Adios Amigos!

I will be student teaching in Quito, ECUADOR!

I've been trying to get some details secured before I told everyone. I'll be doing this through the Consortium For Oversees Student Teaching (COST) program at UGA. Five other universities participate in this program so there may or may not be other student teachers there with me.

I will be leaving September 3rd and returning December 2. I can only stay 90 without a visa. The school I'll be teaching at is called The American School of Quito. I don't know what grade level I'll be placed in yet. I will be staying with a woman named Isabel in her apartment. It sounds like it's relatively close to a variety of things. I'll be riding the school bus to work everyday.

I'm hoping to visit nearby places and the Galapagos Islands in my spare time. I also really want to stand on the equator. I was reading a travel book about Ecuador the other day in Barnes & Nobel. It said that Ecuador is the original BANANA REPUBLIC. It's one of their main crops. For those who don't already know I HATE bananas so I found that very funny. I haven't taken Spanish since high school so hopefully being surrounded by it will help me learn quickly. I hoping my host family will be very helpful as well.

I don't know much else yet about this trip but I promise to keep everyone updated. I'll continue to blog here when I leave for Quito.

Island Fever

I think some of us are getting island fever. We're all enjoying living at the beach but everyone is glad to be going home in a couple of weeks. I think living and working with the same people for 12 weeks on a small island away from civilization it getting to us. I can imagine living here when I'm older but things here are not geared toward people our age. There just isn't much to do. It's beautiful here but I don't think this internship has been quite what we expected either. The job is not bad but our department is not very well run and the communication is not effective. I've realized that working at Camp Fripp is really different than being in a classroom. There is no behavior management or procedures in place at camp. Mainly I've learned how to make games and arts and crafts educational for the children.

This week I've discovered biking on the beach. It's so fun and peaceful. I think it's keeping me sane here on Fripp Island.

4th of July

The 4th of July is super busy on Fripp Island. The population goes from about 300 full time residents in the winter to about 8,000 over the 4th of July weekend! It was lot's of fun though. The recreation department put on some special events like dogdgeball, volleyball, and basketball tournaments. It wasn't as much work as I thought it would be. Here are some pictures of the interns, the golf cart parade, and the sandcastle building contest.



1st 3rd

Anlee and her new Yorkie, Scottie came up to visit which was also very fun! We watched the fire works on Saturday night and enjoyed the beach on Sunday. Scottie was really funny when we forced him into the ocean. I'm planning to go back to Athens this weekend to visit with some friends and roomies!

Family Fun on Fripp

This past weekend the family came to visit. I was so happy to see them. I think we all had a great time! We ate out a couple nights and had some delicious seafood. We enjoyed the beach... well all of us except Tess. Dad put her in the ocean and she started shaking and immediately swam towards shore. We also tried putting her on a boogie board but she wasn't too successful at it! Friday night we went on a Champagne Cruise with Captain Ralph. It was wonderful. The weather was great, the sunset was beautiful, and we were surrounded by a huge pod of dolphins! I saw more dolphins than I ever have before. Saturday we drove to Hunting Island next door to Fripp Island and went to the beach in the state park. I hadn't done that yet. But I'd love to go and spend the whole day there starting pictures of the sunrise. Brad and Dad went golfing at Ocean Creek that afternoon. Mom and I mostly went along for the golf cart ride for the first 9 holes. Sunday we went gator hunting and actually saw a couple. It never gets old; it's always very exciting for me!Sunday afternoon we went to the Beaufort Water Festival. I've decided festivals are so fun! We got to see the arts and craft booths, walk along the water, and watch a ski team show. I went back with a big group of the interns on Monday for Maggie's birthday. Motown Monday was a blast! We danced the night away. I can't wait to go back!