Back to School

Oh, man!  I’m wikkid sleepy, but I want to send word about the new job and how it’s going and all.  I have about a 40 minute drive each way, but it looks like this:

Driving to work

That’s Haleakala (a volcano) in the background.  It has some of the most amazing hiking ever, with about 13 different microclimates along the way.  


The new job is going well so far.  Everyone is really really nice and I am partnered up with a social studies teacher from Long Island who is also new to Maui.  It’s great because we have a similar East Coast perspective from what I can tell.  It looks like we will explore major world religions during first semester.  I have a lot to learn, both from a content perspective and from a  teaching online two days a week perspective.  Growth is good. 


There are sixteen new folks on staff, which makes me feel a little better when I don’t know anything.  They welcomed us on the first day by introducing us to everyone and giving us leis of purple flowers.  It was really sweet!  It’s a little overwhelming learning so many staff names (about 50 people...I’m used to a staff of less than 20) and adjusting to the fact that there is SO MUCH that I don’t know!  It’s exhausting and I need a lot of snacks to keep myself fueled throughout the day.  It also makes me miss working with some of my closest friends back in RI.  Dave has been super supportive about this and has helped me remember to go for walks with he and Porter and to take time to relax when I get home from school.  This is not always easy for me. 

Dog walking in Honolua

Besides work, we have been doing lots of dog walking, grilling, beach bumming, and I even made it to a crazy yoga class that was apparently intended for folks who wear bikinis 365 days/year.  I could barely lift my arms the next day.  I STILL have not gone canoeing because they had a regatta last week, but I’m hoping to get out there soon.  In time...in time...


OH!  So it seems that we did get the Miami Vice house.  I’m not sure when we move, but there was a phone message confirming that it is ours.  I can’t wait to unpack and be able to find things and stock my own kitchen.  In the meantime, our sublet apartment has the coolest stuff.  This one made me totally homesick for Providence:

Can you believe it?  A random Narragansett tray...here in Mahinahina.  Crazy.  Also crazy, a guy at my new job is from Pasadena, MD and went to the same high school that my mom attended.  The world is so large and yet so tiny.    It has been feeling pretty huge this week, what with my people all living so far away.  Thanks for the blog comments and emails and all...it definitely helps bring you closer!  


Also, wikkiwikki is not a turntable noise.  It means “fast” or “in a hurry”.  Now you know. 


Good night and aloha!