t involve the intense 8-hour class days that I had the past two weeks. :)

I am actually glad that I have made plans for tonight because otherwise I probably wouldn’t leave this beautiful porch until it starts raining again! Although, that could be any moment, so it may have worked out either way...