January 10th

Yesterday was pretty intense!
It was Amys birthday and so we went to Volcano national park!
Here is what we did:
1: Went to black sands beach and saw some SEA TURTLES!!!!
There were 2 of them and they were almost 3 feet long. I loved them!!!!

The rock right behind this turtle is the one I was sitting on!
He didn't call when I called him :(
Here is what the black sand beach looked like

2. Then we went to Volcano National Park.

Here is me and all the steam I ingested:
Here is me in a lava tube.

And here is the crater!
Next we went to Akaka Falls

Here we are!
Amy, Dana, Felicia, Claire and Ebay

Then we went into this tiny little town and met Mr. Ed who let us sample sooo many of his jams!
He is a retired teacher!



Then we had dinner to celebrate amys birthday at kona brew pub!

Dad. you will enjoy one....
I managed to make a huge scene at the beach today (imagine that. ME make a scene? Who would have ever thought!!) We had been laying on the beach for a while, and as I’m looking out into the ocean, I am sure I see a whale. Now, it is important to understand I have been obsessed with whales since elementary school. So naturally, I stand up and start SCREAMING and jumping up and down telling the other girls I see a whale, they too thought it was a whale for a few seconds, but in the mean time, everyone at the beach was now up on their feet and staring at me, trying to figure out what was going on, if there was a problem or what I saw. Meanwhile, Felicia, Claire and Amy are in hysterics because in fact, my “whale” is a kayaker out at sea. Humility is good for everyone I suppose! It took a while to explain to everyone on the beach that no, I wasn’t being attacked by a shark.

January 7th

Hello friends!
Today was pretty much like yesterday! I feel like I don't have a LOT to say! Other than I have 3 favorite little boys in my class. They just melt my heart. I adore them. The boys all BEGGED me to eat lunch with them but I had to do planning/meeting so i'll eat with them tomorrow.
After school we went to the beach again, and Safeway also!! Here are some pictures, sorry I dont have a lot to say! Tomorrow is Friday though so our first weekend shall be fun! Amy's birthday is Saturday! Tomorrow isnt a furlough friday though...(the hawaiian government is lacking funding soooo every other friday they dont have school.)
I took lots of pictures of my kids today but i cant post them online, so i'll show you when I get home!

Here is how cute my kids are hanging their backpacks and leaving their shoes outside!!



Much love.

Hello!
Today we are starting to get into more of a schedule. Now that we are in our final living space, it feels like we can get settled. Felicia and I are in one room, the other three are in the other. I woke up this morning COLD! which was a surprise. HAH. So, we wake up at 6, leave here about 645 and are at school til 2. Today however, the kids had a half day, so at 1 they left, and we had a teacher budget meeting until 2. After that, the five of us RUSHED home, got in our suits and screen and headed to the beach. It is at the old airport! It was soo nice. Ihave never in my life felt more relaxed. the breeze is wonderful. then we came home and made spaghetti!

At school today I got to know some of my kids a lot better. I was working with one little boy who has been in the US for 4 months and my teacher says he NEVER speaks and doesnt know much english, but he was speaking a LOT for me, and quite well... hm..... he is precious. he does fall asleep a lot though. I was waving his arms and he would NOT wake up. I eventually, no exageration had to PICK him up out of his seat andmake him stand and walk to wake up!!!

I don't have toooo much to say today. But yeah! Here are some pictures:

Me struggling to make it from the ocean back to my towel. thanks for capturing that claire:
Some of us at old airport beach:
Me hugging a palm tree:
Me and Felicia on Ali'i drive beach:
This was our first day in Kona, but I just got it from Claire's camera:
Much love,
Em

January 5rd 2010

Aloha.
We just got back from COSTCO! So strange, and they don't have pirates booty, my food staple. the lady told me it didnt have any sort of popularity on the islands.

Highlights of today?
1)We got to our new house. Basically, the set up is that we are in the re-done basement of a familys house (our landlord) he and his wife live upstairs with their kids, and down here there are two apartment type things! We have two bedrooms, and two bathrooms which is way better than our last one. 5 girls in one bathroom would have been a struggle for the month! The man also owns a house a few doors down the street which has a pool for us. yay. Oh, and when we got here he dissapeared into his garden and came back with a thing of bananas. He has banana and papaya trees. haha really? The kitchen situation is funny. it's outside!! the best way i can explain it is an open garage, without a garage door! There is a man staying in the apartment next to us who I just met. He is from Victoria BC and his daughter is doing his multicultural ed practicum right now too!

2) I met my kids-they are beautiful. I thought I had a white kid, but her name is Nakita.. and well, she isn't! Most of them have INTENSE names that I keep trying to pronounce :) Lots of Phillipeno kids, Hawaiian kids, and surprisingly about 4 kids in my class are Hispanic, which I didn't expect!

3) Every day is beautiful. Everywhere I look is the ocean. From about 5-7 the sun is just BEAUTIFUL beyond belief.

Things to get used to?
1) I miss my first graders a LOT.
2) A bird was in my classroom for a while.
3) Schools are very different here. Will take some time to get used to.
4) Bugs. Bugs. Bugs.

much love. here are some pictures for today if you want!

The sky tonight on our drive home from costco!
Our Kitchen

The bananas off the tree!
Our new ride. (i'm taking the picture)This is the parking lot at school for staff. um yes thats the ocean. and yes thats a surfboard.

A bit blurry, forgot to turn the sunset setting on, but there is a tease.
much love,
em

Hello!
Today was a wonderful day full of surprises.
We are locals by day (up until 2 pm) and tourists by night!!
I was worried about being white here, will all the sterotypes, and it's been so interesting being both a "local" at the school, and a tourist in town.
At school, everyone is SO welcoming to us. So warm and inviting and just the greatest. In town, we are looked at as tourists...
Today was our first day at school, it was an early morning (left here at 7) and got home at about 3. We THOUGHT we were going to walk home for an "adventure" (3 or 4 miles) but one of the teachers insisted on giving us a ride home. They are so kind.
When we enter my classroom, we take our shoes off. Today there were no kids, so I got to know my teacher pretty well and see curriculum and how the class is set up. My class haThe staff also had a luncheon which was so fun! GREAT PINEAPPLE! There are 1000 kids at this elementary school and over 45 full time teachers. Not like my little WTV!
Oh, and here is a look at what the campus looks like at Kealakehe Elem.

This above, is what the campus is like. lots of seperate buildings, palm trees, BRIGHT flowers, and of course, the ocean EVERYwhere you look. we are about 3 miles up the hill and so you can just see so much.

After we got home, we jumped into our swimsuits (put plennnnty of SPF 50 on!!) and headed to the beach. We stayed there for a while then headed down the road for some dinner!

Below, is a picture I took during DINNER.
love you all. take care.
em

January 3rd 2010

ALoha!!!
I am sitting on a bed in Kona, with 4 fans on. I got in at about 5pm and it was 80 degrees!!
First let me tell you about my plane ride from Maui to Kona. I sat next to this Hawaiian couple and they spent the whole flight telling me the good places to go, and how to pronounce things and everything. They both had names that I would butcher if I tried to spell for you, but they were wonderful!
Our taxi man for the month is named Nel. He is legit. Surprisingly, not, I am the most outgoing of my group so they sent me to find Nel. So I found some of his fellow taxi freinds and they called him for me.
Mom- Nel was really impressed that I said my Tutu lived on Oahu.
The four of us girls who are here (Claire doesn't get in for another hour) went and took a walk around the town and went to Taco Bell for dinner. We were all SO hungry and tired from a day of travels and that sounded easiest. But look! It was a cultural experience!!

Then we went to the market (the "grocery store" for all of you non Baylises.) It's an interesting thing being here not as a tourist, but living semi like the locals, buying groceries and stuff. I think I will like it a lot better this way, yes we will do some touristy activities, but the schools are our main focus. We start tomorrow, no kids will be there but we are going to go meet our teachers and stuff and then explore the island in the afternoon!
More to come, but here is a picture of Felicia and I!
Mahalo!