We’re getting there.

One step at a time.

School parking lots in Juneau have some of the best views!

So you know how everyone in Juneau has been warning me about the Fall here? Well, I believe them and know that probably very soon, it will be gloomy and rainy all the time. But for the past few days, we have had beautiful sunshine accompanied by a crisp, Fall air and some very vibrant colors. I’m hoping that it will stay this way for a little while longer because I am loving it!

Unfortunately, a couple of those beautiful, warm days this week I spent inside because teachers had inservice on Thursday and Friday. While it was nice to have those days off from lesson planning and the stresses of school, inservice is one of those things that makes me heavily question if I want to be a teacher or not. I just simply do not like sitting in a chair from 7:30 to 3, looking at PowerPoints and listening to lectures about new curriculum standards and the hoops teachers must jump through. I think that as teachers, we can all agree that those aspects are necessary and helpful for bettering our educational system, but nothing beats being on your feet and working with your kids. So once Friday hit, I was extremely relieved to get outside and relax.

Except I didn’t. When I decided to do this program, I had a few expectations: I knew that I would have the time of my life. I also knew that I would get homesick and sometimes question what I was doing here. And knew that I would be incredibly busy all the time and often bogged down with work because I am getting my Master’s in a year and am student-teaching. And thank goodness for expectations because they make it a lot easier to accept reality when those things happen! But it’s all good- it’s part of the journey. :) So after a long day of inservice, I spent 7 hours doing homework on Friday night. But I did that so I would be able to take the entire day off on Saturday!

Gastineau Peak with Lindsay, Heidi, me, and Zeppelin!

Saturday was a glorious day and was so worth the wait. I hiked up Mt. Roberts with three friends, including two of my quartetmates, Lindsay and Heidi. The weather was beautiful, which made it perfect for hiking! And I had done this hike the very first weekend I was here, but instead of stopping after the two miles that got us from the base of the mountain to the tram where all the tourists go, we continued hiking to the first big peak, Gastineau Peak, which was another 1.5 miles from there. It was neat because the beginning of the hike is all in the forest, but the rest of it was completely out in the open, overlooking the Gastineau Channel and the mountains hugging it. I had brought numerous layers of clothing in case it got cold toward the top, but the sun was so bright and close that I ended up not needing most of them. It was glorious. It was also quite the workout! Each time we were going up a steep incline, I just kept thinking, “What am I doing?! They should just leave me here...This is awful!”. And once I had enough breath after those intense intervals, I would ask, “Are we almost there??!”, and Heidi would say, “We’re getting there!”. Quote of the day. But it kept me motivated and got me all the way to the top, where Heidi and I spread out a blanket and had a picnic as we looked out at the snow-capped, majestic mountains right in front of us. It was incredible! After the 9 miles of hiking, I was ready to take a shower and jump in bed once I got home, which is exactly what I did. I relaxed, had dinner with friends, and caught up on sleep.

I then woke up three hours before my alarm this morning, realizing how much I had to do before the week started, and freaked out. I desperately tried to get myself back to sleep and worry about it later, but once I get in that mode, there’s really no turning back. So I got up, made myself a cup of tea (ever since my sickness days, I have been obsessed with tea!), and went to work. Even though today might be stressful as I get to work again, I’m still really glad I took yesterday off, and I’m honestly proud of myself because that’s hard for me to do! And I still made it to church, so that was a nice break!

Working backwards, the beginning of the week went well, as JAMM started up and I got into the

A beautiful view of the Glacier Valley playground.

groove of being at Thunder Mountain. I taught my first JAMM bass classes on Monday and Wednesday and co-taught a Music Technology class, where the kids will learn how to use SmartMusic. It all went well! I have five fifth-grade bass students, and I am helping them go through Essential Elements to pass off on their SmartMusic quizzes. They have all been assigned specific quizzes that will help them earn “Karate belts”, so they go through each belt color and will then receive ribbons with the corresponding belt colors they earned. I like the Karate belt idea, and it gets the kids excited about practicing. With the bass class, I am learning how to work with a group that contains students at varying playing levels, so it’s been a good challenge. I began the first bass class by actually having them teach one of our non-music teachers how to hold the bow and the bass. It was a good exercise for them because they had to articulate what they know! We have also decided to call ourselves the “Pure Swag Basses”, so I am helping them make a giant star poster that has our group name and the five rules we came up with for our class: 1. Be respectful, 2. Be team members, 3. Be prepared, 4. Be focused, and 5. Be kind. They’re a good group!

This week will be a unique one because Lorrie will be gone, Monday-Thursday to attend the El Sistema Take a Stand Symposium in LA, so I will be substitute teaching on Monday and Tuesday and Sophia will be on Wednesday and Thursday! The other two girls will still be there on their regular days to help out, too. It’s exciting and terrifying that we will be on our own this week. We are eager to see how much we can do on our own, now that Lorrie has guided us so well, but I am sure that we will be very happy and relieved to have her back on Friday. :)

So here we go! The babies are flying from the nest!!!

If I could climb that mountain, I can do anything!