Just wrapped up my first full week “on campus” and I AM EXHAUSTED!!!!  And this is without 8th graders.  So many moments these past five days have moved me to tears.  Mostly recognizing the good fortune I have to work with three middle school administrators who “get it” and a superintendent who reminds us daily that we are respected, valued, and professional.  Which means we have big work to do, from preparing our classrooms to understanding and putting into practice teaching that focuses on learners and learning.  All echoing why I became a teacher — and why I’m still committed to it after 36 years.  

But, oh my, is this work rigorous, intense, and putting me at the very edge of what I know (and don’t know). The technology piece alone could do me in (from learning how to use my ThinkPad to logging into the various systems everyone uses without thinking — OneNote, ShareFiles, PowerSchool, Atlas Rubicon, etc., etc., etc.).  My brain is full . . . but so is my heart.  I keep pinching myself for the gift of this experience.  And for unexpected — and undeserved — pleasures (I’ll write about some of these soon).  For the challenges of stepping into M126, a classroom that was “used” and not cleaned out by the former teacher, the philosophical “pinch” as I take down her bulletin boards with “cute” clip-art (all laminated, of course), the my-oh-my surprise as I scan the literature on the book-shelves I’ve acquired (from a teacher who expects 13 year olds will find Freakonomics or Oliver Twist or The Norton’s Anthology of Poetry pleasurable and riveting reading?).  My work these next few years will not only force me to defend my teaching beliefs and choices, but offer opportunities to listen to what 13 year olds want, need, take delight in, and find simply too much nonsense for what they care about.  My learning curve is already so steep, I’m close to teetering off.  And yet, there’s something compelling and mighty exciting about living on the edge as a teacher. Which is just where I am.  Exhausted and edgy.  Friday night @ 9 p.m. and I’m headed to bed.  Who’d have expected that from me?

It’s late Saturday night.  Fred’s sound asleep . . . we’re still living in the York Hotel (our shipment hasn’t arrived yet so hotel living continues for another week) . . . and I have insomnia (yet again).  Yesterday I managed to contract some type of 24-hour bug (symptoms? extreme vertigo) that kept me from attending a new teachers’ dinner of chili crab (Singaporean speciality).  While missing out on good food is disappointing, the real downside of getting sick away from home is missing what’s familiar.  Since I can’t channel my own bed or my beloved Katten or my sisters, I’ll recognize what I’m missing with these photos.  They’re as close as I can get to finding a cure for the Saturday night blues.

One week and one day in Singapore and we’ve accomplished plenty.  A new phone (no thanks to Starhub and technology and miscommunication and my over-50-year-old techno-phobia — I think I should hire some kindergartners to tutor me in how to understand this touch-screen contraption) and a new “home” (we signed papers to rent a brand new condo unit last night).  Our shipment is due to arrive on August 5th.  So, in one week, we move out of the York Hotel and into the Somerset neighborhood of downtown Singapore.  We’re beyond ready!  [In case you're interested in our new home, the condo is called The Suites @ Central -- we're on the 3rd, or maybe it's the 4th floor, and we have a guest room with its very own balcony.  Come visit!]  

Weather has cooperated nicely.  Some days rain, some days sun, every day humidity.  Not surprising given our location one degree north of the equator.  We carry an umbrella everywhere in case we get caught in a downpour (which already happened — lesson learned).  We’re becoming somewhat savvy on the MRT and have managed to get on the wrong train going the wrong directly only once or twice.  And, we’ve sampled fabulous cuisine (except for one disaster with some type of chicken leg or chicken head or chicken-something-on-a-stick).  Not bad for two Bellinghamsters masquerading as global travelers.

We’ve been treated royally by the SAS folks — lots of social events planned to introduce us to Singapore and to each other.  This afternoon we were hosted at a wine and cheese event in a black and white (classic Singaporean home).  Tomorrow night we sample the famous Chili Crab at Jumbo Seafood Restaurant.  Bibs required.  And on Friday afternoon there’s a shopping trip planned to IKEA (pronounced ick-ee-uh — emphasis on the first syllable . . . apparently taxi drivers have no idea where to go unless it’s pronounced ick-ee-uh!).  All in all, we’re settling in.  Happily.

Day 2 in Singapore is almost over and done.  We spent much of yesterday at the school, dealing with orientation (signing up for our ATM cards, our bank accounts, getting keys to our classrooms, taking a tour of the 37 acre campus — yep, that’s right, SAS is 37 acres large).  An impressive day.  Well organized, attention to details, and a warm, warm welcome to all new families.  There have been NO regrets about this move, even though we’re missing family, friends, sleep, and all that’s familiar.

Today we toured three faculty members’ homes to gain a sense of how and where folks live here, then we met our realtor (Winnie) in the afternoon and she took us to three “possible” places . . . none were a good fit so we re-worked our perimeters and priorities and we’ll head out again tomorrow morning in search of a place to call “home” for the next two years.  Singapore is a very expensive place to live but once we remembered we’re teachers (and not financial execs on huge housing allowances), we realized our grandiose ideas of fancy city living might not work out.   We’ll find a place that’s a good fit.  It’s all a process.

It’s 9:30 p.m. It’s Thursday.  And Fred’s sound asleep (jet lag’s the excuse!).  We just returned from a festive party to honor the 2010 recruitment class (that’s us!) and I’m luxuriating in some time to catch up on e-mail and get this blog entry written.  Sorry there are no photos to attach.  I’ve botched up my lessons in blogging and no matter what I try, I can’t get the darned photo attachments to work.  I’ll catch up later in the weekend or early next week.  Plenty of photos already, including this morning’s wicked thunder, lightning, and monsoon-like rain, last night’s Bangkok martinis, yesterday morning’s school visit.

For now, just a reminder of how fortunate I am to have this experience at a school where the superintendent not only meets the new teachers’ airplane at 1 a.m. but helps load their luggage in the lorry, where new teacher orientation is more than just a day of powerpoint presentations (haven’t seen one of those yet!), where my colleagues’ backgrounds are richly global and my students come from 50 different countries, where instant Nescafe in the a.m. manages to keep me from a caffeine withdrawal headache.  I feel richly blessed.