Roma.

 Two days ago (Saturday) I was wandering around St. Peter’s Basilica and I was thinking about ...how I travel.

So the plan was for me to get Daniel on his flight, then meet up with Uncle George, and we would head to meet my dad. Well, I had to leave baggage claim before I had my bags to help Daniel try to make his flight and as we walked through I told him to look for UG, we both did, and neither of us saw him...so I helped Daniel get to where he needed to be. Then at that point I needed to find my luggage, so I headed to Delta because we missed our flight from ATL I didn’t know if the luggage had made it. So I waited outside for the shuttle to T5 and met two old men who had been in Rome for two days and had so many problems they were leaving. They were so nice to me and funny; they were from Oregon and one had been in the Korean War and had been stationed in Alabama when he was in the Army.

We finally got the shuttle and walked into the T5 terminal and it was completely empty. No lie. There was absolutely no one there. So I said goodbye to them and walked back...it was a hike. So at this point, I walked to the arrivals section and walked around for about 20 minutes and saw a sign for left baggage and got pretty excited because that’s what I needed...when I got there, I realized the translation error, it was checked baggage, like a place to store your baggage. At this point I’ve been looking for my luggage and UG for about 2 hours and I’m tired and discouraged. Communication has been extremely difficult, I've been up forever and the airport was confusing...I just wanted to find someone I know, so I headed to St. Peters to meet my dad.

Well, I didn’t know how to get there. I went to the train station and saw a sign that said TOURTIST and knew that they would speak English (I had been having problems with the language barrier up to this point). They did and said that it would be 15 euro to take the train to St. Peter’s plus I’d have to take the metro or I could take their shuttle for 30 euro. At this point I am not feeling adventurous at all, so I paid an arm and leg and took the shuttle. I was hanging on the hope of seeing my dad and having him help me figure everything out, so when I arrived at St. Peters and walked around the first time and didn’t see him I was a little discouraged. However, we were supposed to meet on the hour and it was a quarter after. I kept on walking around just in case (and it was cold when I sat down). I did that for another hour and then decided I need to get back to the airport.

At this point, I am in the Vatican City by myself, I don’t speak Italian, I don’t know anyone in Rome, I don’t know how to get in touch with my family, so the plan is...figure out how to get back to the airport and buy a ticket to Cantania which I know is close to my home and figure out how to get home from there. So I walk down one street and remember that I was given $50 for Christmas from the Silers (my only cash) and figure that if I’m going to get to the airport I’ll need some euro, so I found a place to exchange it. Well, the place that I exchanged it I met Luca, who ended up saving me. I asked him to tell me how to get the airport and he wrote down a bunch of street names and told me where to go. He was nice and helpful, but I didn’t understand exactly what he said, so I ended up getting lost. It took me awhile to get lost, and after that I asked someone else for directions and he gave me directions to the St. Peter’s train station. I made it there and someone came up to me and asked me a question in Italian (something that happened more than once) and I said “I don’t speak Italian, sorry..” and saw that there was no one else besides these people who had questions and everything was in Italian and I was going off of what this guy said, so if I missed my stop I would be even worse off because I would really have no clue where I was, so I decided to go back and see if the place that exchanged money would take my debit card and then get a taxi to the airport.

I walked back in and told Luca that I got lost and told him my new plan and he said that a taxi would be very, very expensive and said he could close his shop for 2 minutes to point me in the right direction. So, he walked me to the street the metro was on and explained how to get to Termini Station and when I looked confused he asked if I could wait 2 hours and then he would take me. At that point I had nothing to do but get lost so I said yes; I had previously asked if he knew of a place to get on the internet and he said that this street would probably have a place to do that. So I set off to find a place to get internet and he went back to work. At this point, I am hopeful that I will get home, but hungry. So I head to a “Bar” which I had discovered are sandwich shops and got a sandwich, I am not sure what it was, but it was good. I asked about the internet and was introduced to Massimo, he spoke very good English (!!!) he was home on Christmas break from some college in NYC. So we talked about NYC for a little while then his dad gave me directions to an internet café.

AND I MADE IT. It was 1.5 euro for an hour, so I got on skype and was able to talk to my mom!!! She had been so worried because they hadn’t been able to get in touch with me or Daniel; Uncle George bought a refundable ticket to go look for us inside security, they had called Delta, talked to the police, you name it, they had done it (EXCEPT STICK TO THE PLAN!). So, my mom gave me dad’s phone number and we came up with a new meeting place. Then we just talked for a little while; there is no way to describe how I felt after getting in touch with my mom. I was never scared for my safety (my dad was) or scared that I would be able to get home, but I was tired, alone, and discouraged. I almost cried on three separate occasions, but didn’t because I didn’t want to be an easy target :P So, I went back to St. Peter’s and enjoyed it because I was no longer looking for anyone. The Christmas tree is HUGE. It was incredible. There really are no words to do it justice, I am pretty sure it is bigger than the tree in Rockefeller Center; although the one there is decorated prettier. Then I walk back to meet Luca. I told him that I was able to get in touch with my parents and asked him to take me to Termini Station. He was so nice, he did and let me use his phone to call my dad...so long day over, I found my dad and Uncle George! They invited Luca to dinner, but he declined so we dropped our stuff at the hotel and I decided to go to sleep. And that, is how I travel.

...I would be happy never to travel that way again though. What I have learned from this situation that I already should have known: have some sort of contact information; if at all possible a cell phone; STICK TO THE PLAN (I didn’t learn that, my dad and UG did)...things that were reinforced: you can control your attitude, even if you can’t control the situation (at one point I was counting my blessings and singing Christmas songs); I am capable; asking for help is a good idea.

My last post for Mustard Seed.

In thinking about how my time here at Mustard Seed is coming to a close I am really sad. I have come to love spending my days here in the Resource Room, getting to know Wendy and Jodi and all of the regular students. I have enjoyed the relaxed, spontaneous community; and have grown to love lunch time in the faculty lounge where stories of the present and past are shared, along with advice and humor paired with mutual admiration and love. What a privilege and a blessing it has been for me to be a part of this place for such a short period of time. 

Walking away I have a lot to think about and process through. I have a lot of Orton Gillingham material to read (graciously provided for me by Jodi). I will be thinking about (and missing) the Mustard Seed style of worship. I will be more conscious about how to be purposeful in all my actions because at Mustard Seed I see purpose in everything and have been impressed by how that affects people. I will be thinking about what it means to work in an environment of diverse Christian backgrounds and will be missing lunch talks about the beauty and the mystery of our God. I will miss the bright atmosphere, the walls covered in art, the beautiful song dancing through the halls during a music lesson. I will miss discussing books with students. 

Do I want to teach? I am still not sure. However, I am sure that whatever I do I would be lucky to work in such a precious, loving place as Mustard Seed. 

Alegbra.

I took Algebra twice and I still have a hard time spelling it. I always switch around the "g" and the "e." The first time I took it was in Ft. Leavenworth, KS with Mrs. Berlin. I did not like that class at all. I sat in class for 45 minutes each day right before lunch and had the most difficult time understanding the way she taught math. Then I would go home and spend at least an hour each night with my dad teaching me, there were many nights that were a struggle; however, those struggles gave me a solid foundation in math and I am thankful for that. I ended up with a B in that class, so I had to retake it in 9th grade when we moved to FL; my teacher was Mr. Hall and that class was really easy--because my dad had provided me with a solid foundation. 

My dad made me show ALL my work, even if I know 2 +2 = 4, I HAD to show it...which was at times frustrating, but really reinforces what you have learned and shows you where you have made your mistakes. Sitting in Mr. Lawrence's 8th grade Algebra class yesterday afternoon made me think about all these things dealing with math-particularly Algebra. It is vital to have a solid foundation in this subject, because all other math is built upon it. I saw a teacher who loves his students yesterday; who makes his students figure out where they made their mistake; who encourages; who is extremely knowledgeable; and who is great at explaining in a very patient manner. 

Mr. Lawrence is a beautiful example of what it means to be doing what God has called you to do. He spent 19 years banking and decided that he really wanted to teach math at Mustard Seed. He loves his job and it is obvious; but what he loves more than his "job" (teaching math) is his students. 

Prince Caspian

Yesterday was the first time (I think) that I've ever been on a field trip as a chaperon instead of a student. We took all the 4-8 graders in the school (the whole upper school) to see Prince Caspian. For the past week they have been reading the book leading up to this monumental field trip. It actually went very smoothly with no major mishaps.

 What did I learn? Well, I learned that it doesn't matter how much help you have, if you haven't planned well you will not be able to effectively use the help available. I learned that most kids prefer movies to books; I could be wrong, but I really think that the whole thought process behind which better (books or movies) has changed since I was in fourth grade (although I know it wasn't that long ago!). I don't think there is a movie that I enjoy over a book---and even though as a child I lived in a media saturated world, I still had (and have) a great appreciation and enjoyment of the written word. I know that Mustard Seed does an excellent job at making sure that its students are readers and enjoy reading (they have to read one book a week outside of what they are reading in class) however, I think that there is still a greater appreciation for media than your own imagination. Of course this is a broad generalization, but something that I noticed yesterday. I guess that leads me to ask the question, how does/should that affect your teaching style? Should you use more media because it is what they (students) want or should they (students) be forced to read/learn more traditionally without much media. I would imagine the answer is somewhere in the middle, a balance. This makes me wonder how much more media drenched society will be in the next ten years....

The Spring Concert for the Lower School was last night. It went fabulously. I think that heaven will be full of little children singing, because I'm not sure that there isn't anything more precious. 

Testing.

This week both Jodi (Mrs. Miller) and Wendy (Mrs. Fernandez) are not teaching regular classes because they are doing assessments. This morning two assessment tests were given and afterwards we spent a good while sitting and talking about what we learned from the tests and they discussed why they enjoy giving the assessments. 

Two kindergardeners were tested at separate times. The first one tested was an ELL (English Language Learner) student who clearly had more difficulty taking the test than the second student who really did exceptionally well; however, something that really struck me was that they were both able to go through the same amount of the test, they both stopped at the same time. In my opinion that really points to excellent teaching. Although the first student did not have each concept completely grasped, he did have a good overall understanding of each concept. With a little help from the Resource Room he will be excelling in the same way as his peer. 

One of the main reasons that Wendy and Jodi enjoy assessment week so much is that they are able to have a better grasp on what students understand, what their strengths/weaknesses are, and how they process information. Their excitement has definitely rubbed off on me, I am excited to understand the students that I have been working with over the past two weeks better...unfortunately I will not be able to put any of that information into practice since Thursday is my last day, but I will have a better understanding of the process! 

Tomorrow is the first performance of the Spring Concert! 

The LIVING Wax Museum

When people travel to New York City it is not uncommon for them to go to Madame Tousso's Wax Museum; however, do those wax images come alive?! Well, Mustard Seed just happens to have a LIVING Wax Museum on Notable Americans once a year and it just happens to be this week! 

All the second graders work on this project for weeks and weeks and weeks. They choose one notable American to research and become. Through the process they not only learn about their own notable American, but everyone else's as well. They make their own costumes, create puppets, record a speech, and write a book by the end of the project. The living wax museum takes place in the community room. There are places all around the room with their "name" which they stand lifeless in front of or behind until their voice comes on (its a recorded speech), at that time they COME TO LIFE! It is an incredible project that gives a voice to all the students and is an amazing experience to be a part of. The students pick incredible people that mean something to them for some particular reason-it says a lot about each individual student and what is important to them. I almost cried after I watched it this morning for the first time because two students in particular were amazing (I work with them in the Resource Room) and I was so proud of them. 

TGIF. 

Patience

Yesterday I was unable to get on a computer to write my journal...so this is for yesterday. 

The upper school (4-8) is going to see the movie Prince Caspian next Tuesday, so their lives at the moment are consumed by reading the actual book written by C.S. Lewis. Yesterday the 6th grade even had a "RAD" day (read all day); so, at the end of the day I had a reading group with 2 students reading Prince Caspian out loud. I love reading. Love, love, love reading; so having a reading group you would think would be the perfect job for me. Well, not so much. I am a pretty fast reader, especially when I am enjoying what I am reading. I enjoy all of the Narnia books, so I would have loved just to fly through the book and enjoy it myself. Instead, I was forced to practice patience as one child read slowly and stumbled over every few words. It was good for me; I had to focus on someone other than myself, make sure that they were getting the meaning, that it was able to affect them as it had me so many years before when I read it for the first time. Throw in a girl with an attitude like a roller coaster and you have my afternoon. I think one of the reasons why teaching is such a difficult profession (when done correctly) is that it forces you to look at your weakness and then model the opposite. When everything in me screams to be selfish, I must model patience. Therefore, one might argue I am actually learning the most.