Reality Check.

Hello folks!

Thank you for being patient with us as we take time to settle into our new home, and our new classrooms. Life has been a roller coaster lately. It began with the uncertainty upon arriving in Whati, followed by the excitement of making the community our home. We were thrown off guard that our home wasn’t ready right away, and our stuff hadn’t arrived, but we kept our eyes set on the Lord, and the reasons we are here, and carried along making the best of the situation.

The only way I can describe the near month that we spent living out of suitcases with no idea of when anything would arrive is by comparing it to a summer at camp. Camp is definitely not as comfortable as home, but camp is camp, and you just go with it and get used the camp-ways…not-so-clean showers, the endless mess of your plastic shelves and bag under your bed, sleeping in a sleeping bag, not being able to cook your own meals, or even make coffee right away in the morning. You have a roof over your head, you have friends around, you have new adventures, and you have ‘work’ during the day – so camp doesn’t feel too uncomfortable. But then, you get home. Oh how good your own bed feels, and the shower you know was only used by your family (and you don’t have to wear flip flops), and the fact that you can do laundry whenever you want! If you haven’t experienced camp, I am terribly sorry for the little rant, but if you have.. you know what I am talking about!!

So we began the school year still living in our principals old house and if you had told me that before we moved here I may have had a little panic. For those that have the pleasure of knowing me well, I kind of like to be in control, and I like to have things a certain way. It was a great experience to share with Joshua and it was a blessing to be able to step back and realize how God has worked in my life recently to teach me how to take a chill pill. 

Let’s hurry this up and fast forward a bit. Oh wait. Ha! So apparently the night-before-the-1st-day-of-school jitters don’t go away, even when you are the teacher. I think Joshua and I were up until 1 AM, giddy about the next day and talking about all the possibilities and uncertainties.

So basically Joshua and I are finally in our home and enjoying the peace of mind that comes along with it. We both had little hiccups as we adjusted to the demands of our job. It’s tough. Very tough. In case any one wants advice (from my short 1 month career in education), you need to be flexible and you need to be willing to change your methods…A.K.A drop the pride and listen to others who have experience. Please. We can train as much as we want, volunteer as much as we want, but there is no better place to learn than in the classroom with the guidance and feedback of a veteran.

Alright, I am tired of typing so I shall share some photos now. No, not photos of our home..it’s not quite clean enough yet : ) Just some random photos from the past few weeks.

Moose ribs! First I had moose heart. My coworker thought it would be wise to withhold the whole ‘moose heart’ part until after I swallowed. Not funny, not funny at all. And the moose was harvested by our principal and another coworker.

Our Lucy lady having her first bath. Poor girl was terrified of the tap.

This was our shower while living in our principals old house. He took the shower curtain, understandably, and the store didn’t have any. Electrical tape and garbages bags did the trick.

Math in the classroom! I am so pleased that our students love playing with attribute blocks.

Lucy is loving life here. Yes, her face is so dark you can’t even see her features in photos.

SNOW. That’s all I have to say.

The beautiful lake we live on (Lac Le Martre). A dream come true.

Terry Fox Run with the kids. I had the opportunity to walk/run with a Grade 1 student who is very low functioning and has extremely low verbal skills. It was a great reminder of why I love teaching and the goals I have to work with children with disabilities.

Soon enough we will be walking to school and home from school underneath the Northern Lights. For now it’s nice to enjoy the sun rise.

What do you want to hear about? We experience so many new feelings and adventures, and have endless stories, but there is no way I could document them all here on the blog. What would be most interesting to you folks reading this? Let us know 🙂

Thanks for reading!

Rebecca (& Joshua)