Student Teaching

Well, I have a placement. I'll be student teaching at Helen Keller Elementary in Mesa Public Schools.  I'm in a 2nd grade Spanish component of a dual language classroom.  So, I teach two different sets of 22 kids, half in the morning, half in the afternoon.  When they're with me, they'll be learning Writing, Social Studies, and Science-- all in the Spanish language.  When they're not with me, they'll get Reading and Math in English.  All already speak fluent English, and some have a history of Spanish in their family or with friends, but many are learning Spanish for the first time.  This'll be an adventure!

Houseware Hysteria

It was only recently that I discovered what flatware is. I thought it was like plates and such. Only a few short days after I was educated on the proper use of the term, I walked into a store and promptly fell in love with their flatware.

It is, of course, incredibly outside my current flatware budget (considering the fact that I do not budget for housewares while living with my parents...). However, I have gotten the bug, and now feel it is quite urgent to purchase not only the flatware, but also the china I have been mulling over for the last 5 years; which is, of course, the most expensive in the store...

This sudden impulse, I'm sure, stems from the fact that I am
currently unemployed with no option to become so in the
near future. Why is it that I only ever want to spend money
when I'm not making any?

I have all but resigned myself to skipping out on the china forever, and buying a few sets of dishes that I can eclectically intermingle with the stoneware I already have, but I am still very seriously contemplating the splurge on the utensils. A girl's gotta eat, right?

Further Costa Rica Drama

Well, Costa Rica is off. Again. Due to poor money management, the College of Education is in a great deal of debt and cannot find enough corners to cut. They have decided to suspend our program because they want us to stay here and put our money into their coffers instead of those of the international programs.

Many of my fellow students are valiantly fighting this decision, but I have yet to throw in my full support. I feel that I may have already fought my fight for this program, and don't know if I have the energy to keep fighting. I want to support my classmates, however, so I will strive to support them, but as far as I know, I will be staying in Arizona to do my student teaching from January to May. Yay.

The worst part of it was that we had to take our state board exams (the AEPA) early since we would be in Costa Rica later. Almost all of us were registered to take this intense test on Saturday. We received an email about our cancelled program on Friday night, so we were all incredibly distracted on test day. That was probably my biggest complaint regarding the method of cancellation.

I was sad about it for like a minute when I found out, but I think I did enough crying the first time I thought I wasn't going, so I'm fairly indifferent at this point. Darn though. Darn. What makes me the saddest is the disappointment of my friends who planned to go. This is not fair to them. But, I'm moving forward and finding a placement here. I wonder what adventures await!

Costa Rica Drama

I was having a discussion with a trusted friend regarding some recent experiences in my life, and he suggested that I needed to record the following and share it. Well, where better to share your experiences than on your blog?

For three semesters I have been looking forward to going to Costa Rica to complete my student teaching. ASU has a program in Latin America, and the moment I heard about it, I knew I wanted to go. So I spent over a year saving money and preparing for this experience. At times, knowing that I would be there Spring 2010 was the only thing to get me through my classes. Over that year I did a great deal of research on how the program worked, and spoke with others who had been involved in it as well.

Finally the time came for me to begin meetings for the program. We had our initial informational meeting where we were told that there would be mandatory meetings each week until we left for Latin America, but were not given dates or times. I was thrilled; things were finally getting under way. We had a group interview the following week. At that interview, the program coordinator said, "You've all been accepted." I was so excited!!!

They closed the meeting by stating that our mandatory meetings would be held on Sundays from 12-2pm on 8 of the next 10 weeks. I was immediately devastated. I am the Relief Society President in my single's ward. We meet from 12:30-3:30 each week, and I am responsible for over 80 sisters in my ward. Aside from that fact, I have spent the last several years carefully following a personal decision not to work or do school work on the Sabbath day. I immediately approached the coordinators of the program. I explained my religious beliefs and my plight. They said they would consider my request for accommodation. I spent the rest of the weekend listening to General Conference, where all I heard was, "Do not be casual about this Gospel and your worship." I knew that I needed that accommodation, and that it would be provided if I stuck with what the Lord was asking me to do.

During that week, I emailed the coordinator with a solution for the predicament. I had a friend who was willing to tape record each meeting so that I could hear exactly what was discussed. The coordinator responded that she was unwilling to allow for this accommodation because the purpose of the meetings was "not only to convey information, but also to build community." She stated quite directly that if I was unwilling to attend the mandatory meetings, I would be better served in accepting a placement locally. I knew what I needed to do. I wanted to go to Costa Rica, and I was going to make whatever sacrifices necessary to make it happen. The following Sunday I attended a different sacrament meeting, then my leadership meetings, then left to attend the student teaching meeting. I felt ill the entire day. It was a horrible feeling and I knew that I could not feel that way every Sunday for the next 10 weeks.

I requested a personal meeting with the program coordinator. As we spoke, I expressed what a painful sacrifice it was for me to give up Costa Rica after all my preparations and desires to go, but I stated that I felt I was the only one being asked to make a sacrifice in this situation. I explained how difficult it was for me to attend the first meeting. She made a great effort to show her appreciation for my sacrifices. She stated several times that if they could only send one student teacher to Latin America, they would want to send me. While flattering, she was unwilling to find a compromise in my situation. Either I attend the meetings, or I stay in Arizona. I told her I would email her my decision, and attend the Sunday meeting a few days later if that was what I chose.

I spent the next two days crying and praying and crying some more. I was heartbroken that she was unwilling to accommodate me in something that I considered so insurmountable on my own. After a few days of praying and crying some more, I came to the conclusion that I was still unwilling to compromise my commitment to maintaining the sacred nature of the Sabbath day in my life. I chose my responsibilities to my calling and my beliefs over my strong desire to live and work in Costa Rica.

After finding peace in my decision, and moving forward with my choice to stay in Arizona, I began thinking of past and future LDS students in this program. I was saddened that no one before me had advocated for the same beliefs I had, but also recognized that my decisions were personal and not church-wide. However, as I thought of future students, I could not sit by and allow the same thing to happen to them that had happened to me. Although I was content with my choice to stay in Arizona, I felt responsible to advocate for future students.

I called the director of the office over my program, deciding to speak with someone who had more control of the future of this program. I left her a message that I would like to make an appointment to speak with her about the program; fully intending to only discuss future students. I had no desire to whine or complain about the fact that I had been rejected, but wanted them to consider accommodating students with religious convictions in the future. The woman never called me back, but I believe she did call my program coordinator. At that point, it is my best guess that she told my coordinator to "take care of this" so that she would not have to deal with me. I am certain it was their assumption that I was trying to take a case of religious discrimination higher.

The program coordinator called me to let me know that she had found an accommodation for my circumstance. She was willing to meet with me one on one for the next 10 weeks to cover any and all material for the meetings if I would find a way to build community with my fellow student teachers. I expressed to her that this was not my intent in calling her boss, but that I was not about to reject such a generous offer. Over the following weeks, the coordinator and I learned a great deal from one another. We shared many of the things we had learned from our experience together, and I found that I had been a small instrument in sharing a bit of the Gospel with this woman. She had been a powerful instrument in providing opportunities for my testimony to grow.

I see this as an incredible blessing from the Lord. He knew how greatly I wanted to be a part of this program, and He is perfectly aware of the turmoil I experienced in being rejected. I feel that it was because I was willing to follow my personal conviction to keep the Sabbath day holy that He made it possible for me to continue pursuing this program. I know that it was Him and Him alone who softened this woman's heart and allowed me the opportunity to pursue this program. It further solidified in my mind that I never want to take this Gospel for granted or treat it casually. There is nothing casual about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is His work on the earth and He will guide us as we follow Him. My heart is full of gratitude for His goodness and guidance in this matter.

Labor Day Weekend

Well, I took absolutely no pics of the family during our wonderful escape to the cabin this weekend. See Kelly's blog, I bet she'll post some :) We played Settlers and Ticket to Ride and ate and walked and talent showed our guts out. I did sneak away for an evening at Ginger's beautiful wedding, and though I didn't get any pics with the bride and groom, I got one with the guest of honor... All the way from California. It was an awesome weekend with my delightful family and I got to see my bestest friend!

God is good.

I just have to say it: God is very good to me. I believe the theme song for this week comes from the Nashville Tribute to the Pioneers that states the same sentiment. If I knew how to attach an mp3 to my post, I would do it so you could know what I am talking about...

God is good, yeah God is good
We’ve come so much farther than we thought we could
Keep walkin’ now…God is good, oh God is good
One more mile behind us hey God is good

This week isn't over yet, so there are two more days of the Madness that is the first week of school. However, realizing that it's only Thursday is what has helped me come to this realization. There is NO way that I could have made it through this week without divine intervention. Seriously. Something much greater than I has been carrying me. And I'm not GOING to make it through the next two days without more of the same. So, thank you. Thanks to those people who love me enough to include me in their prayers, and thanks to God for carrying me through the explosions of chaos that (under common circumstances) should have sent me into a spiral of insanity, madness, and possible tears of exhaustion.

CALIFORNIA!

Okay, so I love to travel. I love to travel anywhere! But mostly, I love to travel out of the country, to go camping up north, or to my beloved birthplace, California. Luckily, my bestest friend and her new hubby live in my favorite state AND my MTC companion was getting married there this weekend, so I had two excuses to go "home."

I wanted to have a car while I was there, so Mom was nice enough to take two days off of work, one to drive up with me, and one to drive back with me. I dropped her off and picked her up at the airport in between :)

I got there and was delighted to find my darling Becca friend in her darling house being a darling homemaker.

We played games, ate, and walked through cute shops by the beach. They even took me out for some yummy bread bowls and soup at Boudin Bakery- I got to pretend I was back in Northern California. Thanks Mike and Becca! They had a fun date night ahead of them, and I had a beautiful wedding reception to attend, so I headed out for Del Mar to see Sister Smoot and her new hubby and join in the celebration. I have a really cool brother who let me borrow his gps and it saved me on more than one occasion this weekend. However, this adventure was not one of those times.... No one told me that that little panel on the top is actually an antennae, so I had it down the whole time. It took me to Del Mar, but then brought me to the top of a pitch black mountain filled with thick trees and well gated homes and said, "you're here!" Well, I wasn't there. I was on the top of a eerily empty mountain wondering what kind of depressed and unstable rich people lived in the dark homes behind those tall gates. So to avoid a scene from a horror movie, I tried to go back the way I came. Thank goodness for cell phones and Daddys. He talked me into putting up my antennae and trying again... After a little more driving and having to check my name on the guest list (I know, cool, right?) I made it in time for some of the festivities and to congratulate the beautiful couple- what an adventure!!!

Saturday we played some more Risk and went to the beach. A hungry gull found the fishes. But they were OURS! We tried to fight him off, but ended up giving our fish to the birds... :)

Mike braved the waves and did some boogie boarding, I even went for a swim-- It was cold! We had lots of fun and Rebecca and Mike began building their newest kingdom. Rebecca told me to do something with the mound next to her castle, I don't think most kingdoms have a giant turtle, but ours did! Mike built a crazy awesome set of moats and defense structures. I was pretty impressed. I guess the turtle was meant to be extra backup in case of an attack...? The cutie couple went out to sea while I stole Becca's chair and studied my GRE vocab.

On my last night there they took me to the beach again for a nice walk It was so beautiful!

Did anyone need further proof that my hair is straight? I had it in ringlets and it turned totally straight after 5 minutes in the ocean air! No curls to be seen :)

I love the beach! It's so beautiful and peaceful. Becca asked me this weekend, "what is it that makes you want to live here? Is it just the weather and proximity to the beach that draw you?" My question in response was, "what else is there?"

Utah!

It's always so nice to get away from responsibilities for a little while! My family and I all headed up to Utah for a family reunion and for Chelsea's wedding. She's so pretty! Not only did we get to take part in these delightful activities, but we also went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House, hiked up to the caves in Mt Timp, and swam and played to our hearts' content. It was such a nice vacation, got to hang with the fam and see good friends. Ooh, I was also there over the 24th of July and so I even got to participate in some fun family festivities and fireworks!

Book Worm

As a child, my head was always stuck in a book. I loved the lives I got to peek in on, I loved the worlds it created, and the visions it put in my head to read a good book. I would lie in bed reading all night and shut off the lights quickly around 3 in the morning when Mom or Dad would come check on me. I would read all day and Mom would plead with me to put down the book and go outside to play. "Please stop reading!" was the ironic phrase I typically used to describe her desire for me to live life outside of those books.

Somewhere in high school, I stopped reading what I wanted, and began reading what the teachers asked me to. While I usually found these tales equally delightful, the novels, plays and storybooks gave way to textbooks and other dryly penned works of nonfiction.

One year ago, I struck gold in a college classroom: I found a textbook I actually enjoyed. The author was witty, sincere and honest, telling stories and once again bringing to mind images of what was and what could be. This experience, reading "Black Ants and Buddhists" sent me on a quest. I decided it was time to rediscover my love of reading. It has not been so easy as I imagined. I have tried to read the books that I should; hoping, rather than truly believing I would enjoy them. I began "Infinite Atonement" and was awestruck by its depth, but found it fell to the wayside. I tried "3 Cups of Tea" and while it seemed to be keeping my attention, I found myself in the same chapter for 3 months. I went to the library and picked up an award winning novel, "Cold Mountain." I discovered that when it comes to violence, I have an incredibly vivid imagination and an incredibly weak stomach.

I asked a friend, Maureen, if she could suggest any books. She gave me a list a mile long off the top of her head. Many of them she dubbed "fantasy" and I was suspicious. I took the leap however and checked one out. "The Eye of the World" by Robert Jordan. I. CANNOT. PUT. IT. DOWN. For the first time in years I find myself clinging to my book, trying to read it at red lights and while waiting in the drive-through. I find myself trying to skip ahead in excitement to find out what's coming, and then realizing that I don't want to miss a word, so rewinding and rereading just to get every delightful detail. This is not to say that everyone will love this book, some may be more taken with "Cold Mountain" or "Three Cups of Tea," but the importance lies not in what I am reading, per se. The key to this story is that I once more remember the happiness that a good book can bring. I have rediscovered my adoration of the written word. Yay for loving to read!

And So It Begins

Well, today I went to work and my employers began a discussion amongst themselves about my current "situation." Seeing as how we work in a 200 sq. ft. office, I am perfectly able to hear the conversations that take place in our office, no matter what corner I stand in...

So one employer says to the other, "darling, Brittney needs to get out of the country." Well, I know that the office space is small, and that my wit can, at times, be overwhelming, but come on! A simple day off will not suffice? Perhaps some electrical tape down the center of the room to mark off our territories? No, it's time for me to leave the country.

The conversation continues, and employer #2 says, "well my love, I don't see why we shouldn't work something out to help get her to New Zealand or Japan." My mouth is now ajar, and I'm beginning to drool onto the keyboard on my desk. (Perhaps this visual image is why they could desire my absence)

A few hours later, a decision was made. Rather than send me out of the country, they're going to more realistically help prepare me for life in the real world. Employer #1 states, "Brittney is planning on moving to Costa Rica in January." Employer #2, "well she can't very well move to Costa Rica unless she is scuba certified. Love, that is what we will do for her." And so, after a long days work, we've come to the next new place to explore. I'm going under. And I have the coolest employers ever. Ever.