Another month has gone by, and no posts from me. I've had some New Year's resolutions to get underway, so perhaps implementing them has put off my weekly reflections on the blog. Also, I've been keeping up a blog for a teacher research project, so that has taken priority whenever I have the time to blog.I returned to Salinas from Chicago on Dec 27. I went to a friend's wedding in Stockton on Dec 29. It was good to see people I hadn't seen since college, nine years ago. I welcomed the new year with my girlfriend with quiet night at home. For the rest of that week, I slowly prepared for the resumption of school.
We had 2.5 weeks of classes until the end of the semester, which just occurred this Thursday. I was glad to see that several of the writing skills had "sunken in" over the break. However, some of the students resumed their old antics to disrupt the class. So I've made classroom management a priority for the new semester starting this Monday.
As for my New Year's resolutions, I'm off to a good start. I've visited two gyms to potentially join. I've joined the local Kendo club as a way to stay in shape and keep in touch with my Japan experience. I've also enrolled in a Spanish for Professionals course at the local adult school. The biggest impasse for communicating with parents is my limited vocabulary while talking on the phone. So I've set a goal of improving my skills in this area. Three New Year's resolutions seems like enough for me.
So far this year we've had some pretty dubious weather in Salinas. Rainstorms from the North Pacific have left snow on Mount Toro, leaving the impression that we're in more of a winter wonderland instead of a mild mediterranean garden.
We also took a nice little 5 mile, 5 hour jaunt to Garrapata State Park. The strenuous climb made the wonderful vista at the top all the more lovely. Photos are forthcoming, and won't take another month to post!
