Most of the time has been spent in Core Training with the rest of the Fellows and a few staff members. We've been learning the in's and out's of the school- curriculum, terminology, the layout of campus, how to relate to the students... all kinds of important things. I guess the best way to describe it is the "firehose method" where they throw a ton of information at us but, basically, we just have to experience it to really understand. There is still another week until veteran students arrive, so we have staff training starting Monday morning. We (the Fellows) will be working with our IS (Instructional Specialist) on lesson plans and our role in the classroom. Very exciting!
Other than having insane amounts of information thrown at us (which was definitely better than it sounds, by the way), I've been hanging out in Willow House with the rest of the Fellows. It's a really great group of people and I'm so glad that I get to share this experience with them. To give you and idea of the house, I'll try to give a description until I actually get around to taking some pictures.
We live on the top of the hill in the residential section of campus- definitely the best view. The ceilings are super tall and the whole east wall is windows, so it's breathtaking in the morning (and pretty much all the time). We're in the Rockies, so the sun rises over the mountains in the morning. Downstairs, we have a sitting area/tables and chairs and the kitchen, which all 12 of us share. It's not big, but we definitely make it work. There are bedrooms down the hall. Upstairs, we have a loft with futons and a random "ab lounge" and the rest of the bedrooms. Most of us share a room with a bunk bed, desk, shelves, clothes racks and cubbies. It's pretty small, but we don't spend much time in the room.
Other than house layout and week overview, I should note that it's already fall here. Every day except for today, I've worn pants and a sweater during the day and definitely need a jacket at night. It was 44 degrees when I got back from Boulder last night and was probably in the 30's before the night was over. It's still warm during the day, especially today- warm enough for shorts and a tank top, but this might be one of the last hot days for a while. It looks like a front might be moving through. In general, it's pretty cloudless here- I was told that there are over 300 sunny days a year in Colorado, so we'll see.
More random things:
Today, I learned how to drive the short bus for taking students on trips into town or to other places that are further away, so I feel pretty accomplished.
Wednesday, I went rock climbing for the first time at Shaman (an on campus site), and it was incredible- definitely looking forward to doing it again.
There have been jam sessions a couple of nights, which are a really great way to end up a day. Also, different folks have been cooking every night- SO stoked that we have great cooks living with us. The actual dining hall food is a mystery thus far, but it should be good.
Sorry for rambling. I promise to make my thoughts more organized in future posts, but this is pretty much my thought pattern right now. So much happened this week with so much left to process.
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