This is the way I live.

To the left and below are pictures from my walk to school. Click on them to see them larger.

1. Lights out. Just as I typed those first two words, our power in our house went out...for probably the n-teenth time since we have been here. Sometimes it is for a brief moment, other times it is spotty for hours. It's a part of normal life here--something to expect numerous times a week if not per day. We'll have all of the 7-12 graders gathered in Parker Hall for assembly in the mornings and our Head Principal Mr. Anderson will be up at the podium speaking and the power goes out. No microphone, no lights, nothin. We all sit there with whispers flying until the electrical symphony grants us permission to continue with our day. One can image that this could make it difficult to cook in the evenings, eating dinner most definitely after 7 or 8 pm on most days. If such an occurrence happens, you will find my roommates and I forging through draws to find our candles and matches, hastily lighting them, and bringing all three to the GAS cook-stove (still working!) where our dinners are just about burnt. Life ceases to lack excitement.

2. My home. The place that I settle into at night is called Midlands Duplex. It is just a little skip from three dorms up the hill from us. Myself, Shannon (PE teacher from Silver Lake, MN), and Rebecca (Art teacher like me from Texas/the east coast) live on the left side here in a nice, 4 bedroom, 1 bath home. It is more than enough space for us and two other women live next door. We have been nicknamed the sorority house...too many young women for one plex!

3. My Classroom. I can't leave you hangin after talking about my first day of class in the last post, so I thought I would put up some pictures of my classroom. It is quite lovely and has THE BEST windows ever. I have my own gate and nice wooden double doors to set the mood for "entering into the art world." You may notice a blaze orange hat resting in the bottom left photo. This was a necessary article packed in my luggage, as I need it for the first day of classes when I introduce myself to my students. I like to start off on the right beat by performing a rap about me with the students' help. It goes a like this...

Well I grew up in a town

in the south of Wisconsin

Didn’t have a lot of people but

man was it hoppin’

Mount Horeb was its name

it’s the home of the Vikings

Little Norwegian town

with lots of trolls and cheesy things

What’s my name? (Students: Miss E) (4x)

In my family it’s just my

mom, dad, and sis

And though we love each other

it hasn’t always been bliss

But we’ve had a lot of fun

adding extras to our fam

Like my cousins and the daycare kids

named Cody and Cam

What’s my name? (Miss E) (4x)

Growing up I was a kid who

kinda liked school

Enjoyed doing artsy stuff

and the golden rule

Basketball was my game

and I played in the band

Loved hanging with my friends

and giving others a hand

What’s my name? (Miss E) (4x)

Off to college I went

after my senior year

Leaving mom and dad behind

had me shedding a tear

But I’ve had a great experience and

come to find

That teaching students like you

would really blow my mind

What’s my name? (Miss E) (4x)

So here I am today

glad that you are all here

Hope you learned a bit about me

but man we got the whole year!

Can’t wait until I get to learn some

things about you

So I guess the first thing we should do is for you to tell me

WHAT’S YOUR NAME??