I am sitting here in Supervised Study Hall, which provides all the joys it did way back in December, and thinking about how soon I'll be able to go to sleep. I got back to Jordan on Friday night and slept for eight delightful hours, but that appeared to be a fluke, as I've since woken up at 4:13 and 3:18 respectively (funny how my seriously exhausted brain chooses those kinds of specifics to remember).
But I got back to sleep last night, and I'm approaching the point of being so tired that I have no choice but to sleep through the night. I hope.
Mostly, though, it's been a couple days of reacquainting myself with the routines of life here. Classes, meals, co-curriculars, lesson plans and grades and free evenings - slowly but surely I'm sinking back in, and enjoying the little differences that have so far separated this week from three weeks ago.
First off, I'm taking tae kwon do as a co-curricular. I say "taking" because I'm not at all in charge; there's a professional instructor, the genial and surprisingly flexible Coach Mustafa, and all I have to do is take attendance and reacquaint myself with martial arts. Can't complain; with very little responsibility, I get to exercise and punch and kick three times a week, and ever since the Great Capoeira Experiment of senior year ended after one session with black blood blisters on both my big toes, I've been hankering to get back in the game in a way that doesn't leave me immobile for a week afterwards. So that's been fun.
I'm also about to start individual voice lessons with a handful of students. But I haven't yet, so that one can be a cliffhanger for now.
And of course, the new classes, with whom I had less than two weeks before the break. We're definitely still feeling each other out, but both of them have continued to be sharp, hardworking, and good-natured, and if they keep that up, I can't imagine I'll have much to complain about these winter months.
Except the cold, because it's cold. Often in the low 40s at night, and 50s during the day, which wouldn't be terrible except that they're still getting the heat worked out. So far it's been safe to assume that the outside temperature will be equal to (or sometimes even greater than) the inside temperature. I don't usually mind 42 degrees when I have a jacket and am only outside for 10 minutes, but my hands are just a tad numb as I write this, as if winter is just giving me a frosty little nudge to remind me it's there. Plenty of heat in my apartment, though, plus a new fitted sheet (cause I sure know how to treat myself), so I think I'll manage.
***
I almost published this post and then I realized I didn't really talk at all about the last three weeks. I guess most of you reading this saw me at one point or another, but in case you were wondering, it was truly a wonderful vacation. Highlights included:
- seeing family in NYC, Woodbridge, DC, and Vermont (all of these instances were largely focused on eating, except one where we watched The Hobbit)
- celebrating my first-ever Christmas at Sam's house (also almost entirely food-centric)
- taking Sam skiing for the first time, and introducing her to the crucial 2:3 ratio of skis per day:huge meals per day
- reuniting with Spizzwinks up and down the east coast. Managed to get nine of us together in Brooklyn one evening, which was an absolute joy. Can't wait for my crazy jaunt back in April
- I'll remember some other things and talk about them later maybe. It's late.
Basically, I had a blast, and the readjustment period has passed full swing but definitely isn't over. I guess I miss those folks back home, and as much fun and excitement as there is every day at King's, it's certainly impossible to jump back in as if those three weeks didn't happen. As I've reiterated countless times to myself, I should mostly feel glad to miss people because it means I'm lucky enough to have people to miss, which of course is easier to say than to actually feel but I'm doing my best. Don't cry for me, America; this place is still a lot of fun, and I can only look forward to getting back in the groove for the coming two months.
Twenty minutes until I leave this room of disgruntled teenagers, and hopefully twenty minutes after that I'll be sleeping for the next eight hours. Wish me luck. Happy New Year!
But I got back to sleep last night, and I'm approaching the point of being so tired that I have no choice but to sleep through the night. I hope.
Mostly, though, it's been a couple days of reacquainting myself with the routines of life here. Classes, meals, co-curriculars, lesson plans and grades and free evenings - slowly but surely I'm sinking back in, and enjoying the little differences that have so far separated this week from three weeks ago.
First off, I'm taking tae kwon do as a co-curricular. I say "taking" because I'm not at all in charge; there's a professional instructor, the genial and surprisingly flexible Coach Mustafa, and all I have to do is take attendance and reacquaint myself with martial arts. Can't complain; with very little responsibility, I get to exercise and punch and kick three times a week, and ever since the Great Capoeira Experiment of senior year ended after one session with black blood blisters on both my big toes, I've been hankering to get back in the game in a way that doesn't leave me immobile for a week afterwards. So that's been fun.
I'm also about to start individual voice lessons with a handful of students. But I haven't yet, so that one can be a cliffhanger for now.
And of course, the new classes, with whom I had less than two weeks before the break. We're definitely still feeling each other out, but both of them have continued to be sharp, hardworking, and good-natured, and if they keep that up, I can't imagine I'll have much to complain about these winter months.
Except the cold, because it's cold. Often in the low 40s at night, and 50s during the day, which wouldn't be terrible except that they're still getting the heat worked out. So far it's been safe to assume that the outside temperature will be equal to (or sometimes even greater than) the inside temperature. I don't usually mind 42 degrees when I have a jacket and am only outside for 10 minutes, but my hands are just a tad numb as I write this, as if winter is just giving me a frosty little nudge to remind me it's there. Plenty of heat in my apartment, though, plus a new fitted sheet (cause I sure know how to treat myself), so I think I'll manage.
***
I almost published this post and then I realized I didn't really talk at all about the last three weeks. I guess most of you reading this saw me at one point or another, but in case you were wondering, it was truly a wonderful vacation. Highlights included:
- seeing family in NYC, Woodbridge, DC, and Vermont (all of these instances were largely focused on eating, except one where we watched The Hobbit)
- celebrating my first-ever Christmas at Sam's house (also almost entirely food-centric)
- taking Sam skiing for the first time, and introducing her to the crucial 2:3 ratio of skis per day:huge meals per day
- reuniting with Spizzwinks up and down the east coast. Managed to get nine of us together in Brooklyn one evening, which was an absolute joy. Can't wait for my crazy jaunt back in April
- I'll remember some other things and talk about them later maybe. It's late.
Basically, I had a blast, and the readjustment period has passed full swing but definitely isn't over. I guess I miss those folks back home, and as much fun and excitement as there is every day at King's, it's certainly impossible to jump back in as if those three weeks didn't happen. As I've reiterated countless times to myself, I should mostly feel glad to miss people because it means I'm lucky enough to have people to miss, which of course is easier to say than to actually feel but I'm doing my best. Don't cry for me, America; this place is still a lot of fun, and I can only look forward to getting back in the groove for the coming two months.
Twenty minutes until I leave this room of disgruntled teenagers, and hopefully twenty minutes after that I'll be sleeping for the next eight hours. Wish me luck. Happy New Year!
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