Hello All! Elizabeth here! It's been a wild month. The last month of school is upon us! Luckily, the grade I teach (fourth) doesn't participate in standardized testing—only grades three and six do. I hope I never end up in a class where you have to “teach to the test” like that. It consumes a lot of classroom time—not just the teaching, but the test itself. I remember back in Mtigwaki, Gary would be in charge of the testing. I only had a few students each year who had to take the test (and I have to admit; it came as a surprise to me that first year! Unlike here, where teachers are reminded about it starting in February, Gary just came up to be one day and said, “Oh, by the way, I need to pull some students out of class today.”), and it wasn't too much of a distraction to have them gone. My class is finishing up our lesson plans for the year—I've stayed almost on track with reading, grammar, and math, but I'm a little behind in science and geography. We ended up spending more time than I had expected on the water cycle and properties of water. Back to Mtigwaki again, I reused an old lesson plan from my days there, and didn't change it enough; I'd forgotten that city kids don't have to same background to bodies of water that kids up north do.
Speaking of Mtigwaki, I had quite a blast from the past earlier this month. It was Saturday about two weeks ago. I'd run some errands, and when I came back, Warren was there waiting for me at my apartment! I felt a little uncomfortable, but something told me not to be worried. He just seemed a whole lot more level-headed than when I saw him last. I guess I was still a little anxious about it, though, because I sorta blurted out that I was engaged—he wasn't even hitting me or anything. What a non-sequitur! The news definitely surprised him. I guess it should have—I was pretty surprised myself when Anthony and I got engaged! Anyway, I invited him in and made some coffee. We had a nice chat; he explained to me why he was so crazy back in March. Apparently, a close friend of his had died in a helicopter accident, and Warren was pretty freaked out. He quit his job, and moved back home. He was really considering quitting for good, but the pull of flying was too much. He got a job stationed out of Dubai, and is leaving for it pretty soon. I think on March 31st. I have to admit, we left on a nice note. I'd remembered what I liked so much about him back when we first met.
I mentioned to Mom about Warren's visit—honestly, I'm not sure she even remembered who Warren was. I told her about how I met him after I broke up with Eric, and how great he was for me than, but I still don't think she remembered. All she wanted to talk about was the wedding. Oh well! I told her that I haven't even had time to think about it—not with school in session. She wants me to go with her to get the dress altered, but I think it's a bit too early for that. Plus, I still feel kind of weird about it. I know Mom and Dee are really excited about it, and it is a beautiful dress, but it's just weird. I wasn't that close with Grandma Marian, or Grandpa Jim for that matter. Part of me wants to leave the dress for April; I think it would mean more to her. But I guess I've already agreed to it. Anyway, I'm planning to lose a little weight before the wedding anyway—not down to supermodel size; just maybe ten pounds—so I should get started on that soon. It should be easy in the summer—fresh fruits and vegetables at the farmers' markets, and weather's nice enough for me to walk to place instead of driving. Hopefully, I'll get in some good habits that'll be easy to keep.
Talk to you next month!