The end of the beginning: Almaden part II

Hey folks.

So I'm back in my hotel, and week 1 of my run is over. I gotta say it's a pretty exciting feeling, and when I think about the fact that I actually don't have to get up at 5:30 am tomorrow and teach for 7 or 8 hours, I feel quite happy. So let me recap today for you.

I got up with considerably less fatigue than yesterday morning on account of the fact that I had much more downtime last night than on Sunday night. I showered and dressed, then tried to eat some breakfast, but I actually couldn't finish one of those huge croissants I got from the Vietnamese market it was so big. I left a little bit later than 6:30, planning to get there around 7 but not really worrying about it since I had been there yesterday.

I made it at about 10 after, and Ben was already there. I had met him on Sunday at San Francisco, and this morning he was saying how he taught in San Francisco yesterday until 9:30 pm and then had to get up at 5 this morning to get to the site on time; I guess IRD wouldn't give him a hotel in San Jose. So I unloaded some of my materials and put them outside my room, and showed Ben his room, which was next to mine. Then I started looking over some of the lesson plans for the Level 1 and 2 classes which I hadn't taught yet this summer (actually I had never taught a Level 2 class ever before). Ben waited outside his room, then said he was going to run to 7-11 and asked me if I wanted anything. Since I hadn't gotten any coffee from the breakfast (there were about a dozen Mexican workers in there at 6:30 and I guess they drank it all), so I gave him a couple bucks and thanked him. I waited and waited, and still there was no sign of the lady who had unlocked the classroom doors the previous day. Ben came back, and at about 20 minutes till 8, I was thinking that this lady needed to get here really quick, because we needed to set up, and poor Ben didn't even know what the state of his room was, which I was guessing wasn't pretty.

Finally this guy showed up around a quarter to 8 (which I have to report to scheduling, because that's actually unacceptable for starting classes, especially on the first day). He unlocked our doors, and we went in. As I thought, Ben's room was not in a great state. He didn't really even have enough tables, since they had moved them into my room the day before for my huge Level 5 class. I helped him move some of them into his room, and rearranged my room a bit. This obviously put us in a bind to get class started on time. Parents were coming in, I still had to get set up...it was not a good start to my day. Then, to make it worse, the Level 1 class didn't go so hot. Morris the Moose wasn't the most exciting book for them to read, and it was damn near impossible to get them to come up and act out parts of the book! At any rate, I finished up that class and seriously hoped my Level 2 would go better than that. Thankfully, it did.

So despite having never taught this level before, it went really smoothly. The entering second graders were all really eager to read and quite good, with the slight exception of two kids, and even they weren't that bad. And of course, after that I was in a pretty good mood because I knew that after my next class, I was done. So I scarfed a few cereal bars and prepped for the Level 4, and started it on time. Again, all but two of the students were on the ball. Of the two that weren't, one wasn't because he couldn't read in English as it was his second language and only had been using it for about 1 year. The other one really didn't have an excuse, though he tried to make them. He just wouldn't read. He said he liked Lemony Snicket books and had read a Beverly Cleary book before and found it boring. I tried everything I could to get him to participate, but it was like pulling teeth. I had a talk with his mom after the class, but I seriously think next week he'll be just as bad. Maybe I should call his mom and have a talk with her this week (yeah right, like when?). I told the Aussie/Samoan student's mom that unfortunately he wasn't going to be able to get anything out of the class, and told her her money would be refunded.

In all, the classes were successful. I ordered a pizza from Domino's when I got home as kind of a reward and got a hold of Rhea, and we talked for a while. The rest of the evening I'm just going to relax. I have to get up early tomorrow, but it will be nothing compared to being up at 5:30; I'll get up at around 7 so I can make it to the airport by 8:30, drop off my car, check in for my flight, and catch the first plane out of here. Specifically, my flight leaves out of San Jose around 10:30, and I arrive in Salt Lake City around 1:00. There's about an hour layover/continuing/connecting flight, and then I leave Salt Lake City for Minneapolis, to arrive around 5:30 (keep in mind I'll be crossing time zones as I fly). There's another layover (about an hour again, but I have to change airlines too), and then I leave for Buffalo, to arrive around 9:40 Eastern time. Of course, this barres any unforeseen delays, of which I hope there are none. But anyway, I'm sure I'll update at some point tomorrow. You'll definitely be hearing from me if my flights are delayed.

So, I've made it through week 1. Next task: finish up my Buffalo classes, and detox a bit. Thanks everyone for all your support. The hard part is over.

Until next time,
Alex