Fires of Autumn

The fires of autumn burn

In each leaf

Giving its utmost

Before the death of winter.

One last joyous explosion

Of flaming life

Before their souls depart

Scenting the air with the fragrance

Of dying leaves.

Teaching, Take 2

This last week I had the opportunity to substitute teach at the school where I used to teach.  I even got to teach subjects I used to teach - Algebra II, Earth Science, Physical Science, and Biology.

The first day wasn't so bad - I gave tests in three of the classes, which, while it might have been a strain on them, was very little strain on me.  The second day I came home exhausted.  It wasn't that it was a hard day, or that the kids misbehaved, or anything like that.  It really was probably a much easier day than my average day when I was teaching.  I just had forgotten how very much talking is required in teaching.  I think I talked more that day - explaining concepts, answering questions - than I had talked in the proceeding three months.  And I must admit that I find that much talking rather exhausting.  It was a lovely day, but I was glad to go home and sit in my room and say nothing to anybody for a while.

By the end of the week I think I had become more accustomed to the amount of talking required and was able to feel less exhausted.

All in all it was a fun week.

*I got to work in the new building that they just moved into.  The science room has actual windows, and it's 90 degrees in the afternoon.  It is, believe me, an unbelievable huge improvement over the last science room.  It also has better storage and an emergency eye wash/shower station.  And hopefully someday it will have actual lab benches with Bunsen burners and the like.

* I got to see a few of my old students...though most of them have graduated.  And I got to teach a few students I knew from when they were in the elementary grades.  My how fast they grow.  And I got to meet a few new ones.  They were all pretty great.

* I got to do a few labs.  Play with water bottle rockets.  Test acids and bases.  Learn about pigments in leaves.  Figure out how respiration and photosynthesis work in a plant.  Graph results and analyze data.  Ah, how I've missed those days.

If you've never tried it, I really would recommend teaching as a line of work.  All in all, I still think it's just about the best job a person can have.  

Knitting

I've had some extra time on my hands lately, so this is what I've been doing:

Lots of knitting and experimenting with various things, like using different colors:

Common Books?

Seeing these book selections at a second-hand store the other day made me smile.

When I was in Greece and Turkey, it seemed like every hotel or hostel would have a small selection of books for guests to borrow, or I would find a second hand book store catering to tourists.  Almost all of these little libraries and stores would have "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown in their inventory.  I'm not sure what it is about that book, but it was everywhere.   Apparently, travelers never want to be far from a good Dan Brown supply.  

The W.C.

You feel a little silly at first, asking where the "W.C." is, but really, it's a much more reasonable euphimism than the ones we use.  "Bathroom?"  Well, I suppose there are at least sometimes baths in the room to which we are referring  but how often do we actually use the baths?  And then there's "Restroom."  Seriously?  Who in their right mind would go into said room to rest?  Where did that term even come from?  "Water Closet" is clearly the superior term, and much more likely to be understood internationally...and of course, international W.C.'s are the most interesting...

Many times on my most recent trip, I found myself in various establishments that served beverages...and with the beverages, they would provide a wireless key, thus allowing me to check email and other internet-y things.  Of course, after a long enough time drinking beverages and writing blogs and checking facebook, one would begin to wonder where the W.C. was.  Most of the W.C.'s in these establishments were pretty typical, but there was one...

We were in a sort of cafe (with a disco flavor) in Litochoro, Greece.  I went in search of the W.C. and found one of the most bizarre ones I've ever seen.  Most of the surfaces were of a reflective black material.  This was actually fairly common in Greece, (though still sort of weird).  The strangest part of this water closet was the sink.  Unfortunately, I failed to get a picture, and my description will probably not do it justice.  Basically, the water flowed from the odd water spout into the basin of the sink, which was a clear, shimmery piece of plastic or glass, under which could be seen pictures moving.  Specifically, the movie "Ice Age" was playing in the sink.  Who needs a TV when you have a sink?!

In Turkey, I lost track of the number of public W.C.'s I visited, most often in bus stations or the like.  Often these place would charge a lira or two before they would let you in (or out).  Of course, when you have to pay that much to simply use a toilet, you rather hope for a few basic amenities.  Like, maybe, evidence that the place has been cleaned in recent memory.  Or paper products and soap.  Unfortunately, this hope was often disappointed.  Now, I realize that the Turkish expectation for toilets is quite different from the American, but it was still a little sad when with 20 stalls available, the only type of toilet to be found was this:

The facilities at Priene had similar amenities, but they, at least, were free...

...and there was the added bonus of a cute bug on the sink.

Of course, something must be mentioned about toilets on boats.  It's always fun to try to use the W.C. when the boat is rocking.  Having to pump your own water to clear the bowl adds to the excitement.

The nicer bathrooms I used were, of course, in hotels.  Mostly in the hotels during the first part of the trip, because the places I booked myself were not nearly as nice.  Still, it was exciting to stay at a place that had an actual BATHroom...because then it was laundry time!