Things I Have Learned

My days here in Yuma are numbered as we are getting packed and ready to fly to Michigan and then the big move to Hollywood. No, I do not have a job yet and yes, I am alright with that. That's not what this blog is about. This blog is about my life over the last three years. I am going to make another list. Lists are really my forte. Sarah is the prose expert, I prefer the quick, to the point, no extra words needed, list format. So here are some things that living in Yuma, Arizona has taught me.

* The Mexican border is very different than the Canadian border
* Spanish is difficult to learn but you can get buy with a few basics including "I don't speak Spanish" "One moment please" "Hello" "Thank You" and being a teacher, knowing the cuss words helps too ;-)
* The world is bigger than I ever thought possible and my problems are very small compared to others.
* Authentic Mexican food is very different than fast food Mexican
* No teacher training program in the world could have prepared me for what I walked into at Crane Middle School.
* I love 7th graders, every hormone crazy, hyper-active, rule breaking, gangster and gangster-wannabe one of them.
* Trust yourself first. Always.
* Don't ever trust a 7th grader or the parent of one. Believe that they are trying and give them the benefit of the doubt but don't ever fully trust them.
* The pain of seeing someone you have spent time on, given part of yourself to, led away in handcuffs is very overwhelming and incredibly disappointing. Every time I have had a student arrested I have felt like I somehow let him or her down. True or not, that feeling takes a long time to go away.
* Find out quickly who you can trust and who you can't, it is surprisingly easy to do.
* Make friends with the cafeteria coordinator. Patti was a lifesaver to me on more than one occasion!
* Never be afraid to go to your boss - it is their job to take care of things. I have grown very bold in that area. I am known for busting into my boss' office and bringing things to her attention that otherwise would go overlooked because no one else would speak up.
* ASK. I have had to learn to ask for everything. No one gives you anything in education, if you want it ask for it, the worst they can say is no and they rarely do because people don't ask.
* The government has a terrible way of deporting people, I have seen it in person and it makes me sick.
* Military spouses are the strongest people I have ever met, ever. Even stronger than their spouses serving. Please don't take that wrong but I have seen the ugly, close up side of both worlds and it's not pretty. The toll that a tour of duty takes on people left behind is almost unbearable. It is not just the tour of duty either, the time away from families that being stationed here in the U.S. takes is just as bad and can be just as dangerous as serving over seas.
* Living alone is incredibly scary.
* Timezones are tricky to figure out, even if you have taken college math.
* Family is the most important thing in the world.
* Teaching full-time is more difficult than anyone can tell you it is going to be in college.
* Watching someone gets pantsed is not as fun now as it was as a 7th grader (everyone say eewwww).
* Indian food is good, sushi is not.
* 120 degrees is too hot for anyone, anywhere.
* Seat belts burn, badly, when it is over 105 degrees out.
* Dust storms are worse than rain storms because if you left your window open you have a whole house to clean.
* Shopping after a bad day is not a good idea but it makes you feel a whole lot better!
* Having a queen size bed is the best grown up decision I have made yet.
* Yuma, Arizona houses some of the kindest, most helpful, bravest, loving people I have ever met and will not soon forget.

This is not it, I could go on for days but then you would get bored, (if you even made it to the bottom!) I have enjoyed much of my time here, met incredible people and become a better teacher. There have been down days too, when I have wanted nothing more than to get on a plane and fly home as fast as I could. Lucky for me plane tickets are expensive and I don't make much money! To all my Yuman friends - I love you and will miss you. To those back home - See you next week and I hope it is cooler there than here!

Next stop Hollywood Baby!