Crazy summer break: visiting Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, and Querétaro and San Luis, then moving to Dallas

After visiting Mexico in late May and early June, I traveled back to Odessa on June 8. I slowly started packing and getting rid of some stuff - or lot's of it. Some items were sold, others were donated. Moving furniture for over 300 miles on I-20 would've been either expensive, or challenging (through U-Haul) due to a shoulder injury. My former mentee and friend Paden who lives in Coahoma, about one hour east of Odessa (also near 1-20) offered to help. Not wanting to take advantage of his generosity, but at the same time making sure I had at least what was needed to move (leaving donated or sold furniture behind), I accepted his offer. With his help, I decided to take my mattress and anything else that could fit in his pick up truck (and my Camry). The move-in date was scheduled for June 25th:

After Paden left, I picked everything up and made arrangements to get new furniture. I thought it was a good idea to explore (and re-explore) places in Dallas:

My return flight to Monterrey was scheduled on July 1st. I wanted to be home for a few weeks, explore a few places in Mexico (Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende, and Querétaro), celebrate mom's birthday, and go to a cousin's wedding in San Luis:

My return flight to Dallas on July 27 went smoothly. I started pre-service training for new hires on July 28. I also started learning about the 5E model. For many teachers, and apparently even some student teachers such as those that studied at Texas Tech, this is the norm. I do remember seeing it on my training from Region 4, but chose to do it my own way when I started teaching math (and later, with science). While I might've been a somewhat old-style teacher for some, I also believe that I was generally quite effective in both math and science. In some ways I feel that I'm starting as a first-year teacher, going back to square one. The good thing about this is that the activities are already laid out for us (most of the activities that I did in the past were made by me), we just have to pick the ones we want to do, and all teachers that will be teaching 7th grade science with me will be doing the same activities. I should be doing the same activities as the rest of my team, but I'll be doing them in Spanish, as I'll be teaching dual-language kids. I'm nervous and excited about what's coming. Once I get to master this new teaching method everything should be a lot easier, I pray and hope that this happens quickly.

While I'm nervous and feeling like I'm walking into the unknown, I'm also excited and looking forward to a great school year!